The strange priestess slept for many days until she finally regained a somewhat sobered demeanor.

Her slumber was fitful, full of brief periods where Inuyasha believed perhaps she was truly going to awaken. But time and time again, her mind seemed to slip and slip until it was nothing more than a deluded jumble of thoughts and unreality. He was sure she was suffering from some illness, but her temperature never rose. Perhaps her mind itself was the fever, a burning hell of wild and cryptic whirlwinds.

"Inuyasha?" the now familiar voice of the girl stirred the half demon who sat beside her, his mind clouded with his own wonderings of her mystery.

He was not surprised when she spoke his name. She always did, every time she woke - it was always his name upon her lips. She whispered it freely, yelled it angrily, spoke it so... tenderly, like she knew him. And yet, as hard as he tried, he could never recall meeting her before a few days ago for even a second.

Nevertheless - and he would not admit this to his family - there was something almost comforting to her presence. Like he'd always been there, beside her, always would be and always should be... but how could that be? The very idea made his skin shift, made him feel uncomfortable and antsy.

"So you're awake again," he observed begrudgingly, already preparing for the mental onslaught she was sure to bestow him. A tiny bit of clarity, only to fall down into the hole of inexplicable conclusions and very nearly hysterical laughter.

"Where are we?" she sighed, a yawn interrupting her question midway through.

"Father's called a priestess skilled in healing powers to take a look at that head of yours," Inuyasha informed her, watching as she tentatively sat up.

"Your father...?" she asked in a beyond confused tone, squinting her eyes at him like there was disbelief written in the very name.

"Damn, what is your problem?" Inuyasha muttered gruffly, irritated by the incredulous look she was giving him. She was such a strange girl.

"Well I just - I..." she trailed off and looked around, swinging her legs underneath her as she prepared to stand up.

"Hey, just slow down. There's no way you're getting up right now," the half demon immediately ordered, holding out a warning hand to stop her.

Suddenly, she slammed her wrist to her forehead as a loud gasp overtook her voice. Her eyes clenched tight in pain; Inuyasha could almost feel the rhythm of her heart quicken instantly. He leaned forward, wondering what was wrong with her... Wondering why that in and of itself made him feel so wrong too.

"Oh, no," she mumbled, slowly opening her eyes after a second. "This isn't a dream, is it?"

"Jeez, you've slept so much, you should have dreamt enough for the next decade," the white haired boy mumbled, hesitantly sitting back, feeling restless with the sight of her obviously still ill mind.

Kagome ignored the snide comment. "How is this happening?" she sighed, standing up before Inuyasha could stop her again. "I need to get back."

"Back where?" he questioned, watching her with a weary golden gaze. She seemed stable - for now. Maybe she was finally getting over the heated chaos of her own brain.

Before the girl could answer, the door slid open. The pair's eyes flickered to the intruder, finding Toga and a priestess stepping into the room without hesitation. The woman by his side was young - barely even a lady, really. She had long, flowing midnight hair that framed her slim and striking feature.

"Inuyasha, this is the healer come to inspect the priestess," his father informed, barely giving Kagome a glance. The relaxation from that first day they'd met the odd girl was gone; he was all hard lines now in the presence of a well-respected and no doubt powerful miko.

The half-demon bowed his head as they passed him, bangs falling across his eyes as he fought the urge to shake them off. They strayed to the sickly girl, finding she was still lucid and standing straight. She'd lasted longer today than in any of the many days she'd been drifting in between consciousnesses. Perhaps the healer would not be necessary after all.

"I am Lady Kikyo; I will do all I can to ail your illness," the woman spoke in a low and mature tone, slowly approaching the other girl.

"Kikyo...?" she asked softly, and Inuyasha was reminded of something... wasn't that the name she'd mentioned before, the day she'd stumbled into his life?

"Yes, what is your name, dear priestess?" Kikyo inquired, her brown orbs full of kindness and compassion. Standing there together, the white-haired boy realized the two looked almost like twins.

"Kagome..." the other girl trailed off, a bizarre look on her face. She leaned past the healer to lock gazes with Inuyasha, her eyes wide. "You guy have never met before, really?"

"Well, when would I have?" the half demon huffed, crossing his arms.

"Um, when you were searching for the Sacred Jewel?" she suggested, glancing between the trio before her.

"You seek the Sacred Jewel?" Kikyo spoke in a much colder tone, turning to face the dog demons. "Have you lured me here under false pretenses, Great Dog Demon of the West?"

"I don't give a damn about that dumb jewel, okay - just cool it!" Inuyasha exclaimed, glaring over the woman's shoulder at her look-a-like. "She speaks nonsense all the time, just listen to her!"

"Hey, you should try having to listen to you all the time!" Kagome shot back, seething with no room for silence.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he growled, his fists clenching and claws digging into the callouses there.

"Well, what do you think it means?"

Something twitched inside of Kagome as she argued with her husband... it was so natural. So right. And she didn't mind one bit...

"Well, you -"

"Enough, Inuyasha. You act like a child in the presence of a renowned priestess; you are dismissed," Toga ordered with glares to his son as well as the sickly girl, causing Inuyasha to pause and immediately leave with a final snide glower at his former ward.

"Kagome, was it?" Kikyo continued, ignoring the squabble that had just occurred. "May I ask if you've had any disease or falls strike you recently?"

"Well, no, I haven't," the younger girl told the older woman, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "But I don't think it has anything to do with that."

"I agree..." Kikyo spoke with a furrowed brow, her eyes troubled. "It feels as though your energy is weakened, as if it has been... torn between something."

"Like... if my soul was split in two different places?" Kagome gathered, thinking back to when it had been Kikyo herself in Kagome's position.

"Yes, it would seem so... but how could that be?"

The youth mulled it over. Could it be... was she truly in another world? Had that strange voice from the forest dragged her into a place where Tōga was alive and Sesshomaru interacted like a true brother to Inuyasha? And Inuyasha... was he really so different from his normal self? Was he really without any immaturity or imperfection?

But he wasn't... even with all this change, he was hardly any different.

That day, so far away now - the being had told her she wanted another husband. An Inuyasha that would be more akin to her thoughts. But here, Kagome was starting to realize something - something she had always known. She didn't want her husband any other way than as himself. She didn't want this, no matter how much he fought with her. And there was no doubt or confusion about that. She loved Inuyasha just the way he was.

As her thoughts traveled much further than she intended them to, Kagome noticed something strange. It was a flicker, an instant where everything was completely different. A second where she was not in the beautiful and wide bedroom of Toga's castle; she was staring up into the dark expanses of a hut... just a moment, that was all it was, and as she blinked, it was gone once again.

"Wait..." she murmured, just as Inuyasha reappeared in the doorway. His eyes were muddled with a wisp of confusion, but even as Tōga ordered him to leave again, his gaze never left hers. "Inuyasha?"

"I must be next to her, Father," the white-haired demon muttered without much understanding of even himself, going to stand by the black-haired girl's side.

"Inuyasha," Kagome breathed again, this time more sure.

With him by her side, there was no fear. Little confusion was left - perhaps because she was getting used to this reality, or perhaps because of the revelation that had strengthened her mind. She would not be swayed again. Despite what that entity had tried to delude her into believing, despite everything - she knew who she was, and more importantly, she knew exactly who Inuyasha was.

"I don't want you any other way than how you are. I accept every part of you - good and bad," she spoke softly, gaging his expression. A little surprise flashed across his features, but no denial.

Even if he couldn't remember her completely, he was in compliance with her every word. He knew it as well as she did - he'd follow her to the ends of the earth. Their eyes were fixated on each other, even in the spinning winds of hell and hectic hazes.

"I would never betray Inuyasha - and he would never betray himself or me!" Kagome called as a sound began to buzz in their ears and the world started to tilt... Kikyo was fading, fading fast until there was only the three of them left: Kagome, Inuyasha, and his father. "And all of this is just an illusion, except for me, and him, and you."

The priestess glared at Tōga, as he started to distort as well... until he had become much the opposite of the formerly handsome dog demon. His face resembled a feral animal's as it sneered at Kagome, but he stood tall across from the pair. Black hair swept across his features and distorted his very silhouette as a sharp light entered their vision.

"You fool... you were twisting in the turmoil of a tornado... you were absolute chaos..." the voice faded as a wind whipped around them, encasing their bodies for some time.

And then, it stopped.

There was nothing anymore - no light, no angry spirit, no wild breezes or dizzying headaches. There was only a single clawed hand held tight in the grasp of a smaller human one. Only the sweet smell of vanilla and dirt and forest... and perfect clarity.

Inuyasha was the only clarity Kagome had required.

She woke to find herself in a hut - Kaede's - surrounded by their friends. They explained to the dazed pair that they'd been found in the forest miles away, both unconscious for many days. No one knew the cause or where the benevolent spirit had escaped to. Inuyasha could only recall going to search for his wife that night she'd disappeared, and the moment he'd grabbed her in a rush of concern, he'd been pulled under the spell as well.

Though their enemy had fled without a trace, the priestess had no worry. She knew with more assurance than ever that no one could ever force her to part with Inuyasha. Their souls were bound together by something that time and evil and even reality could not transcend.

Love.

AN: Thank you for reading! Let me know what you if you liked it or have any criticism - I appreciate it so much! I've been trying to write this for over a week, oof. Much love!