AN: I never really state who narrates the first part, but it's not hard to figure out. I told you guys I'd get to the sequel—eventually, anyways. I've had a long few months. But hey, I got started finally! So yay, happiness runs abound! Bit of an emotional cliffie, but it's better than the time I killed Kagome and ended the chapter . . . I end it with her stressing out some. Had lots of fun with Jaken, lol.

Oh hell . . . I had some reviews saying they didn't know who was narrating, so oh well. It's Naraku narrating this first scene. I think he's a little bit off his rocker, myself. But not horribly. Just enough to be . . . well, kind of freaky. I get a little more in-depth with it later on in the story. And I still haven't decided if Kikyo will make a cameo. I'm pretty sure I killed her, and there's no way I could reincarnate her. Maybe I'll just have her hover around in the corners of everyone's minds like the spook she really is.

Oh, and I'm totally re-writing 'Life Uncommon.' I felt it was an insult to my writing, so I'm redoing it. I was just downright embarrassed. And for those of you who emailed me recently about the missing/edited hot spring scene, it'll be a few more days. Sorry! L

Hope you like the chappie. Cheerio!

How long can one sit and plot their own destruction? How many lifetimes does it take to realize that you are destined to die a horrible death each time? I do not think I realized that in time to save myself before. Had I known what would happen to me so long ago, who would end up killing me, I am certain I would have done things differently.

For starters, I would have killed Inuyasha before the bastard could think twice.

Ironic, how it is he who has killed me each time. What is he to me-an enemy? An ally? He was a friend once, I think. But to balance out our friendship, he has more often than not been my sworn enemy. I have usually striven to stay alive towards the end of all our conflicts. A friend, yes. In one life I believe we were lovers, although I would rather not dwell on that. I do have a sensitive gag reflex. Friend, ally, enemy . . . to disturbingly offset one of our lives, we were brothers once. Twins, to be specific-not identical, of course, but twins. He had the looks of our father-proud, with his silver hair and gold eyes. He was given the Tetsusaiga, our uncle's sword, though rather grudgingly. I suspect our father found it difficult to part with.

And the girl, Kikyo. No . . . Kagome. Kikyo had proven to be nothing more than a shell filled with hatred. The purity that had drawn me to her originally died with her real body. All those things Kikyo represented did not die, however. They died for her . . . but they were given to one more deserving. Kagome resurrected that which Kikyo let die, and she turned it into something that saved the world.

From me, in case we lack a dose of irony thus far.

I slide my hands into my pockets and wait for the 'walk' signal to come on. I've been ticketed for jaywalking three times this year, I don't need a fourth ticket to pay off. My mind wanders more often than not lately, but I do not complain. The memories are not all unpleasant.

I smile dryly. It was truly a miracle that Inuyasha was able to actually kill me in our past life-really rather dramatic, ripping the Shikkon Jewel from my neck and leaving me to die. I wonder briefly what has become of the Jewel-perhaps Kagome still carries it. I cannot imagine why she wouldn't. But on a deeper level, I don't really care. The Jewel only plagued me in one lifetime. I'm sure something new will arise to catch my eye and get me killed. It always happens. Inuyasha has been the one to kill me each time, and Kagome has always helped him. They are rather indestructible when they want to be.

My mind returns to her. Brave girl, really. I remember the pain I put her through before-physical, psychological, emotional, and yet it took force to make her crumble. A physical intrusion was all that made her yield to me, along with some added . . . persuasions . . . for my own benefit. The measures I took to retrieve the location of the jewel were admittedly cruel to the poor thing, and not necessary at all. So why be so evil? Why so cruel?

That, my friends, is simple. I am evil.

Or I was. I'm not quite sure what I am now. I balance on a knife's edge: on one side is the oblivion that any human is entitled to when it comes to the darker aspects of life, the cruelty and malice and, of course, the evil. On the other side is the madness that has consumed me before. I could care less which way I tumble; I will hit the ground hard either way.

I glance at the couple sitting on a bench as I cross the street finally, careful to keep my face angled away. I don't know why I came to Tokyo. Perhaps it is the hatred for my father in a life many centuries ago. Perhaps I will never truly rest until my soul is vanquished-really, if everyone would just kill me and do it right, I would be very grateful. Cut my head off, banish the demons from my body, push me off a cliff, shoot me with a flaming arrow, that won't do it. I have an old soul, like Kagome and Inuyasha. Even that monk . . . damn, what was his name? . . . and the demon exterminator had old souls. Sesshoumaru, though he is a fool and does not know it, has a soul as old as mine. Fewer lives, yes, but he has been a full demon each time, so he has lived longer. I am still cursed to be a half-demon, though-and it's not as though I would live very long as a true demon anyways. Fate does seem to conspire against me, after all.

Why do they plague me so? Inuyasha is obvious. Our rivalry dates back to the beginning of time. I do not understand this bond to Sesshoumaru-aside from the fact that in his current life, he has outlived both his sons. The fact that he aided Inuyasha in killing me-his own child.

Maybe that has something to do with it.

I pause for a moment, watching the couple on the bench, careful that they don't see me. So calm, so serene. He seems very comfortable with her-or as comfortable as he is capable of being without a sword. Five hundred years only change one so much. There is certainly attraction between them, even I cannot deny that. Her lovely face has a tentative smile as they talk-I don't think they ever really talked privately in the Warring States, unless he was angry about something or there was extreme pressure on them.

How do I know this, you ask? I did invade her mind. The violation is a double-edged sword, and the connection has never truly faded, even after these five hundred years. I know many things about her, and though she doesn't know it, she knows many things about me as well.

She pushes a wayward strand of ebony hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear a little nervously. Their conversation is bordering on very serious, and she does not do well in severe situations. If you were to stick an arrow in her face with every intention of killing her, she wouldn't blink, but interactions like these scare her to death. Somewhere under the schoolgirl clothes and makeup, she is a warrior. But I do not think she will discover that part of herself in this life.

I am distracted, and so I do not see the person headed towards me. We collide rather violently, and his books hit the ground. I mutter an apology as her eyes flicker over to me once, and I turn away quickly, lest she get a good enough look to recognize me. I am pushing my luck lately, being so close to her. Our destiny in this life will not be the same as in our last life together-I do not think we will start off enemies. But in the end, she and Inuyasha will kill me. They always do.

I catch a glimpse of myself in the window of a barber shop-I have lost a little weight, but I was out of shape not long ago, so it's not a bad thing. I have been honing the skills that come with being a half-demon, and it is doing wonders for my metabolism. I am not helpless, and I never plan to be.

I think I have become wiser since I last lived a life with Kagome. I am not the greedy, ambitious fool that I was when I sought the Jewel, and I am not the spoiled child I was when I sought the key to immortality in the next life. But I was never stupid. Now I am the wiser for my mistakes, and I suspect that were I to have a goal in life, I would achieve it very quickly, be it a future as a businessman or ruling the world.

I turn the corner and leave Kagome to her afternoon with Sesshoumaru. Now is not the time to approach her . . . although if I did, what in the hell would I say? I can think of many things I shouldn't say, but nothing decent. It would be nice to get to her before Inuyasha and the others, as I know they're lurking in the city somewhere, waiting for Sesshoumaru to take her to them. I told you I was no fool.

I don't know about my sanity. I suspect that I never had it, in any of my past lives. But I am still very intelligent. I do know right from wrong, and I have a grasp of morals. I know when I should not cross the line.

I don't know if that makes me less dangerous, or more.

You know how sometimes the world seems to gang up on you all at once? Kinda like that sign that says 'I try to take it one day at a time, but lately they've all ganged up on me at once.' The story of my life. I stared at my ceiling, partly from paranoia and partly from insomnia. When you're overloaded with information like I was, it's really hard to sleep.

Plus, there was a red wasp running rampant in my room and I had no idea where it was. I had the urge to dive under the covers and hide, but then I wondered if the little bastard had crawled up under the sheets and was just waiting for me to scoot down . . .

Oh holy god. I was so paranoid.

I refused to think about the wasp, though. There was too much on my mind-too much Sesshoumaru had told me to worry about a bug. (Albeit a bug with a stinger, but still just a bug.), and so I resolved to think about important things (that had nothing to do with wasps and their creepy crawly legs, painful stingers, and wings that made the window rattle. Not as though my terror of wasps came from a certain demon whose only use for the little monsters was to try and kill my friend. And not like I didn't have nightmares about him to make a horror movie look like the newest Jackie Chan movie.) Important, by the way, constituted as reincarnations, friends, and enemies. I was not the only reincarnation in Tokyo-as a matter of fact, all of my friends had been reincarnated one way or another. Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Shippou . . . they were all alive, somewhere in Tokyo. Sesshoumaru had tracked them all down nearly a year ago, he'd told me, and he'd waited until I was back from my last romp through the well.

I nibbled on my thumbnail. When I had jumped down the well after the battle with Naraku, I had never really comprehended that I would never go back down the well again. It wasn't like I had any designs on ever going back, but . . . well, Inuyasha and everyone else down there had become a part of my life, and to think that I would never see them again wasn't something I had come to terms with. And to think that I would never have to deal with them being out of my life again . . . I didn't know what to think of it.

I shivered in the darkness. Paranoia had run rampant over the past few weeks, since before Sesshoumaru had found me in class. That had bothered me at first, to think that he'd been able to track me down, but he brushed it off. Something to the effect of "Well it was no fool's task to find out where you lived. Then your grandfather, once I introduced myself, was more than happy to tell me you were in school and what school you attended. The women in the attendance office were more than happy to tell me that you were in lunch-actually, they were more than happy to give me your entire schedule-and several girls in the hallway were more than happy to tell me where you sat during lunch."

A smile crossed my face. That had been easily explainable-aside from Grandpa, everyone he'd spoken with had been women, and he was not unattractive. Grandpa, on the other hand, was raised on the legends of Inuyasha and his brother Sesshoumaru, so he was probably a little star-struck. But women? Smitten. I was amazed no one had molested him.

And I had found out what was up with my friends thinking he was blond, too. Something like it was an image he willed the world to see-really, beautiful though he may be, a guy with gold eyes and bright marks on his face, one in the shape of a crescent moon, stands out and draws attention. I alone saw through it because even if I didn't know it was him, I had the powers of a priestess. It'd take more than a mere illusion to pull a one-over on me. There are really none left, so he never worried about anyone seeing right through him the way I did. A little bit flattering, really.

A buzzing rattle on my window, and I shot under the covers, making sure to protect my fingers. Then a scratch on the wall, like claws. I peeked out and squinted into the darkness, almost fruitlessly and definitely scared. "Hello?" I called bravely. "I swear I'll kick your ass if you touch me!"

To prove my point, I reached over and turned on my light-and screamed.

"SOUTA! GET IN HERE, THERE'S A HUGE BUG IN MY ROOM!" I screeched at the top of my lungs to wake him up.

Mom and Souta were there almost immediately, Souta sleepy-eyed and Mom holding a frying pan. "What? Who's in here-Kagome? Are you all right?" she asked, only half-awake and confused.

"Oh, trivialize it!" I exclaimed. "There's a HUGE wasp over there! On the window, kill it, drown it, I don't care, I can't sleep it'll sting me!"

Souta shuffled over and squinted at it. "That's not a wasp, Kagome."

"I don't care, it buzzes and flies! What is it?"

"I dunno . . . it looks like a yellow jacket."

"We don't have yellow jackets."

"Well then I don't know what it is. And it's too big to be a wasp or anything-it has eyes."

I shivered. "Just kill it."

"Maybe Grandpa should see this, Mom," Souta began thoughtfully, too tired to realize my peril and terror. "It's eyes are big and red."

I glanced at him. "What?"

"Come see for yourself," he said.

I pushed my covers back and crept to the window. The bug-evil, evil little monster-immediately took flight when I moved, but it didn't fly off. Instead it simply hovered in the air, eye-level with me. Cold fingers danced up my spine as I approached slowly, and my eyes grew very round as I locked gazes with the bug. "Just kill it, Souta."

"But what is it?" he whined.

"DON'T ASK QUESTIONS. I won't miss this one. There are plenty where it came from," I told him, my voice shaking. What were they doing here? Because it wasn't just one bug. Somewhere nearby, there had to be an entire swarm. A whole group, set on m y house . . .

Then there was an irritated shout from outside, and a spit of flames from the ground. Another one knocked my window out entirely, and the insect of Hell flew out at top-speed. I stared, not sure whether I should look outside or scream first.

Someone made the decision for me.

"Stupid human, what were you thinking, letting that thing into your house?" came an explosion from right outside my window. Then a figure hopped through my broken window to stand on my windowsill, and I screamed as loud as I could, then threw the nearest shoe at it.

At which point Jaken promptly threw it back at me. "Don't disrespect me in such a way, you insignificant mortal!"

"Hey, frog prince, stop sneaking around outside my window!" I shot back.

"Look outside," he snapped, pointing out the window. We all looked, my mother and brother taking his presence amazingly well, and I saw . . .

It looked like a cloud, just moving across the sky, and it covered the full moon entirely, like a shadow had passed over it, blocking out the light. "Is that them?" I asked nervously.

"Yes. And there are more where that horde came from. Someone in this time is controlling them."

"It was Sesshoumaru the first time."

"Well it's not this time!" he exploded. "Ignorant human!"

"So how many more times are you going to insult me before I throw another shoe at you?"

"Um-Kagome?" Mom began tentatively. "Would you mind introducing your friend?"

I balked. "Oh. Sorry. That's just Jaken, Sesshoumaru's vassal. Or tag-along. Depends on your opinion of him."

"Nice to meet you," she said politely.

I sighed and grabbed the little toad by the neck and stormed out of my room. "I don't want to deal with this," I told Mom with annoyance. "Sorry. This is complicated."

Once outside, I threw him in the fish pond. "Talk."

Flames spewed at me from his staff, and I ducked. "Hey! Watch where you aim that!"

"Next time I'll burn you to a crisp!"

"What are you doing at my house?" I demanded.

"Trying to keep your every boring move from being watched," he snapped back. "Ungrateful wench."

"By the insects?" I asked.

"What else would hover near your house generally unnoticed, fool?" he snorted. "They've been watching you for nearly six months now."

"What?"

"You heard me!"

"But I haven't even been here for six months . . ."

"Does it matter?" he asked sourly. "Your family has."

"Who wants anything to do with my family?" I asked stupidly, cold tendrils of fear making me shiver.

"You know the answer to that," he scowled. "I think I've become the stupider for just being in your pathetic presence."

"Hey!" I exploded. "Can't you just go away or something?"

"What, and run the risk of seeing Lord Sesshoumaru passive-aggressive and moderately maniacal?" he replied. "I've learned better."

I felt the dry amusement brought on by denial slip over me. "Passive-aggressive, huh? I'll live happy without seeing that."

"You still don't get it, do you?" he asked flatly.

"Of course I do," I retorted, folding my arms, although I didn't know what I didn't get—so maybe I lied to him a little. Big freaking deal.

"Idiot. You stink of lies," he snapped, "and trust me—I can smell it, along with something disgustingly akin to flowers."

"IT'S MY SHAMPOO!"

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO HAS THE INSECTS OF HELL STALKING YOUR VERY HOUSE AND EVERY MOVE?" he screeched, sloshing out of the pond and pulling a rather large goldfish from his ankle. "Damn fish!"

"I don't want to know!"

"So you'll just sit by while Naraku moves us all around like pieces on a chessboard?" he snapped. "You honestly think this will all just pass you by, even though he already knows where you live, who your family is, and probably every other aspect of your life? Yes, he'll abandon you like a bad habit after going to all that trouble. Stupid—"

"—Human, yes, I've been told," I interrupted. "How do you know it's Naraku, anyways? He's dead, remember?"

"So is the priestess Kikyo," he replied flatly. "But in this time, reincarnations are apparently the thing to be. You know, of course, that your 'friends' have been reincarnated."

"Yes, and you'd better unquote that 'friends,'" I added. "I haven't seen them yet, but Sesshoumaru said they were alive and all within the general area."

"Yes; Inuyasha is currently living with Lord Sesshoumaru. I believe he totaled his father's car and was grounded, so he resides now with his . . . oh, whatever Lord Sesshoumaru is to him now."

"They're not brothers, I take it."

Jaken sighed. "He wishes to see you tonight."

"Who, Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru?" I asked.

"I don't really care; you annoy me either way and I'm the one who has to fill you in on the last five hundred years," he replied sourly.

"Hey! You could at least pretend to be nice!" I whined, putting my hands on my hips angrily. "Don't make me throw you back in the fish pond—I forgot to feed them this evening, and I bet they're hungry—"

Flames spit out of the staff at me again, and I toppled over—SPLASH!

So much for throwing Jaken in the fish pond.

"Just follow me!" he snapped. "You missed out on a lot when you jumped back through that cursed well, and you can't stand against Naraku unless you know what he knows. This time, his knowledge is his power over you! Gods above, wench," he added as I peeled myself from the shallow end of the pond and wrung water out of my pajamas. "You're slower than death."

I pulled off the long-sleeved pajama top that covered the pink tank top and threw it at him, soaking him again. "Oh, shut up and walk," I muttered. "MOM! I'M GOING TO SESSHOUMARU'S!"

Her head poked out my shattered window. "Honey, I thought Sesshoumaru was the bad guy . . ."

"No, not this time," I called back. "I'll be back . . . um, sometime. Tell Grandpa I said hi, if I don't see him in the morning."

"All right, sweetie, just be careful . . ."

Her words faded into the distance as Jaken dragged me away, annoyed. "Where do you get off, telling your foolish mother that Lord Sesshoumaru is a villain?"

"He was the villain, remember?" I asked as we hurried down the street. "Hey, slow down, I'm barefoot. The guy tried to kill me the first time he met me—as did you, if I remember," I added warningly. "I haven't forgotten that!"

"Yes, well, the fact that you had the gall to remove the Tetsusaiga from it's resting place, rather than let someone worthy, such as Sesshoumaru, do it himself."

"If I remember right, he couldn't get it out! If it weren't' for me, there'd be no sword to fight over, and Inuyasha wouldn't have an eye . . ."

"Besides, that wasn't the first time Lord Sesshoumaru met you. The first time, it was when he came bearing Inuyasha's mother," he added, as though I was a five-year-old kid.

"Yeah, I remember," I sighed. "So catch me up on the last five hundred years, frog boy."

"YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS—"

"As what?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Lord Jaken? Don't make me laugh."

"JUST DON'T ADDRESS ME! Just shut up and let me talk!" he exploded. "Idiot!"

"You're sure in a good mood tonight," I scowled. "I don't think I've been insulted so much since Inuyasha's last 'time of the month.'"

"And while you're at it, don't compare me to that half-breed demon scum!"

"Fine! I just won't talk!" I wailed in irritation. "Just go ahead and fill me in!"

"Stupid human," he scowled, and his staff spewed a little bit of fire in annoyance. He was going to scare some poor old woman out of her mind. Oh wait, old people were already asleep. It was really late. "Where do I begin?" he sighed, more to himself than me. "Inuyasha was killed shortly after you left, for starters."

I stopped in my tracks. "What?

"Yes; it was some demon in search of the Shikon Jewel," he said dismissively. "The boy lost his will to fight with you gone and Naraku and Kikyo dead, otherwise I don't believe that the demon in question could have laid a finger on him."

He . . . he had died? But—but how was that even possible? . . .

Inuyasha . . .

"Oh, don't even start to do that," Jaken added shortly. "He was reborn nearly six months later."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I feel like I'm about to overload."

"The problem with Inuyasha being reborn," Jaken continued, "was that Naraku was reborn at the same time—as his brother, incidentally. I believe they were twins."

"Whose kids were they?" I asked.

He ignored the question. "The monk and his demon-exterminator were romantically involved for awhile, but it seems she had problems with commitment. Something to do with losing her brother and entire village, I'm sure," he added in an offhand manner. "The wolf-demon Kouga finally settled down with his mate, and they focused on rebuilding his tribe. Or that was their excuse, anyways," he muttered. "Disgusting creatures. No one has heard from Kikyo in the entire five hundred years, so we assume she was pulled into the monk's hand. But Naraku has been reborn many times, and each time he seems to have a knack for attempting to either destroy humanity, ,live forever, or rule the world. Either he's an idiot, or the man has a very poor lot in life."

"Where is he now?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Do I look like I'm babysitting him in this life?" he asked, a sulk noted in his voice. "Lord Sesshoumaru has been trying to locate him for several months—preferably before Naraku could make the first move. But by the time he realized that the half-demon scum was already in the city, it was when he discovered that your house was being watched by Naraku's insects. Since then," he continued, "he has found the rest of the reincarnations from five hundred years ago. Neither Master Sesshoumaru nor I thought that anyone else would be reincarnated, until Rin had a friend come over one night, and it ended up being the demon exterminator."

"Sango?" I exclaimed. "Wait—Rin? She's been brought back too?"

"Of course. When Lord Sesshoumaru revived her with the Tenseiga, her soul was forever bound to his."

"But . . . but Sesshoumaru brought me back with the Tenseiga, too."

A dark glare. "Don't remind me."

I faltered. "So that has lasting effects?"

"In the long run," he scowled. "The child, I could handle occasionally. When she was younger . . . absolutely impossible. The girl was a princess in her own mind; I daresay Lord Sesshoumaru spoiled her to no end. He paid her more attention than he did his own—" Jaken cut himself off, and a flame shot out of the staff again.

"His own what?" I pressed.

"None of your business, wench!"

I sighed. "Okay, now I know you're keeping something from me."

"And what makes you think that?"

"That's the second question of mine you haven't answered. You don't dodge questions unless you're hiding something," I replied confidently.

"Trust me, human. You wouldn't like the answers to the questions you've asked."

"Hey, look, all I asked was who Inuyasha and Naraku's parents were, and who Sesshoumaru put after Rin, okay? It's not like . . ."

"Down the driveway, wench," Jaken cut me off. "And don't bother knocking. He's probably outside."

"Now wait just a second," I began as a slow dawning began in my brain. I felt a bit like a computer downloading a file, and it took only a moment for all the info to load. And maybe I jumped to a bit of a hasty conclusion . . .

Or maybe I didn't.

"Hang on, frog boy," I said, coming to a dead halt in the middle of the doorway. "Sesshoumaru—he didn't—I mean, Inuyasha and Naraku weren't reborn as . . . but . . ."

"Just shut the hell—"

"Kagome?"

Right. Information overload. Inuyasha stood frozen in the doorway, clothes rumpled and his hair tied behind him. Sesshoumaru stood behind him, pajama pants tied loosely and riding very low on his hips. I didn't take any of it in.

"Did you have kids?" I demanded. "I mean ever, at any point after I went through the well?"

The response was nearly immediate. Both brothers (or whatever they were) advanced on Jaken, who began to back away. "Wait, Lord Sesshoumaru . . . I didn't say anything, she assumed it all on her own—"

"Jaken." Sesshoumaru's voice was low and almost friendly. Oh yeah . . . passive-aggressive. Whoops.

"Now hang on," I cut in, "before you go feeding him to the dog, did you?"

"Kagome . . ." Sesshoumaru looked frustrated and tired. "I told you it was a long five hundred years."

"Yeah, apparently!" I put my forehead in my hands, pressing the heels into my temples. "Look, I . . . I don't know . . . my brain doesn't want to function! Can't you put clothes on? It's distracting!" And then a hand flew to my mouth, and I felt all the heat rush to my cheeks. Guess I did take some of it in.

"Oh, this is great," Inuyasha muttered. "How sweet. I think I'm going to be sick. Come on, Jaken, we're gonna have a little talk before I get a cavity. See ya later, Kagome," he added as he dragged Jaken up the stairs.

" . . . Let me go, you insufferable mutt! If your mother hears how you treat me, she'll flay you alive! . . ."

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "He should have taken the job with Walt Disney. I gave him leave; he felt his job wasn't done. I—" he paused. "You're shaking."

I nodded and wrapped my arms around my wet self. "I kind of fell into a pond. Sort of. Jaken loaned a hand."

Warm hands covered my own, which were rubbing my arms to restore warmth. "Outside," he sighed. "There is much to discuss."

Not even ten minutes later, we sat out on his porch, watching fireflies dance in the bushes and the lights of Tokyo twinkle like stars. I was wrapped in a towel that was right out of the dryer, so I was toasty warm. Sesshoumaru sat beside me, chin resting on steeped fingers and his eyes distant. He looked . . . god, he looked five hundred years old. Not physically, of course. At a glance, he hadn't aged more than three years, if that. But his eyes . . . they had grown infinitely older, and the gold irises were veiled to the world. They still sparkled with an eerie light, but now . . . I couldn't explain it. They seemed dimmer, now. As though he had seen too much in his time.

He knew I was looking at him, but he didn't acknowledge it. "Have you pieced it all together?" he asked finally.

I shook my head. "You mean about . . . about what I came in asking? No, not really. You haven't even answered my question yet."

He sighed. "Then I will answer that question first. Yes, I had children after you returned here. But I did not want them, and I was not the father I should have been."

"Who were they?" I asked hesitantly.

"One of the twins was Inuyasha, reborn hardly six months after his death. The other . . ." he shook his head bitterly. "His brother was Naraku reincarnated. I knew the moment he was born that one of them was Inuyasha, and I gave him the name he bore in his last life. I did not know until they was older that his brother was Naraku. He grew up with the seed of evil planted in him at an early age; his mother coddled him. He and Inuyasha both harbored bitterness that they were only half-demons, but Naraku hated his mortality more than his brother."

"They were half demons?" I repeated. "But—you didn't—"

"Their mother was a full demon," he informed me darkly. "I was the human."

I wanted to throw up when that sank in. No . . . more than that, I wanted to cry. He had been human for only a few days, and all of them had been spent with me. Except for one night, when I was away from him for not even ten hours. God, couldn't anyone have one-night stands anymore? Not that I'd liked this one at all, but still . . . I hated her. I had never been very fond of the Lady of the North, but now I hated her. "So . . . so where is she?" I asked after a long moment.

"Why?" he asked simply.

"I . . . I'm not sure," I admitted. "Is she anywhere nearby? I mean . . . I know she'd have followed you. I don't think she was in love, but . . . she was a little obsessed. I mean—"

"She's dead," he cut me off. "I killed her myself when I saw what she was trying to make my son into. I was not in time to save him from her—" now his voice was tight, as though he had many things he was trying not to say. "But I did release him of her. He never knew how badly she poisoned his soul." Sesshoumaru's hands were now clenched tightly in front of him, forearms resting on his knees. Hesitantly, I reached over and put my hand on top of his.

I was getting a very watered-down story, any idiot could tell. There were angles to it that he wasn't telling me; he'd probably never tell me. But he didn't have to. I wasn't happy, but . . . I'd get over it.

He tensed a little when I touched him, but he said nothing. "Look, you don't have to tell me everything," I told him quietly. "In fact, I don't really think I want you to. Some things are better left five hundred years in the past, and—well, I'm frankly glad you killed her before I got my hands on her, although that's probably not the best joke to make," I added quickly. "But you've had five centuries to sort it out, and maybe you can put it behind you."

His gold eyes were heavily veiled; to my annoyance, I could see nothing in their depths. So what he said next was completely out of character for the Sesshoumaru I had known in the feudal years, who had been arrogant and contemptuous and utterly devoid of a positive emotion for a long time. "I have had five hundred years to put it behind me," he agreed. "I have also had five hundred years to think of how it could have gone differently. I have had my time to sort out my mistakes, but they seem to affect you as well. So . . . I will assume you need time to deal with this also, and—"

. . .

. . . And . . .

Sesshoumaru didn't seem very happy with what he was about to say. "And until you feel able to come to terms with my past, the only hand I will extend you is one of protection, as you no doubt know of Naraku's presence here. The next move," he told my dryly, "is yours to make."

"Wait. So you're saying—"

"Let me finish," he cut me off. "I do not make decisions based on one simple feeling. I do have other reservations about . . . ah, 'picking up where we left off.' There are other discrepancies to be taken into account—such as Naraku. I understand that you will not tell me every aspect of what happened with him right now; probably never, actually, but let me clarify what I mean when I say that the next move is yours. Based on the fact that I have placed a great deal on your mind tonight, plus the weight of Naraku's actions recently, I feel that it is best for me to step back until you feel comfortable with what you know now."

"Okay, wait. You're saying that you're giving me time to sort this all out before I—er, before we go back to—wait. What were we before?" I asked. "No, don't answer that. Okay. I know I needed time and all, and it's actually kind of cool that you knew that too, but . . . I don't need that kind of time," I said in a rush. "I don't want to . . . oh hell. I don't know, period. It just doesn't seem right to call everything to a halt just because I have coping issues . . . and who said I still even think about what happened with Naraku? Because I don't. I didn't know there was anything for me to think about. I'm really good at this whole 'denial' thing, as a matter of fact. I . . . and what did you mean, protection? I haven't heard one thing from Naraku since we killed him. I know he's all reincarnated, alive, stalking me, yada yada yada, but aren't we assuming all of a sudden that he's got more on his mind than just stalking?"

"You forget that once upon a time, I was his father," Sesshoumaru told me, his voice flat. "If he does anything, he does it to further himself. I do not know how formidable an enemy he is at this moment; I believe he's only eighteen or nineteen. But he is still a half-demon, so he will be dangerous even if he is rash and impatient. Whatever he hopes to accomplish by watching your every move is not clear to me yet, but it is most likely a part of something larger he is planning. And if he's monitoring you," he added condescendingly (what did he take me for? Stupid? Yeah, right, like I couldn't make that connection), "then it most likely involves you. Therefore I intend to protect you from whatever he tries to do, even if I have to kill the little bastard again."

Okay . . . so were we still on a give-Kagome-time plan, or were we not? And . . . I think I just did a donut. One big, round, point A to point A loop. That's what happens when you don't see your boyfriend for five hundred years.

If he's your boyfriend, of course. Oh god, what was he?

I hated indecision.