Hello! I am very sorry about not updating on time... I went to Florida for a few days and there was no internet access. I'm so sorry that I'll even get Akana and Leiko to tell you how very sorry I am!

Akana: Gomen, everyone! If it makes you feel any better, our feet are really sore from walking for two days straight! We went to two amusement parks, which weren't very amusing...
Leiko: Are you kidding? Sea World and Busch Gardens are great! The Atlantis and Sheikra rides were excellent! The Sheikra's a wonderful roller coaster that has two 90 degree angle drops! We went on it twice and had a LOT of fun! Oh, and --- 'catches Akana glaring at her' I mean, it was so horrible and boring...
Akana: Yes, very horrible and very boring. So, gomen for not updating!
Leiko: Yes, yes, gomen... Oh, I want to go on Sheikra again!
Akana: 'glares again'

Eh... well, the point is that I'm so incredibly sorry! The next update will be on time, though, so don't worry. Now then; on to review responses for all my lovely and caring reade -- 5? That's all I got? Oh well, it's better than nothing...

:Review Responses:

don'tbreakme: Thank you, and I shall!
Japanimeniac: I'm really glad you like it! And what exactly do you mean, know the names for everyone? Are you talking about the random Japanese words I put in there? I just find those out occasionally...
KagomePriestess-15: Yay! You reviewed on here! I've been waiting for someone from the forum to do that, lol!
Vulcana: Thank you! I think I may have gone a little overboard with the personification, though...
miko of purified souls: Thank you, and this is my update.

:End Review Responses:

Now, then... One last thing before we let you read the story. And that is the ---

:Disclaimer:

Akana: DISCLAIMER! OH BOY! HURRAY! W00T!
Leiko: ... No more talking for you. 'gags Akana' Peace at last... Now I won't have to hear her talking about Sesshoumaru all the time --Who, by the way, we do not own. We own, surprisingly, absolutely no one in this story. We just like writing stories using them. It's actually very fun...
Akana: Mf! Hrm mm! NNNN!
Leiko: 'snickers' Now, enjoy!

Chapter 3, A Savior

Kagome slowed as she neared the village. Kaede's village stood before her, silent with the stillness of slumber. She walked through it, reveling in the peace. Even the crickets and owls were asleep, it seemed. All were preparing themselves for the winter to come. Ah, what a cold winter it would be!

She stopped when she came to Kaede's hut. She hesitated outside the door for a few moments, not wanting quite to face Inuyasha yet. All the yelling he was sure to do would awaken the entire village! However, she knew she had to do it sometime. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. This is it, Kagome, her mind told herself. You have to face him sooner or later, and sooner might be better! She reached towards the makeshift "door", the style of which was quite common in the Feudal Era, ready to open it up and go in.

She didn't have to, for someone from the inside opened it and almost ran right into her as he hurriedly exited the hut. "Kagome!" Inuyasha said, staring at her in disbelief.

She stared at him blankly for a few moments before setting her expression to a firm one, ready to make a come-back to anything he'd say. "Yes?" she asked.

He was silent. He was wondering if their fight was still in her mind, and he wanted nothing more than to say "I'm sorry". His pride, of course, wouldn't allow that, so he remained quiet for a few minutes more. "You came back," he said at long-last.

"Uh-huh," she said suspiciously. Why didn't he seem angry like he usually did when she was late? What could've been going through his mind at that moment? Then a thought struck her. Maybe he was coming to get me! she thought with surprise. Maybe he was remembering our fight and was coming to drag me back!... But wouldn't he still have been mad at me? Oh, I'm so confused! Kagome just shrugged it off and smiled at him instead.

Now it was Inuyasha's turn to be confused. Wasn't she supposed to be mad at him? I was going to get her, he thought, because I didn't think she'd ever want to come back on her own! But now I find that she's here and she's not mad at all... Oh, I'm so confused! He, too, shrugged it off. He went back inside, Kagome following at his heels. What was it with the wench and following him so closely? Not that he minded, of course...

She sighed peacefully as she entered the warm hut. She realized that she'd been shivering outside and was more than happy to enter the stifling, staggering heat of a bright fire that burned in the center of the hut. Her heart warmed, too, when she saw the figures of her friends, sleeping peacefully as if nothing horrible had ever happened to them. Young, naïve Shippou was comfortably snuggled against the oh-so-warm body of Kirara. Sango lay in a comfortable sleeping bag brought by Kagome a few days back and was so serene that she looked nearly like a child. Miroku was sitting with his back against the wall and his staff in his lap; when he was asleep like this, it was easy to forget how much of a pervert he was in the waking day.

It felt good to be back among her friends, Kagome decided, no matter what Inuyasha said or did. She stretched happily and yawned a long, drawn-out yawn before setting her large pack down against the wall. She drowsily pulled a sleeping bag out and laid it flat on the floor near to Shippou. She watched the fire set before her, feeling its warmth as well as seeing its light. Through the flames' graceful dance she saw Inuyasha, alert as ever. She briefly wondered why he, too, didn't succumb to the sleepy atmosphere, but sleep overtook her before she could even complete an entire thought about that subject.

Kagome ran through the forest in a wild frenzy. Cold, alone, and hungry, her only fuel was the adrenaline that rushed through her at the fear and repulsion of the demon at her back. A lump formed in her throat as she ran, a lump of fear and terror that she always simply swallowed down, which she did now. She knew that someone would save her. She was sure of it! In fact, any minute now, Inuyasha would come bursting out of the trees to attack and kill the demon. He would make everything all better. He always did.

Suddenly, she felt her ankle give way under her. She felt it collapse, and, on instinct, she rolled with it. The next thing she knew she was laying on her side on the freezing ground, clutching her ankle tightly in pain. That lump of fear came back to her throat, bigger than before. She knew Inuyasha would come. He always did.

But would it be in time?

She somehow managed to get back to her feet, but all thoughts of fleeing were far from her mind. She knew she couldn't even make it another inch without completely collapsing and perhaps even crying. So, mustering up all the strength she could possibly manage, she let out one long, loud yell that she was sure echoed all throughout ancient Japan.

"INUYASHA!"

She closed her eyes as she heard twigs snap somewhere in front of her. She knew that the demon was there now, but she couldn't bear to look at it. She knew, though, that she was being weak; taking the coward's way out. She would have to open her eyes and face her death, be strong like all she knew in her life were. She could just imagine now what Inuyasha would say if he found that she hadn't...

"Baka!" he'd exclaim. "You're so weak and pathetic! The least you could've done was to face it all head on!"

She had to do something, she knew. Even if it was the last time she ever saw anything, she could at least go out with a bang and inflict damage on that demon. She opened her eyes slowly, determination and resolve showing fiercely in them. She would fight the demon with everything she had, and if she died in the battle, then so be it. At least no one could say she was a coward then.

What she saw, though, surprised her. Or, rather, who she saw. Someone had indeed come to her rescue; someone strong at that. But it wasn't Inuyasha. It was--

Kagome awoke with a start. A small gasp escaped her lips as she sat up quickly and stared about the hut wildly. Where was she? Where was the demon that had almost claimed her life? Had it done so? Was she dead?

No... she told herself slowly after a moment or so. That... That was a dream... She watched the quiet, even breaths of young Shippou-chan for a few minutes to steady herself mentally and physically. Her body shook, still remembering the sheer terror she'd faced. Even if it was just a dream, it'd felt real enough to her!

Once her thoughts had cleared up enough for her to think straight, she analyzed the dream. It was something her mother had taught her to do. If you had a scary nightmare, you were supposed to think about it until it didn't make sense. This was to make it less scary since you knew it couldn't possibly be true.

This is what Kagome did now. The demon part she could've believed, but why had she been alone? Inuyasha almost never left her alone, even when she was going to the well to go home! Only after a fight was she actually allowed to escort herself to the well. Maybe it had been a fight. But, if she had only been going to the well, why hadn't Inuyasha heard her and come to her rescue? Even he wasn't pig-headed enough to ignore her cries for help! That couldn't have been real, she assured herself. So the first part was ruled out as impossible.

But the second part... That was different. Let's pretend, for a minute, she thought calmly, that the first part was real. That means that someone came to my rescue. She closed her eyes to better remember the dream, to better remember who'd saved her, but was surprised when she couldn't remember anything. Nothing. It was as though there was a blank spot in her memory; as though it had been erased. Oh, it was so frustrating not to be able to remember a dream you'd just had not two minutes ago!

She sighed, resignedly, then went on to look at the facts. I knew that it wasn't Inuyasha, she thought. Then who? Maybe Sango or Miroku... That could be it! I was just surprised because it wasn't Inuyasha, that's all! But how did they sneak up on her? She would've heard them if it had really been them! So, that was a no. Then who? No one could ever sneak up so silently as that! So, just another thing that's impossible! That makes it sure; the dream could never really happen. Feeling assured and calm now that she was done proving to herself that it was only a fictional dream, she slept once more, this time with no dreams interrupting her perfect slumber.

Arigatou for reading and please review! There's a very nice button located under this story for just that purpose... 'cough cough'