Alright guys, I'm back! Really sorry for not updating! I've got the oh-so infamous writer's block for both of my stories! I'm really sorry for not updating, but I wanted my chapter to be good instead of just slapping something down in 12 seconds flat. Anywho… enjoy!

Chapter Four

Kagome looked around as Sesshomaru ran the brush through her hair. The autumn leaves on the tree they sat in rustled in the breeze.

The pull on her tresses from the hairbrush slowed and came to a stop. The demon lord behind her tossed the object to the ground below, and then pulled Kagome into his arms, holding her close. Resting his chin upon the top of her head, he closed his eyes and sighed.

The girl shifted in his arms getting comfortable; she frowned then, and asked the man a question that had been troubling her since the first night he had kissed her. "Sesshomaru?"

"Mmm?" he mumbled, cracking open one molten gold eye as he studied her. Kagome hesitated and finally spoke.

"Why?"

The demon opened both eyes and lifted his eyebrows. "Why what?"

"Why do you treat me this way?" Sesshomaru removed his chin from the top of Kagome's cranium and looked at her with worried eyes.

"What way, Kagome?" he asked quickly. Kagome sighed and answered him wholeheartedly.

"Like… like you… love… me…" her reply came out slow, for she was so afraid he'd say that he didn't.

"You don't like the way I treat you?" Sesshomaru ignored the word 'love'; he wasn't sure what love was exactly. Well... not anymore.

"I…like the way you treat me, yes; no one was ever this kind to me before. It's just that…" The priestess trailed off, unsure if she should voice her uncertainty.

"What? Tell me." He commanded softly, turning her around to face him. Her bright blue eyes were overflowing with doubt and shame, and she decided to look at her lap instead of Sesshomaru. He hooked an index finger under her chin and pulled her face up, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Tell me."

At last Kagome gave in to him and said slowly. "The first time we met, you tried to kill me. And we've been opponents for so long that… I just … I don't understand why you're being so… considerate… to me. Do- do I have something you want?" As she finished, the young woman let out a breath of air she hadn't realized she'd been holding. There, she'd said it. She had gotten it out.

Sesshomaru looked deep into her eyes and didn't respond. He himself had no real idea why he was acting this way; it was very out of character for him. They'd been enemies for years; it was almost as if his brother's death had removed a wall that had been between the two.

The demon lord was unsure of the emotion that made his ice-cold heart feel light when he saw her smile; or the sensation he felt in his chest when he kissed her. At first he was sure it had been lust, but… now what was it? He'd stayed with her for only a week. Could the ruthless demon truly have real feelings for the woman that he now held close? Did he… love… her?

"Sesshomaru, answer me."

With his train of thought broken, Sesshomaru realized that Kagome had asked him another question. He hadn't heard her because he'd been so deep in thought.

"Why did you kiss me that night? Answer me, please. Answer me." Kagome's eyes shone with anxiety and worry. Sesshomaru didn't know how to answer her; he didn't know why he'd kissed her either. So Sesshomaru told her the truth.

"I don't know."

Wrong move. The woman's beautiful blue eyes widened for a moment, glistening with tears. She suddenly pulled out of his embrace and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Let me down."

"Kagome, I-"

"I said: let, me, down." Sesshomaru's face appeared hurt for a moment, and then instantly, his old indifferent mask replaced it. His temper rose now, instead of feeling sorry for the answer he gave. How was he to tell her if he didn't know why himself?

Roughly, he picked her up, and set her on the ground after jumping from the tree. He let go, and she backed away, her eyes still closed. She almost acted as if she was trying to keep her heart from breaking again.

How could she act this way? What was he supposed to say? 'I think I love you.'?

Her watery gaze stared him in the eye. He stared back.

"Don't… come anywhere near me until you… can give me a better answer." She sniffled and flinched as Sesshomaru's heated glare stared her back in the face. "I just don't want to be deceived again..." She whispered. Abruptly, Kagome turned and fled, running from him. She didn't run to the village to ask her friends for help though, she ran into the forest, letting him think this over himself.

The moment Sesshomaru was positive that Kagome was out of earshot, he spun around and struck the tree they'd been in and succeeded in knocking it down, sending other trees behind it toppling to the ground. "Aaarrrghhh!"

Breathing deeply, he twisted his head around to glimpse the forest as he fought to control his emotions. 'What am I going to do now?'

Sprinting deep into the forest, Kagome began to cry. Scraggily branches chafed her flesh, and other twigs ripped at her clothes. Limbs of different sizes tore at her hair, tangling it into tight knots. Once, she tripped on a high root, and landed hard on the ground, dirtying her clothes.

Slowly she got up, and tried running again, but a sharp pain in her left foot slowed her down to a fast-paced limp.

Finally, as the last of the sun's rays disappeared over the horizon, she came upon a clearing in the woods that was filled with strange white flowers. The blossoms' fragrance was heavenly, and the ground here was very soft and warm. As she reached the middle and looked up at they sky, her eyes rolled back into her head while she fell over in a dead faint. The moon began to come up over the horizon, and the time of her birth drew close.

Sesshomaru stared at the darkened forest as the sun set in the west. He had an answer. But he wasn't sure if Kagome would appreciate it or not.

Following her scent, he entered the forest at a determined run, avoiding trees and branches with experience that any demon would kill to possess.

The last of the sun's light had disappeared long ago, and the stars twinkled brightly, lighting up the moonless heavens, when he neared the clearing where her scent was strongest.

As he emerged from the woods, he spied a cloaked figure kneeling over Kagome's body, brushing the hair from her face. Kagome was on her side facing away from Sesshomaru and was no doubt unconscious.

To the lord's horror, he saw the figure pull a knife from its cloak, brushing the flat edge along Kagome's cheek; then it started to press the blade against her throat.

With a vicious growl, Sesshomaru had the hooded figure pinned to the ground, wrestling for the knife.

As his claws began glowing green with poison, he yanked the hood off of the masked body. He blinked. There, underneath him was an exact replica of Kagome. She smiled triumphantly at him and said, "I knew you wouldn't let anyone hurt us. You've passed the first test. Do you understand your feelings now?" She smiled and began to fade. "Stay with her. She needs you."

And with that, she was gone; along with the knife that Sesshomaru had taken from her. He stared at his hand, confused; the knife had felt real.

Hoping his sanity was still in excellent condition, he turned around and looked Kagome- the real Kagome (he hoped) - over.

The priestess's legs and face were cut and bleeding where twigs had scraped and stabbed at her skin. Two large green and purple bruises were already forming on her knees and her left ankle was swollen badly.

To top it off, her clothes were torn and ripped, her hair was in disarray, and her skin was deathly pale. Kagome's breaths were slow and steady, indicating that she was asleep.

Worriedly, Sesshomaru stooped to hoist Kagome up into his arms. As his hands neared Kagome's body, he became nervous for some reason.

Suddenly Kagome's eyes snapped open, yet they were not the lovely blue color that always shone brightly at him, they were a pure glowing white. The rest of her body began to shine an eerie white, too, and she was lifted several feet into the air by invisible arms.

The light she gave off grew brighter and brighter, and soon it began to burn her clothes like colorless flames. A few more moments, and she was completely bare, with only her long black locks to cover her here and there.

Abruptly, her hands flew to her head, as her mouth opened in a silent scream. The young woman curled up into a ball, seemingly in great pain.

'Hold her… help her, quickly!'

Sesshomaru recognized the voice to be the same one of the fake Kagome. Sesshomaru leapt up and dashed to her side, reaching out his arms he pulled Kagome close to his chest.

Oddly, the fire around her was cool to the touch, but the priestess's body was hot and feverish. A slender hand was brought up to his face and as it brushed past his cheek ever so gently, a bright blinding flash impaired the demon's vision momentarily. As the light receded, he saw he was not in a field of flowers any longer, but instead he was perched in an ancient tree and Kagome was gone.

Frantically, Sesshomaru began to sniff out her scent, turning so he could catch the breeze. He found her below him on the ground and sighed with relief, but frowned when he noticed her scent was laced with pain and anguish. Landing in front of her, he reached out.

"Kagome are you-" he stopped mid-sentence when he noticed that Kagome paid no attention to him. Sesshomaru tried grabbing her shoulders to shake her into listening, but his hands only passed through her; he felt as if he were a ghost.

Realizing she stared through him at something, he turned, following her teary gaze to see what it was that made her so sorrowful. What he saw did not please him, either.

His accursed half-brother was holding the corpse priestess, Kikyo, close. He watched in disgust as the two droned out their declarations of love to the other, and turned swiftly around when they began to share an…ahem… "kiss".

He observed quietly as Kagome's tears rolled slowly down her pale white face; he gazed silently as her blood-red lips quivered with the urge to cry, and finally saw her retreating figure as she departed quickly into the forest.

Suddenly, the scene changed, and the lord noticed Kagome was arguing heatedly with his half-brother.

"Sit boy!" she yelled - a fraction too loud for Sesshomaru's sensitive ears. The girl turned swiftly on her heel and stomped off to the bone-eaters well, the portal between the past and present.

The spell of the prayer beads wore off quickly, and Inuyasha was bearing down on her with a look of intense fury again. He covered her mouth before she could utter another "sit" and began to talk – the first chance he'd gotten since the moment they had left the village. "I don't think so…" he mumbled, referring to her covered mouth. "You're not going home until we find another jewel shard, wench!"

Kagome flinched at the hurtful name, and as Sesshomaru (who'd had a momentary lapse of memory, forgot he was only equal to a ghost here) was about to knock his brother into next year, Inuyasha removed his hand to let Kagome talk. "Inuyasha! You don't need me to find shards! Go find Kikyo to help if you love her so much!"

The half demon's eyes burned with a new rage. "Fine! Go home! I can get her to help anytime! And you know what Kagome? You're right for once, I do love Kikyo… but I HATE YOU!" Inuyasha screamed in her face. The girl flinched noticeably this time.

Oh man… wrong thing to say.

"Sit." Kagome whispered lightly. A loud crash resounded through the forest as Inuyasha plummeted into the ground. There was a faint hiccup, and Kagome ran to the well, leaping in lightly as small droplets of water that fell from her face shone brightly in the sun, appearing to be diamonds that fell from the sky.

Sesshomaru was advancing on his unknowing half-brother to slaughter the brute, when (much to Sesshomaru's dismay, for he had not been able to hurt Inuyasha yet) the scene changed once more – to the night of Inuyasha's death.

He saw Kagome sobbing over the hanyou's body and wondered why she cried after all the man had done to her.

Finally, Sesshomaru found himself standing on the surface of a never-ending lake. The water was as motionless as ice, yet it was still a liquid. A crescent moon shone brilliantly overhead, illuminating the dark expanse and casting an eerie reflection on the waters surface.

He took a step, watching the small ripples grow larger and larger from his foot and out. He could walk on it. Puzzled, he looked around. To his far left, he could see Kagome floating in the air, weeping. He took a step toward her and could've sworn he'd gotten farther away.

He began to run to her, for the tears were driving him insane. Yet the faster he ran, the farther she seemed. Her sorrowful moans acted as a dagger, penetrating the icy shields around his heart.

'Call out to her.' Came a voice that echoed across the water. It was a voice heavenly to the ears and comforting to the soul. Sesshomaru recognized the voice to be the same one that had spoken to him while he was in the woods.

So he cautiously called her name. She continued sobbing, like she couldn't hear him, and he tried louder.

"Who's there?" the miko called in alarm.

"It is I, Sesshomaru," he responded trying to calm her. "Come here, Kagome." Her blue eyes traveled to him and widened. Tears formed, and abruptly Sesshomaru found himself directly in front of her. She cried out his name and threw her arms around his neck.

"Help me…" she whispered in his ear. "It hurts terribly." Her grip on him tightened, as if she would fall, even though she still hovered above the ground.

"What hurts? How can I help?" he asked swiftly. He looked her over for her wounds, but they were no longer there.

"My heart. It hurts." She said quietly. She moved her head to look deeply into his golden eyes. "I've been forced to relive all my worst memories through the night… and… and my heart just can't take it anymore." Kagome buried her face in his silky hair.

"I need you to hold me." she whispered.

His arms wrapped tightly around her bare body and she winced in his ear. "There is that better?" Her soft black hair bobbed this way and that as she nodded in the affirmative.

"Tell me."

"What?" He looked at her through her black locks in a perplexed way.

"Tell me… that you… love me. I need to know, now." She whispered holding him tighter. "Please."

He hesitated, and peered around across the black lake. "There's no one here but you and I, Sesshomaru. Nobody will hear but myself." Kagome said quietly, encouraging him to speak. "Nobody else ever has to hear."

'If you really love her, you'll tell her.' His mind told him. 'But do I love her? I'm not sure-'

'Of course you do! Remember how you felt watching her worst memories?' his mind cut in. 'Yes, I felt angry and ached to comfort her.' Sesshomaru ran his thoughts back to the day he first saw her, hiding behind his brother, when she had first begun to travel through time. He had not thought her ugly or weak, and that is why he had attempted to kill her. To see if she was really as powerful as her aura suggested. He had followed them for quite a time afterwards to watch the woman, trying to understand why she was as beautiful as she was because she was merely human. He grew attached to her during that time and tried to break his feelings by returning to his home.

'Tell her.'

'Well, what if I don't?' he snapped back at his mind. The irritating voice had interrupted his thoughts.

'You do.' It replied smugly.

'…' Realizing (finally) that he did love her, Sesshomaru nuzzled Kagome's neck, so that his mouth was by her ear and he whispered: "I love you, Kagome koi."

Suddenly they were outside in the flower field again. Kagome's naked form was held tightly against Sesshomaru's chest, and she finally had stopped glowing. The demon was too distracted with thoughts of getting Kagome home and clothed; and with the darkness of the night, he didn't notice the slight change in Kagome's appearance.

So wadya think? Like it? Again I'm so sorry… infinity! … that I haven't updated for a while. Anyway, time for nighty-night! It's 11:40 pm, not bad for me huh? Usually I stay up later than this, but I've got strep throat and my medicine is gonna knock me…(yawn)…owt…sooo…I tink I …gonna'…(ho-hum)…(shhhnooooooorrrre)

Sesshomaru: Wake up. (whacks head)

Owwww! That's a sensitive spot! I had a huge blood-sucking tick the size of my thumb (no joke folks) stuck to my head right there when I was 8! And it still hurts!

Sesshomaru: (snorts) Oh please! Myoga gets bigger than that!

So! Myoga is a flea, he only sucks dog blood and he's nice and won't infect my blood with icky diseases, Thank you very much! You do know that I can make Kagome hate you in the story! Right? (fingers poised over keyboard menacingly)

Kagome: NOOOOO! Be nice Sesshomaru or she' gonna' make me hate you! (starts crying)

Sesshomaru: Now look what you did. (tries to comfort Kagome)

What I did? You started it by hitting me on the head! I need to sleep ya know, (insert sarcasm here) not everybody's "perfect' like the almighty Sesshomaru! Ohhhhhh! Sometimes you are such a pain in the… (yawns)…whoa… I feel dizzy…and sleepy…nighty-night!

Sesshomaru: (holding empty syringe needle in hand) Finally she shuts her big mouth up!

I …hewd dat… Sesshy...

Sesshomaru: (eye twitches)…

Oh… Sesshy…tewl dem…(yawn)… to weveiw…(snoo-) pwease…(-oorre)…(drool drips out of open mouth, snot bubble pulses, and foot twitches)

Sesshomaru: O.o'

Kagome: Ummm…(throws blanket over writer) Just review, okay?