"Inuyasha, would you come here, please?" Ekaterina whispered and pulled him into an empty room.

"What?" Inuyasha asked.

"Sesshomaru's been taken by Kaiein."

"Huh?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. He was sure he had heard Ekaterina wrong. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying your brother was kidnapped," Ekaterina said with mild annoyance. "Do you want me to yell it in your ear or something?

Inuyasha stared at Ekaterina for a moment with a look that clearly said, "What the hell are you on?" The idea of Sesshomaru being kidnapped was so ludicrous that it made Inuyasha want to burst out laughing.

"Is this a joke?" he finally asked. "Look, I don't care if Kaiein's got Sesshomaru. Why should I care? That bastard's never done anything for me."

"But he's your brother!"

"So? He never treated me like I was his brother. Besides, we're half-brothers," Inuyasha said, emphasizing the word "half".

Ekaterina frowned. "What if I told you he's a child now?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm so gonna go rescue him now," he said sarcastically.

Exasperated, Ekaterina grabbed one of Inuyasha ears and pulled.

"OWWWW! What the hell are you doing!" Inuyasha screamed.

"Listen to me!" Ekaterina ordered with a frown. "You're going to find Sesshomaru and you're going to bring him back here. Don't forget that Kaiein still has that Shikon shard. I'm sure you want that."

"Okay, okay, I'll go find Kaiein, but I'm not getting Sesshomaru."

Ekaterina twisted his ear. "You're going to bring back Sesshomaru. Consider it payment for the roof over your head and the food you've been eating. You even get to keep the shard." Ekaterina let go of Inuyasha's ear and folded her arms across her chest. "Now tell me what you're going to do."

Scowling, Inuyasha said, "I'm going to find Kaiein, get the Shikon shard, and bring Sesshomaru here." He sounded like he wanted to throw up by the time he finished speaking.

Pleased, Ekaterina smiled. "Good. You may go back and finish eating."

"Misaki?" Kagome whispered.

No one responded. Shippo grabbed the door and slid it open as noiselessly as possible. Kagome stepped into the dark room and saw Misaki's tangled blue hair strewn over the pillow. Kagome, Shippo, and Kilala crossed the room and sat beside her.

Kagome grabbed her by the shoulder and gently shook her. "Misaki, you've got to get up and let me look at the wound."

Misaki whimpered and hugged her now-infected wrist to her chest. "Leave me alone."

"Misaki, why won't you get up?" Shippo asked. It made him sad to see the cat demon like that.

"GO AWAY!" Misaki screeched. "LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!"

Shippo gasped and huddled beside Misaki. Kilala whimpered and scampered out of the round.

"You can't stay this way forever, Misaki," Kagome said softly. "You won't get anything done."

Misaki sat up. There was no denying the fact that she looked like a mess. Her face was slightly wet and her eyes were red and swollen from the hundreds of tears she had cried. Her yukata was somewhat lopsided and hanging slightly off her shoulder. The tangles in her hair were large and distinguishable.

"He said he doesn't remember me," the cat demon said softly, feeling too drained to put up any sort of fight. She stared at her burnt wrist and felt hot tears welling up in her eyes again.

"Misaki . . ."

Tears slid down Misaki's face. "He hates me so much."

Kagome put her hand on Misaki's shoulder again. "I'd be lying if I said I think he'll forgive you, but you have to hope that he does want to see you."

Misaki let out a harsh laugh and asked tersely, "What's this thing called 'hope'? Wishful thinking, perhaps? All humans say words like 'wish' and 'hope' and for what? Those things don't accomplish anything." Her voice softened a little. "They're just meaningless emotions and words. They can't make dreams come true."

"Didn't you hope that Sesshomaru would show up again? And he did because you believed. It doesn't matter that he seems to hate you. I don't know how close you two were, but if he was your best friend then it must've been a tight bond."

"That's the key word, Kagome. Was. He was my best friend. Now . . . now, he's just . . . he's nobody."

Slightly frustrated, Kagome grabbed Misaki by the shoulders and forced her to look at her.

"Listen to me, Misaki! You're just trying to fool yourself right now. I know you still care about him and I know you want to be his friend again."

Misaki stared at Kagome, dumbfounded. "Kagome?"

"Am I right or am I wrong? Do you really want to stay here doing nothing? Or would you rather go look for him?"

"But---!"

"No 'buts'! Misaki, I'm sure he remembers you and I'm sure he wants to be friends with you again. Don't you want to at least hope that he does?"

Misaki bowed her head, letting the tangles cover her face. She stared at the burns on her wrist and felt more tears blur her eyesight. Kagome noticed a tear land on the sleeve and abruptly let go of Misaki. She stared at her for a few second, not quite sure what to do. That speech had literally come out of nowhere and now she didn't know whether she should continue or got out.

"Um, Kagome?" Misaki finally whispered.

"Yeah?" Kagome asked, concerned.

"Can you fix this?" Misaki drew back her sleeve and displayed the burned flesh on her wrist. She pushed back her long bangs and peered at Kagome shyly with a slight smile. "I can't go looking for someone with this type of wound, right?"

Kagome smiled and nodded. "Right!"

She opened the little first-aid box that she had brought with her. She took Misaki's arm and gently dabbed at the wound with an alcohol swab.

Misaki flinched. "Ouch!"

"If you had gotten that wound treated earlier, you wouldn't be hurting now."

Misaki looked up and Kagome turned around. Ekaterina was standing there, smiling slightly.

"Now, are you going to rescue the little dog demon in distress?"

Misaki's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

Ekaterina's smile faded. "Kaiein got him."

Without hesitation, Misaki jumped up, pushed Ekaterina aside, and slid the door open. She would've run out if Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and the fully-grown Kilala hadn't been blocking the door.

"Outta my way!" Misaki shouted.

Inuyasha sighed and folded his arms. "Look, we're going to help find him, but not now."
"Why not?"

Sango grabbed Misaki's shoulders, turned her around, and made her walk back towards the pile of blankets. "You're not going anywhere right now. Let Kagome treat the wound and then get some rest."

Misaki sat back down. "But---!"

"Quiet, Misaki-chan!" Ekaterina said sternly as she made Misaki lie down. "You're going to let Kagome-san treat that wound and you're going to sleep so you'll be refreshed when you look for him tomorrow. It's not like he's going to go anywhere. They've shrunk him."

"Shrunk!" Misaki exclaimed shrilly.

"They made him go back to his child form." Calmly, Ekaterina pulled the blankets up to Misaki's chin. "Let Kagome-san fix the wound and then go to sleep. And to make sure you really don't go anywhere, I'll get Miroku-san to put up some barriers."

Misaki scowled at Ekaterina and tried to get up. However, Ekaterina was applying to much pressure to her shoulders so her attempts were all in vain.

"This is completely unfair!" she cried, outraged. "Why are you treating me like a child!"

"I'm treating you like one for two reasons: number one, you still are a child and, number two, you insist on acting like a child," Ekaterina responded calmly. She let go of Misaki's shoulders and stood up. "After Kagome-san is done, go to sleep. May the gods help you if you try to leave your room."

With that, everyone but Kagome left the room. Misaki's scowl deepened as soon as the doors closed.

"That old bat," she grumbled. "Who does Ekaterina-san think she is?"

Kagome recalled a few of the past events. Ekaterina had lost her own children and she said she had vowed to protect any stray child that might come her way.

"She cares about you, Misaki," Kagome said softly as she wrapped a bandage around Misaki's wrist.

Misaki's scowl faded and she turned to Kagome, wide-eyed. "What do you mean? How---?"

Now it was Kagome's turn to be surprised. "You thought Ekaterina-san didn't care about you? But hasn't she been taking care of you for a very long time?"

Misaki gazed at the ceiling and tried to recall what had happened on the day she first met Ekaterina.

Several hundred years ago . . .

A very messy Misaki sat, hugging her knees protectively to her chest, beneath a large shade tree. In the springtime, the shade trees of the Awayuki Forest were covered with little flower buds. Every now and then, a few weak buds would fall from the trees and float towards the ground. One landed right in front of Misaki. She stared at it for a moment before tears blurred her eyesight. She rested her forehead on her knees and wept. For days she had been lost in the forest. Her clothes were dirty and torn and her hair had completely escaped from its two odango hair buns. She didn't know what to do.

"Why, what's the matter, child?" a soft voice asked.

Misaki looked up and gasped. Ekaterina was sitting right in front of her, her face painted with concern and sympathy. Frantically, Misaki looked for a way out. Ekaterina noticed Misaki's troubled expression and put her hand on Misaki's face. Misaki froze, completely sure that this woman meant to hit her.

"Oh, you poor dear," Ekaterina murmured as she flicked away a few of Misaki's tears with her thumb. "You're all dirty and sad. Are you hungry?"

Hesitantly, Misaki nodded. Ekaterina smiled and stood up.

"Come along with me and I'll make you something."

Misaki blinked a few times and stared at her with such blatant confusion that made Ekaterina laugh.

"Oh, don't look like that. I'm not going to eat you." Ekaterina stopped laughing. "But maybe you should go and find your parents. They must be looking for you."

Misaki shook her head. "No. I can't go back. They'll be very mad because I sneaked out to play with my friend."

Ekaterina cocked her head to one side. "And where is your friend?"

Misaki's lips trembled and fresh tears slid down her cheeks. "I-I don't know!" she sobbed.

Ekaterina sighed. "Don't cry. Maybe I can help you find him."

Misaki blinked and her tears stopped momentarily. "You can?"

"Yes. I won't ask you anymore questions now. You must be hungry, so come with me and I'll feed you. You may even stay with me until I find your friend."

Tentatively, Misaki unwrapped her arms from around her legs and stood up. Ekaterina held out her hand, motioning Misaki to take it, which she did.

"What is your name, child?"

"Misaki," she answered shyly.

Ekaterina smiled. "What a pretty name! Mine is Ekaterina."

"Ek . . . Eka---?" Misaki started, stumbling over the pronunciation.

"Don't worry about it so much. You'll get it, but you have to have patience."

"Patience?"

"Yes, patience, Misaki-chan."

"She really was kind to me," Misaki whispered to Kagome. "She fed me and gave me clothes. She taught me things and she protected me." The cat demon heaved a weary sigh. "I guess I've been a bit ungrateful to her. After all, she didn't have to keep me there. She could've sent me back to me parents." Misaki yawned and buried herself beneath the covers. "I wonder . . . I wonder what my parents . . . would say . . . if they . . . saw . . . me . . . today . . ."

After a few more minutes, Misaki's breathing became deep and even. Realizing the Misaki was asleep, Kagome gathered her things and silently left the room. She shut the door quietly behind her and sighed.

Well, I believe I'm already failing a few classes. Yay. Why do people expect so much these days? If I were to keep myself occupied with school and studying, I'd go insane.

Anyway, I'm still not sure how I'm going to end this. I wonder if I will be able to finish it before Christmas. I wonder if anyone will read the sequel. I wonder why I even care. What I really wonder is what I'm going to get for Christmas. I really wish I'd hurry up and come. I love Christmas! And the fact that it's winter when it takes place is even better. I like snow which is why many scenes in my fanfictions take place in snowy landscapes.