'You need to wake her up right now.'

Sesshomaru had smelled the scent and realized what it meant at the exact time his inner demon had. The woman in his arms was aroused. He could smell it on her faintly as she slept, wrapped in his tail. This situation could very easily escalate out of control, so Sesshomaru did the first thing he could think of. He dropped Kagome unceremoniously on the stone courtyard to his castle.

"We have arrived." He regally told an indignant Kagome.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"That was completely unnecessary!" Kagome yelled after jumping to her feet. She poked Sesshomaru in the chest with one of her slender fingers, but stopped short when she saw the frustrated look that passed across his normally stoic visage. "Are you alright?"

"This Sesshomaru is fine." He snapped after a second of internal hesitation. His beast had quieted for the moment. "You were sleeping. This Sesshomaru woke you up."

"But you didn't have to drop me on the ground." Kagome shouted.

"Lower your voice when speaking to this Sesshomaru, you're screeching is irritating my ears." Sesshomaru said acidly to a fuming Kagome.

"Well I'll stop screeching if you stop being an asshole!" Kagome yelled right back in his face. Or rather, she yelled it into his chest, the difference in height between the two making Kagome's head top out at a few inches under Sesshomaru's chin.

Sesshomaru allowed himself to glare down at the young woman before turning regally on his heel and marching into his castle. "Follow me." He ordered without so much as turning his head around.

Kagome let out a muttered curse, dusted herself off, and followed the arrogant lord into his castle. On entering the great hall, she had to hold in an amazed gasp at the beautiful artwork in the tapestries adorning the walls and the craftsmanship in the wooden molding on the doors. It was like walking into a virtual treasure trove of paintings, sculptures, and other assorted masterpieces.

'Wow.' Thought Kagome as she gulped back the gasp that threatened to escape when she reached the end of the hall they had been walking down. A painting at least twenty feet tall and another fifteen feet wide dominated the wall. A huge Inu-youkai in his natural form rode on four swirling clouds beneath his paws. His jaws spread wide, letting out what would undoubtedly be a tremendous roar. A peaceful landscape sat under him, grassy plains and a serene lake calmly watching the demon fly above. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Sesshomaru smirked to himself when he saw the woman gaping at the painting of his father. He had to admit, albeit inside his own head, that it was, in point of fact, quite impressive. That was when he noticed something strange. A sort of bluish-green mist was beginning to form around Kagome and to slowly make its way towards his father's painting. Even stranger, a white mist was beginning to seep out of the painting and make its way towards the young woman. When the two auras met they curled around each other like a couple of old friends. The two vapors swirling into curls and loops, creating circles of blue that reminded Sesshomaru oddly of bubbles.

He had obviously been around Rin far too much.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The lazy smile Kagome wore was of an emotion no less than complete and utter happiness. Her mind was no longer in the extravagant castle in which her body resided, but flying high in the air on the back of the great Inu-youkai in the painting. The pure glee she felt made her want to let out a huge whoop and wave her arms around like a maniac. 'So this is what flying feels like.' She shouted in her mind. 'I cannot wait to gain my wings.'

It seemed like hours before the great Inu landed on a mountain top. Sensing that he wanted her to dismount, she carefully slid off his back and landed softly on the cool grass.

'Sit' a voice in her head commanded her.

So she sat. The demon lay down on his belly before her, his huge muzzle inches away from her face, his breath fanning out over her cheeks, warming her comfortably.

'My name is Inu-Taisho, Lord of the Western Lands, and father of Sesshomaru. You must be the young demon-miko I have heard so much about.'

"How do you know who I am?" Kagome asked.

'That is not all that I know.' He replied complacently. 'I know that your name is Kagome and that my son kidnapped you and yet you escaped. I must admit, that is a very interesting fact. Normally my son is not so easy to release those he has taken the time to capture.'

"He did not release me!" Kagome snapped, despite the fact that the great dog could eat her in one bite. "I escaped on my own!"

Kagome could have sworn that she saw the demon smile at her. 'I make no mistakes about your abilities. I was merely making an observation on my son's habits. Please be sure that I am aware of the scope of your powers, and where I still among the living, I would have been privileged to fight by your side.'

That right there knocked Kagome on her figurative ass. She had been told the stories of the great Inu-Taisho as a young girl before the death of her family. She was well aware of the fact that he had been the most feared demon of his time. That he would praise her abilities without even having seen her fight –or so Kagome thought- was such a high honor that for a moment she couldn't speak.

'But I did not bring you here simply to chat. I have some very important information to give you.'

Kagome nodded her understanding, letting Inu-Taisho know that she was ready for whatever he told her.

'My son is in great danger, as is all of the land in his Kingdom and in every other corner of the world. A new threat has arrived. His name is Naraku, and he is an evil hanyou of great power and ambition. He is searching for a sacred jewel that, if he can find it, will mean the end of all human life on the planet, and a reign more terrible than anything you could possible imagine. He must be stopped. This is where you come in. I need you to help Sesshomaru along his quest to destroy this monstrosity, and return the world to its natural balance.'

"But how can I help?" Kagome asked quietly. "I've never heard of this Sacred Jewel, and even if I had, I would never know how to find or obtain it."

'That is just it.' Inu-Taisho replied, 'You already have it. You have had it since you were first born. It resides inside your body. You have been protecting it your entire life without even knowing what kind of power you possessed.'

"If that is true then how exactly am I supposed to get the jewel? Wait until someone rips a hole in me and hope it falls out before I die?" Kagome quipped, the truth crashing over her in waves, making it hard for her to breathe.

'That is where I come in. We shall leave that for a little later, there is more you must know before your journey begins. You will meet several people along your way that will both require your help, and be able to aid you as well.'

"Who are they?" Kagome asked.

'That I cannot tell you. Just remember this; not everyone who appears the enemy is the enemy, and not everyone who appears to be the friend is the friend. Keep a wary eye on everyone and everything that you meet. Sesshomaru will know the direction that you need to travel in to reach your goal. Follow his lead, and learn from him.'

Kagome nodded her acquiescence and waited for him to continue. 'Our time here is limited, so for now this is all that I can tell you. I will be with you on your journey in spirit if not in body. I must however set some rules. Firstly; tell Sesshomaru nothing more than that you have spoken with me. Do not tell him that I will be with you, only that you have spoken with me here and now. Second; tell no one else about me. If you do, then I can no longer help you, my meetings with you in the first place are under scrutiny, as most are not allowed to commune with the dead. Third; do not try to contact me unless it is a life or death situation. You will use up far too much of your spiritual energy and leave you a weakened state for much too long. Unless it is of the utmost importance, you must wait for me to contact you. I will be waiting for you at night while you are sleeping. Say my name in your mind before you fall asleep, and I will be waiting. Now is the part of our conversation that I am going to regret the most. Please forgive me for what I must do.'

Kagome looked up at the great beast with a question in her eyes. Before she had a chance to even react, one huge white paw had pinned her to the ground, and Kagome felt panic shoot through her body as his massive jaws began to lower towards her.

'I'm sorry.' Kagome heard whispered through her mind as she felt his teeth rip into the flesh on her hip. She barely noticed a bright pink flash of light as a mist formed in front of her eyes and she lost consciousness.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sesshomaru couldn't believe his eyes. The young woman was hovering four feet off the ground in front of his father's portrait, surrounded by the combined auras from the woman herself and his fathers painting. She'd already been like that for several minutes, and he was beginning to wonder when and if she would ever come down.

He turned to issue and order to one of his servants to fetch him a chair to recline in when he suddenly smelled blood and a soft scream issue from behind him. He whipped around to find blood and an almost blinding pink light flow out of a wound on the woman's left hip. Kagome suddenly dropped out of the air, and Sesshomaru used his demon speed to catch her before she hit the ground.

Kagome put a hand to the wound on her hip, and when she pulled her bloody hand away, there was a small pink orb sitting in the palm of her hand, it glowing with a soft, comforting aura. "So that's the jewel." She said weakly, before blackness consumed her, and her head fell back against Sesshomaru's shoulder.

'Well she has some explaining to do.' Sesshomaru's beast said. 'Agreed' Sesshomaru thought.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A.N. -- I know that the excerpt at the top of the page doesn't match the last bit from the previous chapter. I know, I know. Sorry guys but this one seemed to be a little bit more interesting. Go with this excerpt as the actual one instead of the other one. And yes, I realize that I can just change it on the site, but this is much easier. Let me know what you think. Suggestions are welcome, flames will be ignored. Also, sorry this update took so long, but what can I say? Writer's block is one mean bitch.