A/N: Hello! I am sooooo sorry about the slow update! I really only write when the inspiration hits. My muses are lazy though and they like to take their sweet time.

Disclaimer: I no owny InuYasha. Okie-dokie?

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Recap:

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes in frustration. 'I am unsure what this light means or what it implies, but if my little brother is experiencing this light also, then I may have a clue. If my suspicions are indeed correct, it will not give me much to go on. Practically nothing is known.' He turned his gaze skyward. 'It is close to a full moon. If I find Inuyasha by then, at least one of my questions shall be answered.'

Chapter Three:

A light, bright and somehow radiating danger. It appeared blurry as though whoever was looking at it had their eyes crossed and half-closed. A figure stepped in front of the light, casting shadows behind it. No features could be distinguished on the figure. It was as though the figure was swathed in total darkness, the complete opposite of the light behind it. The figure began chanting. The chant sounded as though the speaker was far away, the voice too soft to tell if it was male or female. The light became dimmer as the figure continued its chant. The light almost seemed to form something…but it was still too bright to see…

"Come on, get up already!" whined a voice close by.

Inuyasha ignored it as best he could, desperate to cling to the fading images of his dream. 'If only that little brat hadn't woken me up! I might've been able to see what that light was!'

"Hush, Shippo! Let him get what rest he can," Sango chided, interrupting Shippo's whining.

"Too late, I'm awake," Inuyasha growled out, throwing a heated glare at the small kitsune.

Shippo gave a small 'eep' at the growl and ran behind Kagome. The girl from the future gave Inuyasha a glare of her own. Slightly rebuffed, the half-demon turned away. He was afraid he'd snap at her if he held her gaze.

After another tense breakfast, they moved on to the village. It was only about two miles away now. As if on cue, the fuzzy light in Inuyasha's mind returned. Baring his fangs in a silent snarl, he braced himself for another day of frustration.

--

Slightly more than three hours after they broke camp, Sesshomaru stood at the spot where Inuyasha had slept. While to an onlooker, it appeared as though the dog-demon was perfectly still and doing nothing, this was far from true. He was intensely scenting the air, sifting through the various smells in an attempt to discern his little half-brother's. He recognised it almost immediately and began concentrating on that scent alone.

After a couple of minutes spent in deep focus, he had what he stopped for. 'It seems I was correct,' he thought grimly. 'I must get to him before the full moon tomorrow night at all costs. With how slow he travels with his 'pack' though, I should catch him before tonight. All the better.'

He set off at a brisk run, following the scent trail of Inuyasha and his group.

--

"So this is the village you were talking about, Miroku?" Kagome asked, looking around with interest. It was just like any other village they had been to and her excitement quickly died.

"Yes. We should restock our supplies here before moving on," Miroku said, walking off. If one looked ahead to were he was bound, one would see three pretty young ladies standing there chatting.

An expression of intense annoyance accompanied by a bright red angry aura was what currently defined Sango at that moment. "Why that…that…womaniser!" she ground out, staring daggers at the monk's back. She marched after him, slapping hand and boomerang at the ready.

Miroku suddenly felt an intense chill run down his spine along with a sense of foreboding doom mixed with pain.

Shippo shook his head and sighed. He'd wait until Sango calmed down before approaching her. He hopped off her shoulder and followed the irate demon slayer a safe distance behind with Kirara.

Inuyasha stopped next to Kagome. He said nothing as he was busy trying, once again, to get rid of the light.

"Well, well, well. This is certainly interesting!" said a voice.

Inuyasha's ears twitched and he glanced around. It didn't seem as if the voice was addressing anyone from his group though, so he decided to ignore it.

"So…half-demon, huh? Very curious. Tell me, my half-dog friend, what is your name?" the voice spoke again.

Another sweep with his amber coloured eyes revealed nothing, just as before. But now, Inuyasha was sure someone was talking to him. His eyes fell on Kagome, but it seemed as though she hadn't heard a thing. 'I don't wanna ask her if she heard anything…I know she's already been worrying about me. Even I know that hearing voices is a bad sign!'

He caught the sound of a small snort. "You're looking the wrong way, dog-boy. Look down!"

Blinking bemusedly, he did as the voice said. Turning his gaze down, all he saw was a medium sized dog with light brown fur. The dog was staring at him intently. "What d'ya want, mutt? Scram!"

Kagome had seen the dog. It had been yapping at Inuyasha. 'It probably smells the dog in him,' she reasoned. She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard angry sounding barking coming from ear-level right beside her. Whipping around to face her companion, she was shocked to find that HE was the one barking.

"Uh, Inuyasha?" she said cautiously.

"What?" he half-snapped at her.

"I didn't know you could…uh…talk to dogs…" she ventured to tell him, licking her lips nervously.

"What?" he said again, this time sounding confused.

Kagome took a small step back before replying. "Well, you were talking to that dog there. Why didn't you ever tell me you could communicate with dogs?"

Inuyasha detected a slight accusatory undertone in her voice but he was too confused to care at the moment. "What do you mean? You woulda heard me tell it to scram loud and clear! It's not exactly hard to talk to an animal y'know. I've caught you talking to your cat back at your house before!"

"Well," Kagome started, blustering slightly. "Yeah, I talk to Buyo. But I don't meow at him! Inuyasha, you were barking back at that dog!"

Inuyasha jerked back as though stung. "I was not barking! Kagome, you've been standing next to me the whole time. You can't say you didn't hear me tell that dog to get lost?!"

As they had been arguing, their voices had steadily risen. Quite a few of the villagers were staring at them strangely. Sango had noticed and dragged Miroku back to their quarrelling friends, Shippo and Kirara trotting after her. When they reached the pair, the topic of their argument became quite clear.

"All I heard was you barking, just like a dog!" Kagome shouted.

Inuyasha, patience already painfully thin, shouted right back. "For the last time, I. Was. Not. Barking! I said, word for word, 'what d'ya want mutt, scram'! How could you not have heard that?!"

"Perhaps you two could finish this somewhere more…private? You are attracting many odd looks," Miroku said, more of a soft demand than a suggestion. "If you would kindly follow me, I can lead us to a more…secure…area." With that said, he spun around and walked off towards a big building.

"Do you know the people who live there?" Sango asked the monk as her and the others followed, eager to get away from the eyes of the villagers.

"Why yes, my dear Sango, I do. I exorcised a rather pesky lizard demon for them a couple of years ago. They offered that I can stay there whenever I pass through as a reward."

"So you didn't fake that one?" Shippo piped up. Miroku gave him a stern look.

"I do actually exorcise demons for people, Shippo."

The dog had decided to follow Inuyasha. Trotting up behind the group, he tried to start a conversation. "So this is your pack? Quite an odd lot. You sure are an unusual individual!"

Inuyasha whipped his head around to stare at the canine. "Look, you, quit following us! Go home!"

If dogs could grin, than this one would be. "You don't seem to know what's happening. Therefore, as the closest canine, it is my duty to help you for as long as you are here."

"Help?" Inuyasha sneered, "help with what? I already know I'm losing my mind! First these weird dreams started, then this light that keeps popping up in my mind and now I'm talking to some fleabag who I can understand for some reason!"

Kagome nodded at the others who were openly staring at Inuyasha in confusion. "See? I told him he was barking." The others dumbly nodded back. They had stopped in the front yard of the mansion.

Inuyasha's ears twitched as he caught Kagome's words. "Barking?" he asked in a slightly strained voice.

"Yes," Kagome answered. "You are barking back at that dog. Why, is something wrong?"

"How could not know you were barking and growling?" Sango chimed in.

"How? Because it feels like I'm just talking normally!"

Miroku sat down, the others following his lead after a few moments. "Can you understand that dog, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha snorted and flopped down angrily. "I think I'm going nuts! I can hear and understand that dog as easily as we're talking now! And I have no idea why! Before you ask again Kagome, no, I can't talk to dogs. I seem to have gained the magical ability to do just that overnight!"

"You're so stressed out. Lie down and relax," said the dog, who had sat down beside Inuyasha and was now wagging his tail slowly. "Let me tell you some good news, okay?"

"Sure, go right ahead," Inuyasha answered in a weary, resigned way. "I could use some good news."

The others were watching the dog and the half-demon with ill-concealed interest.

"My name, my true name, is Rikoukawa. You are not losing your mind."

"That's nice to know," Inuyasha said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Excuse me, Inuyasha, but may I ask what you two are discussing?" Miroku asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

Inuyasha threw him a half-hearted glare. "He says his name is Rikoukawa and that I'm not going crazy."

"Wow," Kagome said, slightly awed. "Does he know why you can understand him?"

"I hope you caught that because I hate repeating things," he growled at the dog.

Rikoukawa simply rolled his eyes. "I don't know for sure, the details are a little hazy as it's really just a legend for the most part…"

--

A/N: Wow. Eight months! EIGHT! Why did no-one come after me with a pitchfork? I would've! I feel like banging my head repeatedly against my wall (which is all cement, by the way) for this! GRRR!!

Feel free to torture me in your imaginations.

I'm still not telling you anything useful, am I? Though you have learned that Inu can speak dog now. That's something, right?

If anyone's wondering, the dog's name roughly means 'hidden wisdom'. Rikou means 'wisdom' and Kawa means 'hide'. -cringes- Don't hurt me too much…

Thanks to UpperClassK9 for beta-ing. -hugs you-

I am not expecting any reviews for this chapter. It'd be nice to get at least one though.