Thank you, all of you who gave such kind reviews, big confidence boost guys! Now that I have fans I can keep writing! You have quite a long story ahead of you! Anywayz, I know my starting chapters are short, but they will get longer as I go. I am out of town every now and then, but never fret, it only gives me time to think and better my story. I promise one hell of a story that will be worth the wait! Love yous all! by the way, all unanswered questions shall be revealed at the right times.

And we all know I do not own Inuyasha,-- only my own imagination!

Chapter 3

The walk home was a silent one, full of racing thoughts and confusion wrapped in disbelief. After parting with her friends, Kagome walked slowly, turning in her mind, thoughts of what she encountered earlier this morning, and the way she reacted. She had so many questions...so many.

Questions stacked on top of questions that reached the sky and disapeared as another question was added.

The cold air was oblivious to her as she climbed the steps that led to her home in the shrine.

One step...two, tree steps...pause...

'I'm meeting sesshoumaru in the park tonight...I told him I would...'

Four steps,...five...six-pause

'He is different...a contradiction...almost normal...is this real?'

Kagome looked up the steps unclimbed at her long shadow created from the sun behind her.

It was afternoon.

Tomorrow she would go back to Inuyasha . Back to where Sesshoumaru was feared and known to all. Where he held his chin high and dressed royally, and wore pride on that face and in those eyes...those eyes that hardly ever looked at her...that voice that never greeted her...

Back to where he didn't smoke.

Back to where he didn't smile.

Kagome sat down on the stone steps.

She thought about when she first saw him. He roared from the sky on the shoulder of a great Oni, with nothing but hatred in his actions, hatred for his half brother whose name he spat bitterly.

She thought about when he tried to kill her in the belly of their great father...The way he stood so close to her and spoke so evilly seductive before he rained his poison upon her...without a second thought.

Kagome shivered unconsciously.

She fast forwarded in her mind.

She remembered that day he didn't try to take Tetsusaiga, and never tried again after. It was the day

he showed up from nowhere, after Inuyasha transformed in the poison cocoon...after Inuyasha lost control and killed the moth demon...and then human men who begged for their lives.

Sesshoumaru showed up in Inuyasha's rampage and demanded to fight. Fight they did.. It was terrifying. She actually thought Inuyasha would die...that this was the day Sesshoumaru would kill him.

Flashback:

"You are nothing but a mindless monster who cannot control his dirty blood. KNOW YOUR PLACE AND LICK THE GROUND!" Sesshoumaru yelled as his sword pressure took and sent Inuyasha flying back to hit the ground at a back breaking speed. The ground parted in his wake.

"Inuyashaaaa!" Kagome cried as she ran to the hanyou's body to cover it with her own.

Sesshoumaru neared...closer...closer...then he stopped at the hanyou's feet, Tokijin still in hand.

Kagome looked up, rage and sadness showing in the tears that spilled from her eyes. "Don't come any closer you JERK!"

"Kagomeee!" Sango, Miroku, and Shippo yelled fearfully in unison as they ran to stand between her and Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru ignored them, staring only at kagome. "If you do not wish for him to transform again, then he must not part with Tetsusaiga."

Kagome gasped, and her heart skipped a beat...she almost tinkled on herself.

"I thought you hated Inuyasha! Why are you helping him!" Miroku asked bravely, eyes cut, and hand clenched.

"I will be the one to slay Inuyasha, but not as an uncontrolled monster who cannot think, and doesn't even know who it is slaying him and why. It would be a waste and dishonorable on my part."

With that he sheathed Tokijin, turned, and disappeared into the dust.

:End flashback

From that day on, Kagome saw him as almost an ally, not an enemy.

She reflected on the times Sesshoumaru saved them...there were a few...

Then she thought of the times he saved her, when no one else was there to save her.

Like that dayhe killed the poison user of the Shinintai,...That nasty short man-thing that drugged her, paralyzing her...to think of how he would have violated her after his warped marriage to her...And then when all seemed lost, She saw silver hair and glowing eyes through the dust. Once she realized it wasn't Inuyasha, but Sesshoumaru that saved her, she knew there was a god, and Sesshoumaru was his angel that day. An angel in white that wore the name demon...he really was a contradiction.

Then he came for her and Rin in that evil palace, as Takemaru brought So'ounga down to end their life...but the deathblow never hit. They looked up to see that Sesshoumaru caught the sword with his own. He was holding So'ounga a bay with great strength. "Get out of here" he ordered the two girls...and they did.

Rin,... Rin who was so brave, knowing he would come..."Sesshoumaru-sama will come for us Kagome-sama!" She had told her moments before... And he did.

Brave little Rin who took up for her as Takemaru hit her mightily, sending her into a wall.

"You should not hit girls! Sesshoumaru-sama is going to punish you!" Rin yelled at the evil possessed man who held So'ounga, Inutaisho's sword of hell.

Rin...Rin who loved Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru, who allowed Rin to love him.

"Kagome?"

Kagome came back to reality at the sound of her name coming from her mothers lips.

"Kagome are you alright?" her mother asked from atop the steps

Kagome turned her head and craned her neck to see her mother. "Just taking a rest."

"You have a certain visitor Kagome." her mother said with a smile in her voice.

Kagome jumped up at that, grabbed her bag and ran up the steps.

"Kagome your pale, are you sure your ok?" her mother asked in a concerned voice as she put her hand to her daughters cheek."

"Fine fine, just fine." Kagome huffed, as she pulled away and walked toward the house, knowing the arguement that awaited her inside...the arguement that wore furry ears.

Right before Kagome opened the door for her mother, she stopped, realizing her almost mistake.

"Mama, do you have any perfume on you? ...I feel like I smell." Kagome asked, hopeful that she would say 'well as a matter of fact I do dear!'

"No Kagome, I'm sorry I don't" :sniff, sniff: "You smell fine to me" Her mother assured.

Kagome got nervous.

'O-crap, he's going to flip out when he smells his brother on me...get a hold of yourself kagome...maybe it will be alright...Sesshoumaru never touched me or even brushed against me...its ok...why am I scared anyway? I plan on telling him anyway...don't I? Why do I feel like Im being sneaky?...I'm not sneaky...and I'm not hiding anything...And I'm definately not talking to myself!'

"Earth to Kagome!"

"Eh?" kagome squeaked

"Shall we" Her mother smiled suspiciously

Kagome nodded, and they went into the house, shutting the door behind them.

:meanwhile

Sesshoumaru approached his house as windchimes sang in the wind on his porch. Sesshoumaru had many windchimes, but not any that would 'ping' in high pitches. Most gave off a soft 'dong' and others which were wooden or bamboo made a lovely 'clunk' sound. Beautiful.

He threw a cigarette into a can by his feet as he unlocked his door. Sesshoumaru had a comfortable house that was quite large,--well, large for Tokyo living. Only alittle larger than Kagome's.

The lower part of the house held an over sized kitchen for dining, two bedrooms, on of them being a master with master bath, a small parlor, a living room , and another standard bathroom. Right outside the back door, a path led to a small laundry room.

The upstairs is where he kept all of his many belongings that museums competed for. This is where he did his work.

As he entered his home, he threw his keys into the bowl at his right, with his left hand. Oh how he loved his left arm. Never would he part with it again.

Flicking on a light switch in the parlor, he noticed his stereo had been left on, and his Cd's were scattered around it,...again.

Sesshoumaru surpressed a smile that threatened to form on his lips.

"That little shit"... "JAKAN!"

After half a moment, the little green imp came running into view , then tripped on a t-shirt that was twice his size. As he tripped he spilled his pepsi onto the dark blue carpet.

"M-mi-lord you are home early today...please mi-lord, forgive me, I planned to have the house cleaned by this evening, which is when I thought you would be home..." Jakan explained as he fumbled to pick up his soda and hold his shirt.

"Is that my shirt Jakan?" Sesshoumaru asked raising a brow and pointing a long finger at him.

"Y-yes mi-lord...I have the laundry going...forgive me." Jakan said shakily.

"I was just asking, Im not going to kill you Jakan...lay off the caffiene..."

"Yessir mi-lord"

"And Jakan, put my CD's in their cases after using them. If one gets scratched, THEN, I might kill you." Sesshoumaru said jokingly, but gullible Jakan still takes him seriously as always and picks them up as quickly as his little hands allow him to.

Yes, after all this time Jakan still serves his master as he always vowed he would since the day he began to follow the beautiful Sesshoumaru. Jakan kept things in order and tidy, or he was supposed to, for Sesshoumaru everyday. When the phone rang he took a message, when the mail came, he arranged it. Jakan even cooked for his master mostly every day. He did what he could to feel useful, and deep down, Sesshoumaru appreciated that...Jakan was his only real friend...The only familiar face...familiar voice.

...How lonely Sesshoumaru would be without the weird little Jakan.

...How lonely Jakan would be without his weird youkai lord.

...How they were both lonely for the missing spot in their lives to be filled...filled with giggles...and little flowers...and made up songs on long afternoons.

They never spoke of her, but both thought of her.

They never spoke of anyone from that time...that place...Where they mattered...Where they slept among the trees and rivers, and meadows fragranted with wildflowers...When they rode the winds back and spent long hours just walking in comfortable silence, never knowing where their next adventure would jump out at them and claim them...pull them in...everyday was a new one.

But days turned into years, and in the blink of an eye...she was gone.

Thats how it went. People...and hanyous, were taken away by time...some, too early for their own time.

Only Sesshoumaru and Jakan remain unaffected by time...They are witness to time, and what time brings...and what it takes away. Time, fickle time, ever constant and always there...Time.

Sesshoumaru went over his messages, picked through his mail, the usual routine.

Nothing interesting. He went to the kitchen, emerged with two large bottles of water, and sat heavily on the couch as Jakan entered with the laundry, and began folding.

Sesshoumaru downed bottle number one and wiped his mouth on his sleeve, while checking the time on the VCR, then looking back at Jakan who quietly did his job of folding Sesshoumaru's underwear.

"I'm going out for a bit tonight." Sesshoumaru suddenly spoke.

"Would you require my company milord?" Jakan asked looking up. Jakan sometimes went for walks with him at night, passing for a very old midget.

"No, I am meeting a young woman" He said putting bottle number two to his lips.

"One of those nights eh milord?" Jakan said looking sly with a smile.

The bottle made a gurgling noise as Sesshoumaru suddenly stopped sucking the water, and the pressure pulled his tongue into the bottle, making him sputter as he tried to pull away with wide eyes.

THWACK!

Sesshoumaru put his wrath into the half full,(or half empty)water bottle and launched it straight for poor Jakan, soaking him and leaving him rubbing his little green head.

"Forgive me, milord.." Jakan winced. "Is there anything I can help you with in preparation then milord?"

"No Jakan, I was only telling you because it is someone we used to know." Sesshoumaru said, still alittle shocked and annoyed .

"Oh really...who?" Jakan questioned as he paused from drying himself with a little towel.

"Kagome" Sesshoumaru answered smoothly.

"Ahhh, Kagome...KAGOME!" Jakan squawked as the name hit him, and took him back five hundred years.

Sesshoumaru nodded.

"What...Kagome? How...wher-when ahk...HOW- what do you mean?"

"Jakan, ...please. What the hell was that?" Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes.

"Milord, I thought Kagome died the day Naraku was destroyed? The jewel she searched for was purified in the very power that killed Naraku...I saw it with my own eyes...She died protecting y-"

"Yes Jakan I know how it happened" Sesshoumaru said now rubbing his temples.

"Then milord, tell me what you mean. Tell how it is Kagome!"

And so Sesshoumaru explained. He told Jakan of her magic shrine and time travel, and how time crossed time and connected their paths in the park where they discovered each other, and where they would meet again tonight.

"How confusing milord...how strange" Jakan gasped

"And it will only further confuse itself...Time, ...it is a treacherous thing Jakan" Sesshoumaru said sounding tired.

"So, she hasn't died yet...but she will...wont she?" Jakan asked scratching his head.

"...I have to shower" Sesshoumaru said as he stood and went to his room, closing the door behind him.

Sesshoumaru opened his walk in closet and began pulling fresh clothes from their hangers. At the end wall of the closet, Tokijin, and Tenseiga sat in their racks on the wall.

Sesshoumaru let his clothes fall from his hands and placed his hands on the two swords. Tokijin, who slaughtered his enemies,... and Tenseiga that...that didn't awaken Kagome..

Flashback:

Sesshoumaru was no longer paralyzed...yet he couldn't move. He couldn't move.

His mind could not calculate what had just happened. He was blank.

A moment ago he was ready to die...but he didn't.

From nowhere came this girl...this Kagome.

He heard her cry out, felt her tears hit his face...looked into those dark eyes as she faded...for him.

Why? What reason?

Why did she look at him so...so dear? So relieved...like it was only natural for her to die for him.

Foolish..

Sesshoumaru watched as his brother cried and shook,- clinging to this girl.

He listened as Inuyasha cried out and wailed,- clinging to this girl.

All around him there were tears...and cries

Something in him shifted and he felt...almost dizzy.

Rin emerged from the forest and dropped to her knees...he could smell her tears falling.

Without hesitation, He pulled the sword...the sword of life...the sword of heaven.

But there was no pulse...no rythem...nothing.

He didn't understand. He felt the pulse just the day before when he revived that boy...Kohaku.

Rin had shattered when they came upon his body in the forest. Naraku took the shard that tied him to life and left him to die.

The fake woman approached , called by the cries and holy power.

As she neared ...she too, cried. Real tears. She was no longer fake, but completely whole.

Kikyou kneeled beside Inuyasha and took the girl from him, holding her close.

"Kagome...Selfless Kagome" Kikyou weeped. "In a single moment of love you healed the land...and sacrificed yourself"

"Move aside." Sesshoumaru had said. He was determined to catch her pulse, the swords pulse. He had to know why.

"She cannot be revived...It was her wish for you to live on...Kagome would not let you be killed in such a way...It was this selfless sacrifice that purified the jewel and destroyed Naraku...She could have done this in many other ways...but she wouldn't think twice about saving someone...I of all people would know that (Kikyourefers to when she purified the shouki and closed her wound in the small pond without hesitation.)

...she wanted you to live...and now she has returned herself to me."

Kikyou explained before her voice shook and she buried her face into the ebony locks of the lifeless Kagome as she weeped these real tears.

Inuyasha Screamed and in it ...Sesshoumaru felt...sorrow.

And the world turned... leaving Sesshoumaru behind...holding a sword of life.

:End flashback

And here he was, standing in a closet, with clothes piled at his feet, four hundred and ninety-six years later... holding a sword of life.

With a sneer, Sesshoumaru set the sword on its rack, and went to take a shower.

"Buyo doesn't like that." Kagome glared as she turned to her closet.

"Thats the point" Inuyasha laughed as he repositioned the cat to its feet, freeing the poor creature.

"So whats the deal, I still have another day!" Kagome asked from her closet, where she was changing her clothes

"I always come stay the last night with you don't I?" Inuyasha said as he walked over to her closet, but before he grabbed the knob the door swung open.

"Because you don't trust me to come back!" Kagome accused, grabbing a brush and quickly smoothing her hair.

"No, because your late if I don't, and we don't have all the time in the world yanno!"He accused back.

Kagome sat at her vanity and applied eyeliner and quick mascara.

"What are you doing anyway?" Inuyasha asked as he shadowed her light with his head.

"Move!– I'm going out with an old friend..."

"You look nice..." Inuyasha said with a blush.

Kagome's heart hurt when he said that. She felt bad for not telling him...Hey, why did she look nice? She didn't usually apply makeup unless she was on a ...a date?

Nonononono, thats not what this was...not at all...but why did it feel like one?

Inuyasha noticed the laa laa look that Kagome was giving him. "So where are you going anyways?"

"The park."

"But it's damn cold out there!" Inuyasha protested.

"I'll be fine...we do that kinda stuff here... you know, just hang out in stupid places." Kagome said as she struggled to put her coat on.

Inuyasha grabbed the other side and helped her.

"I...I'll be back soon...go through my stuff or something till I get home ok!" Kagome said with a half smile.

"Keh, whatever." Inuyasha half smiled back.

She didn't know why, but she kissed him on the cheek before she ran out...Maybe the guilt made her do it...to convince herself that she did not date other people...especially Inuyasha's brother.

Kagome stopped at the entrance to the park to catch her breath. She ran almost the entire way, mostly because she was cold...and also because she was alittle scared to be alone at night.

It was so dark, and the park looked so scary and unknown...she wanted to chicken out...she didn't want to step foot in there. She just stood there.

A noise behind her put her feet in motion, and she jogged down the path into the dark ness.

The pale moon was her only light, and it wasn't very much due to the wintery clouds that shadowed its little light.

She knew her way around though by memory, and soon made it to the stone bench beneath the tree.

"Hello? Are you here?" Kagome said to the darkness.

A cricket chirped.

Kagome sat down, not sure if she should wait or go home. She was so cold.

This place creeped her out at night. It was so quiet, and freaky...she was all alone...

'Where are you! Its frickin cold and Im alone and...and...WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!'

Kagome's thoughts were interrupted by a small glowing light...and it was moving...it was red...AND IT WAS COMING CLOSER!

Kagome jumped up to her feet and "eeeped!" as the small light approached

"GO AWAY!" She yelled.

"Did I frighten you? I seem to have that affect on many" Came the voice of Sesshoumaru as he removed the glowing red cigarette from his lips.

Kagome wanted to die.

"Oh my god, Sesshoumaru,...I can't see, all I could see was the light from your cigarette"

"And it scared you?" He said teasingly.

"Ha Ha -so what if it did...it was, wierd...and I was alone."She half whined as she sat back down.

"We could have walked in together if you hadn't took off the way you did when I arrived at the entrance." He teased again.

"So you were the scary noise in the dark!" kagome teased back.

"I'm always that scary noise in the dark" He said, and she could tell he was looking at her.

Just then the moon hit his eyes making them shine eerily.

He smelled so good...it made her wish she had worn perfume.

"You have the same smell..." He said unexpectantly, as if he channeled in on her thoughts.

"Oh" was all she could think to say.

"So do you miss it Sesshoumaru?"she asked out of the blue

"It is a nice smell,...it could be missed" He replied, eyes still shining.

Kagome's heart stopped and her face burned with a furious blush.

"I meant, do you miss being back in that time?"

She saw him close his eyes and turn his face.

"Everyday."

"I'm glad you called me over this morning...Im glad I get to actually talk to Sesshoumaru." Kagome said, feeling the need to make him feel important.

He turned back to her, and just looked at her, silently in the moon light.

Kagome did the same. Where were all those questions she had? She couldn't think of a single one to ask in this moment.

She wanted to touch him. To just brush her hand across his face...anything.

Sesshoumaru raised his hand, and lightly, ...so lightly, touched it to her cheek.

Deja Vu.

Her teeth started to chatter, and her body shivered.

'She is so frail...' Sesshoumaru noted in his mind.

"Come, lets go before you become ill." Sesshoumaru said as he rose to his feet.

"Where? There is nowhere around here." Kagome pointed out.

"My home is a short walk from here. We could talk there...I'll have Jakan warm some sake"

Kagome hesitated. She wasn't too sure about this, but she didn't want to go home yet...she wanted to talk and drink sake with him...she just couldn't find it in her to say no.

"That sounds like a much better idea than sitting here!" Kagome chattered through what she knew were blue lips.

"Good" Sesshoumaru agreed as he helped her to her feet.

Wait a sec... "Did you say Jakan?"

Sesshoumaru gave a small laugh as he led the way

"I did indeed."

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Hope you liked it! Chapter 4 will be up tomorrow!

All my love comin your way!

Plz review!