A little late into the night, Kaori occupies the bathroom in Kagome's place. Arms wrapped around her bare legs, and her head leaning against the rim of the tub, she silently soaks in the hot water. She isn't enjoying it, however; the events of the past few days entangle within her mind, especially the situation from earlier that led them to returning home.

Was it bad luck that brought them to such an ancient time in the first place or was it fate's cruel design? She doesn't feel particularly lucky, what with learning she's not human, so she supposes it's the latter. It doesn't make her feel any better, though.

"We just left them," she mutters to herself.

What can she do? Even if she heads back alone, she can't touch the shards without running the risk of going insane like everyone else has (so far anyway). Maybe she could use a cloth to grab them? No, eventually, she'll slip up and, bam, another corrupted shard inside another corrupted demon. Without Kagome involved, the past was screwed (and probably the present, too).

What if her adoptive family ceases to exist? What if the person she is now ceases to exist, too, and, in her place, there'd be someone she'd never recognize? Not that she'd be aware of it; her memories of now would likely cease to exist, also.

She shakes her head, getting rid of the thoughts again; there's just no telling if that'll actually happen. Then again, no one has ever traveled to the past through a well before, so anything can happen. She shakes her head again, forcing the newfound thought back.

To keep them from returning, she thinks about something else; her adoptive family. These thoughts turn out negative, too, unfortunately.

She needs to tell them. They deserve to know. She's not human; she never was.

She expects Gramps to lose his shit. She expects Sōta to believe her. She expects Mother to think she's been traumatized by something, which she hasn't been, at least she personally doesn't think so. Gosh, if only that were actually the case; things would be slightly easier.

She removes herself from the lukewarm water and redresses into a tanktop and jogging shorts, her night clothing. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she sighs and crosses her arms numbly. "I hope everything turns out alright…"

She exits the washroom and heads for the dining room, where her adoptive family awaits.

She hears the whirring of a blow dryer, alongside the ending of a response her adoptive grandfather is stating. "We needn't worry about any more visitors from there. I used special spirit wards just in case." Stepping into the living room, she sees her adoptive family sitting around the table, Buyo sleeping in Kagome's lap. Gramps takes a sip of his steaming tea. Mother glances at her. Sōta makes room for her to sit beside him, like he always does.

Shaking, she kneels down beside him, in her usual spot around the table. She gulps and gazes nervously at everyone, again. "...The…visitors are the least of our worries at the moment."

"What do you mean, Kaori?" Mother asks, eyeing her with concern.

Kaori lays her palms against her thighs. She wishes her shorts were longer, so she could grip them tightly. "...Well…" she slowly begins. "...While we were away, we learnt something…rather peculiar. And I don't mean the thing that Kagome has already explained; I mean something relating to…me."

"About how you're a demon called a Nekomusume?" Gramps nonchalantly asks.

Kaori nods without realizing his words, her eyes downcast. "Yes, about how-" His words catch up to her. She stares at him, wide eyed. "You knew?!" Two seconds pass. She rolls her eyes and face palms herself. "Of course you knew," she utters. "You've spent your whole life believing in demons." She groans, continuing her quiet rant. "You spent our whole lives trying to convince us they were real." She was worried about his reaction for nothing. Two more seconds pass. "Wait a second, you don't seem to care that I am! What gives?!"

"The Nekomusume are dying out; the likelihood of your biological relatives coming to kill us all and take you back are very low," he explains, uncaring. "And we've raised you correctly; we have no need to worry about you attacking us."

"Must you speak about such things now?" Mother asks, exasperated. "They've just returned. Your silly lessons can wait until morning." She slides a steaming cup of tea towards Kaori.

Kagome sweatdrops. "She…didn't acknowledge any of that conversation. That's…probably for the best."

Awkwardly, Kaori picks up the cup and sips the tea. Beside her, Sōta stares up at her in confusion about what just happened. Kagome sips her own tea, hoping for the best some more. Mother continues on as if nothing out of the ordinary was just discussed. Gramps grumbles but agrees to hold off the conversation. Buyo continues sleeping in Kagome's lap.

The night continues with decency.

Inside their shared bedroom, slightly later into the night, Kagome is laying on her tummy, in her bed, and Kaori is sitting on the floor beside it, back against the wall and arms around her knees. Buyo is curled beside Kagome, dreaming away. They're waiting for dinner.

Kagome sighs in relief, briefly closing her eyes to relax. "Ahh, it's so good to be home in my own bed." From where she sits, Kaori rolls her eyes. Kagome reopens her eyes and sits up, looking towards Kaori. "Were we really there, in that weird Feudal Japan?"

Oh, not this bullshit again… "Yes," Kaori answers with a flat tone. "Yes, Kagome, we really were there." And we really should've stayed. And we really should return.

"And what about that girl, the one with the hair?" Kagome continues. Demoness, Kaori thinks. "What did she want?" Kaori gives her a negative look; Kagome catches up with the program instantly. "Duh, the jewel, of course." She sighs, frowning. "What if she won't give it back?"

Kaori looks completely astonished by Kagome's naiveté, especially after all that they've witnessed. "..." It shouldn't even be considered naiveté at this point… "...You're stupid."

Kagome glares at her. "I am not! I'm just giving her the benefit of the doubt!"

"Which is stupid," Kaori points out.

"You sound like Inuyasha," Kagome complains.

Kaori jumps up, wagging her finger into Kagome's face. "I am nothing like that annoying fleabag! He can drop dead, for all I care!"

How cruel. Kagome sighs. "That's it, then." She claps her hands together, waking Buyo. "Chapter closed; as far as I'm concerned, it was just a fairytale."

Dumbfounded briefly, Kaori grabs Kagome's hands. "Hello. Earth to Moron, Reality speaking." She moves Kagome's palms far away from each other. "I'm a demon. Returning home hasn't magically healed me from that revelation. I'm still gonna turn into a damn cat human…oid thing!"

Sweatdrops. "Erm, right… I forgot…"

Flat tone. "We discussed it briefly at the dining table thirty minutes to an hour ago."

Sheepish apology. "Sorry."

"Kagome, Kaori!" Mother calls from a distance. "It's dinnertime! And, Kagome, your friend's on the phone!"

"Coming!" the siblings yell in unison.

Kagome jumps off her bed, disturbing Buyo again, who slumps over in defeat, no longer trying to go back to sleep, meowing in annoyance.

Kaori notices and smiles at the poor cat, scratching his head, making him purr in delight. "Such a good boy, Buyo." After a gentle pat, she runs off, too.

At the dinner table, a hot pot is simmering. Gramps, Sōta, and Kaori are the only ones currently seated there; Mother and Kagome linger nearby, the latter on the phone with her worried, and equally annoying, friend.

Sōta is clenching onto Kaori's arm, staring worriedly at Gramps. "Grandpa, those things will stay on, right?" he asks, voice shaky, referring to the charms placed on the well.

"'Course they will. Have a little faith, will you?" Grandpa, feeling exasperated, looks at Sōta in return. "If there's one thing I know, it's spirits."

"And demons, which makes two," Kaori mutters under her breath.

No longer on the phone, Kagome sprints to the table in excitement, accidentally slamming her palms against the table; thankfully, nothing on it was disturbed. "Ahh!" Happily, she kneels and cups her fists together. "Real food, real food," she softly chants.

Gramps looks at her. "I'll defend you to my last breath, Kagome, so don't you worry." He glances at Kaori. "I'd say the same to you as well, but-"

"But my species was made known to the family, meaning I'll be fully capable of taking care of myself soon," Kaori blandly fills in. "I get it, Gramps; everything's gonna be different now." She stares at Kagome, who is still chanting about real food. "We just need to break Kagome out of her delusions, so we're all on the same page." Kagome doesn't make a smart retort, having heard nothing.

"I don't think she heard either of you," Sōta states.

"I noticed," Kaori comments, sighing as Gramps begins to sob dramatically. "Seriously…? Such a sensitive old man…" Together, she and Sōta give him pats and arm rubs of comfort. Mother takes a seat across from them, shaking her head at them in amusement.

Kagome finishes her chanting, releasing a blissful sigh. She closes her eyes briefly, tears filling the corners. "Ah, what a wonderful time to be alive." She grabs a pair of chopsticks, unaware of the stomping feet rapidly approaching; no one else seems to notice, too. "Oh, I can't wait to-" Her loud proclamation of excitement about eating real food is interrupted by the door sliding open, loudly, behind her. Everyone turns their attention in that direction; standing there is none other than the half-demon they accidentally left behind. "I…Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha glares downward, eyes shifting between the two females. "Idiots! Who told you you could go home?"

Kaori glares back just as intensely. "It was either fall into the sacred well or get our heads sliced off by the hair demoness psycho. If you'd been in our position, you'd do the same." Inuyasha tsks at her words, still glaring.

Kagome struggles to get her question out. "Uh-what-uh, where did you-?"

Inuyasha storms forward, getting next to Kagome at the table. "Through the well, of course!"

"You lie!" Gramps stands, palms planted against the table's surface. "I made those spirit wards myself! There's no way you could have-"

Inuyasha interrupts him, lifting up a paper charm. "Well, I hate to break it to you, old man, but they don't work."

Gramps clasps his face with his hands, horrified; dramatic tears flow from his eyes again. Kaori sighs and pats his back. "Figures the charm wouldn't actually work," she thinks.

Inuyasha grabs hold of Kagome's arm and drags her out of the chair, heading towards where he entered. "Come on, you. We're leaving." He glances back, towards Kaori; although she glares at him once more, this time for manhandling Kagome, she stands and proceeds to follow without complaint.

Kagome, however, complains. Very loudly. And fights back very poorly. "No, and you can't make me!"

Kaori, sick and tired of Kagome's childish bullshit (even if she is properly acting her age), opened her mouth to speak her thoughts, but before she could get them out, Mother stood and spoke firmly. "Stay right there." Kaori instantly freezes in her step, glancing towards her adoptive mother. She hears Inuyasha and Kagome make separate responses but doesn't comprehend the words they say; she's focused on Mother, wondering what she plans on doing. However, it's nothing of any importance; she approaches Inuyasha and immediately grabs hold of his ears, feeling them (and making the half-demon more irritated than before). "Your ears, are they real?"

Sweatdropping, Kaori speaks up. "…Umm, now's not the time for innocent curiosity…" Sōta runs up to Mother, Inuyasha, and Kagome, wanting to have a turn playing with Inuyasha's ears. Kaori sighs. "…Seriously…?"

"We did the same thing, though," Kagome factually states.

"We didn't have better things to do, then," Kaori immediately states.

Kagome hums, glancing towards Inuyasha again. Her eyes widen suddenly, as she spots something out of the ordinary; a glistening strand of hair on his sleeve. "Do you see that?"

Caught off guard, his irritation evaporates and he looks where Kagome is staring. "I don't see nothin'."

Kaori is relieved; she's not alone with her situation (of being blind to things Kagome can spot that's related to a demon). "Nor do I, but I have my suspicions of what it is." She watches as Kagome picks up the invisible hair. "Is that really a good idea? You know whose hair that belongs-" She cuts off her own sentence, seeing her adoptive sister's hand suddenly begin bleeding. Around them, the family begins mumbling in confusion; they cannot see the hair either, but they certainly can see the blood. "See?! What did I say?! Get rid of it!"

"Right!" Kagome sprints out of the room.

"Wha-Hey, wait for me!" Kaori sprints after her, purposely dragging Inuyasha with her (by his clothes) as revenge for earlier when he did such with Kagome (except he'd grabbed her by the arm). He complains along the way; she ignores him before tossing him aside as they grow closer to the hut that houses the Dry Well of Sacredness.

Kagome storms inside, with Kaori following close behind. The planks, which Gramps had used to seal the well again, are all broken and scattered across the ground around the well. Thick bundles of hair, which only Kagome can see, snake out of the well. Kagome gasps loudly as she pauses at the top of the staircase, staring down. "Hair! Lots and lots of it!"

"Yeah? Can't say I'm surprised," Kaori comments. "I knew coming back here was gonna bite us in the ass, one way or another."

Kagome looks almost ashamed. "Yeah…" I just didn't want my normal life to be over…

Behind them, Inuyasha is now leaning against the open door. He, surprisingly, speaks calmly. "The old crone was right; you do have the sight."

Kagome angrily spins around and glares at him. "You did it! The hair followed you, so it came here!"

"It easily could've gotten through here, anyway," Kaori retorts. "So, don't go fully blaming him just yet." Inuyasha raises an eyebrow at her. She scoffs. "It's not like I want to defend you, mutt; I'm just acknowledging that, maybe, it's our fault, too. The possibility is definitely there." And, maybe, I'm not the only one willing to admit it.

At that very moment, the remainder of the Higurashi family shows up outside the hut, expressing major concern. Kaori drags Inuyasha inside the small building as Kagome slams the door close. "Don't come in!" It's too dangerous, she doesn't add but it can be heard in her tone. I've got to stop it from coming out, she thinks.

Beside her, Kaori has finally released her hold on Inuyasha's arm. The male in question, however, doesn't react negatively towards her; instead, he stares at Kagome intently. Suddenly, a bundle of hair rushes towards them. Kagome grabs Kaori by the elbow and drags her out of the way; the hair hits the door and deflects towards Inuyasha instead.

"In front of you!" Kagome warns him, keeping a grip on her adopted sister.

"Where? Here?" He leaps forward, claws ready for slashing. He misses. His ears twitch, hearing the movement. He proceeds to try and dodge but the hair follows him and coils around one of his wrists, and one of his ankles. He pulls at them. Outside, Gramps, Mother, and Sōta are wondering what's happening, growing more worried by the second. Inside, Inuyasha manages to slice through the hair, which breaks and falls to the ground, only to immediately slither back into formation.

"…Well, this isn't fair," Kaori comments, wishing she could see the attacking strands of hair.

"It regrows, even when cut!" Kagome exclaims. "Plus, there's so much of it!" She watches as the hair forms into one thick mass and aims for Inuyasha again; it grabs his wrist. Kagome gasps; Kaori blinks and glances at her, curious. "That's it." She has noticed a strand of hair coming out from the well. "That one strand of hair controls it all." Letting go of Kaori's elbow, she sprints downstairs.

"Kagome!" Kaori calls out. "What the hell are you doing?!" She hesitates to follow, stopping midway down the steps. Damn; I'll just get in the way, won't I? Or killed and what use is that? …Whatever the hell you're doing… I trust you, Kagome.

Kagome stops moving, standing just beside the well. Inuyasha, fighting against the hair, is pushed back towards that particular area of the hut, placing him just beside Kagome. She points above his head and speaks calmly. "Here. Do you see it? Cut this one right here." In his struggle, he tries to aim in that general direction; he misses. Inuyasha can't see it. I'll have to help, she thinks. With determination, she reaches up with both hands and pulls the tight strand down. She bends it enough to cause light to reflect on it.

Inuyasha smirks. "I see it!" With a swipe of his hand, his claws snap the strand of hair, severing it. The hair bundles that grip him slacken and fall, slithering back into the well where they came. "It pulled back in."

Kaori walks down the rest of the stairs. "I think that's the softest I ever heard you talk." Inuyasha tsks at her. "Well, fuck you, too, then."

Kagome stares into the well, rubbing her hand. That's not good. Yura's already got my part of the jewel, so why'd she do this? Unless, it's me, Kaori, and Inuyasha she's after. Her determination to protect her family still burning inside, she gets closer to the well. "Let's go. Right now."

Inuyasha places his hands near his hips. "But I thought that you didn't want to go back."

Kaori smacks him upside the head without warning; he yelps, staggering sideways. "Don't you sass her." She puts her hands on her hips, staring at him sternly. "She obviously doesn't want to go back, but she's going to anyway; our family has a target on their backs now."

Inuyasha rubs his head, glaring at her. "Yeah, well, what about you?"

"I'm going back, too, of course," Kaori answers. "Going back there without Kagome was always out of the question. For obvious reasons, and if you don't know what those reasons are, then you're just an idiot."

He growls at her. "I hate you."

She hisses back. "The feeling is mutual, I can assure you."

"Guys," Kagome says, speaking up, glancing between the two. "Quit it. We need to get going." She looks back at the well and sighs. So much for things going back to normal… Suddenly, Inuyasha's red robe plops over her head. "Huh…?"

Inuyasha, now standing beside her, faces forward, never glancing her way. "It's made with the hair of the Fire Rat. You'll have some protection, at least."

"Uh, thank you," Kagome quietly comments, grinning to herself and snuggling into the robe.

His act of kindness is soured by his following words. "Yeah, well, if you weren't so weird looking, you wouldn't even need it."

"Hey!" Kaori exclaims. "First off, what the hell does that even mean? Secondly, you didn't think to give me the coat of armor?" Not that I'd have taken it; Kagome needs it most.

"It means what it means. And why would I? You're a demon, aren't you? You'll live," he responds.

"The hell I will! I'm new to this shit!" she yells. "A newfound healing ability and some super speed isn't gonna stop me from getting decapitated by an invisible strand of hair that I'll just so happen run into!" I still think Kagome needs the coat of armor more, though; she can actually see the damn things and, if she's taken out, the mutt will go down not soon afterwards. I'll…probably be dead before the final encounter with the demoness, so…fuck me, I guess.

Kagome grimaces. "We'll figure something out."

"We better," Kaori grumbles. I don't want to instantly die as soon as we cross over there.

Teleporting from the present day era to the past occurs much faster compared to the first time; there's the mystical lights that surround them and the falling but it only lasts a few seconds, whereas it was, at least, a minute or so when Mistress Centipede forced the females through it. Carefully, Inuyasha climbs up the well first, followed by Kagome, and then Kaori, who follows Kagome's exact movements to avoid getting sliced by the hair again, though that's bound to happen again soon enough anyway.

"So, you're saying what Yura is really after is just us," Inuyasha comments, after listening to Kagome briefly explain her theory.

Kagome pokes her head out of the well. "Well, duh. I mean, why else if she already has my piece of the sacred jewel?"

Kaori pokes her head out of the well, next to her. "You make a good point."

Inuyasha immediately gets angry, caught offguard by the information. "Your piece of the- How did that happen?!"

"When Yura attacked and made us return home by accident," Kaori answers nonchalantly. "It was either that or be dead. I believe I told you this information earlier, to an extent."

"Well, you should've explained it better, then, stupid cat!" he exclaims, still angry.

"It's your own fault for being stupid, filthy mutt," Kaori fires back.

Kagome ignores their bickering and stares ahead, towards the forest. "I can see a lot of hair in there, but all we need to worry about is the main one." Inuyasha and Kaori stop arguing, listening to her. "If we follow it, it'll lead straight to her. I'm sure of it." Immediately afterwards, she spots it. She points. "There!"

"Great," Kaori says, sighing. "This'll be fun."

Inuyasha leaps across a pond, piggybacking Kagome. Following in his footsteps, Kaori repeats his movements almost flawlessly; she trips over her own feet a few times in her haste (and in her anxiety) but she manages to keep herself upright and continues to successfully avoid losing her head, literally. Together, they run through the forest, eventually coming across a bonfire. Headless corpses of warriors are scattered about, impaled by arrows; some are pinned to trees. The fire between them still burns; their deaths must have occurred recently.

Inuyasha places Kagome on the ground and walks forward, gazing upon the bodies. "They're guys from the village, or their bodies, anyway. Looks like their tops came clean off."

"No shit," Kaori comments, gazing around at the bodies, too. Ugh, they smell so gross. Stupid new senses; rotten meat is the worst. At least the scent isn't very overwhelming, but that can be because the bodies aren't that old.

Inuyasha glances towards Kagome; her back is towards him. He assumes the worst. "Now, what's the matter? I better not hear you say you're scared or you want to go home."

Kagome picks up a bow and a quiver full of arrows. She faces him. "Actually, I thought I'd borrow these." If we don't stop her now, even more will die.

"Handy," Kaori comments. Practice makes perfect. She glances towards Inuyasha, who stares at Kagome intently. "Stop making goo-goo eyes at my sister and let's get going already. Time's a wastin'." Inuyasha and Kagome both glare at her, for the comment, but do as suggested; Kagome gets back on Inuyasha's back.

Their journey resumes. Eventually, they reach a cliffside. Without hesitation, Inuyasha starts hopping up the surface, leaving behind Kaori, who yet has the same capability because she's only in the starting phase of her demon transformation. You asshole! can be heard from below as Inuyasha continues upward.

Kagome looks down, frowning. "You shouldn't have left her behind."

"Serves her right for being so annoying," Inuyasha remarks. He changes the subject. "You know you're not gonna hit. Why bother?"

Kagome looks upward, towards where they're heading, her adopted sister forgotten. She'll be fine. I hope so, anyway. "I just need practice."

"Practice? Don't you mean 'learn'?" Inuyasha leaps upward, landing on a tree trunk.

Kagome looks forward, staring into the distance, looking determined again. "I'll do it. I really think that I can." Her hand clenches onto his shoulder tighter; it's possible she doesn't realize she's doing it. Inuyasha just grunts, uncertain what the near future will hold. "They're closer. Lots closer."

Many strands of hair surround the trees of the forest. Suddenly, they tighten, slicing off the trunk that they're standing on. As the tree collapses, Inuyasha leaps off, Kagome holding onto him tightly. Three bundles of hair surge towards them; as soon as Inuyasha lands on the rocky ground, he leaps again upon Kagome's command, keeping them both alive. He somersaults in the air a few times, dodging. However, there's too many bundles for Kagome to keep up with, so Inuyasha additionally has to rely on his instincts. Even so, they make do with the system they've got, but only for a short time; Yura gets the upperhand in the encounter, her hair catching Inuyasha and pulling him into the air, making Kagome crash onto the ground with a scream.

She sits up. "Inuyasha!" She stares up at him, where he's hoisted in the air among a web of hair. Directly in front of him is a giant sphere of hair; Yura's lair, most likely. "A giant hairball?" She blinks in realization. "Yura's hiding place."

At that very moment, Yura decides to make a grand entrance; she suddenly appears, leaping from above, landing on a few strands of hair, similar to a tightrope. Strands of hair are coiled around her fingers, perhaps the ones keeping Inuyasha at bay. "Oh, my; look at the cute doggie." Inuyasha tries to free himself, but can't. "You must be Inuyasha."

"And you must be Yura of the Hair," Inuyasha says back in an angry manner. Because, of course he would. "How'd you know my name?"

"Let's just say a little birdie told me," Yura vaguely answers. "Everyone's saying half-demon Inuyasha is playing fetch with some reincarnated shrine maiden and the strange neko she roams with."

Inuyasha glares. "Me? With those halfwits? Nothing doing!"

"Oh? You're all halfwits to me." She lifts the pouch she'd stolen, removing the jewel fragment from it. "Just look what you've done to the poor jewel." Inuyasha growls; Kagome, to herself, states the obvious; that's the stolen shard. "Once you two here have been wrapped up, I'll go and find the rest for myself."

"You, take care of me?" Inuyasha grunts, trying to break free from the hair. "When this is over, you're going to wish you'd never met me or ever heard my name!" He manages to pull himself free, mostly; what remains around his wrist, he uses to swing himself towards Yura. The demoness in question pulls out a red comb; from it, another thick bundle of hair strikes at him. He's trapped once again.

Down below, Kagome watches in silent horror, doing absolutely nothing useful.

Kaori runs up behind her, making her startle. "What's happening? What did I miss? Are we winning?"

Kagome hugs her tightly, making her tense up. "How'd you get up here?"

"I risked getting my head cut off by jumping up the tall ass trees," Kaori nonchalantly answers. "I got sliced a bit, of course, but I healed and I'm still breathing, so I'd call my solo journey a success." She looks up, seeing Inuyasha suspended in the air. "That doesn't look like we're winning."

Kagome whimpers, biting her lip as she looks back towards Inuyasha's predicament.

Yura appears behind Inuyasha. "Such pretty hair, but you really haven't cared for it very well; look at the split ends."

He yells. "Get off of me!" He swings around to claw at her, but she falls backwards, having anticipated such an action. She gracefully somersaults onto another strand of hair further away. It sinks low under her weight, then springs her back into the air towards him. Mid-flight, Yura unsheathes her sword and cuts him across the chest. He winces.

"Shit!" Kaori exclaims.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yells.

Yura lands on yet another strand of hair, but somewhere above and in front of Inuyasha. She giggles in delight, then licks the blood from her blade. "Mmm. I'm going to cut you into little pieces." She brandishes her sword, then leaps towards him. Mid-flight, however, an arrow zooms by, barely missing her head. Taken aback, she lands on a different strand of hair and looks around, soon spotting Kagome and Kaori on the ground below. She'd forgotten that they exist.

Kagome has a bow in her hand, still standing in an attack position, another arrow ready to soar. "Get him down, right now. Next time, I won't miss. I promise."

That was absolutely badass, Kaori thinks. Too bad it's placed us in the line of fire.

"You heard me!" Kagome yells.

I take back my badassery comment, Kaori thinks. "Don't piss her off even more."

"Shut up. I've got this," Kagome hushedly tells her.

We're doomed, Kaori thinks.

"Ooh, I think she wants you back, Inuyasha," Yura teases. "What a sweet widdle doggie you must be."

Inuyasha looks down towards them, specifically at Kagome. "I told you to hide, not draw attention to yourself!"

Kaori looks at Kagome. "Did he really?"

Kagome thinks about it for a second. "Hmm, no, I don't think so?"

Kaori shrugs. "He must have vaguely implied it, then. Oh, well; too late to turn back now."

Yura strokes the blade of her sword. "Of course, her hair's not so pretty as yours, Inuyasha, but then, waste not, want not."

Kagome's eye twitches; she's angrier. "Not so pretty as his, huh?" Beside her, Kaori sweatdrops; is she seriously getting mad over something as little as that? "What would you know about it, anyway? You live in a world where they don't even have shampoo!" Kaori looks conflicted; …uh, ooo, burn? Kagome fires another arrow; it flies towards Inuyasha's back. Realizing this, Kagome's determined expression immediately becomes one of fear. Kaori looks terrified, too.

Inuyasha notices and bows his head, barely dodging the arrow as it zooms over his head. "Would you watch where you're aiming that thing, please!"

The arrow penetrates the huge sphere of hair. Light emits from where it struck and consumes its target. The sphere of hair unravels once the light is gone; skulls are revealed to be entwined with the hair. Kagome gasps in horror. Kaori looks flabbergasted.

"Oh, no. What have you done?" Yura sounds concerned and upset, but she doesn't look it.

"Those guys we saw from the village," Inuyasha comments (unnecessarily).

Yura looks back towards Inuyasha. "I'll be putting you in here, too, once I separate that pretty hair from your head. It's wasted on you, anyway." The strand of hair she's standing on lowers. She holds up her red comb. "One thing, first, that woman over there has to die. The kitty, too. How unfortunate; I'd have enjoyed adding her hair to my collection, too." She waves her arm; from the comb, fire shoots out.

It surges towards the females. Without thinking, Kaori wraps her arms around Kagome and cowers over her; her final act may be proven worthless but at least she has tried to save Kagome from the blow. They are completely engulfed by the flames seconds later. Sounds of panic erupt from them both; the heat is intense.

Yura smirks. "There. Hot enough for you? You'll feel the heat right down to your bones." The females sound like they're dying. "That's for emptying out my lair. Pity there'll be nothing left but ash."

"Come on!" Inuyasha sounds irritated with a very slight hint of concern.

"Poor thing. I almost forgot." Yura faces Inuyasha, sword ready again. "Pets ought never be allowed to outlive their masters."

She leaps towards him, prepared to murder him as she has done with just about everyone else. Inuyasha digs his claws into his wound and then swings them, calling out a new (to those hearing it) attack; four red blades fly towards her and slice off the hand she's using to hold the sword, taking her by surprise.

While this is occurring, the flames around Kaori and Kagome disperse, revealing them to be completely unharmed; they understand why Kagome didn't die (Inuyasha's red robe) but it takes them a moment to fathom how Kaori survived.

"You're... You're fire resistant?" Kagome barely gets the words out, speaking quietly.

"Huh." Kaori blinks. She's in shock. "That's... That's really fucking lucky, huh...?" Of all the unique abilities she could've showcased, it was something that ultimately saved her life. Great timing for that to show up.

Kagome grabs her arm and pulls her forward. "Come on; we have to help Inuyasha." Together, they sprint towards the unraveled sphere of hair.

Meanwhile, Yura and Inuyasha battle.

Holding her red comb in her mouth, she pulls at the hair around her remaining hand. A bunch of skulls with hair fly towards him, who crushes them with his fists. The hand holding the sword, the one that has been sliced off and held up by strands, flies towards him, too. He dodges in time. He attacks her with the same "new" move; calmly, she swings her comb, creating a curtain of hair before her, blocking the attack; it doesn't manage to break through the barrier. Her severed hand lunges at him from behind while he's distracted; it manages to wound him again.

The hair gripping onto him slackens, making him crash onto the ground. Her severed hand removes the sword from where it pierced his body and flies back to her wrist. A quick movement from the hair and her hand is reattached to her body. She flexes her hand, holding the sword with the other. She chuckles. "Half-demon, half-power. I should have known." She heads down to where he lays; he makes an unnecessary retort. "Disappointed?" She shows him the pouch with the jewel shard. "I'll bet you were hoping to use this to become all-demon." He makes another unnecessary comment. She talks to him in a sing-song tone. "Now, stay still. If I don't get a clean cut, your blood will stain that pretty silver hair of yours." She swings her sword at him.

"Don't you wish!" He shoots up from the ground and drives his claws into her mostly exposed chest, making a hole through her body. He pulls back, taking the pouch with the jewel shard. He drops back to the ground. "That'll teach ya."

She calmly steps on his hand; he grunts in pain. "Why, I never. A half-demon I just met sticking his hand in my chest?" He stares up at her, surprised; why isn't she dead? "Plus, there's the fact you stole my jewel." She bends over and takes back the pouch. "Now I have become cross." She stands and chuckles. Then, the hair on her red comb, which is in her hand again, tightens. "Hmm?" She turns, only to find Kagome (and Kaori, who is just a little bit behind her) climbing towards her revealed lair, which is towards the top of the large mass of hair. Yura glares; she's truly mad now. "Those girls!"

Yura, with a growl, pulls some hair around her fingers, which tugs at the sphere; it makes Kagome fall, and she lands on Kaori, who then proceeds to fall with her. Instinctively, Kaori does something of a somersault and grabs hold of the hair again whilst additionally holding onto Kagome. Inuyasha sees an opening and grabs Yura's sword, which had been lying beside him for some reason; he slashes through her back but hair mends her back together in seconds. In retaliation, Yura uses her hair to slam him against a rocky surface.

"When I took your hand, it was like you broke a nail, but now, you seem mad for real," Inuyasha points out. "What are you hiding that you're so worried about?" Yura growls, hating that he has realized something through her actions.

"Inuyasha! It's that red skull up there!" Kagome yells, pointing upward from her place on Kaori's back (Kaori has decided to do the climbing, as a contribution to the cause, with Kagome guiding the way, even though that didn't make it any less difficult since Kaori still can't see the hair; newfound demon instincts for the win?).

"For fuck's sake, Kagome!" Kaori hisses. "Way to give away our plans to the enemy, who is still right fucking there!" She glances back, just to see what's happening; Yura leaps straight towards them with her sword in hand again; Inuyasha breaks free and goes after her but likely won't make it in time. "Oh, fuck me!" She screams, alongside Kagome, as Yura pulls the entire sphere of hair, dragging them; Kaori holds onto the hair tightly while Kagome holds onto her tighter.

Inuyasha tries to get to them, to protect them, but is blocked by hair.

Yura flings her sword at them; it hits Inuyasha's red robe, which Kagome still wears. It doesn't injure her but the impact makes her lose her grip on Kaori and she falls, screaming. Kaori calls out to her in horror. With a wave of her hand, Yura has her hair catch Kagome and it suspends her in the air; with another wave, but with the opposite hand, a section of the sphere breaks off into the air, bringing Kaori with it. Soon, she's in the exact same predicament.

Kaori struggles to break free. We can't go out like this! Everyone's counting on us to end this!

Yura ignores Inuyasha and Kaori in favor of Kagome, who has really caught her attention. "What are you?" she ponders. "Why don't you bleed?!" she cries out seconds later, irritated. She leaps over to where Kagome's suspended in the air. She gets directly in her face, examining her. She crosses her arms. "Even from here, you look mortal enough to me." She lowers her arms. "Let's put you to the test."

With yet another wave of her hand, Yura makes a strand of hair wrap around Kagome's neck tightly, causing the human girl to wince. Kaori cries out to her. That's when Inuyasha finally makes his move to assist; he attacks Yura from behind with an array of red blades, slashing her back and cutting through the hair around her fingers. The hair strand around Kagome's neck slackens. Then, the sphere of hair starts collapsing, bringing Kagome and Kaori down with it. Inuyasha leaps towards Kagome, catching her first before roughly grabbing Kaori next.

Together, they land on the ground, safely. Inuyasha immediately tosses Kaori aside, making her crash onto the ground with a grunt; following that, he cradles Kagome in a protective manner as the sphere of hair crash lands behind them. Kaori sits up on her knees and glares at him, but only for a second; her expression of anger becomes one of surprise as she notices his behavior with Kagome.

…Is that because of Kikyō or because of something else? Kaori wonders, staring at him.

Kagome doesn't seem to even notice he's still holding her. She glances to the side and gasps. "Inuyasha, watch out!"

Without hesitation, he shoves Kagome away from him, prepared to fight some more and protect her, but immediately gets stabbed again. The force of the blow knocks him onto his back. Yura lands on a mountain of skulls nearby and takes back the sword with a strand of hair. She waves her hand and sends the sword at him again; however, it stops midair as she is struck by sudden pain. She glances towards Kagome; Kagome is driving an arrow into the red skull she spotted earlier, trying to crack it. Kaori stands up and places herself between Yura and Kagome, giving her adoptive sister an extra layer of protection.

Yura turns the sword towards them and sends it flying. Before it can pierce through Kaori, Kagome succeeds in cracking the red skull, making the sword stop in midair again. Light emits from the skull. A hemisphere within the skull breaks in half. Yura gasps softly and disintegrates, her clothing falling to the ground. The sword drops, too. Kagome and Kaori sigh in relief; it's finally over. Kagome picks up the broken object, which is revealed to be a red comb.

Clenching his wound, Inuyasha steps forward, looking at the comb in Kagome's hand. "So, that's what Yura really was."

Kaori blinks, glancing at him. "Pardon?"

Kagome stares at Inuyasha, curiously. "Yura was a comb?"

"Sure," Inuyasha states. "With all that you've seen since you've been here, are you surprised? It's probably got powers 'cause it was once used to comb the hair of the dead. Yura didn't really use it so much as it used her." Suddenly, he lets out a cry and kneels.

Kagome moves towards him hastily. "Inuyasha, that stab in your chest. It only happened because I've got your kimono."

I've been calling it a robe this whole time, Kaori thinks. Eh, what's the difference, really? It's prettier?

"It's no big deal," Inuyasha tells her, still obviously in pain. "What happened to the sacred jewel?"

Kagome stands up and approaches Yura's clothes. The pouch is sitting near them. She picks it up. "It's here." She opens the pouch and takes out the jewel shard. "I wonder how long it'll take to find the rest of it."

"The rest of our lives, probably," Kaori comments, sighing. "That's our karma, I suppose, for letting it get broken in the first place." Even though it was entirely Kagome's fault.

"Kagome, let's go," Inuyasha says, standing and taking his robe/kimono back. Kagome stares at him in awe. "What?"

"You never said my name before," Kagome points out.

"And you've yet said mine," Kaori points out afterwards.

Inuyasha looks between the two of them. "Yeah? What of it?"

Kagome smiles a little. "It's just that I think you like me more now, is all."

Inuyasha turns from her, scoffing. "Pfft, don't get excited. I still think you're pretty useless. And it's just a name, anyway." He glances at Kaori. "The feline doesn't deserve one."

Kaori leaps at him; Kagome grabs her and holds her back. Inuyasha faces them, growling. Kaori hisses at him. "Why you little-?! Firstly, she's not useless; she just saved our asses! Secondly, fuck you, dog boy!" She struggles in Kagome's arms for a second before stilling, glaring at Inuyasha. Kagome lets her go and Inuyasha turns his back to them both again. Seeing the open opportunity, Kaori quickly moves forward and roughly presses her palms against his back, pushing him. He collapses onto the ground of skulls, but not from the push; she had touched his injuries, making pain spike up again. Kagome runs to his side to assist him. "That's what you get, asshole."

Kagome glares at her for the unnecessary violence, especially after what they just went through, as Inuyasha grunts in pain. Kaori just rolls her eyes, uncaring and unapologetic.