I rolled over in the tent, expecting to hit the other side and be able to stretch myself awake. I jumped when I heard Sesshomaru groan as my clenched fists hit his bare chest. He'd never stayed with me through the night long enough for me to wake up with him. I figured he'd want to get moving as soon as possible.

"Sesshomaru," I said quietly, looking into his yellow eyes as they opened to stare at me.

"I recall that you were the one saying I can sleep," he said.

I blushed. "You don't usually sleep this late," I replied to him.

"It isn't late."

I only just realized he was right. It wasn't as light out as I had expected, and I could still smell the morning dew on the grass. It was still chilly outside, as it always was in the morning before the sun came completely out.

"Oh," was all I could say. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I usually never woke up so early. Sleep was the only place my fantasies of adventure would come true. In sleep, I went away from the boring high school life to do whatever I wanted. "I guess that doesn't apply anymore," I accidentally whispered out loud and smiled.

"What?" Sesshomaru suddenly spoke. His voice remained emotionless for the most part, but I could sense some curiosity.

"Nothing," I said, feeling more blood rush to my cheeks.

"If it were nothing, you wouldn't have spoken."

Sighing, I let him have his answer. "I was just making a connection to why I woke up so early," I explained. "When I was younger, and school got hard and boring, I used my days off to sleep all day and…" I trailed off.

"Dream," he finished for me.

I looked at him inquisitively. "Yeah," I said. "Dream."

"I was bored," I continued. "Bored with my life. I wanted something more, something, anything, which made living more exciting. Ever since I came here, I've been waking up earlier. I've been spending much more time outside…I've been living more." I paused and fumbled with the jewel around my neck. "When I'm here, I don't feel so conflicted about finding information on my parents. I don't feel stressed; I'm not depressed anymore. I just feel…free."

"Freedom is never free."

I looked at Sesshomaru, confused. "What do you mean?"

I could feel the sigh ready to exert itself from Sesshomaru's lips, but it never came. "For the adventure you crave, you're willing to pay the price of your life should Naraku or one of his demons get hold of you."

I swallowed hard. I knew he was right. "I'm not so willing to leave this world, Sesshomaru. If anything, I will fight."

"Fight then, but use the time now to rest."

Kagome, Sango and I used the extra time early in the morning to bathe in a nearby river. My best friend brought ribbons for us to tie our hair up with. The river was nice and calm, and the morning summer sun had warmed the water.

"If this isn't the definition of relaxation, I don't know what is," I said, sinking under the water.

Sango laughed. "Kind of contradicts the fact that by tomorrow night, we'll be in the fight of our lives."

Kagome and I only nodded at that. "Guys?" I said, looking up at them while scrubbing my arms with the water. Earning their attention, I continued. "If Naraku has no heart, why are we fighting this battle? Why aren't the eight of us just going to find where his heart is located?"

Sango answered first. "I don't think the point of this fight is to kill Naraku," she said.

Kagome then said, "Yeah, I think we're only just trying to weaken him by destroying his followers."

I shrugged. "That makes sense."

"The only problem is," started Kagome. "No one has any idea where Naraku's heart is hidden."

My hands fell back into the water. "Well, great," I said with sarcasm. "So we're basically jumping into a battle with no hold over the enemy."

"Pretty much," Kagome said.

"Perfect," I said. "Well, I'm going to enjoy this warm water before I have to dirty myself while kicking some ass." I took the ribbon out of my hair and dove into the water, swimming up the river to get into deeper water with Sango and Kagome following after me.

|| Sesshomaru ||

He finished replacing his top kimono onto his shoulders and tying it across his waist. Sesshomaru watched as his armor appeared around the piece of clothing. It was time to start moving. He had seen the girls go off over an hour ago. They weren't back yet. How long did it take to soak in the river?

"Ready yet?" Sesshomaru stood corrected as he turned to look directly at Sage. Her kimono was tied loosely around her waist, leaving quite a bit of it open against her chest. She was ringing out her hair still, running her fingers through it to straighten the bronze locks.

"I almost thought I had to come rescue you again," said Sesshomaru simply.

She smiled at him the smile he loved. "I can bathe on my own, thank you very much."

"Yet you can't seem to dress yourself properly," Sesshomaru stated, walking toward her and running his clawed index finger along the open slit of fabric.

A smirk pulled at the girl's lips. She turned and started heading back to the others, using her power over water to drag the liquid from her hair and flick it onto the ground. "That was for you, Sesshomaru," she said.

|| Sagerra ||

It was well past noon before we started reaching villages. They were burned villages; we could see the black smoke rising from the houses now probably reduced to ashes. I swallowed hard and gripped the jewel around my neck.

"Don't look," came Sesshomaru's voice. I was on his back again, trying not to be a nuisance as he ran. I folded my arms around his neck and laid my head on his shoulder, looking away from a village every time we passed one.

Suddenly, both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru skidded to a halt. I jumped down, and Sesshomaru stood in front of me protectively. "What is it?" I asked as Kagome jumped down beside me.

"Kagura," Inuyasha growled.

I knew her name. My mind went back to when Kagome was telling me about Naraku. She was one of his copies, a demon, and Kagome suspected her of secretly being in love with Sesshomaru. My nostrils flared as I breathed out, sparks of jealousy running through me. She was a demon, after all, much better than me by a long shot. My eyes moved toward Sesshomaru. I wondered what he would do.

She showed up on her giant feather. Had she not been so dangerous, I might have laughed at the entrance. I mean it was a feather. Nevertheless, I waited patiently behind Sesshomaru as she spoke.

"Going to find Naraku, are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. "The two brothers working together, now that's a surprise." Neither of the two dog demons said anything. Kagome and I shared a look. "And traveling with another added human girl. Tell me Lord Sesshomaru is she with Inuyasha? Or with you?"

I looked at him. How would he answer? Or would he not bother to answer at all? "Is that any of your business, Kagura?" said Sesshomaru, answering a question with a question.

"Probably not," shrugged the demon woman. "But I still want to know."

"Why?" I asked, inquisitively.

"Just curious."

I rolled my eyes. If she was just here to waste our time, then there was no point in keeping her alive. I surprised myself with that thought, but was it not true?

"She's with me," said Sesshomaru. I caught just a hidden bit of satisfaction in his voice. We watched Kagura's grin shrink. So she was in love with Sesshomaru.

"Why waste your time with a human, Sesshomaru?" she asked, seeming a hint annoyed. Now it was my turn to smirk.

Sesshomaru didn't answer her question, so I did. "Maybe because I have a heart that beats with life inside of me, and I'm not a created copy of his sworn enemy," I said simply, shrugging as I did so. "But that's just my guess." Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru raise an eyebrow at me. Clearly it was the first time either of them had seen what an attitude I had.

Sesshomaru saw it coming before anyone, the Dance of Blades that Kagura sent shooting toward me. However, the drawing of his sword delayed him, and I shuffled back, sending wall beyond wall of rock in front of me to be hit by the blades. My counter attack of fire shot in a point much like one of Kagome's arrows. It was sent straight through Kagura's stomach. I hadn't expected her to die, which she didn't. She was surprised, though, and did end up leaving on that feather.

I let out a breath and walked a few feet back up to the group, looking toward Sesshomaru. "That could have been very painful."

Sesshomaru only swept me up back onto his back. "Let's go."

I glanced at Kagome, who winked at me from Inuyasha's back. I smiled. "Whatever happened to not wanting to use that power of yours?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I got over it."

[A day later]

Swords clashed all around us. Blood was being spilled everywhere I took a step. Inuyasha had used the Wind Scar at least thirty times before we'd made it this far. Not to mention, Sesshomaru was Dragon Striking every which way. Kagome was quickly running out of arrows, and I was using up all my energy on fire blasts, water whips, and earth shields.

"You really think Naraku keeps his heart with him?" I asked Sesshomaru from his back as they started heading toward the small palace guarded by the thousands of demons and Saimyoushou. The four of us- Kagome, Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and I- had been fighting to get through the palace doors for hours. Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara were off somewhere else; we'd gotten separated along the way.

"Where else would he trust it to be hidden?" Inuyasha shouted over the screaming soldiers and shrieking demons.

Point taken, I thought. We were close to the doors. I clung onto Sesshomaru as he swerved around falling bodies, both demon and human.

"I think it's about time we get rid of the damn thing!" Inuyasha shouted. With Kagome and I still on their backs, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha bolted straight through the palace doors. Obviously, they hadn't expected them to open so easily. We nearly went crashing into the opposite wall.

The castle was dark. There was no one there, no demons ready to fight us off. I was confused. "That seemed way too easy."

"It was," said Sesshomaru. He didn't dare put me down as he glared down the long hallway. "There's no miasma."

"I can't sense any tainted jewel shards," said Kagome.

I screamed as a blast of light shot past us. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha jumped out of the way just in time. "What the hell?" I shouted.

Kagome stared at me. "That was a sacred arrow!"

"Kikyo," said Inuyasha. I nearly slapped him when he put Kagome down on the ground after that.

However, Sesshomaru put me down as well. The two of them went ahead of Kagome and me. I glanced at her, annoyed, and whispered fiercely. "What is Kikyo doing here?"

"I don't know," she answered in the same whisper.

"Something isn't right here," I said. "Whether it's Kikyo or Naraku's doing."

She nodded. The both of us followed Sesshomaru and Inuyasha in the direction the light had come from. They were both stopped at a door. Sure enough, Inuyasha was trying to strike up a conversation.

"What are you doing here, Kikyo?" he asked, all fierceness and power gone from his voice. I placed a hand on Kagome's shoulder.

"You cannot destroy Naraku, Inuyasha," she stated back. I felt my eyes narrow.

"What do you mean?"

She looked up at him. Kikyo had been kneeling on the ground when we arrived, almost as if she was waiting for us. This was too weird. "He has no heart," she said. "He cannot be killed."

"He can if we locate the heart," I said, my eyes narrowed at her. I had clearly interrupted Inuyasha, but it didn't matter. Kikyo was obviously hiding something.

"You will never find it," she narrowed her eyes back at me as she spoke, her folded across her chest. The priestess began to string an arrow, but even before it reached her fingertips, I had her pinned against the wall, ice surrounding her body.

Inuyasha tried to interject. "What are you doing?"

Sesshomaru held him back, and when Inuyasha tried to fight back, he held his claws at the half demon's throat. If I thought Sesshomaru was honestly going to kill his brother, I would have objected to it. However, this was necessary.

"What are you hiding, Kikyo?"

One crack, then another, and Kikyo suddenly burst from the shield of ice. I cringed as shards of it flew out at me, and a bright pink light nearly blinded the four of us. Then she was gone. Sesshomaru was at my side in an instant, just as I fell from the blast of the ice. I wasn't severely hurt, just a few cuts to the face.

"Whose side is she on?" Kagome said, frustrated.

I breathed heavily and spit blood out of my mouth from my sliced lip. "Good question."

Over all, the battle was a complete failure. We weren't any closer to locating Naraku or his heart. The ones who survived the fight had already left to go back to their families. We left the castle with over five thousand. Only about one fourth of that was heading home. Inuyasha, Kagome, the others, Sesshomaru, and I were left camping in the forest for the night next to a stream. I sat at the edge, wiping the dry blood off my face. Everyone was quiet, the only sound being the water droplets from the cloth I was using when I would wring it out.

"Well," I said, breaking the silence and dabbing my face. "At least we didn't die."

I turned back and sat down by the fire. Kagome was the only one nodding in agreement. Inuyasha piped up next. "I just don't understand what Kikyo was doing there."

"I don't think anyone knows, Inuyasha," I said, picking up Shippo, who was having a hard time finding a place to sleep on the ground. I placed him in my lap and let him sleep there. Sango was doing the same with Kirara.

I didn't know how long we sat there in silence, just thinking. Sesshomaru didn't say anything the entire night. When I finally fell asleep on his shoulder, he gave Shippo to Kagome and carried me to our tent (or so I heard the next morning from Kagome).

That night I'd imagine I slept well, despite what had happened during the day. The whole mystery of Kikyo still bothered me. She looked awkward too, just sitting there with her arms crossed over her chest…

I awoke as I put the pieces together. No way, I thought. I sat up in the tent and looked over to Sesshomaru. For the first time ever, I saw him sleeping peacefully. I sighed, suddenly not wanting to wake him up, but he'd want to know this piece of information right away. It was vital. "Sesshomaru," I whispered. "Sesshomaru, wake up!"

His yellow eyes practically glowed in the darkness. "What?" he said, sitting up right away, not seeming to be tired at all.

"I think I know what Kikyo was doing at the palace," I said, lighting a fire in my palm and going out into the middle of our little camp. I stood up and lit the fire on the ground again. No one stirred inside their tents I hated the fact that I had to do this to them.

"WAKE UP!"

I covered my ears as Sesshomaru's voice bellowed loudly from behind me. Several shrieks, grunts, groans, and movements came from inside everyone's tents. In the distance, I could've sworn I heard a flock of birds take flight.

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha shouted. He came out of his and Kagome's tent with sleepy eyes and tousled hair. "This better be damn good!"

"Well," I said just as the others were emerging from their tents. "It's good information, but it's not good news." Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo all gathered around the fire with Inuyasha. I swallowed and finished, "It's about Kikyo."

"You figured out why she was at the castle?" Miroku asked through a tired look.

"Yeah," I said, trailing off a bit. I kind of hoped I was wrong, for Inuyasha's sake, but the whole thing made sense. It just did.

"Well, are you gonna tell us or just stand there?" Inuyasha said, irritated.

"You're not going to like it," I said to him mostly.

He rolled his eyes. "Not going to like what?"

"I think Kikyo's the keeper of Naraku's heart."