Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha or the story, or any of that crap (keepin it plain and simple)

Kagura's rouge eyes scanned the room. The boy had dozed off again, and Kohaku had not moved from his watchful spot in the corner. As she set down his food, his eyes snapped open.

"Hello Kagura!" Souta smiled. He had become determined to stay as optimistic as possible. As soon as a bad thought entered his mind, he immediately fought it off with an image of Inuyasha and Kagome.

He grabbed some bread off the tray, delicately tearing off a piece of it and popping it in his mouth. As Kagura turned to leave, Souta dropped the bread. "Please don't leave so soon! I have no one to talk to in here."

"I have things to do." Kagura lied.

"Oh…Well can I ask you a favor?"

"It depends what the favor is."

"Can you bring me some paper and a pen…er…quill or whatever to write with? I mean, next time you come?" Souta smiled as nicely as he could.

Kagura hesitated. "I'll see what I can arrange." She turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

'What would he need such items for? Surely a boy of his stature cannot read or write.'

Kagome shuffled her feet along the worn path. Her fingers twisted the ends of the new kimono that she wore, because the old one had been torn up by the cat-pig. Kagome sneered. It had taken some goooood scrubbin' to get that smell of her. Sesshoumaru had reluctantly brought her a new one from heaven-knows-where, and also, with some begging on Kagome's part, some shoes. Kagome twisted the green fabric adorned with small gold flowers and flower petals. The kimono, again, was nothing special, but Kagome, who hardly ever wore kimonos, enjoyed it just the same.

The girl put her hand on her stomach. Sesshoumaru had not given her food yet. She was very hungry. How long had it been? Kagome paused, her mind chatter ceasing. She couldn't remember how many days she had been traveling with Sesshoumaru. One? Two? How long had Souta been in captivity? Was he all right? Kagome felt tears sting in her eyes, and she tried to push them back. Such thoughts should not enter her mind at a time like this! 'There's nothing I can do about it right now! I'll save him, but now is not the time!' Kagome consoled herself with thinking that she was on her way to saving him, but her thoughts ceased as she almost ran into Sesshoumaru.

"Stay here."

"Hey wait! Why?!" He was gone. Kagome clenched her teeth, cursing him under her breath. She watched in her mind's eye as an image of a very small chibi Sesshoumaru drowned in a glass of water. 'AHAHAHA! That's right! Drown, Drown! That's what you get for leaving me all alone in the forest! AHA!' Kagome once again forced herself out of her insanity, and began to go in the direction he was headed. There were no demons around, well, none that she could feel so…

'Ah, he must be getting me food.'

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows and clenched her fists, stalking towards the noise of a village.

As she approached the village, she noticed a crowd of silent people standing in the center of the shacks. Kagome sneaked to the crowd, standing behind the village peasants.

"You will give me your food." Kagome instantly recognized the voice as Sesshoumaru's.

"Please, Oh Great Demon Lord! Please, I must feed my family." The miko stood on tiptoe, trying to see around the crowd of hushed people. A peasant, probably the head of the village, was on his knees, begging a taiyoukai that Kagome instantly recognized.

Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose. The smell of humans was everywhere. "I am the ruler of these lands. Surely you should have something to spare for a demon as mighty as this Sesshoumaru?"

"Our village is terribly poor, Oh Great Demon Lord! We barely have enough to feed ourselves! Please, mercy—"

"Silence," Sesshoumaru cut in sharply.

Kagome gritted her teeth. Surely he was not going to make these people suffer?! All so she could have some food? 'No way! I don't need food that bad!'

The miko touched the shoulder of a man standing nearby. "May I borrow your bow and arrows?" Kagome asked urgently. The man stood wide eyed at the young girl in the green kimono, silently handing her the bow and set of arrows. The miko grabbed the set and pushed her way to the front of the crowd. Sesshoumaru could not see her. Kagome strung an arrow on the bow, as the people close to her tried to back away. One even tried to stop her before she let the arrow fly free, it's purple-ish glow bright even in the daytime.

Sesshoumaru grabbed the arrow, fighting off the urge to wince as the holy energy burned his hand. The arrow disintegrated with a surge of his poison, as he turned around. The girl stalked up to him, delicate eyebrows furrowed, her fists clenched.

"I don't need food that bad Sesshoumaru!" She hissed to him, whispering so that no one heard.

"Quiet, you insolent human. These are my lands. I do as I please." He seethed.

The onlookers stared with wide eyes. A human girl had the courage enough to strike the demon lord with an arrow, but to argue with him too?

Sesshoumaru grabbed her wrist, twisting it behind her back. "We will leave the village. Do not say a word."

"No way!" Kagome poured as much miko energy as she could into her twisted arm, causing the youkai to reflexively release her. The girl took a step back, scowling at the demon lord before she walked over the man on the ground.

"Sir, we don't really need food." Kagome smiled at him, helping him up from his feet. "You can feed your family. Sorry for all the trouble." Kagome brushed him off before smiling again and whirling to face Sesshoumaru. She glared for a second before she brushed past him, grabbing the set of arrows and the bow. She turned to the man she had borrowed them from. "May I keep these?"

The man took a step back, confused and nervous. "Sure, sure…. Please keep them!" Kagome smiled at the man before turning once again to Sesshoumaru. She stalked up to him, staring him right in the eye. "Now we can leave." She whispered.

His mind was racing after he dragged the girl out of the village. He should kill her. His demon pride was telling him to kill her, but his intellect was telling him to keep her. He was torn between hate and weakness, and there was a little something in between. Respect? She had been dignified, brave, and strong, all the qualities that he least expected from a young human girl. He was a little confused, but primarily angry. He slammed her against a tree, pushing her so she was eye level with him.

"You should be quick to learn," he spat, "to never disrespect me again."

Kagome glared, her temper boiling to the surface. "If you hadn't been so cruel to those people in the village, I wouldn't have done that!"

"Those worthless humans weren't desiring of my compassion." His voice rose as he spoke.

"Arrogant—" Kagome paused. 'Say nothing that will get me killed, say nothing that will get my killed, say nothing…' Kagome chanted in her head, biting her tongue. She closed her eyes, pulling from her sleeping magic inside of her. A glow surrounded her body, not intended as an attack, but to cause discomfort to Sesshoumaru so he would release her from her firm grip.

Sesshoumaru recoiled from the magic, allowing Kagome to fall to the ground, landing on her knees. "Fine girl, if you don't want me to get you food, you'll have to get it yourself," he said coldly.

"Well fine then! I will!" Kagome sprang to her feet and glared at the youkai. Her bow and arrow set was in her hands as he watched her storm off into the woods. "You have ten minutes, wench." He called after her.

Sesshoumaru sat down against the trees, wanting to rub his forehead with his fingers to relieve the growing pressure and frustration. She was by far the oddest human he had ever come across. Then again, with that power that she had demonstrated, was she human? Never the less, he pondered at her audacity. Had she been born so far into the future that she had no respect for the power of demons? 'She is certainly a handful to take care of,' he thought with frustration.

The girl was back within seven minutes. She sent him a look of 'Don't…Even…Ask!' He pursued anyway. "Find anything, human?"

"I couldn't kill the cute little bunny rabbit!" She shouted. "It was there, and I had it in my aim, but I couldn't kill it, okay?! She lowered her head in humility, mumbling "the bunny rabbit reminded me too much of my pajamas."

Sesshoumaru resisted with all his might not to laugh at the girl at her own expense. "It looks as if you are unable to even kill, weak human." He said, with a hint of a smile on his face. The smirk grew a little more as she shot a gaze straight from hell at him. "I will catch you something to eat."

"Please no!" Kagome held up a hand. "I wouldn't be able to eat it! I can't get the image of the bunny rabbit out of my head! I'll just go without eating for a while, then we'll stop in the next village. When will we be at your castle?"

"Tomorrow."

"Okay, so can we stop in the next village today, and we can get some food there?"

Hesitation. "Perhaps."

"Cool!" Kagome grinned.

Sesshoumaru once again resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the strange girl.

"Kagura! Kagura!" Souta jumped up as the woman entered the room.

"What?" She spat.

"I made you something!" Souta held out the piece of parchment he had been meticulously working on for the last couple of hours.

Kagura took the parchment from the boy's hands, looking at it.

"It's a picture of you, me, Kagome my sister, and Inuyasha!" Souta narrated. "Oh, and ignore the stuff on the back. That's just me practicing my math and English so I wouldn't get rusty."

Kagura flipped the parchment over to the scribbles of some language she didn't know, and complex numbering problems. She turned to the other side again, eyes darting from the boy to the parchment. She was suddenly overwhelmingly jealous as she looked upon the smiling boy and the drawing. Even though this small boy was physically in captivity, his mind and heard were still free. Freedom was something she could never have. Not even of the mind and heart, for her heart was held captive as well. She knew if she were human, she would have an overwhelming feeling of sadness and helplessness. But since emotions were off limits to her captive heart, she could feel nothing. She simply stood.

"Kagura?"

Kohaku opened his dull eyes in the corner.

"Whats the matter? You don't like it?"

Kagura stared at him. "No, I…I—" She could say no more.

"You don't like it."

"I do." Kagura said urgently, suddenly feeling as if things were going to fast. "I just cant—"

"Sure you can!" Souta took a step closer.

"No, I…"

"Yes, anyone can! Just open up your heart and say whatever comes to your mind!"

"Heart?"

"Yep! Follow your heart. My mom always says that!"

"I don't…have one—"

"You don't? But, Kagura…of course you do."

Kagura's eyes glazed over. "Souta, eat your food. I have important things to do. Do not pester me with such nonsense again." She left, cursing herself for letting the boy's innocence get the better of her.

Kagome munched happily on a piece of bread as she walked behind Sesshoumaru. True to his word, he had stopped in the next village, and this time, due to Kagome's persistent whining and yelling, had not forced the people to give their food.

Sesshoumaru halted in front of her, obviously wanting to make camp, as it was getting rather dark. Kagome, used to the routine already, cleared a spot for the fire and pulled a log in front of it. She glanced curiously at a nearby twig, then shifted her gaze to Sesshoumaru, who was thoroughly sniffing the area for signs of demons or whatnot. Kagome gathered a few twigs and set them in front of her. Sitting on the ground, Kagome took a stick from the pile and held it in her hand, observing it. Decisively, she closed her eyes and unlocked the familiar magic inside of her, deploying it to her hand.

Sesshoumaru turned quickly as he heard a scream of pain from the girl. She was staring at a burning stick in her hand, before Sesshoumaru reacted and swatted it out of her grasp. Kagome gripped her wrist, eyes tearing at the searing pain. Tears fell from her eyes as she stared at the charred skin.

The demon lord grabbed her wrist from her, observing it. "Why did you pick up a burning stick, idiot human?"

Kagome grimaced, wiping the tears from her eyes as quickly as she could. "I…I didn't! I held it in my hand and focused my magic, and it began to burn."

Sesshoumaru turned to face the human, eyes darting from her eyes to her burnt hand. Kagome looked at him briefly before directing her attention fully on her hand. She concentrated, and sent her miko magic to the hand, not even closing her eyes. She saw the skin peel back, falling off as new skin emerged. A little raw, yes, but healed and no longer in pain. Kagome smiled to herself, admiring her new hand before realizing that Sesshoumaru still held it.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at her hand, apparently lost in thought. Awkward….yes. Kagome paused. "Sesshoumaru?"

The taiyoukai snapped out of his trance, roughly dropping her hand and standing up. He turned away from the girl that caused him much frustration and commented, "You seem to be fine, human. Be more careful next time so you do not waste my time." He jumped into a nearby tree to keep watch over her as night fell.

A.N: I really squeezed this chapter out. I mean, its not like I didn't have any ideas or anything, but I didn't find a lot of privacy to write it. Sorry for the wait!

Also, Sorry for making Sesshoumaru so…well…mean. I really wanted to keep the character of Sesshoumaru, the essence sorta. In my last story I got flamed a lot for making Sesshoumaru too OOC, and I also realized that I don't really like it when fluffy gets too, well, fluffy. I mean, it will get fluffy later, but I think I'll take it slower than the last story. (I think I just said "fluffy" WAAAAAY too many times!

Pahhleeeeze review!