Author's Note: (at the beginning this time….randomly. Get over it.)

I realized I haven't been getting back to reviewers as I said I would. For me, it's easier to just reply here rather than send personal messages individually. So here goes:

To SilentStorm1999 and Steph the bat 11, thanks for reading! Other than friends that I've made read my work, you guys are the only ones reviewing (meaning make your friends read too :D) . Steph the bat 11, seemed a little confused, but I hope the following chapters will make everything a little more clear. But please ask questions! That helps me make my story and my writing make more sense. And if it's something that wouldn't make sense to go back and change I'll be sure to explain it in the beginning or the end of chapters. But only upon request….I don't tend to explain what I write. I like to leave a lot of things, especially setting description, up to the imagination of a reader as I've noticed it gets boring REALLY fast.

With that, I'm going to actually start writing the chapter.

I started writing in her perspective, kind of. I'm not entirely sure why. Guess you'll just have to deal with it.

Caroline Winters

Chapter Four

"Inuyasha!" His ears twitched slightly, "Inuyasha!" Sayuri yelled a little louder this time. He rumbled in complaint and a smile spread across her face. "It's time to get up."

The man seemed to be no closer to moving. Giving up, Sayuri slid the sliding door open and sat along the little porch. She swung her legs lightly, enjoying the feel of the sun upon her face and the sound of the wind as it danced between the leaves of the trees. She listened close to the soft cooing of the demon slayer's children as she lay them down for a morning nap. Everything was so peaceful here. There didn't seem to be a reason for her to leave.

"I can't let him back in here, not after all the trouble he caused."

What happened before? Sayuri looked back at Inuyasha. He had begun to stir a little more now. The sun against his back must have been keeping him awake. Why did no one want him here? What did he do that was so bad?

"Think about it Sango. This is where they met. This is where Kagome -"

Who was Kagome?

Inuyasha, now awake, walked towards her. He looked her over suspiciously from head to toe, returning back to what was probably only a faint scar on her midsection. She opened her mouth to ask about the woman these people can't seem to forget, but the red that rimmed his eyes told her this was not the morning to ask about such things.

Inuyasha sat down beside her, making sure to stay a good distance away. He eyed her carefully. His gaze was too intense, she had to look away. "Your wounds have healed."

Sayuri nodded. His tone seemed very…final. It was the only word she could conjure up to describe it. "I'll probably leave soon." She swallowed, "Now that everything is better."

He scoffed, "You can't do that."

"What?"

He laughed at the bemused look on her face. It didn't seem as though he was letting her get away that easily. "You owe a debt to me, don't you? I saved your miserable life."

"Miserable?" Sayuri looked away, out in to the field where the people of the town worked. "I was doing just fine before you came along. I'll be just fine when I leave too." She got to her feet and began to walk away. She wouldn't look back. Couldn't look back.

A hand grabbed her wrist. "I'm not letting you go."

Sayuri swung around, claws drawn, a growl emanating from her chest. "I owe you nothing. I never asked to be saved."

"Are you saying you didn't want to live?" Inuyasha held her gaze, his hand resting on Tetsusaiga, ready to swing at a moments notice. She looked away first. "That's what I thought." He released his sword.

Sayuri took a deep breath. "Look around you." She paused, "As far as I could tell, you're not wanted here and if you're not wanted here…" her voice fell to a whisper, "I know when to leave somewhere I'm not wanted."

"Now that's taking things a little too far isn't it?" The two half demons turned to see the monk from the other day smiling at them from the porch. He sat down carefully on the edge and tapped the small of his back with his fist. "Oh, I'm getting old."

"Miroku, stay out if it." Inuyasha grumbled, just loud enough for the human to hear. Sayuri visibly stiffened. This human wasn't to be trusted, he seemed more dangerous than others.

The monk laughed, "I know, I know. I have no idea what you're going through right?" he peered around Inuyasha at Sayuri, "The same goes for you too, am I wrong?"

She wanted so much to look away from kind eyes that seemed to see right through her venomous glare. This Miroku appeared to know all her secrets. The thought terrified her. "What do you want from me?"

He shook his head, "I want nothing more than for the safety and well being of my family and friends." Miroku looked at Inuyasha with his last words and a look of guilt spread across his face. "You guys seemed to be in a bit of a disagreement and I thought it was time to step in."

"What does that have to do with me?" She growled. "I have nothing to do with this- this person. I didn't ask for his help, let alone yours."

Inuyasha was becoming impatient. "I don't have to sit here and listen to this. I'm gone." He began to walk away.

"What happened to not letting me go?" The words came tumbling from her lips before she knew what had happened.

He turned. Inuyasha seemed to be holding something back. Was he upset that she wanted to leave? She didn't understand. She didn't mean anything to him. "Leave! It's what you want, isn't it?"

Before the lump in her throat could build anymore she ran off in to the woods.

"Sayuri!" he yelled, but she kept running. He must have smelled her tears.

Why did she feel this way? Why did her head scream for her to run, but her heart ached when she did? Everything about this man was dangerous. He was too beautiful to be trusted. Beautiful people let you down. Beautiful people hurt you. How could he be any different?

Slowly Inuyasha's footsteps faded along with her strength. It was too early to be running again. Sayuri finally stopped when she reached a small clearing in the forest. In the middle was a well. She sniffed the air. The smell of demon remains threw her off, but the lack of water was even more puzzling. Curious, she went closer to examine it.

It was relatively small, and not overly deep. She could easily jump to the bottom and back up if she really wanted to. Rather than water, it was filled with the bones of demons. It was dark and smelled horrible. Sayuri sat on the edge of the well and looked up at the sun, squinting as it blinded her.

Why had Inuyasha stopped chasing her? It was not as if she was running very fast. She looked from side to side, sniffing the air as she did. Inuyasha was close, but why was he hiding?

"Inuyasha!" Sayuri's voice came back to her as well as a few chirps from the birds, "Inuyasha, I know you're there." If she listened hard she could hear the soft sound of his breath leaving his body. He was exasperated, or upset, she couldn't tell which. "Is there something wrong with this place?" Sayuri turned and peered down the well again.

There was nothing particularly dangerous about it, but it seemed to put this man on edge. A smile played on her lips. She could have fun with this.

Sayuri leaned back slightly. She made a small sound as she stretched and leaned back in to the well. Slowly, she leaned further and further back in to the stretch and the opening before allowing herself to fall in head first. Faster than she could blink, arms wrapped around her and she came to a gentle stop just before the bottom.

She looked up in to his eyes, they seemed unusually calm. "Are you an idiot?" Sayuri blinked a few times. It seems she spoke too soon. The kind look of concern had left his eyes as he burned furious holes in to her forehead. She avoided his fierce glare as her eyes fell on his necklace. It had brown, round beads separated by the occasional fang-like bead. She had never seen anything like it.

"What is this?" She asked reaching out to feel them. Her body fell to the floor of the well with a crash. "What was that for?" Sayuri growled, "I was just looking."

Inuyasha looked away, "It's not important." He leaped nimbly from the bottom of the well and Sayuri followed with little hesitation. There was something about this man that was intriguing. He held secrets that a part of her was desperate to unravel, but another was scared of what she would find.

His ears moved quickly from side to side, listening for something. He began to run in the direction of the village once again. Sayuri followed close behind. Something seemed to draw her towards him. He seemed to run a little slower than normal to allow her to keep up.

As the village came in to view once more, she realised how small it really was. When she was sick, all she could think about was breathing. All the feeble humans crowding around her didn't help matters. Sayuri watched Inuyasha leap from rooftop to rooftop before landing back on to the house they'd spent the night in. She followed him in to the house. Where was he going in such a hurry?

Inuyasha whipped around, "Stay here." And he stalked in to another room, slamming the door behind him.

Sayuri listened close from the other side of the door:

"What is it, Miroku?"

The monk sighed, "Always straight to the point. You should learn to be more patient; it's a virtue you know." The patronising tone was evident.

"Yeah, because you know everything about virtues." Inuyasha scoffed, "Aren't monks supposed to stay virgins?"

"Now, now, there's no need to get snippy." She heard a few footsteps and then a creak from the floor boards, "So Inuyasha, why are you back again?" Sayuri could picture a small smile spreading across his face. Cocky bastard.

Inuyasha was quiet for a long moment, his voice fell low. "Why are you in her room?"

"Your appearance has given me a feeling of nostalgia. I thought I'd reminisce a little." He paused, "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Why are you here? Why do you stay?"

Sayuri listened to the floor creak as Inuyasha moved uncomfortably from one foot to another. "I wanted to visit her grave, say goodbye."

"Does that mean you're leaving? You've barely been here a day." Inuyasha must have given him a fierce look because the monk's tone became serious once more. "You must know that Kagome…"

There were a few thumps and the quick intake of air, even Sayuri's breath caught a little. "Don't say her name. You don't know nothing about what she wanted."

The monk took a few more shaky breaths, "Kagome wouldn't want to see you like this. She wanted you to be happy." He let his words sink in, "This isn't happy, Inuyasha, not even close."

Suddenly, the door flew open and Inuyasha stalked down the hallway. Realizing she wasn't following, he called over his shoulder, "You better be coming."

She hesitated for a moment and just stared at his retreating back. He seemed so tense whenever that girl was brought up. What could she possibly mean to him? Kagome…such an odd name. She's captured the heard of the monk and even that demon slayer. How does one girl connect so many?

"Didn't I tell you to follow? I ain't going to ask again."

Sayuri quickly followed after. Inuyasha strode through the village with a kind of determination to get from one place to another with as little interaction as possible. Inuyasha walked up a long staircase that led to a small shrine on the top of a hill. There were two graves in front, one read "Kikyo" and the other "Kagome".

Inuyasha crouched beside the first grave, the one labelled "Kikyo". It looked a lot older than the other. He didn't linger and moved to the second one. This time he stayed longer. His body tensed as if he struggled to keep his breathing even. He reached out one hand and fingered the strokes that spelled her name.

"So this is the infamous Kagome, is it?" Sayuri crouched beside him, closed her eyes and pressed her palms together in prayer. She could feel Inuyasha's eyes on her and quickly added, "This is what you do, right?"

They sat in silence together for a long time. He breathed slowly and carefully. He was holding something back, but didn't seem to be fighting as hard.

"Who…" She began, "What was she like?"

Inuyasha lowered his head and slowly opened his eyes. "Kagome…" He let the name fall from his lips slowly. The name felt familiar yet awkward on his lips, as if he had not said it in a long time. "She was kind, and warm. She- she made people feel like they belonged."

"Like a mother?"

He smiled, the first real smile she'd seen on his face. "Yeah, kind of like that."

Inspired, she pressed a little more, "Did you love her?"

"Why do you care?" his eyes bored in to her again. Those yellow eyes were so piercing, yet impossible to look away from. Sayuri could never really tell what he was thinking.

She shrugged, "I'm just curious." She reached out and stroked the characters of her name as Inuyasha had done just before, "She had to be some kind of special to make so many people remember her like that."

"What do you mean?"

"The monk, the demon slayer, and even you seem so attached to this one woman."

Inuyasha avoided her eyes. "She was special. There's no one alive more special than her."

Sayuri pressed her hand in to her chest. Her heart beat, didn't it? When this man was around it beat even faster, though she still didn't know why. Did that mean she would never match this woman?

"Are you okay?"

"Inuyasha…" but she was cut off by a voice and footsteps approaching.

"Inuyasha!" The monk from earlier came running up the steps. He stopped before the two, catching his breath. "I'm glad I caught you, I have a small favour to ask."