A/N: I do not own InuYasha. Sadly.

"Kagome, Kagome. You are no more than a bird in a cage."

Kagome heard her childhood friends singing the song as she stood in the center of the circle with her eyes closed, waiting for them to finish.

Who's behind me? She thought.

She saw who it was in her mind's eye, but she did not believe it until she turned around and saw for herself.

"Kikyo?" said Kagome.

The priestess smiled warmly at her.

"It's up to you now, Kagome." She said.

"What if I can't do it? What if something goes wrong?"

"You can and you will. You have my light. Naraku is strong and formidable, but not all powerful. Whatever happens, I will be with you."

Kikyo put her hands on Kagome's shoulders and gently pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Take care, "said Kikyo.

Kagome woke with a start to the starry night sky above her. She lifted a hand to rub her eyes and it came away wet. She'd been crying in her sleep. Slowly getting to a sitting position so as not to wake her friends, she drew her knees to her chest and rested her head on top of them.

"Kagome?" she heard InuYasha say, "Are you alright?"

She raised her head to look in his direction and could barely make out his silhouette in the darkness. He was propped against a tree across from the smoldering remains of the fire in their little encampment, his sword resting against his shoulder. Kagome wondered if he had been awake the whole time. Ever since the night of Kikyo's death, he hardly slept at all.

"Yeah, it was just a dream."

She knew as soon as she said it that he wouldn't believe her. He could probably smell the salt of her tears and knew she had been crying. She wasn't surprised by his next question.

"Is that why you're crying?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

" Keh. Fine."

After a short silence and determining she would not be going back to sleep anytime soon, Kagome spoke again.

"InuYasha?"

"What?" he said.

"Can I sit with you?"

She was met with more silence.

"Uh, sure." he said finally.

Kagome stood up and carefully made her way over to InuYasha . Sitting down beside him, she laid her head against his shoulder. After a moment, he cautiously put his arm around her and pulled her closer. With her head now against his chest, Kagome was soon lulled to sleep by the sound of his heartbeat.