Worrying over a prisoner wasn't something Zuko ever thought he would do, especially someone he only knew from stories his mother would tell him. Having been a few days since they had gotten to the Fire Nation from Ba Sing Se, Kagome still hasn't awoken. Many guards were convinced she had gone into a coma from everything Azula had told them, yet they had to bring her a meal along with Iroh's whenever they did their rounds.

Those few days turned into a week before he realized it, each day with him going to her and his Uncle to make sure they were doing ok. Iroh never responds to him, by either flat out ignoring him, or turning his back towards the door. After each interaction with Iroh, Zuko goes to Kagome to make sure she always had clean water near her. On the third day of going to her, he began venting about whatever was on his mind but made sure to keep his voice low. Something about her made him feel calmer and closer to peace, yet memories of the catacombs had him feeling guilty for the attacks she had taken for Aang. Zuko hadn't wanted to hurt her or bring her into the continuous fight he had with the Avatar, but Kagome stepped in and fought back at Aang's side. He wanted to apologize to her, to somehow make it up to her. Yet with her being locked up he couldn't do much about it. "Kagome, please wake up," he speaks softly, looking over her sleeping form. "Just give me a sign you're ok."

On the other side of things, Kagome travels the Spirit Realm. When she had woken up, she was confused as to why she was there, only able to recall the fight in the catacombs after a few moments of thinking. Yet something was off this time around. Knowing this place like her own hand, she felt an odd albeit familiar energy within the wilds. It felt a little darker here, the world mirroring the chaos in the Avatar's spirit. The old baboon was of bo help as usual as she made her way through, searching for her friend and the other aura.

She could hear Kyoshi speaking in the distance, knowing that voice anywhere. Speeding up her pace, Kagome finds the past Avatar talking to Aang. Relieve passes through her, knowing he was ok. Kyoshi disappears after telling Aang about her regret over making the Dai Li, in which Kagome steps out to greet the current Avatar. "I was hoping I would find you here," she smiles softly to him. "I thought I lost you." Aang smiles in return giving the girl a welcoming hug.

"What are you doing here?" Aang was indeed happy to see her but wasn't expecting to run into her.

"Resting for a bit, I guess," Kagome shrugs slightly. "But I don't think I'll be here for much longer."

"I don't blame you," he chuckles. "I'll have to stay a bit longer to reconnect with some of my past lives. Azula's attack put my spirit at risk…" Aang starts trailing off as he too remembers the catacombs.

"Tell them I said hello." Aang nods, jumping onto Hei Bai and continuing on his journey. He didn't have enough time to waste to find his other two past lives.

Kagome watches as he leaves, confident in his ability to get through the wilds. She then turns her attention to the familiar energy nearby, heading in its direction. The closer she got, however, the more she noticed it was completely terrified. Breaking into a sprint, Kagome finds the source of the energy surrounded by some of Koh's followers. "Oi!" she yells to gain the attention of the spirits. Said spirits flinch and run as they realize who it was. Kagome makes it to Kirara's side, scooping the small cat into her arms and hugging her protectively. "It's ok now, you don't have to be scared anymore." The demon relaxes in her arms as she opens her eyes. A small squeak erupts from the feline, glad to see someone she knew. "I'm so happy to see you." Kirara nuzzles the girl, returning the comment. "How are we going to get you out of here?" Kagome mainly asks herself as she searches for the nearest exit. Perhaps Kirara could meld between worlds as Hei Bai had done. That would be rather tiring to constantly go in between though. Perhaps she would have to speak to Koh about this matter if he would be willing to help that is.

Kirara stays snug in Kagome's arms, content with not having to walk much and being with someone she loved dearly. Getting near Koh's area, Kagome sets the Neko down and tells her to hide somewhere. Kirara doesn't need to be told twice as she runs to a safer area. Kagome takes a deep breath as she enters, calling out to the spirit. "Koh, I know you're home."

The bug-like spirit comes out slowly, not wanting any visitors. "Always a pleasure, Priestess." He has already begun taunting her.

"I need some answers," she states calmly.

"And what makes you think I'll actually answer?" he chuckles while moving around her in circles.

"You will," Kagome turns her head towards his attempt of a jump scare, making the spirit back away.

The guards could tell she would wake up sooner than they originally thought, hearing soft murmurs coming from her as they did their rounds. No one could figure out what exactly she was saying, not daring to get close to the girl with unknown abilities. Zuko comes by when he can, mainly to speak to Iroh about advice only to be turned away like all the times before. Currently, Zuko finishes yelling at his Uncle and goes to Kagome's cell. The murmurs because louder as the days dragged on, making the young Prince more worried about her safety. Today seemed to be completely different from the ones prior, Kagome had been tossing and turning like she was having a nightmare. Perhaps she was running or fighting against something, causing her eyebrows to furrow in frustration and concern for whatever she was seeing. Zuko watches her for a few moments, wanting to be able to help and wake her from her dream. He moves closer to the cell's door, placing his hand on it as Kagome starts calming down in her sleep. He becomes more curious about her, not realizing that his presence was what was calming her. A soft smile then plays on her lips, seeming to be happy about something in her mind. "Inuyasha," she whispers out, finally loud enough for him to understand her. Zuko's heart clenches harshly at the name, not knowing why it had affected him at all. He didn't know this girl, he only knew she was friends with the Avatar and that made her an enemy of the Fire Nation. Yet he didn't want to be her enemy. He didn't want any harm coming to her at all. If anything, he wanted to protect her and make sure she never had to worry over things.

Zuko holds his head, feeling a migraine making its appearance as he leaves and goes back to his room. He lays down, wondering why the name 'Inuyasha' had felt familiar and why Kagome had been having nightmares. His thoughts pull him into a deep sleep, the name still echoing within his mind as he dreams of memories not his own. Zuko was looking through someone else's eyes, always landing on a girl in a rather odd green and white uniform. She looks to be about fifteen or sixteen and kept smiling at him lovingly. "Kagome, let's go."

"Huh? You've never said my name before," she responds in shock.

"Yeah? What of it?"

"It's just that I think you like me more now is all."

"Tch. Don't get excited," Zuko felt himself saying but it wasn't his voice at all. He turns away from her. "I still think you're pretty useless."

"Remind me next time not to save you," Kagome quips back as she pats his back, pain erupting throughout his entire body. He grunts in pain as he falls to the side, realizing that they were surrounded by many skulls. "Well if it hurt so much you should have said something!"

Zuko awakens abruptly, gasping for air as he tries to wrap his head around what he was dreaming about. The Kagome he knew of didn't seem useless at all, she was a skilled fighter. But the Kagome he had seen in his dreams was older yet so much different, yet her fiery personality was still there in full. Zuko grimaces at the thought of the catacomb fight, not liking that she kept getting into the crossfire. His migraine from before still hadn't gone away, if anything it had gotten worse. Perhaps he would stop seeing her for a while, then maybe the dreams will go away.

Zuko busies himself with Mai, asking her to be his girlfriend and focusing solely on her as much as he can. Little dates that somehow made him more upset than relaxed, it just felt wrong to him. Mai was one of his sister's best friends and does anything she says out of fear, but the girl in his dreams was fearless and would do anything to help even if it meant her life.

One of those nights held a different dream. Zuko had seen another female that looked almost exactly like Kagome, she just had straighter hair and duller eyes like she had been dead. The woman would either push him away when he would show affection or ask him to live in hell with her. It was like she hated everything, that she didn't want to do anything she needed to, that she just wanted to rest. Zuko had seen through the eyes of Inuyasha how much he had compared the two girls and how much he had hurt Kagome.

Zuko didn't think much of these dreams, finding it hard to believe that any memories would be presented to him from a past life. A world where demons rule and there were no benders, it was too fantastical for him to consider it real.

Kagome wakes up with a loud gasp. "Are you alright?" an older voice asks softly.

"Where am I?" she mutters as she sits up and rubs her head.

"Miss?" the voice calls again. Kagome observes her cell, not seeing anyone nearby. "Is everything ok?" Kagome feels for the man's aura, calming instantly at the fact that he was good yet fire nation.

"Yes, everything is fine," she nearly sputters out. "How long have we been here?"

"A little over a week," the voice answers. "You've been giving everyone quite a scare. Some even presumed you were gone." Kagome sighs, feeling useless and abandoned. She couldn't blame them though, they didn't really know her and she had just dropped in during a chaotic part in their journey. Perhaps this journey with the Avatar was not one she would be joining. As the thought crosses her mind she begins to cry. All those years of waiting and hoping didn't seem to matter to anyone but her. She tries to keep her sobs quiet so the male on the other side of the wall didn't hear her, but her sniffles betrayed her. "If you are concerned about your friends leaving you, you should know that the waterbending girl had wanted to save you too." Katara, the one she had only talked to for a few minutes, had cared for her safety. "She could only carry the Avatar while using her bending, so that is why you didn't make it out with them."

"I'm grateful that you told me that," she says between sniffling. "But it still hurts. I wasn't able to do anything to help them. I'm just as useless as ever."

"I wouldn't say that," sympathy laces his voice, aware of what the girl must be going through. "You helped your friends escape and definitely gave my Niece and Nephew a run for their money." He ends with a chuckle as he tries to lighten the mood. She was being too hard on herself and he didn't like that at all.

"So you're Zuko and Azula's Uncle," Kagome asks as she changes the subject. "Could you tell me about them?" Surprised by her sudden interest in his family, Iroh tells her about how they were as children. Azula being rather harsh with her playthings and Zuko being gentle with turtleducks in the pond. He didn't feel the need to lie to the girl, feeling a connection forming between them. He told her mostly about Zuko and how he had gotten his scar, how he had been searching for the Avatar and everything in between.

"He has good in him, deep down. But I've tried showing him his path only for him to betray me," there was a heavy sadness in his voice. "But that's enough for now, the guards are coming."

"Thank you, Iroh," she whispers. "For trusting me." The guard comes in with plates of food for them as well as tea. A female guard with a pleasant aura around her sets down a tray in front of Iroh, conversing with him politely before moving to Kagome.