Hi people, not much to say, just that I'm exited that the tenth chapter of my story has been written! W00t! D Also, sorry for the delay on this chapter, I was just uninspired and rather swamped in schoolwork. Sorry! FYI The dream in this chapter is rather graphic, (a lot of blood, some trauma) so if you want to skip it I guess you can, but it will have relevance later in the plot. Just so you know.

Disclaimer: Maybe I own it in LaLa Land….What a glorious place that is! 3 lol

oOoOoOoOoOo

Amber orbs shifted under closed lids, a sure sign of awakening. Sun shone down on the man's nearly ethereal features, only adding to his natural beauty. Pools of honey slowly flickered open, their owner wincing at the flood of bright morning sunshine that rushed to greet him. Slowly gaining awareness, Sesshomaru looked at his surroundings. 'I was…asleep? I hardly ever sleep! Let alone under some tree out in the woods in god knows where!' He shifted his weight off a tree branch that was digging into his back. Putting his right hand on the ground to balance himself, the taiyoukai reached up with his other hand to rub the last vestiges of sleepiness from his eyes. 'Wait…other hand?!' Alarmed, the Lord of the West held both hands out in front of him. 'How…?' His golden irises then landed on his companion's sleeping form, slumped over on the ground right next to him. Glancing back and forth between the Miko and his newly restored hand, the Inu was confused. 'Why would she do this for me? Did she do it on purpose? How did she do it? And why on earth is she sleeping on the ground? She brought that weird lump to sleep in…but wait…the children are sleeping in there…so she slept on the ground because she didn't want to disturb the kids? That would make sense…' Inspecting his arm, Sesshomaru was surprised at the condition that it was in. It was as though it had never been cut off. The nearly rock-solid muscles had he had built from hours of training were still there. She recreated every last detail of arm, down to the magenta stripes on the wrist. Using the newly restored appendage, the taiyoukai lifted Kagome from the ground and into her sleeping bag. (The children had long since vacated it, opting to snuggle closer to the fire.) Eyeing the strange material of the sack, Sesshomaru poked it. Sticking his clawed finger into the downy softness of the sleeping bag, he prodded it, just to make sure it wasn't dangerous, of course. After satisfying his curiosity for the strange things that Kagome brought back from her home, Sesshomaru rose and walked over to where his ward and the Kitsune pup were sleeping. After nudging the fox lightly several times, the Inu picked him up and carried him over to the edge of the clearing where he promptly dropped him. Before the little kit hit the ground, however, he was incased in a bright green bubble of translucent magic that carried him safely to the ground. Once the bubble's charge was out of harm's way, it suddenly popped, and the young demon awakened from his slumber.

"Come, we need to hunt." The Lord of the West stated simply.

"Me?" Shippou pointed to himself "Mama's always hunted for me, I don't know how. Mama said she'd teach me soon, though."

The taiyoukai then paused. 'Even though the sight of blood and death repulses her she knows the needs of her pup and acts upon them. She also was waiting to teach him to hunt until he came of age; she has all the appearances of a youkai mother. The protectiveness, the nurturing nature, the maternal instincts…and recently I saw demon markings on her face…she's human, so how is she acting like a demon?' Diverting his attention back to the little bundle of orange fur in front of him, Sesshomaru made his decision.

"Then I will teach you."

"Huh?"

"I will teach you how to hunt." The dog said with a roll of his amber eyes.

"But Mama…"

"Why subject her to anymore blood than is necessary?"

'That's right' Shippou thought after hearing the elder demon's words 'Mama hates the sight of blood…if I can spare her the sight, if even a little, I'll do it!'

"Alright." The green eyed boy said "Teach me."

With a smirk, the white haired demon walked off into the forest, with the orange haired one close behind.

oOoOoOKagome's DreamOoOoOo

In the pink-grey of the early morning a small girl rose from her slumber to greet the new day. After vacating her bed and proceeding to go down stairs for breakfast, she realized that something was terribly wrong. Instead of the comforting sounds of her mother puttering around the kitchen, she was met by a deafening silence. Hastening down the last few steps, she was met with a gruesome sight that would haunt her for years to come. Blood. Blood was everywhere. It flowed in the sink and down the drain. There was the 'drip, drip, drip' of the life fluid leaking down off the table. There were seas of blood, oceans of blood, so much so that everything was stained crimson. She glanced around, wondering whose blood was permeating everything. The first sight she met was her mother standing motionless, eyes glazed over and pupils dilated. Following the path of her mother's gaze, the young girl was faced with her worst nightmare. Her father was laying face down at the table with a knife through his back. Her mother dropped to her knees and started to weep.

"Why?! WHY?!?!"

Everything was going in slow motion. She felt as though she was in a daze.

"…Okaa-san…" she murmured

"…Otou-san…" The foundations of her world crumbled and fell to dust.

"….otou-san…Otou-san…OTOU-SAN!!!!!" not believing her eyes, the little girl ran to her mother.

"Okaa-san, why isn't Otou-san moving? He's ok, isn't he? ISN'T HE?" she shook her mother, soon growing frantic when she didn't respond.

"Okaa-san, OKAA-SAN!!!" Getting panicked, she ran back up the stairs to her brother's room. Upon seeing the little baby, she knew that she had to get him out, to spare him from the reality. Grabbing blankets and food, the little girl crated a makeshift survival kit and ran with her brother, never to look back. She knew that her mother would never be the same and would probably follow after her father, and she didn't want her brother exposed to that. Squaring her shoulders, the nine year old girl ran into the sunrise and into the beginning of a life full of more hardships and challenges than could be counted.

oOoOoOEnd DreamOoOoOo

Kagome awoke in a cold sweat, gasping for breath.

'Damn, I thought that had finally stopped haunting me, I guess I was wrong.'

She turned her lightly panicked eyes upon her surroundings. An empty clearing. Well, except for Sei, but he was fast asleep by the fire. Focusing on her son's aura, she found him to be hunting.

'Hunting? He wasn't supposed to hunt alone until I taught him!'

:Concentrate, Kagome! Is he really alone?: spoke Midoriko. Calming slightly, Kagome realized exactly who it was that was teaching her pup to hunt.

"Sesshomaru!" She growled out.

"How dare he try to teach my pup how to hunt without my permission?"

Straightening her kimono, (It just wouldn't do to be up and about looking completely disheveled!) she soared into the distance on her magnificent wings to fetch her pup and kick some Inu youkai butt!

oOoOoOoOoOo

Yah…a little darker than before, if not too many people mind I may make it a smidge darker than it is now, but just a smidge. And I'll warn you beforehand so you won't be like 'Ewwwwww!!!!'

oOInuGirlOo