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.

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

Sunlight filtered through the bamboo shades to shine on the peacefully sleeping face of Kagome. The bandaged wound on her hip was already almost completely healed, the jewel resting inside her loosely closed palm, still glowing with a soft pink aura.

Sesshomaru sat in a chair on the left side of Kagome's bed, doing nothing but watching her breathe and subtly checking the sound of her heart beating, making sure that it was nice and regular. His own regular breathing bringing him the rapidly fading scent of the woman-child's blood. Finally he began to detect that she was beginning to wake up, and within seconds he heard a soft sigh from the bed and saw Kagome slowly raise her upper body off the mattress, using her arms a support.

* Kagome POV *

'Wake up child, you are needed.' A soft comforting voice whispered to Kagome. For some reason it sounded like her mother. But that wasn't right, her mother was dead, she died long ago, when Kagome was just a child. She'd died saving her and Akihito.

'Mother?' Kagome sobbed. It sounded so much like her mother. She hadn't heard her mother's voice in so long. She sounded so close.

'Open your eyes my child, my beautiful Kagome, you are needed beyond this place.' The voice said, beginning to sound farther away.

'Mother please! Don't leave me again!' Kagome wailed.

'Open your eyes, my child.'

A very bright light greeted Kagome's wide open eyes. That combined with the dream she had just been experiencing caused a cascade of tears to start pouring down her cheeks. She barely noticed when Sesshomaru appeared by her side seconds later, deeply curious as to what was making her cry.

It took several seconds for Kagome to calm down long enough to take stock of her surroundings, and even then a couple more seconds to realize whom exactly was sitting next to her with a very strange stare in his eyes.

"Where am I?" Kagome finally managed to get out after a quick and furious eye-rubbing session.

Sesshomaru allowed himself another second of that strange stare, and then let out a muted, "Your chambers in my home: The Palace of the Crescent Moon, in the center of the Western Lands. I had a maid and a doctor dress your wound and your robes. You will meet me in the dining hall in one hour so that you can explain exactly what happened three days ago, and exactly what that is." On the word 'that' Sesshomaru nodded his head towards Kagome's right hand that was still enclosing the small pink jewel.

Kagome was still to shaken from the memory of her resent dream that she couldn't' even muster enough defiance to give Sesshomaru a properly sarcastic "Okay."

"Amie. Nikia." Sesshomaru commanded. Two female Neko demons wearing servants clothing appeared at the far end Kagome's room. "See that she is properly bathed and dressed. I want her in the dining hall in one hour, no excuses." And with that Sesshomaru swept out of the room.

The two Neko's came forward. "Lady Kagome, please follow us, we will show you to the palace bathhouse." The one on Kagome's left said. She resembled a Bengal cat, while the one on her right reminded Kagome of a mountain lion she had seen once as a little girl.

"My name is Amie." Said the Bengal.

"And I am Nikia." Said the lion. "We will be your servants while you reside in the Palace of the Crescent Moon. I'm sorry my lady but we really must be taking you to the bathhouse."

"Well, I've never really had a servant before, and I don't plan on having any now." Kagome said, pulling aside her blankets, and setting her feet on the floor. "I can always use more friends though. Would you like to be my friends?"

Amie and Nikia took a quick look at one another. Their new mistress was certainly strange. "Of course, milady." They chorused.

"Please, call me Kagome. My brother will be the first in a long line of people that will inform you that I'm not a lady." Kagome said with a smile. "Very well then, I suppose we must follow the Great Lord Fluffy's orders. Lead the way to the bathhouse. I apparently have three days worth of grime to wash off before I'm worthy enough to bask in his awesome presence."

Both Amie and Nikia unfurled fans from their belts to hide the smiles that they couldn't suppress at Kagome's humor. They where not used to their masters trying to make them smile, and it threw them both for a small loop.

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

After taking a satisfying, albeit rather short, soak in the bathhouse, Kagome returned to her room with Amie and Nikia right behind her. Kagome took a quick look into the wardrobe in the corner, and selected a deep blue Kimono, cut much like the one she had worn on her way to the Western Lands. The silk of the Kimono was such a deep blue that in the shaded areas of the room it looked black. Small golden phoenixes frolicked over the surface with great golden dragons, the thread for all of them carefully stitched into the fabric.

Nikia put Kagome's hair into a beautiful design, allowing, at Kagome's request, for the placement of a couple of throwing daggers disguised as hair pins. Once that feat was done, Kagome allowed Amie to dab a small amount of scented oil on her wrists. A concession since Kagome had not allowed her to put any makeup on her face.

Finally Kagome was ready to go see Sesshomaru, and explain what happened. Or at least, she looked like she was ready.

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A.N. I know I suck guys, I'm really sorry but I'm kinda at a cross-roads right now. Both in my life and in this fic. I'm in the process of getting divorced, and so my internet time has been severely cut down. I know this chapter is really short, but like I said, I'm getting divorced. Also, I need to hear from you guys. If you want me to continue this story and have it be a kind of quest-type-deallee, please say so. And if you would like to make this a kind of short-and-sweet-and-less-than-ten-chapters-type-deallee, then please, also say so. And if you just want me to stop writing all together, well screw you, I need an outlet and this is much less messy than the alternative. Less cops too. *just joking by the way, I wouldn't kill anyone, maim possibly, but not kill* I'm here for YOU people, help a girl out. ;~}