Part 16: Emergencies

A/N: Hello, remember me? A full month without any updates?! I truly apologize for the long wait. Work has been keeping me too busy to write lately. My updating schedule might slow down, but I promise not to leave you guys hanging, and see this story to its end. This chapter will help set things up for the next phase of the story. Slowly and inexorably we are getting close to the end! :D

Happy thanksgiving to all of you who are celebrating it too!

Thank you for reviewing:

Nihao-tiger

Little25victor

AmorPorSiempre

Sesshkagufan13

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish for it, I unfortunately own nothing except my plot, and a few OC's here and there.

Leaving mom behind had been tough. The idea of her being locked up in that damn clinic made me sick to my stomach, but there was nothing I could do for now. Sesshoumaru had promised me he would help set mom free soon, and I believed him. Patience had never been my strong suit, but I would do my best. As if he could hear my thoughts, Sesshoumaru tightened his arm around me, and brought me closer to his side. A smile formed on my lips. Even in sleep, he still sought me out. He might never tell me he loved me, but it showed in all those little gestures. We were both lying in our bed, snuggled close. After the ugly scene with Naraku this morning and going to that horrid clinic, I could really use some comforting.

As soon as I got home, I had slipped into bed. I had decided to feign feeling a bit sick so I could skip dinner, and not have to see the Tashios. I was in need of a little alone time. When Sesshoumaru had joined me in bed, I pretended to be asleep. He had simply wrapped his arms around me, and gone to sleep. To be honest my swirling thoughts had kept me from finding sleep, but at least being in Sesshoumaru's arms made me feel better. I tried to stay as still as possible so as not to disturb him. At least one of us should be able to get a good night's sleep. Besides it was not often that I got to watch him sleep. He usually made love to me until I fell in a contented heavy slumber, and slipped out of bed early in the morning. Thanks to the sliver of moonlight coming in form the parted curtains, I had just enough light to see all his beautiful features. It still felt surreal to me to have the chance to be close to the man I had loved for so long. Just as I closed my eyes, the door of our bedroom was thrown opened.

In a heartbeat, Sesshoumaru woke up, and crawled over me to stand in front of the door. He was obscuring my view, but considering his relaxed body language, the newcomer was no threat.

"What is the meaning of this?" My lover asked, clearly displeased. All traces of sleep had been wiped away from his voice, and he somehow managed to exude strength and confidence despite being clad in only a pair of boxer shorts.

"The shrine was attacked." Inuyasha barked angrily. "Kagome's grandpa was hurt we're going to the hospital. We need you to watch the kids."

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. This was my fault. I had sent Naraku on Gandpa Higurashi's trail by my careless words earlier, and then instead of warning Kagome and her family of the potential threat, I had been more concerned about keeping my own mother safe. I closed my eyes and prayed that my selfishness would not cause the death of the poor man.

"Go, we will take care of things here, and join you later." Sesshoumaru walked up to Inuyasha, and in the first show of brotherly affection I had ever witnessed, he squeezed the shoulder of the younger Tashio.

"Grandpa Higurashi is tough, he will be alright." I joined the two brothers. I had tried my best to hide how truly upset I was. I hoped my words sounded upbeat enough.

Inuyasha simply nodded his head before turning away, and rushing out. I was sure he was going to meet up with Kagome and go to the hospital.

"Naraku." Sesshoumaru and I both spoke in unison as soon as the door closed behind Inuyasha.

My lover clenched his fist angrily. "How dare he attack one under this Sesshoumaru's protection?!"

I wondered if the spider hanyou, who since our conversation earlier in the day, I refused to call my father, had gone too far this time around. Maybe that this would be the straw to break the proverbial camel's back? Sesshoumaru had done his best to prevent all out war, but maybe this time he would not be able to hold back anymore.

"It's my fault…" I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling cold in only my lace nightgown.

Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow, silently prompting me to speak further.

"When I went to see Naraku earlier, he asked me about the Shikon Jewel… I accidently let it slip that Kagome and her brother didn't know anything, but that their grandfather might…"

I did not tell my lover about the vivid description of the many horrors Naraku had planned for the Higurashis. The mere thought of it made me sick, so did trying to picture what the psychotic bastard might have done to Kagome's grandfather.

All traces of anger left his face. Sesshoumaru cradled my face in both of his hands, leaning forward to stare right into my eyes. "You have nothing to blame yourself for. Naraku's actions are his own." He let go of my face, all too soon to my liking. "Get dressed, and let's get going."

We had left Izayoi, Shippou and Rin under the supervision of Sango. She had wanted to come along, but we needed a trustworthy adult able and willing to defend the kids if need be. If Naraku was taking shots as those under Sesshoumaru's protection, who better to protect his charges than a trained youkai exterminator?

Sesshoumaru and I stayed in complete silence as Jaken drove us to the hospital. Despite my lover's reassuring words, I still felt extremely guilty. Until I was sure the old man would be fine, and that Naraku did not pose a threat anymore, I would be feeling terrible.

A quick call to Inuyasha had informed us that Grandpa Higurashi had been taken in for surgery, and that his family was patiently expecting words on his status in the hospital waiting room. That was therefore where we were headed. The fact that we were not stopped or questioned by the hospital staff as we strolled past the reception desk, made me realize that Sesshoumaru was well known around these parts. One of the young nurses even bowed low to him just as he and I got in the elevator. Sometimes it was easy to forget who he was and what he represented. In my eyes he was not the rich and powerful Lord of the West, or the ruthless Killing Perfection, but rather a loving family man and tender lover.

We headed straight for one of the private waiting rooms in the surgical ward.

"Sesshoumaru, Kagura."

Kagome stood up to meet us as soon as we walked though the door, a smile on her lips. I did my best to return her gesture, guilt like a knife in my stomach. Inuyasha acknowledged our presence with a nod in our direction. The hanyou was sitting next to his wife's younger brother, his sword on his lap. I guessed he was ready in case Naraku would dare try anything here. Sesshoumaru had taken his sword and I had my fan ready too. One could never be too careful where Naraku was concerned.

"Thank you for coming. Grandfather is just out of surgery. Apparently it all went well, and we are waiting to hear more… Mama went to get some coffee for us all, so she will be right back. The surgeon should be back with more news any minute too. Come have a seat."

Despite her cherry tone, I could feel her nervousness by the way Kagome was babbling. Considering how much she loved her family, I was sure this must have been tearing her apart.

"What happened?" Sesshoumaru, not one to offer reassuring words, focused on getting more information.

"From what the old man said before they took him in to fix his broken foot, he heard some noises in the old well house, and went to investigate." Inuyasha started explaining.

"Grandpa has insomnia, so he spends hours roaming the shrine grounds at night." Souta volunteered. "That was what even encouraged the rumors about the shrine being haunted." A small smile played on the teenager's lips.

"Keh! I told him a million times not to go around looking for things bumping in the dark, but he's a true Higurashi; as stubborn as they come."

"Hey!" Kagome gently punched her husband in the shoulder, showing her displeasure at his teasing words.

The atmosphere in the room was not what I had expected. To my surprise none of them looked panicked. I found that encouraging, maybe the old man truly had not been too badly hurt.

"Did M. Higurashi say anything more?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Not really, he just said they were youkai of some sort, but he could not tell the breed."

"Damn." I cursed. If what Souta said was true, then there was only one possible culprit. "I am so sorry. Naraku's hand is clearly all over this."

"Don't worry dear. We agreed to play along, and knew what we were getting into. We knew Naraku would come attack us sooner, or later. This was sooner than we expected, but we were still ready for it." As soon as Kagome's mother entered, she went around the room, distributing cups of coffee to everyone. Sesshoumaru and I both declined drinks, but that did not faze her. "Besides, I believe Grandpa secretly enjoyed it." To emphasize her words, she sent me a warm smile and a wink.

"I think so too." Kagome piped up. "Apparently he played the old senile fool, then when the attackers were distracted, he quickly sent binding ofudas their way."

"Grandpa is so cool. He'll probably get all the women in his senior work out group to sign his cast after he tells them a couple tall tales about how he got injured in the first place." The youngest Higurashi chuckled, clearly amused by the situation.

While I was surprised by how calm the Higurashi clan was despite this nighttime attack, I was relieved. I had come to care about Kagome and her 'eccentric' family, and seeing them turn away from me due to Naraku's actions would have hurt.

"Inuyasha."

"Yeah I know." The hanyou did not need to hear more to know what his brother wanted to find out next. "Miroku is already at the shrine taking care of the clean up. I told him to… call if he needs any… backup."

I shivered at that information. I knew that he meant he had sent Miroku and the 'clean-up crew' to get as much information, and kill the culprit. After Sasaki's death just the night before, I was starting to leave quite a freaking long blood trail in my wake. I just hoped no one I loved would be next on the list.

The door of the waiting room was opened, and a team of three garbed in surgical scrubs came in. "Higurashi family, the surgery went well, and your grandfather is in the recovery room."

"Thank goodness!" Kagome's mother exclaimed. "How is he? Was he terribly hurt?"

"He should be back on his own two feet in a matter of weeks, granted he follows our guidelines, and works with one of our physical therapists, he is not a young man after all…"

I could not stop the sigh of relief that just passed my lips. I smiled at the Higurashis, and saw that they too felt the same way. Clearly, despite the levity in their words earlier, they too had been worried.

"Can we go see him?" Kagome asked as soon as the surgeon answered.

"Yes, two of you can go sit with him right now while he wakes up."

"Kags, why don't you and mom go see him, I'll just hang out here with Inuyasha." Souta quickly volunteered.

"Souta, honey why don't you join your sister, I have to go take care of some… administrative things." Mrs. Higurashi said.

"This Sesshoumaru will go handle the bill." He cut in.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, you don't…" Kagome's mother started to speak, but was quickly interrupted.

"I insist." After a quick bow towards the blushing Mrs. Higurashi, my lover took my hand, and we headed towards the door.

Ever since Naraku and his goons had sent Grandpa Higurashi to the hospital, sleep tended to evade Sesshoumaru and I. What had me most worried was that a week had gone by since that night, and we had not heard even one word from the spider hanyou. Our frustrations meant we were spending more and more time in the training room. I guessed the prospect of Naraku attacking made Sesshoumaru even more eager to help me get stronger, and it showed in his intense training. In the advent of an attack, I needed to be ready.

To be honest his training regimen was having quite an effect. The more time I spent mastering sending wind blades, and tornadoes, the stronger I felt. I could now summon the wind to do my bidding without even having my fan in hand. It was as if I could communicate with the wind itself now. Sure, to unleash actual attacks, I did need my fan, but at least I could still defend myself without it being nearby. What an amazing feeling it was to realize I was not a pitiful weak youkai as I had been led to believe for most of my life. In fact I had been able to parry Sesshoumaru's offense, and that was saying something. Now that my powers had awakened, he was not going easy on me. I had had to use all my resources to keep up with him.

I had to admit fighting back against him was a great way to evacuate stress, and keep my mind blank. It however left me sore all over, so a good long soak in a bubble bath was always most welcome. Sometimes when he was not too busy, Sesshoumaru would join me, and that proved to be another intense, but quite enjoyable workout of its own.

Sadly, this time around after kicking my butt in the sparring room, my lover had left me alone to my bath. By the time I had been dressed for the day, Sesshoumaru was nowhere to be seen, not a surprising occurrence. The man spent most of the day doing whatever a Lord of the Underworld did. He had mentioned something about having to acquire a special weapon for one of his biggest clients, but honestly my mind had been too clouded by thoughts of Naraku to pay much attention. Sigh. I had to put more effort in being a good supportive partner to him as he was to me. I made a mental note to ask him about it when he would come back tonight.

I was in my former bedroom, putting the finishing touches on Mrs. Higurashi's dress. I hoped that despite the attack on her father in-law she would still decide to go to her high school reunion, so I had done my best to finish her garment in time.

"Rin told me I could find you here."

I looked up, and was surprised to see none other than Sango. While she might not be sending daggers my way anymore, I was still not one of her favorite people, so we did our best to stay well away from each other. I couldn't blame her. Despite her knowing how much I hated the spider hanyou, in her mind I was still an incarnation of the man who had murdered her family and ruined her life. If only she knew how much we had in common. For now Sesshoumaru had been the only one I had told about what Naraku had done to my biological father.

"Miroku has been keeping me informed on everything, and I thought this might help."

While I was not surprised that Sesshoumaru's lawyer had been keeping Sango, the woman he obviously had feelings for, informed on the latest developments, I was surprised she would help me out.

"What is this?" I asked as I took the object she had handed me, and started looking it over.

"A book that has been kept safe by my family for centuries. It contains stories about the Shikon Jewel. Most of it is legends, but you never know."

I had read everything I could put my hands on in regards to the Jewel of Four Souls, but had not been getting any closer to the truth. I was therefore eager to find out anything new I could use. "Thank you, I will take good care of it."

"Now that we are all working together, it's just a matter of time before we take down that monster." Sango smiled at me. "Shippou has his magic class in half an hour, so we better head out soon."

The tajiyah and I stared in each other's eyes, and exchanged nods. I guessed we had reached a new deeper level of mutual understanding.

As soon as she left, I dove into the book determined to find out the missing key. To my surprise, most of it did not make much sense, and some parts were clearly only a bunch of gibberish. At least there were quite a lot of pictures, which helped me make up the missing meaning.

"You finished it, it looks beautiful!" I had been so absorbed by my reading that I had not heard Rin come in. "Kagome's mom will look great in this… what are you doing?"

"Reading."

"Obviously." The teenager chuckled. "I meant why are you reading upside down?"

"What?" I looked up from the story of Midoriko, and looked up at Rin. So far the book had been a let down. It simply told a story I had already read several time, albeit with more gory details. Those youkai exterminators sure seemed to like gore.

"Your book. If you turn it the other way, it says something."

I quickly flipped the book over, and to my disappointment, was only confronted with more nonsense. Sure some of the words in that direction did look like words, but still it did not make much sense.

"I don't…"

"Well you have to only read one out of two words. It's like a hidden story within the story. I saw it right away because I like crosswords, and jigsaw puzzles, and other word games, Uncle Inuyasha says it's because my mind is all jumbled all the time, but Sesshoumaru-sama says it's because I'm very intelligent..."

I tuned out Rin's chatter, and focused on what was written in front of me. What I read made my blood go cold.

"Holy shit! Rin you're a genius!"

"Thanks, but Kagura-sama, you shouldn't say bad words…"

My phone going off paused my train of thought. I looked at the caller ID, and was pleased. It was time to get some answers.

From the moment I had arrived at the shrine, I had done my best to keep a bright smile on my lips. I had helped Kagome do her mother's hair in a sophisticated braid, and even applied some make up to the older woman's face.

"I feel ridiculous going out to have fun with people I have not seen in years while your grandfather is still recovering." Since I had arrived, Mrs. Higurashi had been trying to talk herself out of going, but her daughter was having none of it.

"Mom, you can't chicken out after all the effort Kagura and Rin put in to make you this fabulous dress." Kagome chided as she straightened one more invisible wrinkle on the black lacy dress. If I may say so myself, Mrs. Higurashi did look quite stunning in the black number. If it had been entirely up to me, I would have dressed her up in something more colorful, but already getting her to agree to wear lace had been a battle. Maybe next time she would heed all my advice.

"Don't use me as an excuse to hide." Surprisingly adept with his crutches, Mr. Higurashi slipped into the living room, and sprawled down on the couch. "I can take care of myself, did you not hear I single-handedly took down seven youkai?!"

"Grandpa, they were only three…" Kagome's correction earned her a nasty glare from her grandfather. "But that was one impressive feat!... Anyways, Mom let's get going. We wouldn't want you to be late to your reunion." Before her mother could change her mind, Kagome dragged her out the door, and presumably to her car.

This was the opportunity I had waited for all afternoon.

"I recently came upon some information I would like to share with you…"

Mr. Higurashi ran his hand through his long white beard. "I could tell you had something on your mind, go ahead and spit it out girlie."

I licked my dry lips. I had not shared this new finding with anyone as of yet, not even Sesshoumaru.

"According to a youkai exterminator book I found, the Shikon Jewel is a metaphor… not an actual jewel. In fact it represents the very essence of Midoriko, her blood. While the myths all say she died fighting off youkai, it was only part of the story. None of them mentioned that the reason she fought so hard was to protect what was most previous to her, her unborn child. She fought, she won, and she lived only long enough to birth her daughter. A baby who would grow and have descendants of her own, who I'm guessing are the Higurashis. In thanks for Midoriko's sacrifice, youkai swore her bloodline would be protected by an elemental youkai clan, which I guess to be the Moru family."

I let the old man absorb all this new information, and waited for him to say something, when nothing else came, I decided to push further.

"Based on what I found out, the blood of Midoriko's descendants is the secret, it is the precious jewel. They say it can grant untold powers…"

The old man simply looked at me, and nodded his head absent-mindedly.

"Is there anything you would like to add to this?" I probed further.

"Well, that was a nice fairy tale. Made me nice and sleepy. I guess it's time for my nap." Without one more word, the old man stood up, picked up his crutches, and headed right towards his bedroom. Leaving me behind with more interrogations.

I had barely gone to sleep when I heard the door of the bedroom open. Despite the quietness of the newcomer, I knew straight away who it was; his cologne gave him away. I felt the bed dip as Sesshoumaru slipped in next to me, but I did not react. He had developed the habit of coming home in the middle of the night, and waking me up with sweet kisses. We had played this game enough times for me to know how it would go, and sure enough, he wasted no time getting to work. He kissed the crook of my neck, and reached through my nightgown to gently caress my breasts, just the way he knew I liked it. I knew where this would lead next. Soon enough he would raise the hem of my nightgown, roll on top or me, and tear away my underwear before plunging deep into me. Usually I responded eagerly to this but not right now, not tonight. I felt a weird tension coursing inside me. I guessed with the Shikon Jewel, Naraku and mom still on my brain the last thing I wanted was to have sex. Now that I thought about it, it had been a few days since I had felt in the mood. This was the longest stretch Sesshoumaru and I had gone without being intimate since we had become lovers. I tried to summon some desire in me, but I just could not. My libido was on zero.

"Not tonight, I'm not in the mood." I gently pushed my sort of husband away.

Despite the darkness of our bedroom, I could see him thanks to the small sliver of moonlight coming in from the parted blinds. Sesshoumaru looked at me with a brow arched in surprise. Ever since I had first tumbled in his bed, never had I turned down his advances. The man was one horny dog, and if it were up to him, we would spend most of our waking hours in bed… Who was I kidding? I felt the same. I usually had no trouble keeping up with him, but not tonight. Right now, the mere thought of making love right this moment repulsed me. From the slight red tint to his eyes, I could tell desire still burned in Sesshoumaru and that worried me a bit. I knew from some of the girls at Naraku's strip club that men usually did not take being sexually denied kindly. Ai, one of the most popular girls had been beaten black and blue by her former boyfriend after she had refused to give him a blow-job. That beating had taken her out of commission for a full week; no man wanted to see a bruised woman strip and dance for him. Naraku had been quite displeased and had the man beaten within an inch of his life in turn for daring to damage his property. Needless to say the prick stayed well away from Ai after that.

To his credit Sesshoumaru did not seem upset nor did he argue my wishes. He simply rose up to press a kiss to my forehead then leaned back to lie down on the bed. He opened up his arms, and I eagerly slipped in his embrace, a small smile on my lips.

"Are you okay?" I asked after a while. I could tell that while he had closed his eyes, and was seeking sleep, a certain part of his anatomy was all too awake and pressing against my thigh.

"Just ignore it." He growled.

"I guess I could..."

He interrupted me with a sweet kiss to the top of my head. "Go to sleep."

A small smiled played on my lips. Despite all the turmoil inside me, just being in the arms of the man I loved reassured me. Tomorrow I would tell him all about my latest findings, for tonight I just wanted to lie in his embrace.

"I don't wanna be rude, but I don't have all day. Kagura, just tell us what it is you wanted to say. I promised Kagome I would drive her grandpa to have his cast checked out this morning." Inuyasha finished wolfing down his toast. "Apparently I'm the only one who can make the old man behave."

"While I appreciate your dramatic flair in making us wait before we have this conversation, I do have a meeting in an hour across town…" Miroku added.

"Shut it pervert, what she has to say must be important… I'm guessing it has something to do with the book." Sango pointed to the object in my hands.

I had asked Sesshoumaru, his half-brother, lawyer and bodyguard to stay a while after breakfast so I could tell them about my latest findings. Luckily Kagome had to leave early to meet her mom to take Izayoi to her pediatrician. Considering the forecast was calling for the first major winter storm of the season, the new mother wanted to make sure her baby would be as protected as possible. Of course this was sure to give Kagome the chance to grill her mother about her outing the previous night. I was glad Kagome was not around. I was not sure how to tell her about her family history, or the fact that the blood running through her veins and the ones of her baby was what Naraku was after.

"What is this book?" Sesshoumaru asked, his curiosity clearly peaked.

"A family heirloom Sesshoumaru-sama." Sango replied in my stead. "I gave it to Kagura to see if it might be of any use."

It was now time to tell them all about what I had found out.

"At first it seemed like a fairy tale book about the Shikon Jewel and Midoriko, but Rin helped me see what was hidden beneath the story."

"Rin?" Sesshoumaru echoed in surprise.

"In under a minute, she cracked the secret code. She's one smart kid." The little glint in his golden eyes was clearly fatherly pride.

"If you read the book upside down, and only take in every two words, you get a completely different meaning…"

The words had barely left my mouth that Inuyasha stepped next to me, and craned his neck to look at the page upside down. "Fuck me, I can actually make out sentences."

"What does it say?" While Sango had been the one to ask the question, I could tell they were all burning to find out.

"I didn't understand everything, but from what I gathered, it explains that the Jewel is not an actual thing… but rather people. Midoriko's descendants…who I guess to be the Higurashi family."

"This makes no sense." Miroku exclaimed. "Why would Naraku seek the power of the jewel then? Is he planning on grabbing on to one of the Higurashi and making a wish upon them?"

"Blood. He would need their blood for a ritual I presume." Sesshoumaru reached over my shoulder to point to the word 'blood' clearly written in the middle of the page. This gave me shivers.

"Oh hell no! If that bastard thinks I'm going to let him hurt my family or use their blood or whatever, he's got another thing coming." Inuyasha's eyes briefly flashed red, his inner demon was coming out to play.

"We will not let it come to that." Sesshoumaru tapped his brother on the shoulder, making Inuyasha calm down. "Naraku does not even know yet what it is he his seeking, and we will prevent him from finding out."

"Enough with this bullshit waiting! Naraku already attacked the shrine once, and he has Kagura' mother locked up. How many more innocent people have to get hurt before we act? I say we just go to that bastard's mansion, and take him out! Keh! I know we can!"

I sympathized with Inuyasha's feelings as there was nothing I wanted more right now than to see Naraku dead.

"Stop being a foolish pup. You know doing so would lead to war. We are already on thin ice with Kouga and Menoumaru, launching an attack on Naraku would only make things worse."

"I agree with Sesshoumaru-sama." Miroku added. "I've been in contact with the offices of the Lords of the North and East, but have been unable to schedule meetings yet. I believe they want to assess the situation between us and Naraku before they step in."

"Fuck, I hate feeling so useless." Inuyasha slammed his fist into his palm.

"Patience little brother, I promise you will soon have an outlet for your anger."

"Keh! That's easy to say for you Sesshoumaru. It's not your wife, your daughter whose blood Naraku is threatening to spill." Inuyasha growled. "I can be patient but not for too long!" With that last angry spat, the hanyou stormed out of the room.

"Don't worry boss, I promise I will keep an eye on him. Come on my love, let's go talk him down before he does something stupid." Miroku took Sango by the hand, and the two of them left as well.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and sighed deeply. I did not think I had ever seen him so defeated before. I wished I could find a way to wipe away the frown now carved between his brows. Just as I reached towards him, I suddenly felt lightheaded, and the room started spinning around me. The ground seemed to be rushing towards me, and I felt myself falling. Thankfully before I tumbled to the ground, Sesshoumaru wrapped his arm around me, saving me from crumbling to the floor.

"Are you alright?" He asked me before setting me back up on my feet.

"Yeah I'm fine, I just felt lightheaded for a second." Despite the nausea suddenly rising in me, I mustered a smile.

Sesshoumaru looked at me for a long time, staring deep into my eyes as if he could assess my health by just looking me over.

"You have been acting… out of sorts lately." He finally said after he finished his inspection.

"Why because I haven't been feeling like having sex lately?" I could not help but snap. I did not know what came over me, but a wave of annoyance just overcame me.

He sent me an irritated glare. "You are running a fever." He pressed his hand over my forehead. Now that he mentioned it, I was feeling flushed. "Besides you barely ate anything this morning."

"I was too upset to eat. I just have a feeling of anxiety that I can't get rid of." His frown deepened. "I'll go down to the kitchen and have some cereal."

"Then get some rest, you look exhausted."

"Yes sir!" I saluted Sesshoumaru and pressed a quick peck to his lips before dashing out of the room. Despite what I had just promised I had no intentions to go eat or rest. Time was of the essence, and I had more information to look for.

Despite my best efforts, I had not been able to wring any more information from that damn book despite what direction I flipped it in. Disappointed, and still plagued with some nausea and lightheadedness, I went early to bed. When Sesshoumaru had joined me, I stuck closely to my end of the bed. I could tell I was still a bit feverish, and I did not want him to realize it. The last thing I needed right now was him getting on my case about me having to take better care of my health. He had come home unusually early, probably because of the storm now raging outside. Despite being safely tucked inside, I could hear the wind and snow bumping on our bedroom window.

'Come.' A little voice whispered in the dark.

I sprang up in bed in shock, causing my lover to do the same.

"What's wrong?" Sesshoumaru, ever the protective one asked.

"Nothing, just a nightmare…" I lied, even as the voice resonated again inviting me to join it.

'Come.' The voice said, louder this time around. I repressed the urge to cover my ears, and sent my lover a reassuring smile. The last thing I wanted was for him to think I was going crazy. It was better for me to ignore that voice, and try to get some sleep… or at least pretend to.

Sesshoumaru lay back down, and brought me back with him. I gratefully placed my head on his chest, focusing on the strong comforting sound of his beating heart, clenched my eyes tightly shut and did my best to ignore the hissing voice inviting me to join it.

'Come.'

To be continued…

A/N: What is up with Kagura, and will Sesshoumaru be able to thwart whatever plan Naraku has going on? We shall find out more in the next chapter named Storm.