It had been months since that dream and I had begun to think that that was all it was… a dream…

Sesshoumaru and I were traveling back and forth between our lovely little home in the village and the palace, seeing to things there when we couldn't see to them down with the people. The village men were planting the crops while the women were at home weaving cloth and sowing kimonos. There was to be a trip for some of the men and women to take our stuff to other villages and sell it to bring in some money and hopefully get things we needed; I was to accompany them.

Suzuki was now a mother of the loveliest little girl Shizuko was her name. I loved Shizuko deeply, but I had become sadly jealous… I wanted a child of my own…

It wasn't like we weren't trying, Sesshoumaru and I… slept together… many nights but I was still childless… Many days the children would catch me as I daydreamed about what our child would look like. I would have to shake myself and plaster on a fake smile until I had chased them around for a few hours and the smile finally felt real.

To make matters worse… Seiko had gone missing…

No one saw him in the village anymore and the people in the palace said that his room was empty and hadn't been used in quite a while. So here I was… worrying about my brother and also becoming secretly jealous of my sister and her beautiful daughter Shizuko.

Today I was hiding in the forest, trying to avoid the children so that I could finally let go of some of the things I was dealing with… that's when it hit me… The new dream…

"NARAKU!!" The silver haired boy yelled; he was swinging a large sword.

The man called Naraku wore a baboon pelt, covering his face with its head, he laughed. "InuYasha…" He chided as he dodged the poorly educated swing of the sword.

A boomerang spun towards the baboon from behind, he dodged just in time as it swung back to its owner, a woman in a demon slayer's outfit riding a cat demon that looked like Kaage.

The Naraku man laughed until an arrow hit the front of his robe, blasting him out of his protective hide; he glowered at the woman who shot him. He suddenly vanished only to reappear again grasping a young girl who had been unfortunate enough to be caught up in the battle.

"Let her go Naraku!!" The monk in the group yelled as he stared at the helpless girl.

Naraku laughed as he held her more snugly by the neck. "Attack me now if you want… You'll only hurt the human." He sneered.

"Let her go you pig!" Shouted the one called InuYasha.

"I can hit him!" Shouted the girl with the bow and arrows.

"If you hit me I'll kill her long before the arrow has a chance of getting close to me…" Naraku sneered.

"Don't do it Kagome, he'll really kill her…" The demon slayer answered.

"But Sango--!" Kagome sounded surprised.

Naraku laughed. "None of you can stop me anyway…" He chided as he held the human prisoner by her neck and waist. "I will find out where your brother has hidden my treasure and I'll kill anyone who gets in my way…" He looked away from the group and stared into blank space as if he were seeing something. He sneered and disappeared.

"Kaori!" Someone was shouting.

I gasped, a sound that made me wonder if I had breathed at all during the dream, and looked around for who was calling me. "Sesshoumaru…?" I croaked.

"Oh thank god…" He said as he slumped to the ground beside me.

I blinked and turned to look at him. "What's wrong…?" I whispered as I tried to clear my throat.

"You weren't breathing Kaori…" Sesshoumaru answered as he pulled me into his lap.

"I wasn't…?" Then I suddenly remembered what I had seen… Naraku wasn't staring into space; He had been staring at where I had been watching the vision.

Sesshoumaru felt me stiffen and gazed down at me. "What happened? What do you see…?"

I gazed up at him, chewing on my lip; I wanted to pretend it was just a dream, but I knew that was a lie. "Do you… Have a brother…?" I asked slowly.

It was Sesshoumaru's turn to stiffen. "We're…not on good terms…" He answered stiffly.

"He's a half-demon…" It wasn't a question.

He nodded.

"I saw him…" I murmured.

"What?" He stared at me trying to figure out what I meant.

"I had a dream… just now… He was chasing a man named Naraku… He had this group with him… a demon slayer, a monk, a human girl who was wearing this very odd outfit, and a small fox child… Naraku said he—" I stopped as I was pulled back into another scene.

"Did you hear…?" A young maid whispered to another as they hurried past the odd group as they walked in to speak with the lord of the village.

"Hear what…?" The other maid whispered back.

"Lord Matsu returned from that village… It turns out that the Lady there married a different man!"

The other gasped. "But I thought he said he couldn't marry her… Wasn't she the daughter of his friend?"

The other nodded while giggling. "They say she's our age but that there's something different about her."

"Really…?"

"Mmhmm… they also say her husband is a DEMON…"

The other gasped but then they were out of hearing distance of the group.

"Did you hear that…?" the demon slayer asked as they approached the meeting room.

"It's just a coincidence… Sesshoumaru would never marry, especially a human." InuYasha answered darkly.

"Kaori…?" Sesshoumaru murmured, but I couldn't answer as I was sucked back down.

"So this Naraku fellow has taken one of my villagers captive…?" Matsu questioned.

"He did… He said that he was looking for 'his treasure'…" The young girl answered.

"Did he say anything else…?"

"Well…" She started slowly.

"He said my brother had it." Muttered the half demon.

"Hmm…" Matsu mulled over what he had just heard. "Well… I don't know this Naraku is or who your brother is but I do know a young woman who should be able to help you… Her village is quite some ways off but I think it would of interest to you if you spoke to her. I'll send a messenger ahead of you so that she will know you are coming. Her village is very hard to find and many do not know it even exists, so for now you will be welcome guests here until I have been able to contact her directly and tell her of what is happening."

I gasped as a stinging pain shot across my left cheek. "Ow…" I whined.

"You stopped breathing again…" Sesshoumaru answered apologetically.

I blinked a few times and shook myself to clear my head. "We're going to have visitors…"

Sesshoumaru looked down at me glumly. "My brother…?"

I nodded. "Matsu thinks I will be able to help them discover wh… shit…"

"What?"

I gazed up at Sesshoumaru. "I'm what Naraku is looking for… I'm the treasure that you've hidden from him… It's me…" Tears made my vision swim as I remembered my nightmare I had months ago.

Sesshoumaru seemed to know where my thoughts were going and held me against him tighter. "It's not going to happen Kaori… We'll protect the village… I promise…"

I clung to Sesshoumaru's shirt as we sat there in the ever-darkening forest. "Don't leave me…" I murmured.

"I could never leave you…" He answered.