AN: Believe it or not, I had this chapter done last month. I couldn't post it however, because up until yesterday our internet wasn't working. The Shaw people came over FOUR TIMES before they finally had it fixed. I really think they need to hire more people who actually know what their doing. Anyhow, I want to thank everyone who reviewed, and I promise you, I will update this story at least every week and a half. I hope no one has lost interest in this cause they had to wait so long.

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Jaken intensified his glare on the girl tenfold, as if the sheer anger and jealousy of his look would make her wake up at that precise moment. She didn't even twitch an eyebrow. Sighing heavily, he sat in the grass at her feet and folded his legs in front of him, his staff lying across his lap and his fingers drumming impatiently on the wood. The girl had been asleep for what seemed like forever, never stirring a muscle and lying as though she were dead. If you didn't notice the steady rise of her chest every now and then, you could easily presume it were so.

It could also easily be arranged. Shaking his head, Jaken turned his back to the girl and closed his eyes. Contemplations of her demise were all well and good, but if anything were to happen in reality Sesshomaru would be very upset with him. Why? Who the hell knew. The reason was unimportant, however. What Sesshomaru wanted was what Sesshomaru got, and as his servant it was Jaken's responsibility to see to that. No matter how disgusting the assignment. The fact was, he was completely expendable. Sesshomaru wouldn't hesitate to kill him, so he lived his life trying to make himself a valuable tool.

The imp's gaze wandered over the trees and vegetation with complete disinterest, and he briefly wondered where they might be. After his lord had transported them far from Inuyasha, all that had been revealed to him was that they were back somewhere close to where they had come from.

A low moan from the girl caused Jaken to jump to his feet in surprise, and he faced her expectantly as she began to move her head from side to side. She was waking up! Excitedly, he began to run to the place he had last seen Sesshomaru. "Master! Master, she's waking up! The girl, master!" Losing his footing, Jaken tripped and fell to his hands and knees, letting out an undignified screech as he did so. Sesshomaru turned to face him, the contempt on his face clearly visible.

"Is that so." He watched Jaken get to his feet and brush himself off, appearing almost uninterested in the news despite the fact that it had been what he was waiting for. His voice level and calm, Sesshomaru began to walk towards the girl while he spoke to his minion. "Let us see if we can," he paused for a moment, one brow rising slightly, "persuade her into describing how she uses her power."

On the forest floor, Usagi groaned once more and turned her head from side to side, a thin sheen of perspiration covering her face and body. She was waking from a dream, and it hadn't been a very pleasant one.

(dream)

There were whispers, out there in the darkness. Voices that were cruel and cold, muttering to one another as they wondered what to do with her. Usagi shuddered and buried her face farther into her arms, the thick black void making her feel as though she were drowning. Where was she? She could see nothing, not even the surface she sat on. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her arms were folded on top of them, her hair spilling over her like a shroud as she hid her face from view. She was afraid, and so terribly alone.

Another type of whisper seemed to be approaching her, the sound of silk rustling together, and Usagi carefully lifted her face to peek out from under her hair. The blackness before her began to shimmer with tiny sparks of light, causing her to straighten her body and lower her arms as though she were about to push herself up and flee. "Listen well." The voice reverberated around her, comforting and familiar and painfully loud. Flinching, Usagi's eyes widened in recognition and she got to her feet, watching as the light show in front of her settled into a heartbreaking form.

Queen Serenity stood before her, one hand held out to her daughter imploringly while the other held the disgustingly slick protruding staff in her abdomen. She was as bloodied and beaten as Usagi remembered her being at the palace, and it took all of her self control not to vomit. The queen continued to walk towards her, and a choked sob escaped her as Usagi subconsciously took a step back. The tiny princess began to shake uncontrollably, a jumble of emotions ripping through her mind and breaking her heart yet again. When was this going to be over? When could she grieve and be done with it?

"Even you must have known that things couldn't stay as they were forever." Usagi nodded helplessly, her arms limp at her sides and her head bowed in defeat as she realized that this nightmare would only end when it wanted to end. There was nothing she could do about this, and the more she struggled to get away the worse it would end up hurting her.

Silence stretched out before her, and after what seemed like forever, Usagi slowly raised her eyes to look at her mother. For a while, neither moved or said a thing; until finally, Queen Serenity moved her free hand to clutch at the staff impaling her. "Do not let this be in vain, Serenity, they must know." Her voice had become a low hiss as she twisted the staff with a sickening noise and pulled it free, letting it clatter to the ground.

Once again, Usagi tried her best not to vomit, immediately looking away. "I... There's no way for me to warn anybody, mother. I'm stuck in a place I can never leave." Bitterness washed over her, making her anger push every other emotion away. "A place that you sent me to." She met her dead mother's gaze, stiffening where she stood and clutching her hands into fists. Enough with the sorrow. Enough with the pain. Everything that was happening to her at the moment was happening because of her mother. It was all her fault, and Usagi found it surprisingly easy to lay the blame with her.

All of a sudden it felt as though Usagi were a third party, a spectator watching as a daughter turned her back on her mother. The words that were said - filled with hate and loathing - seemed to fill up the darkness with angry and bright colours, completely lost to her. The voice had melted into nothing, and she could only see her lips moving and hear faint murmurs that were impossible to distinguish into words. Her eyes widened with each pause when her lips stilled, and regret beat on her mercilessly when her counterpart continued.

As her double spoke to her mother, the other Usagi shook her head in shame and turned to walk away, only to run into something hard and unyielding. The smell of woods surrounded her, and she breathed deeply as her head rose, starting in surprise when her eyes met a pair of golden- honey one's staring back. Inuyasha was standing before her, looking down at her with a blank expression.

Blinking in confusion, Usagi went to take a step back, only to have Inuyasha's arms envelope her into a tight and intimate embrace. "You won't leave me, Usa." His voice was quiet and calm, and extremely alluring. Usagi nodded, her hands coming up to rest on his shoulders hesitantly. "I won't kill you."

Usagi screamed in pain as she felt the wound in her abdomen tear open anew, clutching at Inuyasha as her knees buckled and she sank to the ground. He let her drop, staring down at her with that same blank expression, the front of him stained with her blood. Usagi weakly tried to move away from him, but her strength seemed to drain away as quickly as the blood gushed out, and so she just lay there, writhing in pain and staring back at him in horror.

"Why?" Her voice was weak and guttural, and the question came out in one quickly expelled breath. Inuyasha seemed to look almost remorseful, slowly crouching down in front of her and placing a hand on her cheek affectionately.

"I won't." He whispered, leaning forward so their noses were almost touching. Usagi blinked back the tears and held her breath, trembling slightly as his other hand slid over her arm. "I won't kill you." Closing the distance between them, Inuyasha kissed her softly and then just seemed to disappear, leaving a stunned Usagi crouching there alone in the dark.

"What is going on?" she screamed, angrily punching the ground beside her. She couldn't stand this anymore. The mental strain of the games being played with her mind were going to make her snap if they continued, and she desperately wanted to wake up. Weakly, she lay where she crouched, closing her eyes and willing herself back to reality.

(end of dream)

When she opened her eyes next, she was face to face with a stranger staring down at her. The first thing she noticed was that his amber eyes were staring at her intently. Confused, she studied his appearance half heartedly. He had a Prussian blue crescent on his forehead and magenta stripes on each cheek, as well as long flowing silver hair, a somewhat pale complexion, and he was dressed in what looked to be some kind of strange ceremonial outfit. Her first thought was that he seemed familiar, but as the foggy haze of sleep left her all she could think of was where she could possibly be and whether or not Kaede was alright. Her eyes began to wander, looking around at the trees and pausing on the strange green creature glaring at her, before once again they were on the stranger as he began to speak in a low, soft voice.

"You're awake." Usagi nodded dumbly, tensing her muscles slightly to test whether or not she could move easily. There was no pain, and the only thing she felt was a little stiffness in her torso. The stranger, who had been leaning over her, straightened and beckoned for her to stand. Getting to her feet, Usagi looked around herself once more. "You're friends are elsewhere."

Meekly, Usagi fixed her gaze back on the man. "Who are you?" He seemed to pause for a moment as he studied her, and she returned the gesture in anxious silence. Was he a demon? She really couldn't tell for sure, but she was certain that green thing by his side was and it was enough to at least make her cautious. After all, Inuyasha looked human, not counting his ears.

"My name is Sesshomaru." He reached out and lifted one of Usagi's hands to his lips, bowing slightly as he kissed it softly. "It's a pleasure to meet you. The power you hold is exquisite." Removing her hand from his, she reached up to grasp the crystal and breathed in relief to find it still there. Sesshomaru's gaze never left her eyes. "And though I can tell you're not a demon, there's something not all together human about you. Tell me, where did you come from and how is it you use your jewel?"

(elsewhere)

"Just how exactly is it that Inuyasha intends to find her?" Miroku asked, turning to Kaede as they sped after the half-demon, mounted on horses taken from the village. They had been running for half a day now, hot on the trail of the girl who had destroyed the demon from the forest. Never one to abandon a lady in distress, Miroku and Shippo had quickly offered their help to Kaede in the pursuit of Sesshomaru. Shippo, crouched in front of Miroku, turned to face the monk with a surprised look on his face.

"He's tracking her scent. You know, for a demon fighter you sure don't know very much about them." Miroku gave Shippo an amused glance before searching the sky for Inuyasha, who was slowly getting ahead of them despite the racing horses.

"I never proclaimed to be a demon fighter Shippo, I am merely a humble monk." Shippo rolled his eyes, but kept quite. "And I have no true need to know a demon's skill because it does not matter. This," he raised the hand bound in pearls, "takes care of them all no matter their strength."

Kaede intently watched Inuyasha land on the ground ahead, a frown on her face as he stopped for a moment and just stood their, staring off at something she couldn't see. Although she was glad for the chance to catch up a little, she was worried for the reason. Since Usagi had been taken, he had been chasing the invisible in an almost frantic manner, and she doubted he had even noticed they were behind him. She found the situation highly unusual.

Shippo too was staring at the half-demon, wondering what he was doing. "What else can go wrong?" He mumbled, sighing heavily.

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AN: Please review and tell me what you think. They inspire me very much.