My thanks to: Fluffyfafa, hentail8ancilla, Blood of a Tear, Sayuri-chan 16, and Kagome010 for reading and reviewing chapter 2: keep reading and enjoying, people!

Disclaimer: This is just a fictional story about Inuyasha, based on the TV series. I don't own any of the characters. Keep reading, people!

Tessadragon

Chapter 3

By the herb patch nearest the priestess's hut, Kagome confided in Kaede, the wisened priestess who'd in Kagome's previous lifetime had been her younger sister. "I swear Inuyasha never thinks before he talks! He's been so insulting!"

Kaede nodded, hiding an amused smile: she knew Inuyasha was always like this, and knew that Kagome also knew it: why would she expect any different? Ah, to be young and in love, she thought, her smile broadening.

"He lied just to come back here! He could have just said he wanted to come back here!" Kagome disentangled a maze of nettle stems, gripping them as hard as she could to stop them stinging her. It was her least favourite plant to deal with nonetheless.

Kaede continued sorting through the herbs she'd been plucking from one of the wild-herb patches. "However he does have a sly look in his eyes…and I do have to wonder why he's loitering by my hut. I hope he is not planning something."

"Him planning something?" Kagome said scornfully, picking a bit of errant root from one of the herbs, then scraping a bead of dirt from another bulb. "At least I don't have to worry about that…he doesn't like planning anything…he just goes ahead and does whatever enters his skull!"

Kaede gave her a thoughtful look then turned back to sorting the herbs. "There is that saying, of you can teach a young dog new tricks…and Inuyasha is still young."

Kagome hid a sceptical look and focused on going through the rest of the herbs until they were in neat piles of what type they were, and for their purposes. She breathed in the smell of one of the crushed thyme plants, then looked towards where she'd last seen Inuyasha skulking. She had a feeling he was inside Kaede's hut…

"The old hag's gotta have something here," Inuyasha muttered, then took hold of the subjugation rosary around his neck and inhaled deeply, ignoring his own and Kagome's scent, and then Kaede's scent. Then he breathed in the smell of Kaede's hut, slowly sifting through the scents of herbs until he tracked down the very faint scent of the same cloth that had once been wrapped around the rosary. Crossing to the other corner of the hut, he began going through what he could find. "Damn!" he cursed as soon as he found and opened the jewellerybox where the rosary had been stored long ago. Of course it was empty…it'd been such a faint hope to find a second subjugation necklace.

He'd been thinking about this all morning as he'd run: it gave him a fierce headache like he'd been lying in the sun too long. "Now my brain feels broke," he muttered resentfully, knocking his knuckles against his forehead.

So he needed a priestess…for a moment he thought of trying to seek out Kikyo, but he had no idea where she was…and a nagging suspicion told him that he'd not get help from her. He couldn't ask Kaede: she'd know what he wanted to do. He certainly couldn't ask Kagome…!

He uttered a growl just at thinking of the girl, then got up and prowled the hut again, feeling helpless.

"Ow!" It was Kagome's voice.

Instinct prevailed even though at this moment he hated her, and he ran outside, his hand at the hilt of his sword.

Kagome shook her hand as though that'd help, and looked around for some dock leaves. "Typical!" she muttered.

"Try dipping it in cold water," Kaede suggested, looking up from the extra long tuft of bloodwort that she was cutting into shorter pieces. "I will," Kagome answered, then saw Inuyasha's face creased in worry.

"What's wrong?" he demanded, turning his face to look for an enemy.

"I just stung myself on a nettle," Kagome said embarrassedly, hiding her hand behind her back. "That's all."

His nose wrinkled. "I thought you were being attacked!"

Kagome went red. I don't think I'd say 'ow' if I was being attacked! But this time she held her tongue. "I'm gonna try and find some dock leaves."

"I'll come with you," he said coolly, taking his hand from Tetsusaiga's hilt, then led the way past the herb patch, seeing that there were no dock leaves growing there. "Usually dock leaves grow near nettles."

"It's okay, I'll just put my hand in cold water," Kagome said blushing.

"Hmph." Inuyasha acted as if he hadn't heard her, rooting among the many leafed plants and bushes surrounding one of the trees at the rim of the forest. For a moment his heart beat faster…

They called this the Forest of Inuyasha when he was bound here, Kagome remembered sadly, following Inuyasha deeper into the forest. What do they call it now that he's no longerin an enchanted sleep against the Tree of Ages?

Their path naturally took them towards the tree where Inuyasha had been bound. He barely seemed aware of where he was going, searching intently for dock leaves until he found one and pounced on it, tearing it from his stalk, then looked up…he was standing in front of the tree where he'd once been bound. Was the bark paler where his body had once been bound by growing vines? he wondered. His heart fought to slow itself; the tree was like a force pulling him towards its history, the history he shared with it.

A few steps behind him, Kagome steadied herself against a younger tree, seeing Inuyasha stand still for once, sunlight dappling shadows along his red kimono and long silver hair as though he was the embodiment of movement even though he stood deathly still.

Does he still think of Kikyo when he sees this tree? Kagome thought sadly. Of course he does…though when I see this tree, I don't know if I think more of how Kikyo bound him to it or how I freed him from it. Like an unwilling ghost she remembered her compulsion to touch his ears…not like she was asking if they were real…just feeling she needed to touch them, see if they looked as soft as they looked, if they would twitch at her touch…

She balled her fists at her side against the sudden wish to touch Inuyasha's ears again, and involuntarily hissed in pain as her nettle-burned hand began hurting again. Inuyasha turned back to her, for a moment like he was in a dream, then was crossing back to her, reaching for her hand, and her heart was beating harder…

Gently he pressed the dock leaf to her hand. "Better take care of it." His voice was softer than usual.

Is he thinking of me or Kikyo while he's here? Kagome thought dazedly and laid her hand over the dock leaf, over Inuyasha's hand accidentally and yanked her hand back like he'd electrocuted her. He jerked free too and walked off quickly. For a moment Kagome stood still, the dock leaf over her hand, and through it she dared to think she felt the heat of Inuyasha's hand. Then she walked after Inuyasha, slower, feeling a strange but familiar sense of reproachful disappointment that brought a blush to her cheeks. What did I think would happen…Or what did I want to happen? As always she didn't dare to voice it even in her own mind.

"Come on!" Inuyasha's voice called brash and impatient from ahead.

Stupid, stupid, he told himself bitterly, remembering how quickly she'd yanked her hand away. You're stupid to touch her. We're worlds apart, remember? He always told himself that. There's no future with us…she's from the future. She wouldn't give up the world she's always known to be with me…and I don't want her to! I want to travel. I want to fight! Put those stupid demons in their place and get a good bit of territory…In the back of his mind he imagined stamping his foot down on the wolf-demon Koga's scrawny neck, and he guiltily knew that it wasn't from a desire to just put a stupid demon in it's place…!

"Stupid," he said aloud.

"What's stupid?" Kagome caught up to him reluctantly.

"You," he said before he thought.

"Excuse me?" Kagome yelled, outraged. "Why am I stupid, dog-boy!"

That's always her excuse, that I'm a dog! He thought, anger rising. I'm a canine half-demon! Not something that you throw a stick for! In the back of his mind he imagined that kid Rin throwing a stick and Sesshomaru bounding after it on all fours…Maybe that's why he lets her travel with him, he thought snidely and sniggered involuntarily.

"So?" Kagome demanded, coming to a halt in front of him. "Why do you think I'm stupid?"

"Letting yourself get stung by a nettle." Inuyasha said immediately then ran for his life and dignity.

"Oh no you don't! SIT!"

He crashed into the ground, almost smashing his teeth. "Hey!" he said with difficulty, climbing slowly to his feet. He'd bit his tongue and now his words came out funny. "Tha' hurt!" He gingerly touched his tongue and a bit of blood came away on his fingers. He glared at Kagome.

"Serves you right for calling me stupid," Kagome said immediately.

She never says sorry for hurting me, Inuyasha thought, as angry with her as he'd been this morning. Then he vowed that he would get revenge on her, teach her what it's like. I'm going to make her crash into the ground.