Disclaimers: Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho belong respectively to Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi.

A/N:  -blinks and rubs head- Well now... I have to say that I'm a bit floored by a few correspondences that I've had from my reviewers.  I can't believe that Sylvannstar is asking if I mind her recommending me.  –laughs and shrugs- Seriously, all this praise is going to go to my head, you guys, and it's just for a little gift fic!  LOL!  I had no idea there'd be people who thought so highly of it, but if you really want to tell other people about it, go right ahead.  –looks mildly embarrassed-  I still am having a bit of trouble with all the attention, but hey, if you like it, who am I to say anything?  But I'm impossibly flattered, and the reviews are beyond lovely.  Hopefully you enjoy the way the story pans out as much as the beginning. –blows kisses and waves-  You guys are fantastic, and I'd name you all, but I have a feeling you'd rather see the story than an author rambling.  ^__^

~*~*~*~

By Any Other Name

~Wink and a Smile ~

            "Persistent bastard."

            Kagome shook herself out of her mild stupor when she heard that growled mutter, twisting around and swearing under her breath in mostly self-directed irritation as she tried to see just who had hold of her.  Or rather, what had hold of her, she corrected when the all-too familiar tingle started in her stomach, Just my luck... it happens there, it happens here.  You'd think I'd stopped being such an open target after a goddamn decade.

            "That's my little brother, you pervert!  What do you expect when you come running out in the middle of the day and grab me like that?" she demanded, swatting her fist lightly on his back.  "Are you trying to get yourself killed or are you just that stupid?"

            "Oi, reserve judgment until after you know the whole story, hn?" he actually sounded offended by the accusation.  "It's not like I wanted to get your attention like this, I really didn't!  I just didn't have a whole lot of choices open, and it was the best I could come up with in a pinch!"

            "Then how about putting me down before you give my brother more nightmares than he already has," Kagome flexed her fingers, splaying them open and pressing them against his back as she let her palms heat in restrained warning.  "Do it or I'll bust your ass into the next dimension so fast, your skates won't have time to melt, little youkai."

            "It's not your brother we're running from, Nee-san, it's the redhead," he patted her in a soothing manner, squirming a little at the feel of that magic tugging at his illusion and naturally unraveling it.  Somehow he still kept up his speed, taking them along smaller streets to less crowded sections of the city.  "If it was just Souta, I would have stopped already, but it's not, is it?  And that guy's a kitsune... you'd have to be an idiot not to feel that; you know what you promised about starting any relationships with demons."

            It... can't be, Kagome had gone still, pulling her hands away from his back as the offensive magic died down under a spark of hesitant excitement.  If she was right...  "Who are you?" she was already putting her hands on him again, fingertips pressing firmly against his shoulder blades as the searching energy washed through him.

            "Takashima," he nearly stumbled from the abrupt, and considerably more forceful sensation, catching his balance and hopping a high curb as he admitted he really should have expected to get this end of her magic.  "The most prominent investigator working under Takeharuka and all his enterprises-"

            "I'm too tired to put up with posturing," Kagome cut him off, frowning when her vision swam for a moment under the youki echoing back to her.

            "That's no fun, you used to think it was adorable," he sighed with mock regret, attempting to conceal his concern at the way he could feel her holding back, saving depleted energy stores and only letting out enough to feel what she wanted inside him.  You should know better than to over do it to such an extent, Kagome.  He's going to kick both our asses when we get home.

            The youki snapped across her palms, rushing back into her so suddenly that she nearly knocked herself right off his shoulder.  Her fingers twisted into his shirt again while his arm tightened to keep her still when she choked out in disbelief, "Shippou-chan?!"

            He didn't even try to stop the grin that nearly split his face when he heard her voice kick up in a hopeful, almost pleading note at the end, craning his neck to flash unchanged blue eyes up at her, "In the flesh!  Or... you get the idea.  Modern day... tails... bad combination, you know?  Have to tone it down a bit for the sake of public."

            "I should rip out your tail!" Kagome hissed at him furiously, but she could feel her heart start to race, the pressure in her soul making her light-headed and nearly too much to bear.  She wanted to hug him, laugh, cry, hit him over the head, demand answers... too much, too soon.  It was all jumbling together in her head to rapidly to sort out until she settled for wrapping her arms around his waist in her upside-down position and squeezing him hard.  "Where the hell have you been?!"

            Shippou swallowed hard, squeezing her tight and bending his knees to propel himself forward with a burst of speed that was definitely pushing it for human surroundings, "I should ask you that.  Do you know how worried we were?  You just... disappeared!"

            "You know we thought it might happen," Kagome's eyes squeezed shut when she heard the edge of pain in his voice.  "I didn't want it to take me like that."

            "We didn't even know if you'd be in our future," he leaned as they swung around a corner, reaching out with his other hand to catch a street-sign and make the turn more smoothly.  "After the jewel tried-  We all watched... and waited for something that would show us you were alive."

            "Shinju-chan," she murmured in realization.

            "We're still a family," he nodded, and she could hear the proud smile in his voice.  "Shinju knew that if you found him, he was supposed to call us the second you arrived.  So Big Dog watched you to be sure it really was you, and then he sent me to make sure nothing like this happened."

            "Big-?" Kagome blinked and gasped at the implication.  "Shippou-chan!  How many of us are still alive?!"

            "Oh!  Well, me, of course," he twisted around to skate backwards, looking behind them and frowning at seeing not only Souta still behind him, but that kitsune gaining ground on the younger man.  Goddammit...  "Kouga and his pack are handling some business in England, but they're due back in a week or two.  Jaken's not dead yet, so no luck there," he smiled when he felt her hold her breath.  "Yes, Nee-san, that means that his all-mighty highness is alive and well, and lording over much more than he used to."

            "Thank gods," she practically went boneless in his hold, making him smile even wider.

            "He's going to kill you, you know," he snickered at the way she muttered a few disparaging remarks under her breath.  "What?  He's an overbearing asshole, but you're the one who never stopped him from acting that way around you.  So don't complain this late in the game."

            Kagome rolled her eyes, inwardly admitting he was right about that while she changed the subject, propping her elbow in his back and resting her chin on her hand, "Did you have to kidnap me off the street in broad daylight, Shippou-chan?  Souta really does have a complex that I'm going to vanish, and with good reason."

            "Five years to five hundred, Nee-san," Shippou's chin kicked up at a defensive angle.  "We're your family too, and granted I wasn't supposed to deliver you this early, but well...  That guy was using Miroku's line and he's a kitsune who's particularly pretty.  And let's face it... you're a sucker for all three."

            "I am not!" Kagome felt her cheeks turn pink.

            "Mmhmm," he clucked his tongue knowingly.

            "I'm really not," she pouted.

            "I suppose you can keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better," Shippou snickered richly under his breath, growing serious again as he watched how much closer that kitsune was getting.  "Gotta hand it to your brother, he's fast for a human."

            "Okaa-san said he was on the track team," Kagome fairly pounced on the chance to turn the conversation away from her romantic tastes before Shippou embarrassed her any more, grateful he hadn't worked his way around to her fascination with silver hair. 

"Hn...  We really pissed off that pretty boy really well if he's still keeping up and-" Shippou was observing in annoyance when he suddenly broke off with a scowl, his head jerking up to stare at the buildings above them.  "Shit!"

            "Shit?" Kagome repeated in confusion.

            "The other one," he answered, muttering to himself as he reached into his pocket and dug around for his phone.  "That fox hangs around with this little guy... black hair, red eyes... same kinda �efuck all' look that Sesshoumaru has to an art form.  I can't tell what he is, but he's not human."

            "Peachy," Kagome almost groaned, forcing herself to stay calm and expand her focus to search out the youki to find what he was talking about and get answers.

            "I know I'm early!" Shippou was hissing into his phone defensively, eyes sharp as he looked between his pursuers once more before turning back to face the front and speed up his pace.  "Something came up-!  Yeah, a �esomething of the male persuasion,' damn, don't you say anything like a normal person?"  There was a beat of silence, and then he muttered out in a chastised tone, "No, I don't want to know what it feels like to look through my own stomach.  Look, can I just get a car?  Please?  There's a damn fast little youkai chasing us."

            "He's strong too," Kagome informed him in a slightly vague, distracted tone, feeling the pulse of her soul washing away her surroundings as it called for the energy sweeping back into her, craving it...  "Jumbled though...  it's a pure source, but it's split and tangled."  How is he doing that?

            "Did you hear her do her creepy thing?" he swore under his breath, tightening his hold when she went completely limp.  "No, I can't take the time to look it over, her brother's after us too, and that kitsune guy.  Yeah, I can keep her from jumping into anyone."

            Kagome felt her eyes drift closed, letting out a heavy sigh and absently sliding indistinct �efingers' along those vibrations to familiarize herself with the subtle differences those two new auras had from the ones she already knew, They're old... like Sesshoumaru and Kouga-kun... Wait.  I've felt these youkai before-

            "Hang on, Nee-san, we're going to have to play a little stunt here," Shippou's voice snapped her out of her musings just in time to see him leave the sidewalk and shoot out into traffic.

~*~*~*~

            Do you feel that? Hiei's demand cut through Youko's litany of what he intended to do to that boy once he knocked him off those damned skates and smashed his face into the nearest building for daring to take that girl from him.

            Kurama blinked, refocusing to his surroundings to try and figure out what his friend was talking about, and frowning the instant he felt the warmth snake down his spine into his stomach, What the hell?  Where I that coming from?

            I can't find the source, he admitted reluctantly, obviously more than a little irritated by that fact.  It was just... there all of a sudden.  I have no idea what it is.

            �eNot usually a good sign,' Youko reluctantly let himself be distracted from his current plans to add his own opinion of this new development.  His curiosity increased, however, when he opened himself to that strange warmth, trying to pick it apart as it seeped into them and figure out just what had caused such a thing from an unidentifiable distance, �eRandom powerful auras popping up for no reason generally is a good indication to be more alarmed.'

            Not that anything in that strange probe felt threatening, rather it was surprisingly comforting.  Warm and tingling at the back of his neck before it spread out through his blood and seemed to wind through him until he just wanted to melt back into it.

            Youko shook himself when he realized they had been slowing down, growling darkly and voice filled with grudging respect, �eSo that's what it's trying to do...'

            Maybe this investigator is not as human as he feels, Hiei suggested, getting more and more interested in the situation by the minute.  No matter the part he played for his reputation's sake in front of the humans, he was still almost as prone to boredom as Youko, just more selective in his pursuits of entertainment.

            �eThen maybe this "ghost" isn't just pretty, maybe we're feeling something else in her that this punk wants to have for himself,' Youko interjected, giving Kurama the distinct impression of a predatory grin.  �eThis is just getting better and better, Kurama.  For once this damn realm has finally given us a lover who won't be boring and stupid.'

            Hiei felt safe to roll his eyes as he kept careful pace on the rooftops beside Kurama, looking down at the boy yelling into his cell-phone as he sped away from them, It has really been too long since you've had sex if you're this single minded about a total stranger.

            �eAsk him if he's offering to take the edge off,' Youko shot back, smirking wickedly when Hiei gave him a two word answer.

            I swear to gods, if you two get into a sexual argument and I have to listen to it, I'll see to it that Yuusuke finds out about your weird little fling, Kurama hissed at them in exasperation.  In case you've forgotten, we're trying to catch that girl and figure out what the fuck is causing this weird energy!

            What about the brother? Hiei spared a look down at the boy, mildly surprised that he'd kept up so well and for so long.  He's obviously an... athletic sort of human.

            �eAll the better,' Youko nodded decisively.  �eIt means there's stamina in the bloodline... and he doesn't feel as weak as normal humans.  Young, but not weak.'

            Have I told you how disturbing you can be? Kurama clenched his jaw, scowling darkly when the boy turned around backward and looked right at him, the look on his face an open taunt to his pursuit.  Or have you forgotten you thought this was idiotic up until a few minutes ago?

            �eI changed my mind,' Youko turned his nose up primly.  �eNow focus... We're going to wipe that look of this fucking brat's face and rescue the girl.  Then the brother will idolize us for saving her, and he'll help us get to her if we need to be sneaky getting into their house-'

            You're really into this, Kurama shook his head slightly, helplessly amused at the abrupt turnaround to the kitsune's thought process.  He was already drawing up designs for a dozen different scenarios, muttering to himself as he sorted ideas all while still glaring his intentions of bodily harm on the skating investigator.  What if we can't stand her when we catch her?

            �eThen we'll convince her to breed for us and go our separate ways,' Youko offered a mental shrug.  �eThis time we're going to handle it my way, since your way is just spending our money and not getting us any goddamn sex.'

            I was doing fine with this one! Kurama hissed back at him.

            �eYeah, real fucking smooth, Kurama,' Youko snorted, redirecting his frustration to growl at his other half.  �eWhat in the seven layers of hell were you thinking?!  "Bear my child..."  What kind of idiot strikes up a conversation with something like that?'

            Did she turn us down? Kurama shot back defensively.  She was one second away from asking us to stay at her table, or letting us take her somewhere to talk!

            �eShe also called us Miroku-sama,' Youko grumbled, unwilling to admit that the tactless approach hadn't gotten them publicly slapped.  �eShe was looking for something in our eyes-�e

            Someone, Hiei corrected absently, stepping in before they got into even more of an argument when they needed to be focused on their target.  I managed to get that, but not much else.  Her mind clicks in and out to me... like something is distorting her aura, or it's full of holes.

            �eDamn and double damn!' Youko was seething all over again.  The best puzzle they'd found in ages, and it was slowly outdistancing them over the shoulder of a boy who was probably young enough to be his human mother's child, �eFuck this, Kurama!  Bring that boy down!  We can make the humans think it's a fluke.'

            Kurama was close to agreeing, reaching up to press his fingertip to one of the seeds behind his ear when the investigator gripped a pole and used it to fling himself in a hard left turn.  He crouched down with the expert mechanics of long practice as he hit the street, and it wasn't difficult to hear the girl abruptly snarl out a furious "are you insane?!"

            �eWhat is he doing?' Youko was livid, a chill running down their spine when a dark, almost military style car screeched by and very nearly ran them down.  Except the boy reached out, grabbing onto the car through an open window to borrow it's speed rather than putting out his own effort.

            "Hang on!" Shippou sounded much too cheerful as he looked back at them again.  "Let's go, Shinju!"

            Souta's eyes went wide when he heard that name, skidding to a stop at the edge of the sidewalk and gasping air in his burning lungs as he gaped after the car, Shinju?  But why-?  His thoughts cut off when a flash of red shot past him, making his eyes widen in alarm, That... that guy?  What the hell?

            Shippou smirked at the kitsune much more smugly when Souta predictably dropped out of the race at hearing his nephew's name, twisting to shove Kagome through the open window despite her outraged curse and promises of retribution.  With that hand now free, he turned back and offered Kurama a mocking salute as the car turned a corner to a deserted stretch of road, "Hands off, Red.  This one's property of Big Dog, got it?"

            �eBig Dog?' Youko's brows snapped down, echoing the expression darkly through Kurama when that brat started to laugh at him.  �eWhat do these youkai want with my human?'

            "Oh yeah!" Shippou smacked himself on the head as though a thought had suddenly occurred to him, stuffing his hand into his jacket to pull out a thin leather glove and use his teeth to awkwardly pull it on.  "Oi!  Shinju!  Hand it over," he reached inside, pulling his arm back to show the ofuda to Kurama and wink, "Can't have your little youkai friend following us, can we?"

            Holy magic? Kurama nearly faltered, well aware that running into that would break right through his illusions and leave any onlookers to see a silver kitsune racing after a boy hanging off the side of a car.  But it was the curl of pale blue fire that curled around the boy's wrist that had him snarling, right back to being furious, Foxfire?!

            "No offense," his eyes flashed, pupils fading back to their natural state as he flung his arm up to snap the ofuda straight up in the air, laughter ringing out when he felt Shinju's magic flare out in a wide arch and slam the youkai on the rooftops back away from them.  "Baaaaaaaaaaai!" Shippou flipped him a rude gesture as he hopped up to stand on the low step beside the passenger door right before the tires squealed, accelerating away too fast for Kurama to follow.

            Youko let out a furious scream inside of Kurama's head, bringing him to a halt to grip the sides of his head and bear his teeth until the piercing sound finally died down, leaving them in a state of false calm...   His eyes narrowed sharply, memorizing that vehicle and everything about that boy while he felt the foreign magic leave him completely the same time that ofuda burned away and let Hiei move, �eI'm going to kill him.  That little bastard punk is another kitsune and he just stole my new goddamn lover.'

            Technically she isn't your lover at the moment, Hiei reminded him sharply, his own anger manifesting in the snappish tone and the dangerous gleam in his eyes as he dropped down beside his friend.  But whoever was in that car and gave him that ofuda was a powerful monk.

            Working with youkai, Kurama slowly straightened and set one hand on his hip, his expression slowly settling back into cold calculation as he let more of Youko's emotion flow through him.  Big Dog.

            You knew that was the girl I couldn't feel, Hiei slanted a particularly irritated look at him before glaring back down the street where the path went completely blank.  Why didn't you tell me you saw her?

            "We had other things in mind," Kurama murmured, reaching up to tuck his hair back behind his ear.

            I noticed that glaring moment of eloquence, Hiei scoffed, crouching down to press his hand to the pavement in an effort to find some sort of trace that would help them track that car.

            Kurama growled softly, turning a golden-eyes frown on him as he repeated the same thing he'd said to Youko, "She didn't say no."

            Hiei waved that off and stood, folding his arms over his chest, "Everything was wiped clean, and I'm willing to say that girl has something to do with it."  If you'd mentioned she was the one you decided to go after, we could have taken her somewhere that she couldn't have been taken like that.

            �eUnless you want to see if I have a plant in here that matches those beady little eyes of yours, I suggest you shut up,' Youko tried to take over their arm to grab the hybrid by the throat, Kurama stopping him at the last moment.  �eThis is temporary...  Just because some bastard kitsune says she belongs to a dog, won't stop me.  That girl is going to be the one that has my baby.'

            Hiei's eyebrow kicked up at the deadly edge in Youko's voice, sighing and shaking his head as he gave up convincing the kitsune to look elsewhere.  It may have worked had the younger one not snatched her up and behaved in such an antagonistic manner, but he knew quite well that nothing would get Youko's blood up the way that behavior would.  He'd seen it happen more than once with an object or two that had fallen under minor obsessions, things in his private collection that he would rather die than sell simply for the chase of having them...

            Perhaps her brother could answer- Hiei began, only to trail off when he looked back at the vacant spot where the boy had been standing a moment ago.  Well, shit...

            Kurama glanced over his shoulder, fists clenching when he inhaled only to find the boy's scent ending in that same empty trail, Sonofa-

            �eNow I'm really pissed off,' Youko growled, restlessly pushing at his hazy boundaries as he prowled back and forth inside him.

            Like you weren't before, Hiei set his jaw, just as frustrated as Kurama for letting the two of them get handled like a couple of juveniles by the hidden network of these empty youkai.

            �eWe saw her first!' Youko ranted defensively.  �eAnd they just came out of nowhere and grabbed not only her, but the family member who could have led us to her and answered our questions!'

            So what do you want to do about this? Hiei folded his arms and stared back at where he could feel Yuusuke finally catching up to them.  We don't even know where to start looking, and by the time you find her, she may be out of your reach.

            Kurama's lip curled in distaste, That won't happen.

            He sighed and shook his head, This isn't something we've handled before, Fox.  I can't feel them to find them, and he still have to follow the rules to some extent.  Unless you want to be running errands for the Rekai for another few centuries?

            Kurama's eyes narrowed sharply again, looking up at the sky as he calculated the passage of time, I'll follow the rules... but I think it's past time to go visit our dear employer and get some answers of our own.

            And if he can't tell you what you want to know? Hiei closed his eyes, pasting on his best bland expression.  More importantly, what if does know and he tells you to leave her in the hands of this youkai?

            The smile that curved the Kurama's face was Youko in his purest form, eyes glinting dangerously for a moment before they let the gold fade back into docile green, "What do you think I'll do, Hiei?"

�eHas it ever stopped me before?' Youko's voice filled with arrogance.

"I'll just have to steal her," Kurama finished with a matter-of-fact shrug.