Kagome wasn't sure how she'd gotten to this point, the tip of an all too familiar sword inches from her face.

She'd been angry at Inuyasha for something stupid; he'd accidentally destroyed their fence in a little rough-housing with Shippo. The priestess had been furious with both of boys, scolding the fox and subsequently sitting the half-demon. She knew Inuyasha could rebuild it with ease, but at the same time, the pair couldn't be so harsh around humans. There were children running around - what if one of them had gotten injured?

She wished Inuyasha would just apologize and leave her to herself for a little while. But no, he couldn't help trying to defend himself and antagonize her more. So, Kagome decided to stalk heatedly off into the forest for a walk. But first, she - of course - made sure to warn her husband there would be grave consequences if he didn't leave her be.

The sun's afternoon light shed warmth on her skin through the trees; the nature swirled around the girl with green leaves and familiar comfort. She was already beginning to feel better, her anger turning to peace by the serenity of the wood. A small hand trailed along the bark of an aged tree as she settled at the bottom of its trunk, leaning her head back against its uneven texture.

The quiet tranquility was disrupted in an instant when Kagome felt a creeping feeling on her skin. It was cold, icy to the touch, and yet, there was nothing. She instantly stood, briefly longing for her bow and arrows. Without them, the priestess could only rely on her innate spiritual powers, which she was still trying to expand upon.

Why hadn't she thought to bring them with her?

She dared forward a few steps, whipping her head around to find the source of the dreaded feeling in her bones. Still, nothing. Not even a breeze blew through the emerald blades of grass as Kagome drifted around the clearing. She finally decided whatever this creature was, it would not show itself until it wanted to.

"Who's there?" she called, well aware that Inuyasha was too far away to shout for. Their hut was on the outskirts of the village; it had taken her almost an hour to get here.

"Ah, the reincarnated priestess," a low voice drawled out from the shadows, ignoring her question. "Doomed to spend life with that insufferable half-demon. Yes, I know you, priestess."

"Well, who are you? Don't call Inuyasha that - you don't know him or me if that's what you think!" she replied angrily, her unease only growing. What did it want?

"You are just as fiery as ever, young one," the words were chuckled, unbothered by her temper. "I am no demon, as you seem so poised and ready to believe. I wouldn't dare feast on your bloodied flesh.

"I much more enjoy the tastes of confusion and complication. Oh, how I savor that flavor, that chaos that creates such frantic feelings, and your story is already so complex as is. I wonder what would happen if you got another shock sent through you.

"You've traveled through time near seamlessly, priestess. I wonder if you could travel through worlds as easily - don't you wonder it as well?"

"What do you mean...?" She questioned, still trying to determine just who and where this voice was.

"I can show you, my dear. Would you like to see an Inuyasha who is not so undisciplined? An Inuyasha that would much better understand you. The fury that still swirls around inside you at the thought of his carelessness causing pain to others, at his immaturity and lack of self-government. It could all be settled so easily. Wouldn't you like that, dear priestess?"

As Kagome absorbed the phrases that passed through her ears, she tried to make sense of them. Was it true, was she really so mad about those things? She didn't think so, but this voice somehow wavered that assurance. She had been so angry earlier at Inuyasha... did she still feel that way? The girl's head felt clouded, like she was trying to swim through a river that was full of mud and muck.

"I... I don't know," she whispered at last, starting to forget even her fear as the strange confusion swirled around inside her head and muddied her thoughts.

"Oh, and so it begins. The beautiful, lovely chaos of a human mind... I am glad I found you by your lonesome, priestess. Demons are so much more difficult to overpower," the low, creeping voice spoke, pausing as Kagome noticed a mass of blackness encroaching on her vision. It was swirling and twisting and turning before her eyes until it was all she could see.

"And down into the world that so nearly touches yours you go... let us see how you fare, Lady Kagome."

————-

Kagome felt a deep darkness covering her entire body when she came to. She still felt the waxy pools of grass under her fingertips; the familiar breeze brought dirt and earth to her nose. The howl of its wind brushed a gentle kiss to her ears, but none of that was what awoke her.

It was an innate scream inside of her, something that told her she needed to be awake, right that second. She needed to rise up, to realize herself and where she was. And more importantly, where Inuyasha and her friends were. Was she still in the forest - had she fallen asleep on her walk?

The young girl pried her eyes open to find that she was indeed still in the wood, though its canvas now held only the dark colors of the night sky. A strange feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, making her insides churn. Had it been a dream, that creeping voice that had dripped with such desire for her insanity? Surely it was... surely she hadn't been propelled into some sort of chaos as the odd figure had alluded to.

Kagome rose silently, wondering if that was the case, why hadn't Inuyasha come to bring her back?

She shoved the thought to the outskirts of her mind, heading off to where the village would provide comfort for her concerns. Or at least, she hoped. She wanted nothing more than to see Inuyasha butting heads with their younger fox friend. She was even on the verge of an apology now, if it meant what that odd voice had whispered wasn't true.

Desperate for reassurance, Kagome was literally knocked off her feet when she staggered into a hard back of muscle in the dim light. She whimpered as she felt the burn of a welt forming where her arm had been caught by a stray branch. Looking up, wondering who she'd run into at this hour, the girl found the last person she'd expected.

Inuyasha stood above her, glancing over his shoulder at what had slammed so unceremoniously into him. His golden eyes glowed in the night, searching through the brush before landing on her. The priestess had already let out a sigh of relief upon seeing her husband, and more so seeing him as himself. His ears still twitching upon his long white hair; his body still cloaked in the red cloth that had been passed down from his father.

But perhaps the reassurance was too soon to feel. Just before she'd begun to exclaim his name, something stopped her short. It was the look in his eyes, the lack of concern or emotion or... anything upon seeing her. He gave her a sideways glance, a mix of confusion, and that was it... hardly any reaction at all.

That isn't the Inuyasha I know. He would be concerned, worried about why I'd been off in the night so long... worried I was still mad.

They stared at each other for several seconds, Kagome's blood sliding down her arm with hot and sticky intent. She could hardly feel it now, though, as she looked into the face of her husband. He looked exactly the same as he always did - why did he suddenly feel like a stranger?

"Are you going to get up, woman?" he finally spoke, his voice scraping across the sides of the trees in the darkness.

"I... " she faltered, swallowing hard and suddenly realizing his hand was held out to her in an attempt to help her up. "Inuyasha?"

"How do you know me, priestess?" he asked, his stare turning curious and inquisitive.

She didn't answer, finally taking his hand and standing. She glanced down, touching her small wound. Her hand came back black and shining in the faint moonlight. The girl looked back to the white-haired half demon, who'd ignored her cut and was still giving her a hard look. She realized she'd drifted into a hazy cloud of thoughts again and had yet to answer him.

"Priestess, answer me. I won't harm you."

"Inuyasha, you really don't remember me?" she asked, saying the first thought that popped into her head. She winced as his face turned sour with disdain upon her question, wondering what she'd said wrong.

"Do you mean to say I would forget?" he questioned as if the very idea was insulting.

"Well, everyone forgets sometimes..." the girl trailed off wearily, feeling as though she might fall over any moment. A sudden bubble of laughter filled her, and her giggles resounded around them.

"Are you drunk, woman?" her husband - or was he? - growled, grabbing her wrist to still her.

"I feel funny," she whispered, suddenly quite serious all of the sudden. "Inuyasha, please, carry me. I'm so tired."

And with those last remarks, Kagome was sliding down and down. Into the earth, into the hot pools of crimson blood, into the purple light of her past. She wasn't sure if she was up or sideways or even alive at all; there seemed to be no gravity in the world anymore. Had she breathed it all in, or sucked it all out?

It was many hours later that she regained herself, blinking open crusted eyelids with a weary yawn. Light blinded her as she sat up from a soft cot, glancing at her side to realize Inuyasha was not there... he was always there in the morning. They would talk and laugh and make plans for each day in those little moments of peace.

But then again, this room was not that of their cozy, albeit small, hut. No, just the expanse of this bedroom was larger than the entirety of their home. Its floors were pristine and furniture seemed to sparkle with such grand elegance... where was she?

Faint images came back to her, mostly glimpses of darkness and phantom pains of cuts. The priestess unconsciously reached for her arm, surprised to find a scab over a new wound. So... that part was real. Standing, Kagome fought the spells of haziness flooding her head and started toward the door.

Upon sliding it open, she found an exceedingly long hallway. It was empty, so the girl wandered down its path until she was able to hear voices behind one of the doors. Tempted to press her ear to its wood, she decided against sneaking around and suddenly found herself through the entryway.

Kagome was met by a sight she certainly did not expect.

Three men stood in the room, their chests all bare and white hair pulled into long ponytails. She instantly recognized Inuyasha, his golden eyes glimmering with determination as he leapt forward with claws out to his opposition. This one being none other than Sesshomaru, who fended off his brother's attack without a second thought.

The third of the trio was unfamiliar to Kagome. He looked much the same to the brothers, but seemingly older and wiser... blue streaks rippled across his cheeks, a fond smile finding its way to his lips at Inuyasha's slight defeat. He held himself with the same stony stature as Sesshomaru, she observed, but his eyes held a kindness in them she knew all too well from Inuyasha.

Upon her entrance, the three turned to face a reddening Kagome. A tidal wave of confusion and dizziness hit her once again, knocking her off her feet and to her knees. The unfamiliar dog demon was the first to go to the priestess, catching her shaking limbs with gentle intent. She stared weakly into his golden eyes, all the while wondering where her mind had gone to.

"Are you alright, priestess?" the man spoke, his voice clear and concise as he gave her a concerned gaze. "You said she fainted in the forest like this as well, Inuyasha?"

"Yes, father," the familiar comfort of her husband's voice reached Kagome's ears, and it was enough to steady her reeling brain for just a second more.

She groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead as a pounding pressure began to thump there. Her eyes slid past the kind and caring man - somewhere in the depths of her head, she realized he must have been Inuyasha's father. But in that instant, all Kagome needed to focus on was standing a few feet away, legs clad in his usual crimson cloth as she mentally climbed up his body. His chest was naked like the other two, and even so, she could've named every line and muscle that settled in his flesh. She could practically feel the silky wisps of his white hair between her fingers, the soft fur of his ears sliding against her skin.

"Inu...yasha," the girl managed to whisper, her blue eyes locking with his glowing orbs.

"It would seem this priestess knows you, son." The words passed through Kagome's ears, but they sounded more like an echo than something right in front of her.

"Yeah, she knew my name before too," Inuyasha was saying, coming closer to the black-haired youth. "I'm sure I've never met her, though; her scent was all new to me."

"What about... Kikyo?" she mumbled, her glazed gaze unable to tear itself from the half-demon.

"Huh?"

"Kikyo... you said my smell is almost exactly like hers... how come you don't think that now... puppy?" she mumbled, still struggling to maintain her consciousness as the darkness threatened to consume her once again.

A snort of a chuckle made its way to Kagome's ears, and she forced her focus to wander from a stricken Inuyasha to his father... what was his name again, Toga or something...? He had a wicked grin parting his cheeks, ignoring his youngest son's angered yelps at the nickname this stranger had dubbed him.

"Father, why must you laugh so carelessly with this human?" the monotone words that could only be of Sesshomaru boomed across the room, his glare more deafening than his words.

"Sesshomaru, why do you always carry that fluff around? It's like a safety blanket - or what?" Kagome tipsily posed the question at the menacing demon without a thought, feeling the urge to stick out her tongue at him.

She staggered to her feet with the intention of pointing a finger at her brother-in-law and giving him a piece of her mind... though she couldn't seem to remember why she was feeling hostile towards him. However, before she could take a step, the young girl found herself cornered by the two brothers. Their electric stares seemed to melt through her, their anger tangible in the late morning's air. Had she said something wrong? It was becoming harder and harder to distinguish what was actually real in this strange world.

And here she was, at a loss as to why not a single speck of fear lived in her heart at the two's rage. No, not even as Sesshomaru raised his Bakusaiga toward her swaying form with ill intent in his gaze. It must've been the fluff comment, Kagome mused, glancing over at her husband to find him complacent as his brother readied himself to attack her.

"Enough, boys." It was the dominant voice of Inu No Taisho that had Sesshomaru glancing away from the despicable priestess he'd been fully prepared to slaughter. "The girl is obviously feverish and unwell in her mind; she means no harm."

"Don't mean she won't cause any," a disgruntled Inuyasha grumbled as his brother silently sheathed his weapon and disappeared past Kagome, into the corridor.

"Take her back to her room to rest," the half-demon's father instructed absently, helping a once again dazed Kagome over to his son.

"Yes, Father," Inuyasha replied automatically, placing his arm around the girl to help her keep her balance as they started down the hall.

"Your father is so beautiful, Inu," she murmured into the her husband's side, his musky scent of dirt and jade remaining the same as it always did. "It's like if you and Sesshomaru had a baby."

"Keh, you must have a fever, woman," the white-haired boy scoffed at the black-haired beauty's remarks.

"Hmm... some sort of spell, yeah. I wish I could get back to Inuyasha and tell him I'm sorry for being mad," she quietly pondered, oblivious to the incredulous sideways glance her companion gave the her at her remarks.

"Geez, you've really gone off the deep end, haven't ya?" he commented mostly to himself, as Kagome's mind was a wandering down a road no one else could follow.

"Why do you have to be so mean to me?" she whined with a sudden passion, and Inuyasha was surprised she'd even been able to make sense of his words in her blurry-eyed daze. "Sit!"

A growl rumbled in his chest at such a command, and he turned his angry eyes on the youth before him. He found she was already shaking, but not from fear. Her tremors seemed to be from the weakness that so completely consumed her bones. What was wrong with this girl? From her curious words to her fainting spells, the half demon couldn't figure her out.

Kagome blinked at him, dumbfounded for a moment at the prospect of an Inuyasha without the Beads of Subjugation. How was she going to punish him when he was being immature and childish? But then... a sudden rush of memory came into her foggy brain, words about how this Inuyasha was none of those things. He would understand... he'd be self-governed... wiser?

"Come on, wench, go lay down before you get any sicker," the dog demon finally ground out, guiding the priestess into the room and onto the cot she'd woken on.

The confused maiden welcomed the rest, though she'd been up no more than an hour it seemed. She felt overwhelmed by the sideways atmosphere of her head and of this world, for that matter. The waves were crashing, fast and ferocious, begging her to drown in their deep depths. But she wouldn't give in to their seas, no, she'd simply take a quick swim... just to ease the painful heat that dared to burn her brain from the inside out.

AN: I'm going to make this into two parts because I didn't feel like I could fit everything I wanted into one chapter.

Thank you so much for the comments on chapter 2! I really do love reading them, they make my entire day!

Also, have you ever noticed before something really awful happens in Inuyasha (like Kikyo scenes), they put in a bunch of fluff in the prior episode (I guess just to kill your soul even more, I'm not sure). Okay, well, this is kind of like that. Be warned, much love.