Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha. :sob:

Chapter 39: The Journey Begins

InuYasha walked over to a corner pulled on his undershirt and haori, grumbling about 'that wench' and 'stupid beads'. Kagome held her arms against her stomach. Having him laying on top of her didn't fell too well, considering she wasn't feeling too well in the first place. She watched him as he sulked in the corner, giving him a scowl before turning back to straighten out her blankets. Serves him right! She told herself. He shouldn't have just jumped on me like that, it really hurt!

All of a sudden she felt his head lying in her lap, and heard him letting out an apologetic growl. She wasn't about to let him off that easily. She merely turned her head away from him. Then InuYasha increased the low rumbling and nuzzled into her hands. She sighed and lifted her hands to rub his ears. There was just no staying mad at the hanyou, especially when he was being so affectionate. Kagome stopped rubbing when there was a knock at the door.

"What do you want!" InuYasha yelled. When no one answered, he stood up and jerked open the door. " I said what do you want?" InuYasha crossed his arms in his usual way. Kagome could just see Haru and Jaken staring back through the crack of the door. She pulled the blanket over herself and listened in.

"Lord Sesshomaru requests your and the human's presence in the main hall as soon as possible." Jaken answered. Haru just stood there giving InuYasha an evil glare. Apparently he was only curious about Kagome being in the room with InuYasha.

"Fine. We'll be down in a minute." He answered, slamming the door shut. "Better get ready." Kagome nodded and opened her bag searing for something to wear. She decided on a deep purple kimono that only went down to her knees. She had so much to think about. Kagome still had something to tell InuYasha, something that Kaede had told her, but she just kept making excuses to put it off. He had to know, but she had no idea to how he would react. When Kagome finished dressing, InuYasha grabbed her by the hand and led her down the stairs to the main hall. Sesshomaru was already sitting down on one end of the table, the little girl Rin sitting on one side and Jaken on the other. He motioned for InuYasha and Kagome to take a seat directly across from him. On the table were all sorts of foods. The two sat down. Kagome fidgeted a bit; she didn't really feel all too comfortable around Sesshomaru, even if he was helping them out at the time. She figured InuYasha must have sensed her distress because he pulled her close to his side and squeezed her hand under the table, away from everyone's view.

"Eat. We will be leaving shortly." Sesshomaru stated. Kagome looked to InuYasha, he nodded. Soon they were all eating in silence. Kagome once again grabbed InuYasha's arm. He looked over to her and smiled. His brother looked at them from across the table with a sense of wonder. "The miko is coming along?" he asked. Kagome looked at InuYasha. Would he take her with him?

"Yes she is. You don't think I'm gonna leave her here do you?" InuYasha shot a look to Haru standing by the door, releasing a low growl. He didn't like the inu either. Kagome knew for sure that Haru didn't like her or InuYasha being there one bit.

"Under the circumstances, I would have sent the human back to your little village." He replied, then stood up. InuYasha, Rin, and Kagome followed suit. They all followed Sesshomaru out the door and into the front garden, then stopped. Rin ran off with Kirara picking flowers.

"Miko. InuYasha has told me you are the one who believes this Suoh is still alive. Why?" he looked past InuYasha straight to Kagome.

Kagome gulped. She really didn't like Sesshomaru staring at her like that. "I-I sensed him. H-he's trying to steal my powers again, I just know he is." She tuned to InuYasha; looking at him made her feel much more calm. "That's why I was getting those headaches and always feeling so tired. His spirit must have been moving close enough to drain some of my energy. When Kaede helped me to find him, his body was almost completely reformed. By now he should be back to normal if not more powerful."

Sesshomaru nodded, taking in the information. "And now you have more than your miko powers at stake if the youkai finds you." Kagome gulped and nodded at the same time. "If he had been reformed from a new body then his scent has most likely been changed. That is why you haven't been able to track him down."

"Then how are we going to find him?"

"You know that answer, InuYasha. Your miko is the key. She is linked to this youkai, if she realizes it to that extent or not." He looked directly into Kagome's face. "If she cannot find him, then our search is over. You will just have to wait until Suoh comes after her." He turned back to InuYasha.

InuYasha seemed to be in deep thought. "I need to talk with Kagome." Sesshomaru nodded and motioned for Rin to follow him back inside the castle.

"I'll do it, InuYasha. I have to, I'm the only one that can find him." Tears formed behind her eyes. Kagome hoped that she would never have to see Suoh again.

InuYasha's ears flattened. There was no other way. She was scared to death, but she had to do it, she had to be the one to track down Suoh where InuYasha could get rid of him once and for all. "I'm going to be with you, Kagome. Everything's gonna be fine. This time I'll make sure Suoh dies, I promise." That's all I can do right now, Kagome, give you yet another promise. I won't let you down again. I can't.

She smiled. "Let's go get him."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Kagome was scared as she used part her new miko powers to scan the surrounding area for Suoh. She, InuYasha, and Sesshomaru had traveled through the day into the late afternoon until they reached the place Kagome had described at Kaede's. Sesshomaru had been right. It was exactly how she remembered it. Kagome had never tried to make contact with a youkai before other than in Midoriku's training , and trying to contact Suoh freaked her out even more. But, with InuYasha beside her, she had to at least try. He didn't look too happy about it either.

"Have you found him yet?" he stood impatiently by watching her intently.

Kagome shook her head. "I don't sense him anywhere near here. I'll keep trying." She once again closed her eyes and started to concentrate. She knew the feelings that rose within herself when she sensed Suoh. She knew the hate, and anger, and fear that she couldn't help but fall to. That's how she would know when she finally reached Suoh. What would happen when she finally did reach Suoh was what scared her the most. If she's able to find him, that meant that he was also able to find her.

Kagome knew she had already lost a lot of her energy to Suoh. It was enough to completely reform his body plus some. He was defiantly better at finding her than she was at finding him.

"If your wench doesn't find him soon we'll have to stay out here for another day."

"And we'll stay out here as long as we need to, Sesshomaru. If Kagome needs more time then that's what she's gonna get."

Kagome tried to block the voices from her head. She was glad InuYasha wasn't rushing her like he usually was, but right now she needed to concentrate more than anything else. Then, she hit something. Not Suoh, not exactly anyway, but his presence. He had been here before, as she already knew, but she sensed his aura now. It was everywhere around her, but the aura was old. He had left here weeks ago and had not been back since. She opened her eyes and sighed.

"What is it?"

"The aura here is old. He hasn't been around here for awhile now."

"Can you track him down? Is there some way you can follow his aura?" InuYasha placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know, but I guess I'll try." She closed her eyes again and followed the aura. She was seeing the aura's in lights. There were smaller aura's everywhere, one's she couldn't really define. She saw her own aura, a miko's blue glow. And Sesshomaru's, a strong yellow surrounding him. Then there was InuYasha's; a bright white light making it hard for her to breath. Even though she had her eyes closed, she could see him. His silver hair flowed with the light, his golden eyes shimmering. Kagome pulled herself away from him, she had business to take care of. Suoh's aura sent chills up her back making her hair stand up on end. Black swirling with a midnight blue. It was all over the place, but very weak and traveling in all directions. She picked one direction and followed it.

It seemed like hours she searched, following one trail only to find a dead end. It was difficult because Suoh's aura was changing, growing stronger with every new trail she followed. She was looking for the most resent aura she could find. Kagome was tiring fast. If she didn't find the right way soon, she would have to give up and try again after she rested. She didn't want to wait that long. As far was Kagome was concerned, the quicker she got this over with the better.

"Kagome!"

"InuYasha, quiet! I can't do this if you're yelling at me!" she spoke without breaking her concentration. The trail she was following now was different from the others. It was the strongest one yet. She watched as the light swirled in one direction, and turned down another. It was traveling further west, most likely he was going into hiding until he thought he was strong enough to beat Kagome and InuYasha. But this was the one, this was the trail Kagome had been looking for. It was stronger than the others, and fresher. This was the last path Suoh had traveled. She couldn't tell how long ago it had been since he was there, but at least now they had a good idea of where to look.

She opened her eyes halfway and pointed in the right direction. "He's that way." She said sleepily.

"Are you positive, miko?" Sesshomaru looked down upon her.

Kagome nodded. "I'm pretty sure."

"Then we will go."

InuYasha nodded, helping Kagome to her feet. She wobbled a few weary steps before InuYasha scooped her up in his arms. While Sesshomaru was turned in the opposite direction, InuYasha lowered his forehead to Kagome's and his voice to a whisper. "You did great, Kagome. Get some sleep, the rest is up to me and Sesshomaru." He gave her a quick nuzzle before turning back to his brother. "Alright. She says he went west, so we go west." The brothers set off in a run. InuYasha sniffed as he went along, trying to capture any scent that might have belonged to Suoh. Kagome hid her face in his haori as she slept silently in his arms. InuYasha had a tight grip around her as he ran. She really gave it her all. He thought.

Hours later the brothers were still at it, the sun just starting to peak over the horizon signaling the start of another day. Kagome was still sleeping soundly, and InuYasha's stomach was starting to growl, but they didn't have time to stop and eat. He planned on traveling until Kagome woke, then they would stop for a rest and some food before heading out again. Soon the sun was above their heads and the heat of the new day was already beating down on them hard. Sesshomaru would occasionally glance over at the two. InuYasha wasn't sure why his brother kept looking at his mate. It made him uneasy. Finally she started to stir in his arms, slowing opening her eyes and looking up into his. InuYasha skidded to a stop, Sesshomaru following suit right beside him.

Kagome yawned and stretched her arms into the air. "InuYasha? Where are we?" she asked, looking around.

"Don't know. Wherever you pointed us to wench." He replied. She wiggled against him until he lowered her to the ground.

"This Sesshomaru will be hunting." Sesshomaru left in a flash, and Kagome started a fire. Her head was groggy from sleeping so much. It made her feel lazy.

"Can you tell how far he is from here?" InuYasha asked.

Kagome closed her eyes and concentrated. Once again she followed the auras around her, Sesshomaru's heading off into the forest, InuYasha's and her own lingering near each other, and Suoh's. They were defiantly heading in the right direction; his blue/black aura still a great deal ahead of them, but closer all the same. She opened her eyes, sighing and looking to her hanyou. "I don't know how far, a day's travel maybe. But we are going the right direction."

"One day? Keh. Then tomorrow he's history and we're going back home." He laid down on the ground in front of Kagome, placing his head in her lap and twitching his ears.

Kagome smiled at his unasked question, all too happy to oblige. Her fingers stroked the furry appendages, receiving a soft growl from the hanyou. His eyes were closed with his arms crossed against his chest. InuYasha's breathing started to even out, a sign that he was drifting to sleep. He carried me all night long. Kagome told herself. He deserves a rest. She continued to rub his ears even after she was sure he had fallen asleep. Kagome smiled as she looked down over his features. His eyelids fluttered softly as he dreamed. His sliver hair gleamed and glistened under the gentle sunrays. InuYasha's lips parted slightly as he released a small sigh as he slept; his arms and chest rising and falling in rhythm with his breathing. He's cute when he's sleeping. She thought as she used her fingers to tuck away a lock of his fallen hair.

Sesshomaru returned to the came not too long afterward, placing the game he managed to catch on sticks above the fire. He sat on the other side, a good distance away from his sleeping brother and his mate. Kagome tried to ignore him, continuing her assault on InuYasha's ears.

"He doesn't know, does he miko?" Sesshomaru suddenly spoke up.

Kagome looked straight at the inu-youkai for the first time since she had arrived at his castle. Her eyes were wide with shock and confusion. "I…h-he…"

Sesshomaru looked away, returning his attention to the cooking food. "Never mind. The look in your eyes tells all."

"Ho-how did you…?"

"Do not take me for a fool as my younger half-brother. This Sesshomaru is not one to overlook such a detail. He will come to the same realization, eventually. It is not something that can be hidden from him for very long. He does have…feelings…for you after all, and as your mate he his obligated to see to your needs."

Kagome held back a sob. "I'll tell him. Just not now. InuYasha has enough to worry about without me putting an even bigger burden on his shoulders. As for now, I'm taking care of it." InuYasha chose then to stir from his slumber, letting out a loud yawn before rolling over and pushing himself to his feet.

"Mmm… food." He walked over to the fire and reached for two of the sticks over the fire, handing one to Kagome and keeping one for himself. "Eat up, wench. In a few hours we're leaving."

Kagome nodded, giving the youkai one final glance before she started eating on her food.

A/N: "Mmm…food." .' that's Yasha for ya. I wonder what Kagome and Sesshomaru know that he doesn't know? Hmmm…. I just wonder…

Countdown to battle: 2 chappies! (I think)