Shunusuke slumped against the back of his chair with a weary sigh and massaged his temples. That kitsune had a tough skull. It had taken him twice as long to put her to sleep as it would have if she’d been human. Hard work, that. "I need a nap," he complained to his sister, who waited at his elbow with a glass of ice water.
        "Here, drink some water," she suggested gently, "then go lay down."
        Miroku nodded and observed grimly: "I think we’re in for a busy night. Maybe we should all get some rest." He caught Yuki’s eye and chuckled. "No, I really mean it. Just rest this time."
        "No snuggles?" Yuki pouted. "I promise to behave…"
        Oh brother. Shunusuke gave Yuki his empty glass and retreated to his room with a disgusted: "If I hear one, single pant out of either of you, I’m sending Yuki off to the hotel with Kagome—and don’t think I won’t do it! I need sleep!" He slammed the door behind him.
        Yuki crossed her arms and huffed: "What a grouch."
        The door flew open, and Shunusuke snapped: "I am not grouchy!" SLAM!
        "He’s just mad because Sango wanted to go stake out the hotel with Shippo and Myouga instead of staying here with him," Yuki declared with a toss of her raven hair.
        Miroku kissed her cheek with a wicked grin. "In that case, we’d better make sure she dances with him tonight, or he’ll be completely impossible."
        "So," Yuki asked casually, "who gets first watch, you or me?"
        He scratched his head. "I’ll do it. Pleasant dreams."
        They had a quick kiss, then Yuki went into the other bedroom while Miroku sat on the porch where he could watch the approach to the condo. This also gave him a nice view of Inu Yasha’s and Kagome’s farewell kiss, which didn’t make him feel warm and fuzzy as it normally would. Inu Yasha should’ve been on his way long before now. He wanted to shout to his friend to get going but was afraid he’d wake up Gin, so he just waved from the porch until he got the demon’s attention, then made angry "get out of here, you moron" gestures.
        Inu Yasha opened his mouth to yell at the priest, but Miroku’s meaningful pointing at the sleeping kitsune on the roof turned his anger to amusement. Some spy she was, falling asleep on the job. Inu Yasha kissed Kagome again, then took to the sky.
        Kagome and Miroku watched him become a pink dot in the distance, then disappear altogether.

        Theirs weren’t the only eyes watching Inu Yasha’s departure. Aside from several vacationers who happened to look up and see what appeared to be an unusual pink bird of some kind, there were the spies Mikoto and Hisui had placed along Inu Yasha’s projected route to the well. Sesshomaru was sticking with his two human operatives at the shrine, confident that they were all he’d need to counter his opponents’ supernatural creatures. To mortals, they were famous stars of Hong Kong cinema. But Sesshomaru suspected humans would think working for a powerful demon lord only added to the mystique that already surrounded those legendary martial artists. What would humans think if they knew who bankrolled John Woo’s movies and employed one of his favorite actors? Then again, who would have suspected Lord Sesshomaru, the Great Demon of the Western Lands, was a die hard Hong Kong action movie fan? A little smile lifted his lips as he thought Inu Yasha would probably like those kinds of movies, too. Brotherly bonding. What a concept.
        "Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken called out, then shrieked when Shippo shoved him out of the way and hopped up onto Sesshomaru’s table. "You filthy mutt! Get down from there!"
        Shippo fluffed his tail angrily and snarled: "Who’s a mutt, Toady?"
        "’Toady’?!" Jaken fumed. "How dare you call me…ooh! You flea-bitten little furball!"
        "That will be enough, Jaken," Sesshomaru commanded with a wave of his hand. He turned a sour frown on the tiny kitsune, who was perched too close to his computer for Sesshomaru’s comfort. "Sit here—Shippo, is it?"
        Shippo nodded and jumped onto the chair Sesshomaru patted at his right. Jaken sat down on his Lord’s left with no small amount of complaint. "He’s gone," Shippo told the Great Demon and snatched a rice ball from Sesshomaru’s plate, "bud I gesh you know dat."
        "Swallow, then speak," Sesshomaru sighed. He pulled his plate out of the kitsune’s reach, then flagged down a waiter and ordered more rice balls and some tea for his companions. "I see my brother has found other cretins to associate with. Do none of you have manners?"
        Shippo pouted. "I was hungry, and you weren’t eating them…"
        "Just because you didn’t see him eating them, doesn’t make them fair game!" Jaken scolded.
        Shippo stuck his tongue out at Jaken. "Anyway," he asked Sesshomaru, "what now?"
        The Demon Lord gave him a lazy look and a smug little smirk. "Now you do nothing. Enjoy the Mermaid Ball tonight, and leave the rest to me."
        Shippo wasn’t entirely sure he was ready to trust Sesshomaru to take care of whatever "the rest" entailed. In fact, he wondered if this whole thing with hiring Inu Yasha and helping him keep his secret was just a big front, and Sesshomaru was really planning to kill his brother when he was at his weakest and take the jewel shards for himself. Or was he really working with Hisui, not against her, as he was leading Inu Yasha to believe?
        "You don’t trust me," Sesshomaru said flatly, then shrugged. "I assure you, nothing will happen to Inu Yasha or any of you, if you follow my orders. After you’ve eaten the rice balls I’ve ordered for you, go back to the condo and get ready for a pleasant evening at the dance. Inu Yasha will be safely on the other side of the well until tomorrow."
        Shippo wasn’t convinced but decided there was nothing he could do about it now except watch and wait. And eat rice balls with Sesshomaru and his disgusting creature Jaken. Ugh. He could think of more pleasant company.

        Inu Yasha soared over Tokyo, every sense alert for enemies. He was surprised none of the oni he’d felt had tried to stop him from leaving the resort. In their place, he would’ve been all over that opportunity. What were they waiting for? Surely they weren’t waiting till he actually reached the shrine. In his mind, it seemed a better plan to stop him before he got anywhere near his goal. Yet, all the oni did was follow him. Interesting. It wasn’t as if they couldn’t fly, too, so why follow him on the ground in cars? Were they really so concerned about what humans would make of supernatural creatures fighting in the skies over their heads? Hm. Well, whenever they chose to attack, he was ready for them.
        He thought about the humans his brother had placed at the shrine to help him. Sesshomaru had seemed pretty confident earlier, when he’d described his operatives and their equipment.
        "They’re known as Jackie Chan and Chow Yun Fat," Sesshomaru had explained as he handed Inu Yasha photographs of the two men. "They’re martial artists and experts with anti-youkai weaponry—which I designed, by the way. Humans think these men are just actors in action films."
        "You designed weapons to kill your own kind?" Inu Yasha had gasped in disbelief but when he’d thought about it, it had made sense. Tetsusaiga was a youkai slayer, and Sesshomaru had always been pretty keen on having that blade or one like it. No surprise then, that he would design anti-youkai weapons for his operatives, especially when his enemies seemed to use demons, as Mikoto and Hisui did. Huh. Smart man, this brother of his.
        "You’ll be trained to use such weapons, as well" Sesshomaru had replied, then smirked. "I can’t believe Tetsusaiga’s master has a problem with youkai killing weapons. You’re such a hypocrite, Inu Yasha."
        Inu Yasha’s face burned at the memory of his brother’s insult. "I’m not a hypocrite," he thought as he flew toward the shrine, "I just didn’t think it through. And I don’t have a problem with it, either!" Of course he didn’t. Most of his enemies were youkai, and killing them had never given him a crisis of conscience. He’d just open his mouth before engaging his brain and made an ass of himself in front of his jerk brother.
        When he got close to the shrine, the cars sped up to arrive ahead of him and were discharging both blue and red oni by the time Inu Yasha touched down outside the mini shrine containing the well. Much to his surprise, there was no one there to meet him, friend or foe. However, a few good sniffs solved that mystery: Whoever had been there to meet him was dead, he could smell them. No bodies were in view, which told him someone had hidden them. His allies? Where were they? Sesshomaru said they’d meet him here. Hell with them if they got themselves killed, he was out of there!
        Just as Inu Yasha stepped into the mini shrine, the oni entered the grounds and the air was instantly filled with a riot of gunshots. Inu Yasha heard a thump just behind him and spun on his heel to find the back of a human male filling the door way. He was shooting into a group of oni, who were trying to get past him into the shrine. How did he not smell this guy before?
        "What are you waiting for?" The man called over his shoulder. "Get out of here! Go!"
        "Where’s Kagome’s family?!"
        He fired more shots into the attackers. "Someplace safe! Far away!"
        Inu Yasha hesitated. One human against more than a dozen oni (that he could see). Where was the other one? This one was Chan, where was that Fat guy?
        "What in the hell are you just standing around for?! You think I’m doing this for fun?"
        Inu Yasha growled and drew his sword, meaning to push the human out of the way and show him how to kill a big pack of oni all in one sweep, but that just got him a powerful kick in the gut that sent him flying off the platform and into the well. He appeared in the past with a loud curse and would’ve gone straight back through to the future if he didn’t have company.
        "Oh gods, not Naraku!" He moaned to himself. "Not now! Shit!" In order to go forward in time, he had to get out of the well, then jump back in again, but there was a swarm of Naraku’s insects swirling in a lethal cloud over his head. That didn’t necessarily mean his nemesis was at the well, but it did indicate he was close enough to manipulate his bugs.
        He was pretty sure he could make it with minimal injury if he jumped straight up then dropped back into the well, but then Naraku’s spies would see him disappear. No, wait. They’d already seen him appear out of nowhere, so the jig was up no matter what he did. That decided, he took a deep breath and sprang, going through the insects, then back down again into the future…
        …to find a rifle pointing at him from above and Jackie Chan taking aim. Inu Yasha cursed, then realized the target was the bugs he’d brought back with him. Pop! Pop! Pop! Each insect dropped to the ground with a hole in its head, dead.
        "Get out of here! Chan shouted at him. "You already wasted enough time!"
        Inu Yasha didn’t like anybody telling him what to do, especially a human. He could hear the fighting outside the mini shrine, and every fiber of his being begged to get right into the middle of it. But Chan was right: He was late arriving at the shrine and was wasting time now. Soon any supernatural creature would be able to smell that he was losing his youkai powers, and his secret would get back to Hisui or Mikoto or both. He had to go back to the past, even though Naraku’s creatures (and maybe Naraku, himself) awaited him there. But then Naraku, his worst enemy, would know the truth! Dammit! He couldn’t win, no matter what he did!
        Chan pulled a pistol out of his jacket and pointed it into the well while continuing to fire on the oni trying to get into the shrine. "Get the hell out of here!"
        "What are you gonna do?" Inu Yasha sneered as he jumped out of the well and landed on the platform behind his ally. "Kill me?" With that, he ran past Chan and out the door through a hailstorm of bullets, which ripped chunks out of his kimono armor and tore his skin. He brought Tetsusaiga up, then down into the earth with a roar. The earth shook as light flew from the blade. Sesshomaru’s human assassins flattened themselves on the ground. When all was quiet again, the only youkai left in the shrine grounds was Inu Yasha. He looked over his shoulder to give Jackie Chan a smug snicker, then sheathed Tetsusaiga and walked back to the mini shrine.
        "Any questions?" He snorted and offered the man a hand up. It was declined, which troubled Inu Yasha not at all. He’d have done the same.
        "You missed one," Chan told him as he shoved Inu Yasha aside and joined his partner, who was already chasing the escapee.
        Inu Yasha ran after them, leaping into the air off the top of the steps. The street was empty. Shit! That meant it had been youkai. He ignored the burning pain where the bullets had gotten him, but he knew he was bleeding heavily and would start to get weaker soon. If only this wasn’t that night! He could feel the youkai in his blood subsiding, leaving him with a body that couldn’t heal itself as quickly as he was accustomed to. Nothing unusual on the streets below, just ordinary humans going about their ordinary business.
        It took Inu Yasha a few moments to notice the stench of blood filling his nostrils was his own. A cut on the side of his head drizzled blood down his face and onto his chin. Inu Yasha absently wiped it away. There were only a few hours left before he started to take on physical human traits. Plenty of time to stop a spy, Inu Yasha figured with a smirk. But if his enemy was a kitsune, it could take many forms and blend in nicely with the humans who walked or drove through this vast city. It didn’t take Inu Yasha long to realize he’d lost his prey and settle onto a rooftop to plan his next move. He wished he had a phone, then realized he didn’t know Sesshomaru’s number to tell him what had happened. Oh well, those Chinese guys probably called him already. Heh. Sesshomaru was probably pretty pissed at him right about now.
        So, he thought, what to do? Continue to search for the escapee, or leave damage control to Sesshomaru and his minions? Either way, there was no safe place for him. Naraku waited on the other side of the well, and discovery by Hisui and Mikoto on this side. He could probably fight his way through the insects, even in his wounded condition, but if Naraku was nearby, he’d seen him as a human! Even if one of his bugs saw him and got away, it would tell Naraku his secret. Well, Inu Yasha decided, there was nothing for it but to get back to the resort and try to kill the spy before they could tell their employer Inu Yasha didn’t smell quite as youkai today.

        Back at the resort, Sesshomaru was already handling it. No matter who the escapee was, they had probably already reported in to their superior, be that Hisui or Mikoto. What the spy knew was what concerned Sesshomaru most. If they were human, they wouldn’t be able to tell Inu Yasha was changing yet. However, if they were youkai, or even an oni… "My brother is an idiot," he muttered as he worked the phone, moving his people into position to intercept the spy. He wondered where Inu Yasha was. Not in the past, that much had been confirmed by Chan and Fat, who’d seen Inu Yasha take off after the enemy. They’d also noted his brother was bleeding rather profusely from a number of bullet wounds, wounds his human body couldn’t heal in the way that his youkai body could. He’d be weak, at the very least, depending upon the severity of his injuries. Logically, Inu Yasha should have reasoned that his quarry would return to the resort to report to their boss, but Inu Yasha wasn’t always logical and he was hurt. Either or both things might keep him in the city, unless by some miracle he decided to follow orders and go home through the well. Chan’s mention of youkai insects was troubling, since the only way they could’ve gotten to this time was through the well with Inu Yasha. Their presence also indicated the past might not be a safe place for his brother tonight, after all. Regardless, Inu Yasha had to be found before sundown.
        Sesshomaru rubbed his temples and wondered why things never did seem to go quite right when Inu Yasha was involved. He picked up the phone, then set it down again, unable to decide if he should inform Inu Yasha’s friends, or wait to be sure of his brother’s position and situation. He decided to wait for more information and flagged down a waiter to bring him another Midori and soda while he waited for his operatives to report in and the sun to go down.