Disclaimer: Neither Inu-Yasha nor Ranma 1/2 belongs to me.  Nor do the 
characters or settings or etc.  Please don’t sue, I’m poor.

Sesshoumaru’s Imouto-chan, part 2

*Inu-Yasha drags poor Shippou down the river to wash off the Ramen 
Noodles, to a more private spot away from the campsite.  He shucks 
his clothing to his loincloth, while Shippou tests the water*

Shippou:  *sticking a toe in*  YAH!!! That’s c-c-cold, Inu-Yasha!!!

Inu-Yasha:  *picks Shippou up by the tail and dangles him over the water*  
Then hurry up and get in, so you’ll get used to it.  *Shippou wiggles 
out of Inu-Yasha’s grasp and hops to the ground, reluctantly getting 
undressed, then hops into the cold water.  Inu-Yasha takes a deep 
breath, then jumps in himself*  KYAHHHHH!!!!!

*Back at camp*

Kagome:  *hearing a feminine scream come from the direction of the river, 
she gets up and races to the riverside, where a very cold-looking 
female Inu-Yasha stands in a loincloth and nothing else. Kagome 
grabs her coat and tosses it over the very unhappy looking girl, just in 
time as Sango and Miroku come running.*  Inu-Yasha...

Inu-Yasha:  *shivers*  T-that’s cold!!!!

Kagome:  *smirking a little*  I could tell...

Miroku:  Inu-Yasha...  *Inu-Yasha stands covered in her red coat, her long 
legs bare and covered in goose bumps, looking very shocked* (Too 
bad she’d kill me if I asked ~her~ to bear my child...) *sighs, 
depressed*

Inu-Yasha:  *looks down*  Ummm... Kagome, can you go make me some 
more Ramen?

Sango:  *helpfully* I’ll do it.  *grabs Miroku and drags him back to camp*

Kagome: Arigato, Sango-chan.  *turns back to Inu-Yasha*  Umm... you 
might as well finish washing up. I guess we can do experiments to 
see how much soup is needed... 

Inu-Yasha:  Why do I get the sudden feeling I’m going to be sticky and 
covered in noodles a lot for a ~long~ while?  *sighs*

Kagome:  *grins*  Hey, just think, you’ll always have enough Ramen to eat.

Inu-Yasha:  *nods, not very cheered*

*in the woods*

Sesshoumaru:  *looks less angry, mutters quietly to himself* So Ramen 
reverses the change... but river water changes it back...  Interesting... 
*louder*  Jaken, go fill several buckets with river water.  We’ll be 
taking them along.

Jaken: *surprised at this strange order* H-hai, Sesshoumaru-sama.

*A few hours later, as everyone in the camp settles down to sleep*

Kagome:  *facing Inu-Yasha, now male again and only partially sticky on 
one hand*  (Poor Inu-Yasha... I can’t imagine what he’s going through...)

Inu-Yasha:  *lies on his back, watching the stars; feels Kagome’s eyes on 
him and turns to her* Nani, Kagome?

Kagome:  *smiles at him*  Nothing, Inu-Yasha.  Just thinking.  *turns over 
and goes to sleep*

Inu-Yasha:  (I hate it when she looks at me with pity...) *sighs* (I wonder 
if she’s still going to go to her cousin’s?) *turns over to stare at the 
warm coals of the fire, then finally drifts to sleep to the lull of the 
wind in the trees*

*The next day*

Inu-Yasha:  *opens his eyes to the sight of the sun already high up in the 
sky, probably about 8:00*  Huh... I slept in...  *looks around to see 
that all of his companions are still sleeping*  So are they.  *He stands 
up and walks quietly to the edge of the river*  Such strange dreams 
last night...  *Bends down and splashes his face, trying to wake 
himself up a little... remembering just a second too late his new 
aversion to river water.*  Oh, great.  What a way to start a day.  *She 
sighs, then looks at her reflection for the first time in the full light of 
day.  Discounting the ripples that make it hard to see, she decides 
that Miroku was right about one thing - she is pretty.* (Though if he 
mentions it again, I’ll still kill him.)  *Then she sighs, catches a few 
fish for breakfast, and heads back to camp, lugging with her a bucket 
of water to make more Ramen with.  When she gets there, Kagome is 
sitting up, awake*

Kagome: *raises an eyebrow* Inu-Yasha...

Inu-Yasha: *growls* I forgot...  *Kagome hides a grin, then picks up a bowl 
of Ramen sitting on the ground* 

Kagome: There was still some left over from last night...  *hands it to her.  
Inu-Yasha takes it and spoons a handful onto her hand, just as much 
as they had found necessary to change last night... but nothing 
happens*

Inu-Yasha:  Ka-Kagome!  *tries again, still to no avail, then starts to panic 
and dumps the whole thing on herself - and remains female*

Kagome:  Relax, Inu-Yasha!  Ummm... Maybe it has to be hot?

Inu-Yasha:  *now very sticky and smelling strongly of Ramen noodle soup*  
Now you tell me.

Kagome:  Why don’t you go get cleaned up, and I’ll make some hot?  *Inu-
Yasha nods, and leaves.  Kagome warms up some soup, and cooks 
some of the fish, the smell waking the others.  Kagome keeps a 
careful eye on Miroku, making sure he doesn’t slip off before Inu-
Yasha comes back.  When she does, Kagome splashes the spoonful on 
her hand, and she becomes him again.  He licks the soup off his hand, 
then sits down to wait for the fish to be cooked.*

*A few hours later the group walks along the river, heading in the general 
direction of Kaede’s village at Kagome’s insistence.*

Inu-Yasha:  Kagome, why do you have to go back?  You said you had seven 
days this time, and it’s only been three.

Kagome: But I’ve only got enough Ramen for one more day.  Besides, I 
ought to check and see when Okaasan’s arranged my visit with my cousin.

Inu-Yasha:  You’re... still going?  *sounds really lost and disappointed*

Kagome:  *looks closely at him, the smiles a little*  Don’t worry, I’ll leave 
plenty of Ramen...

Inu-Yasha:  *sullenly*  It’s not the Ramen I’ll miss...

Kagome:  (hmmm.... I wonder... They say strange things happen in Nerima 
anyway.  Would a half youkai be any stranger?)  I’ll think about it, 
okay?

Inu-Yasha:  *perks up*  Honto ni, Kagome?

Kagome:  Hai.  *The group walks on for about an hour.  Inu-Yasha, with the 
most sensitive hearing, hears someone following... but remembers his 
brother’s words the previous night, and decides to ignore it.  Still, he 
hangs back, letting the others in the group pass him, then sneaks a 
peak behind them, downwind.  He glares at the presence he senses, 
and sure enough, a flash of white catches his eye.  He rolls his eyes 
and catches back up to Kagome.*

Inu-Yasha:  (What does that freak want, anyway?  He’s already made my 
life miserable...)  *sighs*

Kagome:  What’s wrong, Inu-Yasha?

Inu-Yasha:  Nothing.  *Shakes the thought out of his head and smiles at 
her.*  Just thinking.

Kagome:  *pauses*  There’s a Shikon shard nearby! No- several...

Inu-Yasha:  Honto?  Naraku?

Kagome:  Iie, not that many.  But five or six.

Inu-Yasha:  *smiles*  Perfect.  *cracks his knuckles*  I’ve got some 
frustration to take out on somebody...

Kagome:  *rolls her eyes*  Just try not to get too messy.  We only have so 
much Ramen left.

Inu-Yasha:  *smiles at her*  Which way?  *Kagome points*  Yata.  *The 
group walks in that direction for about a half mile (luckily pretty much 
the same direction they were already going in), and finds a village in 
shambles.  They walk through, searching for people, but find none.*

Kagome:  The youkai must have been this way...

Inu-Yasha:  *shrugs*  There’s not very much blood smell.  Couldn’t have 
been that impressive, or maybe everyone just got away.

Kagome: *quietly* I hope they got away.  *No one can be seen.  The group 
finds absolutely no one around, but Kagome feels the lure of the 
Shikon shards within the village.  She leads them to a large hut... 
probably that of the village leader.*  It’s in here.

Inu-Yasha:  Hai.  *Cracks his knuckles, then walks in, leaving the others 
outside.  Miroku and Sango unobtrusively move to protect Kagome 
from anything that might come flying out of the hut.  A few minutes 
pass, then the ground seems to shake.  The small group backs up a 
few steps, and Inu-Yasha comes flying out of the hut, his sword 
unsheathed.*  Get away from the door!  *They step away from the 
hut door, just in time as a tongue comes lashing out and tries to wrap 
itself around someone.*

Kagome:  N-Nani!?!?

Miroku:  Eh?  *gasps*  Stay away from all of the huts!  They’re not really 
houses!  *all of the houses suddenly start shaking, then seem to melt 
into themselves.  With a great slurping sound, the biggest hut in the 
village sucks them all in, and reforms itself into a large youkai.  Five 
shards gleam in Kagome’s eyes on the back of the thing’s head.  She 
points them out to Inu-Yasha, who nods.  The giant youkai, about 20 
feet tall and having hundreds of ant-like legs, in face shaped a lot like 
a giant ant with too many legs, stares down at the small group 
threateningly.*  I see... It used the ‘houses’ to lure in any looters for 
prey...  Works pretty well with all these wars going on.

Kagome:  It’s still awful!

Sango:  So’s grave robbing.  But you’re right, we ought to stop this thing.  

Inu-Yasha:  *smirking* I admit I was fooled enough to walk right into its 
mouth... but really, this ought to be easy.

Kagome:  *looks at the creature* You’re right.

Miroku:  B-but it has ~five~ shards!!!

Kagome:  *shakes her head*  They’re tiny, for shards, and besides, just 
~look~ at it.  It’s can’t be all that fast...

Houseyoukai:  Give me your shards...

Inu-Yasha:  *smirks*  Fine.  But you’ll have to take it.  *Unsheathes his 
sword*

Houseyoukai: With pleasure.  *shrinks down to a more reasonable size, 
standing now about even with Inu-Yasha.  Inu-Yasha blinks, then 
makes a swipe at it with his sword.  It falls to pieces.*

Inu-Yasha: *stares at his sword* Okay, that was too easy...

Kagome:  Inu-Yasha!  Behind you!  *Inu-Yasha turns around to see the 
youkai standing behind him*

Inu-Yasha: H-how??? 

Miroku:  It’s got itself planted under the Earth, Inu-Yasha!  The best way to 
defeat it would probably be to remove the Shikon shards.  Then it 
would resume its original form... 

Inu-Yasha:  So how do I ~find~ the shards, if it keeps moving?

Kagome:  Right now, they’re over there!  *points*

Inu-Yasha:  *smiles*  Arigato, Kagome!  *Inu-Yasha tries to attack the 
ground, but another youkai pops up behind him.  He must turn to 
defend himself.  And then another pops up, and another, and 
another... Inu-Yasha finds himself fighting against multiple demons, 
and is unable to keep up.  Sango starts popping a few with her 
Boomerang, but can’t help too much - Inu-Yasha is in the way.  They 
retreat to the edge of where the faux village was, and thankfully only 
have to attack from one side.  But the Shikon shards are at the other side.*

*Miroku gets fed up, and removes his rosary.  He sucks in about 20 of the 
pop-up youkai.  The second he closes the air rip, Inu-Yasha races 
across the ground at Kagome’s signal, and plunges his sword into the 
ground.  The monster howls, and one Shikon shard pops into the air*

Inu-Yasha:  Eh?  *catches it*  That’s never happened before...  *tosses it to 
Kagome*  Oi, Kagome, catch!  *she does, and the evil-tainted shard 
becomes pure again*

*But now the youkai Inu-Yasha fights is mad.  It gathers itself under it’s 
feet and thrusts upward - sending Inu-Yasha flying.  He tumbles 
through the air, righting himself with expectation of landing softly and 
shoving off to do battle again... but finds herself soaked as she lands 
in the river.  Spluttering, Inu-Yasha crawls out of the river.*

Inu-Yasha:  *clenches her fist*  Okay, now, I’m mad...  *The Tetsusaiga 
seems to glow in response, and she lunges - but once again 
underestimates her distance, and goes flying over the whole thing.  
Kagome yells after her, but doesn’t dare follow across the youkai.  
Inu-Yasha rolls to a stop on the other side of the houseyoukai, then 
stands up and shakes her head into steadiness.  Remembering 
her new lessons on walking, she attacks again - but running is 
unfortunately different from walking.  She stumbles right into the 
arms of a pop-up youkai, who bites down on her shoulder.  She 
screams in fury and swipes through him with the Tetsusaiga, easily 
destroying it.  Blood drips across her tunic*  Not another one.  I spend 
more money on these things than I’m sure Sesshoumaru spends on 
his hair... *smirks to herself at the image, then cuts through six or 
seven more pop-up demons.*  As long as I don’t have to move I’m 
fine...  Sankon Tetsusou!!!  *her powerful attack rips through the pop-
up youkai... but heads straight for her friends.*  Kagome!  MOVE!!!

Miroku:  Hai!  *grabs the girls and jumps out of the way, leaving Shippou 
and Myouga to fend for themselves.  Shippou nimbly dodges with 
Myouga on his shoulder, but gives Miroku an evil glare for leaving 
him.  Not that Miroku notices, since he now lays on top of the two 
girls, keeping them out of the way of the attack... just a few seconds 
longer than absolutely necessary...

Sango: *sweetly* Miroku...

Miroku:  Hai, Sango-san?

Sango:  GET OFF!!!  *Hits him with... guess what... her boomerang.  He 
rolls off along the ground, going all swirly-eyed, and the girls stand 
back up*

*Inu-Yasha sternly tells herself not to use ~that~ attack again until she can 
control it.  She goes back to her sword, sweeping around herself in a 
roundhouse move.*

Inu-Yasha:  Kagome, where are the shards???

Kagome: Um... *looks around frantically before pointing*  There!!!

*Inu-Yasha attacks the spot, thrusting her sword into the ground, but by 
Kagome’s expression, the shards have already changed position.  
Meanwhile, the youkai uses Inu-Yasha’s distraction to thrust the 
ground up under her, sending her flying - this time without her sword.  
She flips and tries to land softly, but once again her newness to her 
body comes disadvantages her, and she falls on her posterior.  
Again.*

Inu-Yasha:  *rubbing her petutie*  This is getting irksome... *stands up and 
races back onto the youkai, towards the now detransformed 
Tetsusaiga.  Her steps are a little bit more steady than before, but 
even so, she barely manages a light jog without stumbling.  Moving 
this slow, she’s  practically a sitting duck for the pop-up youkai, and 
only quick claw slashes (not enhanced by any attack methods) 
prevent them from taking her down.*  Miroku, I thought this thing 
was supposed to be weaker if we removed that Shikon shard!

Miroku: *sagely* It is.  But before it was only greedy; now it’s mad.

Inu-Yasha:  *rolls her eyes*  That’s a ~lot~ of help right now, Miroku, 
really.  Yah-!  *The youkai seems to get smarter, and thrusts the 
ground up again - but this time only enough to make Inu-Yasha 
stumble.  She falls flat on her face this time, and automatically rolls 
over to block whatever attack may come.  Her eyes widen as she sees 
an expanse of shapeless black youkai hover over her, like a tidal 
wave, and she reflexively closes her eyes, knowing she has no chance 
of getting up before it crashes down...*

*A sudden cry of pain from the Houseyoukai and the surprised shouts of her 
friends makes her open her eyes again.  Above her stands her ever-
hated older brother, Sesshoumaru - protecting her.  The wave of 
youkai has been melted in down to half it’s size, and shrinks further 
as it draws back in on itself.  Sesshoumaru casually lowers his arm, as 
if nothing had ever happened, and calmly addresses Kagome.*

Sesshoumaru:  Where are the shards, woman?

Kagome: *blinks, surprised, but then looks around and points at a spot* 
There. No, wait, they’re moving again... *her arm follows the glowing 
spots in the ground, but this doesn’t help any, since by the time one 
looks at her and then at the ground, they’ve already moved.  
Sesshoumaru bounds to the edge of the infested ground, and throws 
Kagome across his back*  Now, show me.  But if you fall, I leave you.  
*She grabs on tightly with one arm, and points with the other.  
Sesshoumaru employs his whip-thingy, and quickly rips open the 
ground, sending soil flying everywhere, as well as two Shikon shards.  
Sess catches them and hands them to Kagome, who slips them into 
her shirt with the others.  The Houseyoukai has all but forgotten Inu-
Yasha, who growls to herself about her job being usurped, but makes 
her way out of the infested region anyway, grabbing the Tetsusaiga 
on the way.  Sesshoumaru in the meantime easily locates the 
weakened demon’s remaining two shards, it’s strength and speed now 
diminished, unearths them (literally), and gives them to Kagome.  He 
then dumps her off where he picked her up, and turns to the field.  
Meanwhile, the Houseyoukai has shrunken, and only two pop-up 
youkai are ever visible at a time - but the main part of the demon still 
remains underground.*

Sesshoumaru:  Now... time for you to die.  *He walks over to where 
Inu-Yasha stands (checking Kagome to make sure Sess didn’t hurt 
her), and puts his arm on hers.  She squeaks with rage and tries to knock him 
off, but he places her hand on the hilt of the Tetsusaiga, and she 
understands what he wants.  She lets him, if only because it suits her 
purposes too.  He uses her hand to draw the sword, being careful not 
to touch it himself, then swings it at the field.  The two siblings 
working in tandem unleash incredible power in the sword... but 
Sesshoumaru restrains it, keeping it confined to the area of the 
Houseyoukai.  The Earth disintegrates, and the youkai along with it.  
The job done, Inu-Yasha yanks away from Sesshoumaru, sheathing 
her sword.  She walks over to stand by her friends*

Sesshoumaru:  *addressing Inu-Yasha*  I told you I would be close by.

Inu-Yasha: Feh.  

Sesshoumaru:  *smirks*  I find that so irritating when you do that male... 
but it’s cute when you’re like that.

Inu-Yasha: *growls*

Sesshoumaru: *decides not to press his luck* You need to spend more time 
as a woman, Inu-Yasha.  You practically lost the instant you changed.  
Although, I will not save you if you insist on being male when you 
loose to someone.

Inu-Yasha: *growls again* I don’t need your help.

Sesshoumaru:  *smirks* Of course not, imouto-chan.  *Her fists clench at 
this, but she otherwise ignores it, her nose up in the air.  He turns to 
leave, but Inu-Yasha’s curiosity - or maybe just a machonistic 
tendency - stops him*

Inu-Yasha: Sesshoumaru...

Sesshoumaru:  Nan des ka, Inu-Yasha?

Inu-Yasha:  You didn’t try to take my sword. I guess you don’t want it 
anymore?

Sesshoumaru:  *smirks again*  I think you need all the protection you can 
get right now...  I’ll just wait a little longer.  *walks off*  

*A few days later, beside the well*

Kagome: *quietly, to Inu-Yasha (who’s male again)* Is he watching?

Inu-Yasha:  Probably.  But so what?  I doubt he can go through anyway.

Kagome: *nods, and slings her pack over her back*  I’ll be back in three 
days - These are the last days of school.  (And I can’t believe I 
actually passed the semester... can you say luck, or what?)

Inu-Yasha:  Good.  And-

Kagome:  I haven’t decided yet.  But you come through before I’m ready, 
I’m going to my cousin’s, and that’s it.  *hands him the remaining 
Ramen*  I’ll be right back with some more before I stay gone, okay? 
*he nods, and Kagome hops into the well.  A few minutes pass, then 
she reappears with several boxes of Instant Ramen.  He gratefully 
accepts them, then gives Kagome a hug, ignoring the others, and 
whispers in her ear*

Inu-Yasha:  A-arigato, Kagome, I couldn’t have made it through the past 
few days without you... *he lets her go, and gives a staring Shippou a 
glare*  What are you looking at, brat?

Shippou:  *picks his jaw up off the floor* N-Nothing, you jerk!  *turns 
away, but doesn’t look very sulky, since Kagome picks him up and 
gives him a little hug of her own*

Kagome:  Don’t pout so, Shippou.  I’ll be right back.  *Turns and hops into 
the well*

*On the other side, that night*

Kagome:  *over the dinner table*  Okaasan... Inu-Yasha’s been having a 
really hard time lately.  I was wondering...

Mrs. Higurashi:  Hai, Kagome-chan?

Kagome:  Maybe, maybe I could bring him with me to visit Nerima?  I think 
it might cheer him up a little, at the least.

Mrs. Higurashi:  *pauses, thinking*  Well, I certainly don’t mind, providing 
you think he could behave.  But you’ll have to call and ask your uncle 
if ~he~ minds another person in the house.  I heard he already has 
several house guests. 

Kagome: Arigato, Okaasan!  

*An hour later*

Kagome:  *putting down the book she’s studying* Souta, what size do you 
think Inu-Yasha would wear?

Souta: *a curious expression on his face*  Uhh... I dunno... Medium?  Why, 
Kagome?

Kagome:  *shrugs*  Well, he probably shouldn’t wear that armor of his to 
visit the Tendos in... 

Souta:  Nani?  You’re taking him????

Kagome:  *smiles at her little brother*  Hai.  Uncle Tendo okay-ed it when I 
called him twenty minutes ago.

Souta:  Cool!  Can he come by a day earlier?  I want to see him!!!

Kagome:  *laughs*  You’ll see both of us when we leave, anyway.  Although 
it might not be a bad idea to bring him early... then Okaasan and I 
can get him some normal clothes, and think of something to do with 
those ears.  

Souta:  *nods*  Yeah, he’d sorta stick out with them, wouldn’t he?

*The next two days, Kagome goes to school and takes her final few tests, 
gets and gives Christmas gifts, and basically prepares for a three-
week long vacation - one week of which would be spent with her 
relatives.  Before returning through the well, she stocks up on Ramen, 
and promises her mother to be back in two days, with Inu-Yasha (“if 
he wants to go, of course”)  Then she dives through the well and back 
to the past.*

Kagome:  *sticking her head out of the well*  Inu-Yasha?  *She looks 
around, but doesn’t see him - at first.  Then she notices a figure 
sitting against the well with legs crossed, looking very irate, and very 
female.  Inu-Yasha-onna looks up at Kagome, then stands up and 
helps her out of the well*  Ano... Inu-Yasha... All that Ramen...

Inu-Yasha: *gruffly* Don’t ask.  *looks at Kagome*  So... are you... going?

Kagome:  *smiles*  I’ll tell you back at Kaede’s place.  *starts off* What 
are you waiting for?

Inu-Yasha:  *growls and follows*

Kagome:  *watching the other girl*  You’re getting better at walking.

Inu-Yasha:  *smirks* Actually, I’ve almost got running down, too.  
*frowns*  I’ve spent the last day and a half female.  *clenches her 
fists and looks down*  Sesshoumaru stole the Ramen two nights 
ago... I think... We were sleeping at the time, and only he moves 
quietly enough that I wouldn’t notice him. 

Kagome:  *nods*  Well, I’ve got plenty.

Inu-Yasha:  *sighs*  I sure hope so.  I’m getting sick of this.

Kagome: Well, let’s just see how fast you can run.  Can you catch me?  
*takes off towards Kaede’s house, full speed.  Inu-Yasha lets out a 
startled squeak, then chases after her.  The two reach Kaede’s at the 
same time, laughing.*  That’s the first time I’ve ever been able to 
keep up with you!

Inu-Yasha:  You’re just lucky I’m not used to this yet.  Now let’s go in, I 
wanna get male again.

Kagome:  *smirks*  Yeah.  (I like you ~much~ better as a boy, even 
though you’re nicer as a girl...)  *leads the way inside*

*A few minutes later, Inu-Yasha is licking the hot Ramen off of his hand, 
smiling contentedly.  He finishes, and looks up at Kagome*

Inu-Yasha:  So, you still haven’t told me if you’re going to your cousin’s.

Kagome: *keeping a poker face*  Yes, I am.  

Inu-Yasha:  *disappointed; his ears droop and he looks down*  Oh.

Kagome: And so are you.

Inu-Yasha: *Looks up, startled* N-Nani?

Kagome:  Well, that is, if you ~want~ to.  Just as a vacation, for a week or so.

Kaede:  Kagome-chan, are you sure that’s wise?

Kagome:  *waves a hand negligently* They say weird things happen in 
Nerima anyway.  As long as Inu-Yasha behaves, and we keep away 
from water and have some Ramen on hand, we’ll be fine.  Oh!  That 
reminds me.  *digs through her bag, then retrieves a thermos bottle*  
Inu-Yasha, put the rest of the Ramen in this.  It’s made to keep 
liquids hot for longer periods of time.

Inu-Yasha:  Great!  *pours the rest of the Ramen in*  Arigato, Kagome!  
*tries to figure out how to put the top back on; Kagome finally shows 
him, though she laughs so hard she spills some of the soup*  Shut up...

Kagome:  *giggles*  Gomen, Inu-Yasha.  *sobers up*  So, do you want to 
come?

Inu-Yasha: *nods violently* Hai!!!  When do we leave?

Kagome:  We have to go back to my time in two days.  Then we’ll have to 
get you some other clothes, so you won’t stand out so much, and find 
some way to hide those ears of yours...

Inu-Yasha:  *puts a protective claw over his ears*  What’s wrong with 
them?

Kagome:  *hiding a smile*  Nothing, Inu-Yasha.  They just kinda... stand out.  

Inu-Yasha:  *grumpily* Well, I’m half youkai.  What do you expect?  
*Kagome grins*

*They set out the next day, Inu-Yasha keeping a careful eye on his Ramen.  
They find another Shikon shard, and Inu-Yasha manages to keep his 
gender this time in the process... only to become female by stepping 
in a puddle while Kagome retrieves the Shikon shard.  She grumbles 
as she warms some soup, but manages to stay civil (not wanting to 
amuse her inevitable watcher).  She changes back, then returns the 
rest of the soup to his new thermos.  They head back the next day, 
getting to Kaede’s just about noon.  Kaede fixes the group on last 
meal*

Shippou: *munching on a riceball*  So, Inu-Yasha, you’re going with 
Kagome, too?

Inu-Yasha:  Yup.  What are you going to do without me, brat?

Sango:  *answering before Shippou can start an argument over insults* I 
think we’ll probably just relax.  I mean, if you’re going on a vacation, 
why shouldn’t we?

Miroku:  *smiles hopefully at Sango*  I know of some very lovely fields that 
would be ideal for a picnic...

Sango:  Great.  *Miroku looks really hopeful*  You and Shippou can go have 
some fun.

Shippou: Hey, don’t leave me with him all alone!!!  I’d rather go with you!

Miroku: *looking crushed*  Or maybe I’ll just stay here...  *Kagome 
laughs*

Shippou:  *looks sad* What am going to do without you for ~eight days~, 
Kagome?  They’re all so boring!!!

Kagome:  Oh, Shippou... *ruffles his hair*  You’ll be fine.  *The group chats 
through lunch, and then it’s time to go.*