Chapter 4

After an hour Inuyasha found them lying side by side on the river bank; steam slowly coiled off of them; the sun evaporated the river water. The kids had all gone home, either being collected by their parents or running when they heard the sound of food preparation and the village was peaceful.

"You two, dinner's ready," Inuyasha smiled at their tranquil expressions before walking back to the house. Sesshomaru opened his eyes and looked at Miyuki, she was fast asleep. A cloud moved over the sun throwing the land into shadow, then suddenly there was a break in the clouds; a single ray of light shone down hitting Miyuki giving her a halo. Sesshomaru was struck at how beautiful she was; he leant over and kissed her, his eyes red, his instincts taking control. She opened her eyes at the touch and saw him leaning over her; his warm lips on hers. She blushed and gulped; he raised his head and looked into her eyes.

Unexpectedly Rin's face flashed into his mind; he rolled away from her and stood.

"Come on, let's go back," he stalked away; confusion and loss clouding his features. Miyuki fought against the tide of hurt that was launching itself at her; stood and followed the troubled demon back to the house. For some reason the world to her as if it had shattered leaving only the dark emotions; pain, sorrow, anger, pain. She stopped and looked up at the sun that was setting, sending the sky blood red; she stared at it, losing herself in its beauty. Sesshomaru walked into the house and sat in the corner away from everyone, his mind puzzling over the emotions that he was feeling. "Why do I keep seeing Rin's face," he ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Sesshomaru, where's Miyuki?" Kagome said turning from her cooking pot; he jumped to his feet and looked around the room. He ran out the door and immediately saw Miyuki; stood in the middle of the path staring at the sunset. He watched her for a moment and then walked up to her about to talk to her.

"Have you ever seen something so beautiful?" she said quietly not turning away from the sky; he looked up at the sky and knew instantly what she meant.

"No I have not, to be honest I have never stopped to look at the sky," he murmured as he sat down on his heels; she looked down at him with a stunned expression.

"What kind of life have you had?" instantly she felt guilty, in her home era she was a prisoner, unable to do what she wanted, when she wanted, a captive of the hospital that she was so tied to.

"As nobility I was trained to show no emotions, people looked up to me as a role model; I never thought about stopping and just looking around me," he stared out at the horizon, a small smile on his face. Miyuki sighed sadly and looked back to the sky; they sat together and watched the sun go down.

In the twilight after the sun had disappeared below the forest the two of them got to their feet and walked back to the house. Kagome was serving the soup she had made into earthen ware bowls; she looked up when Miyuki and Sesshomaru walked in.

"You're just in time," she said cheerfully as she passed round the bowls, the rich smell of meat pierced Miyuki's nose and she realised just how hungry she was. As soon as Kagome started eating she wolfed down the food in her bowl; her stomach growling asking for more. Miyuki gently laid the bowl on the floor and tried to ignore her stomach's rude protests at the meagre amount of food it had been given. Everyone was staring at her in astonishment and then they started laughing.

"Here have some more," Kagome refilled Miyuki's bowl and gave it back to her.

"Thank you," Miyuki ate the food as fast as she could, shovelling it into her mouth until Sesshomaru caught her hand.

"Slow down you are going to be sick," he told her gently, she looked at him and nodded.

After she had finished five helpings she sat back and sighed in contentment; the rest of the people in the room stared at her. Kagome took everyone's bowl and washed them in a bucket of water before returning them to a small make shift cupboard.

"Miyuki, you look so thin, how the hell could you eat so much?" Inuyasha asked her as he laid back on the floor.

"I haven't eaten in a while," she smiled; Sesshomaru sat up and looked at her.

"Do you remember the last time you ate?" he asked her, she thought for a moment and then clicked her fingers as she recalled.

"About six hours before we first met," she said, everyone gawked at her and she backed away slightly.

"You do realise that was four days ago," Kagome told her, Miyuki stared at her before shaking her head in disbelief; panic blooming in her chest. Sesshomaru felt panic built up, he ran over to her and held her; Inuyasha gaped at his brother. Miyuki grabbed Sesshomaru's arm as she fought off the fear that was running through her system; unconsciously her nails turned to claws and dug into his skin. He bit his lip with a grunt; Miyuki felt his pain and pulled away from him. He looked at her in concern but she kept backing away; she couldn't stand hurting this man who was so kind to her. She got swiftly to her feet and ran out the door; Sesshomaru tried to go after her but his way was blocked by Inuyasha.

"Move!" Sesshomaru growled his eyes turning red; Inuyasha pulled back a fist and punched him sending him flying backwards; smashing his head against the back wall. Sesshomaru slumped dazed; Kagome ran up to him and bandaged his arm before turning to Inuyasha.

"Why did you do that?" she asked him, her voice shook with fury; Inuyasha snorted rudely before sitting down again.

"She wants to be alone, you saw the way she ran from Sesshomaru, the way she keeps running from him; she obviously doesn't like him," he growled, Kagome shook her head and sighed.

"Even now Inuyasha, you have a lot to learn about women. She ran from Sesshomaru because she had hurt him and it had hurt her too. Plus remember what happened at the clearing when we found out that she was a demon," she said as she finished tying Sesshomaru's bandage. Inuyasha looked at Sesshomaru and shook his head, "How can you move on, did you forget Rin?" Inuyasha sighed. Sesshomaru surfaced, stood and walked up to Inuyasha who was still uncharacteristically deep in thought. He decided against punching the Inu and ran outside going to find Miyuki; he followed her scent, it lead into the forest.

"She really has changed him, before he would have ground my face into the dirt after throwing me through the wall," Inuyasha watched Sesshomaru walk away, Kagome sat down next to him and leant her head on his shoulder.

Miyuki was running blindly, she had to get away from everyone, most of all Sesshomaru. She entered a clearing deep in the forest and saw the well that she had come from. She climbed up onto the edge of it and looked down into the ancient empty well. She was about to jump in when she heard rustling behind her, she turned and crouched ready to attack; the rustling got louder and nearer. Suddenly Sesshomaru burst through the undergrowth, leaves and sticks sticking in his hair. Miyuki wanted to laugh but she couldn't, a deep sense of gladness filled her heart at the sight of him; he was panting from the excursion of running after of her. He walked up to her; she let go of the side of the well and started to stand when her foot slipped. She fell backwards into the well, a shocked expression on her face; Sesshomaru ran forward and grabbed her hand. Miyuki's momentum pulled Sesshomaru into the well with her; as they fell Sesshomaru rolled in mid air so that when they hit the ground he would be at the bottom and take the brunt of the impact.

Suddenly an unnatural blue light shone around them, and then they hit the floor of the well. Sesshomaru had his eyes shut, Miyuki looked around her and realised that they had gone back to her era.

"Hey, open your eyes," she whispered to him, she leant down and kissed his forehead. He opened his golden eyes and looked up at her with a soft smile; she grinned and stood. He got to his feet, picked Miyuki up and jumped up the well; he was then assaulted by the smell. He coughed in disgust and looked at Miyuki; she took his hand and led him up the stairs. She opened the door and walked into the shrine courtyard; Miyuki looked around her and sighed sadly.

"This is my world," she said quietly, he stared at her in disbelief before looking around him.

"Wait I know that tree," he said pointing to the ancient sacred tree; Miyuki nodded before walking up to it.

"It's the tree Inuyasha was sealed to," she murmured, Sesshomaru nodded before spinning around as the sound of hurried footsteps approached from behind them.

"Inuyasha?" Sota stopped in front of Sesshomaru, who looked down angrily at him. A growl ripped from his throat; Miyuki quickly grabbed his arm to stop him from smashing his fist into Sota's face.

"Sesshomaru, stop it. Sota how do you know Inuyasha?" Miyuki turned to him, a frown on her face.

"My sister met him in a different era a long time ago and she's now living with him," he said slowly then his eyes narrowed, "How do you know my name?"

"Because we met four days ago," Sesshomaru moved in front of her and glared at Sota.

"So you are Kagome's young brother, I see the resemblance," he said through gritted teeth, Sota looked at him in shock.

"You mean, she's still alive!" They stared at Sota and nodded; he cheered and ran back to the house. They followed him into the house and Sesshomaru stopped when they walked in the front door. Miyuki pulled him through to the kitchen dinner and saw her mother sitting at the table looking tired.

"Mother, I just heard, Kagome she's still alive," Sota's mother span round and hugged him with joyful tears running down her cheeks.

"She's alive and well, she's still living with Inuyasha," Miyuki elaborated, her mother looked up at the sound of her voice.

"Tokiwa are you alright?" Sota's mother walked over to Miyuki's mother and put an arm round her.

"I could have sworn I heard Miyuki's voice," she said her eyes unfocused, searching the room. Miyuki felt grief stab through her heart when she realised that her mother had somehow gone blind.

"How did this happen?" Miyuki asked Sota's mother, her hands shaking.

"Her daughter went missing four days ago and when she was looking for her she fell and hit her head. She has been blind ever since," a tear trailed down Sota's mother's cheek, Miyuki started shaking her head emotions running through her heart; Sesshomaru fell to his knees as a tidal wave of emotions crashed into his head.

"Calm down!" he grabbed her hand and tore her away from her mother; she tumbled to the floor and Sesshomaru wrapped his arms around her; protecting her.

"Sesshomaru, how can I calm down, look at her; It's my fault if I hadn't of disobeyed them then she wouldn't be in this condition!" Miyuki said hysterically, Sesshomaru captured her face between his hands and kissed her, instantly she was silent.

"Miyuki?" Tokiwa called her hand outstretched for her daughter, Miyuki reached for it but Sesshomaru held her back.

"If you hadn't disobeyed them then we would never have met," he said quietly, Miyuki then understood how much she had hurt him by saying that.

"I'm sorry," tears started rolling down her face, "I do nothing but hurt you. Can someone like me be loved?" He gently moved her hair out of her face and wiped away her tears.

"Of course, because, you know what?" he said with a tender smile as he looked into her eyes.

"What?" she sniffed, she could tell that everyone else in the room was listening to their conversation.

"Firstly your mother loves you," Miyuki's shoulders slumped, "and secondly, I love you." He snuggled his nose into Miyuki's neck calming her instantly; they didn't notice Tokiwa glaring at him; suddenly her expression changed; her sense of smell and hearing telling her where they were in the room. Tokiwa laughed and clapped her hands together making everyone in the room jump.

"Young man, come here," she said to Sesshomaru, he hesitated for a moment before walking up to her. Tokiwa put her hands on his face and mapped out what his face looked like.

"You're a handsome one aren't you; are you sure you want a plain girl like my daughter," she said cheerfully, Sesshomaru snorted and beckoned to Miyuki who walked over and sat next to him. He led Tokiwa's hand over to Miyuki's face so that she could see her. After what seemed like ages, Tokiwa let her hands drop to the ground her face showing her surprise.

"You see, your daughter is the most beautiful creature alive," he said quietly as he looked at Miyuki who blushed a pale pink along her cheek bones.

"Well sir, I hope that you will take care of my daughter, she is a weak, feeble, sickly thing but with you I'm sure that she will be happy," Tokiwa smiled happily, Miyuki blushed beetroot and Sesshomaru roared with laughter.

"I don't know where you got weak, feeble and sickly from, she has kicked my butt on a number of occasions," he chuckled.

"That's a lie, I have only beaten you once and that was the water fight," she said being honest before joining the laughter. Tokiwa looked flabbergasted at the new change in her daughter, "She's so much stronger now, it must of happened?"

Sota mother got up and started to make some food for her guests; Miyuki got up and went to help her. When she was out of ear shot Sesshomaru looked up at Tokiwa and took a deep breath.

"She's a demon isn't she?" Tokiwa stiffened and looked down to the ground.

"Why do you think that?" her voice was firm and unkind, all the gentleness had gone from her face and it was replaced by a mask of indifference.

"Back in my world, she phased, not completely but enough to tell me that she was from a long line of powerful demons," Sesshomaru said his old self starting to appear.

"I don't have to tell you anything," Tokiwa turned her head away from him.

"As the lord of the western lands, I will make her my mate whether you like it or not," he growled, Tokiwa started.

"So you're a demon as well," she put a hand on his shoulder, he tried to shrug it off but her grip tightened, her claws dug into his skin.

"What is her family name?" he grunted through the pain, Tokiwa flexed her hand before crushing it together, breaking his shoulder bone. A roar of pain came from him and an echoing one came from the kitchen; Sesshomaru looked over and saw Miyuki holding her shoulder.

"Miyuki what's the matter? Are you hurt?" Sota asked her; she barged past him and flew at her mother.

"No one hurts Sesshomaru!" Tokiwa crashed to the floor before jumping into a crouched position. She growled at Miyuki who answered with one that equalled it.

"What the hell are you doing? Just a moment ago you were giving us your blessing, now you're hurting him!" Miyuki's fangs elongated and her eyes went red.

"He asked what kind of demon you were! That is pure impudence!" Tokiwa screeched, Sesshomaru stared at Tokiwa in shock, she was a demon too.

"I don't care, if he wants to know then tell him!" Miyuki turned to Sesshomaru and studied his shoulder.

"Sota could I have some bandages please and a long strip of cloth," Miyuki said completely ignoring her mother's growls. Tokiwa stood and flew at Sesshomaru smashing her fist into his shoulder causing him to cry out in pain, she started pounding his face with her fists. Just before the second punch could collide, Tokiwa found herself travelling backwards out of the back door and into the courtyard. The ground trembled at Miyuki's anger; the very air around her seemed to boil

"YOU WENT TOO FAR!" Miyuki flew at her mother and snarling smashed her head against the ground. She put a claw to her mother's throat drawing blood; Tokiwa froze terror clear in her eyes.

"How could you best me, I am the leader of this family!" Tokiwa cried, her voice heightened by fear.

"You are weak! The only reason you became the head of the family was because Dad left," Miyuki growled, she stood and walked away from her mother, "and you will stay the head of the family! I'm going with Sesshomaru and you can't stop me." She walked away leaving Tokiwa lying bleeding on the ground; Miyuki disappeared into the house.

Sesshomaru was sat with his shoulder bandaged and his arm in a sling; his face was set in a frown. Tokiwa had left a few minutes after her fight with Miyuki, her tail between her legs however she did enter the house for a few minutes to thank Sota and his mother for taking care of her. Miyuki had gone back to helping Sota's mother in the kitchen and she was grateful that questions weren't asked. Sesshomaru had been in a foul mood since getting hurt but it had got worse because he knew that Miyuki had fought in his stead.

Dinner was served swiftly and everyone ate except...CLANG! Miyuki looked around and saw that Sesshomaru was having trouble eating as he had the use of only one arm. She put a hand on his arm and her calm flooded his system; he didn't feel any pity which made him look up at her. She smiled at him before cutting up the meat he was eating into edible sizes so that he only had to use one hand; she sat down again and they finished their meal.

"It's time we go back home," Miyuki said, Sota nodded and gave Miyuki a back pack.

"Can you give this to Kagome, please," Miyuki nodded and pulled the backpack onto her back. Sota and his mother walked with them to the well and she hugged Miyuki with a smile.

"You are welcome to come back here and eat," Sota's mother told them, Miyuki and Sesshomaru jumped into the well, glided through the light back to the past era.