Sorry I took so long to update. I was having a bit of a writer's block. Like, I knew what I wanted to go down, somewhat, but I hadn't quite figured out the how of it. Well, now I have, and here it is. With this chapter we have broken free of the exposition, and have finally dived into the story! I hope you enjoy!

"What wonderful new blood they've brought along!"

I blink. From the brightness of my little bedroom, it seems to be around sunset. Only the noises of rustling trees fills the forest. My eyebrows furrow. Where did that voice come from? It sounded disturbingly close, but I've never heard it before, otherwise I'd assume one of the others was awake.

A high pitched coo draws my attention to Kilala. The twin-tailed kitten sits beside me, her tails twitching and her eyes fixed on me. I move to sit up as much as I can in my position.

Then something small and dark falls from my face and I startle with a gasp, jamming my back into the roof of the den and jerking back down, teeth gritted in pain and supporting arms shaking.

"Well hello," the voice comes again. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Myoga, a vassal of Master Inuyasha."

Prying open my clenched eyes, I follow the sound of the voice to a small dot perched atop Kilala's head. I freeze. It's...a giant...flea.

Unable to stop myself, I breathe, "What the hell?"

"And what is your name, lady with unique blood?"

...What do I do? He's a demon, right? A vassal of Inuyasha? Inuyasha has vassals? Why a flea? Of all things a flea? And he— Wait, blood? He's talking about my blood? Did he bite me?

"W-What's with that look? I may be a flea, but there's no need to feel disgusted! I'm a good flea! So would you stop looking at me like that?"

A low growl resounds from outside my fort, and the flea pauses in his complaints. This time, instead of jumping and farther injuring my back, my muscles seize up when my parasol is suddenly ripped away, and the overhanging blanket collapses on top of me. Kilala wriggles her way out from under.

"I thought I heard Myoga. Whaddya want this time?"

"Ah, Master Inuyasha! So good to see you again!"

"What, you're not gonna drink my blood?"

"Oh, don't be silly! I went ahead and drank my fill while all of you slept." I cringe when there's a distinct squishing noise. Tentatively, I draw back the blanket. When I find the forest floor plenty shadowed, I emerge out from under, crawling delicately as not to aggravate my back. The sky peeks orange through the trees, but I should probably be fine with so much shade. At least, I hope I will be.

Inuyasha sits criss cross about a meter away, glaring at two fingers he has pressed together with some sort of object smashed in between. The others have begun to stir, aroused by the noise. The dog demon then releases his fingers, and a flat little shape floats to the ground before popping back into 3D. The flea rubs his head pitifully.

"Oh, it's Myoga!" Kagome exclaims, half yawning.

"Well," Miroku sighs as he pushes creakily to his feet, "it's reassuring to know that there is no imminent threat to our safety nearby."

"On the contrary, young monk, there is a great danger ahead of you. I came to warn you of it, so you needn't cross its path."

Kagome tilts her head curiously. "Great danger?"

The flea grunts in confirmation. "Indeed. A powerful spirit unlike any I've ever seen has come to the area. I fear what should happen if you were to enter conflict with her."

Miroku seems to ponder this. "Are you sure of this, Myoga? I do not sense any abnormalities in the air, let alone any trace of evil."

"What is there is that reeking stench that belong to Sesshomaru," Inuyasha growls.

"Ah, tis true!" Myoga pipes. "Lord Sesshomaru also resides nearby. Truly, it would be best if you left, as to avoid confrontation with both."

"How close?" I blurt. When Myoga doesn't immediately reply, I elaborate, "How close are we to Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Well, he isn't far to the west, but if you were to head east, towards the grassland, it should be entirely possible to avoid him."

I can feel my heart skip within my chest. Whirling to Kagome, I insist, "Let's go! We have to leave now, or he might get farther away!"

"That's a terrible idea! If Master Inuyasha met with his brother, and the spirit were get involved somehow in the fight, the result would be disastrous! Why would you ever say we should go towards such obvious trouble?" In his urgency, the flea leaps up onto my nose, causing me to jerks back in surprise. "And, if I may be so rude as to ask, who are you? You seem human, yet your blood tastes odd, and you insist we head towards trouble! I'm afraid I cannot approve of such a dangerous influence being around my Master."

"Myoga, don't be like that." Kagome kneels down beside me, her words directed at the insect glaring up at me from my nose. "She just has some business with Sesshomaru, is all. We actually came looking for him."

"Business? What sort of business?"

"There's no need to be so suspicious," Sango intervenes.

Kagome agrees. "Yeah. As for who she is, this is Ren Sajima. She's from the same era as me, and happened to follow me through the well. She isn't some suspicious person."

I can't hardly look at the flea, considering doing so requires me to cross my eyes, which only adds to the discomfort I already feel from having a sentient creature hanging onto my nose. The uneasiness proves heavy enough to keep me from moving, despite the fact that the only thing I want to do is pack up so we can keep heading towards Sesshomaru. I light of this, I request, "Could you please get off of me, um, Myoga?"

After a small 'hmm' of consideration, the creature bounces off, and back onto Kilala's head. For a moment he continues to glare at me, arms crossed. I don't mind it. Instead, I busy myself with folding the blanket that's fallen to the ground. As the others argue with Myoga, I pause to take in the condition of my uniform. Needless to say, considering my recent sleeping arrangements, it's filthy. The pants are crumpled and caked with dirt, and the front and sleeves of the shirt are stained brown. I finger the turtleneck regretfully. It's rather embarrassing to think that I'll meet Lord Sesshomaru in this state, but I don't exactly have much of a choice. Maybe, at the very least, we could stop somewhere and wash off? At least then I could be sure my face and hair would be presentable.

What...what will he think of me? Does he know of me? You don't have to think too hard to figure out that my knowledge of him is strange, so there's no way of saying if he's dreamt of me the way I have of him or not. Will he be happy to see me? Will he...like what he sees?

I blink, broken from my thoughts, when my closed parasol is placed in front of my face. I look up to see Sango and give her an appreciative smile as I take it.

"Shall we be on our way, then?" Miroku asks. Myoga now sits on his shoulder, arms still crossed in displeasure, but apparently pacified for now.

"Yes!" I hurry to stand, handing Kagome the blanket to stuff in her oversized backpack. With everyone ready to go, and the persimmon sky fading into viridian, Inuyasha grudgingly lifts his head to sniff the air and we set off. This time, I hold my parasol in my hands as we walk, needing something to hold onto. Will I finally get to meet him tonight? After all these years, will I actually get to see him face-to-face?

Then, without warning, Inuyasha hisses, "I smell Naraku."

"Naraku?"

"Where?"

All of the sudden, everyone's on edge, Miroku's staff clutched in both of his hands and Sango gripping her boomerang. Kilala takes on her sabertooth form as one of Shippo's hands grabs my pant leg, and Kagome turns to Inuyasha. I'm utterly unprepared when the half demon commands, "This way!" and darts off. Kagome mounts her bike as the monk and demon slayer immediately start down the path in pursuit. Kilala leaps in front of me and, overwhelmed, I fumble to pull myself aboard. The second Shippo and I aren't in danger of toppling off at the slightest movement, the feline takes off after the rest. As the wind rustles my hair, I begin to worry. I haven't heard too much about this Naraku, but they've said enough for me to know he's bad news. Clearly, they take him very seriously, which has me wondering just how bad of news he is.

We veer off the path, passing Kagome's abandoned bike as we dive back into the trees. When we break into a slight opening, Kilala skids to a halt, the rest of the party poised at the ready before us. Overhead, the sky has grown dark enough to make it difficult to see, but the smoky stench that has me choking and the abnormal heat simmering in the air conveys well enough that this gap in the trees isn't natural.

And then there's the being standing in the center.

Hair like tree bark tumbles far past her waist, despite the fact it's done up with dozens of intricate gold pins, grazing across the vermilion kimono wrapped around her slender figure. This clarity should have been shrouded by the shadows of night, but her flawless skin tinged richly yellow lights her up as if in defiance of the darkness. Her head, having been focused elsewhere upon our arrival, finally turns so she can gaze at us with eyes as deeply earthy as her hair. She doesn't blink, black lashes not so much as quivering as she locks her attention on us.

Inuyasha growls. "Damn. I can still smell him, but I can't pinpoint where it's coming from!"

"You mean the smell isn't coming from her?" Sango asks, a note in her voice suggesting disbelief.

"That's her!" Myoga interjects. "The spirit I told you about! Oh Master Inuyasha, you mustn't disturb it! Who knows what would happen if you did!"

"Hey you!" the brazen halfling shouts. "Who are you? What's you relation to Naraku?"

The woman doesn't respond. She simply stands, silently drinking us in as if we were a painting to be beheld rather than living, breathing beings.

"Inuyasha," Miroku begins, taking a step forward, "I know how things look, but we must also consider the possibility that this beautiful woman might not be related to Naraku. He may simply be nearby out of sheer coincidence."

Shippo adds, "Of course, and you couldn't possibly be defending her just because she's a 'beautiful woman'."

"What I say is true, and my intentions are pure."

"Hah! There aren't any coincidences when Naraku's involved!" The half demon unsheathes his blade, my eyebrows furrowing when the sword emerges five times as big as its sheath. "Hey! You better tell us everything you know about Naraku, Lady, or you're gonna taste the edge of my Tessaiga!"

Kagome grabs Inuyasha's sleeves. "Wait a second, Inuyasha. Something feels off. There's something different about this girl compared to the rest of Naraku's incarnations."

I don't know anything about Naraku's "incarnations", but something does indeed feel off. The woman hasn't stopped staring at us, unblinking, and despite the distance and the darkness surrounding us, I'm shaken with the distinct impression that she's staring at me, specifically. Not desiring to linger in her presence, I say, "Let's leave her alone, like Myoga said. Lord Sesshomaru is close, and—"

My voice catches when the woman finally moves, twisting her body to fully face us. Inuyasha sinks in his stance, ready to pounce. Then, much like how Inuyasha has done to catch the scent of his brother, the woman lifts her nose slightly and sniffs.

"Girl." Her voice simmers through the air, and I can't help but shiver. The others around me also tense, apparently also feeling a physical pressure from her words. "Why is it you have stardust in your soul?"

I blink, still unable to tear my eyes from hers. Stardust...in my...what?

She lifts her hand, reaching out as if to grab me from where she stands, when a new movement in the clearing snaps her gaze to the left. Freed from her eyes, I also turn, and upon seeing the arrival, my breathing ceases.

Framing pointed ears, his cascading white hair shines silver in the weak light of the moon, his deep amber eyes almost glowing from the shade of his face. Moonlight reflects dimly off his armor, revealing the traces of stripes beneath those amber orbs, and a thin crescent moon between them. With every passing second, my heart swells as realization sinks in.

It's him...My Lord…

Sesshomaru...

Who is this strange spirit who speaks of stardust, and what will happen now that Ren has finally met Sesshomaru? Find out in the next exciting update! ...or not. Maybe I'll keep you guys guessing for awhile about that spirit. But I do promise interaction between Ren and Sesshomaru in the next chapter! So until then, leave a favorite, hit that follow button, and feel free to share any thoughts in the comments. I promise I read and appreciate them all! I'll get back to writing, and I'll see you all next time!