Curiosity ~ Chapter Twenty-Seven ~ "Catch A Hanyou By His Claw… I Mean Toe."

Sango wasn't the only one who was curious about Kagome's new look, the others in their party were also wondering what had happened and had voiced their concerns for they were wondering if she had been possessed.

"Don't worry guys!" She waved her hand in front of her face as if she were brushing the subject off. "I haven't been possessed. In my era people can dye their hair different colors if they don't like their natural color. My idiot brother decided that I needed to be blonde so he could tell Kikyo and me apart even though we were obviously wearing different clothing – the dope."

A small red blur thrust itself into her chest and clutched onto her top for dear life.

"Oh Kagome we were so worried that Kikyo had done something to hurt you and Granny Kaede. Wait where is Kaede? Kikyo didn't do anything to her did she?" Shippo spoke panicked.

"Yeah Gooey, where Ma-Maw?"

Kagome pet Shippo's head in order to try and calm him down.

"Don't worry, Kaede is just fine. She's inside with Kikyo and my school friends eating." She looked up to the rest of the group then.

"A bite to eat does sound good right about now. Shall I dispense the evil aura I feel surrounding this place in hopes of gaining a meal?" Sutras were starting to reveal themselves from the confines of the monk's robes but Kagome put a stop to it.

"I'm afraid that won't work in this era Miroku, not many people believe in demons anymore. Why don't we all head inside and I'll treat you?"

Everyone had agreed and with a few words of encouragement, Kagome had convinced Sango to leave her hiraikotsu lay on top her Edsel. After all, if Kagome couldn't lift the thing then how would anyone else be able to steal it? Besides, they could keep an eye on it from the window.

"Hey girls, mind pulling up another table so we can all eat together while I go get these guys something to eat?"

"No problem Kagome! By the way who is the cutie in the black and purple robes?" Eri batted her eyes flirtingly towards the monk only to suddenly find both he hands ensnared in his and a face mere inches from her own.

"Why I am known as Miroku my beautiful lady. Would you mind bearing my children?"

Something happened then to Miroku that had never occurred to him in his life before due to his famous question. Sure, he'd been smacked, smooched, chased out of town, and even knocked unconscious by a woman's husband for asking such a thing – but not once had he EVER been laughed at…

Well, until now that is.

"Kagome, don't tell me THIS is the guy that asked you to have his kid!"

"Miroku…" Said monk gulped when he heard Sango's "you're about to be slapped voice."

Thankfully he knew just how to pacify her rising temper.

Taking her hand, he led her to a set of chairs the girls had pulled up to accommodate their growing "party".

"Now my dear Sango, you don't wish to cause a scene do you? Rest assured I only asked her once and that was when we first met many moons ago. You are the only girl for me my beautiful taijiya." A confident smile crossed his face as he squeezed her petite yet calloused hand in his own before she abruptly pulled it away.

"I'll think about believing you when you stop your womanizing ways." She ground out before turning to be introduced to the three schoolgirls that sat across from her.

Ten minutes later, after all the introductions and the ordering of food had been dealt with, the Inu-tachi had what Kagome deemed "fast-food" setting in front of them. Once they had their first bite they just couldn't get enough. This stuff was better than Kagome's ninja food! Within minutes all of the food that Kagome had bought for them was gone, a thing that struck the three schoolgirls odd.

Yuka looked to the two girls sitting on either side of her and gave them the signal that they should go, which of course they voiced to Kagome.

"Do you really have to? If you wait a few minutes I can drive you home."

Ayumi smiled to Kagome as she shouldered her pack. "No, that's alright Kagome. I honestly don't think all of us would fit into your car and we've got some research to do at the library anyway. We'll see you later ok?" She walked over and hugged Kagome gently so as not to hurt her arm.

"I hope to see you all again sometime!" Ayumi waved as she started walking out the door.

"Try not to overdo it Kagome, we don't need you any sicker than you already are." Yuka patted her back as she began to follow Ayumi.

Eri though wasn't paying attention to Kagome. While Inuyasha was still eating what was left of his fries, she snuck up behind him and planted a big wet kiss on his cheek.

"Don't be a stranger ok Lover-boy!"

The teenage girls giggled at the blushing Inuyasha as they said goodbye again and left the restaurant but as soon as they got outside their expressions became serious. The people they had just met inside had practically confirmed their suspicions regarding Kagome and her many disappearances throughout this past year.

Their uncertainties had started after they'd gotten a preview of the things they would be study in history class about the Feudal Era. One of the stories that had popped up was the tale of an inu-hanyou and his band of "misfits" traveling across all of Japan to find the broken pieces of the Sacred Jewel.

Of course the three of them didn't think that was odd, in fact they were so intrigued with the tale that they had wanted to find out anything and everything they could about it.

Now… they wish they hadn't.

At first everything was alright, each girl getting excited when they found an interesting fact. All thought it cool when Ayumi discovered the inu-hanyou and his best-friend's names were the same as Kagome and her "jerk" of a boyfriend.

Who would have thought that two of their closest friends were named after the two leaders of the misfit group of saviors?

But what they found next in Ayumi's book certainly began to raise questions about their best-friend.

Described next in the book was a man – or a monk I should say – that had a cursed wind tunnel in his right hand. It wasn't this little fact that set them off, it was his name – Miroku – and the fact that he asked practically every woman he met to "bear his child."

Wasn't it odd how this man fit the description perfectly to that of the man Kagome had described to them only a few months prior?

What of the person on the following page? The small child written about upon the page appeared to be the one Kagome had claimed to babysit once or twice when she had muttered something about him one day.

As the three girls kept going from page to page realizing the "to close for comfort" similarities of the people in the book and those they had learned about in Kagome's personal life, they found the one thing that confirmed their suspicions.

On the final page was a faded photo, or a painting if you will, of what appeared to be a solider of some sort from that period of time, but with closer inspection on Yuka's part they discovered that the person on the page wasn't a soldier…

It was Inuyasha.

The background of the painting, from what they could make out, depicted a horrid battle full of bloodshed and killing; a sight that made them cringe.

In the middle of everything stood Inuyasha, the transformed Tessaiga in his clawed hand and what appeared to be his eyes bleeding red. He truly did look the part of a warrior out for vengeance against someone, but what he was fighting for no one knew…

That is, until they saw what lay curled tightly against his chest in his other arm.

Hoping against all hopes that what they had discovered in their history studies was wrong, the three began to make their way to the library just down the street in attempts to gather more information through their research.

But if what they had uncovered was actually true then they knew without a shadow of a doubt that their dearest friend in the world was in danger.