Author's Notes: Aw, I'm evil aren't I? But now perhaps all those complaints of "Hey the shower-scene thing is getting redundant" will go away, right? Ah no, seriously now- that's why I played up the shower-scene thing- so not only Kagura, but the readers of the story as well would just automatically think "Eh, it's just Sesshoumaru again. No worries."  See- I did have a reason for that. :)

And guess what- all you people that don't like short chapters- this one ran 3- count 'em- 3 pages over!

Let's see…ah, I stuck some more author's notes at the end of this chapter because they wouldn't make much sense before reading it, so yah- keep an eye out for those near the end.

I also want to take the time (and you know, delay you finding out the result to my evil cliffhanger further ku ku ku) to thank my reviewers once again. It does indeed mean a lot to know how many people out there seem to like my crazy little fanfic. o.o;;

And- since I'm rambling, just a friendly "Hey if you need something else to read" message of- check out my other fanfiction and my wonderful beta-reader's stories (she's under the author name KellyChan85) since without her this story wouldn't be what it is!

Okay okay, enough of my quirkiness. Onto the story!

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If there's one saying that tends to come to mind when bad things happen, it's that "you don't know what you've got until you've lost it," crap. And that's exactly what I thought it was- just complete bullshit.

Maybe it's because I always thought about that saying in regards to money. The stories of the rich and famous who lose it all in one big financial failure or end up spending it all on an extravagant idea that falls through. So of course, since I never really had much money to call my own- I couldn't really see much logic in it. Who gave a damn if some rich snot lost all their money because they blew it all on some fling in the Caribbean? I sure as hell didn't, and I'm pretty damn certain not many others would either.

But, I think this time- the whole concept- the whole reason someone came up with that saying and decided it was to be stuck into the "big book of sayings that everyone learns" had finally sunk into my brain.

I'd called him everything- a bastard, a pervert, a jerk, and countless other ones that I couldn't think up at the moment. I was always finding myself so pissed off at him and how he worked.

And in that single moment. That brief flash in my mind that made me realize how easily his life could be taken away. I knew what I had. And now…it seemed like I'd lost him forever.

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Chapter 25:  Hanging Up and Trying Again

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Kagura gaped in horror, the warm red liquid staining the ground a brilliant crimson.

She wasn't completely certain what Naraku had done to him, and part of her was afraid to find out. All she knew is that there was lots of blood and a deep wound on the left side of Sesshoumaru's chest. That was all she needed to know to feel the deep pangs of anger, resentment and loss coursing through her veins.

Reaching her hand down, she gently ran her finger along the gash on Sesshoumaru's cheek. He'd clearly put up a fight. A fight that… he'd lost.

Her thoughts were racing, her mind full of conflicting emotions. Hatred. Anger. Sadness. She hated the man she called "Father." She was furious that fate had caused things to turn out this way. And she was saddened by the crumpled form of the man she'd come to count on. The fallen prince who had given his all to defend her- his princess.

"Sesshoumaru…why? Why did you…you should have saved yourself. And now…now you're…" She could feel his skin growing colder, each moment bringing the horrific reality closer and closer. "Why Sesshoumaru? He's…he's…I…I loved him…"

At first the thought startled her, especially how true it now rang in her heart. But as her eyes looked over the fallen figure, she could no longer push those thoughts away as just nothing.

"What's the matter, Kagura? Not going to kiss him goodbye?" Naraku's malicious voice mocked.

"You…" She spat, her red eyes turning into narrow slits as she glared at the man.

}} "If you want to get away from your Father, then do so." {{

}} "There is a difference between dependency and co-dependency." {{

}} "If you can take care of yourself, then deal with your Father, yourself." {{

}} "Stay here until the pain stops." {{

"Sesshoumaru…I…"

}} "I loved him." {{

Emotions finally hitting their peak, she turned her eyes to Naraku.

"You bastard- how dare you bring him into this?!"

Adrenaline pumping through her veins, she lunged at him. She threw punches, even though she could feel the sharp stabs of the knife against her skin. Finally she wrestled him to the ground, the two of them embroiled in the fight to the death.

A battle of wills had begun and this time- Kagura refused to lose.

It was kill or be killed.

It was vengeance.

It was for what he'd done to Sesshoumaru.

And once she pried the knife from her Father's hands- that was all she needed.

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The room was a blur- blood seemed to be everywhere, but Kagura knew there still might be a small chance. A chance that Sesshoumaru could be saved.

Staggering across towards the phone, she shakily picked up the receiver and called the police. Vaguely, she could remember telling them what had happened. The whole morning a disembodied jumble of events in her mind- nothing seeming like a distinct beginning or ending to what had happened. She just knew that Sesshoumaru needed help. And he needed it now.

And within minutes, the sound of nearing sirens reached her ears. With that reassurance in mind, she just sat there on the edge of the bed. Her eyes just staring blankly at the two bodies on the ground before her.

"I killed him. Naraku. He's dead. But…" She paused to yank the sheet around her chilled form, "But at what price?"

The pounding on the downstairs door alerted her that someone had arrived, and somehow she found herself walking down the stairs to let them in.

Everything just seemed so foggy, each moment, the faces of the police and paramedics blurring in her mind as they slowly helped her into the ambulance.

And she just sat there- like a puppet who'd had her strings cut loose. A limp, hollow figure who couldn't think or do anything. She had her freedom, but the price was one she wasn't willing to pay.

Moments later, they brought down the stretcher with him on it. His pale skin, now a ghostly white as they put him into the ambulance. Kagura sat there along the side and watched him. She couldn't even remember if they said he could be saved, but…they seemed to be trying and that was enough for her.

"Why?" The question kept running through her mind.

Why did he help her?

Why did he risk his life?

Why did the price of freedom have to be so high?

Just…why?

Her hand slowly reached out and took hold of Sesshoumaru's pale one. That was all she could do now. Just hold on and hope.

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The hospital seemed cold and stale- the pale white walls making it seem like a foreign place. And in a sense, it was. The faceless people coming and going, and the paramedics in charge of one particular ambulance trying to get a certain black-haired female to allow them to tend to her injuries.

But she wouldn't hear of it, and Kagura forcefully demanded that she not leave Sesshoumaru's side for a moment.

And somehow, she now found herself at his bedside. His chest wrapped in layers of bandages and his body hooked up to several machines to monitor his condition.

He had a chance. But it was a small one. A very small one.

Now all she could do was wait.

So Kagura gently took his hand, and held it as she rested her head against the edge of his bedside.

}}"I loved him." {{

The sound of her own inner voice echoed.

And all she could do was clutch his hand tighter in hopes that she'd one day have the chance to express that feeling.

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She could feel someone lightly shaking her shoulder, and distantly, she could hear someone calling her name.

As she slowly pealed back the layers of exhaustion and sleep that had overtaken her, she could feel warmth and a comforting hand resting on her shoulder- not harsh enough to harm her, but just gently enough to stir her.

Red eyes blinked open, the harsh light bombarding her disoriented senses as she slowly brought her world back into focus.

Instead of the cold, stale hospital room that seemed only one step away from death itself, the soothing colors of the room she was in flooded her senses.

Beneath her head, she could feel the steady beating of a heartbeat that wasn't her own rapidly racing one. And her whitened knuckles ached from how tightly she was clutching to the front of the man's black silk pajamas.

Her breath hitched in her throat, her mind not able to figure out what was a dream and what was reality anymore.

Finally braving it, she slowly brought herself to look up at him.

 And as her eyes registered that it was indeed him, she could feel a single tear trailing down her cheek.

"Kagura?"  He questioned, his golden eyes narrowing in a tinge of confusion at her strange actions.

"She must have had a nightmare. She's…trembling," Sesshoumaru thought to himself, as he began to assess the situation at hand, "This isn't like Rin's bad dreams. Kagura's a full grown-woman."

That subconscious remark made him pause; not used to outright thinking about Kagura in that light.

"What is to be done about this?"

Before his mind could come to a concrete decision on how to handle it, he found himself subconscious reaching out to wipe away the tear from her face.

She flinched at the touch- as if she still wasn't registering that anyone else was with her before blinking once again and making sure that the person she saw before her was indeed who she thought it was.

"Sesshoumaru?" His name escaped her lips, as she slowly released her tight grasp on the front of his nightshirt.

Choosing his words carefully, he sat his hand on her shoulder, "Was it a nightmare?"

She nodded mechanically, her body and mind still in a state of shock of what had just occurred.

Eyebrows furrowing in thought, he slowly sat her upright, not surprised when she leaned forward against him.

"I won't let him…"

"Won't let him?" Sesshoumaru echoed, her voice becoming muffled as she rested her forehead against his chest.

"I won't let Naraku hurt you. Ever," She said firmly, her voice laced with determination and anger.

Sesshoumaru blinked for a moment, slightly thrown by the strange comment before his expression settled into a softer one.

"Things of that sort. Should be my words."

He said it before he even realized it. A vow of determined protection, to a woman who'd been haphazardly thrown into his life. Kaguya would be laughing at him now had she been there. He just knew it.

"Is it something you wish not to speak of?" He finally continued, hoping that her disoriented state had made her overlook his somewhat concerned and protective statement before.

But Kagura was beginning to sort things out. Dream from reality. And reality from dream.

Shaking her head slightly, she pulled away from Sesshoumaru; her eyes looking to where it seemed his bloody body should be lying on the floor.

"Just…Naraku. He was…he…I killed him but…but…you were…" She trailed off, eyes closed tightly as if she didn't want to make herself remember any more of it.

"I see."

The room fell quiet, its silence finally shattered by the hollow sound of the alarm going off.

"Will you be up to attending?"

Kagura blinked, her mind at first not fully comprehending what he meant.

"Rin's birthday," He clarified, standing up, "She had made it known she wished for both of us to attend."

"Oh…" She slowly moved to swing her legs over the edge of the bed, but her eyes shone with a light fear as she looked towards the bathroom.

Not fully knowing what had occurred, but surmising that whatever it was pertained to Kagura's nightmare, Sesshoumaru walked to the closet and pulled out one of the outfits they'd bought Kagura the day before.

"Go on." He encouraged her, knowing from how she acted that she was hesitating despite her mental protests to suck it up and move on.

Her legs felt wobbly behind her, her mind still reeling in the after effects of her vivid dream.

On feeling something being shoved into her arms, she looked up at Sesshoumaru standing beside the doorway.

"I won't enter," He said simply.

"He's…he's…staying here for me? Is that…what it is?" She questioned, noticing how leaned against the wall as if he intended to wait there.

"You can even blockade the doorway if you feel the need to assure I won't spy on you."

The slightest of smiles tugged at Kagura's lips then. That was the Sesshoumaru she knew.

"Well, maybe I will," She weakly snapped back, her expression beginning to ease out of the tense confusion it was entangled in before.

After shutting the door behind her, she could hear the sound of Sesshoumaru moving to lean up against it.

"Does he know that…that I dreamed about…losing him? Is that why he's staying so close to me?"

She stepped into the shower, keeping the curtain slightly open and her eye on the door.

"He did lose his Mother because of an intruder. And he knows- Naraku might try that. He's just…looking out for me I guess…"

"Or maybe it's his strange way of worrying about you," A tiny little voice in the back of her mind remarked, "You've fallen quite hard for him, what's to say he hasn't fallen for you?"

Part of Kagura wanted to yell at her subconscious thoughts for so easily admitting her feelings for the man, but the other part had to laugh at the thought that he might- just might- feel something in return.

"Who knows what that walking ice-block is thinking. All I know is that after that…that nightmare…" She shuddered slightly just at the thought, "I'm not letting Naraku win this. This is…this is my home now- whether Naraku likes it or not. I won't let him ruin this for me."

Sighing, the black-haired woman let the warm water relaxed her tense muscles.

"So, in short- Naraku's still a bastard. If he lays one hand on Sesshoumaru, I'll rip his head off…both of them," She cynically added, "And…"

Pausing, her mind froze on realizing the one other thing her dream was telling her.

"…and, I…" Kagura laughed lightly to herself, "I somehow let myself fall for "Mr. Behold my Lack of Communication Skills." Yeah…in short, my life is just getting more and more complicated…"

"I would appreciate it if you didn't use up all my hot water," Sesshoumaru's voice intoned from outside the door.

"Sue me for having a bad morning," She snapped back.

"I see we're feeling better though," He remarked in regards to her usual disposition being back in place.

"Whatever," She muttered, stepping out and wrapping a towel about herself.

Slowly she opened the door, not really in the mood to deal with him falling in on top of her.

Stepping back to let him past, she paused as she felt his light grip on her wrist.

"Sesshoumaru?"

Saying nothing, he pulled the door shut behind them.

Knowing not to expect anything from Sesshoumaru in the romantic department, Kagura crossed her arms.

"What?" She asked, completely thrown by his strange actions.

"Sit."

Kagura blinked, "Is he worried about me being out there alone? Then again, I probably looked pretty terrified when I woke up this morning…"

Not sure what else to do, she sat down by the door and hugged her knees to her chest; diverting her eyes as he disrobed and stepped into the shower.

The sound of the water started and Kagura muttered over it's noise.

"Isn't this awkward for you?"

"There is a curtain," Came the usual Sesshoumaru-style response.

Kagura rolled her eyes, "I should be used to that kind of reply by now…"

The small room went quiet another moment before he continued.

"An alarm system is to be installed while we're out."

She blinked, realizing he was trying to soothe her shaken nerves, "He knows I…I don't want to be left alone right now…"

"You could…tell, huh?"

"The context is still unknown. You were rather shaken earlier," Sesshoumaru casually stated.

"It was…a normal morning. Naraku attacked you while I was in the shower…then, came after me… I…I thought you were dead…." The muttered reply halted at the thought.

Sesshoumaru paused, pulling back the shower-curtain slightly as he looked out to the woman sitting by the door.

"No wonder she seemed hesitant to go into the bathroom this morning," He noted, thinking back to her fearful expression.

"You're just so…so…weird!" Kagura spluttered, "You act like you don't care one minute, yet the next you're letting me sit inside the bathroom while you shower just so I don't have to sit out in the house alone. Anyone else would think you're insane."

He couldn't help but smirk at her minor tirade, knowing her mind must be plaguing her with so many unanswered questions as well.

"And you don't?"

"Oh I think you're insane. I'm just dealing with it," She shot back.

"Sometimes you must cope with your companion's eccentricities," He said calmly, reaching out to grab a towel for himself.

"I'm so sorry, am I too eccentric for you?" Her sarcasm remarked.

"It surely keeps things interesting," Sesshoumaru thought to himself before replying.

"Anything would be too eccentric for my boring, iced over life," His dead-pan cynicism countered.

"Aww, no heat waves for you?"

Pulling back the curtain without much of a warning, he stepped out of the shower- nothing but a smaller towel wrapped about his waist.

"It took a long time to thaw out after the ice-age," Sesshoumaru commented, knowing she wasn't listening.

Kagura hadn't heard his last sarcastic comment. Instead she was trying to hold back the blush that she knew was rising to her cheeks.

"I suppose the steam is getting to your complexion."

She stood up quickly, snapping her head to the side, "Perhaps it is."

And before she even knew what was happening, she could feel his hand on her arm and her body being pulled towards him. Red eyes widened as she felt her cheek rest against his bare chest.

"You were blocking the door," He said nonchalantly, helping to usher her out of the room.

"Damnit- why must he always do that to me? He's a tease. A god damned tease!" Kagura's thoughts berated her, knowing she shouldn't take anything Sesshoumaru did in a romantic manner.

But as he slowly led her over to the bed to assist her with the gauze over her injuries, she couldn't help but let a soft smile remain on her face.

Because whether he meant to or not, he'd managed to put Kagura at ease and make her forget about the nightmare that had plagued her the night before.

And Kagura- deep down, was very grateful for that strange form of kindness and concern. She even found herself appreciating his cynical comments and teasing actions.

They were what made him who he was.

And she loved him for that.

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Preview for Chapter 26:

Parties are meant to be fun and games- but for Kagura it's a completely new side of life. And thanks to Rin's special requests, Sesshoumaru's going to find himself in some unique predicaments.

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Author's Notes: Part 2

All right, here's the second dose of notes from moi. In short, I just wanted to address what some of the reviewers were saying. Their claim that using dream sequences is "cliché." Well, I'm sorry- but I'm trying to write this story as true to Takahashi's original manga series "InuYasha" as I can, and if you hadn't noticed- even Takahashi, yes, the creator of the series herself, and the staff behind the anime, use dream sequences to get into a characters subconscious and make them realize something important. The best way to get into anyone's mind is through their dreams since even on a conscious thought level, you can lie to yourself about your true feelings and thoughts. And since I am dealing with writing Sesshoumaru and Kagura- two characters that aren't exactly remotely open with their emotions to begin with, delving into their subconscious is the only way to show you as a reader how they are coming to terms with their new thoughts and feelings for one another.  If I was to have them think some of these matters on a conscious-thought level, it would be OOC and I don't want to do that to them.

All right, aside from that note, let's just all breathe a collective sigh that we're getting out of the storm and back into some of the fun stuff in the upcoming chapters. :)