Hello everyone. I've got another update for you—apparently even finals don't slow me down. XD My new fic will start at the next update! Hope you guys will give it a chance, heh. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!:

I closed my eyes, and felt Naraku's power, sensed his strength. Almost all of it was gone—not only had his barrier been destroyed, but the Shikon half was now in my possession. When I opened them again, I saw my father stagger a little. His strength…had also been drained. Alarms set off in my head.

"…What…happened…?" Inuyasha reached over and helped him stand fully. His eyes began to droop down. He noticed this and quickly shook his shoulders. "Hey…hey…are you okay!? What's going on!?"

"Let him rest." I instructed Inuyasha. "He has…done enough. Take him away from here…I will be the one to finish this fight."

He almost dropped the Emperor upon hearing this question. "What!? No way—I'm going to finish off Naraku!"

My eyes turned red—I was growing very tired of this pettiness. "Go." I snarled at him. "Before I-"

A small dagger whizzed by suddenly from behind my shoulder. It was aimed straight at our father's left temple. An evil laugh came from Naraku. "You utter fools—your needless crave for revenge and honor is what separates my ultimate strength from yours."

In a flash, I sprinted towards the dagger. The very end of my fingertips caught the bottom grip of it just in time—and even then, the blade had already cut a little into him. His already weak body became limp. My mind panicked with a force of sudden fear—…but no. Upon studying his face closer, I was relieved to see that he was just unconscious.

"Hey! He's getting away!" Inuyasha cried stupidly. And indeed, Naraku took flight out of the high window, disappearing from sight.

"Of course he is." I said calmly without batting an eye. "This was his intention. A simple diversion with a dagger. And…I let my guard down long enough for him to do this…" I slammed my fist against the wall suddenly. Bits and pieces of the brick immediately snapped away.

Inuyasha ran over to the window. "Should I follow him?"

"…You may if you wish. But I suppose it will be a fruitless effort—Naraku is fast to cover his tracks."

He nodded. "I'm willing to take the chance. He probably hasn't gotten too far…" With that, he leapt up to the brim of the window and jumped away. After a moment, I let out a heavy sigh that had been bottled up for hours. Naraku was full of lies and deception, I knew…but perhaps what he had said he held some truth as well. I fully understood that I sacrificed some of my finely-tuned battle skills and perception when I swore my love to Kagome. This is the nature of the youkai, as I said from the very beginning. Consequently, though, I was not able to fight very strong and agile foes…such as Naraku. Before, I could have defeated him easily as I once did, but now…now we were equals. Evenly matched. Kagome could not receive my maximum protection, either. My warrior-like senses had been dulled by the feeling called love. And now, I was seeing a real-time example of it. This battle…it had opened my eyes to the truth of what was happening to me.

"We must find someone to treat those wounds." I helped the Emperor leave the room and back down the castle's steps.

After I led my father to a place to rest and receive treatment for his wounds, I quickly walked down the hallways to see what the situation was with the battle outside between the humans and the youkai. It seemed to have died down considerably—Naraku's lack of presence seemed to have an effect with their desire to fight. In fact, no humans could be seen anywhere...except, of course, for those who laid slain on the ground. And there were many...and an equal number of dead youkai. I gave orders to the remaining warriors to bury the dead, so they might receive a proper, dignified ceremony before moving on to the next life.

I talked to one of the youkai. "What happened here?"

Upon seeing me, he immediately bowed down and lowered his head to the ground. "We were fighting a fierce battle, m'lord." He mumbled. "Those human archers in particular are extraordinarily deadly. But we held our own ground, sir. We kept battling back and forth until something very peculiar happened. You see, the humans just suddenly got up and left. They retreated back into the woods without another word. It was most bizarre."

"...Indeed." I answered. "Rest up for now, soldier. And tell the rest to be on their guard—another attack could happen at any moment...and most likely will."

He nodded. "Aye, m'lord. Well said." He bowed again, and then ran off to convey the message to others.

Once he was gone, I continued to walk around and survey the area. I took in a deep breath...held it for a few moments, and then slowly exhaled. Traces of the human's scents told me that they were hiding somewhere not too far from here. It would be easy enough to scout them out, but I decided that I had more important, more urgent things to worry about than the petty humans. I continued to shout random orders to anyone of a high rank who happened to be passing by. Once I became confident enough that the area was secure, I walked back to the castle's front gates and traveled inside.

"How is he?" I inquired to the older sensei youkai who was helping to treat the Emperor.

"His condition is stable, Sesshoumaru." He answered after a moment's thought. "Some sort of massive amount of energy has been drained from him, and as a result, he has been knocked into a temporary coma. How temporary it will be, I cannot say."

I quickly glanced over to his bed. "But he will recover, correct?"

"I'm afraid that it may not be anytime soon. I am not able to tell at this time how long it will take for your father to regain his energy."

"I see." I replied quietly. "Arigato, sensei. You may leave now—I will call if you are needed again."

He nodded. "His wounds will recover in time. Later on in the evening, I will have to give him some fresh bandages."

"Hai, hai." After he left, I strode into the room where he was resting silently. I bent down to study his eyes—the pupils were dark, indicating that he was not seeing out of them. I sighed with quiet frustration and moved over to the nearby window to gaze from it. Had I failed with my entire purpose of coming here? Would he never recover from the battle?

"I'm back!" A loud voice declared suddenly from the other side of the room. I turned around to see Inuyasha in the doorway.

"You could not find him, I suppose? As I said, a fruitless effort."

"Now just stop right there for a minute, Sesshoumaru." He answered angrily. "No, I wasn't able to find him, but I was able to pick up his scent. Naraku is traveling east, near the river."

I raised an eyebrow. "River?"

He nodded. "I can't say for sure what he's up to, but whatever it is, it can't be good...maybe his lair is somewhere in that vicinity?"

I thought about this for a moment, then shook my head. "...No, he wouldn't choose an open place, such as a river. If anything, that must be a temporary spot to rest for him."

"...Maybe." Inuyasha looked over to the bed and realized it was our father. "How's he doing?"

"His condition has become stable, but he is still unconscious."

"Still? How long will it be until he snaps out of it?"

I shook my head. "It cannot be said." I looked at him coldly. "You must not expect him to recover in an instant, Inuyasha. Naraku's barrier was powerful, and only an amount of strength as great as the Emperor of the youkai could be the hope to break it. He succeeded in doing what you could not."

"...Hmph." He moved away from my glance. "I just...needed more time...I can learn that technique, too..."

I growled angrily. "You were given all the time you needed, and yet, you put it off for another day. We are incredibly disappointed-"

"-Shut up!" He snapped back. "I said I'll learn it, okay!? Besides, I didn't see you helping out any with that stupid sword of yours!"

My blood immediately began to boil. "My sword is not like yours. It is vastly different, and can serve different purposes. Our father did not intend for them to work against each other, but only to help the other in a situation. Your sword failed to do this, Inuyasha."

He shook his head. "I'm...I'm going to learn how! I'm going to figure it out!" He turned from the door and slammed it shut.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. His inflated ego was his greatest weakness, and here was a prime example of what it was capable of doing to his judgment.

I glanced at the figure in the bed. He had not moved since I last looked at him, but I couldn't help but wonder if our loud bickering was not helping with his recovery process.

I moved to the window of the room again and walked out onto the balcony. The sun was slowly setting comfortably against the hills. I could feel all living things within the forests gradually quiet down for the night. A slight wind brushed against my face...and I thought of her. I wondered how everything was going back at the human castle. Perhaps she had managed to convince everyone that Naraku was the real culprit and not the youkai, with the help Sango and Miroku? I could not know for sure, but somehow...my heart told me that she was able to succeed with this task.

"Kagome..." I mumbled miserably. I leaned against the railing for the balcony and continued to look at the sunset. She was so many miles away...and my instincts told me, somehow, that she was thinking about me right now too. I could almost feel her presence next to me...and then, it was gone again, just like the wind. Oh, how I missed her...

I heard a movement suddenly in the room where my father was resting. A quick glance into the window told me that it was the sensei returning to give him new bandages for the night. I walked back inside. "Has his condition gotten any better?"

He dipped the bandage into a bowl of water and sighed. "I'm afraid not. Perhaps we will see some improvement in the morning, however." He glanced at me. "You should find rest as well, Sesshoumaru. I hear the cooks have prepared dinner at the lower level. It would be best for you to eat and retreat to your bedroom for the night as well. Your mind will be more at ease."

I nodded. "Hai, perhaps that is a good suggestion. Very well, I will leave now. Has Inuyasha come back yet?"

He shrugged. "I have not seen you brother for quite some time. I suspect he has gone outside to train—he was carrying his sword when I saw him last."

"Indeed." I answered stiffly. "Well, I shall take my leave. Immediately send for me if his condition changes at all." He nodded, and I swiftly left the room.

The dinner was excellent—I had not eaten proper food for a respectable taiyoukai in a long time. The cooks appeared pleased that I was finally showing some gratefulness towards their labors, and more food was readily brought. Eventually, when I ate enough of my share, I retired back to my bedroom for the night. The futon felt cold and lonely, but this was a feeling that I had long before gotten used to. After a period of lying there, I closed my eyes and fell asleep. Kagome had paid yet another visit into my dreams—this time, we were back at the ballroom when we first came here...when we first began to fall in love. She was teaching me how to dance, as it was expected for the King and Queen to step down to the floor for the party. It was the first time that she was in my arms...the closest she had ever been. It was a memory that I treasured deeply. It had been the first time that I had taken the time to notice how wonderful her scent really was...how graceful Kagome could really be...how happy I had gradually, unwillingly, came to be.

"I do not deserve her love…" I mumbled through sleep. "After all the things I said about her and the humans…I do not deserve her love…"

Later I was walking peacefully down in the garden walkway. From afar on the balcony, I could see her in the distance…she was so beautiful. So truly beautiful. And I think…I think it was then that I began to see her…in a new light. She made me rethink my entire perspective with humans. The wind blew gently in her hair, and the scent just barely traveled down to my nose. It was intoxicating. And she seemed, to me then, that she was searching around, looking down below for someone. Was it…me? Could I dare to imagine that? No, surely not.

"Kagome…" My hand gripped my own soft pillow while under the covers of the futon.

For the next few days I had been faced with a dilemma. I was starting to fall in love with her, involuntarily. It was no use to deny it to myself—the fact was simple and plain enough. But to a human? A few, mere days ago, I would have laughed if someone would have told me that I would soon fall in love with a human. And as much as I did not want it to be, my love happened anyways. Feelings, I learned, were something I could not control. But I was faced with another dilemma. Were her feelings the same? Could she truly love a full youkai? I didn't feel so. No, it was not rational. Faced with the prospect of rejection, I said nothing to her, made no responsive gestures. Perhaps then, in time, my love would have faded.

And then, it happened. Kagome was unexpectedly kidnapped. Without a second thought, I quickly followed after traces of her scent upon receiving the message that she was gone. Something inside of me…it had finally broken free. And that was when I knew. I knew that I needed her, needed to be with her. After a battle, I brought her back home to the castle, where our relationship formed.

And I needed her more than ever now as well. As my peaceful dreams of her began to come to a close, the sun rose up slowly to fill my window, brightly shining down on my face. I woke up quietly to leave my dream for a lonely, empty futon.

Review Responses:

Wake-Robin: Nah, I guess he's not really dead…heh. Yeah school's a real pain…

xypherscompany: Nope sorry, looks like you're not the first reviewer. XD And I have no idea what you said for that other part…lol.

m1s7ress: Oh yeah, I heard about the whole plagiarism thing…that really sucks. On the other hand, you should feel complimented that your work is so good that others would want to steal it, ne?

butterflyrin: Yeah, the end of this fic will happen soon enough…so many loose ends to tie up…well thanks for reading!

Hell's Angel-Heaven's Demon: Man, that sucks! Hope you're classes become slightly less boring. And no, I never did see that movie. Actually, I don't even know what the guy looks like…

Inugirl: Don't blame ya there! Hope you like it!

Tsuki Yume: Wow! Vira wishes she could have that much time off…school will end Wednesday for her.

Cali1043: Yeah, I have to start making them a little shorter though, otherwise I'll never finish this thing…

yuki kesuma: Oh yeah, I hate Science…evil Chemistry to be exact! Hahaha, Vira's last name has nine letters too…

inulover2004: Short and to the point, I guess. Oh well. Glad you like it!

KouseiJL: Good to see ya back! Hope you like the next chappys too!

are-en1: Hahaha…patience. We'll see the plot unfold soon enough…until then, have patience!

Di-Anna: Huh? If you've read all of my stories then why is this the first time that I'm seeing you review!? Lol. Glad you like 'em though…

zeddy222: Is this fast enough? Hope you like the rest!

Looks like that's all. I'm glad my readers haven't given up on me yet. XD Well anyways, like I said, my next fic will start on the next update, and until then, you can read this chapter! R&R! Arigato, ja ne!