A/N: Hello everyone! I am in China right now. I will finish up this chapter in Hong Kong just because I love you all. (laughs) I really did not plan this chapter at all, so it may be a little hectic. (grins) I hope you all like it, please review! Enjoy.

Previous: "Let's go, right now!" He stood up determinedly.

"Wait, what about Shippo, Kirara and my brother?" Sango asked.

"They'll have to wait. We don't have time to go looking for them!"

"C'mon already, let's go!"

"Ok…" Sango said uncertainly. She followed the hanyou with Miroku close in pursuit. This would be a whole new adventure, in the 21th century.

"Oh this feels so good." Kagome was lying in a hot spring, reliving some stress. She had practically worked non-stop with Rin and the spring did wonders to her aching bones.

"Kagome-sama?" asked the little girl.

"Yes, Rin-chan."

"Will you teach Rin another weapon tomorrow?"

"I don't know Rin-chan. I only know the sword from Sango and Inuyasha. We could go into something besides fighting tomorrow." Kagome really didn't want to go into reading and writing. She found it uninteresting and boring, but it was all up to Rin.

"That's okay," Rin said, reading Kagome's expression, "Rin likes learning archery and fighting."

"Okay, Rin-chan, we can do archery again tomorrow, the sword was just a break."

The girl nodded and slid even farther down into the warm waters. Her hair separated into strands and floated along the surface of the water. The soft 'crick crick' of the cicadas in the woods around them went off so regularly that it seemed like the gentle heartbeat of a person. The moon shown in the night sky, illuminating the stars around it.

That's right, the night of the new moon is coming up, maybe not that soon, but no doubt it will come. I wonder how Inuyasha will cope without me. She dismissed the thought, with any luck; Inuyasha would come for her before he went into his human state. After all, her hanyou was known for his miraculous rescues. I'm still waiting for you Inuyasha…

"Sesshomaru-sama!" The little green toad that followed Sesshomaru around was pestering him again. "Sesshomaru-sama, where are you going?"

"Jaken…" His voice wavered dangerously.

"Yes M'lord?"

"Go."

"Yes M'lord." Jaken slowly left, crestfallen as usual that his lord had

sent him away.

Sesshomaru walked around the castle grounds, not really paying attention to where he was going, but rather simply letting his feet take him wherever they decided. (not really something that Sesshomaru would do if you ask me…­) What is this feeling that I sense towards Kagome? I have never come across such a strange emotion. It is even more powerful…­then my connection towards Rin. Although Sesshomaru hated admitting it, he had to confess, only in his thoughts, that he felt something towards the fiery young miko. She was high in spirits and seemed to be near fearless, a strange feat to accomplish for a human, even if she had been in the feudal era for such a long time. He closed his eyes to clear the thought; Sesshomaru would rather die than admit his feelings out loud, or so he thought.

"Ka-Jaken." He looked down at his hand and then up again, completely confused. I almost called Kagome's name, what is happening to me?

"Yes M'lord?" The little toad minion popped up again; quite happy to be

in the presence of his lord once more.

"Go and prepare the meal, Kagome and Rin will be coming in shortly."

"Yes M'lord." He left again, once again disappointed that his lord had not given him a more perilous mission.

"Ugh" Kagome slowly got out of the hot spring, she had stayed in far too long and it had made her very dizzy. She groped around for her clothes and cursed herself for not being a little more aware.

"Kagome-sama? Are you okay?" Rin seemed to have no trouble getting out of the spring at all, and Kagome could hardly figure out why.

"Yes Rin-chan, I am fine." Kagome said as she finally laid her hands on her clothes. This time, she was careful to dry off before attempting to put on her bra and socks. She slipped on her regular clothes and surprisingly, fond herself missing the kimono the Sesshomaru provided her with. I am becoming spoiled­? "Come on Rin-chan, we should go inside for dinner." The girl nodded and pranced happily up ahead.

The two miko parted ways when they reached the fork in the hallway. Rin danced on happily singing something about seeing Sesshomaru everyday for the rest of her life, while Kagome went to her room a little more quietly.

Once inside, Kagome placed the rope around the door-an old way of locking rooms-and slid down onto her bed. I never knew that Sesshomaru could be so gentle. Every time she encountered him in the past, he was always wearing the same cold expression, ready to kill. But this morning, when he removed the rosary, he was different. Almost tolerant and if Kagome didn't know better, she would say that he had been gentle. She carefully recalled the time that he had taken in Kagome's frustrated blows when she accused him of refusing to 'fix' the problem that he had caused on her.

Get your mind out of the gutters girl! You only look to Inuyasha, not his blood-thirsty brother. But the problem was that Sesshomaru had not been blood-thirsty, no he was just the opposite of that. Kagome half wished that he could simply go back to his old self so she could stop feeling so confused. The other half longed for him to stay like this, so she could feel his comforting warmth once again. Argh, I'm falling apart! None of this would have happened if Sesshomaru had not taken me in the first place. And that proves that he is no more than a dirty-low-life kidnapper.

Kagome satisfied herself with this answer and jumped off the bed with renewed energy. She knew that it would not be long before she asked herself the same question again, but right now she needed to think of something besides Sesshomaru.

Kagome went to the dresser and pulled out a red kimono, with a small koi fish sewn on the front. I feel like I am finding new clothes in here everyday.­ Kagome slipped on the soft fabric and then proceeded into the washroom. She found her brush in her yellow bag and smoothed out her hair with it. When her hair was as soft as the under wing of a black raven, she sighed and sat down again. Kagome could not help wondering how long she would be stuck here. It usually didn't take Inuyasha this long to come for her.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She opened the door and found Rin standing in the doorway where Jaken was usually positioned.

"Rin-chan, what are you doing here?"

"Rin thought that Kagome-sama and Rin could go to dinner together!"

"Mm, Okay." Kagome walked next to the girl and briefly wondered what she would do under Sesshomaru's stare tonight. I feel like he is messing with me, this time if he even looks at me, I won't falter! (that's more of the old Kagome-spirit)

They arrived at the same dinning area and sat down. There were plates upon plates of food all piled up. Sesshomaru was already sitting down, waiting for them. Kagome looks beautiful today, she acquires a new look every time I set eyes on her. He waited until both girls sat down and then greeted them.

Kagome returned his cool gesture with a nod. She then turned to he piles of food, now knowing that there was no need to be respectful and wait for Sesshomaru to eat. After all, he was a youkai and Kagome had never seen him eat anything at the table yet.

"Rin, what are you learning right now?" Sesshomaru said, breaking the silence.

"Rin is learning a lot! Kagome-sama is teaching Rin all sorts of weaponry!" Rin did a little dance in her seat in pure excitement.

Sesshomaru nodded, he really already knew all of Kagome's teachings, but of course, he had to show Rin that he was interested. "Have your miko abilities shown any?"

"Rin has not really noticed any of her abilities coming out. Is Rin supposed to do something to make them work?"

Sesshomaru did not answer her question; instead, he simply stood up to leave. I will need to find out more about the switching of souls in order to help Rin.

"Sesshomaru!" A sharp voice behind him made him stop and turn around.

"Where are you going?" Kagome stood up, facing the youkai without fear. His mood swings with her had been strange enough, and if she got out of this situation unharmed, then that would confirm her theory that Sesshomaru was completely safe.

"Does it concern you?" He gave her a cool gaze and turned to go again.

"Sit back down!"

This time Sesshomaru completely rounded on her. "What, do you want?" His voice wavered dangerously between anger and collectiveness.

"Are you going to keep on switching out on us? You always leave without a trace, like you're trying to be the 'cool' guy! Rin-chan asked you a question, and if you are ever going to teach her or set an example, you are going to have to start using some manners! How she stays with you is beyond me, especially after what happened to the two of us!" Kagome gave him a definite look, she was really testing her luck this time, but she felt somewhat confident that Sesshomaru would not harm her this time because of the debt that he owed her.

Kagome saw a flash of anger in the youkai lord's eyes and he flexed his claws threateningly, but he did nothing. Then, his next gesture even surprised Kagome who had even expected him to turn a bit gentle. He stepped forward and drew Kagome towards him into a loose embrace.

"Sesshomaru…" The youkai's actions were completely confusing her! He would be hard as stone, and then turn gentle at the strangest times. He was betraying emotion and this was not like him at all.

"You have spirit Kagome, but you are far from a decent woman. You need to learn some humility, and learn when not to question others. However, your timing was good this time and yes, this Sesshomaru is impressed." He hissed the words into Kagome's ears so softly that she could hardly understand.

Sesshomaru then let go of the startled miko and turned back to the table. He sat down and faced Rin.

Kagome stood for a moment, completely stunned. This was very different from the time that they had been out at night together. The other time that Sesshomaru had pulled her towards him was because she had been crying. This time, Sesshomaru had no reason to make any sort of move towards her. She looked at her hands, all signs of aggression completely gone.

What did I do that for? Sesshomaru thought to himself. Kagome is doing something to me. I need to get her away from me as soon as possible. That means that I must find out more about the soul manipulation quickly. I will not be able to test on her if I do not act fast. He narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

"Sesshomaru-sama? Are you okay?" Rin was a bit concerned about her lord's sudden strange behavior.

He was immediately snapped out of his thoughts. "Rin, I will need to find a little bit more about what happened between you and Kagome in order to help you." He answered Rin's question just as Kagome had requested.

"Ja, sure." She gave Sesshomaru one last weird glance and then returned to her food.

Sesshomaru then turned to Kagome who was still standing up in the middle of the room. "Rin will never learn manners if you do not set an example," he said. But, there was no scorn in his voice, and he did not wear the usual sneer either. Instead he said it calmly, almost teasingly.

At first Kagome did not understand what Sesshomaru was coming at. Then it hit her: Why that little! He's mimicking me! She threw his a haughty glance and replied back snidely, "I am impressed."

Sesshomaru's eyes flashed for split moment with anger. But it was gone so fast that Kagome could not be sure if she really saw it. In a moment, confusion replaced momentary anger. Is she flirting with me?

Uh-oh. Did I just flirt with Sesshomaru? Kagome groaned inwardly and plopped down in a chair. Well, at least she tried to plop down in a chair. She fell short just a bit and landed on her behind on the ground. She heard Jaken snicker and looked up to see Sesshomaru's smug glance. Kagome felt her face turn bright red as warmth flooded up to the top Part of her cheeks. She flushed with embarrassment and sat down in the targeted chair.

"Now then, are you done?" Sesshomaru asked.

Kagome looked away angrily. Sesshomaru had even more mood-swings then Inuyasha did! It was driving her out of her mind!

"What do you mean you can't get through the sacred well?" Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku had been traveling for about one day and surprisingly found the bone-eaters well near the village quite quickly. This may have been due to the fact that the last time they had left from this point to get to Inuyasha's father's castle, they had made a huge circle around the outer edge of the forest and lost two days in the process. But of course none of them know that right now and we will just keep it a little secret.

"I was trying to tell you," the houshi said in an exasperated tone, "but you wouldn't listen."

"Rrgh…well what are we gonna do now?"

"Well isn't it obvious Inuyasha," asked Sango. Her pretty brown eyes looked up at him and she clutched her katana in annoyance.

"Feh, no."

Sango rolled her eyes and took a step forward. "Give me your arm." She said unsheathing her sword.

"Huh? No way! You guys took way too much blood last time from me! I'll just go by myself to get the PV light!" (UV light…)

"Inuyasha…c'mon, stop making this difficult." Sango advanced on him, her blade glistening in the bright morning sun.

"Ahhhh, get away from me!" Inuyasha backed up only to come straight into Miroku.

"Inuyasha, come on. You took direct hits right through the stomach before! You're not even going to feel this." The monk grabbed Inuyasha and shook him around a bit.

"Rrgh. Well I don't really like to stand still and let a blade cut my arm open thank you!"

"Come on Inuyasha! We also have to cut ourselves so quit being so aggravating!" Sango launched herself at Inuyasha, but his robe of the fire rat repelled her sword right off. "Miroku, hold him still."

"Don't touch me monk!" Inuyasha snarled angrily.

"Honestly…" Miroku easily slid she infuriated hanyou's sleeve up to reveal his bear arm.

Sango darted in quickly and sliced Inuyasha's arm a little more then she had intended to do in the first place.

"Arghhhh!" He yelled loud enough to shake the morning dew off the braken and fronds that hang around then in the forest.

"Oh come on Inuyasha, it wasn't that bad," Sango said, quickly slicing her own arm in turn.

"Yes, so quit making such a big fuss over it every time," Miroku agreed cutting his wrist with a small chain link in his kimono.

"Whatever," he grumbled angrily, licking a new wound that started from his shoulder all the way down to his wrist."

"Come on," Sango said once her robe was plastered with Inuyasha's her and her blood as well as a little of Kaede's herbs.

"Easy for you to say." Inuyasha growled grudgingly. "You're not the one that has the huge wound down your arm…" he added.

"Well if you would have quit moving around, I could have done it easier."

"Feh, let's go." Inuyasha stood at the mouth of the well and waited for the monk and demon-slayer to position themselves.

Sango jumped in first, followed by Miroku. Inuyasha went in last, just to make sure that they really could get through the well. He jumped in and was soon engulfed in a many bright colors and wonders of the time-traveling world.

"Well then, that wasn't so bad…" The houshi said as he clambered out of the well. He turned to his wife-to-be but she wasn't paying attention to him. Instead, she was staring at the ruins all around the well.

"What happened here?"

"Huh, what happened what?" Inuyasha had also just jumped out of the well and had landed just outside the mouth. "Oh yea, this must be what Kagome was talking about. She said that there was a fire and her parents and family all died."

"That's horrible!" Sango exclaimed, now knowing the pain that a lost family could cause.

Miroku did a small prayer. "May their souls rest in peace." he said quietly.

"I wish that I had known sooner…" the demon slayer said. "I could have talked to her about this."

"Well you can later, after we find Kagome," Inuyasha said. "But if we don't start moving, we'll never get her back from my brother."

Sango nodded slowly and pulled herself the rest of the way out of the well. "Let's go then."

"Well…" Miroku said. It is all just too well that we know what to get, but do any of you have the slightest idea where to look?"

All of a sudden, the whole map of Kagome's city seemed to stretch out in front of them. It could have been easier to go through a forest! There were bustling monsters moving quickly along the street carrying people in their bellies and strange huts of all sorts.

"Our last encounter to this place didn't even seem this confusing," Sango said in a bewildered voice.

"That's because we were only concentrated on fighting the demon that had strayed into Kagome's world. Now the task is different."

"So, do you have any idea where we should look or what a PQ light (UV light...) is?" asked Inuyasha.

"Um…"

"Not a clue."

A/N: Okay, this chapter was kinda forced, but I had to give you people something right? I hope you like it. It isn't as long as usual, but still an effort on my part. Haha. I am slowly bringing Miroku and Sango back to character because now there is no need to make them ooc. Please review!

Reviewer Responses: I have to say, I am disappointed that a lot of you are not leaving reviews any more. It means a lot for you to just type up something nice for me so please do. Remember, the more reviews, the more keen I will be to update faster.

lady of the pigs (ano): Thank you, I feel so good that more people are reading the story. Please keep reviewing! It means a lot to me!

Erin (ano): Thank you, Thank you! Actually, that is my second dream. To voice an anime character! I feel all warm and fuzzy inside now. Keep checking to see if I decide to respond to your review directly!

And thank you to my other reviewers AnimeLover45, and lil fluff girl (not turkey…friend)

Friend's Thoughts:

(at school)

Ano person: I've always wanted to kill someone…you know what that's like?

Michelle: No! No I don't know what it's like!