Hello! Thank you all for continuing to read my story! And the reviews! It's really encouraging to get reviews. So there are going to be some changes from now on:

(1) I will no longer be writing in 100 word bits. It got kind of troublesome to try and confine myself to just 100 words per chapter. So now, each chapter will more or less be however many words it takes for me to write out the next part of the story. I'm hoping this will help me to actually finish the story.

(2) We are now head-firstly diving into the main question of Kagome's youki-reiki state. I know, it took a bit to get to this point, but it will still take a bit longer to get the answer. I find that, in a lot of the stories I write, I like to delay giving the big answer as much as possible. It's much more exciting that way, in my opinion. I hope it is interesting for you, too!

Now to answer my lovely reviews:

KEdakumi: Thank you so much for your review! You really helped me figure out how the readers were responding to the story so far and, therefore, how I should word the next few chapters so as to direct the readers to realize some things about the way I am trying to portray Sesshomaru. Again, thank you!

Ldysabella: You review has also helped me understand the readers' responses so far, so thank you! And yes, I believe Shippo would be proud. Have you read "A Trick of Fate"? I read that fanfic a few days ago and really liked it. If you like youkai!Kagome and/or the mother-son relation between Kagome and Shippo, I strongly recommend giving it a chance. On another note, chapter 44 (?) was meant to be confusing. I was trying to convey the idea of blind panic, which includes being confused. That being said, I meant every word I wrote for that chapter.

Ok! Now on with the story!


Kagome was squeezed in between two statues, making herself small and invisible in the dark niche.

Rin ran by her hiding spot.

"Kagome-samaaa~!" she sang. "I know all the castle's best hiding spots! I'll find you eventually!"

Her lips stretched wide in a fox-smile as Rin's footsteps faded down the next hall. She moved to change her hiding spot when Jaken, crowded by a bunch of servants, came rumbling down the hall.

"Are you sure, Master Jaken? It's been three moons…"

"Our Lord MUST be sick to have stayed so long!"

"Not even as a pup has he-"

"QUIET!" Jaken shouted in that annoying squeaky way of his, stopping right in front of Kagome and halting the entire procession. "It is Lord Sesshomaru's business whether he stays in the castle or not! Is anyone complaining of his presence here?" He narrowed his bulging eyes and glared at the crowd around him. The servants all closed their mouths with a sounding click. "Good. Now go back to your duties and leave Lord Sesshomaru's welfare to me."

But the moment he started padding away, they went back to shouting their concerns about the Lord's stationary state. Kagome crawled out of her hiding spot once the hall became quiet again.

Is it really so odd for Sesshomaru to remain in the castle? Kagome thought. It's HIS castle after all. But then she remembered all the times she and…Inuyasha ran into Sesshomaru.

She shook so that her agitated fur settled back down to its placid state, but it remained fluffed up. The walls seemed even more restricting than they were before and an unsettled feeling settled underneath her skin. It was one of those annoying, itchy sensation that made you want to go out and do something. That was when Kagome realized that it has been a long time since she herself had left the castle walls. It has been weeks since the last time she had even tried to leave them. The feeling of being unsettled tripled.

There was a life beyond the castle walls. There was something she needed to get back to. She had never intended to be gone for so long. And she had left with little to no warning, too…

She looked down at her paws. Paws. Not hands.

A heart raced and she wanted to cry, but her mouth would not move the way she wanted it to. The two statues of youkai looked down at her mercilessly. All the youki around the castle, the ones that remained in the background of her senses before, were closing in on her now, but even as she closed her eyes and tried to shut them out, the youki were there—inside of her.

And so she ran to the only non-youki source in the entire castle.


Sesshomaru sensed the spiked anxiety from his study. He tried to ignore it, attributing it to the normal, daily fluctuations of emotion within the castle. However, his beast stirred and became restless.

He left his scrolls in favor of stalking the halls, letting instinct guide him. The loudest source of emotional unrest turned out to be a group of servants harassing Jaken. It seemed his continued presence in the castle concerned his servants. It was true that he usually took to patrolling the West, but there were things to be done at the castle. The hunt for Naraku amongst other things had allowed work to pile up. It certainly wasn't for any other reason than work that he stayed in the castle. He was about to go and settle the matter when he caught the faint smell of salt.

Immediately, he turned from the loud bunch and followed the trail of tears. The tears led him to one of the many storage houses at the back of the castle. The sun had just finished climbing to its highest seat in the sky, burning white. Sesshomaru could sense two beings from within. The scent of a young human could only be Rin and the other…

"Kagome-sama," Rin's whispered voice rang clear through the gap between the two doors of the storage house.

He opened the doors. They were tucked amongst fallen boxes and scattered silk. The light streaked past him and settled right before it could touch the bare leg of her returned human body. She was hugging Rin tightly to her as the little girl stared marvelously at the black hair in her hands.

"Kagome-sama, you're human again!" Rin whispered.

The older woman let out a small sigh, shaking with relief.

Subtly, Sesshomaru sensed the air. Her youki was still stronger than her reiki, but it was no longer as dominating as before. Drawing his own youki in as to not agitate her unstable one, he approached them slowly. Kagome's body shivered as her youki stirred in response to the closeness of his. Pausing briefly, he completely masked his youki before continuing his approach.

"Milord!" Rin greeted him with her usual cheer, but her eyes looked up at him with wishfulness.

"Go find Jaken." He told her.

Rin hesitated briefly, glancing at Kagome. "Yes, milord."

When Rin left her arms, Kagome curled in on herself. She was still wearing the kimonos that she had worn to the Introduction Ceremony. They completely engulfed her the way she was curled up. For a long moment, he watched as her youki and reiki shoved each other back and forth. It would appear that her reiki was stronger than he thought to have retained enough strength to return her to human form, but it was clearly not enough. He could see the slow relapse back to a youkai body. The duality of youki and reiki was not as one-sided as he had previously assumed. Her brief return to human form was evidence of that. The reiki was there to stay. He could not simply push it out by feeding her youki's blood thirst.

More questions and still no real answers. He would need to seek the wisdom of someone else.

"Come."

Kagome peeked up at him. Her eyes slightly red and puffy from all the crying she had done. He stared steadily into those eyes. She shivered as a large, brown tail popped up behind her and curled at the end.

"Where are we going?" she asked. She sniveled and wiped her cheeks of dried tears.

He did not answer, but resolutely stared at her new squirrely tail. A frown threatened to show itself on his face.

"Will we be going out?" Kagome changed her question as she followed his gaze to her new tail. She gripped it and brought it to the front to look at it better with a frown.

"Hm."

She took that as a yes and got to her feet a little unsteadily.


We are now preparing for a scene change! Yay finally! I bet the servants will be relieved. XD

Please review~! Your reviews could help the writer (me) figure out how the next chapter should go!