Both sisters stared in shock, while the brothers had knowing looks on their faces. Miroku elbowed him, "I knew you had the hots for Kagome when we were little kids! It's about time you stopped denying it."

Said girl blushed a little as she leaned into InuYasha's side, "by the way guys, how come every time we're out of the room, you seem to be traveling the halls?"

Rin and Sango looked at each other and smiled, Rin decided to speak for them, "about six months ago, Sesshomaru and I stumbled on a secret door when Sango and Miroku came by, so we all went exploring, but the secret tunnels are like a giant maze, so we're doing our best to map them. It's kind of become a hobby."

"Sounds fun! Can we join you?"

Sango rolled her eyes, "of course you can, little sis."

So, all six of them walked down to the end of the hall and moved the hanging banner, with the dog demon clan symbol on it, and entered through the hidden door. Kagome held onto InuYasha's hand as they moved through the dark tunnels, until her big sister used her spiritual powers to manifest soft pink glowing orbs like candelabras lining the walls. That's when Kagome noticed some strange writings on the walls, "guys look!"

Her sisters and InuYasha's brothers came over, "we've tried to figure out the language or even what it means, but so far it's a mystery."

InuYasha stared at it and got this strange feeling like he'd seen it before, then words seemed to form in his mind, "Here lies Tessaiga, the reaper of Naraku and protector of Higurashi. Beware all who enter here with evil hearts, for you will never escape and shall surely die in your pursuit of the fang."

Lifting her other hand, Kagome cupped his cheek, "InuYasha, how did you know what it said?"

Blinking a few times, he furrowed his brow, "I don't know. The words just appeared in my head."

Looking back up at the wall, he touched the cold stone, "what is this Tessaiga anyway?"

Sesshomaru and Miroku looked at each other and shrugged, well their little bro was determined to find out, "let's see if we can find this fang."

The eldest stepped aside, "lead the way, little brother."

Making sure Kagome was by his side, he moved to the front and started walking, the others followed behind, curious about his connection to the fang. They seemed to be walking for at least an hour, but more writing led them down to a room the others never saw before. Stepping in, Kagome looked at all the swords on the wall, "InuYasha, do you think one of these could be Tessaiga?"

"I think so, but how can I tell which one?"

Miroku took one off the wall, "it's just an ordinary sword."

Rumbling, the ground shaking, and everyone turned to the idiot still holding the sword. He put it back, but it was too late as a giant rock monster came out of the other wall! Sesshomaru grabbed a different sword and another monster appeared. Growling, InuYasha continued to dodge attacks, "stop grabbing the swords! I can barely handle these two!"

Sango and Rin joined the fight as Sesshomaru used his poison whips and Miroku, well he stands back and watches, observing everything. Yeah, it sucked being a half demon that only had powers on a full moon night, but he was used to it.

"Sango! Watch your back!"

Her giant boomerang spun with spiritual light as she smashed it into one monster, but Kagome was powerless without her bow and arrow. Sango ran to her sister as Rin blasted her opponent with balls of purifying energy, but couldn't see how close Kagome was to being snatched up by the monster InuYasha was fighting.

"InuYasha!"

"Kagome!"

He watched in horror as the monster grabbed her and felt his need to protect intensify. That's when he heard something vibrating and looked behind him to see one of the swords practically humming. Taking it into his hands, he was shocked to see it transform into a giant fang and swirling with demonic energy. He quickly sliced off the monster's arm holding Kagome and caught her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

Standing up, she moved behind him, "now kill those things so we can get out of here."

Smirking, he moved to a battle stance and swiped the sword, amazed to see four claw mark shaped electric streams surging with demonic energy, burst from the fang and destroy the two monsters.

"I think we found Tessaiga."

Sesshomaru moved in front, "let me see."

However, when InuYasha allowed Sesshomaru to take hold of it, the fang scorched his hands. Miroku tried as well and it did the same, "it's as if the sword chose you, InuYasha."

Once the battle was done, the fang transformed back into a skinny sword and the wall the two monsters came out of, dissolved to show new tunnels. Rin got out the map and drew out the new tunnel after that room, making sure to include a tiny drawing of the fang so they would know it was that room on the map. Kagome walked into the new tunnel and looked at everyone, "up for a new adventure?"

InuYasha grinned and put the Tessaiga in its scabbard, hooking it onto his belt loop, "I'm in."

Miroku grabbed Sango's hand, "we'll go too. Maybe I'll get my own weapon. I'm sick of being the one without any special fighting powers."

His charge patted his back, "there, there, you're still important to me and your family, even if you don't have demonic powers to fight with."

They were walking into what seemed to be a maze, and Kagome noticed some more writing etched into the stone.

"Inu, what does this say?"

Coming to stand next to her, he squinted his eyes, "the Shikon no Tama brings death and destruction to all who seek it. You have been warned."

Looking down pensively, he was suddenly assaulted with flashes of images. A woman and man kissing at sunset, a village in flames, and a woman dying in someone's arms.

Kagome was having a similar situation as that name, 'shikon no tama' echoed in her mind as visions of a handsome man rushed through her. He was holding his love in the dying light, then the woman stepped in front of the man, being struck by something. Kagome clutched her chest and felt pain as if she'd been run through, "In..InuYasha."

Shaking his head, he snapped back into reality and moved to hold Kagome, but something felt different, "Kagome?"

She squinted up at him and felt as if she hadn't seen him for so long, hadn't felt his touch, waiting her whole life for it. Reaching up, she clung to him and crushed her mouth onto his, tears running down her face. InuYasha was feeling the same thing as her sweet taste seemed like something he craved for centuries, wait, centuries?

InuYasha growled low in his throat as he took over the kiss and it took on a more primal nature, but coughing from his brothers made him stop and lift up, unsure of what came over him. I mean, he wanted to be with her, but this feeling ran deeper than a need, deeper than a desire to have the one he wanted.

"Kagome, are you alright?"

Nodding her head, she hid her face in his chest, "what was that? So many images and then this deep-seeded desperation to kiss you, touch you, to have you like…like…"

"Like we hadn't seen each other in a really long time."

Lifting her head, she gulped, "yeah, you too?"

"Yes, along with weird images of a couple."

Kagome moved to hold his hand and started walking, "come on, InuYasha, lead the way."

His brothers and her sisters were very confused, but followed along, too intrigued not to learn more.

Walking down and around the maze, InuYasha couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been there before. In no time, they made it to the middle of the maze where there seemed to be a water fountain surrounded by strange symbols. The statue on top of the small fountain matched the woman InuYasha saw in those flashes. He walked up to it and lightly trailed his hands down the stone woman's face, "who do you think she was?"

Walking up to it, Kagome peered into the water and saw something shining. She reached her hand in and pricked her finger, snatching her hand back.

"Ow! What was that?"

Rumbling, a constant hum of rumbling and The Guardians protected their charges as the fountain's waters turned red and moved aside to open up an underground stone staircase, shrouded in darkness. Moving over to it, Kagome pressed her hand over her chest, no more pain, but there was an overwhelming feeling in its place; an awareness on a spiritual level.

Without saying anything, Kagome started walking down the staircase as something seemed to be beckoning to her. InuYasha followed after her, along with everyone else, Rin lighting up the dark chamber to see something of a picture story painted on the walls.

"Wow, hey guys, come look at this!"

Rin felt everyone gather around her as she showed them all the pictures. Sango studied them and figured out which one was first, being the best at puzzles.

"This one has a young priestess with a big white dog in her lap, petting it, but then the next one is the same priestess being kissed by a white-haired man. I think the dog and the man are the same."

Sesshomaru nodded his head, "yes, a dog demon just as I am."

"Exactly, now, here's where they are silhouetted by the sunset, but over in the corner shows another shadow of someone else."

Kagome walked up to it and lightly traced the silhouette of the man she knew was handsome, "they didn't know they were being watched by the head of the village, but he lusted after the priestess and was waiting for an opportunity to make her his."

Rin lightly touched her shoulder, "wait, Kagome, how do you know that?"

"I don't know, but…"

She moved to the next picture where soldiers came up to the priestess, "these are soldiers from a faraway village, carrying something precious, but it was also dangerous which brought them a lot of back luck and misfortune. The priestess had no idea they were coming, but when they appeared before her, she knew it meant no happily ever after with her love."

Dropping her hand, she walked to the one which showed the woman being held in the dog demon's arms, blood coming out of her mouth.

"When she came back to the village, the headman turned the villagers against her and agreed to lock her in her house with her little sister and wait for the night the dog demon, they believed bewitched her, would come for her. On that night, she grabbed the shikon no tama, the jewel those soldiers gave her, and planned to escape, but the headma…Onigumo wouldn't let them leave alive. He planned to kill the demon, but Ki-Kikyo stepped in the way because InuTairo, sweet InuTairo was carrying Kaede and Kikyo couldn't let her little sister be killed. The woman died in the arms of her love and that is when the promise was made to protect all the Higurashi's to ever be born."

Kagome wiped her eyes as tears kept flowing out, "I'm sorry, I don't know how I know this stuff or why I'm getting so upset."

Holding her from behind, InuYasha closed his eyes, "InuTairo returned to his castle with Kaede and the jewel, wanting to give her the best life he could, and he did. She found a young man and married, having a large family of boys and girls. InuTairo had no choice but to take a mate and have enough children to protect her own, and so became the lives of Takahashi and Higurashi families."

Sango looked at them strangely, "how can either of you know things like that?"

Looking up, Kagome gazed into his eyes and something strong surged between them, then they both looked over at the last painting: the black shadow of the priestess holding a purple jewel in her hand. Kagome reached her hand up to grab the jewel which stuck out from the painting, but it cut her hand somehow and her blood smeared onto the jewel causing a strange light to burst forth and flow downward into cracks in the floor. The cracks led to the center where stones moved and allowed a stand to come up with one tiny lavender jewel in a glass case.

Staring at it, Kagome seemed to hear something whispering to her, "the jewel of four souls."