Disclaimer- did you read chapter one? If you did, then you should know.

Chapter Three – The Wonderful, Amazing, and Horribly Disastrous Discoveries

His eyes snapped open in annoyance for the third time that night. Ever since Shippo had woken him up, Inuyasha had been slumbering fitfully. Something wasn't right, he just couldn't place it. Kagome had been late before, but she had never just decided to not come! Jumping out of the tree that had provided him with his temporary resting place, Inuyasha headed off in the direction of the Bone Eaters Well. 'All I'm going to do is go over and check up on her. Yeah. That's it. Everything will be fine and I will feel like an idiot for going just because of a bad feeling, but I must. I need to know she's safe.'

Upon arrival at the well his uneasiness heightened. 'What if something IS wrong?' He pondered, staring down into the well. 'What if something happened and she needed me and I wasn't there…..no! Her time is safer! Nothing could get her! I just need to shut up and stop worrying! Besides, I don't care. What? Inuyashas youkai roared to life. 'Must care! Mate could be in trouble! Feh! Shut up! I don't need anything from you right now!' he shook his head, trying to clear away his troubled thoughts. It seemed this always happened at the worst of times.

After battling with himself for a few more minutes Inuyasha grunted and jumped into the well to ease his troubled mind. The bluish magic surrounded him and in an instant he was leaping out and landing on the wooden floor around the well. Padding softly toward Kagomes house, he sniffed the air. 'Hmmm… there were strange new people here…..men. Could the mother be searching for a new mate?' (A/N: In case you're wondering, those were the movers!) He stood at the base of the Goshinboku, staring up at its ancient branches. He didn't know why, but a sudden fear settled in the pit of hi stomach. He jumped into the tree quickly so he could get this over with."Kagome….please be okay!" Inuyasha stared into her former window in shock. In a fit of disbelief he shoved it open, and jumped into the bare room.

"No…no! This isn't happening!" he cried out as he raced down the stairs. Wandering from room to room Inuyasha was met with the same empty silence. Finally realizing his horrible discovery, he trudged back up the stairs and into Kagomes old room. "No…..she's gone…Kagome left without even saying goodbye……why would she do that to us? To me?" he murmured, his voice laced with pain and sorrow. As he sat in the center of the room, he smelled something. Tears. They weren't exactly fresh, but they were there. Following his nose Inuyasha came to a stop at the window. He bent down and touched the carpet gently as a picture of Kagome crying here flashed in his mind.

'Mate gone….MUST FIND HER!' his youkai blood beat furiously through his veins. "I will go find her! I must know that she is alright!" Inuyasha stood and stared determinedly out the window. 'I will find Kagome and ask her why she left without even saying goodbye….' And with that he launched himself out the window and into the cool night air. Sniffing he smelled Kagome, and followed the scent. 'Here' He came to a stop where her scent seemed to end and sniffed again. 'Stupid future machines!' Inuyasha thought in an annoyed fashion as he picked up the scent of the family's car.

Racing through the darkness he followed it, followed the scent of the car that had carried his shard detector away. 'What the hell? Shard detector? You ass! Kagome is our mate! Not shard detector!' his youkai roared as it fought to free itself and destroy anything in his path while searching for Kagome. 'Stop it! STOP!' Inuyasha had stopped dead in his tracks and was shaking his head furiously. He was trying desperately to overcome his rage at the thought of calling Kagome such a meaningless thing. He sat o the side of the road and let his blood cool. 'I must find Kagome…I need her.' Inuyasha sat for a while, simply staring up at the clouded sky, not bothering to think about concealing himself from the passing cars. They were so blind in the dark, so why was there a need to? Headlights.

"Hey! Freak show! Are you dead er sumthin'?" Some boneheaded teen yelled out his window as he passed, the laughter of his passengers quite audible in the background.

Inuyasha was instantly aware of the car distancing itself from him, anger boiling over into his facial features. "You'll pay for that…" he hissed as he leapt up and raced after the car. He easily closed the gap between himself and the idiot who didn't have enough sense to leave him alone, and yelled into the window. "Do I look dead to you? You wanna see how dead I am in a fight? Well? Answer me, asshole!" All the stunned teen could do was glance back and forth between the enraged hanyou and the road, trying his best not to crash while attempting to process the information his eyes were sending to his brain. Suddenly coming to the conclusion that this, this thing in running beside his car wasn't human, he decided to plead for his life. "Please! Please don't hurt me! I'll give you cash, my car, I'll give you my girlfriend! Just don't hurt me!" As he finished begging for his life said girlfriend in the passenger seat beside him erupted with fury. "WHAT? You jerk! I can't BELIEVE you just said that! How dare you offer me like some possession to be given away! In all my life I have never met such a sniveling ass only out to protect himself! Once this car stops I am gonna hit you where it hurts, baby. Oh yeah, and this time I REALLY mean it!"

Satisfied that the guy who had insulted him was going to get a thorough beating, even though it wouldn't be from him, Inuyasha slowed down and jogged off to the side of the road and stopped to watch the cars go by for a few seconds before remembering why he was here in the first place. 'Kagome….' He sniffed around a bit, trying to pick out her cars scent from all the gas fumes and other bothersome smells. Frankly, he was getting quite nauseous from it all. Suddenly, his tracking was interrupted by the plop of a large rain drop falling on his nose. 'Damn it! If I don't find Kagome soon this rain will wash away the only thing left I have to find her!' Picking up the scent once more he sped off after it. The rain continued to come, even though he was willing it with every fiber of his being to stop. The invisible trail he was following became less and less detectable, until it was washed away all together.

Inuyasha ran desperately on, trying to grasp onto the scent once more, knowing the effort was futile. "No…NO! I can't lose her! Kagome! KAGOME!" he cried out, slowing down and finally stopping, his last shred of hope in finding her gone. He had left the city behind, and was standing beside a large pasture occupied by night grazing or slumbering cows. The ones awake stared at him blankly, and then returned to their munching, flicking their ears every once and a while to shake off the rain. They would never understand or have to face his hopelessness and pain, and here in this open farmland he could not find any comfort, for he didn't know that only a few miles down the road was where Kagome now lived in her big, light blue farm house.

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Kagome stared into the dome shaped room in awe. It was a bit smaller than the roof itself, but that was expected seeing as how the roof was pointed, so there must have been some considerable amount of space between the actual roof and this room. But the shape of the room wasn't what Kagome was staring at. It was the paintings! Paintings of all sizes and different colors that she hadn't seen before in her life! They were covering the spacious round room, all except for the highest point in the ceiling. She looked from one to the next, noting the detail in each as she saw before her battles of the ugliest beasts to some men sitting at a table feasting on bread and wine. There were fox hunts and dragons, majestic unicorns and hated ogres! Kagome even saw demons, slashing in a fight or striking a pose in front of beautiful scenery.

It was all so breath taking! Then, finally managing to draw her gaze away from the swirl of painted wonder, she looked at the bare spot at the peak of the ceiling. There was writing there, and it was big enough for her to read it comfortably even at this distance.

You have found the haven that comforts the lost

This room is for the eyes of one who knows not of their

Home. What will be written in the books of time? Will

You bring joy to the empty pages? Tales of the home

Left behind? Or is sorrow your pen, tears your ink? The

Paint waits for your words, ready to comfort, and ready

To rejoice in new found freedom. Here in this place, this place

Of solitude and hope, your friends will comfort you from

Your lost home. All you need is to write out your plea for

Familiarity, and your story will adorn my never ending wall

So joyous faces you will see.

Confused by the whole thing Kagome shook her head. "What?" Then, abandoning the text she looked around the room some more. The floor was polished and wooden, and a little over halfway across the room was a platform that continued the rest of the way back, about a foot higher than the rest of the floor. To the left was a large desk with beautifully carved legs and a high-backed chair to match. On it rested a big thick book in purple binding swirled with golden strands that resembled ivy. Then, for the first time she wondered, 'where is the light coming from?' Glancing around she noticed a statue at the back of the platform made of stone that was coal black and polished to shine. It was of two dragons spouting fire at each other, one was on all fours with its head pointed up at the other dragon, which appeared to be flying and its tail coiled down attaching it to the base. What really caught Kagomes eye though was the fire they were spouting. It was crystal clear and the light filling the room was being emitted from it.

Walking over she stepped up onto the platform and made her way towards the grand statue. It was then she noticed that the dragons eyes on the ground were emerald green while the dragon looming above her had deep, sapphire blue eyes. She reached out and touched the glass flames, for if they had lit up when she had unlocked the door, they wouldn't be too warm to touch. With a surprised gasp she pulled her hand away. The flames were ice cold, and they didn't feel like glass……so what else could they be? "Are they crystal? Or diamond?" Kagome stared curiously at the flames, and then looked down at her feet to mull over the thought some more. Noticing a plaque at the base of the statue, she bent down inspect it.

Obsidian Dragons of Earth and Air

Creator: Unknown

Eyes: Emeralds and sapphires

Flames: Crystal

Power Source: Unknown

The Obsidian Dragons are an ancient relic I found while traveling

deep underground. When I found them they were not alight, but as

soon as I touched them they came to life, so to speak. I brought them

to this mansion and put them in my favorite room. They have not

stopped glowing since.

"Huh. That's really weird. I wonder how they stayed lit for so long…….wait a minute! Mansion? This place isn't a mansion! It's a farm house! What the heck is going on here?" Puzzled, she looked for more information, but there was none to be found. That is, around the statue. Looking around once more, Kagome noticed a couple bookshelves on the opposite side of the room of the desk, and walked over to them. Skimming over the spines she found they weren't names of informational books or anything like that, they were names of people. Pulling one out in curiosity she opened it and read over the first page. It was written by hand, and it seemed to be that someone was writing down their life, or something like that. Pulling out another and another Kagome found they were all like this, people writing down their journeys and experiences, things about family and friends, and some even mentioned lost loves. 'Inuyasha….' But there was something that every book she looked at had in common. They were all written by people who had moved away and made this place their new home.

Finally she came upon a particularly old looking book, and she opened it. Even though the cover looked about as old as dirt, the pages appeared to be brand new, like all the other books. "Huh….odd. It looks like this book has never been opened. But if it wasn't, how could it have been written?...ah HA! The Obsidian Dragons! I found them!" Kagome exclaimed. Or rather, she had found more information about them. The top of the page had 'Obsidian Dragons' written on it in large lettering, and if it weren't for that she would have missed it while simply flipping through the pages quickly. Running over to the opposite side of the room she plopped herself down in the huge chair, suddenly feeling quite small. The desk was also quite large, and it seemed as though the set was built for someone who was seven or eight feet tall! But none the less it was quite comfortable, and Kagome was snuggled in and comfortable within seconds.

About ten or twenty minutes later she had finished reading Sir William Chases adventure across the sea to Japan and the discovery of the Obsidian Dragons. Then, her eyes widened in astonishment at the date. 'Summer of 1573? How on earth can this book be that old and still look new? What the heck is with this place?' Dropping the book back onto the desk she raced out of the room, grabbed the key out of the lock, and ran down stairs. "Mama? Are you here? Mama!" "Yes, I'm here, Kagome. What is it? Have you finished unpacking your stuff? I figured you'd be asleep by now!" Mrs. Higurashi replied after giving a final shove to the stove the movers had brought in before leaving. "Mama, I have to show you something! It's amazing! Come on, you have to see!" Kagome tugged on her mamas' shirt like a small child would. "Alright, alright, I'm coming!" her mother laughed as Kagome drug her up the stairs and to the attic door. "Honey, that door is locked. I don't think we can get up here." Mrs. Higurashi smiled at her daughter warmly.

With that Kagome dug into her jeans pocket and pulled out the large attic key and waved it in front of her mamas' face. "We do now!" pushing the key into the lock she turned it until it clicked. Then, flashing a smile to her mama she opened the door and…….

Gaped in astonishment at the sight. It was a normal old, musty attic, complete with the finest cobwebs and designer bat droppings. Stepping into the bare, dusty room she stuttered in disbelief. "But…but there were books….and…and…" "Well….this is nice Kagome, but I really should get back to putting our things in order. The men coming tomorrow to help won't be pleased if they have to move everything!" her mother patted her on the back and walked back downstairs. "What is with this place?" she roared angrily. Turning she stomped in a huff back downstairs, tripped over her forgotten suitcase in her hurry and landed on her stomach in front of the stairs leading down to the bottom floor.

"You okay sis?" Souta was coming up at the time and was startled to see his sister fall out of nowhere. "Yeah, I'll live." Kagome grunted as her little brother helped her up. "So which room are you taking?" he motioned to the two doors at the end of the hall. "Or are you already sleeping up there?" he cocked his head towards the attic stairs. "Huh, yeah right! I'm not sleeping up there! Bats…..Well, I guess I'll take that one." Kagome pointed to the one on her left, hoping it had a window facing out over the front of the house like her old room did. "Okay" Souta shrugged and walked to the other room dragging his suitcase behind him. Glaring one last time up the attic stairs Kagome picked up her suitcase and walked over to her new bedroom. "Please have a window……" she crossed her fingers, took a deep breath, and opened the door. "Yes!" she smiled triumphantly and walked into the room. It was a bit bigger than her old room, and it had two windows, one facing the front yard and one that looked out over the side yard, which she now realized was occupied by a small shed.

She dropped her suitcase in the middle of the room and walked over to the window on her left (the one facing the front yard). Staring out into the darkness she realized it was raining, and she sighed. 'Why did we have to come here?' As Kagome watched the rain fall her spirits sank even lower when she remembered.

Flashback

"Bye guys! I'll see you later!" Kagome called out and ran up the stairs to her house. Panting, she walked in to find her mother and grandpa talking quietly in a heated discussion. At the sound of her entering her mother spun around and greeted her in surprise. "Oh! Hello Kagome! How was school?" Furrowing her brow Kagome looked puzzled at her mother. "What's going on, mama?" Mrs. Higurashi smiled sadly at her daughter and sighed. "Hun, I got a good job offer that would be making me more money than I am now." "That's great! But why are you so sad?" "It's pretty far away, so we have to move so I can make it to my new job." "WHAT! Mama! You don't have to take it, right! I mean, we're getting along fine without the extra money!" "Kagome, hear me out. I wouldn't have taken the job if I didn't need to. I………I got laid off at the office, so we have to move so I can reach my new job at a reasonable gas price."

"……" Kagome stared at her mother in disbelief. "Wha? Laid off?" Kagomes eyes began to fill with tears. "But what about my friends……..when are we moving?" "You must start packing" Mrs. Higurashi looked away from her daughter, trying to conceal the tears that sprung up in her eyes. "The movers are coming tomorrow, so we will probably be leaving in the late afternoon." "No….." Kagomes tears spilled over and she dropped to the floor. Her mama sat down beside her and began to gently rub her daughters back in comfort. That night she sat by her window and cried herself to sleep (A/N: that's why Inuyasha smelled tears). The next day was Saturday, and Kagome moped around the house, not even bothering to eat. She had called her friends and told them she was moving, and was sorry about the short notice but she had only just found out.

After that she lay down on her bed and cried. Cried so hard in made her chest ache…….

End Flashback

"Kagome……Kagome! Wake up, Kagome!" She tried to shrug off the annoying hand, but with no luck. Opening her eyes she blinked in the bright light. 'I must have fallen asleep…' she thought as her mother pulled her up off the floor. "Ugh…" Kagome groaned and stretched her stiff limbs, annoyed at herself for sleeping in such an uncomfortable position. "Come on dear, you need to get some breakfast and wash up! The men who agreed to come and help move our stuff in will be here in an hour or so." Kagome nodded with fake cheer at her mother, and then took her first good look around the room. "It's…….so boring!" She looked at the bland, cream colored walls with distaste. "Well, we can paint them once we're all settled in, if you like?" Mama Higurashi smiled at her daughter. 'I'm sure you'll settle in soon, Kagome!'

"Yeah……….Hey mama?" "Hm?" "What about school? I mean, I can't start this late in the year at a new school, right?" Mrs. Higurashi laughed. "Nice try, Kagome! But you will be going to school and finish up the year!" "Aww….but I don't know anything about what they've been studying! I have barely been attending my old school! Do you think they will hold me back because of my poor attendance?" "I'm sure they'll give you the benefit of the doubt, Kagome." Her mother assured her and left the room. She sighed forlornly and walked over to the bathroom door, which was conveniently located in her room. Opening it she was about to get ready for a quick shower when she noticed there was a door on the other side. Curiously she walked over to it only to have the door opened on her face. "Oww! Who…." She looked down at Souta who was standing there trying not to laugh. "I'm sorry sis! Are you okay? It looks like we're gonna be sharing a bathroom!"

Kagome rubbed her nose and sighed. "This is going to be a long day….."

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Inuyasha was in no hurry to return to the Feudal Era. He trudged along the roadside, ignoring the fact that it was broad daylight and people could see him perfectly well in his red haori. He hadn't got much sleep because of the rain, and sleeping in a cow pasture isn't the best idea he had to stay out of sight. 'I wonder what Kagome is doing…..' he thought forlornly as he reentered the city. Deciding to travel by rooftop Inuyasha jumped from building to building, and he arrived at the well sooner than he wanted to. 'What am I going to tell the others? Kagome just up and moved without telling us so we have to find the shards without her? I don't think we CAN find them without her……What do I care?' He stood uncertainly on the ledge of the well. 'If she didn't bother to come and tell us she was going, then most likely she's happy to be gone! So I shouldn't worry about her….' Leaping in the bluish colored light surrounded him and then he found himself looking up at the sky.

"What am I going to say?" Inuyasha thought out loud as he jumped from tree limb to limb, heading towards Kaedes village. Standing in front of her hut he faltered, 'what about Naraku? Kagome still has the shards we've collected of the Shikon no Tama, so is it pointless to continue searching? No matter if we get the rest of the shards or not, the jewel will never be complete without the ones Kagome has!' Shaking his head in exasperation he stepped into the hut, and everyone's eyes were on him in an instant. The question everybody was thinking was voiced by Shippo. "Hey Inuyasha! Where's Kagome?"

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Hey everybody! Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter up, but I hit a little snag while writing it. Oh, and thanks to Yasha'z Wifey Kyome for helping me out with the name of the God Tree. I'm really excited that I'm getting lots of reviews (well, for me anyway!) and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. I really don't know where I'm going with the mysterious attic, but I'll figure it out soon enough. Here's a list of all my awesome reviewers, just to give them thanks for the support!

banxbadxkarma thanks for helping me out with the little snag!

Long Lost Dream37

Short Witty Name Goes Here

fmahanyougal

Avelyn Lauren

Yasha'z Wifey Kyome

Without you peeps I would be too downhearted without any reviews to continue my story! So thanks a bunch!

Now on with the fic, later days!

Mistoffelees Shadow