Ok, this time I'm not giving out any excuses for my loooong update. Simply because there is no excuse. I was lazy, I was a moron, and I'm a jerk for making anyone wait this long for a chapter. All I can do is ask for your forgiveness, and keep on asking you to read. I know it's been a long while, and I can't even blame it on writers block, although for a short time I did have that. Oh! And I almost forgot to say, I've heard some pretty serious rumors that the author's aren't allowed to do reviewer replies anymore, and these rumors are from very reliable sources, so this time I won't be doing reviewer replies. If I can find out if this is true or not, I'll tell you in the next update. So please enjoy this chapter, and once again, I'm so sorry.

Tigress: -Steps into view and chews on her lower lip nervously, looking over her shoulder- "Has anyone seen Sesshomaru? He's kinda upset with me for not updating in such a long time…"

Inuyasha: -Glares at Tigress- "We're all pissed off at 'cha."

Tigress: -Lowers her head in shame-

Sesshomaru: -Steps into the room and completely ignores Tigress, instead stalking over to a corner and sitting down sullenly-

Kagome: -Takes pity on Tigress and pats her on the shoulder- "That's ok, we know you won't take so long next time."

Rin: -Skips into the room over to Sesshomaru and sits in his lap- "What's wrong My Lord?"

Sesshomaru: -Grunts-

Miroku: "What's with all the long faces?" –Cheerfully walks over to Kagome and Tigress- "She may have taken a long time to update, but she finally did update, didn't she?" –Hand twitches-

Sango: -Joins the little group of Kagome, Miroku, and Tigress- "I agree. Let's just forget it and make sure she doesn't ignore us for so long next time."

Miroku: -Pats Sango on the bottom with apparent appreciation-

SLAP

Sango: "Pervert!" –Stalks away-

Tigress: -Is slightly cheered up- "Ok, enjoy the chapter folks! I gotta try and put these guys in a better mood…Thanks for reading!"

Last Chapter: Sesshomaru came back from Kagome's time with her, and Inuyasha was lying in wait for them. They fought, Kouga made an appearance, Kagome sat Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru left the scene with Rin. Inu and Kag go back to Kaede's village to meet up with the rest of the gang. Meanwhile, Naraku sends Kagura and Kanna on a quest to go capture Kikyo, Inuyasha starts to have questions, and Sesshomaru unknowingly feels the beginning to Naraku's horrible plot.

Chapter Four: An Unexpected Captive and an Unexpected Guest

The night was peaceful out, and time seemed to stand still as a lone figure stood at the edge of a secluded pond in a clearing in the woods. The wind flirted with her long black hair, pulled back in the customary priestess way, but she ignored the wayward strands that brushed across her cheek.

Slowly, gracefully, she raised an arm to the sky and closed her somewhat sad-looking brown eyes. Soul collectors swirled around her, making strange whooshing and whistling noises as they each surrendered the soul they had brought to their mistress.

The moonlight bathed Kikyo in a soft light, and seemed to make her pale skin glow more with each new soul that entered her. Dew on the grass seemed to shimmer around her, and the water rippled before her from the nighttime creatures that sensed another presence in the air, but could not necessarily figure out what it was because they had not encountered anything that was dead but still moving before.

In the sky a figure could be seen getting closer and closer, but the priestess did not seem to notice it, nor did she acknowledge it even if she had known it was there. The figure could now be made out to be a large feather, with two people on top of it. Kikyo kept her eyes closed, and continued to absorb the souls she needed to keep her functioning. Silently the feather headed to a spot behind Kikyo.

It hovered for a moment above the ground, and then shrank into a tiny feather, leaving Kagura and Kanna standing in its place. Quickly Kagura stuck the feather into a place in her hair, and gazed at Kikyo through her sulky red eyes.

Kikyo's eyes fluttered open, and her extended arm slowly made its way back to her side. Without turning around, she gazed into the pond and gave no indication that she knew of her visitors.

"What have you come for?" finally she spoke, pausing a moment before turning around to face them.

Kagura sneered and whipped her fan out, gesturing with it. "Naraku has summoned you. We've come to take you to him." Her eyes seemed to glow even redder as she gazed at the priestess. It seemed that Naraku would soon have control of her, too.

A ghost of a smile formed on Kikyo's lips, and amusement seemed to fill her dead eyes. "Naraku cannot harm me, so why does he summon me to him when he knows that I will not come?"

"You will come." Kagura stated with a note of arrogance. After all, she silently mocked, what Naraku wants, Naraku gets. But he still hasn't managed to capture that half-demon Inuyasha.

Boldly the priestess stepped forward. "Tell me, how is he to manage this?"

With a contemptuous smile on her lips, Kagura stepped to the side to reveal Kanna standing behind her, mirror facing Kikyo.

Suddenly pressure and pain ripped through Kikyo, and her body arched forward. One by one her freshly collected souls exited her body and entered the mirror. Involuntarily she dropped to her knees, hands clutching at her chest. Her breath came in short little pants, and she squeezed her eyes shut in pure torture.

"You…you would use this weakness against me, in order to bring me before Naraku?" she gasped out, managing to open her eyes and glare balefully at the duo. Another soul was drawn out of her, and her chest constricted in pain.

Kikyo collapsed on the dewy ground before her, letting out weak little breaths. She lost consciousness before either of the two incarnations could answer her question, and lay there sprawled out on the ground.

Silence fell upon the clearing, and without a word from the sisters the mirror stopped stealing Kikyo's souls, and lay in Kanna's hands, quiescent for the moment. Rebellion flashed in Kagura's eyes as she glared at the still priestess, she didn't want to do this but if she didn't then…

"…I hold your heart in the palm of my hand."

"Do you wish to rejoin with my body?"

An involuntary shiver raced down her spine as the flashback permeated her thoughts. She would not go back into Naraku. Freedom, such as it was, suited her much better than that hellish prison.

"Let's go, Kanna. Naraku awaits." Try as she might, she could not keep the sneer out of her voice at the latter part of her statement.

With an angry flourish Kagura waved her fan and what seemed like a small tornado formed itself around Kikyo's body, lifting her up and depositing her on the now full-sized feather that Kagura had pulled out from her hair.

They left the quiet and serene pond, zooming through the air as if in a hurry, which they indeed were. Air seemed to settle heavier and more gently than before, and the creatures of the night breathed out a silent sigh of relief as the presence of the dead was lifted, and all was peaceful once again.

Laughter filled the field as children ran around; some of them playing while others huddled in small groups, giggling about one thing or another. Indulgent mothers lounged around and chatted with each other, kissing away bumps and bruises and soothing the scrapped knees of their offspring before shooing them off, smiling. Shouts of, "Momma look at this!" and "Momma come here!" filled the air. Happiness permeated through the air as the large gathering joked and talked with each other.

A little boy stood at the edge of the clearing that formed the field, and clutched a blanket securely to his side while he sucked on the thumb of his opposite hand. At first glance he looked no different than the other rampant boys shouting and screaming, but on second glance one could notice tiny little dog-ears emerging from the top of his head, and instead of the black hair that most of the children sported, long and thick white hair grew from his own head. The tips of neat little white fangs could be seen peeking out from beneath his upper lip as he sucked on his thumb, and his golden eyes watched the other boys with a mixture of longing and curiosity.

He took a hesitant step forward, his little bare feet visible beneath the red haori and hakama he wore, and halted, as if unsure of his welcome. Prior experience told him that if he tried to join in on the fun and games, the other mothers would rush in and either take their children away or shoo him out of the clearing, but he so wanted to play. Longing filled his heart, and he took a few more courageous steps forward, before breaking into almost an awkward jog, as his legs were not long enough for a proper jog.

Taking his thumb out of his mouth, he smiled gamely at the other children, unconsciously revealing the sharp little fangs in his mouth. Some of the children saw him and started to run away, towards their mothers. Others, who hadn't yet learned what he was or that their mothers wouldn't allow them to play with him, welcomed him with smiles and cheerful greetings. They were too young to know the meaning of apartheid or racism, and saw no wrong in playing with someone that looked different from themselves.

He had no more time than to say a shy hello before he was set upon by what seemed to be an army of mothers, shouting at him and taking their children by the hand to lead them away from him. One mother shouted at him to get away, he was a half-breed and did not belong among them. Another shielded her child and gave him disgusted looks, as if he were a monster. Tears filled his eyes, and he turned around to run away, sticking his thumb back in his mouth and clutching his blanket ever closer to him for comfort.

On and on he ran, away from the cruel mothers and their evil spawn, away from the hurtful words that pierced his unprotected heart and set upon him an agony of why he could not be accepted like the other children. His small and not yet fully mature mind tried to come up with a reasonable excuse, but all he could feel was a small child's pain of being rejected, and it hurt ever so badly. Why? Why? Why did they hurt him so, when he hadn't done anything to make them hate him? He must be a monster, in order for the other mothers to treat him so.

The tears streamed across his face freely, as he had not the self-control to stop them, and he ran towards where he knew he would be accepted, to where there would never be a hurtful word directed towards him. The pain was unbearable, multiplied a thousand times hence because this time he had come so close to making some friends. "Mother!" he cried out, as he saw a figure in the distance. He knew without a doubt that it was she, because he could recognize her scent even from here.

She turned her around, her beautiful face a comfort that he could look up at with his keen eyesight, and he could recognize the loving aura only she radiated towards him. He flew towards her, arms outstretched, blanket left behind as her loving embrace engulfed him. Soothing sounds were whispered in his ear as he sobbed his heart out into her dress, and her arms tightened around him ever so slightly, to let him know that she was there.

Ever so slowly the pain began to ebb out of him, and his body stopped shaking with his grief. He rested his cheek against her, and tried to wrap his small childish arms around her all the way, but found to his frustration that they were not long enough. Soft laughter was heard, and he was lifted up into his mother's arms to nuzzle noses.

Suddenly the arms grew cold and clammy, and the face before him started to change. He cried out. Demons whirled around them and the young boy became a man. Instead of his mother, before him stood another man with murder in his eyes and a black heart. Spiders fell from the sky and crawled across the man's skin, while the wind whipped around them and red eyes peered out at him. That sinister man called out his name in his low, threatening voice.

"Inuyasha."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and hissed out a word. "Naraku."

From the corner of his eye he saw a movement, and turned to see what it was. A searing pain engulfed his shoulder and he found himself glaring at Kikyo as she held her empty bow aimed in his direction, and he found himself pinned to the Sacred Tree once again. Only this time he knew he wasn't going to wake up. He reached up to try and take the arrow that held him to the tree out of his shoulder, but the action only brought him more excruciating pain.

In vane he began to struggle, twisting and turning although it was doing no good. With each movement a dull numbness was creeping into his being. He opened his eyes and a blinding light formed before him. In the middle of it he could just make out what appeared to be the figure of a girl that looked suspiciously like Kikyo.

"Kagome." He rasped out. At the sight of her the numbness started to recede and the pain was brought back. Stunning, hurtful, blessed pain. Gasping, he continued to struggle, and the blinding whiteness seemed to be drawing farther and farther away.

"No. No. No. No! Noooooooooo!"

"Inuyasha." Naraku's voice again. He couldn't get it to stop. "Inuyasha. Inuyasha. Inuyasha!"

He opened his eyes and shot up, almost knocking Kagome over from her position of leaning over him. Sweat ran down his body, and dizziness assaulted him from sitting up too quickly. His breath came in heavy pants, and his heart beat out an irregular tattoo inside his chest. Faces swam around him. Familiar faces, faces of those that he trusted and had come to care for in his own way of caring. Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kirara, and Kagome. Kagome…she had been in his nightmare. Did that mean something? Was something bad about to happen?

"Inuyasha are you alright?" Kagome scooted forward again and put the back of her hand to his forehead, frowning when she could not detect any trace of a fever.

"You were having a nightmare." Miroku informed him gravely, coming to his feet and looking up. "I sense no demonic aura, so perhaps it was just a fluke."

Inuyasha scowled and waved their concerned faces away. "I'm fine, no need to worry over me like I'm some helpless baby." He got to his feet, albeit a bit wobbly, and strode to the doorway of Kaede's hut in order to get a breeze of air. Being confined did not sit well with him, and he wished that he could be out there hunting for Naraku.

His eyes searched the darkness, and landed on a figure emerging out of the forest. Automatically all his senses went on alert, and he stiffened slightly, ready to leap into action if the circumstances called for it. It wouldn't the first time that some unknown demon had decided to catch them unawares in the middle of the night. He watched silently as the figure shuffled towards the hut, ignoring the bickering going on behind him.

As the person drew closer Inuyasha was able to discern priestess clothes, and long hair pulled back at the nape of the figures neck. A patch covered the person's right eye. His back lost all it's stiffness as he recognized the stranger as Kaede. What was the old hag doing out at this time of night?

"Greetings, Inuyasha." The old priestess shuffled past him, her arms full of what looked like flowers. He took a delicate sniff and was assaulted by the strong scent of them.

"Jeez what the hell are those things?" he backed away, looking at the flowers warily. He knew Kaede was a priestess and knew tons of stuff about herbs, but he'd never seen these types before.

"It has many names, Inuyasha, but is mostly known as Evening Primrose. Some other names are Primrose, Evening Star, Fever Plant, Night Willow Herb, Scabish, Scurvish, Field Primrose, and German Rampion." Kaede eyed him with her good eye, to see if he was listening. He seemed interested enough.

"What's it used for?" he settled down in a corner Indian Style and slipped his hands in his opposite sleeves. The others were already back to sleep, and he was wide-awake, so he figured he might as well talk to the old woman. It might even help him forget his nightmare. He stopped a shiver from traveling down his spine.

"The Evening Primrose can be used for the after-effects of too much drinking, sooth coughing brought by a cold, and it can be made into a balm to help rashes and other types of skin problems. It has also been known to help with mental depression, and was once believed to give strength to those who rubbed its roots on their skin." As Kaede talked, she separated the flowers into different groups, and began to dry some out. "It has other uses as well, but I'm sure that you'd not wish to hear about those ones."

"So why'd ya have to go out in the middle of the night to get 'em?" Inuyasha shifted his weight, in order to get more comfortable.

"This particular herb blooms only at night, so therefore that is the best time to collect it." She turned around to look at Inuyasha. "Why are ye so suddenly interested in my work?"

He shifted again, uneasy with her curiosity. Where was the crime in asking a few questions for cryin' out loud? "I was just wondering." He muttered, and gazed moodily out the doorway once again from his place on the floor. There was perhaps one more hour before dawn, and then he planned to wake up the lazy slugs sleeping on the floor and get on the trail of a few Jewel Shards. They were getting close to Naraku, he could feel it. He settled back to watch for the first hint of dawn.

There was no sign to tell that he had awakened, no movement, no flutter of the eyelash. Had there been someone standing over him at that precise moment, they no doubt would have been startled when he suddenly lifted his eyelids up and peered out at the world, completely alert. Sesshomaru straightened up from his half-sitting half-leaning position against the tree and slowly got to his feet.

Rin was curled up near the fire, not so coincidently on the side that Sesshomaru slept on, probably to be nearer to him in case trouble started. She was breathing peacefully, safe and secure even in sleep that he would not let harm come to her. Jaken lay on his back on the opposite side of the fire, farthest away from Rin and Sesshomaru. He was snoring loudly, and had no clue that his Master was awake and alert.

Silently he strode away from the fire, looking up at the sky. It was a little past dawn, and just a tiny bit of darkness was left behind. He knew that in a few moments the darkness would disappear totally and leave nothing but sunshine in its path. Rin would no doubt awaken soon, as she was never able to sleep past dawn. A left over from those days when if she was caught sleeping somewhere where she shouldn't be, she was beaten horribly. A rare spark of anger flared to life inside him at the thought, and was just as quickly put out. Emotion was for humans, and he most certainly was not a human.

At the thought of humans, a particular one came to mind. One with long silky black hair that smelled of Sakara Blossoms, with perhaps a hint of Jasmine to compliment it. He stared, unseeing, into the distance. Why was the wench in his thoughts so much of late? It wasn't as if she was anything special or grand. The only human he even had a passing fondness for was Rin, and even then he tried to tell himself that it was debatable. Key word: tried. He realized that if he kept his thoughts on their current path, he was going to experience a very human feeling…discomfort.

A soft sigh and the rustling of fabric told him that Rin was starting to wake, and he turned around. It brought something akin to pleasure to watch her wake up. At first she had always woken up alarmed and ready to run, then she would spot him, relax, and smile. Nowadays she woke up completely relaxed and a bit tired. An almost smile touched his face as he watched her sit up and rub her eyes with closed fists, letting loose a big yawn.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" her tiny child's voice was soft with sleep, and she peered up at him trustingly.

"There are fruit trees nearby, if you wish to have some breakfast, Rin." He said a bit abruptly, turning to walk to the edge of the camp again and ignoring her cheerful, "Ok!" as she skipped away.

He strode back to the campsite to his servant and woke him with a kick.

"Jaken." His voice was impassive, as usual.

Jaken woke with a start, blinking up at Sesshomaru sleepily before remembering exactly whom it was he was looking up at. "My Lord!" he yelled in his high squeaky voice, jumping to his feet and grabbing the Staff of Two Heads, which he had been coincidently sleeping with wrapped in his arms. Probably to guard against Rin from taking it once again.

"Watch over Rin." With that command set in place, he started to walk away.

"But My Lord! When will you be back? How am I supposed to watch your back if you are forever wandering off alone! Don't leave me here!" his protests died away as a cloud-like formation took shape underneath Sesshomaru, and carried him away into the distance.

"Ooohhhhh that Lord Sesshomaru! Forever leaving me here with a helpless human to watch over! Why does he keep such company, anyway? My Lord hates humans! Where is she, anyway?" Urgently his gaze snapped back and fourth, but found no small human girl. "Rin! Where are you?" Lord Sesshomaru will kill me if I let something happen to her! "Rin!"

"Here I am, Master Jaken!" Rin happily sprinted towards him, arms laden with apples. "I have brought us breakfast! But where is my Lord Sesshomaru?" some of the light went out of her eyes as she noticed that her guardian was nowhere to be seen.

"Lord Sesshomaru had some very important business to attend to, and didn't need an errant child tagging along with him!" Since Jaken didn't know where Lord Sesshomaru had gone, it could have very well been just that reason, so he figured it was only a half-lie.

"Oh." Her face went down in disappointment, and silently she started to put the apples down. Almost instantly she perked right back up again, and smiled at Jaken. "But he won't be long, will he? In the meantime, I'll sing a song!" she launched into a ditty that he had never heard before, and Jaken sighed. Hopefully Lord Sesshomaru would be back soon.

He didn't know when he would be back, but he did know that it wasn't going to be before he went back into that well with the girl. If it had been up to him, he would have gone by himself. But, as it was, the girl knew her way around that dimension and he figured he could use her to answer his questions. Besides, it wouldn't be smart to venture into a whole different world without someone to guide him, as much as it galled him to have a human for a guide.

As he sped across the sky, his mind pulled up a mental picture of Kagome. Hot springs and smooth silky skin. No! He chased the sensual, if unwelcome, thoughts out of his mind and deliberately thought instead about Naraku, and his plan to kill off the half-demon. He hadn't had much time lately to track him down, but he didn't doubt that when the time came, he would go unhindered. Naraku was merely a half-demon, while he was Lord of the West, unconquered.

His nostrils flared slightly as he picked up a familiar scent, and automatically identified it as that Wolf Demon, Kouga. So, he was in the area. Probably looking for Naraku…either that or on his way to or from Kagome. The air held no trace of her enticing scent, so he figured that it was the latter option. His keen hearing enabled him to hear distant shouts of, "Kouga! Wait up!" and his nose informed him that Kouga's followers were racing behind him.

On he soared through the sky, detecting various scents here and there.
A fox demon, a moth demon, a human village here, a crow demon there. Nothing to be on guard against. He relaxed slightly; secure in the knowledge that nothing could sneak up on him.

Smoke drifted up into the sky at a spot coming from the forest, and the scent of something delicious reached him, making him take another sniff of appreciation, although this time his nose picked out the smell of Jasmine and Sakura Blossoms as well as what smelled like breakfast. He had found her. Quietly and efficiently he increased his speed at a downward slope, finally coming to rest his feet on the ground a few yards away from the clearing where Kagome and her friends resided, a little ways into the forest.

"Ow!" His brother's voice was loud and clear.

"Inuyasha! That's hot! You should be more careful!" There was Kagome's voice, like a sweet song in his ear. Mentally he frowned at the poetic comparison. He did not make poetic comparisons about humans, of all things.

"Yeah yeah no kidding." His brother's voice muttered, and Sesshomaru heard a chuckle.

"This smells delicious, Kagome. We are lucky to have such a wonderful cook among us!" It was a male's voice, perhaps that of the Monk that traveled with them. What was his name again? Miroku, he thought he had heard the others call him that. The thing that stood out in his mind was the fact that he had a wind tunnel in his hand.

"Well at least someone appreciates my hard work!" She sounded angry and frustrated. Sesshomaru dared a quick peek at them from behind a large tree, and observed Kagome glaring at an oblivious Inuyasha's back. His brother was too busy gulping up the last of the delectable smelling concoction in front of him to notice her present ire with him.

"What do you call this again?" It was the demon slayer that asked the question, and the feline youkai next to her mewed, as if it too was wondering.

"It's called an omelette. My special recipe!" Cheered up somewhat by the question, Kagome began to dig into her own omelette, totally ignoring Inuyasha who was licking his lips and eyeing the omelettes left over.

So that intoxicating smell was something called an omelette. He figured that it was from her time, as no such thing had ever been heard of in his world. If it had been, it no doubt would have been very popular. Its smell alone would compel many to try one. A slight rumbling in his stomach reminded him that he hadn't yet had breakfast, as even great demon lords had to eat.

His eyes focused on the rest of the omelettes, and his stomach growled once again. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to break his fast with this particular group. After all, one couldn't choose when one became hungry.

He was about to step out into the clearing when Inuyasha leaped to his feet and glared in Sesshomaru's general direction.

"Wait a minute." The others jerked their heads around in surprise. "I know that smell. Sesshomaru's around here somewhere." The young fox demon that traveled with them jumped into Kagome's arms and glanced around nervously, while the demon slayer got to her feet and reached for her boomerang-like weapon—he wasn't sure what it was called. Her companion transformed into a full demon form, and he had to admit that she was an impressive sight. The monk grabbed his staff and joined the demon-slayer while Kagome looked around curiously. A spark of gratification welled up inside him at the thought of Kagome not being afraid of him, but he quickly squelched that idea.

"So Inuyasha, it seems that you are growing into a more formidable enemy with each growing day." Slowly and in total control, Sesshomaru stepped out of the shadows and into the daylight.

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha hissed. Automatically he reached for his Tetsusaiga and whipped it out of its sheath, pointing it in the Youkai's direction.

"Inuyasha! Stop that! I'm sure Sesshomaru isn't here to start a battle!" Kagome rushed forward and put her hand on the hilt of Tetsusaiga over Inuyasha's hands. "Can't you find a different way to solve your problems?"

Throughout her scolding she didn't glance once at Sesshomaru, although her back stiffened when he finally spoke. "For once, Inuyasha, the human is right. I have no intention of battling you today. I came for a different reason."

Inuyasha didn't budge. "Oh yeah, and what's that?" he snarled.

"You give me no discourse to tell you what my actions are for. Only I shall be privileged enough to know why I am here." His emotionless voice matched the blank look in his cold blue eyes perfectly.

"Why you…!" Inuyasha made a move as if to launch himself at him, but Kagome had apparently tightened her hold on his hilt and prevented Inuyasha from doing anything. Instead he glared at his brother, and spared some of those glares for Kagome as well.

"Oh be quiet, Inuyasha! For once he doesn't want to fight! Can't you accept that?" Kagome didn't seem cowed by the glares Inuyasha was giving her, and instead seemed to be getting more and more angry with every new glare. She finally turned around to look at Sesshomaru, and memories flooded her mind. She beat back a blush and stepped forward determinedly. "Would you like some breakfast?"

Sesshomaru said nothing and stared at her. She chewed on her bottom lip uncomfortably, and he was vaguely aware of the other group members shifting around nervously in the background. Apparently he made everyone anxious with his staring, but he couldn't seem to take his eyes off the girl. She had shown some guts when she stood up to his brother, and he shouldn't have been surprised after seeing her take out that Fox Demon at the hot springs with a single sacred arrow.

Finally he moved in the direction of the fire. A flat rock was placed above it, on which the remaining omelettes sat, still enticingly warm and wafting off a mouth-watering smell.

Behind him the others were giving each other uneasy looks, and Inuyasha was perfecting his death glare on both Sesshomaru and Kagome. He ignored them, instead focusing on the omelettes in front of them, reaching out with his clawed hand and placing one of them on a plate. Next he reached for a pair of chopsticks, and everyone held their breath as he had his first taste of an omelette.

They let out a silent sigh of relief as he went back for a second bite, no apparent emotion of like or dislike playing on his face. He appeared calm and collected as he ate his breakfast, and Kagome tentatively went to sit across from him and finish her own omelette.

Miroku followed Kagome's lead and sat down next to her, reaching for his second omelette, and Sango did the same. Shippo sat close to Kagome on her other side and watched Sesshomaru warily, seemingly not convinced that he was just there to eat. Only Inuyasha continued to stand, watching Sesshomaru untrustingly and narrowing his eyes.

"How long will you be traveling with us?"

Everyone looked at Miroku, who had blurted out the question and was now looking curiously at the demon lord, who paused in the middle of taking a bite to look up at the monk.

"Until my objection is accomplished." He went back to his plate, secretly enjoying the taste of the dish. When he went to Kagome's world, he would see if he could sample other dishes like this one. Perhaps he would bring back some to this world.

"Well that doesn't tell us much." This comment was from Inuyasha, who still had a great amount of bitterness in his voice, but seemed to be resigned to Sesshomaru traveling with them.

Damn Kagome, why does she always have to step in when something happens? Inuyasha studied her, narrowing his eyes at her seemingly careless response to his brother traveling with them. She couldn't want Sesshomaru to travel with them, could she? Automatically he rejected the idea, but the seed of doubt had been planted. Did she want to be with Sesshomaru more than him? No way. Sesshomaru had always been their enemy, while Inuyasha…had never given her the impression that he felt for her beyond the point of just using her to detect the shards. Yesterday Sesshomaru had given the impression that he had protected Kagome when he told her to get out of the way. Protected her from what? He himself had protected Kagome from far more than what Sesshomaru could have protected her from in their short acquaintance. So why would she prefer to be with Sesshomaru? Had he…shown feelings towards her?

As Kagome finished up her breakfast she tried hard to keep from looking at the demon lord sitting across from her. A deep blush crept up her cheeks as she realized what he had meant yesterday when he said he had protected her. That whole time she had been headed for the hot springs, she had felt as if there were eyes on her. Now she knew that there had been. Sesshomaru's eyes. After all, he had even shown up after she went to her world, proving that he had been following her. He had been there when that Fox Demon had tried to attack her. It was even more possible that he had watched her while she bathed! She darted another quick look at him from beneath her eyelashes, and decided that the answer to that best remained unknown. Now what could he want? Certainly he couldn't want to protect her again, and he didn't need the jewel shards, so…was he here for something else? Obviously. She just hoped that it didn't have anything to do with her!

Tigress: "Well, that was a longer chapter than normal, but I figured you guys deserved it after your long wait." –Wipes sweat off her brow and opens up the oven she's standing in front of-

Sesshomaru: -Smirking in the background-

Inuyasha: "Are they done yet?"

Tigress: -Grits her teeth- "Almost. I can't believe you guys are making me do this just to make up for not updating in such a long time!"

Kagome: -Walks in the kitchen door- "Gee it's hot in here. How long have you been cooking, Tigress?"

Tigress: -Anguished look- "Hours and hours! That makes 20 batches of chocolate chip cookies!" –Pulls a cookie sheet full of cookies out of the oven-

Sesshomaru: -Snatches a warm cookie just out of the oven and pops it in his mouth-

Inuyasha: "Hey! I get one too!" –Grabs a cookie and eats it-

Tigress: -Mumbles something under her breath-

Inuyasha: "Next time you won't wait so long to update!" –Pops another cookie into his mouth- "Mmmm…still gooey inside"

Tigress: -Growls- "Yeah yeah." –Turns to the readers and gives a cookie to all of them- "Thanks for your patience, and don't forget to review! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!"

AN: Ok, thanks all. Yeah, I looked at my last chapter and I said that I didn't think this chapter would take so long in coming. Yeah right! I'm not even gonna say that this time, because I've learned my lesson. So I'll work as hard as I can to get the next chapter out to you. Actually I've found that reading a fiction book distracts me when I'm writing, because I can't put it down and therefore don't get any work done on my own story, so now I'm going to start reading some non-fiction or not read at all when I write. That should help. Well, I gotta start work on my other story now. Wish me luck! Take care all, later!