The first wave of samiyoushou hit them hard and fast.

Kenshin's first instinct was to jump right in front of Kagome. However, he was immediately shoved out of the way by a not-so-very-impressed-by-his-gallantry Kagome.

"Kenshin no baka! Stay out of my way - unless you want to end up with an arrow in your back!" Kagome snarled at him, once he was positioned to her right. His eyes flashed gold with aggravation. As he opened his mouth to tell her exactly what he thought of her misplaced bravado, he heard the soft twang of her bow as she released her first arrow, drawing his attention away from the miko and toward her intended target.

The glowing arrow not only hit the samiyoushou dead on, causing the insect to explode into a cloud of dust, but it also took out the two samiyoushou on either side with the resulting purification cloud. His eyes went wide with amazement, and he turned towards Kagome to apologize – but she wasn't paying any attention to him now that the battle had begun. Instead, she had already pulled another arrow from her quiver, and was just about to let it fly.

Yasuo was also successful with his ranged attack. Each of Yasuo's knives found a home in the soft underbelly of a samiyoushou, and they also disintegrated rather impressively into a cloud of dust. Shippo, to his right, was fighting with leaves. At first Kenshin found this rather odd, but once the leaves left the kitsune's hands, they became as sharp as blades, and would slice the samiyoushou apart in mid-air.

The fire cat had launched into the air, and had been successful in ripping a few of the giant wasps to shreds with her claws. Meanwhile, the old miko's shikigami had taken out one of the insects with its sharp, paper fangs before it disintegrated; having taken a hit from the stinger of one of the wasps.

However for every three wasps they took out with ranged attacks, one was making it through, and so Kenshin did not have long to wait before his own skills were called into play. He flipped his sakabatou over in his hand so that the blade was facing outwards, and felt a momentary pang of anguish in doing so.

'These creatures are not human, that they are not.' He told himself, but those words did little to comfort him. It would seem that simply holding the blade with the lethal side facing out was enough to dredge up decade old memories and the feelings of remorse and regret that he had never been able to come to terms with. For a moment, as he looked at the hands holding the now deadly blade, they appeared to be covered in blood.

However, when the remaining half a dozen wasps started descending en masse, all thoughts of the past were swept aside as he took a protective stance in front of Kagome, who would no longer be of use now that the insects were at such close range. A quick glance around showed that the fire cat had engaged one of the six. At the same time, Shippo was effectively standing his ground against two of them. This left three wasps for Kenshin - two of which were headed straight for his head with their bottoms curled underneath them. As a result, their venomous stingers were thrust forward. He had a moment to process how sharp the appendages looked, before they were on him and it was time for him to attack

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style – Ryu-shou-sen!" He shouted, as he launched himself straight up with his right hand on the bottom of the blade. He held the sakabatou horizontally above his head with the sharp side facing out so that it would sever the poisonous back ends of the insect with a successful hit. The Ryu-shou-shen was a rising attack normally used to sever the head of a particularly thick-necked opponent, and had been an attack that he'd used to great success in the past to do just that. However, he wasn't entirely sure how effective it would be against his current target. Despite his reservations, the blade connected solidly with the hard stinger and severed it straight off, easily taking out the first of the three samiyoushou he had claimed for his own. Unfortunately, removing the stinger had the undesired effect of splattering his face and neck with the slimy, bright green venom of the samiyoushou.

The second samiyoushou was fast approaching – and Kenshin barely had time to wipe his face, and clean his blade of the noxious substance on the grass, before he spun and thrust his blade upwards into the soft underbelly of the second samiyoushou. The large insect died quickly, impaled upon his blade, and with a shiver of disgust, he used the bottom of his sandal to push the carcass off and onto the ground.

His head was beginning to spin for some reason, but he still had enough sense to look around at his companions – all of which had finished up their own battles and were looking his way with some concern. Kenshin nodded briefly to Shippo, who was headed in his direction, and then turned to face the last of the samiyoushou.

To his dismay, he saw that the insect was fast headed back towards the forest.

"Kagome! The wwww…"

Kenshin tried to shout a warning that one of the demon insects was escaping, but the words died on his lips. One by one, his senses were beginning to fail him and the sky was darkening. With a small cry of anguish, Kenshin fell to his knees.

"Kuso… he's been poisoned!" He heard Shippo shout towards Kagome and Tsubaki. Kenshin opened his mouth to deny it - 'I'm just fine, just covered in wasp guts, that I am' – he tried to say, but all that came out was a strangled gasp.

The kitsune was behind him now, wiping him off with some sort of… herb? He couldn't tell; his eyes were rapidly fogging over. The only thing he could make out with certainty was Kagome's big blue eyes filled with concern, as she loomed over him. Absently, he noticed that they were wet with tears.

He barely had a moment for one last incredulous thought before the world around him went dark, and he succumbed to the effects of the poison in the arms of his father.

'She cries for me?'

---

He had been out for almost two hours. Kagome held the petite swordsman against her, cradled against her body in almost a lover's embrace, as she leaned against Tsubaki's bedroom wall.

Shippo had told her that since Kenshin was mated to her, he'd recover more quickly if she kept in close contact with him. And although Kagome was still at odds with the whole 'mate' thing, she couldn't help but feel anguish at the sight of him trembling and unconscious from the poison that had entered his blood stream transdermally.

Thankfully, Shippo was quick to react, and had wiped all of the venom off of him using a healing herb – one that contained a natural balm that neutralized the poisonous effects. Still, enough of the poison had entered his bloodstream to render him unconscious, so Kagome could only wait with baited breath for him to recover. She looked down at the defined features of his handsome face and sighed, gently pushing back a strand of red hair that had fallen into his eyes. "Come back to us, Kenshin." Kagome murmured, as she instinctively pulled him a bit closer to her. His breathing seemed to even out a bit in response and she smiled.

For a moment she was reminded of Sango and how she used to hold Miroku in much the same way after he had been affected by samiyoushou poison. Kenshin was shivering in her arms in much the same way that Miroku had once shivered in Sango's, and knew that he was suffering greatly. She knew the effects would pass, and probably quicker for Kenshin than they had for Miroku, given Kenshin's hanyou nature. But still, the effects of the poison were very unpleasant, and Kagome couldn't help but feel responsible for his suffering.

Silently, she cursed herself for not giving him adequate information about the samiyoushou before they engaged in battle. She should have told him that it was sheer folly to attack them in front of the stingers – that was where their poison sacs were located after all – but they had been caught unawares, and she had not had the time. And now, Kenshin was suffering for it. Kagome swore silently to herself, and gently wiped Kenshin's forehead free of the perspiration that had gathered there.

It was a good forty minutes more before Kenshin's eyes began to flutter, indicating his return to consciousness. Kagome sucked in a deep breath, and shifted the petite redhead on her lap so that he was facing her. He blinked his eyes in confusion several times, before his violet eyes finally locked with hers, and widened in response to her tearful expression.

"Kagome-dono? What… what happened?" Kenshin asked in a quiet voice.

Kagome smiled somewhat sadly, as once again she wiped his brow free of perspiration before answering him. His eyes lidded halfway at her touch, and he ducked his head into the crook of her neck as he wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to draw her closer.

"You… you severed the stinger of one of the samiyoushou, and got yourself drenched with venom. You've been out for almost three hours now. How are you feeling?" Kagome asked somewhat breathlessly, as she tried to ignore how… natural it felt to be held in his arms.

"I… Sessha is fine, that I am. How are you? And the others?" Kenshin asked, his violet eyes filled with concern.

Kagome sighed, as one of her hands trailed upwards to comb through the low ponytail that fanned across his back.

"I… we are all fine. Oh Kenshin, I was so… worried about you." She admitted. Her eyes were still locked on his piercing violet ones, and she was so overwhelmed by the emotion she saw mirrored in them, that she had to wrench her gaze away

'What am I saying?' Kagome asked herself as she tried desperately to regain her composure and push him away. But the truth was that – like it or not – she had been very concerned about him, and could no longer deny that she felt… something… for the petite swordsman holding her. It wasn't love – after all, she hardly knew him – but yet…

Kagome sucked in a deep breath as she felt him gently nuzzle her shoulder through the fabric of her hakama.

Yet… yet it could be. Someday.

When she turned to look at him again, she found that his face was close to hers – very close, and looming closer, ever so slowly. She exhaled softly, causing him to shiver as her warm breath ghosted against the side of his face. Kagome closed her eyes halfway, deciding that just this once, she would not push him away. His lips met hers in a caress that was as delicate as a feather, and lingered there for a moment in inquiry. Kagome parted her own lips ever so slightly in silent acceptance, causing him to make an inarticulate sound in response before he pressed his lips even closer.

The slight pressure of his lips against hers was making her dizzy and oh-so-warm, and when she felt him begin to move his mouth against hers, she couldn't control the slight moan that escaped her lips. Encouraged by her small verbal response, one of his hands rose to cup her head at the base of her neck as he gently nipped on her bottom lip. She sighed against his mouth, and he ran the tip of his tongue along the soft flesh he was presented with. Kagome opened her mouth against his, and darted her tongue out to tentatively swipe it against his upper lip. He made a sound very like a growl before he pushed his own tongue almost fiercely into the warm cavity of her mouth, as his hand slipped from behind her neck and trailed possessively down through the length of her hair.

As she battled his tongue with her own, Kagome's heart rate increased in response, and she shifted in his arms, until she was the one on his lap and not vice versa. She straddled him shamelessly - unconcerned about how her hakama was hiked up almost to her knees from all the movement. The new position had her heat pressed directly against his hardened arousal, and they both moaned from the contact.

Reluctantly, she pulled back from their kiss to look at him. His violet eyes were lidded, and his pupils were ringed in gold as he looked at her with unadulterated passion.

"Kagome…" He whispered throatily, before his lips once again found hers – this time almost blindly, and filled with an enthusiastic passion that almost burned her on contact. She felt him trail his lips along the side of her face and towards her ear, and gasped loudly when he caught her soft earlobe with his teeth.

"Kami…" Kagome moaned, lost to both the moment and the rapidly escalating passion between them. This… this simple embrace, this mind-blowing kiss, was… was so much more than what she had experienced with him before, when he had not been… himself. It was so much… better. Kagome found herself completely forgetting about where and when she was. Instead, she was completely focused on the feel of his soft, scalding hot mouth, as he worried a path down the side of her neck towards her pulse point. He nipped against that spot for a while, as his hands moved to grasp her soft backside. With an anguished moan, he pushed his arousal up against her, causing her to whine in response to the electric, burning need that had rocketed through her at the feel of him.

Her own hands were searching for access through the open front of his gi. The exposed part of his chest was so sexy and inviting, she couldn't help herself – she wanted to feel him, wanted him closer. Kagome ran her fingers over the sinuous muscles of his chest; emboldened by the increased rate of his heart beat as he started to pant against the side of her neck. She met his lust filled eyes momentarily with her own, and then wrapped her hands around his back to explore the soft skin that was pulled taught over his deceptively strong shoulder muscles. Another rocking movement of his hips had Kagome digging her nails into his back, and moaning his name.

"Nnnggghh… Kenshin…"

He growled in response to his name falling from her lips, and one of his hands rose to not so gently palm her breast. Kagome gasped, and pulled him closer – relishing the intimate contact, when she suddenly felt the sharp tips of his fangs pressed against the not-yet-healed mark on her neck.

Her head was fogged with lust and passion, but still the hazy thought that something was not quite right broke through and Kagome's eyes shot open in confusion. She barely had time to recognize exactly what was bothering her – 'Wait… fangs?' - before his sharp teeth pierced through the wound on her neck, causing her to cry out loudly and swear in response to the sharp and unexpected pain.

"AAAAIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE – FUCK!"

The shoji screen was thrown open quickly afterwards, causing the miko and the samurai to rapidly disengage from their embrace in confusion.

"Oh… uh… gomen, Kagome… Kenshin. We… we heard… oh Kami. Damn it, I of all of us should have known better…" Shippo said, trailing off in embarrassment. His cheeks were as red as his hair as he regarded the flushed faces of the two would-be lovers on the floor. Sheepishly, he grinned at them as he waited for them to regain their composure. After a moment, they brushed themselves off and stood, facing him. The sharp scent of blood caught his attention, and Shippo's gaze strayed to Kagome's neck. Shippo whistled softly to himself in shock. For by all scents and appearances, Kenshin had come very close to losing all control.

'Perhaps he was simply embracing her when it happened.' Shippo thought, but after a closer look at the slightly swollen lips on both his son and his old friend, he disregarded that thought with no small amount of amusement. The more likely scenario was that the two of them were engaged in some light… uh… foreplay, when it happened. Completely understandable – after all, Kenshin was a kitsune youkai, and when a kitsune took a mate, it was a serious commitment that bound not only their hearts but their life energies. It would only be a matter of time before the two of them would feel compelled to renew their bond. And by all appearances, they had been headed in that general direction when Kenshin had lost momentary control to his youkai.

His youkai had probably woken in response to Kenshin's heightened state of arousal. The injured youkai had then sought to complete Kenshin's healing before re-initiating the mating act. And the quickest way for a kitsune youkai to heal was to draw energy from his mate. Certainly, the most effective way to do that was through the mating mark, and so Kenshin had bitten her on instinct, entirely unaware of his actions as he drew some of Kagome's energy into himself - a dangerous thing to do when one's mate is a miko. If Kenshin had been a full-blooded youkai, such a thing might have killed him.

"Kami… did Sessha hurt you? Gomen nasai, Kagome-dono. I don't know why I... bit you, I… Sessha would never desire to do you any harm; that I would not." Kenshin said, the anguish and remorse he was feeling apparent in the tone of his voice. His once-again violet eyes went wide with mortification at the sight of the newly reopened wound on Kagome's neck. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and tell her how very sorry he was, but he felt completely unworthy to embrace her after what he had done. Why? Why had he bitten her, anyway? They… they had been kissing, and it had been so… kami… it had been everything. Why did he lose control like that? What had possessed him to do such a thing? Why was he turning into such a… such a monster?

Kagome's head was finally clearing a bit – enough for her to make sense of the situation – and she cursed herself for her moment of weakness. She well understood what had happened with Kenshin; he had been poisoned, and she was his mate, after all. It was… instinctual for him to search her out for comfort. It was also instinctual for him to bite her, and transfer some of her healing energies to him by reaffirming their bond. She was a fool to think that he might actually have… feelings towards her - especially so soon after his own loss. And in light of how he had been bonded to her against his will, how could he ever feel anything for her besides simple companionship anyway? Sure, he had been tender towards her, but he was probably like that with everyone.

Kagome, though – she should have known better. How could she have allowed herself to get carried away like that? She should have just exposed the mark to him straight off, so that he could take what he needed to recover. Never should she have allowed him to kiss her like that. Not when everything was so… confusing. Not when both of their hearts belonged to the dead.

Didn't they?

Kagome took a deep breath and schooled her expression into something reminiscent of Kikyo. Once she was convinced that her emotions were well and truly hidden, she turned towards Kenshin with a cold and clinical smile.

"It's alright, Kenshin-san." She began, completely disregarding his flinch at the formal use of his name. "You were injured, and your youkai took what you needed from me in order to complete the healing process. What you did, you did on instinct. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Kagome plastered a completely fake smile across her face, as she prepared to leave the room. She had to get out of there – she was finding it hard to breath.

Kenshin narrowed his eyes in response, and he caught her arm as she tried to brush past him. She shot him a cold and questioning look, and he winced from the pain that she was trying – yet failing – to hide.

"Shippo-san… can you leave us for a moment? I would like to speak with Kagome, that I would." Kenshin said, making sure to leave the 'dono' off of Kagome's name like she had requested him to do. He smiled at her tenderly and pulled her close, completely disregarding the skeptical look in her eyes.

"No problem, I'll be waiting just outside with the others. Oh and Kenshin? Not to put any pressure on you or anything, but we need to get out of here and soon. Yasuo-chan thought he saw one of the samiyoushou escape and head towards the woods. So if you're feeling better, we really need to leave before-"

"Hai," Kenshin interrupted, as he closed his eyes in memory. "There was one that had escaped. I – I tried to voice a warning, but the poison –"

He felt a strong hand grasp his shoulder, and he looked down into the brilliant green eyes of his father – eyes that were sparkling with understanding and compassion.

For a moment, he mused on how very strange it was to be looking down at someone – someone that was not a child, and he absently wondered about how tall his mother had been in order for him to be taller than his father.

"Kenshin – don't worry about it… we're all just glad that you're okay. Samiyoushou poison can be deadly, even for a hanyou, so don't worry about not being able to warn us. Say what you need to say to Kagome, and join us outside. We'll head out by air towards my old den. Hopefully, we'll make it there by nightfall." Shippo said with a small nod to both Kagome and Kenshin, and left the room.

"By air?" Kenshin mused out loud, before his attention was drawn back to Kagome, who had cleared her throat. She pulled her arm back to her side and glared at him.

"What did you want to say to me, Kenshin-san?"

"I… just that I am sorry, once again." Kenshin said, with a small nod of his head.

Kagome snorted. "And I said it is not your fault. I do not hold you responsible for what your demon does on instinct. So if that's it, I'll be leaving now-"

The hurt was very clear on her face now, no matter how hard she tried to hide it, and Kenshin's eyes widened in confusion. As she tried to brush past him once more, he grabbed her and pulled her to him in a gentle embrace.

"What… what are you doing?" Kagome asked shakily. Kami, she was so… confused.

Kenshin looked at her with dawning comprehension, as it occurred to him that perhaps she didn't think he was genuine in his expressed affections. Perhaps she thought that he had kissed her merely on instinct. It would certainly explain her suddenly cold demeanor. And while he had admittedly bitten her on instinct, he had kissed her… he had kissed her because he had wanted to.

And he wanted to kiss her again.

"Kagome, I –" Kenshin began, and sighed when the words wouldn't come. Her blue eyes were sparkling, her face was flushed, and her mouth was parted slightly. He knew that she was confused, yet she looked so beautiful in his arms that he couldn't help himself, and he dipped his head to place a tender, soft kiss against her slightly parted lips. This time, he was careful to keep it gentle, and not allow his passions to run away with him. When he pulled back, the look of confusion upon her face was even more pronounced, and he smiled in response.

"Kagome." He began again, as he held her against him and with one hand, gently rubbed circles in the small of her back. When he heard her sigh in response, he continued in a soft and gentle voice. "I don't care how fate has brought us together; that I don't. Please understand that. I truly believe that had we met under different circumstances, you would have stolen my heart completely."

She gasped and shot him a searching look, before she turned away and shook her head slightly in negation.

"Kagome, onegai – look at me."

Slowly, she turned her head back towards him, and this time he could see that her eyes were slightly wet with unshed tears. He smiled softly, and leaned in to kiss her once more.

"Kagome…" He said against her lips. "I don't know what is happening between us. Believe me when I say that I am as confused as you are. I know that we have much to learn about each other, but this," Kenshin paused to tighten his embrace around her, "feels… right. Onegai, Kagome…I only ask that you give this… us… a chance – and trust this. For this -" Kenshin punctuated his words with a searing, passionate kiss "- is genuine, that it is."

Kagome looked at him searchingly for a moment, before nodding her head slightly in acceptance.

"Hai… I will, Kenshin. It's just that… my heart has suffered much." She admitted honestly.

"Hai… mine also, koibito. Maybe together, we can heal." Kenshin responded softly, before capturing her lips once more.

---

Yasuo, Tsubaki, Kirara and Shippo were all waiting patiently outside for Kagome and Kenshin to emerge. Shippo paced back and forth in frustration. He was bored and impatient – already, he had used his kitsune-bi to burn the corpses of the fallen samiyoushou, and could think of no good reason to remain at the shrine any longer. They needed to leave as soon as possible at any rate, since one of the samiyoushou got away. With the speed at which those things traveled, it wouldn't be long before word of what had occurred here got back to Kohaku.

And then, it was very likely that Kohaku would come here himself. The ofuda that they had been given would hide their presence from Kohaku at a distance, but if Kohaku saw them with his own eyes, they would be in serious trouble. Certainly, it would not do for them to be detected before they were properly armed.

Shippo had been assured by Tsubaki that the two shrine residents would be safe once they left. Yasuo at the very least was protected from Kohaku by something Tsubaki referred to as 'a paradox'. As for Tsubaki, the old miko spoke of a hidden chamber on the shrine grounds where they would hide until the danger had passed. She assured him that they would remain completely undetected by Kohaku – even if he was to show up here. Therefore, Shippo was ready and raring to go.

Shippo was about to go back inside and tell them to hurry up, when both Kagome and Kenshin joined them outside. He raised one eyebrow in silent inquiry at the sight of the two of them holding hands, but at the glare he received from Kagome, Shippo decided against commenting. After all, he'd already been 'sat' twice due to her displeasure and figured that it would not be good for the delicate structure of his face to provoke her any further. At any rate, he was not planning on developing a taste for soil any time soon. So he merely smiled at the two of them, and with a wave of his hand, indicated the transformed Kirara next to him.

Kagome's eyes widened before she nodded in understanding, and without a word, she hoisted herself up onto the back of the fire cat. She looked down at Kenshin, and held her hand out with a smile.

Kenshin shot her a look of bewildered amusement. She expected him to ride on the back of that… demon? A small nod from her confirmed his assessment.

He sighed softly to himself, and with a shrug of his shoulders, hopped up behind her. After all, he had seen – and done – stranger things in the past few days. But after situating himself behind Kagome, he decided he wouldn't mind riding on the back of the large cat all that much – especially since he would be able to keep in constant contact with Kagome. He wrapped his arms around her midsection and leaned his head up against her shoulder.

Shippo cleared his throat.

"Uh, Kenshin? Nice to see you looking so comfortable up there. But you need to mask yourself, Kagome and Kirara before we take off. Wouldn't do to scare the local populace, you know."

"Mask myself?" Kenshin asked with a hint of confusion. Shippo had taught him how to cast illusions – was that what he was talking about?

"Hai. Remember how I showed you how to alter your appearance with illusion? Masking yourself is similar, except it works off of the power of suggestion and doesn't require as much youki. The advantage of masking our appearance instead of using illusion to truly make us invisible is that with masking, we will appear to be invisible to others but we can still see each other. Watch this..." Shippo said, before closing his eyes momentarily in concentration.

Kenshin looked at the kitsune youkai, but nothing seemed to happen.

"Wow… that's a neat trick!" Yasuo said. "Where did Shippo-san go?"

Kenshin looked at the boy in confusion. "You… you can't see him?"

"Iie," Yasuo responded with a shake of his head.

Shippo smiled. "See what I mean? I am masking my appearance from all ningens, except Kagome. You can do the same. Just concentrate on not being seen, and you and everything you are in contact with will be completely ignored by ningens. It's not true illusionary magic, but a trick – one that is much easier to do. In fact, it's so easy, I've heard that even the ookami youkai have been able to use it successfully, in order to blend in with the ningen world."

Kagome perked up at this.

"Do you mean Kouga, Shippo? Is he still around?" She asked. Her eager voice was filled with anticipation, causing Kenshin to frown in response. Inuyasha, he had heard of, and he knew what the hanyou had been to Kagome. But who was this 'Kouga' she spoke of with fondness?

Shippo smiled sadly. "I wish I knew. I've had very little contact with the Ookami Youkai pack since the fall of Naraku, Kagome. Most of what I know about their activities over the past four centuries, I have learned from rumors. And unfortunately, the rumors have not been good. Based on what I have heard, Kouga has also suffered a great loss."

"How so?" Kagome asked concerned.

"I had heard in passing that the Wolf King lost his mate and his eldest son in a night time attack, during a hunting excursion. The attack may or may not have been caused by Kohaku."

"He… Kouga took a mate?" The tone of her voice lifted in surprised confusion, and she turned her head away from Shippo while she processed that information. Kenshin was watching her intensely, and couldn't help but take her actions as an indication of interest on a more… personal level. With a small, possessive growl, he pulled her closer.

"Hai. He mated Ayame, and had a few pups with her… But after her death, and the death of his eldest son, the whole Ookami tribe disappeared." Shippo said sadly. "I haven't heard anything about them in centuries. But that means nothing – after all, if he has truly mastered the art of masking, he could be anyone, anywhere. Perhaps we should look into it at some point. Certainly, Kouga could be a powerful ally – especially if it was Kohaku who took the lives of his loved ones. He would be desirous of vengeance as well."

"Hai…" Kagome said softly, and a little wistfully. Kouga. It would be good to see him again – if only to embrace him and let him know how truly sorry she was for his loss.

Even though she told him that she could never love him, the fact was that she had loved him. She had loved him dearly. But not in the way he had needed her to love him. To her, Kouga was a dear friend, and she loved him in much the same way she loved Shippo. Therefore, she was happy upon learning that he had taken her advice and mated Ayame – but saddened at the knowledge of her death. And for Kouga to lose his eldest son as well… it went beyond horrible, and her heart ached for her old friend.

"Shouldn't we be leaving, Shippo-san? The sun will be setting soon, that it will." Kenshin said somewhat bitterly from behind her, causing Kagome to look at him in confusion. He merely leveled a cold and somewhat unreadable glance in her direction, before turning away.

Kagome shook her head in bafflement. He was acting as if… as if he was jealous of the mere mention of another male youkai! A part of her wanted to laugh; it was so reminiscent of Inuyasha. But the thought of that merely made her heart ache instead.

Shippo smirked.

"I'm ready when you are. Mask yourself and your surroundings, and be sure to stay close behind me. I'm not used to leading others when flying." He said with a wink, before turning towards Yasuo and Tsubaki.

"Your help has been most appreciated, Tsubaki-sama. And it has been very good to meet you, Yasuo-san. Perhaps we shall meet again soon."

"Hai, I never thought I'd be saying this, but… thank you, Tsubaki-sama." Kagome added with a nod and a small smile. The old miko merely nodded in response, as she turned her cloudy, unfocused eyes in their direction. Kagome motioned to Yasuo, and the young boy approached Kirara with a smile on his face. She reached down and gently cupped the youth under the chin. Her sapphire eyes met his, and she smiled.

"Yasuo-chan. It has truly been an honor to meet you. You are everything that I have been told: strong, compassionate, and filled with honor. I hope I get the chance to know you further."

"Hai, miko-sama. I hope for that as well. In the meantime, take care of Kirara for me, will you? I imagine that she is not as young as she used to be." Yasuo answered with a smile, causing the fire cat to growl threateningly. He merely laughed, and reached up to scratch the side of Kirara's face. The large neko-youkai closed her eyes half way and purred, and the boy was forgiven for his minor verbal transgression.

"It has been an honor fighting by your side, Yasuo-chan," Kenshin added with a nod before turning to Tsubaki. "Arigatou, miko, for your hospitality and assistance."

The old miko nodded in response, and withdrew into the house, followed by the young boy.

Meanwhile, Shippo changed form and hovered about six feet above the ground, level with Kirara's head.

Kenshin looked askance towards Shippo and snickered. If the kitsune was hidden from the eyes of most humans, it was a good thing. Not because they'd be frightened by what they saw – no, not at all. If anything, Kenshin thought that most of them would fall down in hysterics at the sight of the kitsune youkai, who now resembled nothing so much as a giant, floating ball with a furry red tail.

"Certainly, by now you can assume a flying form that is a bit more… mature, Shippo?" Kagome asked with a giggle.

Shippo gasped in mock outrage.

"Are you saying that you're too good to fly next to me this way, Kagome?"

Her light laughter was soon joined by Kenshin's.

"In a word: Yes. Now come on, Shippo! The balloon thing was cute when you were five. At… hey, how old are you now, anyway?" Kagome asked with a wicked grin.

Shippo harrumphed, and shifted form. After a moment, he hovered before them in his normal kitsune form – except that this time, he had a distinctive webbing between his arms and his legs, similar to that present on a flying squirrel.

Kagome smiled.

"Much, much better," She said, before turning around to look at Kenshin. "Are you ready?" She asked in a tempered voice. She knew that this was an awful lot for him to adjust to, but he seemed to be doing okay so far. She absently wondered how long his cool composure would last once they took to the air. From personal experience, she knew that he was in for one heck of a ride.

Kenshin closed his eyes and focused on masking their appearance. When he felt he was successful, he nodded to her and smiled warmly.

She grinned and winked at him – a wink that was filled with mischief, and he instinctively tightened his grip around her waist. It was a good thing that he did too, because with just a small command from Kagome, the fire cat was up and away; trailing behind Shippo at a speed that made his head spin.

---

Sanosuke scowled as he finally managed to cut through the last of the brambles blocking the overgrown path, and blinked as he took in the sight of the well before him. 'This must be the well the old man was talking about,' Sano thought, as he looked towards the horizon. He smirked when he saw that the sun had yet to set – he had made much better time than he had anticipated making. Of course, it was partly because he had hastened his pace because of the scare he had taken by the appearance of those flying… things, but he'd never admit that… not even to himself.

"Ha! I knew I'd make it before nightfall!" He said aloud with no small amount of pride, as he took in his surroundings. To his right, was a bright red arch that indicated the presence of a shrine. Past the arch was a small open building that he assumed was the shrine itself. And through the shrine, he could see a set of steps that led down one of the steepest hills he had seen in a very long time.

Sano looked in the other direction, and immediately sucked in a sharp breath as he tried to process the images that his eyes were feeding him.

He shook his head to clear it, but the images remained the same.

In the other direction, there was a small clearing. At the end of the clearing, stood a small house; he assumed the house was home to the old miko and the young boy standing just outside the doorway. But he barely spared a glance for the old miko and the young boy. They weren't what had his attention. Instead, his attention was drawn towards the short, red haired figure standing next to them. He looked so very much like Kenshin, except that this guy did not have Kenshin's scar. Instead, he had a large, fluffy red fox tail, furry bare fox feet, and small, pointed ears.

Had Yahiko been…right, when he told them that he saw a youkai take off with Kenshin?

Sano shook his head in confusion, as he continued to gaze in awe at the diminutive figure. The kitsune-youkai – for that was what he had to be, he could be nothing else – was staring at a large… Sano gulped - at a… at a three tailed cat the size of a horse. And on the back of the cat, sat perhaps the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and…

Sano blinked once again.

And Kenshin. Kenshin was also on the back of the large… cat.

'Youkai don't fucking exist.' He told himself once more, but this time no comfort was brought to him by the thought. Instead, he kept staring at the image of Kenshin on the back of the huge neko-youkai as his mouth fell open in horrified bewilderment.

His eyes stayed trained upon Kenshin – Kenshin was the only thing he understood, after all – and frowned when his so-called friend wrapped his arms almost... almost lovingly around the woman in front of him. Kenshin then… he nuzzled her back before leaning against her affectionately.

It instantly occurred to him that he had never seen Kenshin embrace jou-chan in that manner.

Suddenly, he was filled with rage, and wanted nothing more that to run out and confront the murderous bastard. The thoughts that were running around his head were as chaotic as the images he was seeing, and his head began to ache from the insanity of it all. However, one fragmented thought was becoming increasingly insistent, and refused to go away without being acknowledged.

Sano's eyes were almost red with rage, as he continued to watch Kenshin embrace the strange woman in front of him. It became blindingly clear that Kenshin must have killed Kaoru – for how could he be so callous as to take up with another woman so soon after her death?

Did he kill Kaoru just so he could take up with that… whore? He absently noticed that she wore traditional miko's garb as well, but he completely disregarded that fact. Kenshin was acting way too familiar with her for her to be the chaste shrine priestess she was pretending to be.

Sano was seething, and his hand absently reached into the small leather pouch at his side.

Kenshin… Kenshin was a demon. Kenshin killed Kaoru. Kenshin was now cavorting with demons, and had taken up with a miko – who had to be a demon in disguise herself. For what self-respecting miko consorts with demons?

'Whore.'

He withdrew one of the stars. He didn't know what he was going to do with it – he was so damned confused. Instead, he held the star so tightly in his fist that one of its edges cut the calloused skin of his palm, causing it to bleed. Sano blinked in surprise when he felt the sticky, warm fluid in his grasp, and he tore his eyes away from Kenshin momentarily to look at his hand.

"Kuso," He swore softly, as he reached down to wipe the blood off his hand against the soft grass. He readjusted his grip on the star, and prepared himself to throw it. But when he looked up again at his intended target, Kenshin was gone.

They were all gone – having disappeared without a trace.

He blinked his eyes several times, convinced now that the forest was playing mind games with him, causing him to see things that weren't there.

Had everything he had just seen been a product of his demented imagination? He wouldn't be surprised if that was the case after all, considering what he had supposedly seen earlier.

Sano barked out a small, frustrated laugh as he fell to his knees in front of the well.

First it was a swarm of demon wasps the size of cats. And now he had supposedly seen a kitsune-hanyou, a large neko-youkai, and a disappearing Kenshin. He had finally gone over the deep end. And without even a drop of sake in his blood!

Sano snorted at the irony of it all. Perhaps there was some plant in the forest that had hallucinogenic properties. Or better yet, perhaps the old man thought to have fun with him, and put something in his food.

He looked wistfully at the house, thinking that Kenshin might actually be inside after all. He should approach and find out for sure. But if he was hallucinating, he was dangerous to the occupants of that house, and he knew that he should wait.

"At least I'm out of the forest," He said aloud to himself, before lying down in front of the well. Sano figured that if he laid low for a little while, whatever was causing him to hallucinate would work its way out of his system. And from his current position by the well, he could hear and see any activity coming from the house. He lay that way for about twenty minutes, before he began to yawn.

Trekking through the forest had tired him out considerably, not to mention that he had hiked all the way across Tokyo in half the time it would have taken anyone else. No wonder he was tired. Well, as long as he was waiting for whatever was messing up his head to work its way out of his system, he figured that he could rest his eyes for just a few minutes. Just a few minutes, and then he'd get up and approach the house and ask for Kenshin. Just a few minutes…

Five minutes later, Sanosuke was fast asleep by the side of the well. He slept for about three hours until he was woken by the sight of a bright, blue light emanating from the well.

'What the hell?' Sano thought as he jumped to his feet, his hands balled into fists at his sides.

The light was followed by a loud thud, and then an amused whistle. Sano blinked, and looked to see a beautiful tenshi rise from the well, just like the one in the old man's story. His eyes widened in amazement, and he fell to his knees before the tall, willowy dark-haired goddess in the strange, dark kimono. She looked at him with bright, golden eyes and smiled.

And then the tenshi opened her mouth; effectively shattering his illusion.

"Fuck, that was… wicked!"

---

A/N: Sorry for the wait – I tried to make up for it with an exceptionally long chapter. My chapters will probably be this long from here on out, but unfortunately will probably be a week or so apart as the weather gets nicer. ;) One of my reviewers mentioned Kirara's tails – I know Kirara only has two tails in the anime/manga, but I gave her a third in this to indicate that she was four hundred years older since the Sengoku Jidai. After all, in the episode with the black Kirara, the neko-youkai kittens only have one tail, so I figured the dual tail thing was a mark of age. After four hundred years, Kirara deserves another one! ;)

As always, I'd like to extend a big thanks to Diane, without whom this chapter would have been rough. She's also been beta-ing the back chapters of Sins for me (currently up to chapter 7)… so my most blatant grammatical errors have been corrected up to that point. Go Diane!

Hope you enjoy the chapter, and TTFN!

Japanese Words:

Samiyoushou – naraku's hell wasps
Baka – idiot
Shikigami – Literally means paper mat. This term is also used in reference to familiars (magical pets) and creatures created from ofuda by Shinto magic. In this case, I am using it to refer to Tsubaki's snake like thing.
Miko – shrine maiden
Sakabatou – reverse blade sword
Ryu-shou-sen – a rising attack normally used to sever the head of an opponent
Kuso – shit
Kitsune – fox
Hanyou – half demon
-dono – ultra polite way of saying 'san'; archaic term once used by samurai.
Kami – god/gods
Youkai – demon
Sessha – self depreciating 'This one who is not worthy'
Gomen nasai – I'm sorry
-chan – little
Onegai – please
Hai - yes
Koibito – sweetheart
Ningens – humans
Ookami – wolf
Arigatou – thank you
Tenshi – celestial being