A/N: Sorry it's taking me so long for this one, I have to edit each chapter now and I've been lagging behind with all the other things I've been doing in life.

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The sword having been honorably left alone by the respectful (and fearful) other foxes, Shippou returned to where Sesshoumaru rejoined Jaken and Ah-Un near the Maboroshi steps, just as dawn rose and signalled the end of the Exam for the night. The leaf that had been assigned to him fluttered down to the ground, no longer stuck to his head, and the illusions of the roads were lifted and reverted to normal. Many of the foxes waved at each other in farewells, and especially to Shippou; after this they were off, and no sooner had they departed than Shippou asked what had really been on his mind.

"So what's wrong, Lord Sesshoumaru? You always insisted before that I'd never get you to come to the Maboroshi, but tonight you showed up of your own accord, and you played along like you were just here for fun, but there was something else, wasn't there?"

Sesshoumaru furrowed his brow, and Shippou could tell he was trying to think of how to say it.

"Let's head to the village and see my brother. I'll explain it after we're there," he finally decided, and Shippou nodded.

"I am so confused," Saya murmured.

"Don't bother letting confusion bother you," Jaken sighed, crossing his arms.

They made their way to the village and arrived in the later afternoon, and after all the standard greetings and salutations, they convened with a small group in Kaede's house. This small group consisted of those who had just arrived along with Miroku, Sango, Inuyasha, and Kaede.

"So what's going on, Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha asked, his ears flicked just slightly lower than usual in concern.

"There's trouble brewing," Sesshoumaru paused, then glanced out the door, "is Kagura with Rin and Kohaku?"

"No, just with Rin. I asked Kohaku to head back to the old taijiya village for some of the tools and bones that were left behind there, so he took Kirara and left this morning to gather those things for me. He'll probably be back soon, but I'm sure he'll leave Kirara at the house with all the things I asked for so he can run off with Rin as soon as he gets back. Kagura and Rin have taken our children down the way into the empty fields to play while they talk about you," Sango said rather matter of factly.

"Talk about me? Have I...done something that needs their discussion?" Sesshoumaru raised both eyebrows, and all the others chuckled.

"They be not speaking of things of import, 'twould be more accurate to say, they gossip about ye. Idle things, as to what kind of way ye tend thy hair so well," Kaede informed, and he blushed. He should have realized that was what they meant, after all.

"Well, that being said..." here he paused, "there's more than one thing going on."

Inuyasha, impatient despite himself, was the first to press the awkward silence.

"Okay, well, spill it," he finally huffed, ears lowering even more as he peered at his brother, "hey, we can figure out anything together."

"Kagura still has not realized her true form. My Southern enemies are exerting a lot of pressure, readying for a war, I think. And of the utmost concern...is a rumor I've heard about someome trying to find a way past Gozu and Mezu, a way to get safely into the Nether," he finally added, "on behalf of none other than the Southern Lord himself, Zusaku. I can't imagine what he hopes to accomplish by doing that, but if he succeeds he is certain to bring devastation to any who happen to be in his path. Zusaku is hot-blooded, cold-hearted, and narrow-minded. Whatever he's up to, it can't be anything Good. That said, little brother," and here Sesshoumaru looked at Inuyasha, "I'm sure he plans to try and steal Tetsusaiga, or somehow trick you into using it in a way that benefits him, to manipulate the Meidou for whatever his own nefarious purposes are. You'll have to be careful...it wouldn't be hard for him to hold a village like this hostage."

"So you're actually worried about that? He must be tough," Inuyasha decided to forego any slight jabs, for it would sound too mocking at the moment, "You couldn't kill him last time you two tangled, is that it?"

"Something like that," Sesshoumaru murmured, "or close enough. He's not a youkai I would take lightly, in any case. He's a Phoenix, death is transitory for him. A phoenix with a wingspan three times the size of any other phoenix alive in his true form, and his Battlemage is renowned for his skills in combat magic and defensive suppression magic, barriers, seals, bindings. Zusaku rarely goes anywhere or does anything without this Battlemage, and together the two make a dangerous combination. Yet what is most dangerous about him is his mind...he's something of a madman. Not in the way we're all used to, well not exactly...his desires are unpredictable, but his power makes his subjects obey his strange whims without too many questions. When Zusaku decides to scheme, the only certainty is that others will suffer and die from his conspiracy."

"And now he's looking like he's trying to get into the Nether and move into your territory right around the same time. I see, very bothersome indeed," Miroku nodded, pensive.

"Well, has he had any success in his attempts to get past Gozu and Mezu?"

"Fortunately not," Sesshoumaru said, "but that was never my concern, more than the fact that he's trying to begin with. Gozu and Mezu, I think, cannot be harmed by any weapon or power of this realm, nor can any unattuned creature step through without turning to stone, which should keep that passage rather safe from him. But surely he knows there are other ways, like the Meidou."

"Does anybody know why he wants to go into the Nether? Has he alluded to anything at all?" Sango asked.

"Not that I'm aware of," Sesshoumaru shrugged, "and I'm not sure any of his people know either. As I said, he's got an addled mind."

"So how come we're all avoiding the topic of Kagura's true form every time it comes up?" Shippou finally spoke quietly, and a resounding long hush fell upon the room.

"It has upset her so, and none of us know how to address it, to be fair," Jaken said gently, the first to break the silence with an answer.

"What do you expect any of us to do about it, Shippou? It's not like we can force her true form to just appear," Inuyasha muttered.

"It must be very hard on her to be in the form of a human woman and not know what her true youkai form even is," Sango's face grew sad.

"Yes, indeed," Miroku murmured, "and to have no other youkai in the world to guide her in that...must be very lonely."

Sesshoumaru fell very quiet, and the silence that fell over them bespoke his own irrational shame. But nobody knew what to say about that either, at least not in that moment.

"Do any of ye want some tea?" Kaede offered after a moment, pulling the kettle away from the fire as she opened a jar of ground tea herbs.

"I'll have some, Lady Kaede," Miroku accepted gently.

"Yes, thank you," Sango agreed.

Inuyasha politely waved away a cup as it was proffered to him, as did Shippou, but Jaken happily accepted, and Sesshoumaru absently let the old woman put the cup in his hands as he sat there frowning to himself.

"If I may be so bold," Saya began meekly, having gone unnoticed for his silence until now, and Shippou raised an eyebrow and eased the sheath and sword off his back, setting them on the floor in front of him so that Saya could be seen as well as heard with his projected spirit.

"Go on," Miroku urged, and the ancient spirit continued.

"You have spoken before in my presence on this matter, Shippou," Saya said with a nod in his direction, "and I am given to understand that she was incarnated, as you say, at first as an amalgam of both souls and altered flesh. Now her body is crafted from the spells of Myobu out of sacred algae, her soul reborn through the Crystal which was the emphemera of Thanh Long's soul. Might it just be, that she is not able to transform into any other form, because she was not born as a natural creature? After all, by definition, she never had what one would call 'parents' to have inherited any true form by. Isn't it possible that her womanly form Is her true form?"

"Well...you have a point," Sango agreed uneasily, glancing at her husband.

"We were given to understand that the spell that was used called for the algae because it was crafted for her human form, and not the seaweed which would have indicated her true form," Miroku stated by way of explanation, "although this case is certainly unique enough for me to say that I can't know for certain that it's accurate. But the source is reliable, to be sure. Lord Sesshoumaru's Mother said as much."

"Hmm, well, I do trust her judgment in many matters of magic and lore," Saya nodded thoughtfully, then added, "it was just a thought."

"A sensible one," Inuyasha agreed very quietly, looking over at his very much bothered brother, "but to be honest, Saya, I don't buy it. I think she's got a true form besides her human form, we just haven't figured out how to unlock it yet."

Sou'unga then glowed softly, the orb swirling with the now-familiar blend of thick purple and green with flecks of magenta.

%-I also believe her true form is merely dormant. One day it will surface.%

Sesshoumaru had said nothing to any of this, and still absently held the full cup of hot tea in his hands, his frown unmoving from his face.

"If what you say proves to be true, there may yet be a way..." Saya began, then paused, "but perhaps it's not a good idea, after all. Oh, blast, this old mind of mine turns about things that make no sense. Pay no heed."

"What is it, Saya?" Shippou asked, sensing the ancient one's hesitation was more than just an old mind's dismissal of a stray thought.

"W-well, you see, I was merely thinking...you youkai often reveal your truest forms in times of most dire circumstance. If I'm to be at all perfectly honest, I must admit that I...I feel as if her true form Could be forced to reveal itself, but only if she were to experience an instance where she felt she faced death. And then I thought to myself, this is a silly idea, with far too much risk-"

"No, you're right," Sesshoumaru shocked them all, his frown slowly turning into a different expression, "Right about the way youkai tend to reveal themselves if they feel very threatened, but wrong about the risk. There are ways to create that feeling, without any real danger. I should think, Saya, that you learned that from travelling with Shippou these days."

And now he was smiling, and setting down the cup absently, still full of tea, he leaned in with an almost excited demeanor, and his voice and behavior drew the others to subconsciously follow his lead and lean in with him.

"Now listen," Sesshoumaru said, his voice low but almost bubbling, finally having hit upon a solution for his wife's agonizing predicament and now exuberant about forming this plan, "if all of us play along, and Shippou, if you handle the illusions well enough, and Kagura truly feels like her powers in her human form just aren't enough, she just may discover her true form. We'll all have to be careful how we proceed...if at any time it becomes obvious that we're putting on a show, it won't work of course."

"Count me in," Inuyasha grinned, happy to see his brother happy, "whatever you need, brother, just tell me how we're doing this."

"I think I can safely say that both of us will do what we can to help, although do please try to keep the damage minimal, don't drop anything on our heads," Miroku chuckled, and Sango concurred with a firm nod.

"If ye have any help to ask of but an old woman, I shall assist ye in any way I can," Kaede agreed.

"As always, m'Lord, I will stand by your orders to the ends of the Earth," Jaken affirmed.

"I'm definitely not about to pass up showing off my skills. And Ah-Un is sitting here nodding both heads with us. Game on," Shippou grinned.

"Oh, well, glad to have helped you all agree," Saya beamed a smile amicably.

"So what we have to do is..." Sesshoumaru began, and they all began to form their plan to, basically, scare the life out of her...

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Kagura sneezed once, then twice. Then a minute passed, and she sneezed twice again.

"Wow, Kagura, people must be talking about you," Rin giggled as she looked over. Kohaku had just returned minutes earlier and greeted her with a kiss before settling down next to her on the comfortable grass.

"Oh? Is that what it means to sneeze?" the woman blinked, "I realize that in having lived only the paltry combined couple of years I've been around, there are a lot of little things I don't really know. I thought it was from flower pollen most of the time."

"Well, it Is, Most of the time," Kohaku chuckled, "or when you get a cold, or inhale certain spices. But if you sneeze twice like that, or if your ears tingle or burn, it can mean someone is talking about you. Once is thinking about you or just like a passing mention, twice is that they're talking about you a lot or with love, and sometimes three times means someone hates you," he explained.

"How interesting. I never knew," Kagura hummed thoughtfully, then sneezed twice again.

"Someone's talking about you," Rin and Kohaku nodded in unison, then giggled at each other for having spoken at the same time.

"I wonder who it could be, and what they're saying," Kagura mused, gazing idly out over the field where Sango and Miroku's children played.

Watching the babes tumble about and chase butterflies and pick flowers, she ached to have a child of her own with her Lord Sesshoumaru. As the painful thought twinged at her soul, a sigh escaped her lips and her hand moved to touch her belly.

Rin and Kohaku exchanged a sad glance when she wasn't looking, but said nothing. They knew why she so often volunteered to watch Kohaku's nieces and nephews with them, but valiantly they tried not to comment on it in any untowards ways or over-emphasize it with questions.

"Hey, little one," she called, then standing to walk over, "yoo-hoo, tiny troublemaker. Yes, you. Don't pretend I didn't see that. You take it out of your mouth right now, you hear me? Yes. Spit it out. Spit! You're not supposed to chew on rocks. Just what do you think you are, some kind of rock-eating youkai?"

The child stuck out her tongue and made a face at Kagura. Kagura stuck out her tongue back and also made a face, and the child giggled. They made more faces at each other and then, laughing, the toddler ran to pick up another rock, playing the ever so infamous game of 'you just told me not to so therefore I shall pretend I will do it again to get your reaction because I am an adorable toddler and I get away with it' which she of course obliged for a little while, happy to experience this secondhand motherhood to ease her ache to have her own children.

"Lady Kagura is so sad, Kohaku," Rin sighed as she watched the woman from half the field away playing with the children. "I mean, she is very happy compared to before, but she is still very sad about things now."

"I know. We're all sensing that somehow she has to find her true form before she can have children, at least that's everyone's theory. But Rin, what if...what if she just can't-"

"Don't even say it, Kohaku!" Rin said firmly, and it was a shocking tone coming from her usually sweet demeanor, and he drew back and raised both eyebrows at her in mild shock and surprise.

"Never say it, I swear," he put both hands up as she emphasized her words with a firm glare.

"Good," she huffed, her face relaxing again into a half of a sigh, "oh, I really hope you're wrong about what you can't say though."

"Me too," he agreed very quietly, daring not to breathe above a whisper, lest he get too close to saying it out loud.

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After about three hours of discussion back and forth, and input from everyone, the group in Kaede's hut had formulated many elements of a plan and would await the next four days to set it in motion-what was key, they had decided, for believability, was that it should be on the upcoming night of the new moon so that Inuyasha was in his human form. This would make it much more credible when the false youkai Shippou created with his illusions would be able to best them; it would be difficult enough to convince her that any entity could beat any one of the three of them or their three swords at their full power, but when Inuyasha was human it could change things. This brought them to the further conclusion that of course, Inuyasha would also somehow have to play injured or hostage as well, and that the illusion would have to be able to affect physical space but still be impervious to it. Shippou assured them he could shift the density of the energy of the illusion in specific ways to cause such an effect.

Then there was what to do about the others. Miroku and Sango would let Kohaku in on the plan; but only at the last minute so he'd have no time to let it slip to her. Having been also a fellow captive of Naraku's ways, and both having experienced death, and with her love for Sesshoumaru and his time spent travelling with the taiyoukai even before Naraku had died, well they had developed a close bond even more so than many of the others. So they all knew that telling him was risking her finding out prematurely. The same risk of slip was true of Rin, but Inuyasha knew Kagome could keep this kind of secret safe, and in fact it would be absolutely necessary for her to know as well. She was certain to be able to play along with this, as long as she knew it wasn't a real threat to anyone.

Now usually, because he did actually care about his brother a lot these days, Usually Sesshoumaru would be there as was his habit; but this of course was going to make it hard to believe that anything could defeat both him and Shippou together even without Inuyasha's help, Saya pointed out. So Sesshoumaru would send Jaken away with Ah-Un to the next hill over the night before, and Jaken would return with an "urgent message" that Lord Sesshoumaru simply Must Attend, and this of course would leave Shippou, Kirara, and Kagura as the only youkai there to protect the place on the night of the new moon. And of course Usually, nothing ever did actually happen on the night of the new moon worth mentioning; for in truth by now most youkai had learned to leave this village alone. But this, they concluded, would make it even More Believable, because if any youkai were to desire to attack, they would do it when the least amount of other youkai were guarding the village.

As for the youkai beating Shippou, he would just have to make it look good, they decided, and fight the illusion himself in a way that made it appear that the youkai was somehow impervious to Sou'unga but vulnerable to the powers of a Wind Sorceress.

"Now what," Inuyasha frowned, "is immune to Death, but not Wind?"

%-Smoke,% Sou'unga replied instantly.

"Is there such a thing as a smoke youkai?" Miroku looked to Sango for the answer.

"Actually, yes," Sango said, "but in truth I don't know that I've ever seen one myself."

"But are they immune to death?" Jaken asked with a frown.

%-A youkai who controls smoke is not necessarily made of smoke. It would not be immune to death. A youkai made of smoke might be. I have never seen one of those in the Nether, so I can only assume that either there is no such thing or they are immune to Death.%

"So that's perfect. I'll create a false youkai that appears to be made entirely out of smoke with no solid form," Shippou agreed, "which is actually pretty easy. Of course Kirara and I won't be able to do much to it, Hiraikotsu won't cut it, you'll lament the lack of a Kazaana when you need it, and it will look like the perfect opportunity for Kagura to shine."

"But how will she feel like it's that Urgent, if it's just a cloud of smoke? Like how does a cloud of smoke threaten anyone?" Inuyasha asked, crossing his arms.

"Smoke youkai suffocate you," Sango informed him, "they pump your lungs full of thick smoke that you can't dislodge, and no matter how hard you cough, it settles deeper and denser into your lungs until you die. They are nasty things, I hear. Very few of them around but very bad to run across. They have to be dealt with very carefully."

"Well, how are you supposed to deal with a smoke youkai according to taijiya practices?" Jaken asked, intrigued.

"If the youkai is in a smoke form, you have to lure it into a container of some kind, usually a bottle. But smoke youkai are supposed to be killable after you get them to return to a solid form, so I'm guessing they're not really just smoke in their true form but rather a breed of oni that controls smoke. If Sou'unga has never seen a true form smoke youkai in the Nether, then that must mean they truly cannot actually die, or if they do then they go somewhere else anyways, and a Nether sword would probably have no effect on them," she replied.

"I'm not sure I know how to Act like I'm suffocating," Inuyasha admitted sheepishly.

"Oh, don't worry," Shippou cracked a grin, "you won't have to act."

"Oh gee great thanks," Inuyasha flattened his ears, perturbed, "you'll just suffocate me for real, right?"

"Right."

"Terrific. Sesshoumaru, you owe me for this."

"I owe everybody for this," Sesshoumaru agreed happily, and seeing that smile spread across his face was worth it to the hanyou already.

And Inuyasha smiled back, as did they all; a bit more discussion and refinement followed, but soon they sensed the others draw near, for it was The Parent's Turn, and Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku left, whilst Kagura, Rin, Kohaku, and shortly thereafter, Kagome and Kirara arrived, the cat having decided not to be a child plaything at the moment thank-you-very-much-goodbye.

Of course Sesshoumaru and Kagura greeted each other warmly and Rin and Kohaku smiled and sighed at them and Kagome just took off her sandals and stretched out, eager to have a few hours away from the daunting tasks of motherhood while Inuyasha guarded the babes she'd gotten to go down for a nap for a little while. Kirara snuggled up to Ah-Un about three inches away from Jaken, who put his small hand down to absently pet the small cat, who didn't mind at all and started to purr very softly as she dozed off into a comfortable nap. Kaede poured the hot water to steep a new pot of tea, knowing Kagome would want some, and sighed at the full cold cup on the floor where Sesshoumaru had sat. She really had to learn to stop handing tea to people who didn't want it, she thought to herself.

"I learned something new today, because you must have been talking about me," Kagura giggled after she had kissed Sesshoumaru, "I sneezed twice, and twice again, every time it was two sneezes. Kohaku and Rin tell me that means people were talking about me."

"But of course I was talking about you. I'm supposed to want to gossip about my Husband with all my friends, aren't I? Isn't that what a Wife is supposed to do?"

"I swear you will come home one day wearing a dress," she giggled at him, and hearing that, Kagome let out a snort of a giggle too.

"I can see it now. He'd be such a pretty princess," Kagome chuckled, and Kaede let out a harumph of amusement too.

"From what his Mother says about his younger days-"

"You mean Lady Mud Nose?" Kagome snorted again, her hand near her mouth in a sort of cheeky gesture of poorly not suppressing her giggle.

"-well apparently, he used to-ooowwwhhoowwww!"

"How did ye find a rock in my house to throw at him?"

"I carry one in my sleeve just in case," Sesshoumaru smirked.

"So you used to wear dresses?" Kagome deduced, and Sesshoumaru sighed.

"I hate all of you. I just want you to know that."

"Noted," Kagome smiled cheerfully, sipping her fresh hot tea, "Love you too, Big Brother."

"Did you really though?" Kagura asked him, eager to know.

"I was very young. Mother did most of the raising of me in my youth, and of course, like any child who doesn't have much of anyone else to look up to, I wanted to copy her. It's not like you think. I grew out of it," he sighed, "but of course Mother can't stop carrying on about those days when I was an embarrassing little kid."

"But of course she can't help it. She's your Mother," Kagura said softly, and her tone was very quiet, and Sesshoumaru relented.

"No, of course she can't. I know that."

"I should ask Moumou," Kagome continued her playful casual antagonizing, and Sesshoumaru let out an aggravated sigh at her.

"I hate you. I really, really do hate you, miko. Do you even know the depths of my hate for you right now?"

"I love you too, Big Brother," she repeated with more giggles, and he sighed even more.

Jaken sat up woozily, rubbing the bump on his head, thinking to himself that he really should have known better.

Ah and Un chuffed and laid both heads down for a nap with Kirara, intending to snooze for as long as it seemed appropriate.

Shippou, deep in thought, pretended to be studying Sou'unga but in fact was rolling around the thoughts in his mind about the upcoming farce of a battle they were going to stage to try and coax Kagura's true form out of hiding. He was making contingency plans for his tertiary plans after he made his primary and secondary plans, spinning all his tricks round and round in his head...

"Say, Shippou," Kagome noticed him after a moment, "how's everything going with your Youjuijitsu Exams?"

Recalling his promotion and the conditions thereof, Shippou immediately lit up and shifted his grip, letting Sou'unga rest easily in his lap as he began to address that excitedly.

"Oh, you won't believe what happened, I wound up with a special guest!" he chuckled darkly, and Kagome tilted her head, something she'd begun to do a lot more ever since being with Inuyasha so long.

Sesshoumaru sighed even more, but at first it didn't click with the others.

"A special guest? And who was that?" Kagome asked, and Shippou's grin grew wider.

"Why, none other than Lord Sesshoumaru himself," Shippou chortled, then pulled out his final ranking slip, "and now I'm at Fifth Rank."

"Oh?" Kagome raised both eyes with a look of mischief as she turned to look at Sesshoumaru, "well well, Big Brother-"

"I hate you."

"All the way to Fifth!" Kagome giggled, and Sesshoumaru shut his eyes as he exaggerated the next sigh, his typical response to her.

"You see, I foiled his one surefire way to find me by working together with the other kitsunes to make sure they got points at the same time I got points. At first he was tracking where I ran off to by watching the instructor's papers fall down to me. But I got around that, and I got a lot of points for doing so. My Hidden Cloud, however," Shippou grinned, "is Just About Perfect in it's own right."

"Was it fun?" Kagome looked up at Sesshoumaru, and a small flash of a light in his eyes contradicted his words as he spoke them.

"Fun? No, just annoying."

"You thought it was fun," she giggled, calling him out on it.

"I Hate You."

"I love you too Big Brother."

"Don't talk to me like you know me."

"You're such a good boy!"

"Don't treat me like a dog."

"You Are a dog though."

"That doesn't mean you can treat me like one."

"Then should I treat you like a cat?"

"I'd rather be treated like a dog."

"So do you want a treat?"

"I hate you."

Kagura chuckled at Sesshoumaru and Kagome bantering like that, enjoying her sister-in-law's light humor. It did ease the tension, Kagome was always pretty good at that. She was understanding beyond her at first seemingly dense exterior. In truth she came off as overly silly and a whole lot of unrealistically optimistic; however once one got to know her, the real depth of emotional maturity was discovered in her manner.

"So, congratulations on your promotion, Shippou," Kagome winked at the kitsune as she looked back over at him, "I'm sure it was well-earned."

Shippou giggled at her, knowing that she'd be asking for the perfect view from Moumou the next time Toutousai was around, which was precisely why she wasn't bothering to ask for the details now.

Sesshoumaru let out the longest, most aggravated, most exaggerated sigh of the day, and hung his head, and then looked at Kagura, his eyes full of light-hearted mischief he couldn't hide as he playfully whined to her.

"Kagura, she's being Mean to me."

"And what would you like me to do about it?" she asked coyly, smiling.

"Is not a Husband supposed to defend the honor of their fragile Wife?" Sesshoumaru lamented, and Kaede snorted as the rest of them giggled.

"Ah, I suppose it is my sworn duty," Kagura chuckled, then glanced at Kagome with a facetious scowl, "you, woman! Quit picking on my Wife!"

"But he's so easy to pick on," Kagome protested.

"Indeed, but he does carry on so after you tease him. Becomes rather inconsolable sometimes in fact."

"Well have you tried petting him?"

"Petting him?"

"He Is a dog after all."

"Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. I shall have to see if it works."

"If you get just the right spot, you can make their leg go crazy."

"Whaaat?!"

"I hate you," Sesshoumaru interjected, crossing his arms with a huff, and the whole room burst into a fit of giggles.
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Hehhehheh...review if you want to. :)