A/N: Thanks for the review, Kikyou-San. Knowing people are reading helps keep me going.

Chapter 3: Motives Revealed

Midori smiled at Rin's antics in the garden. What she couldn't understand is how such a sweet girl survived here. At one point she felt a slight shiver down her spine, but when she turned, there was no one there. She looked up the wall, but couldn't make out if anyone was at the high windows or not. So she shook off the feeling and continued watching Rin.

Rin kept chattering away about this and that, but Midori wasn't really following her. Instead she lost herself in her own thoughts. 'He was interested in my ring. Why was he interested in my ring?' She glanced down at her hand. She'd had the ring since before she could remember. 'Since before I could remember? Kyoshi said I couldn't remember anything from before they found me. Maybe my ring has something to do with my past. Maybe… maybe it can help me find out where I come from.'

She was jerked out her thoughts as she heard Rin yelling out, "Sesshoumaru-sama!" Midori straightened and turned to see the inu-yokai entering the garden. She froze with fear as Rin ran over to him. The inu-yokai looked down at her and his expression seemed to soften slightly. "Rin-chan, go and find Jaken. I need to talk to Yumiko-chan."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama." The girl ran out of the garden through the door Sesshoumaru had left open.

As he looked over back towards her, she suddenly wasn't as afraid. A strange sort of determination replaced the fear. Sesshoumaru may or may not have noticed, all the same, he crossed the few feet between them and looked down at Midori. He was silent for a moment, as if trying to find the best wording, and Midori took advantage of that. "Why am I here?"

She wasn't sure, but she almost thought she saw slight surprise flash in his eyes. "Don't you know? Even half neko-yokais are forbidden in these lands."

Midori stared back at him. "What does that have to do with anything? I'm not a yokai."

Once again, she thought she thought she an emotion flicker in the yokai lord's eyes. "Then why do you posses a yokai artifact?"

Midori blinked. 'What is he talking about? He couldn't mean my ring… could he?' "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do. You just don't want to admit it." He turned. "Very well. But you should know that you will not be leaving here until you accept the truth." He left the garden as quietly as he had arrived, leaving a very confused Midori behind.

She watched him disappear before leaving the garden, herself, and making her way back the way she had come. She suddenly felt very drained and wanted nothing more than to lie down on a futon and sort things out. She surprised herself by finding her way back to her room without getting lost. She slid the door shut behind her and collapsed on the futon. 'Why is this happening to me? What did I ever do to deserve this?' Without meaning to, she slipped off into a rather disturbing sleep.

She clung to the folds of fabric, trusting the arms holding her as she was carried through the forest. Something… something was chasing them. Without warning, she was pitched into the air. She landed on her feet and heard words that seemed to come from far off. If only she could hear what was being said, she knew it was important, but she just couldn't make it out. Then the fear gripped her and she ran. Trees flashed past in a confusing blur as her feet ran by themselves. She had no way of knowing where she was or where she was going. The light trickling through the branches was minimal. Then suddenly she hit the ground face down. She curled into a ball from the pain of landing on tree roots. She knew something was going to happen, but nothing did. She looked up and saw two golden orbs staring at her. There was only the slightest sign of hesitation held in them. Once again her body acted without her knowledge and she caught herself whimpering. Then the eyes were gone as quickly as they had arrived. After a moment she clamored to her feet and continued her wild running until she reached water, where she finally collapsed from exhaustion. She said something, some sort of incantation that she could no longer remember, and the ring on her finger flashed, drawing her into it's light for a timeless sleep that would change her life forever…

Midori jerked awake. 'What the hell was that about? It all seemed so real, like it actually happened. And those eyes…' She stood and looked out the window. It was late evening and the sun was almost completely gone. 'Did I really sleep all day?' She walked over to the door leading to the balcony and walked out. She faintly noticed there was another door to the left that probably led to another room as she walked over and leaned on the railing. It really wasn't that bad a place to be stuck. 'It's better than what I expected, that's for sure.'

After a moment or so, she felt a now familiar chill run down her spine. She turned and saw Sesshoumaru standing in the doorway she had noticed. The silence between stretched for an eternity before he spoke.

"I was wondering when you'd come out. You haven't eaten all day."

Now that he'd said it, Midori noticed the gnawing pain in her stomach. She blinked, trying to decide how to respond, but before she could, Sesshoumaru lightly grabbed her wrist and was pulling her toward the door. "I'll have the servants prepare you something to eat. If you have any preferences you can tell them."

In the short trip through Sesshoumaru's room, Midori noticed that it wasn't very much nicer than her own room, though there were a lot more scrolls and papers lying around. As they walked through the hallways, Midori noticed that Sesshoumaru seemed to be shortening his steps so she would have an easier time keeping up, and the grip on her wrist stayed loose, almost not there at all.

When they reached a room that was obviously the dinning room, Sesshoumaru called for servants, who scurried in. "Make whatever she asks for and bring it out." The servants bowed and turned to Midori.

She blinked, having never been waited on in her life. "eto… rice is fine." The servants bowed again and rushed off through a small door. As the door slid shut behind them Midori noticed Sesshoumaru looking at her oddly. After a moment of locked eyes, Midori looked away, muttering, "eto…"

Sesshoumaru moved to the table and sat down, motioning to the seat across from him. "Sit."

Midori cautiously sat on the mat, being sure not to make eye contact. They waited in silence, Midori starring at her lap trying to ignore the yokai lord staring at her. She had started to wring her hands when the servants finally returned with a bowl of steamed rice. They placed it in front of her and scurried back off through the door. Midori hesitated slightly when Sesshoumaru continued to stare at her but then picked up the chopsticks and began to eat.

She had to concentrate to keep from dropping her food from shaking. Why does he keep staring at me? She got through only a few bites of food before setting the chopsticks back down. I can't take this.

Just at that moment, another servant rushed in and, after bowing, whispered something to Sesshoumaru. Midori caught the words hanyou and waterfall. Sesshoumaru dismissed the servant and stood. "I have business to take care of. When you are done eating you will return to your room." He then turned and glided out of the room, leaving Midori sitting by herself.

She sighed in relief when the door closed behind Sesshoumaru and after a moment, picked up the chopsticks and began to eat again. I wish he wouldn't always stare at me. It creeps me out. She finished eating, leaving only a small amount in the bowl, and stood. She backed away from the table as a servant came forward and took the bowl then headed to the door. For a moment she thought of exploring, she could always say she just got lost, but then decided against it. I have an odd feeling he would know.

She made her way to her room, again surprising herself by not getting lost once. She looked out the door and saw that the sun had completely disappeared and night had begun. After closing the door, Midori walked over to the futon and sat down. After sleeping all day, she wasn't particularly tired, but she really couldn't think of anything to do. She sat and let her mind wander, and wasn't too surprised when it landed on Kyoshi. He must be so worried. Why didn't I listen to him? Why couldn't I have taken his words a little more seriously? He was always warning me not to go off on my own, especially at night. I hope he's alright.

Midori flopped over onto her side then rolled onto her back, starring at the ceiling. She continued to let her mind wander before she finally drifted off to sleep again.

Glossary:

sama : Suffix meaning Lord or Lady. Very respectful

inu-yokai: dog demon

chan : informal, used with younger females.

Hai : yes

Neko-yokai : cat demon

Yokai : demon

Eto : used as "um"

Hanyou : half-demon