Chapter two
Kaelie crawled over to the mirror and touched the glass to see if she could fall back through as she had before. It seemed solid and ungiving. She sighed and sat back on her rear. She peered around the cavern. It was dark and cold, but there was a ray of lay coming from somewhere. So she crawled on hands and knees, ignoring the small slapping of unknown hanging things until the light became bigger. There was a hole in the ceiling just big enough that Kaelie could climb through it. Once she was able to stand she looked around. By the looks of things she was in a forest. She stood and took in everything around her. A large tree grew from above the hole, it stretched high above her. She folded her arms around herself trying not to freak out, which was really hard to do at this point. Then she heard a voice from behind her, faint and old. For a moment, she thought it might be Grandpa, come to wake her from this crazy-ass dream she was experiencing.
She spun around and what she saw made her jaw drop. There was a face in the tree, an old man's face, squinty-eyed and wrinkled from age. He looked at her and just smiled, which made the face even more wrinkled. Okay she was having some serious hallucinations. She didn't remember putting anything in her drink at lunch. Maybe someone drugged her, yeah that was it.
"It is very nice to see you, finally." Kaelie gaped at the tree when it spoke. "Welcome," the feeble voice greeted. Kaelie shook her head then rubbed her eyes frantically. She held up her finger to the tree asking for a moment, walked a few steps away, calmly, then began to freak out. She pressed the palms of her hands into her temples. Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up! She shook her head from side to side and squeezed her eyes shut. When I open my eyes, I'll be back in the attic of the antique shop and everything will be okay, She reasoned. But, when she opened her eyes and found that she was still in the forest, she groaned. Kaelie looked back over at the tree and it was staring at her, probably wondering if she was crazy. At this point even she didn't know if that was true or not. She walked back over to the tree and grimaced. She took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves. It wasn't working.
"Is this a dream?" She asked hoping that it was and that she would wake up from this craziness. The tree regarded her - which made her freak out even more-with wooden caterpillar eyebrows raised.
"Why, no my child." He said warmly. "You are here because it is your destiny. Not because it is a dream." Kaelie sighed and looked up at the sky. Why do you hate me? She whined then pinched the bridge of her nose with forefinger and thumb. All of this sounded so ludicrous to her. Finally, she gave up trying to understand and heaved a sigh. Well, if this was a dream, she might as well go with it. Not like the tree would tell her it was a dream.
"Destiny, huh? Well, okay if it's my 'destiny' to be here, then what do I have to do?" She made air quotations with her fingers then crossed her arms over her chest. Dear god, she was talking to a tree. A freaking tree! She resisted the urge to cry and stared at it. The tree beamed at her, making his face creak as the folds grew tight around his lips.
"You must travel west and find the Youkai Lord who resides there. He will help you." Kaelie tapped her foot, her nerves were shattered at this point. A demon lord? Oh wow, my head is really screwed up if I'm dreaming this crap.
She shook her head at the tree, "How will I know it's him? Does he even know who I am? And… Who are you?" She watched as the tree's face dropped a bit, his smile fading.
"You will know it is him and he will know it is you," Well that was vague... "I am Bokusen'on." He closed his eyes. "Now my child, begin your journey. Once you have found the Lord of the West and completed your task, you may return to the modern era." With those parting words, his face melted back into the trunk and it looked like a regular tree again. Oh yeah, it was official, Kaelie had lost her mind. She growled and threw her hands up. Why couldn't this be a good dream? She never had good dreams… Just once she wished she could be normal. But no. She spun on her heel and headed into the forest. She didn't have the faintest idea where she was going but straight was the only rational thing running through her lucid mind at this point.
She had been walking for what felt like an eternity when she heard a soft rustle in the bushes to her right. Oh god. What now? She pleaded with her mind to give her a break. She yelped as a small animal leapt from the hedge and landed in a lump in front of her. It collapsed onto its side with a wounded whine. It looked to be some kind of fox animal type thing, all white with pale colored mane and a flowing tail. Kaelie wasn't sure but knowing her brain, it sounded right. She crouched down to the small creature. It was tiny, maybe the size of a small cat, white in color, with a blue like mane and tail and long whiskers. She reached out to touch it, to see if it was still alive. It lashed out at her and she drew her hand back quickly. A tiny rumble emanated from the creature's stomach and Kaelie pursed her lips in thought. She pulled the small bag of jelly beans she had left from lunch out of her pocket and pulled a blueberry flavored one from the pouch. Slowly, she put the candy at the animal's nose. It sniffed it then lifted its head and snatched the bean from the ground. Kaelie smiled a bit and pulled another jelly bean from the bag.
This continued until all the jelly beans were gone. Kaelie stared down at the now alert creature, it gazed up at her with adoration and let out a small mew sound. She sighed, opened her arms and caught the little thing as it leapt to her.
"All right then little guy… Or girl, whichever you are. For future's sake, in case I ever have this dream again. Your name's gonna be Sho. Since you are so light, like air." The creature gave another faint sound of delight and Kaelie straightened. When her feet where aching and she was tired from walking, a village came into view. She sighed with relief and felt Sho's tail swish back and forth as it set curled in her arms. As she walked through the town, people stared at her. They all wore traditional japanese garb. Hakama and Kimono. She must have looked strange to them-even though this was her screwed up dream-the way she was dressed. She had on calf high brown boots that had about eight buckles running from ankle to mid-calf, shorts, and a flowing tank top that was striped with blue anchors printed on it. She clutched Sho to her a little apprehensively. She felt the eyes of everyone on her as they stopped what they were doing to stare at her. She frowned deeply and thrust her chin into the air a bit determined to ignore them . She walked up to a nice looking woman and smiled brightly. "Hi, do you know where I can find the Lord of the West?" Curse that stupid tree! He hadn't given her the name of the Lord! How was she supposed to find someone without a name? The woman looked at her if she was crazy, well that made two people now. Then the woman frantically shook her head and trotted away from Kaelie. Great… How was she ever going to find this stupid guy? She huffed and walked through the village, searching for anyone that might have a name or directions.
Twenty people later, she finally found someone who actually knew who the hell Kaelie was talking about. By this time though, if she didn't find the Lord soon she was going to scream in frustration and start throwing things. She managed to smile at the older woman. "So you said you know the Lord of the West? He's a Youkai right?" Kaelie did her best to sound as sweet as possible. Sho climbed onto Kaelie's shoulder but draped because of his size. The older woman nodded and watched Kaelie's creature warily.
"Y-yes I know of him." She stuttered a bit. Kaelie stood there, waiting for the woman to elaborate. The woman shifted her weight a bit before answering. "His name is Lord Sesshomaru." Yes! Finally a name! Kaelie almost hugged the woman out of sheer joy, but decided against it since the woman might flee. For some reason in this dream, she had that effect on people. She beamed at the older woman.
"Do you know where he lives?" Kaelie asked hoping and praying to whomever was listening that the woman did in fact know. The woman hesitated for a moment then looked Kaelie in the eyes. "No, I am sorry, but I do not know where he lives." She bowed to Kaelie and then turned and walked — if not scurried-away. Kaelie's hands balled into fists as she stomped away. "Ugh! Why doesn't anyone in this stinking town know where I can find the Lord of the West?" She was fed up and felt on the verge of having a temper tantrum. She wasn't a child though and as soon as she woke from this crazy dream she wouldn't be sleeping for quite sometime. Sho nuzzled her cheek affectionately sensing the frustration from her. Oh man if only she could have a pet like him at home. She smiled despite her anger and patted Sho on the head.
Kaelie sighed as they headed out of the village. She gave up trying to ask for directions. Her shoulders hunched as if a physical weight sat on them. It wasn't Sho, he weighed nothing compared to the frustration and tension that was coursing through her neck and shoulders making her muscles ache. She looked down at her new companion. He was so cute! Kaelie still wasn't sure if Sho was a boy or girl yet but it certainly looked like a boy, so she went with that. All of a sudden Sho looked up at her, mewed, then jumped from her shoulder and the winds picked up. Blue and green wind currents swirled around him and when they blew away, Sho had transformed. Kaelie's eyes widened to the point of pain as she gaped at the now large creature. He was the size of a horse and his mane and tail moved fluidly as if blowing in the wind. His back sloped down, reminding her of a hyena but yet he still looked like a fox. His limbs were lean and he looked very majestic as he stood on all fours in front of her.
Kaelie did her best to remain upright as her mind swirled. What was her brain going to come up with next? Sho stepped up to her and rubbed her cheek with his muzzle, she reached up and touched the side of his jaw. "You're freaking me out. You know that?" She told the beast softly, scratching under his chin. He barked lightly at her then turned to the side and bent his legs so that she could mount him. She sighed and pointed at his back. "You want me to ride you, don't you?" Sho inclined his head to her and his tail swished a bit. Guess that's a yes, she sighed and placed her hands on Sho's back and swung her leg over him. He straightened to his full height and in one single leap took off into the air. Kaelie cried out and clutched to his mane, causing him to growl a bit. "Sorry. I didn't mean to pull." She murmured as she gazed down at the tiny buildings and trees. They were so high up and they continued to rise ever higher. "I hope you know where we're going Sho." Kaelie sunk her hands into his mane and leaned forward. The wind whipped in her face as they flew on, destination unknown. Sho barked lightly as if she could understand… Whatever he was and loped through the sky. Kaelie rubbed her face, she was going to have to be on some serious medication when she woke up.
They weren't in the air long, before she noticed Sho begin to descend. She peered over his side to see a very large estate below them. They landed just in front of a large gate and Kaelie clung to Sho's hair a bit as he stepped forward. She gulped and looked around. It was so quiet, too quiet in Kaelie's opinion. Sho stopped, ears pricked forward before he let out a snarl and at least twenty men, no demons charged them. Sho's sharp teeth bared, he grabbed one of the guards in his jaws and flung him away. The rest stopped dead as they stared up at Kaelie, eyes brows pulled together in confusion. Sho continued to growl in warning and Kaelie slid from his back to the ground. One of the guards spoke up.
"What do you want here, human?" Kaelie clenched her fists and scowled sourly at them. She was tired of people looking at her like she was crazy and she certainly didn't like the tone in his voice. It pissed her off, royally. She ground her teeth and then glared up at him.
"I'm here to see Sesshomaru, the Lord of the West." She looked over at Sho, making sure he hadn't taken them to the wrong place. He nuzzled her shoulder a bit but kept a watchful eye on the guards who surrounded them. The guards began to laugh at her.
"What would the Lord want to do with a wench such as you?" Okay now she was getting ticked. If he wanted to call her a human that was fine, but dammit this was her dream and no one was going to call her a wench. She stomped up to the gate, Sho following closely behind her, growling a warning to the guards as they passed. "Look, I've been traveling for almost a whole day and if I don't get to see him then I'll make sure that all of you die a slow, painful death." It was an empty threat mostly but she hoped it would work. There was several minutes of pause and then the gates slowly creaked open, letting her and Sho through. Once inside, she gazed around. The courtyard was huge, there were several different houses and then one that sat in the very center of the courtyard that was bigger than the others. That must be where I'll find him. She thought as she strode forward. Sho transformed back into his tiny self and leapt to her shoulder once more. She watched the demons around her, servants and maids. They gave her a funny look and then scurried off to the houses. Huh, that's strange. Okay it wasn't that strange, since people had been doing it all day. She trudged up to the sliding door. As she was removing her shoes, the door slid open with a loud bang. She looked up and almost fell over. The man… No demon standing in front her was handsome, but power seeped from every pore of his body. He was at least seven inches taller than she and had long silver white hair. Two deep magenta markings slashed down his cheek bones on each side of his face and over his wrists. He also had a purple crescent moon on his forehead. She closed her mouth, trying not to look like an idiot as he glared ferociously down at her.
"Human… Why are you here, in my courtyard?" His voice was deep and made Kaelie shiver with fear. Okay, she had to give credit to her brain for this one. This was pretty amazing. He stepped in front of her and looked down his nose at her. She swallowed and slid her tongue over her lips.
"I-uh I'm supposed to meet with you?" She managed, it was hard to think under his intense scrutiny. He made her feel like the scum on his shoes and if she wasn't so damned afraid of him, it would piss her off. His eyebrow raised just a tad as he regarded this filthy human. She reeked with the smell of his insolent half-brother's miko. The one who had helped all of them defeat the hanyou, Naraku. He folded his arms in his Kimono sleeves and continued glaring at her with cold golden eyes.
"Who sent you here?" It was a command, and Kaelie wondered what would happen if she ignored that commanding tone in his voice. Oh she wanted to be snarky so bad. She narrowed her eyes at him, she was done being afraid and that I'm-better-than-you attitude he was sporting was starting to get old.
"This old tree in the forest somewhere, Bokusen'on is his name." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at him. Sesshomaru remained silent then turned on his heel and walked away from her. "Hey wait a minute!" She called from behind him. She trotted up beside him as he walked to his private chambers. He stopped, slid the door open, then slammed it shut behind him.
Kaelie growled lowly and her hands clenched into fists again. She had just met the Demon Lord and she was already getting annoyed by him. She hoped that when this dream ended, she would never dream him up again. She had been wrong, her mind sucked right now.
Sesshomaru strapped on his armor and slid Tensaiga and Bakusaiga at his hip. He would take this human girl to Kagome, obviously she was the same as the other woman. Meaning she could pass through something to the past. What he wasn't sure yet, but he would find out when he went to question the 2,000 year old tree that she claimed had told her to find him. He scowled and walked back outside to find the human girl glaring up at him and tapping her foot impatiently. He wanted to reach out and strangle her, but he restrained himself, it would do no good to kill her until he found out exactly who she was. He gave her a cold glare then his eyebrows pulled down as he caught a slight whiff of his father's scent from her. It surprised him a bit to be reminded of his father and it angered him that she, a human, should have his father's scent. He would accompany the girl to Edo, it was time to get Rin a new kimono anyway. He would never admit to being curious.
"Hn..." He half-growled, stepping past her and heading for the gate. He didn't look to see if she followed him. Once outside the gate he felt a soft wind blow and glanced over his shoulder as he felt a surge of youkai power. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he saw that the tiny fox demon had now transformed into a bigger fox demon. Well, good, that would give her something to ride and this wouldn't be a slow journey.
Kaelie watched Sesshomaru's back as she walked behind him. Sho trotted at her side and kept his head right at her hand. "So… Where are we going?" She was tired of walking — walking, walking, walking, and oh yeah, more walking — and she just might throw up if she rode Sho again. Heights and she just didn't mix.
He kept walking, back to her as he ignored her. Her temper started to simmer. That… that rat bastard! The least he could do was answer! "So, where are we going? Hm? Are we there yet? Are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet, are we the-" The clawed hand covering her mouth put a stop to that line of questioning. The other grabbing her throat was ample warning. Pah! As if that would deter her boredom! It was a damned dream, she couldn't, yah know, die. So, just to tick him off more and bring her extreme joy in pissing him off since he did nothing but piss her off, she muttered under his hand, "Are we there yet, Sesshy?"
"You will cease that driveling nonsense you are spewing forth," he growled softly in an icy tone that was otherwise devoid of emotion. The smirk against his palm had him tightening his hand about her neck. "Do you not understand that your life will be forfeit? Are you addled, you filthy human?"
Kaelie stilled, her eyes narrowing. Why that dick! She reached up and removed his hand from her mouth, a nerve twitching in her brow. "I'll have you know I take baths every day and that you are a right pain in my ass right now. And, to let you know, I am not 'addled' as you put it, but completely in control of everything I do. Just because you get pissy is not reason to hand out death threats, butt head." Sesshomaru growled as he tightened his hand around her neck. Kaelie was really starting to feel that this wasn't so dream like since her neck really hurt and she was left gasping for breath that wouldn't — couldn't-come. Who strangled to death in dreams? "I am losing patience, mortal." The hissing growl caused her to shiver in a not so nice way, her eyes widening. Something was wrong with this dream. Something really, really, friggin' wrong. Sho, small and delicate, jumped to her shoulder, growling at the demon lord. The blonde felt as if the little creature's life was in danger. "N-no Sho," she whispered. "Down, little one." Directing her full green-eyed gaze on the demon that was strangling her, she narrowed them into darts of fury. "Let. Me. Go. I will not let you or anyone else have this kind of power over me. Kill me or not, but don't you dare try and strangle me."
Sesshomaru let go, his eyes imperceptibly wide. Only Rin or the ever faithful Jaken would be able to tell, but he was rocked by the outright fury and calm she displayed. The fact that she thought death to be preferable to being man-handled startled him more than he would have liked.
"It doesn't matter what you want, human. Shut your mouth and come with me or you die. By my hand or another's makes no difference."
The Lord of the West turned on his heel and moved with the elegance of inhuman agility, forward. Kaelie stumbled after him, growling under her breath about how she wanted to strangle him with his own hair… As if the scene of near death never happened. Sesshomaru felt puzzled and irritated by the human, his mind unable to make her tangible to him. Frustration ate at him, making his already short temper, shorter. When a scathing comment about his looks once again left her lips, he silently snarled and grabbed at a tree, gouging deep rivulets in the bark as he passed. He felt the alarm of the human. Good, let that shut her mouth and be a warning of his waning patience. Kaelie looked at the tree god-smackedd. He just… He just-Dear God, he just mauled a tree with his hand and it left bloody damned holes! Whatever she had pictured him being able to do, this was not it. Scooting around the tree as if it would attack her, she scurried toward the Demon Lord.
"Yo, wait! Please! That was freaky, don't kill trees." The unexpected humor made Sesshomaru blink in bewilderment. This human woman swung so quickly from one emotion to another! Ridiculous and hazardous to her slowly but surely dwindling life span with every second she spent in his presence. She had to be related to that foolish miko so enamored with his hanyou brother. He resisted shaking his head, if only just barely. What god had he offended to be saddled with such odd creatures? First it was Inuyasha, followed in a string by Jaken, Rin, the miko, and now this human.
After they walked a few miles from Sesshomaru's estate, Kaelie looked down at Sho who was draped over her shoulders. She was so tired of walking. "Hey Sho? Could I catch a ride?" The little demon mewed up at her and hopped from her shoulder. He transformed and Kaelie pulled herself up on his back. She looked ahead of them where Sesshomaru was still walking, silently. After the whole 'I'm going to strangle you pathetic human' ordeal he had been ignoring her. She sighed heavily in irritation. This guy was freaking unbelievable. She leaned forward and buried her face in Sho's mane, it was so soft, it took her mind off the snobbish demon walking in front of her and the pain she was feeling in her feet.
Time passed relatively slowly, her mind drifting. She blinked in irritation when she requested to stop and the bloody damned man kept walking and was ignoring her and damned if that didn't piss her off more and more. Especially since she had to pee! "If you don't wait five minutes, I'll scream! Probably at you!"
The demon slowed only the tiniest bit. "What reason do you have to halt our progress?" The unsaid 'and get rid of you' was definitely implied.
"I have to pee," Kaelie bit out. "I didn't want to lose you and I tried to tell you before, but you are a stubborn man and were ignoring me!" She huffed. "Now, if you can spare a few minutes, I'll just run other there," she pointed at some trees and bushes, "do my business, and come right back."
Sesshomaru stared at her for a moment before stopping completely. Kaelie hopped from Sho, running to the bushes. Coming back three minutes later, she was far more relaxed and even in a better mood. When nature calls, it really calls, she mused silently. The affronted look on the demon's face was enough to knock her good mood down a few pegs. "Oh, don't even look at me like that, mister. I wouldn't make you wait that long even if I could."
"You could not, human-"
"All right!" Kaelie announced in a growling voice. "That is it! You," she stuck her hand in his face in her ire, "will stop calling me human. I have a name! Kaelie! Unless, of course, you are too simple minded and down right retarded to remember such an easy thing."
Sesshomaru growled deeply, his eyes seemingly flashing red. "Human…"
"Kaelie, dip stick!"
Sesshomaru snarled. "You will cease or I will rip your lungs out." It was a near silent threat, but all the more dangerous for the lack of volume. Kaelie rolled her eyes.
"Fine, kill me. I don't care! But you will call me by my name when you address me!" She put her hands on her hips. "Got that, mister? Now!" She climbed back on Sho. "Let's get going. Dark isn't for a while yet."
Sesshomaru fairly broke his own hand as he fisted it, silently fuming in rage as red filled his eyes. Damn the human female!
They had been traveling for four days… Four days! And the rat bastard, demon lord still would not tell her where the hell they were going. If they didn't arrive at their destination soon she was going to cut off all of that stupidly pretty hair that somehow maintained itself. Her head was rested on Sho's neck as she stared into the fire that Sesshomaru had made. She glanced over at him, with slitted eyes. He was sitting against a tree, arms folded into his kimono sleeves, eyes closed. She yawned and snuggled into Sho's fur.
"We will reach Edo tomorrow." Kaelie's eyes slid open as she heard the deep masculine voice. She lifted her head and frowned at the demon.
"Oh… You're finally going to tell me now? Thanks for the update." Kaelie put her head back down sniffling indignantly. He had pretty much ignored her the whole time they had been traveling, though he did stop and wait for her to go to the bathroom or get something to eat when they passed through a village. He still wouldn't call her by name, that pissed her off and gave her another good reason to chop of all that silver hair.
She yawned again and her eyes grew heavy before she slipped into a deep sleep. For the first time in a while no nightmares plagued her dreams.
Sesshoumaru's eyes opened as he regarded the sleeping human. She was so irritating and every breath she took tried his patience severely. It was even worse when she opened her mouth. It almost took everything Sesshomaru had to keep from killing her. It pleased him knowing he would be rid of her the next day. He frowned, closed his eyes and leaned back against the fluff that surrounded him. Sesshomaru listened for any sign of approaching demons or other creatures before he too fell into deep slumber, but the tiniest sound or movement would have awakened the daiyoukai. He was always vigilant, even when he slept.
"Get up…" Kaelie blinked her eyes open as Sesshomaru's low voice interrupted her wonderful dream. A pair of black shoes crossed in her direct line of vision and she glanced up. He was glaring down at her as if she'd done something distasteful. She sat up rubbing her eyes, trying to banish the throbbing pain behind them. She was groggy, achy, and he had just woken her up at the crack of dawn again. The sun was barely over the horizon line, painting the skies with oranges, reds, pinks, and blues. She yawned and stood, wobbling a bit from vertigo. She was so tired… Sesshomaru was a slave driver, for the past four days they didn't rest until it was full night and began again just before dawn. The lack of sleep was seriously pissing her off among other things that the Youkai Lord did. She needed a bath and hoped that when they arrived at Edo or where ever they were going she would be able to take one. She itched her scalp. Sho stood next to her and she stared at the daiyoukai, eyelids heavy. "Now that you're awake," she figured if his frown grew any deeper his mouth would plummet from his chin, it was a nice thought. "Ride your fox demon. We will arrive by midday if we travel by air." He turned his back on her, that dumb hair of his swaying in the morning breeze. She gave him a mock salute then turned to Sho's back and had to have the creature's help to get on. She was far too sleepy to think of anything else. A bath and a nice sleep… she thought, would be divine.
By the time the sun had risen high into the sky, the throbbing pain behind her eyes had graduated into a full blown migraine, putting her in a very cranky mood. She glowered as Sesshomaru flew ahead of them on his gold sparkling dust. If the man wasn't so masculine she would think him gay, but that was beneath him. In fact, everything was beneath him. She rested her head in Sho's mane and closed her eyes. She was too afraid to sleep, plus the pain in her head was to severe for that. She did close her eyes though, it helped to alleviate some of pressure.
He had been right. They arrived around midday and landed just outside a quaint little village. Obviously Sesshomaru knew where he was going so she just let Sho follow. She kept her face in Sho's soft mane. She probably looked like a corpse to the villagers. She didn't care, she felt like one. She sighed and just as she started to doze off a high-pitched squeal invaded her ears, making her brain seize. She raised her head to see a small girl running up to the youkai. Her heart skipped as fear washed over her for the small child, but as they came to a stop Kaelie heard the young girl address him by Lord Sesshomaru. Kaelie peeked over Sho's head to see the little girl but she was hidden by Sesshomaru. Sighing, she slid off the fox demon's back and walked up to the two.
Sesshomaru pulled a folded piece of material from inside his armor and handed it to the giggling child. "Thank you Lord Sesshomaru!" She squealed causing Kaelie to flinch from the pitch. The child couldn't have been more than ten or eleven. She had long brown hair, some of it pulled up in a ponytail at the side of her head. When she looked over at Kaelie with clear brown eyes, despite her bad mood, Kaelie just about swept the girl into her arms. "Who is this Lord Sesshomaru?" Her voice was bright, happy. It made Kaelie smile a little. Sesshomaru remained silent, watching the small girl. She looked back up at Sesshomaru, "Is she your companion Lord Sesshomaru?"
"No." They both answered in unison. The only thing they'd agreed on since they met.
"Rin!" A female voice called from ahead of them. "What are you doing? Oh Sesshomaru-nii-san, you're here." When Kaelie looked up she was floored by who she saw walking toward them. It was Kagome. Kaelie blinked, flabbergasted that her cousin, her cousin was here in this crazy world.
"K-Kagome?" Kaelie stepped forward past Rin and Sesshomaru. Kagome's face screwed up in confusion as she took in the sight of her cousin Kaelie walking to her. What in the world was going on?