Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. -crawls under a rock- You happy now? –cries-

The wind whispered through the trees as leaves fell and littered the ground with colors. It was peaceful, so he decided to take a walk. Sesshoumaru had no idea how he had gotten into her time, nor exactly where he was, but he had tried to make the best of it. Standing up, he touched his forehead. It was throbbing with pain, but nothing he could handle. As he walked down the street, he suddenly caught a familiar scent. His expression stayed in its present form of ice as he recognized it as his little brother's. He followed his instincts to a dark alley.

"Inuyasha, I know you're here." he said, blocking the way out.

"Sesshoumaru! How did you get here?" Inuyasha stepped out of the shadows.

"You think I know?" said Sesshoumaru coldly. "If I did, do you think I'd be wasting my time telling you?"

Inuyasha scowled, but stopped as two people stepped up behind Sesshoumaru. He turned calmly to Kagome and Shippo, who were staring at him with awe.

"S-Sesshoumaru, what are you doing here!" asked Kagome immediately. Sesshoumaru did not answer, but looked past her.

"Quiet. Someone is coming." said Sesshoumaru. They sat in silence for a few minutes until a girl appeared beside Shippo, scaring him half to death. It was almost as if she just appeared. She was wearing a white shirt with long sleeves and black collar, along with a pair of black baggy jeans with a chain and a black choker that was almost obscured in her ebony black hair. She looked surprisingly good looking for someone wearing nothing but black and white. Nobody said anything. But soon the girl spoke up.

"Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo," she said pointing to each in turn. "and Sesshoumaru, right?"

No one moved.

"Is somebody going to talk, or are we just going to sit awkwardly in silence?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

Sesshoumaru was the first person to regain composure. "Who are you?" he asked in a monotone voice. She looked sideways at Sesshoumaru.

"My name is Kayame," she said. "and if you don't mind me asking, where is everybody else?"

"Everybody else?" asked Inuyasha.

"Sango, Miroku and Kirara, of course," she said.

Kagome suddenly felt fear pierce her heart. 'How do you know about them!" she asked.

"I will tell you, but can we go somewhere less..." Kayame eyed the junk and garbage surrounding everyone. "filthy?" Kagome nodded, still awestruck. Kayame started to walk out of the alley, but when no one followed, she sighed. "There is nothing else left for you to do. Just come with me and I will explain everything." Slowly, they followed her. Kagome thought she felt miko power, but shook it away, thinking that it was impossible. She also ignored her growing feeling of demon. There's no demons here, what am I thinking? She pushed the thought away and followed the others.

They sat in awkward silence, with everyone around the fireplace exchanging nervous glances. One could tell what the other was thinking: Who IS this girl? The unbroken quiet unnerved everybody until Kayame burst in and scared everybody half to death. Inuyasha fell flat on his face, Shippo burned himself, Kagome jumped about five feet into the air, and even Sesshoumaru was startled.

"Ok, I prepared some food I case you were hungry..." she laid a plate on the table that had all kinds of food set on top of it. "I also have some ramen--"

"RAMEN!" Inuyasha tried to grab the ramen, but Kayame swiftly moved it from his reach, gracefully set it on the table, twisted behind Inuyasha, and grabbed his ear like a mother would do to her child. "Do you want ramen or not?" she asked calmly.

"Hey! OW! THAT HURTS! KAGOME!" Inuyasha tried to escape, but Kayame only tightened her grip, earning a yelp of pain from him.

"You deserve that one, Inuyasha," said Kagome. "That was rude." Sesshoumaru became interested. She's talented.

Kayame let go of Inuyasha's ear and stepped back, watching him recoil and massage his bruised ear. Kayame picked up the ramen and held it out to Inuyasha. He stared at it, then at Kayame. She smiled. "Take it, it won't bite. You want it, don't you?" Inuyasha slowly held out his hand and she gave it to him. Kagome was surprised. This time Inuyasha didn't just start devouring his food, he cautiously and courteously ate it with manners. Kagome almost laughed.

"So, I believe I owe you an explanation," said Kayame finally. They nodded dumbly. She was about to start explaining when she spotted Inuyasha staring at her. It made her uneasy.

"Inuyasha, is there something wrong?" she asked.

"N-no..." Inuyasha stammered. Kayame raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?" she asked, a hint of mocking in her voice.

"You look like somebody I know..." he said quietly.

"Just who would that be?" asked Kayame.

"You remind me of... her." he said. Kayame froze. Sesshoumaru saw her body go stiff, and he shifted in his spot. She looked like a tiger, infuriated and ready to pounce at any given moment. She looked almost deadly.

"Her? She who is no longer alive, she who helped Naraku, SHE who wants you DEAD!" Kayame practically screamed. Everybody was totally alarmed. "Do not EVER mention KIKYOU in my presence!" she stormed out, growling and leaving everyone confused. Inuyasha was absolutely lost.

"What did I do?" he asked, oblivious. Everyone gave him angry looks, especially Kagome. It said, GO-OUT-THERE-AND-TALK-TO-HER-RIGHT-NOW, and Inuyasha scowled. "I'm going, I'm going..." he said.

When Inuyasha walked outside, he found Kayame curled up into a ball on the porch like a hurt puppy. He walked over carefully, and sat down next to her."Uh... Kayame?" he asked. She said nothing.

"Uh..." he looked for a way to start a conversation.

"I'm sorry." she said quietly. Inuyasha was startled by her words. "Huh?" he asked.

"I'm sorry. I spoke down to someone whom you used to love, and I... I..." she started crying. Inuyasha was shocked. "No, it's ok..." he said.

"No, it's NOT! The fact that I despise her and insulted her in front of you is NOT ok! It's just..."

"What?"

Kayame took a deep breath. "To think that you still love Kikyou even when you have someone better at your side is despicable to me! You say that you loved Kikyou and wished to be with her? If she felt the same way about you, then tell me how you were torn from each other so easily? You never loved Kikyou, and Kikyou never loved you. It was but a shallow emotion. She wanted to change you, she wanted you to become human for her own benefit more than yours! Kagome likes you the way you are: a hanyou. You protect her, you know more about her than anyone else, yet you are oblivious to her feelings towards you!" Kayame's tears got heavier. "You look right through Kagome to Kikyou, you see her other than Kagome! But the person who you are truly bound to is not Kikyou. Kikyou is dead! Time can erase Kikyou's shallow affection of you, but it cannot erase the truth of Kagome's! Move on, away from Kikyou and find love elsewhere, or it will leave you forever. Stop chasing a fantasy that will never be! If you do, you will never truly be happy! And I beg of you... be happy..."

Inuyasha was shocked by her sudden outburst, but silent for a moment by her words. "You're right." he said, looking away. Kayame looked up at Inuyasha, her face stained by tears. 'What?" she asked, hiccupping.

"You're right. I should forget about the past and move on." he said. "Kagome's with me and she's all I need. All I need to survive." Kayame smiled and laid her head down on the floor. But Inuyasha was puzzled. "Why do you so desperately want me to be happy?" When he heard no answer, he looked over and saw that Kayame was asleep. He smiled.

"Inuyasha."

Inuyasha turned around, startled to see Sesshoumaru standing in the doorway. His expression hardened, but Sesshoumaru put up a clawed hand. "It's ok, I'm not here to make comments. I listened to your conversation."

"What!"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this. But... she's right. I need to find love before it leaves me completely...

"She wasn't talking to you!"

"Directly, no. But I can't help but think that she knew I was listening... that she knew I was there..." There was a pause. "Please, let me care for her tonight. She seems ill from being outside in the cold too long." Sesshoumaru walked over, picked up Kayame, and took her inside. Inuyasha was amazed. I've never seen that look in his eyes before. They somehow softened when he looked at her. Could it be that Sesshoumaru--

"Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice rang through his ears as she spotted him. "Oh, there you are! I was worried about you! Sesshoumaru came in carrying Kayame and said she was sick from being out in the cold too long. He said you were still outside so I got worried thinking you would catch a cold to! Come on Inuyasha, we have more ramen for you!" She held out her hand with a smile. Inuyasha reached out and grabbed it, and she helped him up, even though he didn't need it. Inuyasha was still thinking of what had just taken place.

Whew! I finished the first chapter! Go me! Ok, well I hope everyone liked it, please review! Compliments, constructive criticism, anything! Tell me what you liked, what you hated, what you think should be changed, etc. Thank you for reading!

-- Ryuu