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

A/N:  Heh heh, the plot thickens! ... or something like that.  –grins and giggles-  I have gotten so many absolutely beautiful and sweet remarks from people that I don't think I'll ever stop blushing.  It's so much fun to hear what people think of the story and parts that they particularly enjoyed.  I'm just delighted it's providing as much entertainment to read as it is to me to write it, and I adore you all for saying such wonderful things to me.  I know you have questions, and I know I'm being stingy on the answers, but rest assured, it'll all come out in the wash.  –bows and blows kisses-  Have at it...

~*~*~*~

By Any Other Name

~Spoils of Association~

            "Thanks, Houjo-kun, it's good to see you too," Kagome smiled with nostalgic affection, still unable to really grasp the idea of him working as the manager of such a popular restaurant.  Although hearing about his major in medicine did bring a laugh out of her, particularly when he gave her the credit for his career choice, "The doctor I see now has finally managed to fix everything, and I don't have to worry anymore."

            "That's such a relief, Higurashi-san," he beamed at her, lifting one hand behind his back in a boyish action that he obviously had yet to grow out of.  "I used to have nightmares that you were my patient, you know.  Ah-" he blushed when he realized how that sounded and tried to backtrack.  "Not that I wouldn't love to have seen you-!  When-when I'm in practice-"

            Kagome waved a hand with another giggle, "It's all right, Houjo-kun, my medical history would be a nightmare for any student to sift through, ne?  I'll stick with the family doctor for my professional care, don't worry."

            When Houjo blushed and laughed with her, Kagome felt a shiver go down her spine, a rise of ki that actually tried to actively twine around her skin and pull her backwards.  But... a faint hint of a frown furrowed her brow when it went no further, not attacking or melding-  Realization went through her as she looked back at the table, unable to guard the surprise coloring her expression as her eyes met with piercing emerald, He doesn't know...?  Then why is he-?

            That same devouring fire that seemed to light in his eyes whenever she made direct contact was waiting for her, one corner of his lips kicking up as he laced his fingers together to make a cradle for his chin and winked at her again.

            Kagome felt her cheeks turn pink at the possibility that she was trying to read too deeply into what she was seeing and feeling from this beautiful kitsune in his flawless human shell, quickly turning her back on him in favor of looking at someone who didn't make her heart try and skip a few essential beats, I'm absolutely out of my mind.  And what the hell does he thinks he's doing to me?  Kissing me like that!  I... her internal rant cut off just as quickly as it started and she let out a sigh of self-disgust.  Who am I kidding?  I didn't say no. Hell I didn't even want to say no, but-

            "And don't worry about your lunch bill, Higurashi-san," Houjo was saying in his same unfailingly cheerful voice, the hand on her shoulder really what had snapped her from her musings.  "Consider it a gift for finally being well."

            She blinked and started to chuckle again, shaking her head and reaching up to give his hand a squeeze, acknowledging the old friendship her way, "Thanks.  You really are a sweet guy, Houjo-kun."  If I could imagine you looking that cheerful after washing copious amounts of blood out of my clothes on a regular basis, we might even have had a chance with the dating thing.

            Houjo's attention was claimed by one of his waiters before he could respond to that, politely excusing himself after offering his well-wishes and leaving Kagome free to join her lunch dates, "Sorry about that... I didn't realize he worked here."

            "Friend of yours?" Yuusuke inquired as he watched Kurama's expression, shocked at the almost battle-ready aura that had taken over his friend the moment that guy had touched the miko.  For a moment, he'd wondered if he'd have to restrain Kurama from killing the guy with one of the potted trees lining the entry, and what the hell he had against the human, when Kagome had returned to the table and he'd abruptly relaxed, This isn't making sense... he doesn't know this girl, I know he doesn't, so what's going on?  Shit, is he-?  Gods, he's flirting with a miko?!

            "I went to high school with him, but I haven't seen him in six years," she subtly ignored the space beside Kurama and sat at the end of the table, leaning back in the chair in a way that made Yuusuke envy her smaller frame for a moment.  "He gives me credit for directing him into his career path."

            "Restaurant management?" Yuusuke repeated in unimpressed disbelief.

            Kagome laughed a little louder at that and waved her hand to dismiss that impression, "No, no.  This is his part-time job, Houjo-kun is pre-med."

            Oh shit, Kurama hid the wince that bit of information caused.

            'What's wrong?' Youko was instantly alert, sweeping around for what could have caused their sinking sensation so rapidly.

            Stable career, he pointed out, trying to smile politely when Kagome continued to speak about her experience with the budding homeopath that human had been through school, biting his tongue when she spoke about failed dates and matchmaking friends.  And they had a relationship before.

            'So we're killing him, right?'

            He's human, we can't, Kurama didn't sound the least bit pleased to have to reiterate that, grinding his teeth together and tuning back in when Kagome sighed.  Not unless we can trick him into doing something that threatens the barriers.

            "He hasn't changed a bit either," she reached for her water glass and took a sip to give her enough of a break to readjust her thoughts from things that felt like they'd happened a lifetime ago.

            "Good or bad news?" Yuusuke prodded when he saw the speculative gleam that had entered Kurama's eyes, hoping to diffuse the situation before he found himself cleaning up after a nasty "prank."

            "I guess it's a good thing," she tilted her head and ran her fingers through her hair, absently pulling in over her shoulder and separating the pieces to weave a loose braid.  "He's always been polite, sweet... he used to bring me presents almost every day.  With Houjo-kun, it's always been 'what you see is what you get,' probably couldn't lie if his life depended on it.  He's naïve too, definitely innocent compared to most guys our age."

            Kurama was cringing on the inside with every new descriptive verb that was about as far removed from his personality as he could possibly be while Youko was humming tunelessly to himself, unconcerned with the growing list and eyeing the foliage at his disposal around this human establishment that could be bent to his plans for that 'polite' boy.

            "Wait, six years?" Yuusuke latched onto that in confusion, sitting forward with his brows lifted in question.  "How old are you, Kagome?"

            "Twenty-five," she almost choked on her water at the stunned look on his face.  "What?  What's wrong with that?"

            "You... look younger," he cleared his throat and mumbled, quickly trying to redirect the conversation before she found out he'd thought she was still a teenager or before Kurama could add words to that smirk he was sending his way.  "So, you- ah... you dated that Houjo guy?"

            "If you can call it that," Kagome chewed on her lip absently, tossing the braid back over her shoulder without really thinking of the fact that she hadn't tied off the end.  "I ended up standing him up more often than not."

            What? Kurama and Youko's imaginations came to a halt, focusing back into the discussion with an unfurling feeling of hopeful expectation.

            "Poor guy, never complained a single time," Kagome was shaking her head, tucking her knee up to her chest without a thought to their public location, definitely not helping Yuusuke shake the idea that she really wasn't too young for his friend to be eyeing that way.  "Like I said, he's a great person, but he's really not my type."  And I had all my responsibilities in the past, those were more important than encouraging an unreciprocated crush.

            Youko would have gotten up right then to hunt out the human boy and kiss him if Kurama hadn't put his foot down, 'What?  Not that way, you little pervert, he just helped us!'

            I can't believe you had the gall to accuse me of your behavioral specialty, Kurama's eyebrow twitched as he got his irritation under control and slid his chair closer to Kagome.

            'A gratitude kiss is not perverted,' Youko sniffed delicately, offended at the suggestion that he would find that Houjo person attractive enough to grace with his appetites.  'For all you know, he helped her develop tastes more suited to our personality, and if that's true, we should give him a present.'

            You're feeling generous lately, Kurama couldn't help but smile as he watched Kagome smack Yuusuke's hand with her chopsticks to stun him away from the last piece of calamari, sticking her tongue out tauntingly after she'd popped it in her mouth.

            'It's poor taste not to reward those who provide you with assistance in obtaining a more valuable prize,' he lectured patiently.  'Eventually you may have to kill them anyway, but it's still better not to snub useful allies unnecessarily.'

            Kagome suddenly frowned and pressed her hand to the arm of the chair, twisting around under the guise of popping her back as she looked down the street towards the buzz of youki approaching too rapidly to be a car, That's... damn, it's the youkai Shippou was chasing at the Urameshi house, but... Did Shippou go home?  Is he hurt?

            Kurama had been reaching out when he saw the concern on her face, the hand pausing when he scented the air and realized just what it was that had drawn her attention, Hiei?

            What?

            Just making sure... Gods, you smell horrible, he made a face before he completed the motion and rested his hand on her knee, impressed by her ability to detect the hybrid.  "Kagome, are you all right?" he pitched his voice low, making sure it slid down along her senses just as effectively as a physical caress.

            Not all of us have the ability to perfume unwanted aromas out of our skin at will, you demented florist, Hiei shot back nastily, slowing his pace far enough away to try and prevent suspicion in the surrounding humans to walk the remaining distance.  She's still there?

            Of course she is, he wanted to roll his eyes, but refrained on the chance she would look at him.  You could have washed the blood off at least.

            "It's nothing," she didn't say a word about the placement of his hands, eyes still focused in the direction he knew Hiei would be coming from, her body taut as though poised for an attack as they shared a look behind her.

            'It looks like her other instincts are just as good,' Youko wasn't the least bit concerned, stroking their hand up and down that small space of her thigh to soothe her and reassure her on a more basic level that there was no reason for her to worry in his company.  'Oh I like this one... She's smart and she attentive to her surroundings.  We won't have to worry about watching her every second when we're hunting-'

            There is no way in hell Kagome will be anywhere near hunting, Kurama scolded him with a long-suffering sigh.  Just because she's a miko, it doesn't mean that we can drag her into our world more than she already is.  Remember?  We can't tell her what we do.

            'Well that's bullshit,' Youko pouted openly.  'I want to watch her hands when she's fighting a youkai.  I want to see how she moves and the expression on her face.  I bet she'd be sexy right after a fight... all sweaty and panting and bloody...  You can feel it in her, Kurama, if she learns how, you know it'll be good!'

            I can't picture Kagome killing anyone, Youko, we're wrong about her hands, Kurama lied rather than give into just how appealing he found Youko's latest fantasy image, giving her leg a squeeze that finally got her to turn back and look at him curiously, shadows of worry still clouding her eyes.  She said it herself, the youkai she's with don't want her near fighting. 

            'She knew the kit took off after Hiei,' Youko refocused to offer that assistance when he realized his other side had drawn a blank beyond the urge to drag her over to his chair and wrap his arms around her comfortingly at her continued unresponsiveness.  'She can't feel him, and she's worried.  Reassure her and we'll earn points.'

            "Your little brother is fine," Kurama gave her as gentle a smile as he could manage, ignoring Yuusuke's kick under the table when he finally noticed where the kitsune was touching her.  "That's our friend, Hiei-"

            "He's the fast one," Kagome's shoulders relaxed slightly, searching his eyes to be sure he was telling the truth, not thinking of just how much she was giving away by saying that instead of asking for more clarification.

            Yuusuke's mouth opened, recovering before Kurama to lean forward and murmur, "How do you-?"

            "The one who was on the roofs when Shippou tried to kill us on his skates?" she pressed, a note of annoyance entering her voice when she remembered that experience.  Shaking it off, she looked back and forth between their faces tensely until she had the nod of agreement before demanding, "You're sure nothing happened?"

            "He ran away."

            Kagome glanced up, jumping a bit in surprise when she unexpectedly recognized the shorter youkai standing behind her and blurted out, "Oh!  Damn, I remember you!  I ran into you!"

            Hiei nodded once, hooking his foot around the leg of a nearby chair and dragging it over while turning it backwards and straddling the seat so close at her side that she would brush up against him if she so much as shifted her weight that direction.  Without a word, he folded his arms across the back before pinning her with a scowl that never failed to send the Ningenkai humans into a cowering mush that vaguely resembled their former self.

            Or at least... that's what was supposed to happen.

            "Houjo-kun!  We need another menu," Kagome turned easily away and held up her hand when her former schoolmate passed by, grinning her thanks when he snagged it from a passing waiter and handed it along with smooth efficiency before moving back to his duties.  "We've been eating already, but my friend is footing the bill if you're hungry."

            Hiei was at a loss, but luckily for his suffering pride, so was the idiot kitsune and the even less tolerable "lapdog" Takashima had mocked him for associating with.  He made a vague sound that even he wasn't sure translated into, but she didn't act the least bit disturbed.

            Kagome twisted to hold the menu out to him, her expression perfectly calm as she waited for him to reach for it in reflex.  Taking advantage of the distraction, her other hand snapped up to catch it, making the search as quick and masked as possible to hide it under the jolt of sudden contact, Half and half... opposing elements.  So that's why it's jumbled.

            Hiei jerked his hand out of hers, the glare gaining heat as he sat back and hissed out, "Miko, you-!"

            "Your hand is going to stain in an unpleasant pattern if you don't wipe off the ash," the cut him off, covering the search expertly as she pointed to the remnants of Shippou's foxfire across his palm before passing along her water and a linen napkin.  "Trust me, he does it on purpose just to be a pain."

            He blinked as he processed that information and then swore under his breath, dunking the napkin and scrubbing furiously at his palm.  She lifted her hand to hide an errant giggle when she heard something that sounded suspiciously like "fucking kitsune tricks."

            'Did you see her eyes?' Youko distracted Kurama again, attention narrowed and peering at her intently as he struggled with a strange feeling teasing at his instincts.  Something had just happened, he was sure of it, but it had been so fast or so subtle that he completely missed it... and that was annoying him to no end.  'For just a moment they looked old... old like our kind of old.'

            That and she managed to grab onto Hiei.  That's some kind of miracle, Kurama sat up straighter in his chair, sighing as he rubbed his chin in contemplation of this confusing little miko, belatedly realizing it really was just odd on it's own that she would be so at ease with them.  We aren't the most polished little group of people ever to occupy the same space...

            You mean to say that a young human girl from a temple should not find relaxation so easily having lunch with a punk, a killer, and a thief, Hiei reworded that toned-down observation dryly.

            Your eloquence astounds me at times, he couldn't stop the taunting quirk of his lips, even more pronounced when it encouraged a much less eloquent suggestion from the hybrid.  One that was abruptly cut off when Kagome smacked both hands down on the table and made a sound of triumph, as though she'd had some great epiphany.

            "If you're the guy I ran into that night," she started without needing to be prompted, pointing at Hiei's bland expression before turning to look at Kurama in surprise.  "Then that means you were the other one!"  Kagome sat back and smacked herself lightly in the head, "Mou... I can't believe I didn't recognize that hair."

            Hiei's eyebrow kicked up.

            To the absolute amazement of Kurama and Yuusuke, Kagome didn't miss a beat with translating the minute shift of expression, and -to Hiei's undying surprise- accurately as well, "I know, I know, I'm getting to it.  I saw him first before I ran into you, and I remember thinking he looked ready to chew through his own arm to get away from the girl he was walking with.  I almost hit her and then I got distracted by looking at his hair and well-" she trailed off and shrugged, giving Hiei and apologetic smile.  "Sorry about that, it's just not common to see now, and you were blending in."  Or trying to, and I wasn't exactly open to receiving youki at that particular moment.

            I don't know if I should be horrified that she speaks your language or laugh my ass off because you look so uncomfortable that she can, Kurama broke the silence internally, his lips twitching at his stiff-backed friend.

            Hiei recovered with a quick shake of his head, slanting him a scowl and pointing out, She noticed you're abominable taste in human females, perhaps there is hope for her yet.

            "Hang on, Kagome, you walked into Hiei?" Yuusuke raked a hand through his hair, pausing with his palm flat against his scalp and a bit of a dizzy look on his face.  "Like ran into him?"

            "It was dark and I was in a hurry," she sighed and nodded, not seeing what was so remarkable about that.

            "Ran into you," Yuusuke wanted that clarified, jabbing a finger in Hiei's direction and glaring right back when it earned him one of the more common variety life threatening scowls.

            "You do not give off an aura," it was practically an accusation, and her posture underwent a subtle shift that made it perfectly clear she had just readied herself against possible hostility.

            'I told you she was a fighter,' Youko reminded him smugly in the face of Kurama's growing doubts.  'Ooh, curl those fingers again,' he leaned them forward when she propped her chin up on her hand, unconsciously brushing her own fingers over her cheek in a way that made his hand itch to copy it.

            That could just be human training, Hiei pointed out, something about the rough edge of his voice making Kurama's brows lower in speculation.

            Can't you-?

            Her mind clicks in and out to me, Hiei cut him of brusquely, unwilling to admit to the failing of his normally dependable advantage.  Like it's incomplete... or distorted somehow.  I don't know why it's not working, but nothing I can pick up makes any sense.  It may be movies or dreams for all I know, the pieces aren't long enough or clear enough to tell.

            Kagome looked around, her jaw set as she looked for something she didn't find before folding her hands together in front of her and leaning back, showing them the more serious side of her yet again, "No, I don't."

            "Why?"

            You're being rude, Kurama growled at him, unwilling to trade his chance at accomplishing his procreation goals for the answers Hiei wanted.  If you scare her off, Hiei, I swear I'm going to plant a few seeds in you that you won't enjoy.

            That's the most blatantly sexual threat I've ever heard come out of your mind, Kurama, Hiei's eyes took on a highly amused edge as he narrowed the taunt at the kitsune, snickering richly in his head at the color that flooded his cheeks and the swearing trying to burn a hole through his head.

            "Because I'm not that kind of person," Kagome chewed on her lip and tried out the best excuse she'd been able to pander off so far.  "I used to get sick a lot as a kid, and I never had any sort of 'great spiritual power.'  I've seen a ghost or two, and I told you how I learned about youkai, but whenever Jii-chan has taken me to monks or mikos here, they've never gotten any sense that I had anything special."  Because they're idiots, not because it wasn't there...  Everyone with training in the past could tell, but still, it means I'm not lying to them when I say it like that.

            "So your aura is just that weak," Yuusuke sighed and sat back.  "Problem solved..."

            Youko rolled his eyes and made an impatient sound, 'No one's aura is "just that weak," it's not right.  Is he trying to be dense?'

            Highly possible, Hiei sighed in annoyance, pinning the miko under a critical eye and almost giving into frustration when she seemed wholly unaffected by the attention that could make even Kurama fidget under the right circumstances.

            'Now who's being sexual?' Youko taunted.

            Shut up, I'm being serious, Hiei squeezed his hand into a fist momentarily, a silent warning that he offered whenever he had to leave his katana behind lest he arouse suspicions in the humans around them.  You said it yourself, she shouldn't be so at ease with us, especially with how well she is able to tell when we're near her.  She has to sense that we're dangerous creatures.

            'Maybe you're just losing your touch.'

            Kagome sighed, tilting her head and bringing her hands up in front of her face, blissfully unaware of the way Youko murmured in admiration at what was quickly becoming his favorite feature.  Even more when she looked at Hiei over where she'd pressed her splayed fingertips together, "That isn't really what you want to ask me about though, is it?  Did you think I wouldn't notice that the only ones you invited to this lunch have... special blood, Urameshi-san?  You obviously all went to a lot of trouble to get me away from Shippou for some reason."

            'Clever... very clever,' Youko sighed appreciatively, shifting their foot to brush over her calf smoothly and grinning when she jumped and glared at him.  'And she knows when to be direct instead of just circling around the real issue.  This just keeps getting better, Kurama!  Now we have to figure out where to hide her until she loves us,' he trailed off, images and plans sifting through his head rapidly from a lifetime Kurama still refused to access... mostly at least.

            If you're finished? Hiei prodded him sardonically, opening his mouth to pick from the long list of things they could ask when Yuusuke bluntly beat them to it, asking the one question neither youkai had honestly remembered had anything to do with the situation.

            "Does the name Onigumo mean anything to you?" he tossed it out offhandedly, yawning and rubbing the back of his head, obviously expecting her to shrug or shake her head and leave them to move onto the next thing.

            But a stillness settled over the table, drawing their full attention to the end of the table where Kagome sat, her face wiped clean of any emotion and draining of color until she was almost deathly pale.  Eyes glassy and wide as she gave Yuusuke her unblinking attention, her feet slowly slipped down to rest flat on the floor and her hands lowered to her lap before she repeated very carefully, "Onigumo."

            Holy shit, Kurama murmured at the transformation, sitting forward as eager anticipation warred with concern in case she actually did something like faint in front of them with as white as she'd become.  That was not the reaction I expected.

            She is connected to this then, Hiei felt a curl of satisfaction finally, some of his own angry frustration easing at the indication that they could be back on top of things soon instead of blindly stumbling around a half-step behind everyone else.  She's heard that name before.

            And not in a good way, Kurama reached up, intent on touching his hand to her face to snap her out of whatever internal trace she'd just drawn herself into when his hand was suddenly seized in a grip that nearly crushed every last bone from his wrist to his fingers.

            Three pairs of eyes snapped up, their owners going into various stages of aggressive defense as they met with a dark violet gaze filled with absolutely frigid, arrogant anger set into a painfully attractive face.

            Youko instantly started to growl darkly, predator to predator as he watched the imposing figure shift his head to bring inhumanly perfect dark hair into his eyes for a particularly menacing appearance when he bent over to put his mouth beside Kagome's ear.  'That's him!  That's the fucking inu trying to steal our lover!' 

The rest of that thick, silky mass had been woven into a long braid spilling over his shoulder and into Kagome's lap as whispered something in her ear without releasing them from the threat in his eyes as they flashed gold. 

However, he did release Kurama in favor of gripping her shoulder, fingers flexing into the muscle tightly as he waited until she nodded before his voice lifted just enough to extend out to the rest of the table, "Bid your... 'guests' goodbye, miko.  We are going home.  Now."

~*~*~*~

            Onigumo.

            Kagome swallowed hard against the instinctive rise of bile, the urge to gather her strength together in one immense wave of purifying energy in an effort to banish even the suggestion of that human's existence.  But through that knee-jerk reaction, a glimmer of rationality returned and she found her thoughts racing over more important matters.

            Mainly why now, five hundred years later, were three individuals with varying levels of powerful youki rattling off his name to her when they obviously had no idea who she was beyond the offered, dubious title of a miko.  If she'd just had some indication they were going to ask something like that, she'd have been better prepared to guard her reaction rather than so transparently give away that the name affected her more than she would ever willingly admit to more than a handful of people.

            And how did they even know it?  Or know to ask her out of every other person in Japan?  What had they found to connect her when they'd been so careful?

            Before she could shake the unwelcome chill out of her mind and body, a pulse of youki vibrated through her, winding possessively around her to forcefully pull her musings from such things; one she knew as intimately as she knew her own aura. 

And unfortunately, one that felt predictably incensed as it drew nearer, making sure to insinuate that emotion into the core of her being until his large hand passed through her peripheral vision on its way to prevent Kurama from touching her.

Internally she groaned when Sesshoumaru's singularly overwhelming presence pressed in around her, the braid she'd woven before sending him off caressing her cheek on its way down her chest when he slowly leaned down and whispered, "This Sesshoumaru anticipates hearing what outrageous excuse you are going to fashion to explain such blatant disobedience."

Definitely pissed, she carefully focused backwards, ignoring the posturing for the moment to take comfort from his presence in her unbalanced state and let him feel that there was more to this scene than he could see. 

His hand curved over the muscle of her shoulder, squeezing as a faint growl vibrate down her spine as he took the more verbal route for once, "Something has happened to disturb you."

Kagome nodded a single time, shifting her weight to hold back her response to the increased clarity of his emotional state even before he pulled her towards him and raised that controlled growl, "Bid your... 'guests' goodbye, miko.  We are going home.  Now."

            Or in translation, Kagome's face still maintained it's unclear expression as she turned it over in her head.  'Your disobedience displeases me and if you don't want them to all die an instant, violent death for bringing about unnecessary danger to your mental state, you will stand up and follow me like a trained puppy to feed my astronomical taiyoukai ego.'

            "Hang on, Takeharuka...  Kagome ain't leaving if she doesn't want to go," Yuusuke's lips spread in a grin that was oddly reminiscent of Inuyasha when he was looking for a fight even going so far as to crack his knuckles theatrically as he finally had a personal sight of what his friends meant with their accusations of his heritage.  He'd just more or less screamed to them he was about as human as Hiei, eyes challenging and warning them away from the little miko he apparently considered to be his private property.  This could make for the most fun we've had in months.

            Kagome stood in a rush before he could say more and start what would most likely become a rather messy fight, relieved when she saw the flash of approval in Sesshoumaru's eyes that she was so quick to obey the unspoken command as she bowed to the trio making her head swim with the way their youki had begun fluctuating, "I'm terribly sorry I can't stay longer, but something more important has come up.  Please tell Houjo-kun I said goodbye and I'll come to see him soon."

            'Damn, we have to stop him,' Youko's eyes narrowed, his own lips twisting in a cruel smile that Kurama had to forcefully resist echoing as they sized up the man who had yet to take his hand off their lover.  'He's trying to shorten her leash... take her away from us, and now he knows we're showing our interest openly.  He'll hide her and tell her terrible things to make her stop thinking about us.'

            It's not like we can fight him for her in the middle of a restaurant, Youko, Kurama insisted, but he was still rising to his feet slowly, eyes hard and determined as he sized up the man maneuvering Kagome behind his back.  Even if we could, we'd be stupid to start a fight when we don't know anything about him except that he's an inu.

            Not to mention he's the leader of these other youkai, Hiei pointed out.  Takashima is a skilled opponent, and that means this one has to be powerful.

            Golden eyes speared him on the spot at the perceived act of aggression, and Sesshoumaru's fingers suddenly splayed out in a motion that clearly indicated he was accustomed to having claws at his disposal.  But Kagome's hand had wrapped around his wrist before he could do more, shaking her head and murmuring softly, "Please?"

            'Don't look at him with that expression!  Dammit, that's my face!' Youko bristled furiously at the pleading light in her eyes and the way he could see Takeharuka's tense expression soften just enough around the mouth to indicate he was being swayed.  'Kurama, stop her!  She's not supposed to look at anyone but us with her eyes like that!'

            What are you going to do?  Wrestle her to the ground in front of everyone just to scold her about an expression, Fox? Hiei questioned in snide amusement even as his brows drew together in a scowl at the same empty feeling radiating from this youkai.  Another one... Fuck, this is really starting to piss me off.

            "Wait in the car, miko."

            Despite the severity of the situation and even Youko snarling in the back of his mind, Kurama couldn't help but blink at the clipped bark and glance over at the hybrid dryly, Well, there's our answer as to why your nasty looks and sparkling personality aren't getting to her.  He's just as conversational and charming as you.

            Kagome balked at the order, chewing on her lip as she glanced at the tense expressions all around, and going beyond to the curious humans observing what they obviously thought was some sort of love-affair soap opera playing out in front of their eyes.  Setting her jaw, she yanked on Sesshoumaru's arm and insisted in a low whisper, "Too many people are watching for you to have this kind of... conversation."

            Sesshoumaru made a faint sound that may have been exasperation, but with his head turned aside as he gave her a push down the sidewalk in the direction of a black sedan, it was hard for them to tell, "No one will be dead when I am finished with them this time... unless they prove to be remarkably foolish.  I will make no promises if their actions earn their demise."

            She made a face, reaching up to poke him in the chest before she leaned up to whisper in his ear so quietly even Kurama and Hiei were straining to catch as much as they could, "Don't think I'm not onto your little word-tricks, you over-confident bastard.  I really mean it, there are too many people here for you to be yourself."

            Hiei observed curiously, tilting his head as he tried to reason out just what this little human girl could possibly have to argue so familiarly and effectively with such a youkai.  His eyes lingered on her hand resting comfortably against his chest where she'd previously been poking at him before subtly checking his friend's reaction to the suggested intimacy between the two, You may have already lost your 'lover,' Kurama.  She looks pretty attached to him.

            'Lost her, my ass,' Youko snorted and brushed that off.  'There's no desire in their eyes, she's mine.'

            "Unless you do as you're told, you'll have more to concern yourself with than my word-tricks," Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow at her, resting one hand on his hip in a casual stance the belied the threat in his words.  "Go."

            Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes, but finally nodded and pushed past him, "You could at least try not to sound like the most obnoxious thing that ever existed since the dawn of time."

            Sesshoumaru's lips actually quirked ever so slightly, glancing at the napkins on the table at the moment with the urge to take one and snap it across her backside just to see how she and these others would react to that, but quelled the juvenile urge with a shake of his head.  Instead, he slanted a look at the kitsune, watching the expressions going through those eyes as he followed Kagome's retreat almost hungrily and informing him easily, "She will do as she's told, kitsune, no matter how intently you stare at the back of her head."

            Kurama glared at Hiei when his friend made a sound in his head that was suspiciously similar to a snicker before folding his arms over his chest and letting his expression lose even the hint of harmless charm he'd stubbornly held in Kagome's presence, "What the hell are you?"

            Sesshoumaru's sigh seemed to come from his toes as he turned his back on them and started to walk down the sidewalk away from the café, "Come."

            Youko bristled within the confines of Kurama's mind, but he was too curious to deny that high-handed order, and too aware of the human attention they were receiving, 'I'm going to enjoy ripping him away from her and parading our kits where he can smell I got them from Kagome.'

            Stop getting ahead of yourself and focus on the threat we have in front of us, Hiei's words were clipped, wary and despite his best efforts to the contrary, curious to find out which one of the old lords this had to be.

            Yuusuke swore under his breath when they moved past the range of the window, jumping to his feet and throwing a few bills at the table absently to make up to the restaurant for the scene, "Oi... oi!"

            "I am only going to have this conversation a single time, and I will not be held responsible if you do not pay attention," Sesshoumaru informed them without looking back, making sure Kagome had climbed into his car to no-doubt be tirelessly scolded by Jaken as he made a sharp turn into a relatively clean alley and prevent them from pinpointing which vehicle she'd disappeared into.  "As it has come to my attention that despite my instructions for my miko to avoid your company, it is more... difficult for her to be obedient when you undermine my authority to seek her on your own."

            For a moment Kurama was absolutely staggered by his arrogance, the regal toss of the painfully elegant man's head as he turned to face them with amber eyes glaring icy murder at them now that they were away from the prying eyes of humanity.  In that moment, Youko let out a humorless chuckle and took over enough to mimic the pose as he answered tauntingly, "And you think that you're dealing with children, inu?  You've been living too long among humans if you haven't come in contact with a youkai strong enough to stand up to you."

            Youko, what are you doing? Kurama demanded when he felt the distinctive chill of rising danger wrap around them, vaguely aware of Yuusuke and Hiei moving into defensive positions behind him.

            'Relax, Kurama, I'm good at this part,' Youko assured him easily.  'I'd wager I'm just as old as this youkai, and unless my senses have completely failed me, this one puts a lot of stock in the old ways.  He's proud and he's used to being the top of the food chain in his world.  Let's shake him up a bit before we steal her out from under him.'

            Sesshoumaru's hand snapped out, closing around Kurama's throat and lifting him up onto his toes as he studied the unchanged expression on the kitsune's face with open disdain.  He didn't bother to lift his eyes as he addressed the other two calmly, "Move and he dies."

            Youko couldn't stop himself from chuckling again at the absolute authority in the smooth voice, the effortless menace he exuded, 'Oh yes, I understand this youkai...'

            He returned to his study of the kitsune resting calm and docile under his potentially fatal hold, twisting the inhumanly beautiful face from side to side as he studied those currently amber eyes locked on him just as bland as his own.  Finally the hand tightened a fraction against his throat as Sesshoumaru growled his discovery, "An avatar."

            Hiei jolted in surprise at the archaic term, even more when Kurama's lips spread into a wide grin and let his canines slowly sharpen, "Well, well... you are old, aren't you."

            Sesshoumaru released his throat with a snort of disgust, the palm of his hand glowing bright green as his poison burned the feel of his skin off him, "How utterly distasteful."

            Youko, what the hell are you doing? Hiei demanded testily.

            "I will not permit such a creature to harass my miko," he informed him lazily, curling his fingers slowly until his hand was held in a loose fist.  "Kagome is meant for a better thing than something slowly devouring the human flesh it created to protect its soul and recreate itself.  You're a parasite in your own body, kitsune, and I will not pave the way for you to bring the same poison to her."

            "You say that so seriously," Youko lifted a hand to rest a fingertip against his throat, closing his eyes with a low sigh.  "And so insultingly," his eyes opened to meet his opponent with a dark edge.  "I am a creative survivor, inu... much the way you must be to have lived so long and undetected on this plane as well."

            A parasite? Kurama frowned in confusion at the description.

            'I'll explain later,' Youko assured him.  'We allowed certain rumors to circulate about some of our more involved... gifts.'

            "Kitsunes," Sesshoumaru made a disparaging sound in the back of his throat, displaying his distaste with the breed he'd been forced to involve himself with time after time.  "You will remove your presence from my lands or I will do it for you.  My promise extends to the end of this meeting and no longer."

            Youko opened his mouth to retort when a thought struck him and he clamped it shut again, crossing one arm over his chest to cup the other elbow in his hand, turning that arm up and taking the tip of his forefinger between his teeth, 'Oh suddenly I feel wicked...'

            Kurama felt a curl of anxiety begin in his chest, Youko?

            'Trust me on this,' he absently reassured him, cocking their head to let the slow smirk cross his lips.  'Didn't think I'd use it again, but it will take the threat out from under him.'

            What will? Kurama nearly growled himself at the half-answer.  Dammit, Youko, answer me! 

"I'd like to formally request an audience to the controlling youkai of this region," he drawled out smugly, even more so when he saw the way Takeharuka's chin tilted up, eyes flashing with his annoyance.  "An introductory meeting, if you will... considering my ignorance to the current hierarchy.  Or would you deny me the chance to correct such an oversight?"

            "Audience?" Yuusuke repeated, confused at the vibes bouncing back and forth between Takeharuka and Kurama, but with Hiei standing back out of the confrontation, he was loathe to step in between them lest he disrupt some weird youkai thing he didn't understand.

            "It's old etiquette," Hiei muttered quickly to shut him up, inwardly chuckling at the obvious "win" his friend had scored with his request if the tightly restrained violence in Takeharuka's eyes was any indication.  "Honor and pride between higher bloodlines."  He's going to kill you for putting him in a corner, Fox.

            He's going to try, Kurama nodded in agreement, almost rolling his eyes at the way he could feel Youko loving every minute of the silent battle of wills with a youkai on his same level. 

            'Oh I do love this little miko,' Youko slowly licked his lips, watching the faint pulse of stripes across Takeharuka's cheeks until he got the telling flicker under control and reached into his tailored jacket.  'She has brought so very many enjoyable things to my fingertips since we've decided to pursue her.  I'd forgotten how much fun it was to piss off lords like this before I met them professionally.'

            Sesshoumaru pulled his hand out of the inner pocket, a plain business card held between his middle and ring fingers as he held it out to the preening, self-satisfied kitsune, "Savor your victory for the time being, kitsune, it is the only one you will have involving this Sesshoumaru."

            Youko's smile froze on his face, the card forgotten in his fingers as he looked up to see the flicker of a crescent shiver across Takeharuka's forehead, 'Sesshoumaru?!'

            Who? Kurama tensed at the new and previously never before experienced rush of emotion and adrenaline surging from his other half, unaware of just what about that name had set him off so completely.

            When Sesshoumaru stepped forward, Youko and Hiei moved back to clear a path instinctively, bringing a faintly amused smirk to his sculpted lips as he turned to seize Kurama's throat yet again and lift him up for his cold perusal a second time, "Do not dishonor my invitation with your... other form.  You will appear to me as this avatar or not at all, am I understood?"

            "Perfectly," Youko's eyes narrowed, wanting to deny the "request" but aware that he'd exhausted his options for the moment on demands considering all he'd been obligated to agree with was the meeting.

            He released Kurama again, nodding his head in approval before practically gliding out of the alley with his silent grace, turning to glance back and offer as an afterthought, "Your human companion will lead you to the appropriate location in one week's time."

            Kurama frowned in mild confusion, "Which human companion?"

            That eyebrow kicked up again, mocking him for the uncertainty in his voice in a way that had Youko inwardly mumbling about his cheap intimidation tactics and something about a superiority complex, "I was under the impression that there was only one human you were friendly with under my employment?  A human named Kurabara?"

            He knows? Hiei's spine went stiff at the implication, the veiled threat in those brutal eyes that shook their tenuous belief that they were beginning to understand what was happening.  What the fuck is going on here!?

            Chuckling softly at their obvious anxiety, he inclined his head in a particularly mocking fashion before turning his searching gaze to the street for the circling vehicle, "You have permission to roam my lands temporarily.  Do not abuse my good nature by going where you are not welcomed."

            He's warning us to stay away from Kagome, Kurama's hands fisted at his sides, everything about this man rubbing him the wrong way, and with Youko's odd, unexplained behavior, he was feeling decidedly more irritable than usual.

            'Actually, the sneaky fuck is making it a condition,' Youko corrected with a grudging note of respect.  'He's a strategist... damn good one too, letting us think we won, but still turning it around to his favor.'

            "And tell your... employer that I am tired of his amateur investigations," Sesshoumaru continued in a bland tone.  "I detest the attention being placed on my family, and my patience will soon be exhausted."

            Sonofabitch! Hiei's eyes narrowed sharply at that disturbing indication that he knew far more about what was going on then they did, taking up more aggressive stances with Kurama and Yuusuke.

Sesshoumaru reveled in their alarmed expressions behind his stoic mask, walking away as he offered his final, parting dig, "But do thank him for the fine worker I have found in his pet human.  However... it would be most disturbing to find that something... untoward had befallen him in the event that you were unable to respect the boundaries I have set regarding certain things that belong to me."

"If Kurabara-" Yuusuke started, scowling darkly when he made a motion with his hand to arrogantly cut him off.

"The human is safe for now," Sesshoumaru's voice held no emotion as he smoothed imaginary wrinkles from his coat and pulled out a cell phone, dismissing their presence the farther he moved away.  "Do not bring my miko into this and do not miss your appointment.  I will not grant an audience to you again."