PrayForTheFallen: Greetings readers. I decided to update again because I know I probably won't be able to for the nest few days. Unfortunately I am working all this weekend and I have to study for my geography exam. I am going to try and update again, I have enough time right now to start the fourth chapter before I go to work. Either way I hope you all enjoy the chapter.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and Keene, who is a character.

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Review Responses

Seshhomaru's babe: Getting hunted bad.

Apollo Artemis: Yay I made Shigure proud, laugh. Thanks for doing the mentioning thing girlie. To all who read this review response, Apollo Artemis is a great writer of InuYasha Kagome pairings! No comment on the stupidity part and thanks I completely bombed that section…in case anyone's wondering yes we do know each other.

Always Smiling: Oh yeah, forgiveness!

Inugrldemon: I don't mean to be rude or anything but no. I like the way my writing is. I have always used verdana bold in stories and I am deeply troubled to inform you that I will not change it. As for it getting annoying, I don't like when the text is unbolded, that's annoying for me, I guess it depends what your preference is.

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The white light clouded Kagome's vision as she fell unconscious. Had she been hit? Was she dead? Was everyone else alright?

The darkness that surrounded Kagome's subconscious seemed appealing. She opened her eyes to the dark and felt her eyes adjust.

"Where am I?" Kagome asked the dark, not that she expected an answer.

"You are in your own subconscious." A voice answered, startling Kagome.

"Who said that?" Kagome asked the darkness.

A bright pink light appeared in front of her. It resembled the form of a woman.

"Midoriko?" Kagome asked it.

Kagome knew very little about the ancient priestess. She knew she had been linked to the jewel's history and she knew that Midorko's soul was joined to the Shikon no tama.

"It is I child." Midoriko told her, smiling at the baffled Kagome.

Kagome was thoroughly confused. What was she doing here? What did she want with her?

"Your subconscious has brought you here, as have I. It is a great test to foresee someone's demise." Midoriko informed Kagome.

"So am I dead?" Kagome asked the priestess.

"No, you are not dead. You were saved. The white light you seen was not the heavens, nor was it death. It was your savior, the one you own your life to." Midoriko told her.

"I understand. So if I am not dead then for what purpose am I here?" Kagome asked her.

"I wish to inform you of some things." Midoriko started. "I know of the recent troubles you have had with one hanyou InuYasha. I also know of the troubles you are having with the lord of the west. Your heart is pure and your soul is untainted but love can not be avoided. Your love for InuYasha is nothing and you need to let it go. The strain on your soul is becoming too much for you to handle on your own. Look for the one who can change that, who can heal the wounds the hanyou has made. Most importantly, though, I come to bear a warning. You are a risk to yourself. You do not know how to defend yourself properly. You need to learn how to wield a sword and how to use your powers for attacking better. Otherwise, your permanent demise will be your own doing."

With that being said the great priestess faded to a soft pink glow then disappeared.

Kagome felt herself, as well, fading back to consciousness. She had taken to heart everything Midoriko had said and knew that she should follow the advice.

As her soul started to return to her body her eyes started to flutter open.

She opened her eyes to find herself alone, in a room, on a bed. She had no idea where she was. She sat up and noticed that she had no wounds on her.

She heard a rustle come from the doorway and watched as an old demon walked in. He turned to look at Kagome and jumped when he seen her awake.

"My child, how do you fair? For what amount of time have you been awake?" The demon asked her, rushing to her side.

"I'm…uhh...fine and I just woke up." Kagome replied.

The demon looked at her and then clicked his tongue.

"How very rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Keene, Lord Sesshomaru's personal healer." The demon now known as Keene told her.

"Speaking of Sesshomaru, where am I?" Kagome asked, picking up Sesshomaru as a hint of her whereabouts.

"You are in Lord Sesshomaru's castle. I must go find him; he has requested to know when you have awoken." Keene replied.

He rushed off before Kagome could say anything else.

Kagome sighed and fell back on the bed. She closed her eyes and tried to think things through. She opened them again and heard footsteps coming towards her at a fast pace.

The door opened as she sat up. InuYasha, Sesshomaru and Keene entered all at once.

"Kagome, you're finally awake, it took you long enough." InuYasha told her, aggravated.

"Don't start InuYasha." Kagome snapped, noting the aggravation in her voice.

"How can I not? You've been out for days! Days we should have been looking for shards!" InuYasha yelled at her.

"If you think I'm so horrible why don't you go find them yourself!" Kagome demanded, standing up off the bed.

"It would help! At least if Kikyo was the one with us we would have found more by now!" InuYasha yelled, instantly regretting it.

Kagome was hit hard. She knew that InuYasha thought higher of Kikyo than her but to insult her like that hurt her more than he would ever know.

"Kagome I'm sorry." InuYasha attempted.

"No, you're not. Why don't you just go?" Kagome asked him, her calmness making InuYasha feel worse.

InuYasha turned and left, ashamed and somewhat relieved. He had wanted Kikyo to join the group, was that an invitation for him to invite her? InuYasha took it as that and ran off to find her.

Kagome sat back down on the bed and looked at the wall, sighing.

Neither demon said anything.

"You wanted to see me when I awoke?" Kagome asked Sesshomaru, looking at him.

"Indeed." Sesshomaru replied, dismissing Keene.

Sesshomaru waited until Keene was gone to continue speaking.

"Keene has informed me that you are unharmed." Sesshomaru announced.

"Speaking of unharmed…who saved me?" Kagome asked him.

"I saved you." Sesshomaru told her.

Kagome was shocked, why would he save her?

"Well…uhh…thank you." Kagome replied, not quite sure what to make of it.

Sesshomaru nodded and fell silent.

The silence was held for a few minutes before Kagome broke it.

"What now?" Kagome asked him quietly.

"I am unable to answer that question. Perhaps it would be best for you to decide." Sesshomaru told her.

"Well…if you don't mind. I need to train before we go back out. I'll ask Sango to…" Kagome cut off.

"No." Sesshomaru announced.

"No?" Kagome asked.

"No, your demon hunter friend will not train you. If you want to be trained you will be trained by me and mine." Sesshomaru told her.

"Uhh...okay." Kagome replied, not in the mood for arguing.

Sesshomaru nodded.

"If you feel well enough I will take you to your room." Sesshomaru told her.

Kagome nodded and stood up. She stood up and little to fast and ended up falling onto Sesshomaru, who caught her.

"Sorry." Kagome apologized, blushing furiously.

Sesshomaru nodded and turned away, intending not to look at her. Kagome felt like an idiot. As she walked behind Sesshomaru she looked at the ground and thought. Before they knew it they were in the west wing and she had walked into him.

"Sorry, my coordination needs some work." Kagome laughed nervously.

She saw the sides of his lips quirk up slightly.

"The children have requested that your room be across from theirs, they are seemingly inseparable. Your comrades are in the eastern wing, the guest wing. There is a hot springs attached to the room that is also connected to mine. Do not enter my room unless given permission or knock before. Dinner will be soon, I will send someone to come and retrieve you." Sesshomaru told her.

"Yes sir." Kagome replied, saluting him and opening the door. She looked back at him and smiled. "Thank you Sesshomaru."

Kagome shut the door behind her and gasped, not knowing that Sesshomaru had heard her.

The room was done in silver and dark blue. It was the most beautiful room Kagome had ever seen. It was huge as well. She had a large four poster bed, a vanity and lots of other furniture.

"He really does know how to impress a lady." Kagome chuckled, not knowing that Sesshomaru was still outside the door with a smirk on his face.

Kagome seen her bag and practically dived for it. She opened it up and smiled, everything was there.

She looked at the door to the hot springs and walked over to open it. She did and smiled when she seen the springs.

There were six pools all linked together. They ranged from slightly cold to hot. Kagome smiled as she felt the water to the closest one to her. It was probably the second hottest one but she would have to look for the hottest later.

Kagome undressed and slipped into the water with her bag by her. She sighed in pleasure as the hot water hit and soothed her skin.

She closed her eyes and relaxed.

Kagome thought about everything. Midoriko was right. Kagome had to let her love for InuYasha go for completely. She couldn't let him affect her anymore and she needed to move on. She also had to work on her fighting skills.

That's when the thought hit her. If she was training with Sesshomaru she was bound to get hurt, trained well, but hurt. She groaned as she anticipated the pain she would be in.

She reached for her bag and maneuvered to the bottom to get her mp3 player. It had been a long time since she had used it and she knew she would get back into the habit of using it all the time.

She put the headphones in and scanned the numerous songs, genres and artists. Oddly enough she picked the song 'Behind the Crimson Door' by HIM.

She closed her eyes and let the song relax her.

Covered the carcass of time with flowers
To send the scent of blame to the grave
Set the darkest thoughts on fire
And watched the ashes climb to Heaven's gates

We hide behind the crimson door
While the summer is killed by the fall
Alive behind the crimson door
While the winter sings:
"Your love will be the death of me" (Death of me)
"Your love will be the death of me"

Death served wine for lovers
Brought from the world where devils reign
And intoxicated angels with sorrow
They witnessed in the eyes of their slaves

We hide behind the crimson door
While the summer is killed by the fall
Alive behind the crimson door
While the winter sings:
"Your love will be the death of me" (Death of me)
"Your love will be the death of me"

We hide behind the crimson door
While the summer is killed by the fall
Alive behind the crimson door
while the winter sings:
"Your love will be the death of me" (Death of me)
"Your love will be the death of me"

We hide behind the crimson door
While the summer is killed by the fall
Alive behind the crimson door
while the winter sings:
"Your love will be the death of me" (Death of me)
"Your love will be the death of me"

We hide behind the crimson door
We hide behind the crimson door
We hide behind the crimson door
We hide behind the crimson door

Kagome smiled slightly. The song had been a good one. The line 'Your love will be the death of me' really struck home and she knew that's what would eventually happen with her.

She got out of the spring and dried off. She noted that the sun was setting and quickly got dressed.

She threw on a pair of jeans from her bag and a loose fitting black shirt. She tied her hair up in a loose bun and looked in the mirror.

She didn't look bad, although she could have looked nicer, seeing how nice the castle was. She also noted that she wasn't really that hungry and didn't feel like going to eat dinner.

As if on cue a knock on the door pulled Kagome from her thoughts.

She walked over to the door and opened it.

"My lord has requested your presence for dinner my lady." The servant told her.

"Can you please tell Sesshomaru that I must humbly decline his invitation?" Kagome asked the servant.

"My lord will not be pleased." The servant told Kagome.

"If he gets upset tell him to come see me." Kagome replied.

The servant nodded and bowed slightly, scurrying off down the hall.

'Nice going Kags, piss off Sesshomaru and see how long it takes him to kill you.' Kagome thought, retreating inside her room and closing the door.

She reached for her mp3 player again and scanned through the songs.

She pressed play and lay down on her bed.

Something's gotta change again

I'm losing, my inspirations hone, oh no oh no

Seeing through some different eyes

I can't find, my medications failed, again again

I can feel a change

I can feel, can you feel it

See it on the street watching heat from the pavement

Cause' I'm here, ready to take it all here

Everything's feeling unclear

I wish it was raining

Cause I hate every beautiful day

Faces in the crowd

Fake smiled for miles

My imitations wrong of them again

Trapped inside this cheap hotel

Bored as hell turning the channels 'round

In my head

In my bed

I can feel a change

I can feel, can you feel it

See it on the street watching heat from the pavement

Cause' I'm here, ready to take it all here

Everything's feeling unclear

I wish it was raining

Cause I hate every beautiful day

I can feel a change

I can feel, can you feel it

See it on the street watching heat from the pavement

I can feel a change

I can feel, can you feel it

I'm not the same, not the same lost my feeling

All I know I'll never know

All I know I'll never know

Cause I'm here, ready to take it all here

Everything's feeling unclear

I wish it was raining

Cause I hate every beautiful day

Every beautiful day

Every beautiful day

Every beautiful day

Kagome sighed as she felt a not-so-happy aura heading towards her room. She took off the headphones and waited for him.

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PrayForTheFallen: Damn! That chapter went longer than I expected, not that I'm complaining. I would like to formally address the fact that HIM's song 'Behind the Crimson Door' is on their latest CD and wouldn't be on Kagome's mp3 player if she didn't still travel to her era but I really like the song and wanted to use it. Either way, have a nice day and lots of love to you all.

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Song's Featured

Behind the Crimson Door – HIM (First song)

Hate Every Beautiful Day – Sugarcult (second song)