A/N: Okay, so I may have only gotten one review for the last chapter, but I would like to think that it's because of my recent change of pen-name.

That is what I would like to think.

Disclaimer: I STILL do not own Inuyasha, however, the Inuyasha in MY story does whatever I tell him too!

Kagome and Sango stood staring, still half hunched over from their planned attack on the tiny creature huddled behind the desk. Kagome reached towards it cautiously, only to retract her hand quickly when it snapped at her.

"It's probably feral Kagome." Sango whispered, trying not to startle the thing.

"I don't know what feral means, but I don't appreciate being called 'it'." Came the sound of a little voice, and the women realized that what they were talking to was in fact a young boy, a fox-demon cub.

"Why don't you come out?" Kagome cooed, putting her hands on her knees and kneeling so that she could see underneath the heavy piece of furniture.

"Why don't you leave me alone?" The little demon yelled, huddling further into his corner.

"I promise we're not going to hurt you." Kagome pressed. Once again she reached her hand carefully and slowly underneath the desk. The fox demon cub snapped, but Kagome did not withdraw her hand this time, and cringed as sharp fangs met with soft flesh.

She stayed her hand, not moving for fear of frightening the child even more. When he released his hold on her hand and stared up at her, she smiled. "I told you I'm not going to hurt you. What's your name?"

"Shippou." The boy answered. "If you're not here to hurt me, then why did all those men come and destroy everything... and... my father..." Fresh tears pooled in the little child's eyes.

Kagome reached in and tenderly scooped up the tiny demon into her arms. This time there was no protest. "There there." She cooed. "I hate to say it, but we're victims here just as you are." She looked at Sango who gave a knowing glance back in her direction.

"So, you really aren't gonna hurt me?" Shippou asked cautiously, looking up into Kagome's kind face.

"We're really not." Sango replied smiling. Shippou allowed a small grin to cross his face, before setting it back to the scared child he was a moment before.

"So, what's gonna happen to us?" He asked shakily.

"We're not entirely sure." Kagome mumbled, almost to herself.

"But we promise we won't let anything happen to you." Sango chimed in, as Kagome was at a loss for words. This seemed to satisfy the cub, and as scared as he was moments before, he was soon snoozing in the warm comfort of Kagome's arms.

"I don't know what Inuyasha is going to say about this." Sango mused aloud.

"Well, he's just going to have to deal!" Kagome huffed indignantly.

The two young women must have stayed awake for the majority of the night, for Kagome found as soon as she began to doze off, there was a loud clicking noise indicating the large slab door to the stuffy room was being opened. Inuyasha and Miroku burst in followed by two very burly looking guard-men.

"Well good morning my lovelies, and how are we..." Miroku began, but instantly faltered at the sight of the kitsune cub.

"What is that?!" Inuyasha fumed stepping towards the frightened girl on the floor.

"This is Shippou." She replied, suddenly remembering who she was talking to, determined not to show fear. "He's coming with us." She added as an afterthought.

"Oh is he really?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at the brazen princess. "When did we make this decision miss?"

"Since you made the decision to orphan him!" Kagome raged.

"Feh!" Inuyasha huffed. "Like I care. Whatever, but I'm taking out of your food to feed him! Fuckin' women..." He mumbled leaving the room.

Kagome grinned victoriously, but she wouldn't have very long to celebrate as she and the cub were scooped up by one of the burly guards and carried back to the carriage they knew and hated.

Kagome found the lushness of the cabin almost stifling when compared with the spaciousness the room provided. Albeit, she admitted this was not quite as stuffy, and was a little cozier than the deserted office. Shippou made himself quite at home almost immediately. He took a seat between the two girls and was quite content to sit there all day, amusing his two new best friends with parlour tricks and illusions.

Inuyasha was brooding. When they stopped to restock on supplies he went for a walk around the small village by himself, to gather his thoughts.

Kagome.

She was all he could think about. The nerve of that woman, telling HIM what to do! HIM! HER captor! HE was the one who made the decisions around here, decided who lived and who died, who was spared and who suffered the cruel and gruesome punishment as so many of his enemies in the past had.

And yet...

He couldn't say no to her. The way she had gotten so fired up about the fucking kitsune cub was astounding, admirable, even... no. Not attractive. Kagome was the least attractive woman Inuyasha had ever met. Who wanted a princess for a girl anyway?

"Feh!" Inuyasha huffed out loud. Princesses. He'd seen a lot of them in his line of work. A lot of real pretty ones, not like Kagome. But they were really all the same when it came down to it. They were spoiled, arrogant little bitches, who were only concerned with their lush gowns, sparkling jewels, tiaras, ponies, and whatever else girls like that thought about.

Snobs. That was the word. Girls like Kagome were snobs. Holier than thou, thinking they were better than everyone else, with their translucent smiles, fancy up-dos, sparkling innocent eyes, full pouty lips, breasts straining in their corsets, legs that went on and on...

"Dammit!" Inuyasha yelled aloud punching a nearby brick building. The rock splintered and cracked where he hit it. He was doing it again! Thinking about that girl! She was just a girl!

So why could he not stop thinking about her?

Shippou and Sango were playing cat's cradle in the cabin when Inuyasha returned. Miroku watched the demon hunter with the type of look you reserved for an especially tender piece of meat. Inuyasha huffed to himself. The 'monk' made such an idiot out of himself sometimes.

"Back so soon?" Kagome drawled sweetly. She was running her long slender fingers through her silky black hair, plaiting, then un-plaiting...

Inuyasha shook his head free of the thoughts. "What's it to you?"

"I was hoping you'd gotten lost, drowned..." Inuyasha was staring at her mouth. "...run over in the street by a speeding taxi..." Those lips were tantalizing... "...mobbed in a back alley..." How he longed for those lips... "...shot with a stray bullet from a bar-fight..." The things he yearned to introduce to that mouth, kiss it, make it speak his name... "Inuyasha?"

He snapped suddenly from his erotic daydream.

"You seem less normal than usual." Miroku smirked at his colleague. Inuyasha huffed, and took his usual seat on the outside of the bench between Kagome and the door. How he was going to be able to sit next to her he didn't know...

As night fell, and darkness filled the cabin, Kagome caught herself drifting off. She shrugged, the bandits certainly weren't shy, if they had wanted to do anything to her or Sango by now they would have done it. Inuyasha and Miroku had gone outside the cabin to talk about whatever ruthless thieves will not talk about in the company of their hostages. Kagome rested her arms on the table and nested her head onto them, the kitsune was sleeping curled up in Sango's lap, who was leaning against the other side of the cabin. Kagome drifted off to sleep.

She slowly opened her eyes, and when she did so, realized it was still dark outside. The cabin door had swung open just a crack. She looked around, and noticed she was lying on a small sack of down. She smiled, it must have been Miroku. Inuyasha didn't have a kind bone in his body.

Groggily, she sat upright and stretched her back. Sango and Shippou snored peacefully next to her. And she smiled looking at them. Currently her two favourite people in existence. Shippou, so sweet, so innocent, and Sango, so strong and noble.

That's when Kagome realized she could hear voices. They were faint mumblings, but nonetheless, she didn't have anything better on her agenda but to listen. Carefully and quietly, she crawled under the table and stretched her chain as far as it would take her. She managed to get far enough so that she could peek out through the cabin door.

There was a fire pit. Some sort of meat simmered over it. Several men sat around it, two of which she noticed immediately to be the leaders of the pack, Inuyasha and Miroku. All the men seemed to be listening intently as to what they had to say.

"So, where exactly are we taking them?" It was a voice Kagome never recognized.

"Burlow." Miroku answered quickly. "There is a man there with close connections to the king. We can barter the princess off there for a hefty sum, and since we are no longer in the kingdom of question, we are immune to any punishment." He sipped a goblet of wine importantly.

"I didn't realize we were going to be travelling quite so far this time." Another man thought out loud.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch boys." Inuyasha said heartily. Kagome giggled, realizing the man was drunk. "Hannad village is just over those hills," he indicated with his finger in the general direction of the road. "We'll be there by sunset tomorrow, and every one of us will be drunk and have a beautiful harlot draped off our shoulders!"

"HEAR HEAR!" Came Miroku's voice and the men began into pleasant chatter.

"Wait, wait!" came the voice of another man Kagome didn't know. "You said we could barter off the princess, but what of the other two?"

Kagome held her breath, and she could see Miroku straighten up as well.

Inuyasha took a generous swig from his flagon.

"We will have no further use for them."

A/N: Another attempt at a cliffie! R&R Pleeease!