Searching for Shelter

Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. They belong to their respective owners. I make no profit from my writing.


A/N: Another wonderful amount of response. Keep those reviews coming, they make me happy! I wish the muse holding the main pairing for this story would just show up already. It would make me feel more at ease, but meh, maybe they have something great in mind. X-D
Well, here’s another chapter. Enjoy!


Searching for Shelter
Chapter 5: Shelter from Despair

Hiei was speechless, though he did his best to hide his surprise and unease. He had heard enough from Kagome to figure out that it was indeed her who had saved him, however unintentionally. But Midoriko’s words bore into his very soul.

~If you had not dropped it, this demon here would have been purified. You and I both know that you would not have allowed that to happen. Your spirit would not have allowed him to die.~

Who was this girl? Why would she care, and how was it she was a miko and could even think of him in a kind light? These questions and more sent his head spinning, and he stepped back with a growl, earning everyone’s attention. Kurama looked to his friend with curious eyes, though he noted that Hiei’s gaze was focused on the girl.

She was confusing to him, and he was a creature that hated confusion. He hated feeling like he wasn’t in control, and unintentionally, when he involved himself in this situation, he lost control somehow. He couldn’t have so easily saved himself from that holy blast of energy; however, she went out of her way to do so. Why? What was her ulterior motive? He loathed to admit to himself that he owed her now, but he would be damned if he didn’t try and repay this debt as soon as possible. What would her demands be? What would she want in return for saving his life?

His inner beast would not allow this debt to go unpaid. He thought perhaps he could just kill her and be rid of her; however, his pride would not be satisfied with that. Again, he owed her, for doing something he could not really remember being done for him before: she saved his life. A miko no less!

He took another step back, before disappearing in a flash of black, without a word to anyone there, leaving confusion in his wake. “What the hell was that all about?” Botan asked, frowning in the direction Hiei fled.

“I’m not sure Botan, but it might have been a little to do with what Midoriko said.” Koenma replied, before looking to Kagome. “Forget him right now; we have more pressing issues to deal with, first of all being to purify this taint from your body.”

Kagome nodded, though she looked out of the doorway towards where Hiei left. She didn’t even get his name, and it bothered her that he left because of her, however her thoughts didn’t revolve around him long, as she saw even more bloodshed and death everywhere around her. Silent tears fell from her eyes as she stood, horrified at the destruction she had wrought upon Reikai castle.

Kurama easily felt her distress, and moved to stand behind her, before saying softly, “It wasn’t your fault. The jewel did this, not you.”

“But…it was my fault…I died. I was the one not strong enough to beat Naraku, I was the one who let my heart get in the way of my good sense, and I was the one who didn’t make a wish on the jewel. All of this is my fault….all my fault…” she whispered back brokenly. It was her who took the blame for everything that had happened. She would never shift the blame to others, especially the others in the past. The jewel was her responsibility, not theirs. It was her fault she died. Her choice to sacrifice herself for Inuyasha was one of many choices she had made that had only made things worse. She would not regret saving him though. She regretted a lot of things, but saving him would not be one of them.

Shuichi wasn’t sure how to respond. She obviously had a large heart that refused to make anyone else suffer, even if they were at fault. But who could make her feel as worthless as to think she wasn’t strong? “If you were not strong, you wouldn’t have made it this far, Kagome. Do not think less of yourself.” Who was Naraku? He wanted to know her story, but now was not the time. She needed understanding and comfort right now, and he would be damned if he didn’t try to give that to her.

Koenma’s voice broke through their thoughts, as he spoke to Botan. “Get the rest of the team here. We’re going to need all the help we can get until this situation gets settled.” She nodded mutely, before contacting both Kuwabara and Yusuke. This was going to be a long day.

~*~

The day went on slowly as they recruited help to clean the East Wing and help remove the bodies and body parts that littered the floor because of the backlash of power Midoriko had released. Kagome had hidden in the room where her body was being kept as they worked, knowing she would just get in the way, and feeling afraid to go out and watch as they cleaned up the mess she had unintentionally created.

However, one person would not leave her be, or rather, two. Yusuke and Hiei. The little fire apparition had returned, still confused as all hell as to her intentions toward him, and Yusuke, well, he just wanted to see who was at fault for him having clean up duty in Reikai castle.

Upon seeing her body however, the young toushin paused. She had been through the purifying ritual, but that still did not mean that the taint was gone. That would not happen until her spirit was returned to her body, and until that time, her existence was very fragile indeed.

Kagome’s body remained semi-stable; however, the ragged breaths that signaled life in her body were disturbing to him. The dark, morbid looking disease at her side didn’t help matters either. He could feel her sitting there, and he could also feel her unease. ‘Good.’ He thought. ‘At least she isn’t taking this for granted.’

Again, he had to wonder what had happened in the first place. He had come into the Reikai and couldn’t believe all the damage and death he had seen. It was as if an atomic bomb had gone on in the castle, sparing none in its wake, however, he was surprised to see Hiei there, and the narrow slits that were his eyes were directed in the direction of the girl. ‘What did she do to piss him off?’ he wondered.

Sitting down quietly by her bedside, he cautiously reached out a hand to take hers, noting how soft and warm her hand was, even if it was a bit pale. Kagome watched carefully as he touched her body, before relaxing. She was glad that he wasn’t hurt being near her. She didn’t want anyone else hurt because of her or the jewel, but it seemed that fate had other plans. She still couldn’t believe all the death the jewel had wrought upon the Reikai, though, she couldn’t stay surprised long. The jewel contained four souls, one of which was a powerful priestess. Shaking the thoughts away, she looked over to Hiei and winced. If looks could kill, her immortal soul would have been up in flames by now.

She looked back to Yusuke who was still taking her form in. He didn’t know how this girl had gotten into such a mess, but he had to admit that she did it well. He was the one in the team known for bringing trouble in waves, but this girl certainly had him trumped for the moment. How was it she could kill all those demons while she was asleep? He was curious to know the story, but at the moment Koenma was so busy with everything else that he wouldn’t be talking with him anytime soon. That left the hybrid, if he were willing to talk, and Yusuke doubted that.

“So what’s your story? What are you doing up here?” he spoke up, looking to Hiei. He didn’t expect a response, and was rewarded correctly with a “Hn. That’s none of your business detective.”

“We could still use your help out here, Urameshi!” Kazuma’s voice broke through the silence, earning a retort of, “Hold your horses, I’ll be right there!” Putting the girl’s hand down, he moved from her bedside to go back out on clean-up duty.

“Don’t you think you’d be better spending your time cleaning and not hovering over her like that? It’s not like she’s going to wake up anytime soon.” Yusuke smirked, trying to goad the hiyoukai into some kind of conversation. A deep growl was his answer as he laughed, heading out of the room, leaving Kagome and Hiei alone again.

She shifted nervously as she looked to the hiyoukai, who gave her the same look he had been giving her the past two hours: one of irritation, confusion, and anger. “Quit that. It’s not like I wanted this to happen!” she finally outburst, knowing he could hear her.

She wasn’t sure how he could, but she knew that he could hear her and talk to her, like before. Unfortunately, from what she had seen, he was a very anti-social creature, even with his friends. That left her basically talking to herself, and that was a very lonely prospect. As if she didn’t have enough to grieve over, she was alone here, waiting for god knows what to happen to her body.

“Hn.” He replied wordlessly again, a light growl in his voice. Her outburst irritated him for more than one reason. She had not initiated all of this, but she was at the center of it all; her and that blasted jewel. He knew that small trinket was trouble, which was why he never took the time to seek it out. He found enough trouble on his own without intentionally looking for it.

She seemed lonely, and that loneliness tugged at him in a way he did not like, not one little bit. He had learned to deal with his loneliness by focusing on goals: finding his hiroseki stone, finding his sister, breaking into the Reikai, stealing the artifacts of darkness, becoming more powerful; all of these goals were to focus his attention away from the tug of loneliness. Never having anyone offer him comfort of the physical nature, he never had longing to have it, until he came of age and began having heat cycles. Even then, he did not seek comfort, but release. He never took the time or the initiative to find comfort in the arms of a demoness, and certainly never in the arms of a human. It was him against the world: there was no where for him to fit in, so he carved himself a place all his own. And he was going to keep it that way if it killed him. He needed no one, though his youkai protested his mental thoughts. It wanted what all demons and humans alike sought after in their lifetimes: companionship and compassion. The demon himself may have not wanted anyone in his life, but his youkai certainly did. However, it still had not reacted towards any creature, youkai or human. But it was curious, curious about the small woman who had wrought such destruction without even batting an eyelash.

Before Hiei had had a chance to realize it, the wards on his arms were slowly burning away, allowing his dragon that he kept under such lock and key to drift lazily away from his body. Growling angrily, he moved to pull the creature back mentally, his anger spiking. He had tamed the creature as best he could, but even it had a mind of its own, and right now it wanted to inspect the miko that lay immobilized on her hospital bed.

Kagome watched warily as Hiei’s scowl deepened, but she was shocked beyond belief when a smoky looking shape started to rise from his arm, forming into a distinctly dragon shape. What the hell was that thing and what was it doing coming out of the apparitions arm like that? She instantly moved in front of her body as if she could do anything about it, but it stopped right in front of her, as she shouted at Hiei, “What the hell is that?! What’s going on?!”

Hiei growled, his own irritation and worry evident. Though he would like nothing better than his dragon to dispose of the girl right now, he knew that if he did, he would be set up for life imprisonment in the Reikai, or worse, execution. He didn’t feel like dying just yet, and especially over some girl that really hadn’t done any transgressions against him. Oh, no mistake, he hated her existence, but he did not wish to deal with the Reikai brat and all the complications that would arise should she be killed and leave the Shikon without a protector.

“It seems he likes you for some reason.” He finally spoke, giving Kagome the first listen of his voice. It was deep, and rich, though it seemed unused, as if he really didn’t talk too much. Turning her attention back to the dragon, she asked, “So does that mean it’s not going to hurt me?”

He just looked at her with a scowl. “How should I know?! It’s not like I can hear what it’s thinking.” He was highly pissed, and each moment that passed that the dragon was away from him was making him worry further. He didn’t like not being in control, and ever since that girl came into his life, he hadn’t been in control of a lot of things.

Kagome gulped as she looked into the dragon’s eyes. It had the most beautiful sparkling eyes, though they held a dark tint that told Kagome should she fuck with it, it would incinerate her body without a second bit of hesitation. Her body shaking lightly, she kept eye contact with the strange creature, before saying in the calmest voice she could muster, “H-hi…”

The dragon’s eyes sparkled more, as if amused by her timidness, making her stop and huff. It was like she was facing down Sesshoumaru all over again. “You find something funny?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

It blinked at her before giving her what she considered it’s version of a laugh, irritating her further, though she took care not to show it. He was still the one with a true form, unlike her, and unlike him, she needed her body to come back to life. Hiei watched the exchange with confused eyes as the dragon exhibited something akin to a personality. He often wondered what the dragon was like before he tried to tame it, and it seemed that the creature was playful, but he also knew that the dragon was dangerous, and had the power to do things that made even Enma shake in his shoes.

Kagome sighed lightly, trying to relax. It seemed that it didn’t want to hurt her, and was indeed curious about her. She looked back into its eyes and as she actually to a few moments to look at it, she saw a hint of sadness in its eyes. It seemed like a very expressive creature, unlike its owner.

Taking a breath to gather her courage, she slowly lifted her hand to touch the top of the dragon’s smoky head, and surprising to her, it dipped its head and let her, shifting under her ethereal hand as she petted him. “You’re just a sweet little thing, aren’t you…” she spoke quietly, her features gentling as she stepped closer to him and continued to softly pat his head.

Hiei was in shock. Who knew that the dragon had a softer side to him? And what made this girl so special that he’d allow her to touch him willingly? He had long since stopped trying to reel the dragon back in and instead had opted to watch the exchange. As long as he didn’t do any damage, then no harm no foul.

The dragon growled softly its contentment, and Kagome smiled softly as he did so. She looked over and saw Hiei with his face the perfect mock of a fish. Giggling softly she refrained from laughing out loud, only letting herself smirk at him. This was the first time in awhile that she felt like laughing, especially after today.

The thoughts of earlier made her sigh and frown lightly, and as if sensing her unease, the dragon shifted closer to look into her eyes, its eyes boring into her own as it saw all the emotions flittering across her sapphire eyes. A soft soothing growl filled the air around her and she moved her hand to rub its cheek gently before saying, “I did a bad thing today. You don’t want to stay around me. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

It growled even more in protest to her words, before shifting to wrap around her suddenly, as if protecting her from her inner demons. Hiei quickly moved forward from the wall he was leaning against saying, “That’s enough foolishness.”

Kagome looked at him wondering if he were talking to the dragon or to her, but he made himself clear in his next movement as he let loose the Jagan, quickly penetrating into the misted dragon’s mind, taking control over it. Without much effort the dragon was dragged back into Hiei’s arms and the sutras and wards that were in place stilled as they shifted back into place.

Kagome looked to Hiei before looking back down to the ground. He surely condemned her for the damage wrought upon the Reikai, and he wanted nothing to do with her. It didn’t matter that her spirit energy had saved him, all that mattered was that she was weak and unable to control her power; even though the Shikon was not technically hers, she was protecting it; therefore its power fell to her. Even if it were Midoriko that had forced her hand, it was Kagome that had it in her possession and in her control even before she had ended up in these dire straights.

Hiei watched as the different emotions flew across the miko’s eyes. The most prominent were sadness, and dejection. He wasn’t sure what the girl had gone through in her past, but he had to bet that this was not the first time that she had killed. Though it seemed as if she were still so innocent; from her innocent look, to her gentle smile even when dealing with such a dangerous creature as the dragon that resided on his arm, he could see that she had a pure heart. What confused him more than anything was what Midoriko had said. Apparently, she had cared for other demons, if he were interpreting the ancient miko’s words correctly.

What secrets did the miko hold? At that thought, he stepped back from her. He didn’t want to know. He didn’t need to get himself involved in her life. She may have saved him, but that was as far as their contact would come. He didn’t need some emotional human woman leaning on him for support. He was a creature that wouldn’t offer it, except to one demon, and that was his own sister. He didn’t need, or want, to have this girl in his life. His youkai protested even as the hiyoukai stepped back, growling in anguish. She was the only human or demon alike that had not feared him upon first meeting, and that alone spoke wonders for her character.

If only Hiei had known what he was stepping away from, he might have not been so inclined to leave her alone.

Watching the demon move away from her, Kagome turned around, foregoing the tears that wanted to fall. She had to deal with this herself. She wasn’t a desirable creature, and she knew this. Hell, how many times had Inuyasha told her she was ugly, weak, and pathetic? Too many to count, in her opinion. Why did she expect that this demon would be any different? Not that she really expected him to stay; she just didn’t expect him to be so obvious that she wasn’t wanted.

Then again, she had just killed a great number of Reikai officials. Of course he wouldn’t want to be around her. He was probably one of those demons that thought himself above killing, and she had just proved herself to be merciless as she slaughtered hundreds. Perhaps he was like Sesshoumaru, and killed when he had to, and nothing more. The prince of the western lands certainly enjoyed the kill, but he did not go out and ruthlessly kill just on a whim, as she had just done.

Pushing down the urge to sob, Kagome moved back around the other side of her body, sitting down and facing away from Hiei. She knew so little about him, and him not speaking just lead her to speculation. If she had known just how Hiei had to live his life, she would not be assuming anything of the sort about the reserved demon.

The hiyoukai watched her movements closely, and could feel her rapidly changing emotions as she sunk into a depression. He also heard her thoughts, and his eyes widened at her speculations. He almost had to laugh at the thought that he was anything like she was picturing, though she got some things right about him. He did thrill in the kill, but unless he was provoked, lately he had tried to reduce his urge to kill. He had found his family, and he didn’t want to piss off the wrong demon. While he could easily defeat any demon that dared to rear its ugly head, Yukina was no where near as strong, and should he not be around, she could be in danger. In a word, he was trying to make fewer enemies to ensure her safety. It helped that he was part of a team of very strong demons and humans that would protect her with their lives.

He tried to ignore the pitch of his youkai at her sadness. The dragon had already proved its attraction to the miko, though he knew not why. Was there something it knew that he did not? He forced down that thought. Of course that wouldn’t be the case! He knew all he needed to know about the situation, and that was that she was a miko –human- female, and that automatically made her off limits.

‘Off limits to what?’ he heard himself questioning mentally. Frowning he shook his head. He didn’t need this, not now. Things were going okay in his life, and he didn’t need to add complications that came with this human girl. Let the others take care of her. He wanted nothing to do with her.

Turning, he walked away from her, ignoring the scent of tears and sounds of soft sobs coming from the girl. He didn’t look back, and though his youkai scratched and clawed within him without mercy, he didn’t turn around and go back.

Too bad the fates didn’t think at all the way he was.

~*~

Cleanup of Reikai castle took over three weeks, and each day, Kagome fell further and further into despair. She wanted nothing more than to get revived, find the deepest and darkest hole, and hide in it for the rest of her days.

Kurama came and visited her daily, talking of nothing in particular, but his voice was soothing none-the-less, and he wasn’t alone in his daily visits. Kazuma came as well, telling her more about himself as days turned into nights and he left to go back to the Ningenkai.

She let herself out at night, allowing herself to walk around the castle as she tried to deal with the emotions that plagued her daily. It never should have happened. All those souls that were lost because of her and the Shikon weighed heavily on her mind as she was left to her own thoughts. Eventually, they turned full circle to the past, and she often found herself thinking about her friends.

One of these nights, she found herself standing at a set of large double doors, and against her better judgment, she went through them, finding herself in a place similar to what she had seen from the air: the Makai. She wondered if anyone would stop her if she just left to wander, however, she didn’t feel like getting lost. If she didn’t stick around, her body would just continue to decay with the demon taint and then she’d never be able to come back to life.

What surprised her was that the Makai also had features of the Ningenkai, such as forests and mountains. Pushing back the urge to explore, she turned around and went back inside the castle, but not before her scent was picked up by a kitsune kit and his adoptive father.

“So she returns.” The older said to the younger.

“But why was she in that form?” the younger asked.

“I’m not sure, but I believe the final battle had something to do with it. Perhaps we can lend our assistance, kit.” The older said, before glancing to the kit he had been raising for the past five-hundred years.

“I’ve missed her. I wonder if she’s changed.” He spoke again, before a smile lit up his face. He had missed his mother, and couldn’t wait to see her again. He had been waiting as patiently as he could for the past five-hundred years to see her again, even after that baka hanyou had told him to give it up, that he would never see her again. Personally, he just thought the hanyou was upset that he had been the one she had died over, but he could only speculate.

As it was, the hanyou had been waiting too, and again, the kit could only speculate, but he thought it was because he still loved the miko that had given him her heart unconditionally. The kit hoped that she would not go back to the way things were. She had hurt far too many times because the hanyou had degraded her or tossed her over to be with the un-dead woman he used to love.

Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, he smiled to his adoptive father. She had made a good choice in entrusting him to the taiyoukai’s care. He never treated him badly and even went out of his way to make sure that he learned all he needed to learn, hiring different fox-demons to help teach him all he needed to know about his different abilities and powers that he obtained as he grew older.

Yes, the taiyoukai made an excellent father and teacher. The prince’s own adopted daughter had long since passed on in death, but she had been a terrific sibling to the kit all his life. Sesshoumaru would never admit it, but Kagome had given him a large blessing in disguise when she had entrusted Shippou to his care. When Rin passed on, he had grieved terribly for her loss, but with the kit there, he had someone to share the grief with, and also had someone there to stay by his side through the years, as the world began to change. Though Shippou was his adopted child, it was reassuring to have another creature near him that would not pass in death, and understood the ways of demons and even humans alike; being that Shippou had been around plenty of them.

Sesshoumaru often wondered if the miko girl did not have a sixth sense about these things. She seemed to have a knack for soothing the most savage of souls through the simplest of means. With his own half-brother, it was his fiery temper and reserved nature because of his upbringing, which she consoled by just being there for him, and being a true friend and companion. She never betrayed him, even though he had many times over betrayed her. She always returned to his side, no matter what he had done to her. He knew that many would have not. Shaking the thoughts away, he looked back to Reikai castle. A visit to Prince Koenma was in order, it seemed.

~*~

Kagome found herself back in the room where her body was being held, but she wasn’t alone. Yusuke was standing near her body and he seemed lost in thought, but once she entered the room, his attention went on her before he smiled lightly, gesturing for her to come on into the room.

Yusuke had found himself at the Reikai castle, though he wasn’t sure why he was there. He hadn’t been called by Koenma or Botan, but he felt the need to check up on the strange girl that he’d seen after Reikai castle basically got turned upside down.

She wasn’t sure why he was there, but she certainly wasn’t going to knock the company. She had been increasingly feeling the need to be near others, but it was hard to do that considering everyone else was busier than ever because of her mistake, and those who weren’t busy were afraid to come near her.

“Hi…what brings you here?” she asked, knowing that since he had died once before, he could hear her clearly.

“Nothing much, just thought I’d come and check up on you. How are you doing?” he asked, taking a seat as he watched her sit down too.

“I’m alright, though I would feel better if I were in my body and not hovering around like this. It gets kind of unnerving, you know?” she replied, sighing lightly.

“I know exactly what you mean. I hated the whole floating-in-the-air thing that I had to do until I was revived. Though it was hard to get used to gravity again.” He smirked, looking to her as he reached out and held her hand gently. If Keiko had seen him do this, he knew she would have kicked the ever-loving shit out of him, but right now, he didn’t care.

Kagome looked over to him as he touched her hand and blushed lightly as she felt it on her own astral person. How that was possible, she didn’t know, but right now, she didn’t mind. His touch was comforting, even if he didn’t know it.

She looked down to the ground before saying in a soft voice, “I’m sorry for before.”

He looked at her confused before saying, “Sorry for what again?”

“For the clean up you had to do…it was my fault…I just wanted to apologize.” She said, her voice even softer. She was glad that he had come to see her again. She hadn’t had a chance to apologize for what had happened and what he had had to do.

He looked to her incredulously before shaking his head. “From what I heard, it wasn’t your fault. Sure, you ended up dying in the past, but this wasn’t your fault. It was either that other miko fight off the darkness in the jewel, or the jewel become corrupted. Don’t worry about it. Though there were a lot of ogres that died, they are all able to come back as reincarnations. Koenma has some wicked awesome power like that.” He smirked, giving the toddler some credit, though he would never tell him to his face.

She looked up quickly to the toushin’s face before looking back down to her body, a couple of tears trailing down her face. She still felt it was her fault, but he had reassured her more than anyone else that it would all be okay.

Yusuke looked from her to her body, and saw the tears trail from her closed eyes. It seemed that her spirit and her body were linked somehow in a different way than his own body and he were. “Hey…don’t cry…it’s alright now.” He said, squeezing her hand a little more to try and reassure her. He wasn’t sure where his sensitive side was coming from, but he was sure that she needed it. Somehow he could feel that she hadn’t had many comforting things said to her since she began this ordeal, or even before hand if he were reading her reactions right.

That only made her cry harder, as she struggled to hold herself back from him. She would have liked nothing more than to have him hug her and tell her things would be okay, but that was impossible seeing as how she was only a spirit.

Sympathetic eyes looked to the spirit girl across from him before he took his hand and wiped away the tears that were falling down the cheeks of her body. “Don’t sweat the small stuff. I promise, it’ll be okay.” He said again, before touching his hand to her forehead, gently rubbing it.

Kagome nodded, before saying softly in a voice cracked with tears, “Thank you…for coming to visit me.”

He just gave her a smirk before nodding. “No problem. Besides, who wouldn’t want to come and visit a hottie like you?” he tried to joke, to get her to smile. Ever since the girl stepped into the room, he could feel her depression lingering like the scent of lightening before a rainstorm.

She blinked before giggling. That sounded like something Miroku would say. Just as long as the toushin didn’t try to grope her, she’d be fine. He smiled at her giggle, before nodding. That’s what he wanted. He didn’t want to see her depressed. From what he had heard, she had done everything in her power to bring back the shards of the Shikon she had broken in an attempt to save a child that was captured by a bird youkai. She had even given her life to save a youkai, well, half-youkai, that she cared about. He wasn’t sure how much she had cared for the hanyou, but it had to be quite a bit in order for her to die for him.

He even heard her exploits of taking a youkai child under her wing to raise as her own. The girl’s character was astounding, being what she was. She should have killed all demons without a second of hesitation, but she did not. He wasn’t sure if it were just because she grew up in a different time and age, or if she really just did not discern between good and evil until she got to know a person or demon, but it was refreshing to him. Even Keiko had problems with the demons that came around them often, him included, and she was supposed to love him as he was. Then again, the fact that he was a demon only appeared later in his life, but still, lately she had had a hard time accepting him for who he was. All things aside, the relationship was strained, though he didn’t want to examine it too closely, at least, not at this point in time.

“Thank you…I’m glad you came to visit.” Kagome said, getting Yusuke’s attention away from his straying thoughts.

“I am too, and don’t worry about it. I know how lonely it can get with only Botan to talk to.” He said, remembering the trials he had to go through to get his life back.

Kagome looked up to him before smiling softly and nodding. He understood the loneliness she faced right now. “Hey…if it wouldn’t be too much trouble…could you come visit me again?” she asked, keeping her head down in case he rejected the idea.

He looked to her, wondering why she would be afraid to look at him as she asked her question. Shaking the thought away he smiled and nodded. “Sure, it would be my pleasure. Just keep your purifying energies to yourself, and we’ll get along great.” He smirked, teasing her again.

She looked up and saw his smirk before laughing softly. “Deal.”

~*~



/Chapter
A/N: Sorry for the long delay, but this one was hard to get through. Expect an update on my other stories as soon as I can break through my writer’s block. XP This one should get updated regularly now, unless the muses be mean to me and not give me any more ideas. For now, well, we’ll just see. :-J

Expect Kagome to be refamiliarized with her body in the next chapter, as well as some interesting appearances.

Read and Review, onegai!
Kudos, Loves!
Sayuri-chan--