A/N: I'm so sorry that this took so long. Like I said before, I was at my grandmother's house. And, I would've updated as soon as I got home, but then I found out that my cousin tried to kill himself. It scared me to death, and I was way too shaken up to type anything. I want to thank those of you who reviewed, especially Ever Rin. Thank you so much for all of those. I'm really close to getting 300 reviews. I can smell it. Lol. Well, I know that this is not what you all want to read right now, so I'll stop blabbing. Here's chapter twenty-two.

InuYasha stood in silence, staring at his brother, taken aback by his presence. What was he doing here, of all places? He turned his head, gazing around the forest. Kikyo was nowhere to be found, though her vile soul-collectors swarmed the entire vicinity. What was going on? Where was Kikyo? He glanced back and forth furiously. Nothing made since.

"So we meet again, InuYasha," Sesshoumaru said, his voice unwavering. He stared at his half-brother through emotionless eyes and a stone expression.

InuYasha said nothing. His eyes had averted to the girl standing beside Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru nodded towards her, seeing InuYasha's questionable stare. "My daughter, Takara."

"Who the hell would ever want to have any child of yours?" InuYasha scoffed in a mocking tone. "Or maybe it wasn't their choice." He narrowed his eyes, giving Sesshoumaru a dubious look.

Sesshoumaru's expression remained cold. "You shouldn't be so dense as to think lowly of me, Brother. I found a mate long before you were ever revived from your eternal sleep. However, unlike you and our pathetic father, I obeyed the demon law. I'm sure you understand."

InuYasha's hand quickly moved to Tetsusaiga. "No I don't, so you better start talkin'!" He grasped the sword's handle, prepared to draw it at any moment. He could've sworn he just saw a smile pass over Sesshoumaru's lips.

"When a demon has a child, the father is meant as a trainer. It has been that way for centuries. The female takes care of the child until he or she becomes fifteen or more. That is when the father takes over and trains the child until he feels they're ready to go out on their own. Our father did that with me and should've done the same with you, but he decided to save you and your human mother from death, which in the end cost him his own life. So you see, I did the honorable thing."

InuYasha glared. "Honorable my ass!" He pulled Tetsusaiga from its sheath. "Listen, I didn't come here to hear you preach, so unless you want to die here and now, I suggest you move!" His teeth were gritted, and his eyebrows were furrowed as he held out his blade.

"I don't have time for your games, InuYasha," Sesshoumaru told him, his deep voice seeming barely above a whisper. "I am here strictly on business. I don't need your interference." He extended his claws threateningly as they illuminated with a green glow; his poison claws.

"There is no need for violence."

The two brothers turned as a woman stepped out, her long black hair, which accented her pale skin, pulled back into a loose ponytail. Her clothes were obviously those of a priestess.

"Kikyo," InuYasha muttered menacingly under his breath.

She smiled innocently at him. "Why the visit, InuYasha?" she asked. "Isn't there something you should be protecting?"

InuYasha let a slight growl instill its self in the brisk afternoon air. "What I do or don't do is none of your damn business!" he snarled heatedly, almost feeling guilty. 'No,' he told himself. 'I don't feel anything for her. She's not Kikyo." He shook his head, trying to alleviate himself from these thoughts. He was here for Kagome and no one else.

Her smile seemed to creep further across her face as she watched his culpability. "Is that so? If remember correctly, the last time you were supposed to be protecting someone it didn't work out well for you." Kikyo's voice was jeering and seemed to be implying something. She raised an eyebrow, increasingly hinting her implications.

If possible, InuYasha's look became even more bloodcurdling. "Stop!" He seemed to be having trouble getting out the word; his whole body was quivering. "Just don't…" He choked on his own words. The blame he had placed on himself after Kagome's disappearance began to ascend to new levels with every single syllable Kikyo mustered out.

"I believe my business here is done," Sesshoumaru said, nodding toward Kikyo. He turned, meandering off, Takara ambling closely behind.

Kikyo's intimidating stare wandered back toward InuYasha. "Was is it that you came here for?" she asked him.

InuYasha, however, didn't seem to be listening. His eyes were wide and impassive, unreadable. His hands clutched his head as if he were battling with his own mind. He let a soft whimper escape his lips as he was pulled from his own hellish reality. He was now ensnared in his own thoughts; reality was the state he was furthest from.

"What is this?" he questioned to himself. He was now engulfed in a blue mist that was impenetrable; he was unable to move. The cerulean hue began to completely envelop him as a blinding light passed over his gaze. 'Where am I? What's going on?' All his questions came to an abrupt halt as a shadow appeared in the depths of the inexplicable light. The shadow took the form of a human figure and was gliding closer with every beat of his heart. InuYasha felt the sudden urge to reach out and touch it, but he had seemed to be rendered paralyzed by opaque steam that surrounded him.

The figure continued closer toward him. He squinted trying to make out what, or whom it was until he was suddenly dawned with a realization. "Kagome," he whispered hopefully. As soon as her name left his lips the shadow that had been cast over the figure vanished leaving her standing there, close enough to touch. "It's you." He smiled as he felt all unkemptness leave him.

Kagome returned the smile, her entire form giving off a certain iridescent glow in front of the light, making her even more captivating. "You remember," she said, her eyes shimmering, eyes that InuYasha found himself easily lost in. She reached out to him, placing a hand on his cheek, lightly caressing his skin.

The warmth radiating off her hand lifted InuYasha's paralysis. He wasted no time, quickly wrapping his arms around her as the blue mist slowly dispersed itself from view. He held her as if holding his own life, afraid to let go. "I missed you," he breathed, clutching her tighter. "I won't lose you again."

Kagome pulled back slightly to meet his gaze. "Do you see it now?" she asked, her face looking apprehensive as she tucked one of her raven locks behind her ear.

"See what?" He felt his body go rigid at his own words. What was she trying to convey to him now?

She looked hurt. "InuYasha, we can never be with each other until you see," she told him, her voice quaking. She grabbed his shoulders, shaking him frantically. "Please, you have to see! Remembering isn't enough anymore!" She was hysterical, tears streaming down her face.

"You're making no since, Kagome!" he screamed out of frustration. "Tell me what you want me to see!"

She had become calm again as she turned her head to look up at him. "I'll die," she said finally. "It's part of the curse, her curse. I can't just tell you. I love you, InuYasha, so promise me. Promise me that you'll see, and that you won't forget now that you have remembered."

Though InuYasha was still oblivious to her meaning, he could not find it in himself to tell her so. "I promise I won't fail," he managed to say, but added quietly, "Again."

"I can tell you one thing, though," she said, bringing her lips to his, kissing him gently. "I never really left you, and I never will. I've always been here, even if you couldn't see me." She stroked his cheek one last time before disappearing along with the light that surrounded her.

InuYasha was once again left in darkness.

A/N: Ok, there you have it. I'm sure I answered a few questions in that chapter. And, I'm also sure I raised some more. The point is, though, I actually have a plan now. That's right, I know where I'm going with this. That's a first. Don't forget to REVIEW! I really want to win this bet, so if you could help me out that would be great. I may not continue if you don't! (Just kidding. Trust me, I will continue this no matter what. I don't write for reviews. They're just a perk. Lol.)