"I have

late night conversations

with the moon,

he tells me about the sun

and I tell him about you." – S.L. Gray

Chapter 7

Kagome cracked one sleepy eye open to the sound of her door opening and sliding shut quietly. She saw Misuzu's small feet move nimbly to her side and deposit her breakfast on the floor in front of her. The woman bent down and peered cheerfully into her face, two adorable space buns perched high on top of her head and her bangs dusted the tops of her thick eyelashes. Did she ever sleep? She always seemed so chipper in the mornings; Kagome could never hope to be such a morning person.

"I was hoping you'd be awake already." Misuzu whispered. Kagome yawned and unsuccessfully tried to cover her mouth with her hand.

"I wasn't awake until you walked in." Kagome mumbled sleepily. She could use another hour or two of sleep.

"I have a present for you," Misuzu quipped, biting back a wide smile. Kagome opened her other eye at this news. A present? "It's under your breakfast."

Kagome pushed herself into a sitting position and lifted the heavy wood slab tray that carried her breakfast. Underneath laid a pair of wooly tabi. Made from sheep's wool, they were long, thick, and suitable for the winter.

"Socks? What do I need socks for?" Kagome wondered out loud. While she certainly wouldn't mind something covering her feet during the cold nights, but she'd get them filthy on this dirty floor.

"They're to go with your getas." Misuzu laughed pulling a pair of pronged shoes from behind her back.

"What do I need those for?" Kagome looked warily at the tall shoes, not able to recall the last time she walked in getas so precarious. Surely, she'd twist her ankle and Harue would likely refuse to help her for such a silly injury. Getas were popular to wear with kimonos at festivals, but getas with such tall columns stuck to the bottom weren't particularly common in her time. Although, what lady of this era couldn't walk in getas? Wait, maybe this would help Kagome prove her identity…

"We're spending some time outside today. You can't waste the day away sleeping in here." Misuzu said, pushing Kagome's food toward her.

Kagome ate quickly for two reasons: she was left pretty hungry after her previous day of work and she was excited to spend time outside these dank drafty walls. The only time she had been outside in the previous few weeks was yesterday to fetch water from the pond – and Kagome had hardly enjoyed that. She wondered if there was still snow on the ground. She eyed the height of the getas again and presumed there might be some snow on the ground. Kagome's stomach leapt with excitement and she gulped down the rest of her rice stew and stood quickly. She fumbled with the thick itchy socks and managed to slide them over her feet and high up her shins and held the shoes in her hands. Misuzu bounded out the door and down the hall in front of her out of the dungeons and into the palace. She stopped her pursuit toward the courtyards and ducked into a room only to return with two haoris – both large and worn. She handed one to Kagome, and although it was plain in design, it was very heavy and would do well to keep her warm in the winter cold.

"Come on now put it on," Misuzu pushed while Kagome stood and fingered the fabric, "I'm no fire demon so I can't keep you warm. This will have to do for now." Misuzu winked before spinning agilely on her toe, the robe fanning out behind her before she skipped off. Kagome quickly set the shoes down and shrugged the haori on before grabbing the shoes and chasing after her warden.

Misuzu was stopped in middle of the long gleaming hall way standing between two parted doors that opened to the courtyard. The snow was once again gently falling and the sky was so large and grey – the clouds looked close enough to swallow the palace whole. The two stepped out on the deck and slid their shoes on, Kagome wobbling before finding her balance and opting to hook her arm in Misuzu's. The two carefully stepped down from the deck and the snow audibly crunched when their feet touched the ground. Kagome smiled, grinding the column of her geta into the snow, enjoying the feel of the wet snow melting against her tabi and licking her toes when she dipped them under the white surface. Misuzu and Kagome, arm in arm, strolled slowly through the picturesque winter gardens of the palace; disappearing between fir trees and admiring the immaculate white snow. For the first time she felt free of the palace and its prison now that she wasn't physically touching any part of it.

"Misuzu," Kagome started. Misuzu acknowledged her with a hum as she watched a small woodland animal scamper underneath the safety of one coniferous tree to another, "What sort of demon are you?"

"Moth. I'm a moth demon." Misuzu grinned.

"I met a lot of demons when I traveled all across Japan searching for the shards of the Shikon Jewel – I only met a few moth demons. They were pretty powerful. I had a group of friends, back then, and one moth demon nearly killed all of us. Yesterday, in the palace you mentioned that –"

"That I'm weak? I know. Most of us are. Very few are blessed with great power. Moth demon power is in our poison." Misuzu explained knowing where this conversation was going. Kagome thought back to the times she and her friends fell victim to moth demons and their ruthless poison that had almost been the end of them. "And yes, if you're wondering, I have poison, but I have very little to rely on. Think of it like a reserve I can tap into, but for short powerful bursts. Like I said, a demon like me is weak and I would have died very quickly in the war against thousands of humans."

Kagome considered this. She supposed for powerful demons like Inuyasha or Sesshomaru, fending off a hoarde of humans might be an easy feat. Even for a weaker demon like Shippo it was still manageable because he had his companions. Or with Kouga and his wolf pack. Now that Kagome thought about it, very few times had she ever got to truly know a lone demon. "I'm happy you're here." She admitted finally. Kagome's mind trailed off wondering what had ever happened to Shippo, Kouga, or even Lord Sesshomaru.

"I am, too." Misuzu sighed.

"Do you have any family that also live here in the palace?" Kagome continued forcing herself to stay focused on the current conversation.

"No, they all died in the war. Our home was attacked by a human mob in the middle of the night." She explained steering the pair toward a small secluded clearing surrounded by trees and tall bushes. A single stone sitting bench sat underneath a large naked tree and the two sat on it. Misuzu continued, "I lived in a colony of peaceful moth demons but that didn't matter. They slaughtered my family in front of my eyes. I was knocked unconscious, and they must have thought I was dead. I woke and a woman – a human woman – was cleaning the wound on my head. I thought she was my mother and I reached out for her. She shoved some medicine in my hand and ran off. She was afraid of me… yet she helped me. Humans are funny creatures like that." Misuzu smiled, the look on her face told Kagome she was somewhere far away. "I came here hungry, alone, and tired with only the clothes on my back. Lord Inuyasha allowed me to stay and live here in exchange for my servitude. I've lived here safely and peacefully ever since."

"I'm sorry about your family." Kagome squeezed Misuzu's arm still looped around hers.

The two sat in companionable silence and enjoyed the beauty of the pale November sunlight on the icy white wonderland before them. With the fresh snow brought new fresh, clean air that hurt your lungs when you breathe too earnestly. The only movement in the secluded clearing was the foggy breaths of the two women and the nervous darting eyes of a snow hare that watched them from under a thicket of fir tree boughs. Kagome sighed and let the coil of muscles in her torso relax - she couldn't recall a time she'd felt so at peace. She wondered to herself if she would be allowed to come back here again, or maybe even often under Misuzu's watch.

"Tell me the story of you and Lord Inuyasha." Misuzu suddenly broke the silence. Muscles engaged again. Kagome pursed her lips. The mention of his name alone made her tense. Well, she'd need to get over that because she was staying in his palace afterall. This was going to be a long imprisonment. Kagome's nose wrinkled as if she had just got a whiff of something unpleasant.

"There is no story about us." She specified.

"Oh, I doubt that's true," Misuzu teased, her violet eyes almost iridescent and sparkling with amusement, "There wouldn't be so much hubbub about you if that were true." She dug a damning finger into Kagome's bicep. Kagome sighed in defeat. She wasn't getting out of this one. She may as well start at the beginning and give the woman a Cliff Notes version of the tale.

"The Shikon Jewel was an omnipotent jewel that I destroyed, shattering it into a hundred pieces. Inuyasha was after the jewel for his own gain and needed me to help him collect the shards of the jewel." She regaled the story of Kagome and her friends – the hanyou, the fox demon, the demon slayer, the monk, and the fire cat – fighting evil and strengthening their bond along the journey. She recounted meeting friends and foes along the way, humans and other dog demons alike.

"Oh! Lord Sesshomaru! You knew Lord Sesshomaru?" Misuzu interjected.

"You knew Lord Sesshomaru?" Kagome doubted.

"I've never met him, but this is his palace." Misuzu waved her free hand in all directions. Oh! Oh! This was Lord Sesshomaru's palace! This entire time Kagome had been in the famed western lands – the house of the great Daiyoukai Inu no Taisho. It's wild, but she hadn't an inkling where she was this entire time. Kagome had just assumed this had been a palace built and controlled by humans until Inuyasha and his army razed it down and taken it by force. This was pertinent information that gave her a general idea of where she was on a map of Japan. "These are his gardens, too, I've been told. He must have been a very serene man. I'd very much like to meet him." Misuzu finished still talking about Sesshomaru, digging her toe into the snow. Kagome nearly snorted. She wasn't exactly how these fairytale gardens got here but she knew Inuyasha wasn't the horticultural genius behind it. And if Inuyasha isn't a gardener, Sesshomaru is definitely not the gardening type.

"I don't know if I'd describe him as serene…" Kagome opted to comment instead. Deathly calm, callously languid, terrifyingly magnificent, were all better ways to describe the mysterious and dodgy demon brother. You never knew what was on his mind or what his motives were and it made him frighteningly lethal. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was much less scary because at least you knew what he was thinking. You could read every emotion on his face at any time like an open book, walk away, and then pick up where you left off. At least, that's how it used to be a century and a half ago. Inuyasha was more like his brother, nowadays. It was unsettling and left Kagome's stomach doing anxious flip-flops when she saw him.

"Lord Inuyasha is harsh and austere," Misuzu mused, reading Kagome's mind, "But I urge you to rekindle the friendship you once shared."

Kagome shrugged her shoulders and let them fall back down heavily, "That's easier said than done. We're different people now, he and I. A lot of time has passed, too. I'm not the same person I was 150 years ago, and he's certainly not the same…"

"The Lord is a troubled man, you see. He is happy that you're here, I promise. But the Lord, he is not well. Some believe he's been haunted by you this entire time that he has waited for your return," she sighed and leaned against Kagome's arm, "Give him time to adjust to your presence. This is a shock to us all."

Kagome was bit by the sudden sensation of shock. An uneasiness settled in the pit of her stomach and she pulled away from Misuzu to search her surprised face.

"What's going on? Something isn't right. What do you mean haunted? By me?" Kagome's brow furrowed and the illusion was broken. Suddenly she was keenly aware that enough snow had collected and melted on her head to soak her scalp - It was very uncomfortable.

Misuzu smiled sheepishly, her eyes crinkling in the corners, "They're just silly rumors – I wouldn't worry too much about it. What's important is you and the Lord have been reunited."

Kagome was not reassured. She was frustrated because she knew she wasn't going to get answers out of Misuzu just as she had heard something interesting. She made the move to stand and muttered something about being too cold to stay in the garden any longer. Misuzu quickly agreed and accompanied her back into the palace. Once inside Kagome pulled against Misuzu's arm in the opposite direction of the prison, toward the study.

"Can I speak to Lord Inuyasha?" she inquired hoping to get to the bottom of everything once and for all.

"Oh no no he's very busy today! When the Lord is ready he'll call upon you. Come now, your midday meal should be ready." Misuzu fluttered pulling Kagome back toward the dungeon.

Upon returning to her cell Kagome found something unexpected.

"A bedroll?" she muttered incredulously. She turned around but the door was shut and Misuzu was already gone. Next to Kagome's lunch of rice stew and meat laid a bedroll and a thick pelt neatly laid to the side against the wall. Kagome stood dumbfounded, unsure of what she had done exactly to deserve this. Perhaps she had done a superb job scrubbing the floors yesterday, or Misuzu had pulled some strings.

Ignoring her food, Kagome sank to her knees and crawled infantilely toward the two foreign invaders of her small space. She tenderly sank a hand into the thick, dark brown fur of the pelt and relished in how her hand disappeared in it. The long hairs were like bristles that pricked at her soft skin and was rough in texture even when she smoothed it down. Kagome silently thanked whatever animal or demon that was sacrificed to make this pelt, because now she would be warm and sleep soundly through the winter.

Kagome slipped out of the getas and took care to peel her tabi off and hang them from the iron shackles attached to the far wall so they had the chance to dry. Next, she shrugged the pelt on over her shoulders and wrapped it around her like a cocoon before digging into her lunch. The bed mat under her bottom was stuffed with straw and made Kagome's exposed legs itch but she didn't mind – it beat sleeping on the cold hard dirt.

It wasn't Misuzu who brought Kagome's supper, but Harue with the task of checking her foot and head. She ate her vegetables and rice quietly as Harue picked through her hair admiring the fresh jagged scar across Kagome's pale head.

"It's not often I heal humans, but it looks like you'll be just fine." Harue said with a satisfied nod. She clasped her hands behind her back and turned to leave the cell.

"Is Inuyasha sick?" Kagome called out to the healer. Harue stopped and thought briefly.

"Is he sick?" she echoed aloud.

"Yes, Misuzu insinuated there was something wrong with him today while we were in the gardens." She explained now standing awkwardly in the middle of her cell. Why would she ask that? It's not like they'd tell her if he was sick – nobody tells her anything around here. To her surprise Harue pivoted on her right foot and looked at Kagome over her shoulder, analyzing her with those sharp yellow eyes.

After a long silence, Harue answered her real question, "I cannot cure him, if that is what you're going to ask next."

Kagome deflated as Harue left the room. So, he is sick? The healer was as cryptic as everyone else. Kagome felt like a rat trapped in a never-ending maze, never finding answers or an end. She dragged her feet to her bedroll and plopped down on it with an unanimated thud, finished her food, and laid in frustrated inner turmoil. Just when she had started feeling better about her situation here, she began to trust everybody less. Maybe they had always acted fishy and she hadn't noticed it in the beginning, writing it off as their normal behavior. But the more she got to know Misuzu, Harue, and this new Inuyasha, the more she noticed their nervous glances, their pregnant pauses before they answered her hard questions, or the way they redirected conversation when it was getting interesting. At the same time, she was hardly a prisoner of this place anymore, other than the fact she lived in a cell. Kagome hadn't worn shackles in a couple of days, was receiving plenty of food and now a sleeping arrangement, was allowed to go on day trips to the garden, and she still had her head secured to her shoulders. While Kagome may be noticing their suspicious behavior, they were also beginning to trust her more. Maybe answers to all of her questions were closer than she thought.

Kagome balled the pelt around her fist and brought it to her face to inhale the fur deeply. Pine and moss. That night she dreamed that she was sleeping peacefully in her mossy cave shrouded by snow frosted pine trees.

Late into the night the snow had paused it's dance with the atmosphere and all was still in the frosty air. The moon shone brightly on a dense forest just outside the palace gates, illuminating the northern face of each tree. In the shadows, perched high up in the branches, Inuyasha rested with his back against the trunk of a large tree. His knee was propped up, his wrist resting on it, and his claws lazily tracing indiscernible patterns into his shin while he was deep in thought. It had been a very, very long time since he had come out here to think or relax. Then again, it had been a long time since he felt the need to escaps his own home. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, fog blossoming around his head and tickling his sensitive ears. He would not sleep tonight, just like the night before, and the night before that, and the night before that, and the night before that…

"What ales you, My Lord?" croaked a voice from far below, violently bludgeoning the serene quiet of the forest. Inuyasha winced and glared down to see the palace healer gazing back up at him, stooped over, her hands folded behind her back. He chose to stay silent and let the old woman answer the question herself – she was good at that.

"I don't understand why you choose to avoid the young priestess. You had the whole palace searching for her 100 years ago and now you want nothing to do with her?" she jabbed. She was too good at that.

Inuaysha clenched his teeth and growled back at the only woman who dared to mock him in his entire kingdom, "Because that was 100 years ago."

"The beads worked and she knew about the well. Without taking her to the Monk's Hill it's the best confirmation we have. Either sort this out and talk with her or get rid of her – but it ain't right to keep a human as a pet locked up like this. This is the best chance you have and neither you or her have forever for you to sort your feelings out or dawdle about." Harue pointed an accusing finger at the Lord.

Inuyasha leapt from the branch and landed a few feet from the healer. He stormed toward her stopping inches from her face, his eyes burning and snarled, "I'd suggest you return to the palace, Harue." Decidedly done with their conversation.

Harue held his gaze unwaveringly for a long moment before cracking a smirk and turning toward the forest. She sauntered into the tree line, waving a dismissive hand at him, and disappeared in the shadows. Suddenly, her voice came from all directions, "I live off of others pain, Inuyasha," she crooned forgoing the honorifics, "When I took her pain I saw her soul. It is not the pure soul I anticipated, but I saw the cracks and darkness only pain leaves. I saw hurt and I saw suffering. I saw you there, too." She cackled.

A strong wind rippled through the trees and hit Inuyasha causing him to stagger backwards, followed by a booming roar that shook the earth. The Lord huffed and crossed his arms just before a magnificent white dragon burst through the tree line twisting and writhing in the moonlight. The beast, almost glowing in the moonshine, like a beacon against the dark sky, glided off into the night taking all the wind with it. Once again, all was still and quiet in the forest.

"She makes it sound like I'm a source of pain. She's so full of shit." He muttered turning back to his tree ready to return to stewing on his thoughts.

"That's because you have been." Harue's voice snaked around him and halted him dead in his tracks.

Startled, Inuyasha spun around expecting to see the dragon coiled in the snow right behind him, mouth gaped, large gleaming white teeth inches away, her yellow eyes burning into him. But he was alone, with only the moon to keep him company tonight. He stood rooted in place for several minutes, before he decided he was truly alone this time. He turned once again and leapt into the tree, settling onto his branch before closing his eyes.

"Creepy old lady." He breathed only loud enough for himself to hear, not wanting the healer to answer to him again.

Kagome woke with a start when Misuzu opened her door with her breakfast. The first thing she did was revel at how well-rested she felt, the second was bowing to Misuzu thanking her fervently for the pelt and bedroll. Misuzu, breakfast in hand, stared questioningly at the woman.

"I had nothing to do with that." Misuzu shook her head and side-eyed the makeshift bed.

"What? Who gave it to me?" Kagome asked holding the pelt up to Misuzu in case she hadn't caught a good enough glimpse of it.

"Likely Lord Inuyasha. He's the one that makes decisions around here." Misuzu assured, setting the food down in front of Kagome.

Kagome's face screwed up, "But he won't see me or talk to me so we can work this out?"

Misuzu shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, "He's very busy. He doesn't have time."

Kagome discarded the pelt on the floor and looked sourly at it. What was the point of her even being here? "Is there work I can do today? I'd rather be out than stuck in here." She groused.

Misuzu lit up at this confession, "Oh there's always plenty to do! Eat your food and I'll ask around the palace and see who needs an extra hand." Misuzu bounced out of the room while Kagome moodily chewed her food and forced herself to swallow even though it was nearly flavorless in her mouth. She wondered if there would ever be a day that she would eat delicious, well-prepared food again.

Misuzu was back shortly carrying a pair of what Kagome could only describe as feudal era work boots. She slid her now dry tabi over her feet and followed Misuzu down the hall who happily chattered the whole way. Kagome figured that if she couldn't get answers from the people closest in her circle, maybe she could get some other demon on a roll talking. Everyone in the whole freaking palace couldn't be entirely tightlipped.

"So, how long has Inuyasha been a Lord?" Kagome asked the man on the other side of the stall. She cracked a smile, hoping to placate him and lower his guard. The man turned to her and eyed her up and down.

"Don't talk to me." He grunted.

So much for that plan.

Misuzu had taken Kagome out of the palace and near the gates where she had initially entered the grounds. A large stable was nestled against the high protective walls and a man stood out front, his arms crossed, watching Kagome and Misuzu approach. He was a short stocky man, and somehow, he alone took care of all the horses used by the guard and soldiers. The man didn't say a word to Kagome but led the two women to the stalls and Misuzu instructed Kagome that she would need to muck out the stalls and re-bed them. With a shovel in hand, Kagome set to work mucking out the stalls, cautiously inching around the edges of the stall taking care to not get close to the horses. These weren't your average horses. These were beasts with coiled muscles bunched at the shoulders and hindquarters and standing at an extraordinary 20 hands. They all looked identicle with black glossy coats and cropped manes that stood straight up. Their red eyes followed her every movement and they snapped their jaws at her violently when she got too close to them. It seemed that nobody in the entire world could stand her presence, except…

"Kagome!" Misuzu shouted cheerfully when the weary priestess emerged from the stables smelling of horse shit and hay. "You smell like you worked pretty hard!" She smiled brightly sitting on top of a boulder near the palace entrance. Kagome shot her an exasperated smile that she hoped looked at least half geniune.

"You worked right through lunch, but I think you'd rather bathe first, right?" she asked.

Without the iron cuffs Kagome was able to assist Misuzu in filling the wash basin this time with warm water, the process going much faster and allowing Kagome to take a much warmer bath. She wasted no time in peeling off her clothing and submerging her body in the inviting waters. She felt all of her worldly troubles temporarily peel off of her body and disintegrate; she sighed contentedly. She dunked her head under water and scrubbed at her scalp loosening any dead skin or dirt that had collected there. When she surfaced Misuzu was there with more Camellia oil.

"I feel like everybody here hates me." Kagome confessed as she ran the thick oil through her hair with long fingers.

"Because they do." Misuzu offered simply.

"Oh." Kagome frowned and stopped her ministrations with her fingers. That wasn't quite the encouraging answer she had been looking for.

"Most demons here have bad histories with humans. Some have spent their whole lives fighting humans, others are like me who have been displaced due to the war by humans. Housing a human in the palace has been unsettling for most of us, to say the least." She testified.

"And you're the one that got stuck with watching the human?" picked through the split ends of her hair.

Misuzu laughed, "Lord Inuyasha gave me this task. I don't think many others would have readily accepted it, either."

"Glad to know you tolerate the human because you were ordered to." Kagome teased scrubbing her arms with a cloth. She relished in the fact that nearly every trace of injury was gone from her body, save a few unsightly scars.

"I think I am good for this job, because I don't think all humans are bad, and you don't think all demons are bad." Misuzu said while unfolding and shaking out a new yukata. Kagome decided the moth demon was right, she was the perfect fit for the job. Somehow, she couldn't quite place the stable man here helping her fill the wash basin with warm water.

After Kagome had dried and dressed when she moved toward her cell but Misuzu abruptly stopped her.

"No, we're not going there yet," she began, a smile dancing on her lips, "There's been a change of plans - Lord Inuyasha would like to see you."

Gaku nervously wringed his hands and trembled across the table from Inuyasha. They sat in the front sitting room in the Lord's personal quarters, where he conducted business away from prying eyes and curious ears.

"My- My Lord – Are you sure this is a good idea?" he stuttered, a bead of sweat visibly dripping from his temple. Gaku's confidence in this plan was waning, though it was never strong in the first place.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Inuyasha said, tightly clenching Tessaiga in his lap. He knew this was potentially disastrous but he was willing to take the risk.

"Forgive me for suggesting this, My Lord, but perhaps," he cleared his throat audibly and tried again, "perhaps you may be too unstable at the moment?"

"That's why you're not telling anybody, not Harue, not nobody, about this. Got it?" He glared his secretary down across the table, "We don't know enough about how this works. If she's who she says she is, maybe nothing will happen."

Gaku looked nervously down at his hands and nodded quickly.

"You only get help if you hear her scream." Inuyasha warned under his breath. Gaku's eyes snapped up to meet his Lord's.

"She's here" he said setting Tessaiga on the ground.