Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the other characters from the anime/manga.

A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update, but I had tons of homework and lots and lots of tests, and couldn't get around to writing this chapter. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but this is my first fic and I DON'T WANT ANY FLAMES! Corrective criticism? Sure, be my guest, but flames? No thanks. OK, well I hope that you all like this chapter!

D i s c o v e r i e s

Chapter 4: The Repayment

They had been traveling for eight days. Kagome's condition was deteriorating at a fairly quick pace and their progression towards the village was fairly slow. The sky was dreary, seemingly reflecting the moods of the group of shard hunters that traversed under it. None of them, no matter how hard they tried, could forget that one of their best friends was soon going to die.

At the moment, the group was stopped and resting under a small patch of trees that was located off of the main rode they were traveling. Kagome was leaning against the trunk of a tree for support, her forehead covered in a cold sweat. Shippou was curled up on her stomach, his arms wrapped as far around her waste as they would go, and his head buried in her chest. Lately, he had become inseparable from her. He followed her everywhere and could always be found lying on her stomach when she was sleeping.

She looked down at the kit that had a death grip on her chest, her eyes softening when his hands curled into fists around her shirt. 'I can't leave him like this. It's as if he's my own child, and right now he needs his mother. I have served as his mother for about three years now. My death would terrorize him, and I know that he's already seen enough deaths of loved ones for one life-time.' She slowly stroked the fur off his head as he continued sleeping.

Sango and Miroku were standing a few feet away from where she was sitting. They were obviously deep in thought, probably trying to figure out some way that the poison could be reversed. She pushed her arms up from under her, struggling to push herself off of the ground. Sango, seeing her troubles, ran over to where she was sitting and reached an arm down to help her up.

"Here Kagome, let me help you." She reached down and pulled Kagome to her feet.

Kagome sighed. They had been treating her like this a lot lately. It was really beginning to get on her nerves, causing her to snap out sarcastically, "I may be dying, but I'm not helpless! I'm only going to be alive for about three more weeks! The least you could do is treat me normally instead of like I'm a fragile piece of glass!"

Sango took a step back, her eyes widening in surprise. "I'm sorry Kagome. I didn't mean to upset you…" She trailed off, her eyes betraying the hurt that her voice didn't.

Kagome looked at her guiltily. "I'm sorry too, Sango. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." She smiled apologetically. "Please forgive me, but I've just been so stressed out lately."

Sango smiled at her. "It's ok. I understand. What you're going through is bound to be stressful." Kagome murmured an agreement.

"How about we stop here tonight?" She looked at Miroku. "What do you think, Miroku?"

He glanced at Sango, a frown marring his features. "I believe it would be in our best interest to continue on until we reach the next village."

"Why? Is there something wrong?" Kagome questioned.

Miroku turned to her. "I have been speaking with Sango and we have determined that we entered the Western Lands about three hours ago. We would have avoided it, but it is the fastest route to return to the village." He continued. "As you know, our other, how should I put it, encounters, with Sesshoumaru have not been all together satisfactory, and I do not believe he will appreciate us traveling on his lands.

Kagome's mind perked when Miroku mentioned Sesshoumaru. 'It feels as if there is something that I should be remembering…' She thought harder, and it slowly came into her head. 'I've got it!' The morning in the clearing, after she found Rin, slowly played over in her mind.

~~Flashback~~

"For your choice of leaving the hanyou, I will spare you your life, wench. I am also in your debt for protecting Rin. When you want me to repay you, come for me in my castle." He smirked, watching confusion pass over her features. He turned. "Come Rin, we are leaving. Say goodbye to the girl."

~~End Flashback~~

'Sesshoumaru is in my debt. I remember now, but how can that help me?' Her mind went over the possibilities. She glanced back over at her companions. 'I can't leave them. I also need to finish the quest…' She kept thinking until the answer formed itself in her head. 'The quest! I can have Sesshoumaru finish the quest for me! He's definitely strong enough, but how am I going to get to him? I'm weak enough as it is, but his castle isn't that far away, right?' She pondered the thought as she mindlessly listened to Miroku talk.

"Kagome?" Miroku asked as Kagome stared listlessly at a point beyond his head.

"Kagome?" He repeated the question.

"KAGOME?"

She snapped out of her stupor with a jerk. "What? Huh? What's the matter?" She asked blinking innocently up at the annoyed monk.

Miroku rolled his eyes and sighed then repeated the question. "I asked you what you think we should do?"

"Oh. Umm…" 'I need to think of some way to get closer to his castle…' "Umm, I doubt that he would mind if we passed through his lands. I mean, the other times we met up with him he only attacked us because we traveled with Inuyasha and we're not traveling with him anymore…"-'There's also the fact that he owes me and can't hurt me until he repays me…' She added mentally. She glanced at her friends' faces. They all looked to be deeply in thought, their faces brushed with slight frowns. 'I'm so close, just one more push and we'll be there in no time…' "Plus, do you really think that he'll notice us? I mean, come on, he has to watch over the Western Lands. His lands are huge. He won't even notice us if we keep to ourselves."

This seemed to reassure them and they slowly nodded their heads in agreement. "If you're sure Kagome, then we'll do it, but only if you're sure." Sango stated, looking at Kagome and waiting for an answer.

Kagome looked back and nodded her head in affirmation. "I'm positive. I'd bet anything that he won't notice us traveling through his lands."

They shook their heads in agreement and Miroku turned to look at Kagome where she was standing and leaning against a tree. "Lady Kagome, are you feeling better or do you wish to rest some more, for we will start out again whenever your strength returns. I know that you wish to return to your family as soon as possible."

She smiled a small smile at him and replied, "I think I'm fine now. It must've just been a moment of weakness." 'I can't tell them the truth. It would hurt them too much.' Kagome was lying. It wasn't just one of those 'weak moments'. She knew that she was getting weaker as every day passed, and spent much of her time hiding the fact that that she could hardly walk without breaking into a sweat.

Sango started picking up their supplies from the resting area. "I'm glad that you're feeling better now, Kagome. We were really beginning to worry about you."

Kagome sighed and refrained from answering. 'Worrying. They were worrying. It's understandable, them being my friends and all. My family would worry too.' Her thoughts turned wistful. 'If Inuyasha ever found out that I was dying, would he even care a small bit, or would he just be happy because Kikyou would finally receive the rest of her soul?' She let out a harsh laugh.

'No, he wouldn't care. He never cared.' She thought bitterly. 'I was always just a replacement for Kikyou…' She shook her head to clear it of her thoughts and stood up, getting ready to leave. 'I need to stop thinking about this. I have more important things to worry about.' And with that, the small group started out through the Western Lands.

~~~

They were getting close. She could feel it. The soft resonant hum that could be felt all the way through her bones when youkai were near was growing stronger each day, and Kagome knew that the only place that would contain the multiple auras of so many demons was Sesshoumaru's castle.

They had been traveling in the Western Lands for eight days, and had only encountered three youkai in that entire time. They were only a few days travel away from the boundary between Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's lands, but, of course, Kagome didn't intend to reach the point where the two lands met.

Kagome thought as she slowly dragged her feet down the road. 'We're almost there. I can feel the presence of many powerful demons, along with a few Shikon Shards…' She glanced at her friends and grimaced at the thought of the shards. 'I could really learn to hate anything that has to do with 'shards', or 'jewels'.' She watched as Shippou walked next to her at her side and a sad smile flitted across her face. 'I'm going to have to leave them soon. I'll really miss them…'

Her thoughts trailed off as they stumbled across a small clearing in the forest towards their right. She felt a pulse resonate through her head and abruptly stopped walking, her blue eyes widening in alarm. 'We're getting really close. We have to stop. I can't let them get hurt.'

Sango stopped waling after she saw Kagome come to an abrupt halt, her eyes widening in… fear? Anxiety? She couldn't really tell but turned back to help her friend anyway. "Kagome, are you ok?" She asked, worrying as Kagome started to lightly tremble.

"I'm fine, but maybe we could stop in this clearing over here for the night. I'm getting kind of tired." She pointed at the clearing to the right. She clenched her hands to stop the trembling, but it just got worse. 'This is not good. Not good at all. This isn't supposed to be happening for at least three more days!' She chewed her lip nervously.

Miroku stepped in. "I think that would be a wonderful idea Lady Kagome. You seem rather pale. Perhaps you would like me to warm you-"

"Pervert." Sango muttered before turning back to Kagome to finish off where the Monk had left off who, thanks to Haraikotsu, was currently strewn unconscious on the ground. "It seems safe enough. You can rest while I set up camp."

"Alright." She agreed before sitting down and leaning against a tree. She dozed as Sango set camp and made dinner, rejoining them when it was ready and Miroku was conscious again. They ate in silence and quickly went to sleep afterwards.

'It's almost time.' She thought. Kagome waited until the breathing of Sango and Miroku had slowed and evened out before removing the curled up Kitsune from her sleeping bag next to her. She slowly stood up and walked toward the edge of the clearing before turning back toward her friends and whispering two words before walking out completely.

"I'm sorry."

~~~

It was dark and she could barely see where she was going, so instead allowed her youkai senses to navigate for her. She traveled Westward for the rest of the night and slightly into the morning. She had to stop a couple of times when the trembling took a hold of her. It was getting worse each time it happened, and she knew that her time left on Earth was decreasing with every passing moment.

The pulsing in the back of her mind got steadily stronger as she continued through the night and by the time the sun had risen in the East, she could feel it all the way through her body. 'I'm almost there!' Her thoughts were confirmed a few moments later as she stumbled out of the underbrush and into the towering presence of a giant castle.

She took in a gasp of air as bent her head back to take in the entire image of the beautiful castle. It was extremely large and made entirely out of stone. It had large windows that the sun streamed through. There was a courtyard out front and a large garden with winding paths in the back.

She suddenly felt very small compared to the castle that she stood in front of right now. 'I can't do this.' She thought before shaking her head at the thought. 'I have to! I can't back down now! I went to all this work to get here and I am not going to give up!' She thought determinedly before walking through the courtyard toward the two giant doors that led into the main part of the castle. The door could easily allow a fully transformed Sesshoumaru to pass underneath its arch.

She had to push with her entire upper body before the door slid slightly inward and she could ease her way through the gap in-between it and the frame. She turned her head to the side in confusion when no one, guards or other, came up to her after she walked in. 'Where are they? I could've sworn I felt at least one hundred youkai aura's coming from here.' She frowned in confusion, 'They must all be asleep-' She thought before she was interrupted by a loud squawk from behind her.

She almost laughed out loud at what she saw there. Almost, being the key word. Instead she allowed a small-amused smirk to cross her features.

A puffed up Jaken stood behind her, his face set in a scowl while he brandished the staff of heads out in front of him. 'Yah right. Like some weak little toad is going to beat me.'

"What are you doing in mighty Lord Sesshoumaru's castle, Wench? Leave immediately or feel his wrath!"

She did laugh out loud at this, her body doubling over as laughter shook through her frail frame. When she looked up she saw an enraged Jaken glaring at her from down at the floor.

"What's so funny, Wench? Leave now or else-" She cut him off by bringing her foot down on his head, grinding it into the floor.

She glared at him hatefully. "My name is not Wench. It is Kagome, and that is what you will address me by. Now, I am going to ask you this once and only once. Where can I find Sesshoumaru?" She ground her foot a little more.

"I will never betray Lord Sesshou-" He squawked when she added more pressure to his head and cried out, "Wait! Wait! I will show you where he is, just stop abusing this poor Jaken's head!" He moaned in pain.

"Take me to him." She ordered, narrowing her eyes when he seemed to regain some confidence, which was quickly snuffed out under her cold gaze.

He turned and started down a hall to the right muttering "This Way" which was all she got from him before he scurried away. She pushed herself to keep up with him as they made various turns down different corridors and in different wings.

They eventually stopped in front of two large doors at the end of one of the hallways. Jaken turned to her. "He's asleep. Don't say I didn't warn you after he tears you into pieces for invading his castle, you worthless human." He ran before she could place her foot on him, leaving her alone in front of the double doors.

'Well, I might as well just go in. If he kills me it won't matter. I'm going to die anyway.' She thought before slowly pushing the door inwards.

It opened soundlessly and she squeezed herself inside the room before closing the door behind her. The room was dark, only faintly lit by the morning sun, and she could see only indistinct shapes of the objects in the room. She could tell that she wasn't yet in the actual master bedroom, but in a large sitting room that led into it.

She slowly walked over the plush rug that lay on the floor and into the bedroom. It was dark and she could barely see a thing. She started feeling her way across the room, narrowly missing a few of the larger objects, but bumping into many sharp corners.

She felt her hand connect with a wall, and slowly moved her way along it. Her hands brushed up against curtains, and she had barely pulled them back to let some light when a hand grabbed her around the neck and smashed her against the wall. A low growl came from chest of the figure in front of her, and she slowly brought her gaze up from the floor to look at her attacker.

Her eyes traveled up his frame, taking note of the white skin in the process. He was wearing a simple white undergarment, good for sleeping in. Her gaze traveled up his chest, stopping briefly when she noticed his missing arm, continuing up until she met his eyes.

Blue eyes locked in a stare with gold as his grip tightened. She let out a soft choke and he loosened his grip a small amount. "What are you doing here, Wench?" He growled out, his voice menacing and his eyes flashing red.

She felt fear crawl up her spine. Her breathing grew ragged. 'He won't kill me, will he?' She asked herself before trying to get him to loosen the death grip that he had on her neck. She brought her hands up to his, gripping it, trying to get him to let go. "Let go of me and maybe I'll be able to tell you." She choked out. She felt the first tremors of the shaking coming to her hands and quickly brought them down, squeezing them together to keep them from shaking.

This didn't go unnoticed, and he eventually loosened his hand and let her drop back to the floor. He repeated his question, his voice promising pain if she didn't answer quickly, and his eyes slowly fading back to gold. "What are you doing here?"

She let her glance stray over his face markings and pointed ears before answering. "I came to claim a debt that you owe me."

He seemed to remember and smirked sardonically, his anger slowly ebbing away. "You come here now? You could not wait?" He watched as she blushed, his smirk growing in each passing second.

"Yes I came here now." She replied, her small embarrassment turning slowly into anger. "I need a favor now. And I cannot wait." Her tone turned serious.

He stared at her, his emotionless façade replacing the smirk of a few moments ago. "I am not one to break promises. What is it you want?"

She took her time to answer, trying to gain control of her hands once more. She watched as his icy gaze flicked down her arms and a sad smile made its way onto her face. 'You can do this, Kagome. You've made it this far. Don't give up now.' She told herself before starting her explanation. "As you can probably tell by now, there's something wrong with me." He could tell, although the only thing he could smell was the faint smell of death that permeated her being. The reason why was a mystery to him.

"I'm dying. I was poisoned by a youkai." He glanced up at her face; a little surprised when he found no emotions there.

"I will not be on this Earth much longer. My time is almost up, and as you know, it is my responsibility to collect the shards of the Shikon Jewel that were spread across the lands." He continued to listen. "Even though I won't be here, I still need to finish the quest. My companions are good at fighting demons, but not good enough, I'm afraid, to defeat those with shards."

"I know that you are strong. Strong enough to possibly beat Naraku in fact, and I need you to gather the shards once I am not here." She stopped, out of breath, and waited for his reaction.

"You wish for me, The Demon Lord of the West, to involve myself in your simple human affairs?" He bit out sarcastically.

She felt her anger rising. "Did you not hear what I just said? Yes I want you to involve yourself in my simple human affairs." She imitated him.

He let out a small growl at her. "I do not tolerate insolence, Bitch."

She glared at him, her anger rising even more. "I am NOT a Bitch!" She yelled at him. She would've said more but her body started to shake violently. She bent over, falling to her knees before falling the rest of the way to the floor, pulling her legs in towards her middle in the fetal position as convulsions shook her body and a thin trickle of blood oozed from her mouth. She didn't notice when Sesshoumaru walked away from her, only to come back moments later with an object in his hands.

With his hand on the Tenseiga, he could see the small demons that surrounded her fragile form. They sat there, looking as if they were waiting for a treat. He slowly brought it out of its sheath, leveling it with the creatures. It glowed a bright blue as he brought it down across the forms of the death-bringers.

He waited for a moment for her to stop convulsing. When she didn't, a small frown crossed his features. 'Why will the Wench not heal?' He asked himself. He pondered the matter for a few moments before bringing the sword back up above her body. 'The poison has already flowed all through her body. This is the only way.' He thought before he sliced the sword down across her torso. She let out an ear-piercing shriek before the convulsions stopped and she fell, unconscious, to the floor.

~~~

~In a castle at the point where the four lands, the North, South, East, and West, meet and form a point.~

In a dark room a man lay sleeping on a pallet. He looked to be a youkai, yet his breed was undecipherable. The room was made of stone, with no windows on any of the walls. The room was just… empty.

Nothing happened in the room. Nothing breathed and nothing moved. Everything was still until a blinding white flash lit the room. When it disappeared, the man on the pallet began slowly breathing again.

His eyes snapped open and he muttered three words.

"She has awoken."

~~~

Ok, that's the end for today! I hope you liked it, and I'm sorry if there were any mistakes. Let's see…

Next Chapter: Explanations and new discoveries!

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