AN: Wow. Apparently a lot of people liked that last chapter. Cool! Here's the next one – a songfic chappie!

Whisper

They made their silent way through the woods, heading back to Inuyasha's forest. Kagome was shivering, and not just because of the cold morning mist. She had a good idea of what she would be facing, and even with Sesshoumaru there, she was afraid. She could very well be killed, and despite all her brave talk, it would destroy her if Inuyasha, the hanyou she had come to trust, was the one to make the attempt.

catch me as I fall
say you're here and it's all over now

"Kagome."

His quiet voice made her pause. She looked up at him, surprised to see that his eyes were beginning to darken, to bleed red. Kagome quickly looked around, unable to find the source of his agitation. "Sesshoumaru? What's wrong?"

He was gritting his teeth, fighting the transformation begging to take over. Dimly he was aware of what had happened, but that knowledge was quickly shoved aside in his struggle to control himself. That voice in his mind – begging him to shed blood, to steal the life of the girl next to him – he couldn't listen to it. "Back away. Slowly."

speaking to the atmosphere
no one's here and I fall into myself

Startled, Kagome did as she was instructed. Sesshoumaru growled approval, her lack of proximity making the call less strong. Slowly, he began to regain control of himself, sealing that voice from his mind. He was stronger than that, to fall for such a cowardly trick. No doubt one of Naraku's surviving minions had attempted it.

"I'm fine now. Let's hurry. This place has a curse on it."

Kagome nodded. She had been able to sense the spell as soon as they entered the forest, but she had no idea it had been directed at them. Now she knew who they were facing – and somehow now she was less afraid.

this truth drives me into madness

The mist was growing thicker, becoming unnatural. Kagome smiled to herself. "He obviously doesn't want us finding him, ne?"

Sesshoumaru gave her an odd look. "Who, Inuyasha? He's not strong enough to create something like this." he protested.

"No, not normally." Kagome agreed. "But then again, we've known this wasn't normally since the beginning." She took a step forward, past Sesshoumaru, and found her arm caught in a vise-like grip. Startled, she turned back to face him.

He was shaking his head, telling her without words what he wanted. She narrowed her eyes at him – she could take care of herself, after all – but let him take the lead. He had once called her a part of his pack. She knew he would be as protective of her as he was of Rin. It was still slightly annoying.

I know I can stop the pain if I will it all away

With the taiyoukai in the lead, they once again began their trek through the woods. It wasn't far to the village near the well, nor was it a difficult journey – Kagome had made it several times through the woods without incident – but this time was different. This time she could sense the danger, taste it on her tongue, as if the mist would bring the youkai that would destroy them.

A ripple passed through the mist, and then another. Kagome frowned slightly. She opened her mouth to say something about it –

Sesshoumaru screamed.

don't turn away
don't give in to the pain

Pain more intense than anything he had ever experienced before flowed over him in waves, as if he was being skinned alive, or burned from the inside out. He was aware he had fallen to his knees, digging his claws into the dirt, that Kagome was kneeling beside him, calling out to him. He couldn't focus, couldn't breathe. He had to get control of himself, he knew it was only a spell, but the pain wouldn't let him think!

don't try to hide
though they're screaming your name

Kagome grabbed his shoulders, trying to break the spell on him. She didn't dare use her purifying powers; she wouldn't risk hurting Sesshoumaru. "Sesshoumaru!" she called out desperately. "Sesshoumaru, answer me!" His screams had stopped, but his entire body trembled in remembered pain. He was tense, too tense. "Onisan, please!"


don't close your eyes
God knows what lies behind them

Her words finally drew his attention to her. Her face was streaked with tears, her eyes wide with worry and sympathetic pain. Above them, the storm broke, sending torrents of rain down on them. A faint smile touched his lips and he reached out to brush her hair from her face. "Are you crying, imoto?" he whispered.

"No." she said with a smile. "It's just the rain."

don't turn out the light
never sleep never die

She helped him stand back up, supporting him until he found his balance through the residual pain. His smile became more pronounced as he looked at her in surprise. "You called me brother." he commented softly.

Kagome laughed at that. "Hai, but you called me sister." she pointed out. "It's only fair." Sesshoumaru chuckled dryly at that. True, he had called her sister, but only after she had called him brother. He found he rather liked the sound of it.

"Come on, onisan." she prodded. "Let's get going. The faster we get this done, the less likely we are to get caught by his spells again." The taiyoukai nodded calmly and once again took the lead. Now that he knew the nature of the mist, he would not risk Kagome being the one to get caught by its spell. She would have enough to deal with when they got to Edo. Inuyasha would take all her time.

And he would be there to make sure the hanyou didn't kill her.

/----/

AN: Well, whaddya think? I didn't use the whole song, cuz I couldn't think of a way to put it all in. One day I'll do a real songfic to this song, but eh, that's for another day. Review, please!