Author's Note: Inuyasha does no~t belong to me. No, no it does not. I'm sorry…

~

"What was that about?" Inuyasha asked Kagome as she shut the sliding door behind her.

"Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru's voice was dangerously low.

"She requested that I come see her tonight." Kagome did her best to sound as if she were speaking into the air, rather than directly to one or the other.

"Huh? Why?" The hanyou had blurted it out before thinking, as was usual for him, but Sesshoumaru didn't reprimand him this time, as the exact same question was on his mind.

Kagome shrugged. "I don't-…"

"Lord Sesshoumaru-sama~!" The familiar squawking could be heard approaching, and instinctively Kagome shut her mouth and stepped to the side, ready to do anything to avoid any more beatings from Jaken's staff.

"What is it, Jaken?" Sesshoumaru seemed just as displeased to see him as Kagome was.

"Everything is all set, Lord Sesshoumaru-sama! The carriage has been put away, and all of Lord Sesshoumaru's and Inuyasha's things are ready and waiting! Shall this humble servant take you there?"

Sesshoumaru exchanged a quick glance with Inuyasha before nodding curtly, stepping after Jaken as he started to shuffle off. Inuyasha strutted along after him, looking no happier or angrier than usual, and having received no orders otherwise Kagome cautiously trailed at the end.

The room was an astounding distance away from the main hall, reminding Kagome that this was quite possibly the largest shrine that she had ever heard of. They had passed at least 20 doors on one side of the building, turned a corner, and passed 20 more before Jaken finally turned and slid a normal looking door open. Jaken stayed at the opening of the door, allowing Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha in with a cliché wave of his hand and a humbling bow, and then threw out his hand in denial of Kagome's entrance. Kagome wasn't surprised, really, but a little disappointed. She had been hopeful that she wouldn't have to spend the night in a strange, dark room with other strange and obedient servants.

Sesshoumaru didn't notice that she wasn't inside until after he had surveyed his new domain, smoothly turning to Jaken to wave him off when he saw that his maid was standing outside the door as well, head hung low. As he had when they first arrived he opened his mouth to say something (perhaps to invite her in and tell Jaken she would be staying with him) but was reluctant when his eyes quickly shot to Inuyasha. Kagome realized, then, that Sesshoumaru was hesitant to show anything but apathy to her when Inuyasha was around. After having taken her into his carriage he had been rewarded by a remark from Inuyasha that he was becoming attached to humans, something Kagome knew repulsed him. But still, in some way it flattered Kagome. It meant that he had accepted that he treated her better than a regular maid; that perhaps he really did want her around, and that that realization bothered him.

After Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha had gotten visually settled in the room (Kagome didn't really know what it was like, as she was at an angle where she could just hardly see Sesshoumaru), Jaken bowed once more and bid an obedient farewell. Once the little toad man had closed the door in front of him, he turned to Kagome and gave her shoulder a little smack with his cane. "You will stay in the servant's room!" He croaked at her, beginning to shuffle quickly down the hall, in the direction from where they had originally come from. As Kagome walked quickly behind him she peeked at some of the numerous rooms at her side, all of which had their doors tightly shut. She wondered if they were really all occupied, or if they were just empty and Kaede had given Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha the room in the boondocks as revenge for Inuyasha's sour attitude.

Jaken and Kagome turned the same corner, passed in front of the large hall where Kagome presumed that Kaede was still in, and around the corner on the other side. Abruptly Jaken stopped at the second door, swinging it open without warning and nudging Kagome inside. "Don't come out unless you're called for! Understand?"

Kagome didn't even get a chance to answer; as before she could open her mouth he had slammed the door shut once more, leaving her alone in the tiny room. There was a cleanly made up futon in the corner, and the room really wasn't all that bad. It wasn't glamorous to be sure, but there was a flowerpot near the door and everything was clean and pretty. However, it suddenly dawned on Kagome that she wouldn't be sharing the room with anyone. This was a room that was designed for one person and one person only.

Maybe that's why there are so many rooms…Kagome sat down onto the futon. Maybe some very important people with numerous maids have come here to pay their respects…

Exhausted, the sore maid laid back onto the mattress, eyelids feeling heavy. She had had such an uncomfortable day, and for the first time in a long time she was contentedly alone. No obnoxious orders from Sesshoumaru, no worries about Kouga. Finally, for once, she could just be by herself and forget all the things that had happened to her in the past month. And with that blissfully impossible thought, Kagome slipped into a deep, warm sleep.

~

Only an hour or so after Jaken had left them there, Inuyasha was bored and ready to go out and do something. Sesshoumaru was lounging in a red plush chair that was next to a larger than normal futon, one hand up to his forehead and the other flipping the pages of the thin book he was looking through. The room Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had received was, not surprisingly, much more extravagant than the one Kagome was staying in. Not only was it much larger, it was decorated, with hanging gold and red lanterns and even bamboo resting in pots in the corner. The beds were just futons, purposely placed on opposite sides of the large area, but they were wider than the regular ones you'd normally find in these sorts of temples.

"I'm leaving." A restless Inuyasha stood from his futon, stomping over the door and placing his hand on the edge. No response from Sesshoumaru.

"Did you hear me? I said I was-…"

"Mm." Sesshoumaru raised a hand and waved it nonchalantly towards the door.

"Feh!"

Sesshoumaru listened as the door slid open, as Inuyasha stepped noisily out, and as the door was finally clicked shut again, leaving Sesshoumaru alone and content. For the most part.

~

"Oi! Ooooooi!" Kagome was awakened by Inuyasha's distinguishable yell. She turned in her bed, not at all eager to get up. When he didn't receive an answer, the hanyou began to pound on the wood frame of the traditional paper door, shouting even louder. "Oi! Raven! OI!"

"Nnnn…" With a groan Kagome rolled herself off the futon, crawling over to the door and sliding the door open in an only half-conscious haze. "What do you waaaaant?"

Inuyasha loomed over her, his face set in frustration. "Get up. Let's go. Somewhere." He added the somewhere as an afterthought, letting Kagome know that it wasn't time to go see Kaede yet.

"Somewhere? Where, somewhere?" She mumbled with a nasally whine in the back of her voice, shrinking back from the light that flickered across the room as Inuyasha rocked back and forth uncomfortably.

"I don't know. A walk. I'm bored." Inuyasha stepped into the room, looking around with a finicky displeasure.

Kagome sighed heavily, turning on her knees and commencing to crawl back to her warm and inviting futon. "Go be bored on your own, Inuyasha…I haven't slept in a few days…"

Obviously not ready to take 'no' for an answer, Inuyasha hopped forward, crouching down on the balls of his feet and grabbing Kagome vigorously by the wrist. "I said get up, wench!"

Frustrated, sore, and exhausted, Kagome rolled her eyes and tugged feebly at his grip. "Inuyasha, would you just…OW!"

The hanyou, getting tired of waiting, effortlessly pulled the halfheartedly struggling human girl to her feet and swiftly lead her out of the room, sliding the screen behind him shut with his foot. "Ow, ow, ow! Inuyasha, don't be so rough!"

Kagome stumbled along behind Inuyasha as he dragged her away from her room, ignoring all of her futile complaints and objections. As they turned the corner Inuyasha turned back to Kagome, giving her a little tug to accentuate his point. "Stop flailing so much, wench, you'll make a scene!"

The exhausted maid was ready to spit something back out on him, but before she could react Inuyasha jumped back a little, tightening his grip painfully on her wrist and unintentionally pulling her into his back. "Ow, Inuyasha, what are you…"

Kagome looked up, and there, leaning casually against the temple wall, arms crossed and eyes concentrated solely and intensely on Inuyasha, was Sesshoumaru. The raven-haired girl winced to herself, shrinking back behind Inuyasha and trying to ignore the stinging pain in her wrist.

"Sesshoumaru…uh…" Inuyasha's eyes flicked between his elder brother and the open land outside the temple nervously, unconsciously tensing and untensing his grip on poor Kagome's arm, nearly piercing the skin.

After a small pause, the youkai prince spoke. "…I was wondering when you'd get here, Inuyasha."

The hanyou hopped a little in surprise, and Kagome, suddenly feeling as if she were much safer, peeked her head out from behind Inuyasha, looking cautiously to Sesshoumaru. Still leaning against the wall, he was smirking just slightly, as his eyes moved from his younger brother to Kagome. "So? Where were you two planning on going?"

Kagome stepped out from behind the hanyou, pulling in vain against his tightened claws.

"I…I wasn't planning on going anywhere. Inuyasha just-…" Kagome started to explain, hoping to direct the blame to Inuyasha who was, indeed, responsible, but the hanyou cut in before she could finish.

"We were going for a walk!" And with that, Inuyasha boldly pulled the helpless maid to his side and stomped to the steps, his jaw shaking just slightly with the effort of keeping his gaze in front of him.

Kagome, being dragged along unwillingly, couldn't see her youkai master but she could hear the puff of air (which strongly resembled a chuckle) he let out. "All right, then." The sound of cloth ruffling, and suddenly Sesshoumaru was next to Kagome. "Let's go."

Startled but somewhat relieved, Kagome stopped pulling against the hanyou's rough grip. She wasn't sure why Sesshoumaru had volunteered to spend time with his younger brother, but at the same time the company wasn't unwanted. It had been hard for Kagome to talk to Inuyasha ever since the incident in the Gospella.

"Who invited you?" With another inconsiderate tug, Kagome was jerked towards the hanyou. Almost instantly, Kagome could feel Sesshoumaru's hand wrap around her wrist and pull her in the opposite direction with even more force.

"I don't need your permission, hanyou." He very literally snarled, frightening both Kagome and Inuyasha with his intensity. Wisely, the hanyou let go of Kagome's arm, but kept a melodramatically sour attitude about it, crossing his arms and baring his fangs. "Feh…"

Becoming calm with the victory, Sesshoumaru let go of Kagome and began his stride down the steps, pausing only brieftly in a silent command to his maid and younger brother. Obediently they followed after him, the mood having taken a total 180. Inuyasha looked to the side, whispering bitterly. "Yeah, well…she likes me better."

Kagome grit her teeth with exasperation. She was too angry, too upset, too aggravated to say anything to either of them. She cared about Inuyasha, very much, yes, but to say that it was more than Sesshoumaru would be a lie. And that he had said it just to make the youkai prince angry…That Sesshoumaru treated her as some sort of property that 'belonged' specifically to him…

Sesshoumaru refrained from responding to Inuyasha's comment, staring out in front of him with his face set in stone. Something was bothering him, something that he could probably confirm if he could just bring himself to turn around, but he would never give Inuyasha that sort of pleasure. Why? He frowned despite himself, making his way away from the temple. Why hasn't she denied it?

~

The farther the trio made it from the temple, the more the mood softened. Kagome almost gained a skip to her step, forgetting her anger and really beginning to enjoy this trip into nature that she felt like she hadn't experienced for a long time. The sky was a wonderful blue, the air wasn't too warm or too cold, and everything smelled sweet and clean.

"So…" Kagome, after having finally gathered the courage to speak, walked a little faster to catch up with Sesshoumaru. "Where are we going?"

Nothing. Cold and expressionless, Sesshoumaru ignored the innocent question. Confused and a little hurt, Kagome stopped and watched her master's figure as it bobbed away from her. Inuyasha snorted, giving Kagome a sly grin when he passed her. The human girl growled to herself, dejectedly strolling alongside the hanyou. "Shut up, Inuyasha."

It was Sesshoumaru's turn to be amused. "Really, Inuyasha."

Kagome spontaneously laughed, finding something very enjoyable about Sesshoumaru's almost joking tone of voice. It was almost like she was back home with her friends, talking and walking and not worrying about anything at all. Almost.

On the other hand, Inuyasha enjoyed it considerably less. "Why are YOU siding with a human wench?" Inuyasha barked out to Sesshoumaru's back, winning himself an angry glare from Kagome.

Again, Sesshoumaru fell into silence. Kagome pursed her lips, turning to Inuyasha with a barrage of insults on the ready. "You…" Yet, the moment her eyes rested on Inuyasha's, she paused. His cute ears were swiveling this way and that, and for some reason he was staring down at her with a sort of fascinated look, eyes wide and questioning. At a lack of words, surprised by the almost childish expression, Kagome kept her eyes locked on his. "…Eh?"

Shaken back into his senses, Inuyasha turned away with a blush and began to charge forward, avoiding Kagome's blank stare. The whole time, Sesshoumaru listened keenly.

Just when she thought it was over, ready to start up walking again, the embarrassed hanyou stopped a few feet in front of her, just as suddenly and unexpectedly as his weird behavior only a few moments early. "Oi."

Sesshoumaru stopped as well, ears twitching in anticipation. Ignoring the presence of his elder sibling, Inuyasha continued. "You…when…Are you ever going to leave?"

The last few words were just gibberish, hardly distinguishable to Kagome. "…What?"

Ruffling cloth, a light puff of wind, and with incredible speed and finesse Sesshoumaru was once again looming over his younger brother, eyes narrowed.

He pulled his arm back, looking ready to punch the hanyou in the blink of an eye, but something held him back. Fangs visible and threatening, Sesshoumaru turned to his maid. He said something to her, along the lines of 'We're going back,' but she could hardly hear him. In the moment when he had spun to her, the heavy, hanging material of his outfit flashed in front of her, causing her to instinctively raise her hands over her face. Thrown off balance by the sudden movement, Kagome toppled back, landing on her back.

"Oof!" Kagome dropped her hands down next to her head, the wind temporarily knocked out of her stomach.

"Are you…" Sesshoumaru threw out a hand, blocking Inuyasha's view of his maid. With hidden concern the youkai prince crouched down over the slightly disabled girl, searching her over with his eyes.

"I'm fine…" With one hand Kagome pushed herself up into a sitting position, rubbing her stomach with the other. "I think…we should go back now." She wasn't sure of the reason, but the fall hadn't only hurt her abdomen. In fact, now she had the strange feeling that there was something heavy pulling down on her heart, and at the moment all she wanted was to go back to her small little room and lay down.

~

They had made the walk back to the temple in silence, Kagome's chest and stomach throbbing occasionally, causing her to raise her hand to the area and attract the attention of the two 'men' she was traveling with.

Sesshoumaru made it a point to silence Inuyasha whenever he spoke, but the truth was he too was a little…curious to the condition of his maid. That wasn't to say he was worried or anything, just curious. That answer went across more smoothly in his mind than any of the other possibilities.

They all split off without a word when they reached the entrance to the temple. Inuyasha swiftly disappeared behind the building, presumably to perch himself in a tree to think as he normally did after a stressful situation. Sesshoumaru strode back in the direction of his room, and Kagome began doing the same.

What happened…? She sighed heavily to herself. Things seemed to be going downhill lately…That argument with Sesshoumaru back at the castle, and now this. Even Inuyasha is probably mad at me…He hand rose to her collarbone, searching for the coins, as she had learned to do almost instinctively now. Kagome's footsteps slowed down as her hands began to search more frantically along the hem of her gown.

The coins…Stopping, she patted both sides of her collarbone, even pulling the neck forward a little so she could see if perhaps they had slipped down lower. But they were nowhere to be found.

Spinning in place, Kagome turned this way and that, looking at the ground, checking her dress for pockets that didn't exist, even feeling up and down her own sleeves. The coins…where are they?! Where are mom's coins?!

That's when realization hit her. When she had fallen before, on her back…As fast as her body allowed she twirled 180 degrees, pushing herself off and breaking into a sprint, back into the direction that she had just come from.

~

Unexpectedly, a wave of instinctive youkai senses flooded Sesshoumaru's nerves. It was as if something inside of him had just pulsed, causing a ripple effect throughout his whole body. It's her…He didn't need to think or confirm, he just acted. With awe-inspiring speed and agility Sesshoumaru had gone from the hall leading to his own room to the entrance of the large building, eyes jetting this way and that, searching for his maid.

The pulsing feeling again, causing his ears to start ringing. …What? She was running. She was running away. Her legs were moving at an incredible pace, carrying her faster and faster down the stairs, and farther and farther away from…him. His heart started to race, in a way that he had never experienced before.

She's running away…

The pulsing had become a throbbing, and it seemed that everything in his vision was getting slightly skewed. Angry, territorial youkai senses had overcome his logic and reasoning, and without allowing himself the chance to think he was racing down after her, with a swiftness that rivaled even Kouga's. And this time, Kagome was at a very clear disadvantage.

Kagome didn't have a chance. By the time that he had reached her she had no idea that he was coming, and even if she had, it's not like she could've avoided it. She had just reached the base of the stairs when the impact struck, her head flying back from backlash and her legs flying out from under her, catching her completely off of guard.

Before she had even touched the ground (mind you, she had no idea what was going on in the speed of the moment) a tense hand gripped onto the back of her neck, spinning her around and pushing her down onto the ground. Kagome's heart was absolutely beating like mad. Her breath had become instantly become shallow, and she had been so startled that for that brief moment when she was freefalling to the ground she seriously thought her heart may have just exploded.

Her wide eyes shot up, expecting to land upon the grim reaper himself, and she left out a large breath of air, almost a whimper, as soon as her frightened gaze met Sesshoumaru's angry one.

"Se-sesshoumaru-sama!" It came out as a squeak, so much air having collected in her chest that she was finding it hard to breathe.

The youkai had his clawed, ready hand raised and tensed at the side of his face, looking ready to plunge it down into Kagome's throat at any instant. He would have done so already had it been anyone else, even his brother, but it was as if something was holding him back. He struggled valiantly against the invisible force, eyes narrowed and fangs gleaming in anger, hearing only the throbbing in his ears and seeing only his maid's pale face.

Everything in Kagome; courage, warmth, feeling, it all seemed to sink to the pit of her stomach. "Sesshoumaru…sama…what are you doing?"

Sesshoumaru's forehead was twitching from the effort of the personal battle raging inside of his head, not sure where to place the strange pain in his chest. "You…you would leave."

Kagome's whole body was heaving, heart beating almost painfully against her ribcage, so scared that her shoulders were shaking.

"…What…?"

Slowly, stressfully, Sesshoumaru lowered his hand to his side, staring down intensely at his maid. "You hate it so much…?"
A bead of sweat dripped down Kagome's forehead, and she could feel it, very distinctly. "Sesshoumaru-sama…I don't…don't know what you're talking about…"

"Shut up, you disgusting wench! You hate it…with me so much? You brainless fool…You'd be stupid enough to even try to run? I should just kill you right now, you human bitch, I should've killed you a long time ago."

There was no more uncertainty in his voice, just anger. Pure, hurtful anger. And Kagome wasn't one to take it lying down, especially not now when she knew the source of it.

"Run…you mean run AWAY?!" Her heart still beating like mad, and rage to rival even Sesshoumaru's, Kagome leaned her head up towards her master's. "What are you thinking?! No, wait, I know what you're thinking…But why would you think that?! I wasn't RUNNING AWAY! How…how DARE you call me a brainless fool, a disgusting wench?!"

Red washed over Sesshoumaru's vision, and he was so livid he was having problems breathing through his clenched teeth. Forgetting his restraints, his feelings, he pulled his hand up high again, absolutely ready stab his claws into her chest, when something she said made it through the thick fog that seemed to be surrounding him.

"Sesshoumaru, I'm not going to leave you!" There was more than that, more padding and more sentences and more insults and comments, but that was the only thing that he heard, and it was enough to extinguish the fire that had been engulfing him. Hand still over her face, he stared down at her, searching her expressions and trying to read them even with all of the distracting emotion.

Kagome, who noticed the change of mood, wisely stopped her stream of yelling. "I wasn't running away…I promise, I wasn't…I just…when I fell back there, I dropped something…"

He seemed to be letting down a little, as far as the intensity of his expression went, but his poised claw still bothered her. Very cautiously she scooted back just a little, raising her hand and putting it gently over his.

Sesshoumaru's eyes darted from Kagome's eyes up to her hand, and his expression flitted from anger to shock to confusion to nothing and back again so quickly that she didn't know what to think.  

Appearing under control again, and the palpations almost completely gone from his chest and head, Sesshoumaru pulled away from his maid, standing and brushing himself off. Kagome followed suit, feeling safer but still unable to control the shaking in her hands that was caused by the impulsiveness of the attack, rather than the fear that Sesshoumaru would actually hurt her. Even with his poison claw at her throat, it was hard for her to imagine in her own mind that the youkai prince, cruel and merciless as he may be, would ever kill her.

They exchanged glances, Sesshoumaru looking slightly disgusted and disappointed, and Kagome looking like she had just run a marathon. She gripped her hand to her chest, closing her eyes after a few moments to recollect herself.

"I…I almost died." She finally breathed out.

"It was of your own stupidity." The youkai prince replied calmly, in the process of pulling down his sleeve which had been rolled up during his rash attack.

"M-my own stupidity?" Kagome whispered a little harshly, hand shaking against her chest. "When you came up behind me…My heart…It stopped…"

"Don't be foolish. If it had stopped, you'd be dead."

"That's my point! I almost died…You could've given me a warning, called out after me, anything…"

Sesshoumaru didn't reply to this. He himself didn't understand the reason he acted like he did. He had almost completely lost control, something he did very rarely, and exclusively when there was no danger. And then, even in his blind rage, he couldn't bring himself to kill the girl…Even with her shouting insults, treating him with disrespect, talking to him as if she were somehow on equal grounds with him.

Kagome decided she wouldn't push it. If he didn't want to say anything, fine. He had really frightened her for a moment there, when his eyes were so intense that they seemed to be turning red, when his cheek started twitching like that of an angry dog.

"Se…Lord Sesshoumaru-sama…May I go get what I had dropped earlier…?"

With a slight nod, Sesshoumaru brushed past Kagome, heading in the direction of where she had fallen only half an hour ago. Kagome knew that he would want to come with her, so he didn't argue. It might be a little embarrassing to tell him the origin of the coins, but, as long as she found them she didn't mind.

~

"It was around here somewhere, I remember…" Kagome was on her hands and knees, searching through the grass for the coins. Sesshoumaru stood to the side, arms crossed nonchalantly, just watching.

"You'd better not be lying about this, human."

"I'm not! I know, I fell right here, this MUST be where I lost them…" She reached out blindly in front of her, waving her hands through the dirt and shrubbery in hopes of feeling the cold metal.

"Mm…" Almost unconsciously, Sesshoumaru had been searching the area with his keen youkai eyes as well, eyes falling onto something that he could sense gleaming a few feet to the right of his maid.

In fact, he had caught sight of the glimmer at least ten minutes ago, but he wanted to see if the girl would be able to find it on her own. However, it was getting boring and almost pathetic as she had skimmed over the shining object at least five times, so he finally decided to point it out to her.

The expression that washed over her face was nothing short of relieved and euphoric. She scooped the three coins into her hands, staring down at them with sparkling, almost childish eyes. Sesshoumaru watched, only vaguely paying attention to the girl. His focus was actually on the shining objects she was grasping. It had taken him a few moments, but it suddenly occurred to him that they were coins, specifically coins that were used with the lower peasants, much too small and worthless to be used within his own castle. And then, in a few more moments, another epiphany hit him. He had seen those coins before…When he had been asleep, watching his maid get captured by Kouga. At the very beginning, she had been given a few coins by her mother. That she had kept them…

Without a word Kagome slept the coins back into the collar of her dress, standing and turning to Sesshoumaru, a wide smile on her face. "Thank you, Lord Sesshoumaru-sama."

He moved his eyes up to her, pausing before nodding curtly. Ready to get going, Sesshoumaru turned his back on Kagome, taking a step before she stopped him.

"…Ah…Sesshoumaru-sama?"

The youkai prince stopped in place, turning his head to face the girl. He just raised an eyebrow as acknowledgement of her question.

"Ah…well…Inuyasha isn't here, so…Do you…well, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to take that walk…?"

~

"You're a different sort of youkai than the ones I heard about when I was younger."

Kagome and Sesshoumaru had been walking for a little while now, about random, meaningless sorts of things, when somehow the conversation had fallen upon youkai.

"Such as?"

"Well, I remember in particular one story I heard my mom once talking about…It used to go around the town that there was an evil demon who wandered around the forest at night, and he exclusively ate virgins, so…"

Momentarily Kagome could've sworn that she heard Sesshoumaru let out something not far from a laugh.

"…What?"

He shrugged calmly. "…And how would this youkai know who was a virgin?"

"Well…I don't know. Smell, right? Youkai's can smell that, can't they?"

Again, that sound. "…Hm." He looked somewhat amused, even with his trademark frown. "You do know what 'virginity' is, don't you?"

"Of course I do!"

"Virginity isn't something that can be…Smelled. It's a concept, more than anything else. Of course, if a youkai or human has just mated, there are signs that youkai can pick up better than humans, but…To say that a youkai can 'smell' virginity would be like saying that they could smell someone who's broken a rib…It's just a physical change. The breaking of the hymen…"

Kagome blushed. This was not the direction she was planning this conversation to take. To hear this kind of talk from someone like Sesshoumaru, was…

"What's wrong with you? You act as if you've never heard this before."

"It's not that! It's just…hearing it from you…'mating' and all of that…"

"All right, so what do you humans call it?"

Kagome swallowed hard, looking to the side and going over possible subject changes in her head. "So, what plans do y-…What plans does Lord Sesshoumaru-sama have for when we return home?"

It was a sad attempt, and Sesshoumaru normally wouldn't have fallen for it, but there was something that stuck out in his mind. "…Home?"

Realizing the choice of words herself, Kagome paused. "Well…it is Sesshoumaru-sama's home after all…"

"And your home?"

"Back with my family, of course…Oh, look…We made it back already." It seemed that the time had passed more quickly than normal, and before she even realized it, she was standing with Sesshoumaru in front of the temple.

"Mm." Without a second glance the youkai turned away from her, heading towards his own room. Kagome was tempted to call out to him, to say 'thank you' or something to that effect, but she decided they had talked enough for the day. It was almost too much for her to handle. And so, with a somewhat lighter heart and the coins safely back where they belonged, Kagome returned to her little chamber to finish that nap she started.

~

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Kagome was sleeping peacefully, curled up on her futon, when she heard the sound of a hand knocking on wood. She sighed heavily, rolling over and opening her eyes wearily. "Come in…"

The door slid open, revealing Inuyasha, foot tapping and looking very perturbed. "You slept all day! It's time to go."

"Hm…?" Kagome sat up, indeed feeling as if she had just spent a whole day napping. She peeked out behind Inuyasha to see that the sky was already pure black, and the light wind blowing into the room was cold and even a little wet. "All right, all right…"

Throwing her legs off of the bed, Kagome stood up with only a minimal amount of post-sleep fog, stumbling over to the hanyou and pushing past him.

"Mm, where is…"

"Not here, let's go, we're already late." Inuyasha, with his arms crossed, stomped past Kagome and down the hall, leaving a more powerful air of annoyance than normal.

"Mm…" With another little groan Kagome followed the hanyou, down the side of the building, around the corner, and into the large room where Kaede was waiting with Sesshoumaru.

"Finally, we're all here." Kaede gave a little wave of her hand, motioning for the three to follow her farther into the building. At the very end, a few feet away from the wall, was a low wooden table with four traditional pillows on each of its sides. After the old priestess had taken her seat, the other three followed suit, Inuyasha shifting around uncomfortably on his legs, Kagome looking shyly down at the table and Sesshoumaru looking unphased as always.

"So…You have something for me, I assume?" Kagome looked up when Kaede spoke, but looked down again when she saw the old woman's eyes on Sesshoumaru. He nodded slightly, pulling something from under his arm that Kagome hadn't even noticed was there, and pushed it out into the center of the table.

It was the brown package that Sesshoumaru had received earlier from his father, and the first time that Kagome could remember seeing it.

"Hm." Kaede gathered the package into her arms and slowly pulled loose the piece of twine that was subduing the parchment. As if on its own the paper straightened itself out, pulling away from its contents and revealing it for them to see.

"What is it?" Inuyasha leaned over the table a little, trying to peer into Kaede's lap. Ignoring the question, she lifted it up and placed it onto the table, pushing it towards Sesshoumaru.

It was a skull. A very large skull. More specifically, it seemed to be the skull of a cow or bull, which Kagome presumed was a youkai judging from the intact fangs that were so large they jutted down below the chin. She shuttered silently to herself.

"This skull is…?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly, examining it with only minimum interest.

"It is the head of a youkai that has been preying on young women for a few decades now. It previously lived in the forest outside a small village, just a few miles from here."

Preying on young women…? It couldn't be…Kagome stared intensely at the bone in front of her, trying to read its history in its slightly cracked and yellow cranium. It seemed Sesshoumaru had the same idea, as his attentiveness had been immediately peaked by the time she finished the sentence.

"So?" Inuyasha was less than impressed, turning his body to the side and placing his elbow on the table. "What does this have to do with my father?"

"Not much." Kaede pulled the skull towards her, lifting it off the table and placing it to the side. "It was just a formality. In order for a trade to occur, most sides must have something to give."

Inuyasha glanced at her, bored. "And what would an old hag like you have?"

"The shikon no tama." Sesshoumaru answered the question, looking over at Kaede. The old woman just nodded.

"Hm? What's that?" It was almost like Inuyasha tried to sound stupid. Sesshoumaru let out a little snort of disgust.

"Do you pay attention at all in classes?"

"Shut your mouth!" Inuyasha shouted across the table, ready to start up something before Kaede wisely decided to silence him before it got violent.

"This has very little to do with the youkai skull." Turning her attention back to Sesshoumaru, Kaede continued. "The reason I am giving your father this is because I trust him. And I know that he can protect it better than I can. You MUST make sure it gets to him. If it were to fall into the wrong hands…"

A cold chill unexpectedly went down Kagome's spine. She shivered a little, spinning herself around to stare back into the direction of the door. Suddenly, everything in her body was very, very cold, and she swore she could hear footsteps. "Is there something wrong?"

It was Kaede who had first noticed Kagome's strange behavior. The human girl kept on searching into the darkness behind the door, the hem of her dress gripped tightly in her hands. "…I think someone is coming."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at his maid's strange behavior, because if someone really were coming, he would have been able to sense it far sooner than any human could.

Kaede pressed on. "Are you sure?"

"I…Yes." Kagome continued staring, the cold feeling growing more and more powerful in her chest. "It's…"

Abruptly Sesshoumaru stood, focusing his attention on the door. He could smell it now. His maid had been right; someone was coming. Kaede and Inuyasha were on their feet soon after, staring expectedly at the door, waiting for someone; anyone. Tense with the heavy air that had just filled the room, Inuyasha momentarily glanced over to his brother. "Sesshoumaru, is it…"

"Naraku!" Kagome quietly breathed out, confirming their fears and bringing Inuyasha's attention back to the doorway. Naraku's silhouette was framed deathly still in the opening, so far down the hall that he was only an ominously dark shadow. But still, even at that distance, Kagome was almost certain that she could hear him…laughing.

~

"Naraku, what are you…" All of Inuyasha's instincts had been brought on end, his dog ears standing stiff and erect in the ephemeral youkai's direction.

"Just wondering what all the commotion was about." Naraku's silky voice echoed throughout the grand hall, as with incredible grace he glided forward, followed by the shimmering figures of his three maids. As they approached, Kagome became captivated with the little girl just a little to the side of Naraku. Her eyes were up, attentive, focused on Kagome's. She was glowing…A haze came off of her, like when the sun struck water, or when dust was abruptly blown off of a solid surface. For some reason, Kagome just couldn't take her eyes away. Kanna was looking at her; at only her, with such melancholy intensity that Naraku, Kikyou, Kagura, Sesshoumaru; the whole room just melted into darkness.

"Naraku!" She was suddenly brought to her senses by Kaede's scream, stumbling back into the table when she saw how deathly close Naraku's hand had come to touching her face.

Sesshoumaru grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side, next to him, hissing low under his breath. "What's wrong with you?"

Startled, Kagome looked back at Kanna, who was now staring blankly down at the ground in front of her, having lost the illusionary beauty that she saw before.

"Naraku, leave here. A temple is no place for an unrest spirit." Kaede, with astonishing bravery, hobbled swiftly around the table to confront the dark youkai. "There is nothing here for you."

"Oh?" Naraku grinned smoothly down at the old lady. "But I believe there IS. The shikon no tama…I have heard of it, yes. My curiosity has already been peaked! Please, if you would be as kind as to…"

It was Sesshoumaru who stepped forward this time, facing Naraku at an equal height. "Leave."

"Intimidating, really, Sesshoumaru." Naraku glanced only briefly at the youkai prince, turning his attention soon after to Kagome, giving her a little grin that caused her to shrink further behind Sesshoumaru in fear. Sesshoumaru had noticed the look, and immediately raised his arm just slightly, covering his cowering maid from Naraku with his thick white robes.

Naraku just snorted a little, turning in the other direction and taking a stride towards Inuyasha. The hanyou, who had up until now been staring exclusively at Kikyou, raised his claws and turned his head to Naraku. "Don't you take another step, or I swear I'll…"

"You bore me, Inuyasha. So tactless."

With an angry roar Inuyasha leaped forward, swinging his fist wildly at Naraku. He easily dodged the attack, letting out something not far from a giggle. "There will be plenty of time for this later, hanyou. Why don't you play with Kikyou until I'm done?"

Carelessly throwing a hand in the air, Kikyou stepped forward, drawing Inuyasha's attention away from Naraku. While Inuyasha was busy staring blankly at his empty maid, Naraku approached the wall that was on the opposite side of the table, placing a hand gently on it.

"It's somewhere in here, is it not?"

Kaede stumbled towards Naraku, holding out a hand. "You mustn't…!"

"Quiet, hag." Without warning Naraku threw his arm to the side, striking Kaede down with amazing strength and swiftness. "If you won't tell me how to open it…Well, not a problem."

And with that, he plunged his fist through the wall, yanking it this way and that until all of the thick plaster (as of opposted to the paper that was used for the doors) was scattered along the tatami floor, leaving a decent sized opening. Kagome was shocked to see that he was right; there was something in there. Standing in a glass case on a short pedestal was a pinkish-purple jewel that sparkled from the dim candlelight that it was now exposed to.

"Hm…" Naraku smirked. "It's beautiful."

Kagome, who had been watching the whole thing in amazement, was suddenly pushed to the ground as Sesshoumaru leaped forward with his claw outstretched. Naraku was caught just slightly off guard, and as such he just barely avoided the blow, jumping back.

"You…" He hissed, brushing some of the heavy black cloth restraining him to the side.

Without a word Sesshoumaru dived forward once more, providing a more difficult opponent for Naraku than Inuyasha had ever been. Kagome stumbled to her feet, raising a hand over her mouth as she watched her master fight with the man she believed to be dead.

"Girl!" Kaede suddenly hissed, lying on the floor with her hand up to a bloody stain on her shoulder. "The shikon no tama! Get it!"

"B-but…"

"GO!"

Kagome quickly looked towards Inuyasha, who was stuttering something out to Kikyou, and then to Sesshoumaru, who was effectively distracting Naraku. Kagura looked just barely amused, eager to watch but obviously unwilling to actually join in on any of the fun.

Taking a deep breath Kagome followed Kaede's orders, dashing forward with shaking legs, and without looking back she prayed with all her might that she would go unnoticed pushed herself up into the hole. As she dropped down onto her knees she swung her head back to the hole, waiting. Nothing. Kagome breathed out heavily, relieved, and made it towards the glass case, gripping it tightly and pulling it smoothly from over the sparkling jewel.

Outside, Naraku had just noticed the dark-haired girl slipping through the wall. Frustrated and unable to take his attention off of Sesshoumaru he literally screamed out to Kagura. "Get the jewel!"

Kagura sighed heavily, unwilling and annoyed. "Fine, fine…" Half-heartedly she leaped onto the table, rearing back to dive into the hole in front of her when she was suddenly tackled down by a white streak. She tumbled for a few feet before pushing herself up and perching back delicately onto her legs, growling angrily at her attacker. "Sesshoumaru…"

~

Kagome was only a few inches away from the shikon jewel when she suddenly felt something digging deeply into her arm, yanking her back. She cried out as she came in contact with something soft, looking up to see Naraku grinning slyly down at her.

"Hello there, love."

"Let go of me!" She hissed, realizing the desperateness of the situation. I can't let him get it…she thought anxiously, heart beating like mad. I can't!

With all the strength she possessed Kagome yanked her whole body to the side, reaching out farther and farther and farther, praying that somehow she would be able to reach the shikon no tama, praying that she would come in contact with the cold jewel.

Miraculously, she was able to give her body a little leeway as her arm slipped through Naraku's hands. He hadn't been expecting the resistance, and by the time he had tightened his grip and pulled her back towards him, she had somehow managed to grasp the powerful bead in her hand.

"How dare you…!" Eyes suddenly alive with fire Naraku poised a hand at Kagome chest, rearing back to plunge it into her.

She saw it and instinctively closed her eyes in fear, doing the only thing she could in the situation. Gripping the shikon no tama so tightly she almost swore she could feel it break, she threw her hand out towards Naraku, and screamed.

~

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGH!"

Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Kagura, Kikyou, Kaede, and even Kanna were distracted from their fighting by the bloodcurdling scream that was emitted from the room. There was a little shimmer, and then in an explosion of light a greenish yellow ray of energy burst out of the shikon jewel's chamber, filling up the temple hall and seemingly stopping time.

Silence followed the scream, and darkness followed the great swell of light. "What…what's going on…?!" Inuyasha muttered, finally having found the breath to speak.

Sesshoumaru was alert and on his feet, looking this way and that but unable to see anything, even with his keen youkai senses. It was as if he were blind, swimming in darkness, unable to make it through to help…to help her. The darkness now seemed to be gripping at his chest. That's right…She was in there. What had happened?

"Nngh…nng…" There was a thud, a groan, and finally words. "K-…Kagura…Kikyou…"

Kagura was sitting on the ground just as blind and helpless as Sesshoumaru. "Naraku…?! Where are you?"

Kikyou stood silently to the side, observing the whole situation. She could see perfectly. She could see Inuyasha turning this way and that, she could see Sesshoumaru desperately trying to focus his eyes, she could see Naraku stumbling out of the hole with his hands clawing at his eyes, and she could see Kagome standing behind him with a look of astonishment. Soundlessly Kikyou turned to Kanna, who was glancing at the ground, with the same emptiness that she always had.

"Kanna…"

The little girl just nodded.

~

What just happened…? Kagome looked down at Naraku's twitching figure. The shikon no tama was still hot in her hand, and perhaps except for the ache in her arm she felt no different. Perhaps a little tired, but…

Then she saw Kikyou. The beautiful woman was totally unphased to the situation around her, waiting for Naraku's groaning to die down before she walked over to him. Kagura was blinking madly, as if there were something horribly painful stuck in her eyes, and Sesshoumaru was staring blankly down at the ground in front of him, his attempts at focus obvious by the creasing of his eyebrows.

Kikyou stared down at the man, hate and anguish flickering in and out of her expression, before looking up at Kagome. The younger girl took a deep breath, opening her mouth to speak. "Ki…Kikyou…"

Kikyou didn't respond. With an expression now that was just a little tired, she walked over to Kagura, taking the youkai woman's hand as if she were a young child and leading her over to Naraku. Kagura growled low in the back of her throat, blindly searching through the sleeve of her maid's robe and pulling out a small white feather. With her teeth grit from the effort of trying to bring sight back into her eyes Kagura began to spin the feather around, collecting wind around it. A small tornado formed on her arm, and as it crawled down to her torso the figure of her hand melted away. Finally, in a great leap of strength a long curl of wind surrounded her, Naraku, and Kikyou, pulling them into the tornado until they could no longer be seen.

And then…they were gone. The wind died, dissipated, and left nothing in its place. Kagome watched in amazement. How did she…? Wait, Kanna! She looked up in realization that Kanna must still be there, she must still be…gone? The place where Kagome had last seen her standing was empty. She frowned a little, delicately stepping out of the hole in the wall. She must have walked out…I wonder where they went…

"What the hell is going on?!" Inuyasha suddenly bellowed, swiping at the air in front of him. "Naraku, Kikyou…Where the hell are you?!"

"They're gone, Inuyasha." Kaede groaned, dragging herself over to the table, the blood stain on her shoulder having grown bigger since the last time Kagome saw it.

"Gone…? Why can't I see?! Where's Rav-…"

"I'm right here, Inuyasha." Kagome said quietly, her voice bringing Sesshoumaru's sightless gaze up.

"And the shikon no tama?!" He continued, inquiring nothing about her condition. Kagome just sighed.

"I'm fine, thank you…And I have it. It's right here." Kagome walked over to Kaede, helping her sit up on the pillow and rest her back against the table. "It's right here, Kaede…" She held out the purple bead, taking the old woman's hand and pressing it inside.

"Thank you, girl…" Kaede said with a shaky voice, crackling from pain and age.

With that taken care of, Kagome crawled over to Sesshoumaru, a little hesitant to speak. "Sesshoumaru-sama…are you okay?"

"Hey…What about me?!" Inuyasha barked from the opposite side of the room.

Sesshoumaru's eyes swiveled to the sound of his younger brother's voice, opening his mouth to speak.

"Shut up, Inuyasha."

Kagome had said it all for him.

~

Author's Note: Hot DAMN this is a random chapter! All right. Few things. First of all. I totally totally TOTALLY did not spellcheck this. Well, I did, but not after page 9. Or so. The whole Naraku coming in, is totally NOT spellchecked. I'm just so tired and I want to go play Wild Arms 3 so I'll look it over after. Merry Christmas everyone! As yesterday was Christmas. Happy winter solstice to everyone else! Everyone get what they want?

And yeah, it was random. I kind of made Naraku my own character, since I haven't seen/read Inuyasha in FOREVER and I do not remember what he talks like. I remember he's evil, but that's pretty much the extent of it. My present to all of you is that this was a lot longer than I intended it to be. I could've cut out a lot. But I didn't. Even though I guess a lot of it ended up being random and just sort of useless. Ah hah…Sorry. Maybe I do put too much clutter. Well, I don't know…not going to worry over it. I'll try to start the new chapter soon! I THINK I know where I'm going…err…I think.

JAA, MATA NE!