HURRAY FOR ME! I'M SO EARLY THIS TIME! I just wrote like two chapters in one day, which is really really saying something. So I'm posting one of them now! And hey, if I get enough response, I'll do it again tomorrow cause I'm absolutely crazy about chapter 27. Haha, aren't you pleased?

BTW… Haha! I just realized after watching an old episode that Kaede's door is in fact made of leaves rather than beads. Oops, oh well. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Let's just assume Kaede felt spontaneous and went to a Walmart or something. Lol! They are everywhere, after all. So if any of you are like WTF about that, sorry if it breaks you're heart, but I'm not changing it. Haha!

Anyways, yeah… on to the reading.

Chapter 26: This World and That

Upon the morning of the third day, they arrived. Never had Kagome actually been in a palace before, and this one was nothing less than amazing. Located up against a cliff, its tallest tower seemed to reach above the clouds. It wasn't as foreboding as she had predicted it would be. It was a light gray, and resembled a battle fortress in many ways, but still possessed the charm of old Japanese architecture.

When they passed the gate, she was instantly greeted with many growls, soon hushed by Sesshoumaru. As she looked around more carefully, she determined that they were other members of the dog-demon family, the ones who had shunned Inuyasha because of his "inferior" mother. Needless to say, she felt no shame in glaring at them on Inuyasha's account. Some were dressed in a similar fashion as the youkai she walked behind, some were transformed into dogs, who had been the ones growling at her. The others just stared and let their eyes gnash their teeth. Suddenly, the palace felt a lot darker.

She wrapped her arms around herself as she followed through the corridors, and kept her eyes on the floor most of the time. When she did get the courage to look up, the structure and furniture were astounding. The Inu no Taisho must have ruled well, for some spaces were carved in gold and some in silver. Mostly the walls, cabinets, and floors were mahogany, and the ceilings had elaborate murals painted on with what must have been great care. It left a bitter taste in her mouth to think of how Inuyasha had been denied his right to be part of this heritage, but when she remembered how his father had put it all on the line for his mother, she couldn't help but be thankful that Inuyasha was who he was and not like his heartless relatives.

In fact, as she walked more and more through the castle, it became harder and harder to see how Inuyasha could be related to this world. Inuyasha was so free, she'd think he'd have a fit if cooped up in a place like this.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Sesshoumaru stopped at a wooden door. He merely pushed it open and stood aside, signaling to her to enter. When she stepped into the doorway, she scanned her eyes over a bedroom, and a rather nice one at that. Her room was mostly wood, with earthly green and light pink trimmings throughout. To be frank, the style seemed a bit too much like her own time, for any remnant of Japanese style were gone. A bed, just like the one in her own time, sat in the corner warm and inviting. But she dared not enter yet. She could still hear the whispers of the dog-demons, and turned to see some of them piercing into her soul with those eyes. She shuddered. Sesshoumaru answered the unspoken question, "You can lock it if you like."

With at least that bit of comfort, she entered and paced the room. Her hands ran over the delicate green fabric of the curtain, which she could tell now was made of silk. Looking past that, through the window she received a rather large view of the valley. The youkai at the door spoke again, "It seems Saku-sama is out rather materials for the time being, so you can wait here until she gets back. Just try not to mess anything up."

The door shut behind him, and Kagome didn't even notice. After what had been months of sleeping on rocky ground, the nearby bed called to her. Falling face first into the pillow, she sighed in contentment. Whoever knew a bed could feel quite this good. She turned onto her back, which needed the most attention. On the ceiling, a mural of the Inu no Taisho greeted her. Around him stood an army of demons, many different types, and all charging at him from opposite directions. The flames of the Kaze no Kizu were racing towards each enemy, but from the look of Inuyasha's father, he looked as though he didn't even swing the sword, and the light was slightly hinted with dark color. The amber eyes were strong, but Kagome could just faintly make out a flash of blue. She blinked her eyes, and the effect was gone. She had known it was there though, because she had recognized it a few times in Inuyasha's eyes. She smiled to herself, 'Maybe his father will be watching over me too.'

She turned onto her side to clutch the pillow again, and eyed the room around her. It really was a lot like the style of her age. Then again, who was she to say what the style was in this era? She had never been in an ancient palace before. The bed was the most intriguing part of the design. Kagome felt almost positive that they slept on futons, and not slightly lofted beds.

But she shook her head clear of thoughts and closed her eyes, hoping to get at least a couple hours of sleep before this Saku-sama arrived.

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White… thank god. Somehow no other color seemed quite as beautiful at the moment. And it swished back and forth constantly to remind him that it was still there. The lightness of his feet did the same. The ends of the grass only tickled his feet as he sprinted down and around the fields. Sounds of colliding rock came from above him, and he looked upward to see the blackened storm clouds. Naturally, just what he needed during a battle. At least he predicted a battle, and even if he wasn't attacked, he still planned full well upon kicking Sesshoumaru's sorry ass.

But not all the fates were against him, for shortly afterwards he saw Sesshoumaru's castle emerging from over the next hill. He smirked to himself, "That bastard won't even know what hit him."

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She awoke at the knock on the door, nearly jumping at the sound. She grumbled and burrowed her face in the pillow for a second before turning her face towards the door. "Who is it?"

"It's time, miko."

She recognized the voice as Sesshoumaru's. "Okay. Come in."

Using the castle key, he unlocked the door and stepped inside just as Kagome rose from the bed with a groan. She looked back upon the bed, suddenly longing to fall back asleep. It reminded her far too much of home. Perhaps that's why she slept so well. She had dreamt of her old room and her family. Only happy thoughts. No nightmares. With a signal of the head, Sesshoumaru told her to step outside.

As she passed him, he had to do a double take, and it was good for him that she didn't see his eyed widen for but a moment. But it was gone, just like that. For a second, he had thought for sure that the girl was vanishing.

He followed her outside, and she turned to him, "Sesshoumaru, how is it that that bedroom looks so… different?"

He walked in from of her, and she followed. "It is not to your liking?"

"No. It… It's wonderful. I just think it's odd that… that…"

"That it looks so much like your time?" he replied a little louder than his normal tone, turning to look at her for but a moment.

She stiffened at the mention of her era, then nodded sadly. He answered, "Saku-sama can predict the future. She told me how your room should be made. She said you had to both remember and forget, in order for her to help you."

"Remember and forget? What do you mean?" she cocked an eyebrow at him.

With a slight pull, Sesshoumaru opened two doors wide open, and they both entered. The room was rather large, and entirely different from what she had seen in the rest of the castle. There were no decorations here. Everything was stone, and resembled a dungeon. Though it obviously wasn't, considering it was just a floor down from her guest room. And in the middle of the room, there was a figure sitting down, covered with a navy blue cloak. Sesshoumaru stopped about ten feet away, and Kagome followed suite. She watched as an old wrinkled hand emerged, grasping bits of leaves in her palm. She released them over the small fire in front of her. "Approach, child."

Kagome looked once to Sesshoumaru, who nodded his head. She took her steps carefully, as though they might kill her if she messed up. She crossed the old miko, then sat down on the opposite side of the fire. "Saku-sama?"

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"Step aside. I have business with my pathetic brother!" the hanyou commanded.

The inu-youkai guarding the door simply growled at him in their animal states, "Runt, you'll have no place here. Be gone with you!"

Their impeccable height didn't seem to intimidate him. Inuyasha unsheathed his sword and allowed the opponents to take it all in. "Not until I get the girl! Where the hell is she?"

"The human girl? I don't know why Sesshoumaru-sama brought that weakling here, but I do suppose she'd be a good bitch to throw around," one of them smirked wickedly.

Inuyasha tightened his grip and all but barked. "If any of you so much as touched her, I'll skin you alive! I swear it!"

"Relax, runt. You won't even get far enough to see her again, so be a good pup and play dead."

They leapt simultaneously towards him, clawed poised to sink in. Their teeth clenched and smiling for blood. Inuyasha raised the Tetsusaiga, "Think again, you fuckheads! KAZE NO KIZU!"

With a swing, the white light of the attack emerged and shot out towards the inu-youkai. Only one was tossed aside due to the force, but the other one, steering around the falling body of his comrade, charged for the blow. He landed it, and swiped his claw at the hanyou. Inuyasha yelped as he was tossed into the air. But he did not fall. In mid air, he turned and raised his hand into the air. He dug hard into his own palm and swung his arm, "Hijintessou!"

The blades of blood did bearly any damage, and only managed to blind the beast for a moment. The other one, who had recovered from the Kaze no Kizu came down from behind, and Inuyasha only barely avoided him thanks to his senses. The claws came down, and he stopped them from crashing into him with his sword, pushing against them hard. They stood at a stand-still for a few moments before he managed to slice through one of the claws, crippling the mighty dog-demon.

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Sesshoumaru turned towards the door slightly as he heard the sound of a sword slicing through air and the rumbling of rock. 'He's here.'

Saku lifted her old eyes out of the shadows and smirked in an amiable manner. "Hello, child. So we meet at last."

"How do you know who I am?"

"The fire."

"What?"

Her gaze fell to the fire. "Fire tells me many things. Tells of the death from its pain and the life from its warmth. With my magic, it tells me about you. It tells me your hopes… and your darkest fears."

The way she said her darkest fears, Kagome knew she was talking about her family. Her fingers rubbed together as a reflex due to her vulnerability. "Um… why did you want to see me, Saku-sama?"

Saku's eyes fell shut and her calm face breathed in the fumes of the incense. It looked meditative, as though she drew strength from the smell. Even as a human, Kagome could smell the countless herbs coming off of her old body. She must have been doing this for a long time. The priestess spoke, "Tell me, child. About your travels with your friends. Do you have any regrets?"

"Er… no. Of course not!"

Saku opened her eyes again and looked at her critically, "Are you sure?"

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The two continued to attack, but now that Inuyasha had an upper hand on one of them, he swung his Tetsusaiga through the flesh and upwards, creating a scar about twice his length and all the way up to the youkai's chin. At last, that one fell. The other was not far behind though, and he growled furiously due to the death of his comrade. "I'll tear you apart, hanyou!"

But Inuyasha barely heard it. Already he was well positioned next to the door, and seeing as he had no time to waste, he leapt over the moat and over the gate. The youkai followed, and came down on top of him in a loud crash of nails and rock. Other youkai had heard the sound of the crash, and came running to help. They had swords of their own, and they swung at him in defense of the castle. Inuyasha deflected them, sometimes even able to push them into nearby walls and thereby putting further damage on the castle.

A symphony of snarls and battle cries met his ears, and it only enticed him to fight more. 'Kagome! I'm coming! Just wait for me!'

Her scent was there. And it was near. He just knew she was waiting for him somewhere deep inside this fortress. "Kagome!" he called out.

One by one, two by two, his blade tore through flesh. Suddenly, he felt pain surge through him. He looked down at the blade that penetrated his side, and it was a moment too long. A group of three grabbed a hold of his limbs, including the sword that held Tetsusaiga. One of them tried to get him to drop it, but the hanyou snarled and thrashed around in an attempt to escape to no avail.

"Leave him," a voice called.

Inuyasha and the youkai that held him looked up towards the top of a staircase, where an obviously high-ranking member of the household stood. "Sesshoumaru-sama will heal the dead. He'll take care of this hanyou as well."

The youkai released their hold and Inuyasha re-sheathed his sword as he ran up the stairs and into one of the palace's wings. His feet squeaked as they skidded across the wood floor. Already, he could recognize this place. Long ago, he saw himself running gleefully down the hallway, his soft white hair flowing behind him. At the end, a shadowy figure stood watching him. Inuyasha had run to them, and the figure had picked him up. The sound of a woman's laughter filled his memory. He remembered, she was swinging him through the air as they laughed together.

He snapped out of it and called again, "Kagome! Are you okay? Kagome!"

No answer. It was more than just unnerving. But he did pick up a scent. Thank god he was a hanyou again. Never had he been so happy than to be himself right at that moment. More stairs, far too many of them, as he sprinted through the castle filled with memories.

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The defiance took her back slightly. It was bad enough that being referred to as a 'child' seemed to undermine Kagome's opinion. But the woman was gentle in voice, and so she could not be angry. "I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

The miko's eyes stared long into the fire, causing her pupils to turn orange in the light, even red at some points. "You are angry. I can sense it. You want to go home, don't you?"

"I… I…"

"There is no shame in wanting that. Who wouldn't want the same things you do? It is a natural human emotion to need other people, especially one's family."

The words calmed her a bit. No, she couldn't be ashamed of missing her home. But she still felt… uneasy about being here. Saku continued, "…What would you do to get back to your family? Anything?"

She didn't even hesitate as she nodded, though she frowned at how quickly she was willing to submit that answer. But she didn't even take a breath to correct herself either. The woman's next words caused her heart to leap mountains, "There is a way."

A new hope, one associated more with heaven than earth, assailed her. She raised her eyes to look at the old miko, silently begging her to do the impossible. Silently begging for things to just be as they were before. The words couldn't possibly be held back, "I'll do it. Just tell me what I need to do to see my family again."

Her answer was quick and blunt, "You must never see Inuyasha ever again."

… Too quick and blunt… The smile faded from her face instantly. The color simultaneously drained from her face down, pooling at her knees where the ground should have been if she wasn't suddenly too numb to feel it. Nothing left to feel, nothing to hear but the sound of the crow following her cursed mind. It was too damaged to tell her what to do with this response. "You… can't be serious."

"I am, child. 'Tis the only way you can be free of this world, and the only way for him to be free of you."

Out of desperation did she turn to Sesshoumaru, though she knew full well due to experience that he wasn't about to defend her. His passive face scared her even more. The reminder that she was still alone in this world, still as insignificant as an ant. "I… I can't."

"Child…"

"Don't call me that!" Kagome got to her feet and pointed her finger at Sesshoumaru, "Is this why you brought me here, Sesshoumaru? To trick me into leaving Inuyasha? Just because I'm a weak human doesn't mean I'm about to give up on those I love!"

"Love, miko?" he raised his eyebrow slightly.

She froze, and realized she had probably said too much. He narrowed his eyes, "Just say it, girl. You love that pathetic brother of mine. So much you're willing to throw away his happiness for yours."

"NANI?" she hissed, "That's not… that's not…"

"Then what is it? Did you even consider for a second that even he can do without you?"

Her breath shivered. The heartbeat beneath her chest cracked and quivered, like a broken guitar. Slowly, she bled from the inside out. Saku stepped in again, "Sesshoumaru, no need to be so harsh about it. I know Kagome would do anything to make Inuyasha happy. Isn't that right, Kagome?"

Kagome wrapped her arms around herself, blocking out the cold air that threatened her. And Saku had said her name, for the first time in their whole conversation. All she could do was nod slowly, as though the process might break her in half. Saku asked innocently, "Tell me, Kagome. Does Inuyasha love you back?"

"I… I… Kikyo…"

"Ah, yes. The dead miko who pinned him to the tree. Is it she whom he loves?"

The air fell from her, as untouchable as sand through her trembling fingers. She gripped the hem of her skirt, letting her nails burrow into the fabric rather than her skin. She shut her eyes, and nodded slowly. As she did, one tear fell to her flushed cheek. The reminder of the pain burned at her skin. Saku went on, "Dear child. You know you would have more than just yourself to think about here. There is also Inuyasha. Your desire to be with him does, I'm sorry to say, hold him back from being with Kikyo. He only stays with you because you need him to. I know you meant no harm, but it is the truth. Only you can free him from that."

She shook her head so lightly, it was blatantly obvious to the other two in the room that she believed it. Saku continued, "And wouldn't it work out okay again? You'd get your old life back, and he would get the love that was so cruelly taken from him. All you need to do is clear your mind of your love for him. Forget about him, and you will simply fade away to your own time. With my magic, it is at least that simple."

'Simple,' Kagome thought, 'This is… anything but simple…'

She shut her eyes for just a moment as the tumult of emotion threatened to overtake her. 'Inuyasha… Inuyasha…'

Saku rose to her feet. "I'll go to your room and prepare the incantations."

Without anything else, the woman walked past Sesshoumaru and into the hallway, closing the door behind her. The other two remained. Sesshoumaru watched the girl's expressions change a thousand times in her eyes, from sadness to anger to confusion to joy. Such weakness he saw, such a deplorable existence.

Her eyes shook like ripples in the pond. Void of life and death, her soul began to wither. The water of it crashing against her, she became acquainted with the waves, stood fast to the boat that rocked beneath her. She became capsized, and in a whirlpool, she began to drown. Through the darkness of the sea that swallowed her, she could see vaguely at the top a figure of silver and red, staring down at her. And next to him, she could see Kikyo tenderly taking Inuyasha's hand and leading him away. As she watched him disappear though, she could still hear his voice, and it was screaming. Why was it screaming? 'Kagome!... Kagome!...'

"… Inuyasha…"

To be continued…

This chapter brought to you by classes on psychological methods of persuasion. Teehee!

Whew! Long chapter again! I'm just really afraid you all will get tired of waiting to see what's gonna happen with Inuyasha and Kagome finally confessing, so I'm going as fast as I can without ruining the moments. There's a lot of stuff to be writing though. It'll be worth it, I promise. And the stuff I have in the next few chapters is going to be so exciting; I can't wait to expose all! Teeheehee!

Oooh, and tell me how I did so that I can post the next one quickly! Please please please! It's a really angsty one! Awwww, so many responses for Ch 25! Hurray! Have I said that I love you! Os quiero, Os quiero, Os quiero!

Lacey Beans: Yeah, I guess… but 'ye' is an Old English word, and unless they're gonna make her speak in Old English, which sounds nothing at all like Modern English, which would be really weird, they should make it all Modern English. I don't know, that always really bugs me. But anyway, yeah I love InuKag cuteness. Especially when Inuyasha gets all mushy. (hugs)

InuBebop1016: Hey there, newbie. Thanks oodles! (hugs)

Kagome88888: Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense. Though it still ought to be consistent throughout. They do the same with Kagome where they saw KaGOme, instead of KAgome. Oh well. (hugs)

Princess of stars: I'll reveal it all to you later, so don't fret. Was that chapter too short for you? Hmm. (hugs)

Jenn-silent breed: The only thing I can say is that you're going to be happy really soon. Haha! (hugs)

Kamira: Oh I totally agree. The Japanese is way better. I personally have no problem with reading the lines the first time through, cause after that it's like you don't even care anymore. Plus, I love Inu's voice with Kappei so much more. (hugs)

Mooximxaxwhale: Yeah, I'll impress upon that a little later. Party? (hugs)

Fanficluv7Inu: Can I just say I totally love you doing that cause it makes me giggle every time? Heeheeheehee! (hugs)

Srg1: The moon thing was totally last minute and I had to go back and try to look up how long time wise it had been since the last new moon so that I wouldn't get someone saying that he was a human last week. Sure, a little paranoid, but I'm not crazy! I'm not crazy! Wsgkjhasdgfldfg… (hugs)

Kawaii-CherryWolf: Omg, I can't believe just looking at that paragraph again and keeping in mine how it affected you really made me so happy. I'm glad that it made you emotional, cause then I've done a good job. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. (hugs)

HelikaAkileh: Yeah, I guess I'll have to. Once I'm back at school I can maybe ask my linguistics teacher why a tv show thinks they need to change the pronunciation of names. I don't know, I'm a little obsessed with language. Don't mind me. (hugs)

InuyashaGal: Well yeah it was bad of Sessh, but I think it's more Kagome's fault than anyone else. Oh and in terms of how many chapters, I'm thinking it'll be around chapter 30 or 31, if all goes well and I don't get writers block. Thanks a lot, sweetie. Love ya. (hugs)

trekker4life: But 'ye' is an Old English word, which doesn't even resemble Modern English, so either they make her speak Old English, which would just be odd, or they pronounce it right. Grrr…. Okay. Deep breath. Whew! I'm done. I'm far too into my major, what can I say. (hugs)

Inuyasha05: Maybe maybe… you'll just have to wait and see. Could be a while later when something like that is revealed. Anyways, thanks for your support. (hugs)

NeuroticallyDignified: Oh man, one a day after the other. I'm so good. I'm gonna spoil you lots. (hugs)

KOalaPaNda: (clears throat) I believe a cookie is in order. (hugs)

nekoxlove: Nope. He's for reals. I just left Rin and Jaken out of it because it would mean they could use Jaken's powers to transportand then Inuyasha wouldn't have their scents to follow. I'm weird, I know. (hugs)

a100rinchhead: Haha, OMG, he'd sit her for no good reason then. OMG, a tail? That is so ridiculous! Lol lol, I love it. And translation defenses? Hmm, time to investigate. Thanks. (hugs)