Hey all! This is my first Inuyasha fic! This fandom has always had a special place in my heart and to write for it felt like an honor. It's what got me into fan fics in the first place! But this brain child of mine was inspired by some tornado weather we had in my county last month. Which of course made me watch Twister (1996) directly afterwards! It's one of my all time favorite 90's movies and boy, have I watched the hell out of it over the years. It's criminally good and such a fun nostalgia bomb! As I watched I realized the vibes, the characters and their interactions would work a little TOO well in the Inuyasha universe. A dangerous line of work, an ensemble of side characters and an exes to lovers romance?! Yes, please!

I thought it was a random idea at first but when I wrote an experimental snippet, combining the two, it was actually glorious! So here we are. And just for some "ground rules": it takes place in the U.S. although I'm sticking with their Japanese heritage. It also takes place in the 90's— in 1996 when the movie was made. I'm just running with the idea that Inuyasha is smart and knowledgeable about meteorology, which is a little different, but the story wouldn't work if he wasn't. Kohaku and Shippo are in their early twenties for all intents and purposes. And lastly, I know very little about storm chasing and meteorology so bear with me, I'm armed with google and that's about it!

Hopefully no one else had the same idea (if so I'm sorry lol this a work of my own wildly random imagination) Hopefully I can rock out a full

story cause I feel like it could be a great ride. And a great chance to memorialize two of my favorite movies/shows. Well that's all for now, thanks for reading my rant, and my fic! Reviews of course are always appreciated!

- Curly


One

Inuyasha tightened his hand on the wheel and swallowed a frustrated lump in his throat. Damn her for making them come out here. Damn her for drawing things out this way. But mostly damn her for making him feel so much. It wasn't right that he had to come crawling back to get her permission to end things. They, he and Kagome, had decided a year ago to end their marriage like two consenting adults. So why was he off roading in a new truck, in the middle of Tornado Alley, with his new fiancé in tow to see his ex-wife? For some damn paperwork she should have done months ago. Inuyasha was trying hard to feel furious but he couldn't deny the creep of anxiety in his chest too.

For all the months they'd spent arguing over the phone, not even including the years before, it seemed real now. He was getting divorced. A dull ache flared in his chest, making Inuyasha shift uncomfortably in his seat. He glanced at Kikyo in the driver's seat, who he caught staring at him.

"Are you alright?" Kikyo asked, her usually level voice jarred from the bumpy road beneath them.

Inuyasha flashed a crooked smile that was much more confident than he felt. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You aren't nervous?"

"No, I'm fine. I just want to get this over with." Inuyasha said distractedly looking between her and the road. She was an elegant sight there beside him, dressed in a crisp white pantsuit with her hair tied back in a perfect, inky ponytail down her back. Her razor edged bangs and designer sunglasses hid a pair of steady onyx eyes—his favorite feature. She placed her hand on his free arm, her fancy wrist watch glinting in the light, and squeezed. "It's alright to be nervous. There are a lot of raw, charged feelings over this so it's understandable."

Inuyasha licked his lips and nodded. "Right."

"She said she'd sign the papers, correct?" Kikyo asked.

"That's what she said." He huffed.

"Then there's nothing to worry about."

Inuyasha smiled, this one genuine. Kikyo was the perfect foil to his fiery, impulsive nature; she was kind, calm and logical. Unlike Kagome who was just as wild as he was, if not more so—the woman really brought out the worst in him.

"C'mere." He rasped, leaning in to give Kikyo a kiss. She gave him a quick peck on the lips and motioned to the road. "Eyes forward." She said with an affectionate smile.

Inuyasha turned back to the steadily darkening grassland ahead of them and readjusted his hand in the steering wheel. It was all going to be fine. He had Kikyo, he had his new truck and all that stood between him and his new beginning was one awkward conversation with his ex. Inuyasha pushed the accelerator and soared across the dry grassland, following the all too familiar rows of tire treads ahead of them.

In a few minutes they reached the spot he'd agreed to meet Kagome. It was a small abandoned plot of farm land with an ivy infested barn and a crumbling silo beside it. Inuyasha pulled into the encampment, where a rag tag grouping of cars, trucks and trailers sat, all shining dully in the darkening cloud cover overhead. Inuyahsa blew an annoyed puff from his nose. "She brought everyone here, damn it."

Kikyo perked up and peered through the windshield. "Whose everyone?"

"The storm chasers."

Perfect. Just what they needed—an audience for this little exchange. Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek and forced his voice to be casual. "It's the crew Kagome and I ran with when I was a chaser. I had no idea they'd be here too."

Inuyasha popped open the door, trying not to let his annoyance worsen his already edgy mood, and stepped out. It was fine. It wasn't like they hadn't heard it all before. He and Kagome had argued like it was going out of style back in the day. Inuyasha met Kikyo on the other side of the truck, grabbed her hand, and headed into the camp.

None of the vehicles were grand by any stretch; they weren't new models, their exteriors were powered with dust and windshields were jammed with maps and trash. There were two trucks, an SUV, and a near vintage RV—all fitted with storm gear from large antennas, satellite dishes and complex radar systems. Amidst the storm chaser's chatter, a radio distantly played Hootie and the Blowfish. It filled Inuyasha with so many memories and nostalgic feelings he couldn't help but smile a little. This still felt like home no matter how nice his new pad was back in the city.

Kikyo's expression was stoic like always but as she lifted her sunglasses up to her forehead her dark eyes were curious. Inuyasha stamped out a giddy rush that tried to overtake him and tightened his calloused hand around hers. As they arrived a tall, dark haired man spied them from behind the vehicles. His face lit up with excitement. He rushed forward, his arms out with a goofy smile on his lips. "Inuyasha!" He shouted, his voice warm.

Inuyasha fought to stay calm, he really did but when Miroku reached him he let go of Kikyo and ran to meet him.

"Miroku, you crazy bastard, what the hell you still doing here, huh?" Inuyasha exclaimed, his cheeks pulled tight with a grin. The two men slammed into an embrace, smacking each other on the back and exchanging obscenities like teenagers.

"Let me get a look at you." Miroku pushed him back a ways by the shoulders and assessed him. "Wow, suit pants and a tie? What has Channel 8 done to our fearless leader?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Nothing you lot haven't already."

"Please, no one here would dare ask you to dress up like that. But such is the life of a weather man, I suppose."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I knew you'd all give me shit for it."

Miroku was in his late twenties, a tall handsome looking man with a shoulder length fringe of charcoal hair, and midnight blue eyes. He was dressed in khakis with a loose denim button down and an open black sweater vest. He radiated cool guy vibes with his ear piercings and black Cassio watch. Inuyasha had missed his best friend—it still hurt that this shit business with Kagome had tainted everything, even his other storm chaser relationships. Remembering himself, Inuyasha playfully swatted Miroku's hands away and put his arm around Kikyo. "Sorry, this is my fiancé Kikyo Fukumoto. Kikyo, meet Miroku."

"Wait, fian—" When his eyes turned to Kikyo, Miroku's smile faded. A confused, almost concerned frown flashed across his face. But he quickly hid it away and gave his best genial smile.

"I'm sorry, it's a pleasure to meet you." He said, his voice now subdued and polite. He grasped Kikyo's hand and kissed it. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I'm Miroku Sasaki, a good friend of your…fiancé."

Inuyasha swatted Miroku's hand away from Kikyo's. "Miroku's been with us since we first started storm chasing, he's an idiot but a genius with a map."

Miroku shot him a skeptical eyebrow. "I'd like to see you find your precious tornados without my help."

"Find, past tense." He shot back.

Kikyo gave a quiet laugh and reassuringly patted Inuyasha on his chest. "Not to worry, I know very well who you are. Inuyasha has told me much about all of you."

"All of us?" Miroku asked hesitantly, giving Inuyasha a look.

Inuyasha ran his tongue over his teeth. "Enough of this bullshit, where's Kagome?"

"Kagome?" Miroku echoed, all signs of jest leaving his features. He turned and pointed to the RV a few feet away. "She's on Kumo, the satellite's been on the fritz again."

Inuyasha turned to see someone standing atop the roof of the RV behind them. The dull ache from before wormed its way into his chest and Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek in a vain attempt to stop it. He turned back to Kikyo beside him. She was already looking at him with knowing eyes and a calm smile. "Go, do what you need to do. I can stay here with Miroku."

Inuyasha lightly kissed her forehead. "Thanks, I'll be back in a minute."

As he walked Inuyasha passed by Sango Kimura, Miroku's long time girlfriend, who waved enthusiastically at his approach. "Inuyasha, you're actually here. I heard you were headed this way but I didn't think you'd actually show."

The long haired brunette was wearing distressed denim overalls over a black Alanis Morrissette t-shirt, with a pair of beat up Converse.

"Nice to see you too, Sango." He huffed, only slowing his pace by a hair. "Miroku been behaving?"

Sango rolled her eyes as she followed after him. "What do you think?"

He chuckled. "Stupid question."

"Why are you dressed like that?" Sango asked, her nose scrunching with disdain.

He gave her a withering look. "You know why."

"Well I can't say it suits you."

"Shut up."

Sango smirked. "You know I gotta give you a hard time. But in all seriousness it's good to see you."

Inuyasha grunted.

Sango stopped, leaning up against the hood of her tan Chevrolet truck ,and crossed her arms over chest. "Good luck with Kagome, by the way."

Inuyasha waved without turning around. "Yup."

"She's gonna wig when she sees you're back." She called after him.

"I'm not back." He said over his shoulder.

He didn't see Sango's face but he felt she was smiling snuggly at him, like he'd lost a bet he wasn't aware of. Inuyasha scratched his head in annoyance, beginning to doubt if this was a good idea or not. He passed a blue SUV, where a teenage boy with tawny hair and blue eyes stood hunched over some maps on the radiator. Inuyasha went to greet the young fox demon but then he caught a full view of Kagome.

Inuyasha patted the kid firmly on the shoulder as he passed instead. "Hey, Shippo."

Shippo flinched out of his hunched position and stared with wide eyes. "Inuyasha? What are you doing here?"

"Visiting." He replied absentmindedly.

When he reached the RV, aptly named Kumo, meaning cloud, Inuyasha said nothing at first. He watched her adjust the settings on the large satellite dish placed precariously on the vehicle's roof. As she worked Inuyasha couldn't help but admire her from this angle. Kagome was an athletic bodied woman with toned arms from carrying storm tech, curving hips and strong legs. He knew intimately what it felt like pressed against him too. Inuyasha clenched his fists as the memories came flooding back in. Damn it. She was only dressed in a white tank top, baggy khakis and boots. Why the hell was ogling her? Inuyasha shoved his nostalgia aside with a vengeance—he wasn't here for this. Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest and tried to give his best cantankerous scowl.

"Kagome." Inuyasha said. But instead of sounding angry it came out much more wistful than he wanted. Shit.

His soon to be ex-wife froze in place. Slowly, she peeked her head out from the white dish, and Inuyasha felt his scowl melt away. Her molten chocolate eyes widened in surprise, even caught off guard they were full of intelligence and vitality. Her long, silky hair was so dark it almost looked purple in the light as it cascaded around her shoulders. It haphazardly framed a gentle yet stubborn face with a small nose and creamy white skin. Inuyasha sucked in a breath. She really was beautiful. No matter how much they resented each other the woman always took his breath away.

For a moment they stared wordlessly into each other's eyes. It felt like an entire ocean and a centimeter stood between them all at once—forcing them into a conflicted stalemate full of feelings and regrets, and inevitably bitterness too. Kagome abruptly closed off her expression, her eyes losing their awestruck quality and forced a quick smile. "Hey, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha released his breath. "Hey."

Kagome tucked a stray hair behind her ear and smirked. "You made it, I was worried it was too far."

"It was fine." He scoffed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Good."

Inuyasha cleared his throat. "How you been?"

"I'm alright. Yeah, all good here."

Inuyasha said nothing and they stared into each other for a second too long. There was so much between them, so many words they needed to say but neither of them knew how to get there. Communication had never been their strong suit, unless it was about storms and tornadoes. It usually took a fight to get anything across to the other. Kagome broke first and looked away, unwilling, or most likely unable, to address the finality of their meeting today.

"You hear the sky today?" She asked, trying to make her voice casual.

"Yeah." Inuyasha replied, suppressing a sigh. "She's really talkin' today."

From beyond the RV the landscape opened into a vast, rolling sea of plain grass, crop fields and farms. Oklahoma was beautiful in a barren, lonely sort of way, especially in late May when the breeze was cool and the crops were freshly green. But what really caught Inuyasha's attention was the sky. It was slowly being overtaken by an ominous fleet of storm clouds—blue and purple and swelling like a bruise. Though it was distant, roiling bellows of thunder emulated from its belly. A tornado was imminent, Inuyasha could feel it. With his ears and heightened senses he always knew when a tornado was close. It was what made him such an important member of the storm chaser crew for all those years. But that time was over, just like his relationship with Kagome was over. That's all there was to it.

"Isn't it amazing?" Kagome said, turning back to the satellite and adjusting it one more time. Her eyes didn't meet Inuyasha's again. Then she squatted down and pounded against the RV several times. "Alright, Koga, she looks good."

Suddenly a door popped open with a loud screech, and a man materialized from the passenger seat. Inuyasha took a step back as a strong smell overtook his nose, nearly gagging him with its musky, familiar scent. He was a tan, lean figure with long black hair, fangs and pointed ears. It was Koga Gushiken. The usual shiver of being around another demon ran down Inuysha's arms, and he couldn't stop an annoyed growl from leaving his chest. Trust his instincts to fail him whenever Kagome was involved. If he had had his head on straight the half demon would have smelled the guy from a mile away.

At the sound of Inuyasha's growl the wolf looked up from the laptop in his hands and pinned him in place with a set of acidic blue eyes. "Inuyasha? Well, well, well look what the cat dragged in."

Inuyasha's hackles instantly went up. Why the fuck was he here?

He looked up at Kagome, outraged. "What the hell? You hired Gushiken?!"

Kagome shrugged. "Hey, with you gone I needed someone with good instincts and the ability to fight."

"Well yeah, but why him?!" He spat.

"I'm right here you know." Koga interjected, his expression smug. He got out of Kumo and stood up to his full height, which matched Inuyasha's. The three of them had gone to the same college back in Japan. He and Inuyasha had always been rivals in everything, from achievements to their love lives. It stung to know that Kagome had sought the wolf demon out in his absence.

"You ditched, so why do you care?" Koga asked.

Inuyasha wanted to punch his smug smile off his stupid face. Where the hell did this man get off being so cocky? His fist tightened. Had Kagome been with this bastard? Inuyasha furiously sniffed the air around her and was relieved he didn't smell the wolf's stench on her. But nonetheless a twisted spike jabbed at his stomach. The thought of Kagome spending time with and being protected by another demon made him nauseous. No. What did he care about Kagome's love life? Inuyasha was here to end things so wasn't his business anymore.

"If she'd picked someone who was actually competent I wouldn't care." Inuyasha growled. "But a useless wolf with no fucking manners isn't the right choice in my book."

"Alright you two, that's enough." Kagome interjected, cutting Koga off before he could reply. She gave each of them a pointed look. Both men went quiet and looked away. Satisfied, Kagome went on, her brisk tone leaving no room for argument: "What have we got?"

Koga gave Inuyasha one more wolfish smirk and then looked down at his laptop. "She looks good, won't be in a few days, but I got her functioning for the next run at least."

"Great." Kagome stood up, grabbed a handful of cords from the roof and turned to Inuyasha. "Catch." She said, flinging the tangled mass at him.

Inuyasha gave a disgruntled huff but caught them easily. She hopped down from the RV in one jump and brushed her hands on her pants, then walked over to a laptop stand a few feet away. It was throbbing and pulsing with radar data. "We got quite the line up, you know. Biggest series of storms they've seen in a decade. Our projections are estimating several gate openings in the next few days." She said as stared into the monitor, motioning to the distant storm clouds.

Inuyasha felt another forbidden thrill coarse down his spine. God, why did these stupid tornados intrigue him so much? He ignored the urge to ask more and followed after her. "Yeah, I can feel it. But Kagome, about the divorce papers—"

"Hey, Kagome can you look at this?"

Inuyasha looked to see Ginta and Hakkaku coming towards them with wide camera lenses in their hands. Inuyasha had to look away, to stop himself from erupting. "I'm gone for just a little bit and she invites every wolf she can." He gripped under his breath.

Kagome, who held a new set of cords connected to the laptop, shoved them into Inuyasha's hands with a quick "Hold this." and walked over to the wolf pair.

"Hey, Inuyasha, it's been awhile." Ginta said with a grin.

"Hi." Hakkaku waved. "Surprised to see us?"

Inuyasha grunted in response.

Kagome proceeded to kindly but firmly walk the boys through how to clean their lenses. Inuyasha stood there like an idiot with the cords in his hands and his frustration about to overflow. Koga, who now stood beside him, snickered. "She's running rings around you, man. No wonder you couldn't keep a hold of her."

"What?" Inuyasha snarled, his voice deep.

Koga shrugged. "Just saying."

"Listen you punk ass wolf, the last thing I need is you sniffing around in my business. Fuck off somewhere else, huh? Your stench is giving me a headache."

"Ooh, he barks." The wolf sneered.

Kagome finished with Ginta and Hakkaku and walked away. Inuyasha promptly dropped the cords to the ground and stomped off after her, unwilling to entertain the other demon a second longer. As he walked he accidentally bumped into a lanky, freckled boy with dark brown hair who was adjusting a headset around his neck. "Oh, hey Inuyasha."

"Kohaku." Inuysha acknowledged, barely stopping to greet him.

"Welcome back, man." Kohaku said cheerily, not deterred by his gruff hello.

"I'm not back." Inuysha threw over his shoulder. He made his way to Kagome again, who now stood bent over over a video camera on a tripod. "Kagome—"

"So you were asking about the papers, right?" She asked. Her purple-black hair swooped to one side of her face, highlighting her pretty side profile. Kagome glanced up at him. Her chocolate eyes bored into his, and a wistful smile took her mouth. Inuyasha could almost see her heartbreak touch the surface but then she looked back down at the camera and it was gone.

Inuyasha shifted his weight between his feet. "I drove out here for 'em'. I wanna get out of your hair and head back as soon as I can."

"Right." Kagome smirked. "Well I have them, you should have just said so."

"I did." He snapped.

"I'm only kidding. They're signed and ready." Kagome said, her voice light. She finished with the camera and gave him a compliant smile. Something about it infuriated Inuyasha. Was this how it was going to end? Smiles and empty jests, after all the pain they had inflicted on each other? It made him sick.

"Then let's see them." He scowled.

"Right this second?"

"I don't see the point of prolonging things."

A flash of annoyance passed through Kagome's eyes. "Right, wouldn't want that."

Inuyasha pinched the bridge of his nose. "Please don't start."

"I'm not."

She walked to her purple truck without another word, Inuyasha tailing closely, and opened the glove compartment. She pulled out a folded stack of crinkled papers and pushed them into his arms, unable to meet his gaze. Inuyasha paused before opening the stack and rifled through them, the pages grazing against his claws. All the while Kagome studied him like a puzzle. Inuyasha pretended he didn't notice.

"What's with the urgency? Are you in a rush to get married or something?" She joked after a while.

"I am." He stated bluntly, not looking up as he flipped to another page.

There was a pause. "What?"

"Getting married. Next year."

"O-oh, that's—wow. Congratulations."

Inuyasha looked up from pretending to read over the pages, intent on saying something harsh but then he saw Kagome's face. For the first time that day her smile was nowhere to be found.

"Yeah." Inuyasha replied, internally cursing himself as his voice came out far too soft.

Kagome blinked and then drew herself up. "Congratulations."

"You already said that."

"Cause I mean it. I'm happy for you." Kagome's smile came back but this time it was strained. "Well, I won't keep you."

With that Kagome turned around, her hair jostling over her shoulder and left Inuyasha standing there. He aggressively rammed a hand through his white hair. Was that really it? Kagome was difficult about everything. And now she decided to be compliant about something like this? It couldn't be right. The half demon tore the remaining pages with a vengeance, his fury and confusion simmering. It wasn't until he reached the very last page that he saw it.

"Damn it, Kagome, wait!" He shouted, running after her. She turned around without a word and gave a questioning look.

"You missed a spot, right here." Inuyasha growled, pointing to the spot on the page.

"Oh, I did?" She asked, reaching for them. He handed it to her. "Ha, look at that. Oops."

Inuyasha pinched the bridge of his nose again. "Kagome…"

"Alright alright, calm down. I just didn't see it." She sighed. "Do you have a—"

Inuyasha yanked a pen out of his pocket and jammed it in her face.

"Ah, thanks."

Kagome went to grab the pen from him and as she did their fingertips brushed. Each of them flinched like they'd been burned. Inuyasha shoved his hand into his pocket, and ignored how pleasant her touch felt. It used to send shivers of delight down his back but now it just made him uncomfortable. At the rate they were going he and Kagome wouldn't touch, much less see each other for a long time. He wasn't doing himself any favors reminiscing on how they used to touch. And kiss. And make love. Inuyasha swallowed a lump in his throat. He looked away to regain his composure as a blush crept into his ears. Damn it, this is not the time.

If Kagome was moved by such memories she didn't show it. The woman's eyes studiously scanned the paper in her hands and Inuyasha's impatience suddenly worsened. What could be taking her so long? Why the fuck was he the only one catching feelings?

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha demanded.

Kagome wrinkled her nose and looked up. "Reading."

"They're the same as they were two months ago."

"I didn't read it two months ago."

Inuyasha finally had enough. "Can you, please, hurry up so we can fucking leave?"

"We? Who's we?"

Inuyasha grit his teeth.

Kagome's eyes widened. "Did you…?"

"I didn't really have a choice." The half demon grumbled.

"You brought her here?"

"Yeah she's with Miroku but that's not import—what are you doing?"

Kagome turned and abruptly walked away towards Miroku's spot at the front of the camp. "I wanna meet her, of course."

As she walked, Kaogme haphazardly placed the court papers on the hood of her truck, and placed Inuyasha's pen behind her ear.

"No, you don't." Inuyasha insisted. He ran to catch up and angrily yanked the papers from the hood as he went. "I really wish you'd sign the god damn papers and stop wasting our time."

Kagome swatted the air without looking back. "There's no harm in me meeting…Kimiko—Kik—"

"Kikyo."

"Still the same one, huh? I thought you had another one in there somewhere." Kagome's voice now had the same buoyancy as before. It was actually starting to piss him off.

"No, there's only been her since you."

"Not much for browsing, huh?"

"No, I guess not." Inuyasha said through his teeth. But Kagome continued through the camp at a quick pace, which he couldn't seem to keep up with. As they walked they started getting stares from the other storm chasers. They looked amused, especially Sango. When they reached the front of the camp Kikyo was situated on a lawn chair beside Miroku, who was patiently explaining something with his hands. "See, what we chase Ms. Kikyo aren't your run of the mill tornadoes. The ones we're after generate demonic energy—and are effectively an open gate, a portal you could say, to the demon world."

"Demons?" Kikyo asked. "I thought they were nearly extinct."

Miroku smiled. "Everyone believes so, yes. But that's what we're doing out here, Ms. Kikyo, trying to prove that demons are still very real and just as harmful as the cyclones that release them."

"Hm. Are you not storm chasers like Inuyasha had said?"

"We are, but we're—"

"The technical term is demonologist." Kagome interjected as she and Inuyasha reached them. "But we lean heavily into meteorology too."

The other couple turned around as her voice and Inuyasha silently cursed Kagome's bluntness. She really never changed. Kikyo stood up from her chair, and smoothed any wrinkles from her white pants.

"Hello." Kikyo stated, reaching out her hand.

"Hi." Kagome said breezily as they shook hands. "It's good to meet you, I'm Dr. Kagome Higurashi."

"Dr. Kikyo Fukumoto." She pinned Kagome with a scrutinizing stare. It wasn't angry or cold but even to Inuyasha's eyes it looked as if she was staring into the other woman's soul. It was one of the qualities that made her such a successful therapist back in the city. But Kagome didn't seem deterred, for she met it with a smile. "I hope Mirkou didn't give you too much trouble."

Mirkou looked aghast. "Hey, what's that mean?"

"Not at all." Kikyo said, her gaze still trained on Kagome.

Inuyasha suppressed an annoyed sigh. "Alright, you've met now would—"

"Don't be rude, I've only just said hello." Kagome said, waving him off. "Inuyasha just told me the big news."

"What news is that?" Kikyo asked.

"You and me, getting hitched." Inuyasha grumbled.

"And when is this?" Miroku asked, his eyes brows sky high.

Inuyasha shot him a dirty look. The documents in his hand crinkled as he tightened his fist in frustration. Why was everyone getting under his skin so badly today?

"Next spring." Kikyo interjected before Inuyasha could snap back with something nasty. She pulled her sunglasses back over her eyes and turned to Kagome. "I apologize I had assumed Inuyasha would have told you I was coming. I can see he didn't."

Inuyasha gave a sheepish look.

"It's alright, I remember very well what it was like trying to get Inu to remember things." Kagome said, her smile sickeningly sweet.

At the sound of her old nickname for him Inuyasha's entire body tensed up. No one else had been allowed to use it except her. Hearing it again was not pleasant. Inuyasha uncomfortably looked at his fiancé—her expression was even but her eyes were hardened over like black quartz.

"It wasn't our intention to rush but we wanted to get this business concluded before Inuyasha starts his new job." Kikyo replied.

"Business?" Kagome asked, her smile turning to an indignant frown. "You mean our div—"

Miroku cleared his throat. Kagome paused and placed her hands on her hips for a brief moment before speaking again. "I guess it is business if you look at it that way. And right, I almost forgot about the new job." She turned to Inuyasha with that smile he hated. "Weatherman, right?"

Inuyasha grit his teeth. "Yes, Kagome, a weatherman."

"What?"

"You don't have to say it like that."

"Like what? There's nothing wrong with being a weatherman."

"No, there's not." He growled. He didn't know how much more of this he could stand. But then suddenly a piercing trill sounded, stopping any further conversation in its tracks. Kikyo reached into her red leather purse and pulled out a large cell phone. She yanked its antenna up and answered it. "Dr. Fukumoto here."

When Kikyo continued her conversation Kagome clearly grew bored, because she leaned towards Kikyo, stuck out her hand and murmured: "I'll leave you to it, good to meet you again."

She shook her hand back and nodded distractedly. "Good to meet you."

Kagome went to head back, but the sight of Inuyasha's new truck made her pause. "Is that new?"

"Yes, it's new." Inuyasha said impatiently.

Kagome walked over to it and gave an appreciative whistle. "Wow, she's a beauty. You always wanted a new truck."

Inuyasha released a low growl. Why was nothing easy with this woman? "Kagome—"

She ignored him and walked the length of the vehicle, her fingertips brushing its ruby red finish. He couldn't see her face. "New truck, new job, new fiancé. It's like a brand new you."

"Enough." Inuyasha snarled."No more goddamn games. Just sign the fucking papers already."

"Games?" Kagome hissed, dropping her hand. She whipped around and faced him with an angry glint brewing in her eyes. "I'm not the one parading around with their new fiancé."

"Keh, give me a break. How was I supposed to know you'd change the meeting spot last minute? It didn't give me much of a choice in bringing her."

"You wanna know why I asked you out here?" She demanded hotly.

"No!" Inuyasha shouted. "I want you to—"

"It's about Fuuka!"

Inuyasha froze. His angry scowl and tight fists melted away. He stared wordlessly at Kagome for a long minute, searching her eyes for answers.

"Fuuka? What about her?" He murmured at last.

Kagome also lost any signs of anger and a rueful smile—full of old memories—grew on her lips. A small, fragile bond tethered the two of them together there on the grass. They said nothing and everything, their voices silent but their gazes weighted with a thousand different emotions.

"We did it, Inu." Kagome whispered. "She's here."

Inuyasha felt a breath rip from his chest. He fought for words till finally he managed to croak out: "Show me."

A wide, authentic grin took her mouth and Inuyasha tried not to notice how breathtaking it looked on her pretty, pale face. They walked back to Kagome's purple pick up and there in the trailer stood a large, familiar, tarp covered mass. Inuyasha felt guilty thrills coarse through him like lava—his heart was pounding. When he said nothing and simply stared like an idiot, Kagome's smile grew brighter. "You should see the look on your face."

"Keh." He scoffed.

With a small laugh Kagome finally ripped the tarp away. Inuyasha felt he could soar from the sight that awaited him. It was Fuuka. She was a wide, cylindrical instrument pack with small satellites and cameras atop it like mechanical arms. She was grounded by a yellow metal base, which kept her secured to the truck bed. Red siren lights glinted like rubies against its chrome surface, and Inuyasha wanted to damn near cry. It was beautiful. When he and Kagome had designed it three years ago he'd never imagined it'd look so magnificent.

"So, what do you think?" Kagome asked softly, tucking a hair behind her ear.

Inuyasha couldn't find the words. He pressed his mouth into the crook of his pointer and thumb to remain calm. Kagome looked a little worried. When the emotions finally stopped trying to choke him Inuyasha lowered his hand and let out a breathless laugh. "She's fucking beautiful."

Inuyasha could swear he saw moisture welling in Kagome's eyes. "Isn't she? We all worked hard to build her just like you planned."

Inuyasha shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you did it…can I see her?"

Kagome immediately dropped the truck bed door and gave an inviting lift of her eyebrows. "Be my guest. She's yours too."

Inuyasha didn't even bother to climb and agilely jumped into the trailer beside the machine. It felt good, even in his work shoes. His new life in the city didn't require the use of his agility or demon strength too often. Inuyasha ran his hand over Fuuka's cool metal surface like she was a lover, taking in its metallic scent mixed with the gasoline of the truck. He caught small whiffs of all the storm chasers but Kagome's by far was the most prominent—of sakura blooms and ink on paper. She must have worked tirelessly to complete it. Inuyasha couldn't stop a disappointed pang from stabbing his chest. How he wished he could've been there to help.

"How did it go getting the shards in the sensors?" Inuyasha asked, peeking down into the cylinder which was covered by a glass hatch. It was filled with hundreds of circular sensors the size of tennis balls, each one flashing a small red light like a heartbeat.

"It was a pain, just like we'd thought, and it took quite a few bloody fingers but we made it work." Kagome replied. She looked genuinely happy, her eyes glistening and her smile achingly sincere.

"More than a few if I recall." Someone said distantly. They turned to see Mirkou, accompanied by Kikyo, walk up to the truck. Kagome chuckled. "Ok fine, it was a bit of a blood bath."

Kikyo appraised Fuuka with a slight turn of her head. "What is that, if I might ask? Is this the machine…?"

"The one I—well we designed, yeah." Inuyasha clarified, proudly patting the machine. "This is Fuuka."

"What does it do?"

Inuyasha looked at Kagome, waiting for her to speak, but she gave him permission with a wave of her hand. "You're the one who thought of it to begin with, fire away."

Inuyasha smirked and turned to Kikyo. "Like Mirkou was saying earlier, they track the demonic energy within these storms. We theorized that gates are opening up the demon world, whenever specifically attributed tornadoes are formed. And when they do it allows demons to enter our world. For reasons you can probably guess we wanted to identify what exactly is occurring to create these gates, and hopefully stop them from happening. Fuuka is the key to allowing them to do that."

Kikyo tilted her head to the side even further. "How?"

"Because, she has these." Kagome said, cutting off Inuyasha before he could open his mouth. She released the glass hatch at the top of the machine, which slammed open with a hiss and nearly took Inuyasha's nose with it. He gave her a dirty look. Kagome just smirked and grabbed one of the sensors. "You've heard of the Shikon Jewel, and its discovery two years ago?"

Kikyo nodded. "It was found by Fujin Enterprises." She turned to Inuyasha. "Your older brother runs the company, correct?"

"Yeah, the uppity bastard." Inuyasha grumbled.

"Anyways," Kagome went on."Sesshomaru gave us several small pieces for our research. Within each of these sensors is a carefully measured shard of the Jewel. Their purifying abilities will allow us to release them into a demon energy protected gate. For two reasons: the first to get readings on what exactly is happening, and the second is to purify them before demons can escape to cause any more destruction and loss of life."

"So how exactly do you get them into a tornado?" Kikyo asked.

"Well it ain't easy. You gotta drop her smack dab into a tornado's flight path." Inuyasha replied.

"That sounds awfully dangerous." Kikyo said, crossing her arms over her chest disapprovingly.

"Like I said, it ain't easy."

"But if we do get it into a gate, we will help so many more lives be saved." Kagome said, her voice growing soft. "The carnage from one of these cyclones is astronomical."

Inuyasha gave her a small, empathetic glance. She knew from experience just what a gate could unleash and the tragedies they created. This mission had always been personal for Kagome, for better or worse, it's what drove her with such fervor.

"Kagome!"

Suddenly Sango came flying across the camp and nearly slammed into the truck, her long ponytail slapping over her shoulder. "Kagome, we got one. There's activity southeast of here, a possible F-2 near Bredon. The energy readings are off the charts…I think we got a gate."

The entire camp went quiet and still, like the oxygen had been taken out of the air. Kagome pursed her lips and stared up at Inuyasha with a sincere, questioning look. Her eyes were asking for so many things, things she wouldn't dare say out loud but Inuyasha understood. She was asking for his permission to use Fuuka, to finally begin the mission they'd both started when they'd first met seven years ago.

"It wouldn't be right if we did this without you." Kagome whispered, her voice so soft only his sensitive ears could pick it up. Inuyasha swallowed thickly. God, she was beautiful. But this wasn't right, it wasn't what he was here for. Inuyasha couldn't very well end things like he intended if he were swept up into the chaos all over again.

"It ain't my gig anymore." The half demon said, forcing himself to climb out of the truck bed. When he glanced at her from the grass, Kagome looked so unbearably sad that it nearly broke his heart.

"So we doing this?" Sango asked, looking between the two of them with poorly concealed excitement. Kagome stared for a moment more, as though to double check Inuyasha meant what he said.

"What are you still doing here?" Inuyasha said gruffly. "Don't you have a gate to catch?"

Kagome gave a small, sad smile. She straightened her back. And turned to the rest of the storm chasers that now congregated around the truck, which included; Sango, Kohaku, Koga, Shippo, Miroku, Ginta and Hakkaku.

"We're doing this." Kagome said, her voice brimming with conviction and her eyes steady. It sent shivers up Inuyasha's spine. That one quiet but powerful command made the entire camp release its breath and fly into a frenzy. Everyone was talking at once, everyone was running and vehicles revved to life like wild animals. A visible energy filled every storm chaser—bright eyes, antsy limbs and uncontainable excitement. Kagome called out orders in her gentle, but firm way. Tec and lawn chairs were thrown into trucks, and radios were dialed up to full volume.

All Inuyasha could do was stand back and watch. He put his arm around Kikyo's shoulders to stop himself from catching their tantalizing excitement. It was like a disease, and if Inuyasha caught it he didn't know if he could be trusted to be rational. But damn did he remember the rush. The electrifying thrill of the chase really was intoxicating—almost like getting high. But as he looked at his fiancé beside him and his gleaming red truck in the distance Inuyasha resigned himself to his fate. A new start was a new start, and his mind was made up. Storm chasing, and all it entailed, was over for him. The storm chaser vehicles began a jostling procession down the dirt road and the dust it kicked up made it hard to see. Kikyo swatted the dust from her face and gracefully swept it from her suit jacket. "My, that happened fast."

"They live for this." Inuyasha chuckled, as he guided them towards his truck. He found it hard to break away from the chaotic exodus and give Kikyo his full attention. Kagome's truck went by, her eyes set determinedly ahead, Fuuka glinted in the sun and then they were gone. Inuyasha ignored another disappointed jab. This was harder than he thought. Koga and his two wolf friends went by next in Kumo, Beastie Boys radiating from every window. Inuyasha swore he saw the wolf demon flip him off.

"Damn, wolf." He grumbled under his breath.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with them?" Kikyo asked.

Inuyasha stared at her. That was not going to help. "No, they got this, they know what they're doing."

"Are you certain? I understand why you'd want to."

The sound of excited whoops and hollers made Inuyasha look up again. Kohaku and Shippo soared on by in the SUV.

"Naw, it's fine." He swallowed. His veins were screaming in protest.

"Well I wish them good luck then." Kikyo said "Now that the papers are signed, we can leave too."

"Shit!" Inuyasha exclaimed, realizing the papers had disappeared from his hands. He whirled around and realized Kagome must have grabbed them in their sudden flight. "Shit, shit."

Kikyo sighed. "She didn't sign them, did she?"

"Maybe if we hurry we can catch up!" Inuyasha insisted, grabbing Kikyo's hand and bursting into a sprint to the truck. As the couple ran, Sango, with Miroku in the passenger side, drove by in her truck.

"Good to have you back, Inuyasha!" Sango shouted from the window, her eyes bright.

Inuyasha grit his teeth. "I'm not back!"