"A Heart's Immaculence"

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha! End of story!

Author's Note: Hi, everybody! I'm really sorry I updated late. I had a midterm to study for after all, and my brain felt like it wanted to explode after working it so hard. Thank you, my dear readers for reading and reviewing! I love to hear from you all so much! I feel like I have fans now, and it's a wonderful feeling to have, especially when I have personal problems that linger around me every now and then. You all deserve to get some sort of response from me for being so generous. I feel bad though for those readers who review and are not signed or registered because I can't write back to them, but that's why I say what I need to say right here. My midterm's this week, so wish me luck, my darling readers! I'm so happy that all of you liked the last chapter. I enjoyed writing it very much, but I'd have to say that Rin's interrogation of Sesshomaru was so sweet and adorable! I'm also happy that we've stepped over the hump together in waiting patiently for Kagome and Sesshomaru to finally get somewhere with how they feel towards one another. Yes, yes, yes! We had to ride the roller coaster all the way to the top, and now we are ready to ride down the tracks at full speed, aren't we? Unfortunately, that's not going to happen yet in this chapter. It's been a while since we've heard from Inuyasha and his friends. Oh, and a certain someone comes into the picture to stir things up again. Happy reading, everyone!

Chapter 21

After searching for hours in the forest for Kagome's whereabouts, Inuyasha was becoming thirsty and fatigued, his body aching from endless running. His friends were just as tired as he was, yet they made no complaint of their discomfort, their determination to find Kagome as persistent as his own. He was unexpectedly moved by their dedication, and it consoled him, if only but little, to know he had such true, devoted companions to be by his side. Their help was more than enough to recharge his strength and motivation to find and bring back the girl who meant more to him now than she ever had before.

However, Inuyasha's feelings of benevolence brought about by the loyalty of his friends was dismantled when dark images of his dream began appearing in his mind. He saw them as clearly as if he were looking through crystalline water. It was the intrusion of these images which instigated his desire to find Kagome no matter what the dangers were, and it was mostly his fear for her life that persuaded him to finally reveal to his friends what it was his dream showcased for him.

"What's wrong, Inuyasha?" Shippo said, noticing his perturbed face.

"Are you all right, Inuyasha?" said Miroku, nudging Sango with his elbow as they both rode on Kilala's back.

"My head aches," Inuyasha said, closing his eyes and shaking his head, wishing the movement would cause his thoughts to fall off until there was nothing left inside his mind. "I keep seeing the same thing over and over."

"Is it your dream?" Miroku said. "Are you seeing the things you dreamt about now?"

"I think maybe we should stop," Sango said to Inuyasha, patting Kilala behind the head, signaling her to land. "You need to get some rest before we go looking for Kagome again."

"We're not stopping!" said Inuyasha impatiently. "I have to go on even with this pain in my head. There's no reason to let this dream take over my will to find Kagome. So forget about me taking a stupid rest! Let's continue on!"

"Wait a minute, Inuyasha," Miroku said, considering the well-being of his friends. "Shouldn't we all take a rest? We've been searching for Kagome for a long time, and we need to energize ourselves if we want to be successful in our quest."

"Do what you want, then. I'll find Kagome by myself."

Another sharp pain sliced through Inuyasha's head just then, and he stopped running, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

"What is it?" Sango asked Inuyasha. "You look like you're in a lot of pain."

"That's it!" said Miroku. "You're so stubborn! Can't you see you can't go further without resting yourself first? You're clearly in pain, and I know it has to do with that dream."

"I told you I'm not stopping, Miroku," Inuyasha said, lifting his other hand to touch the side of his head.

"Look at you," said Sango. "Now you're using both hands to cradle your head. There's no point in having you find Kagome in your condition. Don't argue with us! We all need to rest, but you need it the most."

"He looks terrible," said Shippo, holding tightly to Miroku's shoulder.

"Of course he does," Miroku said. "Now I think we should rest over there by that clearing near those tall cliffs. Sango?"

"I'm with you," she replied. "Kilala, let's go!"

"Don't stay behind, Inuyasha," yelled Shippo as Kilala landed on the clearing.

Inuyasha watched as his friends descended Kilala's back near a tree. Miroku stretched out his body on the grass and tucked his arm under his head while Sango sat next to him, polishing her Hiraikotsu with a cloth as Shippo combed his tail with his hands. They all seemed calm compared to how he felt, and he was debating whether or not to listen to their advice or to go on ahead and find Kagome without them. He began to think of what Kagome might have said and reacted to his bull-headedness, and he figured she would have punished him with her usual "sit" command. Looking down at his rosary bead necklace, he touched it yearningly, and he realized he missed her angry voice and the feel of his body being slammed to the ground by her bidding. He would have rather been told to "sit" by her a thousand times than to suffer the pain of being away from her.

Upon musing about Kagome, Inuyasha decided to heed his friends and rest himself before his headache became worse. He ran up to where they were and sat underneath the tree, leaning his back against the rough bark, crossing his arms over his chest as he held Tetsusaiga next to his shoulder. Uncertain whether he made the right choice, Inuyasha tried to brush away his doubt by counting the different formations of clouds as they floated by in the sky. But rather than easing his mind, the clouds irritated him instead, and he saw them take shape into familiar forms. He thought one cloud looked like Kagome and then another one flew by in the shape of Sesshomaru. When the wind disfigured the shapes of these clouds that looked like the girl he cared about and his brother, more of them would appear, but this time two of them were in the forms of Kikyo and Naraku. Inuyasha closed his eyes and breathed deeply, hoping that when he opened them again, he would not see such things.

"My mind must be playing tricks on me," Inuyasha said to himself.

The early evening sun showered its light over the tree the group was resting under, casting a dark shade to cover them. As he kept his eyes closed, Inuyasha noticed the coolness of the shade was helping to assuage his head pain, and the breeze which swept over him massaged his face with its gentleness. Feeling better and reenergized, he opened his eyes and prepared to recount to his friends the cause of his affliction.

"So are you all ready to hear about my dream?" he said straightforwardly.

Miroku lifted his head and leaned himself against an elbow. Sango stopped polishing her weapon and laid it flat over her folded legs. Shippo sat on top of a rock with an eager face.

"Are you sure you're ready to tell us, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, sitting up. "What about the pain in your head?"

"I'm feeling better now," Inuyasha said, gripping Tetsusaiga tightly, needing its support for what he was about to tell his friends.

"Don't rush into it, Inuyasha," Sango said. "Take as much time as you want. You don't have to feel forced to tell us anything right away."

"I'm only telling you about it because of Kagome," said Inuyasha. "Miroku was right when he said I should talk about my dream. If there is any chance that doing so might give us clues about where she is, then I'll do it without complaining."

Inuyasha averted his eyes from his friends and looked at the grass, focusing his attention on a small purple flower which stood there. He saw its stem and petals move to and fro as if in dance with the music of the wind. It was the concentration he was putting in to not stray his sight from the flower that helped him retell his dream.

"It all happened so fast," said Inuyasha. "but it felt very real. It was as if my mind was there but my body wasn't. I saw her with him. They were both together."

Miroku and Sango looked at each other silently before they returned their attentiveness towards Inuyasha.

"You mean Kagome and Sesshomaru?" said Miroku, grabbing his jingling staff and placing it over his lap.

"At first they seemed pretty normal," Inuyasha continued. "They were acting like themselves, one disliking the other, but then something strange happened."

Inuyasha swallowed as he kept his eyes fixed on the flower.

"Take your time, Inuyasha," Miroku said softly.

Shippo got off the rock and sat next to Inuyasha, a look of worry on his face.

Inuyasha resumed, "Kagome and Sesshomaru were….both of them began to….were together in a way…."

"I don't understand," Sango said. "What are you trying to say, Inuyasha?"

"This must be hard for him," Miroku said to Sango. "I think he's trying to tell us what he saw Kagome and Sesshomaru doing together."

"Poor Inuyasha," said Shippo, not truly understanding what it was the hanyou wanted to convey.

Inuyasha slouched his shoulders and pressed his head harder against the tree trunk. "I knew I was having a dream because I didn't believe what I was seeing. Nothing like that could possibly happen, not ever!"

He paused and held his breath. "Kagome had her arms around him, and he had his face in her hair. He, my damn older brother!"

His nostrils flared as he exhaled.

Sango saw the anger rising in Inuyasha's face. "Miroku, maybe we shouldn't have made him tell us his dream. It doesn't sound like something we should hear, and you can tell it's bothering him."

Miroku placed a loving hand on Sango's shoulder. "I think he should tell us, Sango. He won't enjoy telling us, and we may not like what we hear, but it'll be good for him to let out what he's been keeping bottled up inside him."

Trusting Miroku's words, Sango smiled and nodded to him.

"We're listening, Inuyasha," Miroku said. "Tell us what else happened."

With a soft growl escaping his lips, Inuyasha spoke again. "What really bugs me is that Kagome was happy. She had the most beautiful smile on her face when she was with Sesshomaru. When he touched her, she seemed to melt in his arms. But what was most disturbing about it all was the way Sesshomaru looked being with her. It was almost as if he was a completely different person, not the cold-blooded demon I've always known him to be."

"Were Kagome and Sesshomaru kissing?" Shippo asked curiously.

"Shippo!" Sango said in a warning tone.

"Now that's something you'd expect me to say," Miroku said.

Inuyasha glared fiercely at the flower he continued to look at, agitated by Shippo's question.

"I don't think I need to tell you about specific details like that," Inuyasha said angrily. "Just telling you that they were both together in that way is enough information for you to figure out what they were doing."

"Oh, so we can assume by your words their togetherness went beyond kissing and embracing," Miroku said unashamedly.

"Miroku!" said Sango, slapping him on the head.

"What do you mean, Miroku?" Shippo asked. "Did Sesshomaru do something bad to Kagome?"

"Well, it all depends," Miroku said, rubbing his head. "But by what Inuyasha has told us, it looked like Sesshomaru was treating Kagome very nicely, and since she was happy, then that means he didn't do anything bad at all."

Shippo was more confused than before, his young mind unable to interpret Miroku's response.

"I can't believe you, Miroku!" Sango said. "Have you no consideration for Inuyasha's feelings?"

"Leave him alone, Sango," Inuyasha said irately. "He said the truth, even if I don't like it. What I saw happening between them is what's really making me angry right now, so angry I could kill somebody."

"But Inuyasha," Miroku said. "Didn't you say you saw Sesshomaru kill Kagome in your dream? How can that be if you said they both looked happy together? What would make him do something so terrible?"

Inuyasha bent forward and ripped the purple flower he was staring at from the ground. He held it in his hand and brought it close to his eyes, looking at its every diminutive detail before crushing it and throwing it over his shoulder.

"That's something I'm confused about too," Inuyasha said. "After they spent time together, Sesshomaru became his cold-hearted self again. He turned against Kagome. She was asleep on top of a small flower bed, and she looked very peaceful. Her face was glowing. I don't know what made him do it—"

"What did he do, Inuyasha? What did he do?" Shippo said frightfully.

"Will you let me finish!" Inuyasha shouted.

"How could he do that to her?" Sango said sadly.

"Well it is Sesshomaru I'm talking about here," Inuyasha said. "It's not surprising to see him kill somebody. But he didn't have to kill Kagome after treating her so—"

The words were at the tip of his tongue, but Inuyasha was unable to speak them.

"We know what you mean, Inuyasha," Miroku said kindly. "You don't need to explain. Just tell us the rest."

Swallowing again, Inuyasha stood up and stared at the west, the sun slowly setting beyond the vast horizon, the birds flying towards its center of zealous light. He walked away from the tree without removing his eyes from the sky, his back facing the curious gazes of his friends as they looked at him quietly and patiently.

"Before he killed her, there was sadness in Sesshomaru's eyes," Inuyasha said calmly, his anger subsiding but still powerful enough to slay anyone who stood in his path. "It was the first time I had ever seen him show any kind of emotion, but it sure didn't last long. His sadness disappeared and it was replaced by coldness and anger. He took out Tokijin and ran it through her heart. I saw the blood flowing out of her body, draining her of life. Her face lost its shine and turned the color of ashes."

Miroku, Sango and Shippo were all emotionally affected with everything Inuyasha was telling them. Sango could not repress the tears that became pools in her eyes, covering her mouth to muffle a cry before Miroku took her other hand and patted it gently. He felt sympathy for Inuyasha, but seeing Sango in such a melancholy state made his heart ache with more anguish. Shippo's expression of feeling was no less conspicuous, for he began to cry and wail as if Kagome had truly died, wiping his tears with his sleeve.

"The most terrible thing happened next," Inuyasha said, continuing in the retelling of his dream with some struggle. "While the blood was gushing out of her, Kagome opened her eyes and looked at her killer. She was shocked but more heartbroken than anything else. I saw the tears in her eyes and the sadness in her pale face. She had the look of someone who had been betrayed. After that, she closed her eyes and died. Sesshomaru looked at her unemotionally and looked at his sword stained with Kagome's blood. What he did then shocked me even more. He turned around and began speaking to me as if I was there."

"What did he say to you, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked seriously. "Perhaps what he told you can serve as a clue in finding Kagome before it's too late."

Inuyasha turned around to look at his friends. "He said he desired to kill her for the longest time, since the first time he met her and that he was doing me a favor by killing a mortal girl who would do nothing but make me weak and cause me endless trouble. But that really didn't bother me until he told me that one day I was going to turn into a full-fledged demon and that I would've killed her with my own hands. He said I wouldn't transform into a full demon because my life was threatened, but that it would've been the strong feelings I had for her which would cause me to kill her."

In reality, Sesshomaru had used the word "love" to describe Inuyasha's emotion, but the hanyou did not use the word, for her did not want his friends to know how he truly felt about Kagome.

"He said you would've killed her if he hadn't done it first?" Sango asked unbelievably.

"Yes," Inuyasha said. "He said he killed her because he had to get rid of her, for both our sakes. If he hadn't done so first, then I would've been the one to kill her. Either way she would've died regardless who it was."

"I don't believe that!" Sango cried. "Why did he say that to you? You would never kill Kagome!"

"Don't get so excited, Sango," Miroku said in a comforting tone. "It was only a dream. I'm sure Sesshomaru's words have some other hidden meaning in them."

"No, Miroku," Inuyasha said sternly. "Sesshomaru's words make some sense to me. If I ever turn into a full demon again, I might kill Kagome without wanting to. It just happened that in my dream Sesshomaru was the one to do it."

"But he killed her just to get rid of her?" Miroku asked. "He ran his sword through her heart to save you the trouble of doing it yourself? It still doesn't make sense, Inuyasha. And what about Sesshomaru and Kagome being together? Didn't that mean something at all to him? Or was he just playing around with Kagome's feelings in order to get her to trust him so he could get near enough to kill her?"

"Why are you asking me for!" Inuyasha said hot-temperedly. "I'm still trying to figure out this dream myself. Oh, great! My head hurts again!"

Inuyasha touched his right temple and pinched it roughly until his skin was red. He walked over to the tree and scratched its bark with his claws, the shreds of wood falling to the ground like confetti. In his anger, he tried to think of a reason why he had such a disturbing and distressing dream, but none came to mind, and his headache only prevented him from thinking to his fullest capacity.

"I've been having many flashbacks of my dream lately," Inuyasha said, removing his claws from the bark and wiping his hands clean of its shavings. "I don't know why, but
I feel something is getting in the way of us finding Kagome."

"Do you think it's Naraku?" Miroku asked.

"Could it be he's the one behind your dream?" Sango said in turn.

"But why would Naraku be interested in you, Kagome and Sesshomaru?" Miroku said. "Why all three of you at the same time?"

"Perhaps Kagome really is with Sesshomaru." Inuyasha said bitterly.

"Do you believe what Kikyo said about seeing Kagome with Sesshomaru then?"

"Yes. I trust Kikyo. She wouldn't lie to me, but I still don't understand any of it."

"Maybe she thought she saw Kagome go with Sesshomaru," Sango said. "She must have left the village right after he did, and it might have looked like she was following him."

"That's certainly a possibility," Miroku replied. "Kikyo might have made a mistake and gotten the wrong idea. This whole matter makes more sense if we look at it that way."

"Anyway, don't you think if Sesshomaru did anything to Kagome that we would've found out by now?" Sango said.

Inuyasha's patience was wanning. "Are you both telling me you have no idea what this dream of mine means? You can't get any clues from it at all?"

Miroku and Sango looked at each other guiltily and bowed their heads.

"I can't believe this!" Inuyasha cried.

"Well, look at it this way, Inuyasha," Miroku said, trying his best to remain composed and consoling. "At least you relieved yourself of all the bottled up emotions your dream caused you to have. Don't you feel better now?"

Inuyasha lifted his sleeve and punched Miroku across his cheek, leaving a large, red fist mark there. "Now I do, you meddlesome monk!"

Miroku touched his cheek and shook his head, berating himself silently for intervening with Inuyasha and for not knowing better. Sango touched his face and checked to see if he had been badly bruised.

"Does it look bad?" Miroku asked Sango.

"He didn't hit you that hard," she said. "The swelling should go down after one or two days."

"It sure felt like a hard punch."

"Damn it all to hell!" Inuyasha was becoming more frustrated and irritated with each passing moment."What must Kagome think of me? I've never taken so long to find her. She probably believes I abandoned her or something and that I'm still angry."

"Come on, Inuyasha," Sango said comfortingly. "Kagome knows you better than that."

"Well, it's also obvious Koga hasn't found her either," Miroku said, remembering the cocky wolf-demon had promised to help find Kagome on his own. "I'm pretty sure if he did he'd bring her back to us and make a big thing out of it with Inuyasha."

"Huh! That scrawny wolf!" Inuyasha said. "He's no better, claiming he can find Kagome all by himself."

"We should be grateful that at least he's out there looking for her as we are," said Sango.

"Yeah, he's an extra help," Miroku said.

"If he hasn't given up on her, that is," replied Inuyasha.

"How can you say that, Inuyasha," said Shippo. "He'd never do that! He loves her, remember?"

Inuyasha's jealousy steamed from his throbbing mind and he looked at Shippo angrily, smacking him on the head. "Don't remind me!"

A swift wind entered the area, and a rushing sound was heard a distance away. The trees were moving with this artificial wind and the birds flew from their nests as the branches curved and bent as if they had the ability to move on their own. Everyone looked towards the direction of the raucous and were faced with a familiar sight. Inuyasha wrinkled his nose as he smelled the despicable scent of his rival, preparing for the unexpected and unwelcomed arrival of this particular individual.

"Is that who I think it is?" Shippo said, jumping up and down to get a better look. "Isn't that—"

"Koga!" Miroku and Sango said at the same time.

After spinning inside his whirlwind for a while, Koga appeared before the group, observing his surroundings before he looked at Inuyasha with a disgusted face.

"When was the last time you took a bath, Inuyasha?" Koga said haughtily, looking at the hanyou from bottom to top. "Your scent is more revolting when you haven't bathed."

Inuyasha was in no mood to bear Koga's biting remarks. "What the hell are you doing here, wolf? Aren't you supposed to be looking for Kagome?"

"I was distracted by your scent, and I came to see if you had already found Kagome, which you haven't as far as I can tell," Koga replied. "And what about you? Are you enjoying your little rest? You can't expect to find Kagome just hanging about here doing nothing."

"I was looking for her! You shouldn't even be wasting time speaking to me. Anyway, I thought you said you could find her all alone without my help or my friends' help. You have jewel shards on your legs, don't you? You're faster than any of us, and even like that you haven't been able to find her yet."

"Don't start yapping away at me, mutt! Supposedly you're her protector, and you haven't found her either. And you say you care about her? What a bunch of dog crap!"

Inuyasha's temper was at its peak, and he pulled out Tetsusaiga without thinking twice about it. He growled angrily and gave Koga a warning look before attacking him.

"I've just about had enough of you," Inuyasha said indignantly. "You don't even know the danger Kagome might be in right now. If I were you, I'd quit barking and head out back again to look for her."

Miroku, Sango and Shippo realized their brief rest was now over, and each of them sighed in turn, knowing that Inuyasha and Koga's arguing was a hopeless case. The three of them rose together and prepared to mount Kilala's back when they heard a crashing noise behind them. As they turned around, they saw Inuyasha and Koga fighting as vigorously as though they were real enemies.

"They're at it again!" said Miroku impatiently. "Someone needs to tie a muzzle and leash around Inuyasha and lock Koga in a cage."

"The two of them will never get along," Sango said disappointedly. "I can't believe they won't even cooperate for Kagome's sake."

Miroku's eyes beamed and an idea snapped in his head. "Thanks, Sango. You made me think of something."

"I did?" Sango asked.

Miroku stretched out his right arm and unwrapped his hand, removing the beads which were tied around it. He positioned himself in an attack position as the force of his wind tunnel rushed around the clearing, sucking everything it came in contact with. Both Inuyasha and Koga struggled to keep their balance, but the wind was too powerful for them, and they were lifted into the air until Miroku closed his hand and placed the beads over it again before they were nearly vaccumed inside the void. The hanyou and wolf demon landed on the ground upside down, their heads pressed into the hard dirt while their legs stood straight up, pointing skyward.

Shippo laughed uncontrollably at the sight. "They both look so funny like that! You should use your wind tunnel on them more often, Miroku."

"Yes," Miroku replied. "My wind tunnel does seem to have a miraculous affect on stopping those two from acting like idiots. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to use it up on them simply to prevent them from fighting further. The hole in my hand is getting larger as it is."

Inuyasha and Koga flipped themselves over and stood upright, shaking their hair and clothes from dirt and anything else that happened to stick to them with Miroku's wind tunnel.

Fuming ferociously, Inuyasha stomped toward Miroku and pointed Tetsusaiga at him. "You better not make this a habit, Miroku! Using your wind tunnel to stop Koga and me from fighting. I swear I'll cut your hand off next time if you do it again!"

"You need not worry, Inuyasha," said Miroku, placing a hand on his shoulder and smiling. "The next time you and Koga fight, I won't hesitate to suck both of you in, and you won't have the opportunity to slice my hand off. You'll be gone and dead."

"Ha! Ha! Very funny!"

Koga walked to stand by Miroku's side and glared at him angrily. "Your friend here doesn't know how to keep himself out of our business, does he?"

"I hate to agree with you, but you're right about that," Inuyasha said.

"Hey, Miroku," said Sango, tapping his shoulder. "Didn't you say you had an idea?"

"Oh, yes," Miroku said solemnly. "I was thinking, Inuyasha. Maybe you should tell Koga about your dream. The situation with Kagome missing is getting to be more serious. If he hasn't found her by now either, then we should at least tell him what we know, that he should look out for—"

"No way! I'm not telling him about my dream." Inuyasha said stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest as he stuck his chin in the air.

"Inuyasha! This is no time to be hasty!" Miroku shouted.

"There's no way I'm telling Koga about my dream of Kagome!"

"So you dream about Kagome too, do you?" Koga said enviously. "Well, those dreams of yours better not be indecent, mutt-face, because if they are I'll tear you to pieces with my own hands."

"Same with you, wolf man!" Inuyasha replied.

Both of them stared and growled at each other, their heads touching and their fists clenched .

"Hey, you two!" Sango said angrily. "That's enough!"

"This is getting boring already," Koga said, turning his back on Inuyasha. "I better leave now and continue looking for Kagome. There's no sense staying here to fight a puppy like you. She's more important and I'm starting to get worried. The sun's nearly set, and it'll be night soon."

"Wait, Koga!" Miroku said. "Let us tell you about Inuyasha's dream. Don't you want to her about it first?"

"Don't you dare say a word, Miroku!" Inuyasha yelled.

"No thanks," Koga said as he was running away from the group." If it's about Inuyasha being with Kagome, then I don't want to hear about."

"No, Koga," Miroku continued. " It isn't like that. And it's not about him and Kagome. It's Sesshomaru!"

It was too late, however. Koga had already gone too far a distance for him to hear Miroku's last words.

"It was about time he left," Inuyasha grumbled.

"I can't believe you, Inuyasha," Miroku snapped. "If you would have let me tell Koga about Sesshomaru, then maybe he would have a better chance at finding Kagome."

"He's right, Inuyasha," Sango said. "At least Koga would know to be watchful and careful in case he came in contact with him."

"It looks like we're going to spend another sad night together without Kagome again," said Shippo sadly.

Inuyasha realized his friends were correct in what they said, and he soon regretted not telling Koga to be wary if he happened to cross paths with Sesshomaru. Without desiring too, he was beginning to lose faith in his highly sensitive abilities as a half-demon. He still could not understand why he was taking so long to find Kagome. He even thought he was forgetting her scent and what she smelled like for being apart from her for the last few days. Everything was becoming dark and gloomy, and his heart sank with every
thought he had of her being with his brother.

Why can't I get the two of them out of my mind? Inuyasha thought. Kagome. Where are you? Sesshomaru. The bastard! He better not be anywhere near her!

In his turmoil, Inuyasha hoped he would find Kagome safe and unharmed and not in the hands of Sesshomaru. He even prayed that Koga would find him, not caring if he was the first to do so, for Kagome's life was worth everything to him.

Meanwhile, a miles distance away, Koga ran through the forest swiftly without a sweat, his legs taking him wherever he wanted to go, making him feel as if he were flying. He stopped momentarily near some boulders and sniffed the air for Kagome's scent. Fortunately, he did smell something, but it was not Kagome's scent he detected. It was another scent, one he was familiar with but felt strange to him. He smelled somebody who had almost the same scent as Inuyasha, and Koga touched his nose to breath in the dirt on the ground, the trees, the boulders, even the insects that crawled all around him.

"Why is this scent so familiar to me?" Koga asked himself. "And why does it smell like Inuyasha?"

Koga touched his chin and rubbed it as he thought hard about the puzzle set before him. After thinking for a while, he snapped his fingers and realized who's scent it was.

"It's that mutt's older brother!" Koga said excitedly. "It's his scent I smell! Even though he's a long way from here, I can still smell him. What was his name anyway? I know it started with an 'S.' Let me see. Was it Sessmo? No. Sesshma? Nope. Sesshmaru?"

Koga was getting frustrated trying to remember Inuyasha's brother's name, but then it came to him in an immediate flash, hitting him as quickly as a comet striking the earth.

"I got it!" Koga said slapping his thigh. "It's Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru I should say! He looks like a dignified demon who deserves to be called by his rightful title, unlike his pathetic little brother. I should follow his scent all the way until I find him. Maybe he knows where Kagome is. It's worth trying, and I have nothing to lose. I'll do whatever it takes to find my woman."

Following his scent once again, Koga set off to find Sesshomaru to question him about Kagome, hoping his encounter with the demon lord would bring him closer to tracking down the woman he loved.

It seemed fate had interceded in Koga's favor, for he was unaware of just how lucky he would be in his journey!

Now what are your thoughts about this chapter? I got very emotional when I wrote the part where Inuyasha was describing what he saw in his dream to his friends. I could feel how hurt and sad he was to see the girl he loves in the arms of his older brother. That must have been so terrible for him to go through, especially when Sesshomaru stabbed Kagome through the heart. Oh, that was painful to write! How could he do that? Now that I think about it, Inuyasha's dream seems so real, I wonder if it will come true. Still, I really don't think it was Sesshomaru's sword that killed Kagome. I mean she was wounded in the heart by his blade, but in reality she was wounded by what he had done to her, and so she died as a result of that. Just my two-cents worth about the dream, that's all. But remember everybody, it's just a dream, at least for now. Who knows what the future holds for Kagome, Sesshomaru, and Inuyasha. We'll find out soon. Now that you've read this chapter, you all know what to do, so I won't even say it. Go on! Don't wait around! You know what your duty is as a faithful reader. I'm counting on all of you!