"I'll tell you all my ideas about Looking-glass House. First, there's the room you can see through the glass -- that's just the same as our drawing room, only the things go the other way."

It was the pounding in her head that woke Kagome but she kept her eyes closed and listened willing herself to hear Sango's voice or Miroku's or even the grunts and clashes on an ongoing battle but she was meet with nothing but silence. She opened her eyes and met with two sights; one the golden glow of the camp fire that throw warmth across her face and two, the dark crimson of Inuyasha's cloak.

She shifted a bit so she could see him better but didn't sit up. His face was solemn and closed so she couldn't read it, head bowed lightly as he stared into the snapping flames. His ears twitched and she knew he knew she was awake but he said nothing and so neither did she. Kikyou...he was thinking about Kikyou. And she would be an idiot to speak now, knew it was true. Knew it better then she knew how to do anything but breathe. So she closed her eyes against the image of Inuyasha mourning his first love. And bite back questions of where they were, what had happened and instead sent her thoughts back to recap what had happened.

She, Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha had discovered just when Naraku lost his powers. A slip up of Kagura's when she had attacked Inuyasha with a new demon in an attempt to take the jewel shards. It had ultimately been Sesshomaru who had shown them the way in the end, when the demon lord had come searching for the human girl that he let travel around with him, and found her in Kagome and Sango's care. Of course Kagome didn't really know if Sesshomaru had meant to help them or not because he'd no more then mentioned annoyance at Naraku's idea of a barrier. And Kagome didn't know if the demon lord was capable of kindness.

Sango, who had been trying to attack Naraku and yet dodge the attacks of her younger brother, Kohaku, respectively without hurting him. And Miroku battling his wind tunnel against Kagura's wind sorcery without sucking in her or Inuyasha or Sango.

Kagome opened her eyes again finally and sat up slowly still not looking at Inuyasha her eyes on the fire. "Where are we?"

He was silent for some time, his sword out now and lay across his lap and he polished it pointlessly. She'd seen him do this before but never with such focused determination and she fell silent and just watched him. Her silence must have been unusual because he looked up at her.

"Everything is violet." Kagome blinked in surprise and looked around. She hadn't noticed before but he was right. They were on a hill, the slope of which descended into the dense growth of a forest. And everything was intones of lavender and violet. Kagome reached out a hand and plucked a blade of grass the fat strand a pale, smoky purple in color. Even the trees beyond were done in dark and pale violet hues. Kagome tipped her head up and looked at the sky which was merely and expanse of dusty lavender, no moon, no son, no stars, no clouds, nothing but endless, flawless purple. In fact the only thing not any shade of purple in this world were she and Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha..."

"What do you see? Over there." He was looking at the forest that bordered the west side of the hill. Kagome looked but saw nothing but the odd colored trees and the shifting shadows.

"Nothing."

Inuyasha nodded silently but didn't explain merely sheathed the Tetsusaiga again and stood. "Come on Kagome."

Kagome stared at him and stood quietly. "Inuyasha were are we?" He said nothing and Inuyasha lifted a hand to her mouth the dropped it. "Inuyasha." Her voice soft as she could make it. "Sit." Inuyasha hit the ground with the mildest of thuds and Kagome went to kneel beside him as he sat up slowly.

"Kagome what the hell was that for!?"

Kagome wanted to hug him but Kikyou's image flared up in her mind and she shook her head. "I'm glad you're yelling at me."

"You idiot. If you wanted me to yell at you all you had to do was ask!"

"Inuyasha where are we."

He opened his mouth angrily then closed it and the lines smoothed from his face slowly and he sighed, sitting up to set his hands on his feet. "We're inside the Shikon no Tama."

"In...inside!?" He nodded. "But. But, how did that happen?"

Inuyasha growled. "Naraku tricked me. I forgot I couldn't touch it. It was still tainted by Naraku and it would have destroyed me but then you touched me at the same time and so it absorbed us both instead."

"Inuyasha you're hurt!" Her eyes went to his shoulder and she fault a wave of nausea. His kimono was torn and the skin of his arm was split and partly peeled back from his shoulder all the way to his elbow.

He lifted a hand and hovered it just shy of touching the injured arm. "Yea. It's fine. We don't have time to just sit around."

Kagome already had he bag in her lap and was searching through it. "People don't just walk around with the skin hanging of their arm, Inuyasha." She pulled out the roll of gauze and lifted his arm gently then started to bandage it gently when he didn't resist. "Do you know how we can get out?"

"No."

"No!?"

He looked away. "I figure the best idea is to just pick a direction and start walking."

"Thought about this real hard didn't you?"

He glared at her. "If you have a better idea I'd like to hear it!"

She didn't so she returned the gauze to her pack and shouldered it then stood. "Alright. Which way then."

Inuyasha stood as well and tugged his sleeve up over his arm as best he can as if uncomfortable with the injury as a whole. Kagome watched him then produced a safety pin and pinned up his sleeve. He nodded his thanks wordlessly then turned toward away from the fire.

"Not west."

Kagome glanced in the direction Inuyasha had looked before but she still saw nothing and she didn't think she'd get an answer if she questioned him now so she smiled instead and nodded. "East then. Should we put out the fire?" She glanced at it.

Inuyasha shook his head and started walking down the hill. "It was already started when we got here. Kagome." He murmured when she hurried down the hill to catch up with him.

"Yes?"

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

Kagome thought for a moment then nodded. "After all I've seen, demons and dragons I suppose I believe in ghosts. I have seen one before after all."

"Good. I think there are many here. But..." he reached out and Kagome blushed when he took her hand gently. "I'll protect you."

Kagome looked up at him at the words, the sadness and regret in them. He's thinking about Kikyou. And how he wasn't able to save her. Normally Kagome would have drawn away but for now, this time she'd allow him to touch her and think of Kikyou.

Inuyasha. Who's going to protect you?

"only the things go the other way."