Hello fans and readers! I'm so glad to hear such positive reviews from so many of you and I'm glad that you all enjoy reading my work! I will try to update as frequently as I can when my holiday break is over and I return to work and to school, so please be patient with me! Thank you!

~ArtemiaNight~

Chapter 7: The Task at Hand

"Talking"

'Thinking'

-Beast talking-

-Kagome's Point of View-

It has a week since that dinner with Sesshomaru, since then I've been spending almost every waking moment in Sesshomaru's vast library. When I first walked into the library on the first day with Sesshomaru, I saw the banner that my Master had told me about. The purple silk with a crescent moon and a ferocious white dog hung from a banister on one of the upper floors of the library. It gave me hope that I was going in the right direction to find what I was looking for.

Sesshomaru spent the entire time in the library with me, we even took the very few meals we needed in the hallway outside so that we could go right back to work when we were done.

The main problem that I ran into was that I had no idea what exactly I was searching for as I scoured the shelves of dusty tomes and scrolls. Nothing was standing out to me, and that was the most frustrating part.

I started by looking for anything that had a reference to ancient artifacts that held great powers. I read about ancient talismans, staffs, and weapons that held powers I had never known to exist. It was all quite fascinating to read and I would enjoy reading about these objects if the circumstances weren't making me feel pressed for time.

Sesshomaru and I worked quietly, neither of us were bothered by this however, we both new the importance of finding the information. When we would take breaks he would ask me about the era I came from, about my life in the future. I would answer in as much detail as I could, we both wondered if we would live long enough to see if for ourselves.

"If we don't find the relic that we need to kill Naraku, there may not be a good future for us look towards." I said.

A grim thought, but it was a reality I was going make sure never happened.

Each day at dawn I would wake up and get dressed in a casual kimono, check Shippo's wounds that were almost completely healed, kiss his forehead, and make my way to the library; and every day Sesshomaru would be waiting for me outside in the hallway.

This cycle continued for two long months. Summer was upon us and if it weren't for my cool demeanor, I may have lost my mind. I was frustrated that we had nothing to go on, no leads to follow, and three floors of unread books to go through still. If the clue was here, it was hiding pretty damn well.

Today is particular warm day, the humidity was stifling. Even with me being an ice wielding demon, I could tell you it felt like hell. I awoke at dawn as usual and walked into my closet, the demon Lord was generous enough to supply me with a vast wardrobe for me to call my own. Because of the heat, I chose to wear a white kimono, tied with a black obi, that went to my knees and was sleeveless, perfect for this scorching day. I tied my hair into a high ponytail, gave my reflection a final glance, and made my way to library.

As usual, Sesshomaru was waiting for me, wearing a red sleeveless kimono top and black hakamas. I had to admit it looked good on him, he had well muscled arms, decorated by the magenta markings of his demon heritage. He explained to me one time that he was able to have a skilled healer reattach his arm for him. I was just glad I didn't have to stare at a stump all day.

As we entered the library, Sesshomaru found his favorite spot by the large stained glass window and resumed reading a book he had started yesterday, I on the other hand had to find a new one to start reading.

We had covered the first two floors of the library, but still had three more to go. My Master wasn't joking when she said Sesshomaru's library was one of the biggest in the Feudal Era. There had to be thousands upon thousands of books and scrolls housed here.

Wandering aimlessly, I found myself on the third floor. Being the top-most floor, it was smaller than the previous ones, there was only a few bookshelves, a table with cushions surrounding it, and a few large paintings hung on the walls.

I let my fingers flow across the spines of the books as I walked passed them, covering them with dust in the process. I walked in front of the a large painting and stared at it. It was very old from the look of it, but very well kept despite the books being covered in dust around it.

The painting depicted a large battle scene, hundreds of soldiers fighting on each side. The ground was littered with bodies and blood, human and demon alike. Standing in the middle of the battle, was a woman with snow-white hair, holding a staff in her hand, the ring of the staff pointed towards the sky. Above the woman, a white hole in the sky could be seen, and what looked like ropes were ensnaring the demons and dragging them into the blinding light above. The demons who touched this light turned to ash and it fell from the sky like new-fallen snow over the scene below.

As I looked closer at the woman, I noticed another similarity between her and myself. She also bore the silver snowflake upon her forehead as well.