Well, here it is, this month's installment. To be quite honest, I'm not too sure if it's any good, but that's something I need you guys to tell me. In my case, I'm so used to reading nothing but school books that the second I start reading something else, it feels weird. My own fics are no exception. So, I'll leave the judgment up to you. Hope it's worth the wait :3

On another note, a reviewer asked me about where Souta was, since Kagome's at Kaede's village and he has yet to pop up. I wish to clear something up so that further confusion is avoided: Souta is not a major character in the story. He will play a role to a certain extent, but he's not really so important as to be seen each time the gang is back at the village. He'll always be referred to at least in one sentence, though, to prove he's still there, but don't be surprised when he doesn't actually make an appearance. Consider it as obvious that he's around and probably interacting with Kagome when we're too preoccupied with Inuyasha or something, but I won't portray his appearances each time. Sorry to those who hoped he'd have a major role.

ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS:

Guest: Really, you thought I'd have Kagome killed? Well, I must say, I'm happy to hear I managed to make you feel that way, but if I killed her already, I'd kill the story before it even started, ne ;) Thanks for the review :]

happyface2107: Yeah, you reviewed twice in all, but no matter. Anyway, you don't need to worry, I won't forget about this fic, unless I forget about in general, because it's the only story I'm currently writing LOL So no worries, it'll go on until it is finished, however long that might take (with my current pace, it'll be a while, I think). On another note, we'll see about the triangle. I, for one, would be interested in how my Kagome would react to the potential idea that Inuyasha was interested in someone else, wouldn't you? So, we'll see where that goes. I love drama but hate overdoing it, so anything is possible, really. Thanks for the reviews and hope you enjoy :] Oh, and by the way: of course I take the time to answer to you guys. I already told you your opinion really matters to me, ne? So it's only natural I respond to the feedback I get ;)

hello anime: You might be right, Ririko may or may not play a bigger role. We'll just have to wait and see. And true, Kagome's got herself into quite a situation back there… and she's not about to get herself out of it. She needs her sword, after all, ne ;) For your other question, I answered above. Enjoy the chapter.

inufan23: Was? Why was? It's not over yet, not by a long shot :3 Hope the rest of it is just as amazing for you and thanks for the review :3

Tracks for this chapter:

Yui Makino:Tsuki no Shijima

Final Fantasy X OST: Truth Revealed

The usual breakers and reminder apply. Happy reading :]

Chapter 29 – Inuyasha's Feelings

Inuyasha sighed in frustration as he leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling of his room. His brain felt like it would melt any second and he was beginning to have a headache from trying to stuff so much information in so little time into his skull. But at least he was making progress.

Or at least, he liked to tell himself that he did.

Today was the third day of his stay at home. The third day of desperately trying to catch up with a month's worth of schoolwork and hope to understand it enough to get a decent grade on the test that awaited him tomorrow. Third day of working on some stupid legend assignment with a certain, black haired girl that he couldn't help but act weirdly around. Though he had to admit, that assignment had actually been a blessing in disguise, as it turned out that it could actually help him to figure out what Kagome had meant when she said he needed to seal the Shikon. His mother, who was much fonder of legends than he was, had been kind enough to help him out, too (unknowingly also helping him in a school assignment), and it even looked like she had found a solution. Now, all that was left was to actually do it. He was planning on working on the seal this evening, right before going to bed, if his mother finally told him what she had come up with. Then, he'd go to school tomorrow to take the blasted test and get a grade on the annoying legend assignment and immediately afterward, he'd go back through the well, since that was the only way of finding out if his mother's idea was the correct one.

The only problem was, he couldn't get to working on the seal because of the test he was taking tomorrow (and because his mother had yet to tell him how to do it, but that was a minor problem, he only needed to ask, after all). No matter how much he studied, he just couldn't get the information to stay in his brain. It would enter when he read the books, but if he looked away for five seconds, his mind would be blank again, as if he hadn't studied at all. It was frustrating him to no end.

True, Inuyasha never really cared about his grades, and never really did much for school, either. But he always passed and his marks were acceptable. The idea of failing never crossed his mind, because failing would mean making his mother sad. It would mean disgracing her, too. It scared him. The idea of letting his mother down, of disgracing her with a failure scared him – or, it would have scared him if he had allowed such a thought into his mind. He didn't though. As far as the black haired teen was concerned, failure wasn't an option.

If need be, he'd cram the whole night for it. But he would never fail. He would never disgrace his mother like that. It just wasn't an option.

Biting back a groan, Inuyasha leaned forward once again, his violet eyes falling once again on the book in front of him, only to notice he felt – yet again – like he was staring at the contents for the first time. He resisted the urge to bang his head on the table and instead forced his mind to focus once again. It turned out to be pointless, however. He just couldn't focus. It was like his brain had simply shut down from overload.

Considering Inuyasha had done nearly nothing other than studying ever since he came through the well (or rather since Kagome forced him through the well), it wasn't very unlikely, actually. Sighing, the black haired teen closed the book and leaned his elbows on his desk, resting his forehead on his hands. 'Man, I never noticed how much stuff they force us to get into our heads before,' he thought tiredly, his eyes staring blankly at the wood in front of him, not really seeing it. 'What good will it ever do, anyway? Why learn all this stuff? It's not like I'm ever going to need to know even a third of it all.'

"I need a break," the young kannushi muttered to himself as he stood up and left the room. He needed some fresh air, and the Goshinboku seemed to be calling to him for a while now, anyway. Sitting under its branches would do him some good. He was doing it a lot, lately.

[T]

However, Inuyasha never even reached the door. As if she had sensed his presence, his mother had called him right then to join her in the living room. Intrigued, the black haired teen quickly turned and changed his destination form the door to the living room, where he saw his mother sitting by the small table, a little pouch in her hands. He blinked.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice quieter than usual and more than enough proof of just how tired he was from all the studying he tried to get done. A sleepless night did that to you, and he was quite sure he was in for another one.

His fatigue didn't go unnoticed by his mother. The self-satisfied smile that graced her features a moment before was quick to vanish as she regarded her son with worry.

"Are you feeling alright, Inuyasha?" she asked, her eyes never leaving his face, even as he tried to avoid eye-contact. For what reason, he himself wasn't sure. It wasn't like he was hiding anything from his mother or anything like that.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired," he replied calmly as he moved to sit opposite his mother. He didn't need to say more. Izayoi was more than capable of guessing the reason behind it. She sighed slightly, a sound that made Inuyasha snap his head up to stare at her as well, for it was a sound she very rarely made. And when she did, it meant she was sad, worried or disappointed, all of which Inuyasha hated to be the reason for. No, scratch that, he just hated it. Period. It didn't matter what the reason was, he hated it when his mother felt any of those three emotions.

Before he could ask her what was wrong, however, she met his gaze with her eyes, a little smile on her lips as she spoke.

"You don't have to push yourself so hard, you know," she said calmly, her eyes never leaving Inuyasha's. When he gave her a blank stare, wondering what she could possibly mean, she elaborated. "You've just come back after a month of fighting demons five hundred years in the past, a time where school didn't even exist. You came back after a month of a really nasty illness as far as the school is concerned. In both cases, you had no possibility to learn and everyone knows that, no matter which version of the reason for your absence they have. And no one can expect you to catch up a month's worth of school material in a mere three days," she said reassuringly, her hand reaching over the table to ruffle his hair in a motherly way, much like she did when he was just a little child and she was reassuring him that he was fine just the way he was, no matter what other children said. For the first time in a couple of years, Inuyasha didn't swap her hand away, relishing instead in the familiarity of it. The gesture had always a soothing effect on him and now was no different. The only problem was that he now felt about ready to fall asleep where he sat, as the tension he didn't even realize had seized him leaked out of his body.

"So don't push yourself so hard, alright?"

"But…" Inuyasha started to protest, but the words got stuck in his throat. Why was he even protesting? His mother was right, he couldn't learn all of that perfectly in a mere three days and no one should expect that of him. But still… "I have to get a good grade. I'll… I'll disgrace you if I don't," he managed to say in a mere whisper. That was one thing he always hated about school – your honor was bound to it. And if, for any reason, you didn't pull through with good grades, it was a stain on the honor – not only your own, but the honor of the family. It would disgrace everyone sharing your last name. If he failed this test, he'd be a disgrace to the family. He'd be a disgrace to his mother. 'I don't want that,' he thought as he clenched his fists. 'I can't allow it. I just can't. I can't disgrace her. I won't!' he thought determinedly, his fists clenching tighter and tighter with each thought sentence.

"You won't," his mother replied, her voice still as calm and collected as it was before and still just as reassuring. If Inuyasha's words had any negative effect on her, she did not allow it to show. "You could never disgrace me, Inuyasha. You know I never thought as much of school as others did. It won't do anything to your or my honor. It doesn't matter," she tried to reason, but if there was one thing that could be said about her son, it was that he was stubborn. He had taken that after his father.

'Haha-ue might not think much of it, but other people do,' Inuyasha thought bitterly as he lowered his eyes to stare at the table in front of him angrily. 'The reason why I mess up wouldn't matter. No one would even believe that excuse, not with my reputation around here. They'd blame it completely on me, and they'd blame my supposed behavior on her,' Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at that train of thought. That had to have been the first time he cared about the reputation he had – mostly because it was the first time it could affect someone other than him in a more direct manner. But the glare he was directing at the table was quick to vanish as his thoughts took another route once more. 'I don't want it. I don't want people to think badly of her because of what I did. I don't want people to look down on her because of me. They should marvel at how she manages to raise me on her own and I just… I just…' his thoughts trailed off, though he knew exactly what he was thinking. It had been that way all the time, he just never knew what to do to make that one wish come true and no matter what he did, he always seemed to achieve the opposite of what he wanted, either because of his stupidity and short temper, or because of other things. 'I just want haha-ue to be proud of me…'

"I hardly care what other people think and you shouldn't, either," his mother's voice cut through his musings and he looked up at her again. "Other people's opinions don't matter, Inuyasha. They never did and they never will," she stated with conviction, but her voice was still gentle, calming. "It doesn't matter whether they think I should be proud of your achievements or not. It doesn't matter whether they think that our honor is tainted or not. All that matter is what we think and I could never think of you as a disgrace. I could never be anything other than proud of you for that matter."

He had either been talking aloud, or his mother knew him better than he thought she did – which really shouldn't surprise him as much as it did. She was his mother. But still, her words surprised him, no matter how much he might have tried to hide it.

"You're… proud of me?" the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, but his mother didn't seem to be offended by them. Still, what had he ever done to make her proud? He couldn't think of anything, really, as much as it bothered him. So why would she be proud? He hadn't done anything to deserve it.

But Izayoi only smiled at him.

"Of course I am," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "How couldn't I be? Tell me, Inuyasha, how many mothers can say their son can travel five hundred years into the past where he battles demons people only heard of in legends? How many mothers can say their son saved the life of a young hanyō by waking her up from an eternal slumber as close to death as you can possibly get without dying? How many mothers can say their son is a protector of a magical Jewel that was, as legend says, supposed to be destroyed centuries ago?" she asked, her smile never leaving her face, the question to each answer more than just obvious. "Of course I'm proud," she repeated. "I could never be anything else."

Inuyasha just stared at her for a moment before he allowed a small smile to appear on his face. Apparently satisfied that she had gotten her point across, Izayoi got a serious look in her eyes.

"That wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about, though," she said as her eyes fell to the small pouch. "I wanted to talk about that gem you're guarding," she said seriously, though there was still a smile on her face. Inuyasha nodded, instantly perking up as something his mother had said caught his attention.

"You said it was destroyed in the legend?" he asked, intrigued, as he sat up a little straighter. His mother gave him a rather surprised look, but nodded nonetheless.

"Yes, that's what the legend says. It's quite possible that it's referring to the fact that had disappeared for a while, though. It couldn't really have been destroyed if you had it, right?" she asked, her eyes never leaving his face. Inuyasha frowned as he answered her question with a nod – it really wouldn't make sense for the Jewel to be destroyed in the past if he had it. But there was still something he couldn't quite understand.

"Why did I have it in the first place, though? How come it was inside my body?" he wondered aloud.

"I'm afraid that's a question I don't know an answer to, Inuyasha, and I doubt the legends will be able to give us a clue. You'll have to ask someone on the other side of the well, maybe they'll have a better idea. They know more about the Jewel," his mother answered with a sigh. "But that's still not what I wanted to talk about."

[/T]

"What is it, then?" Inuyasha asked, now completely awake. Izayoi smiled. Talk to him about something school-related after a whole day of studying and he falls asleep. Talk about something concerning the Feudal Era and he was wide awake. She decided not to point it out, though.

"This," she replied as she took the pouch that had waited patiently on the table to be noticed. Izayoi took the little bag in her hands, untied the knot at the top and gently emptied the contents on the table. A series of small, round objects fell out and rolled around the table before stopping short, never far from the original place they had fallen at. Inuyasha blinked at the small, white and pink round objects.

"Pearls?" he questioned in bewilderment, trying to figure out what his mother could possibly want with them and coming up short.

"Pearls and a few coral beads," his mother corrected. "I've been trying to find out whether there was a mention of someone sealing the gem in any legend concerning the Shikon no Tama and the miko guarding it, or not. I didn't find anything on the subject," she started explaining. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed slightly in thought as he glanced at the set his mother had shown him, but didn't interrupt, waiting for his mother to finish her explanation.

"However, in almost every representation of the miko and the gem, the Shikon was on a necklace. It made me wonder if the miko had a motive for explicitly making a necklace for a gem. I didn't think she would have bothered just to make it look pretty. I think you agree, Inuyasha?" Izayoi asked, but it was really more of a rhetorical question than anything else, so she didn't wait for much of a response before continuing. "It made me wonder… the miko who sealed the Inuyasha to the sacred tree did so with an arrow, right?"

"Yeah, she did. Kagome said it was an Arrow of Sealing, or something like that," Inuyasha replied, wondering where his mother was going with this. Izayoi nodded.

"It was called the Arrow of Sealing because it sealed the Inuyasha away, right? But the arrow itself was a normal one, just like any other, wasn't it. It was able to seal the Inuyasha away simply because the miko had infused it with her powers, correct?"

"I… I think so."

"Well, if a miko can put her power into an arrow and make it capable of sealing a demon's power away – or a half-demon's in this case – then why couldn't she do the same to a beaded necklace?" Izayoi questioned, making Inuyasha's eyes widen in realization. But… wouldn't that be too simple? Just make a necklace, infuse it with you power and voilà? 'What am I saying? Even when I think of it like that it isn't easy. How the hell am I supposed to infuse it with my powers?' Inuyasha thought angrily, but managed to keep the emotion out of his voice.

"So you think that's what I need to do?" he asked her, staring at the pearls and corals she'd given him. He barely noticed his mother nod. "It makes sense… I guess… but why pearls and corals?"

"Because they're what's most often used to make prayer beads," Izayoi replied easily. "And if monks use them for their prayers, then I believe they're well fit for what you need them for."

"I see," Inuyasha said, glancing at the 'ingredients' for the necklace he was sure he'd have to make himself. He wasn't looking forward to it. "Thank you, haha-ue," he said sincerely when he looked up at her again. Izayoi smiled.

"I was glad I could help," she replied with a smile Inuyasha couldn't help but reciprocate.

So now, he'd do the necklace and somehow figure out how to put some of his power into it, then he'd study some more and tomorrow, he'd take the bloody test – which he wouldn't fail even if it meant another all-nighter; he was just that stubborn – and right after school, he'd go through the well. It was high time to give Kagome a piece of his mind about the way she had sent him away, even if it was to protect him from herself.

XxX

Kagome was lying on her stomach in Kaede's hut with Shippō watching diligently over her, as to make sure she wouldn't do anything stupid that would reopen her wound again. Not that the fox needed to worry much, her wound was almost completely healed. One more night should do the trick and her back would be as good as new. 'It took long enough as it is for these wounds to heal,' the young half-demon thought sourly, but in a way, she was also glad she had been injured, for it had stopped her from dashing madly after Sesshōmaru's scent once she realized he took Tessaiga. But then again, if she hadn't been hurt to begin with, then her brother wouldn't have taken the sword. At least not without killing her first.

She had been lucky to get out of the encounter with him alive, given the circumstances, and not only because he decided to let her live (with plans to kill her in the near future regardless, but still). If her wounds have been grave enough to cause her to fall unconscious, then they could have most likely also killed her… or come close enough to make something else happen. She was glad it hadn't come to that. She had experienced it once, she never wanted to again.

The hanyō sighed. Yes, both her and Miroku had been very lucky, Miroku even more so than her. Having sucked in quite the number of poisonous insects into his Wind Tunnel, the monk couldn't help passing out shortly after Sesshōmaru had left (to be quite honest, Kagome was surprised he hadn't passed out even before that) and with Kagome unconscious as well, it was really only a matter of time before the poison worked its wonders and finished him off. It would have, too, if not for Shippō.

The fox demon had gotten worried after a time when Kagome and Miroku hadn't come back, so when Kaede had to leave to help some injured villager, he had left the hut to look for the two. It hadn't been long before his nose caught scent of Kagome's blood, so it had been easy to find them. After that, he had run to Kaede like the bats of Hell were after him, begging the elder miko for help.

In short, Shippō had saved Miroku's and Kagome's lives, which he was very proud of, and also possibly a lot more, without even knowing it. Kagome preferred it that way, too.

She could still remember Kaede's scolding voice two days ago when she had finally woken up thanks to the elderly miko's treatment.

乗

Kagome bit back a groan as the darkness slowly inched away, forcing her back into the realm of consciousness and pain, thanks to her injured back. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times, trying to focus her vision. She was lying on her stomach on the grass in the forest, in the same clearing she had fought Sesshōmaru. She could still see traces of their battle, like a couple of partially dissolved trees here and there (courtesy of Sesshōmaru's poison) or a few patches of upturned and scarred earth, courtesy of Tessaiga.

"I see ye are awake," a very familiar, but not very pleased voice reached her ears, making them twitch on her head. Kagome blinked again and tried to get up, but the pain in her back easily kept her in place, so she opted for merely turning her head instead. Her eyes came in contact with a rather familiar face.

"Kaede," the young hanyō acknowledged. "How did you know where I am?"

"The fox kit found and led me to ye," the miko replied calmly, though her only eye was narrowed in what Kagome was almost certain to be anger. 'Shipp-chan did?' Kagome thought with surprise, but before she could voice her surprise, Kaede continued speaking. "What were ye thinking, Kagome? Ye should have known ye were in no condition to fight," she scolded, now visibly angry. The young hanyō only scoffed, though her annoyance wasn't directed at Kaede.

"It's not like I had much of a choice," she said, not meeting the other woman's eyes. She didn't notice how her one eye narrowed worriedly, either.

"What happened, then?"

"Sesshōmaru happened."

"Sesshōmaru?"

"My half-brother. Dead set on killing me and taking Tessaiga for himself… Tessaiga!" wound forgotten, Kagome shot up from her lying position, hissing when her back protested strongly but not allowing it to stop her. A quick look around and a verification that only the scabbard was left at her hip proved Kagome's worries to be the truth and she snarled in anger. 'Bastard! He took Tessaiga!' she yelled in her mind, but although she really wanted to follow her brother and get back what was supposed to be hers, her back protested loud enough for her not to follow his scent. That didn't make her any less angry, though.

乗

Despite Kaede's protests, she had carried Miroku back to her hut after that, as no one else was any more fit than her to do so, anyway. Once they arrived, she had gently deposited the monk on the ground… and then had promptly fallen to the ground herself. Kaede hadn't been too happy about the fact she had moved at all, much less that she wanted to go after her brother, but in the end, the wound had won out and whether Kagome liked it or not, she had been confined to the old miko's hut until the wound healed.

It was a good thing she had been forced to wait. It had allowed her to calm down. Now, three days later and almost completely healed, she could at least think logically about the situation and try to think of a plan to get Tessaiga back – because simply charging in just wouldn't work. All it would achieve was getting herself killed. Sesshōmaru was strong enough as it was and it was hard for her to keep up most of the time. Now that he had Tessaiga, defeating him would be even closer to impossible. At least, if she relied on only her claws and forgot her head. She knew better than that, though.

The sound of a body turning over caught her attention and her eyes traveled over to the monk who was sprawled on the wooden floor not far from her. Thanks to Kaede's antidote, he had recovered rather quickly. What he was recovering from currently was an encounter between his head and Kagome's fist that had taken place a few moments ago. 'That'll teach him to try and get a feel,' the young half-demon thought angrily, remembering Miroku's stuttering when she had approached to show him how much she did not appreciate what he had tried to do. The monk had obviously thought she was still floor-ridden, but he had been in for a big surprise. He had also thought she would appreciate his gesture, or at least have nothing against it, after her first 'positive' response when he popped the question on their second meeting. He had been in for an even bigger surprise, and Kagome hoped for him he had learned his lesson, or else she might someday crack the guy's skull and be done with it.

"Finally awake I see. Did you enjoy your nap, Miroku-sama?" Kagome asked pleasantly when the monk finally came to. Miroku sat up and rubbed his apparently still sore head, laughing sheepishly when he caught sight of Kagome's all too pleasant expression.

"I take it you're feeling better, Kagome-sama?" he replied with a question, avoiding answering her own. Kagome didn't mind. She nodded in response and, as if to prove her point, slowly rose into a sitting position, her arms in her sleeves and her legs crossed. She had to resist the urge to lean Tessaiga against her shoulder like she was used to, since only the scabbard was there.

"It won't be long now," she said confidently.

"What won't be long now, Kagome?" Shippō asked, reminding both other occupants of the hut that he was there. Kagome smirked to herself as she answered.

"Won't be long now before I'm healed," she said. "Meaning, it won't be long before I go get my sword back."

Hearing those words, the young kit launched himself at Kagome without a word, almost making her fall over at the unexpected tackle. Regaining her balance, the young hanyō reflexively moved her arms to support the little fox who had attached himself to her clothes and glanced down at him questioningly. She didn't need to ask, though, for the shaking kit started talking on his own.

"Do you have to?" he asked, a few small sobs making themselves heard and betraying the tears Kagome could already smell either way. She frowned at the question.

"Of course I have to," she replied, her tone implying it was the most obvious thing in the world and that Shippō was stupid for even asking. She felt guilty for reacting so harshly when she felt Shippō flinch, though.

"Why? Why do you have to go fight that yōkai for just a sword? Why can't you just get another one?" the young kit wailed, and Kagome couldn't help but growl at his words. She tried to hold her temper, however, knowing that Shippō didn't know what he was suggesting. He hadn't been there when she first got Tessaiga, after all. It had been only Inuyasha and her then. "I don't… I don't want to see you like you were last time you fought him! I don't want to see you like that ever again!"

Those words made Kagome's anger fly out the window and her growls ceased as she glanced at the kit in her arms with soft eyes. 'Shippō-chan…' she thought fondly, her heart feeling just a little bit warmer at his concern. Still, she had to let him down on this one. This was not a fight she could walk away from, and not only because of what was at stake, but also because of who it was that would fight her.

"Shippō-chan," she said softly to the crying fox, trying to get his attention, but to no avail. He merely continued crying. Kagome sighed. "Shippō-chan, look at me," she commanded softly. He raised his head obediently and watery emerald eyes met determined gold orbs as Kagome tried to explain why she could not do as he asked, even if she wanted to.

"It's not a fight I can avoid, Shippō-chan," she said softly, trying to make him understand with just her eyes. "He took Tessaiga. A sword my father left for me. I can't just let him take what otou-san wanted me to have. Please, try to understand that," she continued, hoping she sounded calm and reassuring like she wanted to. Shippō continued crying silently, but he didn't interrupt her or break eye-contact. It had to mean he understood… right? At the very least, it was a good sign, as he wasn't protesting. "You wouldn't let someone else take something away that your otou-san left for you, either, would you?" she asked then, hoping the mention on his father wouldn't send the kit into another wave of tears. Shippō lowered his head, his eyes now staring at Kagome's lap.

"I wouldn't," he whispered in response, his voice so low that even Kagome had to strain to hear the words. She smiled softly at the little kit and hugged him close to her chest before she could even think twice about it.

"Don't worry, I fought him before. I know what to expect. Sesshōmaru won't be able to kill me. I won't allow him to," she whispered into the kits ear.

"Promise?" Shippō asked in a small voice, a few more tears still falling from his eyes. Something in Kagome warmed even more at his words, at his voice, at the care he so openly showed. She hugged him closer to herself.

"I promise," she whispered into his pointed, elfin ear and Shippō relaxed his grip on her clothes at her words. Kagome smiled softly as she continued to hold him, a soothing growl rising from her chest without her even realizing it. The kit was asleep in her arms in no time at all. 'He's acting like he's my pup, like I'm his mother,' Kagome thought to herself as she held the sleeping kit. 'And somewhere along the way, without me even realizing it… I started acting the part, too.'

It could have been just that Shippō reminded her so much of herself when she was little and she simply wanted to give him what she hadn't been allowed to have. But Kagome knew better. It was more than just that. 'Pup,' she acknowledged to herself, knowing she had already claimed him as her own, anyway, and long before her mind accepted the fact. 'My pup…'

"Is it really wise," Miroku brought her out of her thoughts, effectively breaking her own, personal moment as he began to talk. Kagome turned her head to stare at him, her eyes telling him to continue. He did, "to promise such a thing, Kagome-sama? That yōkai seemed very powerful," his voice was serious, as were his eyes. It wasn't necessarily that he doubted Kagome. He simply acknowledged another's strength. Kagome snorted.

"He isn't a daiyōkai for nothing, of course he's strong. No child of my father's would be weak, not me and definitely not Sesshōmaru," she said confidently, not missing Miroku's stunned expression. Oh, right, the monk had been unconscious when she told Kaede who Sesshōmaru was.

"He is your brother?" the monk asked, obviously stunned.

"Half," Kagome corrected. "He's a yōkai, remember?"

"Still, he has the same blood as you in his veins. He's the son of the same yōkai as you. He's a full demon to boot. And now, he has Tessaiga. Do you really think it wise to challenge him, Kagome-sama? Or at the very least, do you think it wise to challenge him and promise to get out of it alive?" Miroku asked her with narrowed eyes. Kagome wasn't overly concerned, though.

"First of all, I've fought him before and as you've seen, I'm still alive. I admit, the last time was as much luck on my part as pride on his, but the other times, it wasn't like that," she said. Of course, that wasn't entirely true, but then again all the other times she fought Sesshōmaru before she met Inuyasha, she had held back. She had wanted him to think she wasn't worthy of killing and she succeeded. That wasn't luck, that was careful planning. It wouldn't work now, though, but she had defeated him once, she could do it again. She had to believe that. "And second of all, Sesshōmaru might have the sword," she said confidently, smirking at Miroku as she did so. "But it's me who has the scabbard."

She hadn't spent the last three days brooding and cursing her luck. Since she was confined in the hut until she healed and was told she was not to move from her spot, she had used her time to use her head once she cooled off. She had known she couldn't just take Sesshōmaru head on and hope to win, she needed a plan. And all it took to think of one was to reflect on her other battles with not only Sesshōmaru, but each and every battle she fought with Tessaiga's help. As they say, if you know your enemy, you know a way to defeat him.

And while she didn't think she could actually defeat Sesshōmaru or Tessaiga, as in kill or break them respectively, she had a good idea what she needed to do, and all she needed for it was already in her hands. Sesshōmaru would regret not taking the old scabbard with him, of that she was sure.

"The scabbard?" Miroku asked with wide eyes. If Kagome didn't know any better, she would have thought the monk suspected her to have lost it. Then again, maybe he did think her mad. But what did it matter.

"Yes, the scabbard," she said with a smirk as one of her claws fingered the old wood that usually held Tessaiga's blade, but now was left empty until the sword returned to its original owner. She was careful not to drop Shippō as she did it and the kit didn't so much as stir, sleeping soundly in her arms as if nothing were. "It may not be able to cut, but it's stronger than most people would give it credit for."

"If you're sure, Kagome-sama."

"Believe me, I am."

The conversation ended at that, as both occupants of the room allowed their minds to wander while Shippō snoozed away in Kagome's arms with a content smile on his smile face. The peace was interrupted, however, when Kaede entered her hut. She eyes Kagome disapprovingly when she noticed she wasn't lying down, but decided not to say anything in the end without knowing her patient's condition.

"How are your wounds, Kagome?" the old woman asked as she approached and slowly lowered herself to the floor to sit in front of the fire place.

"Give me one more night," the hanyō replied easily, ignoring the priestess's somewhat surprised glance. But Kaede knew better than to demand to see the wounds for herself. Kagome knew best when she would be healed and she wasn't one to lie about it.

"Your healing capabilities never cease to surprise me," the old priestess said, shaking her head. Kagome chuckled, but before she could say anything, Kaede spoke up again. "But tell me, Kagome, what has managed to wound you so? You rarely allow yourself to be wounded so severely. Was the opponent this strong?" she asked in a grave tone. Kagome's expression soured as she remembered the origin of the wound.

"It wasn't that bad originally, it was my fight with Sesshōmaru that made it worse," the hanyō mumbled under her breath as she looked away from the old miko. Miroku was the one who answered in the end.

"It was an ōkami, Kaede-sama," he said. "But it wasn't very strong by himself. It was the Shikon Jewel that gave him the power to wound Kagome-sama."

"An ōkami?" the old priestess repeated, awaiting Miroku's nod before she continued. "I don't believe it would be the same ōkami that came here a few days ago, would it?" Kaede asked, her eye easily noticing the way Kagome tensed slightly at the mention of an ōkami, or any yōkai in general, near the village while she was not.

"There was a wolf wandering around here?" she asked lowly, a growl once again forming in her throat, though it was low enough not to wake Shippō. Kaede didn't seem very concerned by the matter, though.

"Yes, a wolf demon has come by a couple of days ago. In fact, he left merely a day before you arrived," Kaede said easily, obviously not worried at all. It eased Kagome's unease a little bit and her growl lessened, but her chest still vibrated with the warning sound. "And if memory serves right, he's been coming and going at rather regular intervals for the past fifty years," the old miko continued to talk. Once again, her words made Kagome freeze and her growling cut off, though this time for another reason entirely.

"For the last… fifty years?" she repeated, stunned. Kaede only nodded with that knowing look in her eyes, which Kagome ignored as she stared blankly at the floor in front of her. 'No way… just no way!' she couldn't believe it. It just wasn't possible. He wouldn't… would he?

"Wasn't that the time in which you were sealed to the tree, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked, not failing to see the parallel and that there was some meaning behind it. Kagome's reaction was more than enough reason to think so.

"It is," she admitted as she bit her lip. Regaining her composure, the young half-demon raised her head and glanced at Kaede. "That ōkami," she started, knowing that if Kaede spoke of him like she did, then she'd probably met, or at the very least seen him, not only sensed, for she talked like he was no threat at all – and she could only know that if she's met him and lived. "Did he happen to have deep brown fur?" Kagome asked, earning herself a nod from Kaede. Gulping, she continued to prob. "Black hair?" another nod. "Tied in a pony tail?"

"Indeed."

"Eyes as blue as a cloudless sky?"

"That would be him," Kaede replied with a small, knowing smile. Kagome's posture slumped as the tension left her unexpectedly. She knew who that wolf was, oh by gods she knew.

"Kōga…" she whispered his name before she could even think twice about it.

"That may be his name, I never asked," Kaede replied nonchalantly. "I just thought you should know he was here."

"But why would he come? Why would he keep coming back?" Kagome asked as she shook her head, though her heart already knew the answer. Her mind just refused to believe it.

"I think he wanted to visit a certain hanyō who regrettably was sleeping too soundly to be woken up whenever he came," Kaede replied with a smile, but her words didn't lighten Kagome's mood.

"That's not funny," she said glumly. 'Why would he be here? Why would he come back again and again?'

"It wasn't supposed to be," Kaede replied, sighing this time as she glanced at the stunned half-demon. "He simply refused to give up. Said he would wait because he knew you'd wake up eventually, since you apparently promised to come back for something. He asked me to tell you he took good care of it. And last time, he said he would find you, wherever you went."

Kagome just sat there, stunned into silence. She probably should have been surprised to hear Kaede had talked with Kōga about anything, but for now, her mind was stuck on other thoughts. 'He was here. He kept coming back and he was here just a few days ago… we practically just missed each other!' she thought regretfully, but then again, there wasn't much she could have done about that. In fact, she should be even glad she knew because if it hadn't been for that other wolf (and the ensuing problems with the Shikon), she wouldn't have come back with Inuyasha yet, and thus, she wouldn't have even known. She'd still be uncertain. Now at least, she knew for sure. 'He didn't forget. He didn't move on,' she didn't know whether to think he was stupid (what if she had never woken up?) or to be ecstatic about it, but the biggest part of her was happy without her having to think about it. 'He's still waiting, he's still looking… but wait, he said he'd find where I went?'

"Stupid Kōga," Kagome couldn't help but chuckle to herself. 'Why didn't you just go back to your pack? I told you I'd be back for Yougo. But no, you have to go and make it harder by making me go look for you! Dummy,' she thought with a smile, ignoring the two other people in the hut for the time being. 'Sometimes I wonder why I feel for you the way I do…'

"Knowing that, will you still go fight your half-brother, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked suddenly, effectively bursting her bubble. She turned to glare at him, noticing Kaede's expectant gaze as she did so and at once, realization struck. The old miko would be disappointed, though.

"I can't run from that fight even if I wanted to, which I don't," Kagome growled in response. "Sesshōmaru isn't one you can run away from. And I don't plan to, either. He has something of mine that I want to get back and I will get it back," she said resolutely, in a tone that bore no argument. Miroku bowed his head in acceptance and Kaede sighed, saying only one more word.

"When?" she asked, and Kagome didn't hesitate to answer.

"Tomorrow."

XxX

Inuyasha stood between the trees, his bow at the ready as he aimed carefully at the great wolf in front of him. He wasn't intending to kill it, at least not yet. He wanted to get the Jewel, first. That was where he was aiming. If only the freaking ōkami stopped moving so damn much! 'Alright, here goes nothing!' the young kannushi thought when the wolf stopped moving momentarily (for what reason, he didn't know, nor care) and he released the arrow. It cut through the air like a lone firework and pierced the wolf's flesh easily. It went straight through and left a considerable wound, much larger than a normal arrow should have left. But it had missed the Jewel's a good few inches. 'Damn, almost had it!' Inuyasha thought angrily as he reached for another arrow.

But the wolf wasn't planning on letting his deed go unpunished. It turned to face him with a savage snarl, his eyes promising bloody murder. Before Inuyasha could do anything, it pounced, intent to kill clear in its eyes.

The black haired teen didn't think then, he let his body do the thinking. He threw himself to the side and rolled away, effectively avoiding the dangerous claws but losing his only weapon in the process. Cursing, he stood up again and tried to think of a way to inch back towards the lost bow, his sword missing at his side for a reason he didn't care to think of right now, so he paid it no mind.

He never got the chance to even attempt to retrieve the bow, however, for the wolf was already in front of him, and he hadn't even seen it approach. Now, the great beast towered over him with one paw raised, its deadly claws ready to deal an injury much more severe than the one his lone arrow had inflicted. He didn't have time to dodge. Hell, he didn't even have time to comprehend what was happening.

The clawed paw descended onto its prey.

"INUYASHA!" he heard someone yell, someone whom he should recognize, he knew. But before his brain could connect the voice to the memory of the person, someone grabbed his arms and literally slammed into him as the wolf's paw fell and missed its target.

Except that blood still flew through the air.

But he didn't feel any pain. So what did those claws cut through? He didn't know.

[T]

He landed harshly on his back, the clearing suddenly very still and very dark. The sun was gone, covered by dark-grey rain clouds. The wolf was gone, too, though Inuyasha had no idea where it disappeared to. But the thing that fell on top of him did not vanish.

Groaning, Inuyasha sat up, his movement causing to fall whatever it was that was lying on him to the ground. He glanced at it without much care, but that changed swiftly when he saw what, or rather who, it was.

"Kagome?" he asked the visibly sleeping half-demon. What was she doing there? How did she even get here? "Oi, Kagome," he called a little louder when she didn't wake. Strange that. He had never seen her sleep before. At least not so deeply as to not wake when called. "Come on, wake up, wench," he said, this time opting to shake her.

The second he touched her, though, he recoiled as if he had been burned. That wet, sticky feeling he got when he made contact with her back felt all wrong…

His eyes widened when he glanced at his hand, only to see it drenched in blood. Her blood.

Panicked violet eyes moved to her again, only now noticing the deep wounds in her back. And they kept bleeding like they wanted to get all of the blood in her body out of her. Inuyasha gulped and tried to remain calm, but he hardly succeeded.

"Come on, Kagome, wake up!" he called, once again reaching for her to shake her awake, but careful to avoid her wounds. Any second now. Any second now, those eyes will open and she'll snap at him to leave her alone and to stop freaking out because this was nothing.

"Kagome!" he tried again. Only she wasn't responding. No movement. No sound. No nothing.

"Stop kidding around! Wake up, damn it! Wake up fucking hanyō-wench!" he yelled, shaking her harder. Still no response. Her blood continued to flow, sliding down her sides and slowly pooling around her, the puddle getting bigger and bigger constantly while she paled by the minute. And even through the material of her fire rat robe, he could feel her becoming colder and colder.

"No," Inuyasha whispered to himself when the obvious kept blaring at him. She wouldn't wake up. She couldn't wake up anymore. "No, no, fucking NO!" he yelled in denial. She just couldn't fall like that. She couldn't! She was stronger than that, damn it! "Wake the hell up, Kagome!" he kept yelling at her. Why wouldn't she respond? She had to! Couldn't she see that she couldn't just die like that? He just had to keep calling. She'd wake up eventually. She had to!

"Wake up, Kagome!" But she couldn't wake up. He should know.

"Kagome!" No human could survive such wounds. And right now, she was human. He noticed only now…

"KAGOME!"

"Kagome!" Inuyasha gasped as he shot up in bed, his covers lying on the floor carelessly. He must have thrown them off in his sleep. Breathing deeply, the black haired priest glanced at the clock next to his bed. He didn't get to nap much, barely thirty minutes. 'It was a dream. Just a fucking dream. Nothing more,' he thought, trying to calm his breathing and his erratic heart. No, it wasn't a dream. More like a nightmare.

What if it came true? What if the wounds she received weren't as minor as she said they were? Or what if she turned human? It was possible. She said she turned once every month and he had been away from home for a month now. She had been human the last time he came home, too. What if it was that time again? Why if she turned human and her wounds suddenly became so much worse for her? What if she was already…

Inuyasha jumped out of bed, his fatigue forgotten as he grabbed his sword and backpack, both of which he had left next to his bed when he decided to nap a little before he went back through the well. School was long over (and it had been hell), as was the hellish test which he hopefully passed with an acceptable grade. He had just wanted to rest a little to catch up at least a bit on the two nights' worth of sleep he missed, having pulled one all-nighter and having used most of the second night's time to make the beaded necklace that now hung around his neck with the Jewel in the middle of it. Completing it had taken the better part of the night, though infusing it with his power was easier than he thought it would be. Still, the now bright blue beads were only a completed necklace in the wee hours of the morning, so he used the rest of the time for some last minute studying. But forget that! He wasn't tired! At all.

He had to go through the well. He had to see her, make sure she was fine.

If she died because of those wounds, wounds she had taken for him, he'd never forgive himself.

His mother wasn't home, but that was alright. He had said his goodbyes while leaving for school, telling her he'd probably already be on the other side when she came back, so he didn't feel guilty about leaving so abruptly. In no time at all, he was at the well and he jumped in without a second though. 'Don't you dare be dead, Kagome! Don't you fucking dare!' he thought as the time slip engulfed him and he floated in a violet void for all of a second. He landed lightly on the bottom of the well, five hundred years in the past, and didn't waste any time grabbing the vines that hung over the walls, using them like a natural ladder. He didn't feel any pain. His arm had more than enough time to finish healing while he was home.

[/T]

He climbed up to the rim of the well in record time. But what he saw there wasn't anything pleasant.

"Shippō!" he called as he hoisted himself up hastily and almost fell out of the well in his haste. In front of him, a horde of demons was swarming around, surrounding the small, terrified fox in a tight circle like hungry predators circling their prey. And that was basically what the demons were doing, until Inuyasha came.

One by one, the ugly heads turned towards him as Shippō called for Inuyasha to help him. Some seemed to hesitate, others boldly distanced themselves from the potential meal to meet the so much more tempting opportunity of gaining the Shikon, which was hanging around his neck for all to see, not tucked under his shirt like it usually was.

Inuyasha didn't wait for them to decide what to do. He easily reached for his sword and unsheathed it, guiding it in a horizontal arc as he did so, easily decapitating the few yōkai that decided to try and grab the Jewel. Seiryuu glowed a bright blue as the blade was freed from the confinement of the sheath, but the glow of spiritual power did nothing to scare the yōkai away.

"Shippō, get over here," Inuyasha commanded, a fierce frown on his face as his violet eyes surveyed the demons. The young fox didn't need to be told twice and immediately ran as fast as his little paws could carry him in Inuyasha's direction.

That seemed to have brought the yōkai out of their stupor, for they launched with loud cries. But none of them cared for the little fox anymore. Who would care about food when he could get the Shikon Jewel?

But still, even if they went for the Jewel, the fox was in the way.

Shippō didn't have to even reach Inuyasha, because the priest suddenly lunged forward without warning, sword held at the ready and scooping up the kit as he went. It only took a couple of swings before no yōkai were left, all falling to the glowing blade whose wielder could only now show how strong he had become in these last two months.

"You okay, Shippō?" Inuyasha asked once it was over, glancing down at the kit in his arms while he sheathed his sword. He had scooped him up without thinking. Shippō had been in danger from the yōkai and in the way of his sword, so the best way to protect him was to grab him, hence why he did it. Surprisingly, the kit didn't try to squirm out of his hold, merely pushing away from his chest enough to stare the human boy in the face.

Nothing was said for a while as Inuyasha waited for a response and Shippō just kept staring, as if he had never seen the future-born teen before. It wasn't long before the silence unnerved Inuyasha, though, and he scowled down at the kit.

"What are you even doing here, runt?" he asked in a gruff tone as he looked around for the person that was always near the well whenever he was home. The person who protected the well from the yōkai that were called by the Jewel, so that they didn't come through to his time.

The person who very obviously wasn't there.

"Where's Kagome?" he asked before the kit could answer the first question, as he was still star struck, or at least that's what it looked like. Inuyasha wasn't a very patient person, though, so he didn't wait for whatever spell fell on the little fox to wear off and instead simply bonked the kit on the head before grabbing him by the back of his shirt and raising him to his eye-level.

"Ow! What was that for! I didn't do anything!" the little kit complained as he glared at the teen holding him, not that Inuyasha cared much.

"Are you gonna answer me now?" he asked, irritated. "What are you doing here and where's Kagome?" he asked again.

"I'm here because Kagome told me to stay here and lead you to where she was if you came back and wanted to go there," the fox said simply.

"She told you to stay here?" Inuyasha tried to clarify. Kagome didn't seem like the kind of person to tell a little, defenseless kid to stay in a place that was bound to work like the perfect demon bait. Shippō squirmed.

"Well, she told me to stay at the village, but I thought it'd be better if I was nearer the well in case you came back, so…" he trailed off, not needing to finish the explanation. Inuyasha snorted at Shippō's stupidity. 'Well, that makes more sense, but that doesn't explain where she went.'

"And where is she? Why isn't she here?" he asked, his eyes narrowed as he pretended to be angry, rather than worried. Why wouldn't Kagome be here?

"She wasn't worried about the well, she had Miroku seal it with his o-fuda," Shippō replied carelessly as he started squirming, resulting in Inuyasha dropping him as he turned to glance at the well. Indeed, there were several o-fuda stuck to it. "And she went to retrieve Tessaiga," Shippō muttered angrily from his spot on the ground, glaring at Inuyasha for being dropped like that. Again, the black haired priest hardly cared, his mind focusing on the two key words of the sentence.

"Retrieve Tessaiga?" he repeated, now completely confused. Shippō's affirmative nod explained nothing, but the kit seemed to know that wasn't really a 'yes' or 'no' question.

"Her wounds are healed, so she proclaimed herself well enough to go get it back from some guy named Sesshōmaru or something. Kaede seemed to believe her and Miroku went with her, despite her protests. Some human kid who apparently knows Kagome but whom Kaede hadn't told she was back before, tried to keep her in the village, but she wouldn't budge. I was told to wait here for you, in case you popped up."

"Wait, wait, hold up," Inuyasha interrupted , his eyes wide as he knelt next to Shippō on the ground, his mind grasping a concept Shippō had obviously missed. "Are you telling me Sesshōmaru got a hold of Tessaiga?"

"Yeah," Shippō grumbled, avoiding Inuyasha's eyes. "She said she'd be alright, though. She promised she'd be fine, so she'll be back in no time at all, I'm sure of it."

'You don't really sound so sure of yourself, runt,' Inuyasha commented in his head, but decided not to point that out. Instead, he decided to demand something far more important.

"Bring me to her," he said. It wasn't a request, or a question, or a statement. It was an order. One that Shippō understood, for he only nodded with a smile on his face, most likely happy that he'd be able to join Kagome again, then set to sniff around like the fox he was. In no time at all, he was onto her scent and ran off, Inuyasha following close behind as they went deeper and deeper into the forest.

'Shippō said her wounds have healed. That's good,' Inuyasha thought as he ran, Shippō lying on his head and leading him from there, since the fox wasn't nearly as fast as Inuyasha had gotten – a fact that had surprised the yōkai-child but not the priest, since Shippō was a kid. 'Still, this is Sesshōmaru we're talking about. And he has the Tessaiga.' He ran faster when he pounded that thought into his mind, his fatigue long forgotten.

'Please, Kagome, please be alright!'

And that's it for this month's installment. I hope it was to your liking and worth the wait. I shall see you all next month, unless you already ditched me because I'm so slow :p

For those who might eventually be interested, I wrote a new one-shot a little while ago (well, about a month). It's not a really happy one, though, but I'm telling you since I didn't get much feedback there and 'If the Roles Were Reversed' spoiled me in that regard :3 Feel free to check it out if you ever feel like it, it's called 'Let Me Live'.

See ya all next month :]