A/N: Hey guys. Sorry about this whole delay thing. I know the first six chappies all came up like in a day and then this one was totally delayed but my friend had her birthday party all weekend and we're just starting to study for finals and crap like that so i'm a bit busy. I don't have that much time on my hands anymore. Heh heh heh... And i was also kind of waiting for reviews, but i guess that's not goint to happen. I LUV ALL YALL WHO DID REVIEW:)!\

SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL SPEEEECIAL THANKS TO:(!)

Isisoftheunderground: Thank you so much... that really does make me happy.

Squabbit: Uh.. thanks i think? Suggestions on improvement are ALWAYS welcome. heh and i luv ur name. its cute.

Taeniaea: Thank you Thank you Thank you! (Makes big cookie eyes at you) thats so awsome. I luv you! (yea, im a bit emotoinal over my story... heh heh heh).

Anyway, next chapter comming soon(ish) i promise to the few of you who are actually reading my story! make sure to tell me if its starting to go bad ok? ok.

XOX nanirain

He made it about five paces before turning around and looking at her. "Oh, I'm Tetsuya by the way." He paused and looked at her, as if trying to remember something. "What did you say your name was again?"

Kagome opened her mouth to tell him but was stopped by a dull feeling that began to sink into her head, followed by terrified realization and shock. "I…" She said slowly, feeling the tears start to well up in her eyes. She choked on her words, struggling before finally forcing herself to speak. "I don't know."

Tetsuya blinked and looked at her, obviously surprised at her response. But soon his blue eyes showed that he believed she wasn't lying. His expression changed to pity, and it was so upsetting that it drove Kagome to shed her first tear.

She followed Tetsuya down a series of long halls, all the while trying to bit back her tears and fight away the horrible hollow feeling in her chest. It hadn't taken her very long before she realized that she didn't remember anything at all before waking up in the under-cellar room. She could remember wandering around the empty halls, meeting Tetsuya, hearing him playing the shamisen, escaping from that horrible room, and waking up encased in some sort of solid… before that… there was… nothing. The only thing she met was her fear and frustration of not being able to remember. It was as if there was a large brick wall somewhere in her brain that prevented her from looking back into her life. She knew she hadn't lost her memories, and knew that they were just beyond that wall. She could feel them. But she couldn't find them.

Tetsuya finally broke the silence. "So do you know where you're from?" he asked gently. "You look native."

She nodded, in reality not having a clue whether she looked native or not. She couldn't remember what she looked like either. All she could seem to make out from examining herself without a mirror was she was unnaturally pale and her hair was long and black.

"What's native?" She asked after a bit. "Where am I?"

Tetsuya gave her that look again, that pitying look. She wished he would stop. Whenever he looked at her like that she felt like breaking down and crying. "You're in Japan."

"Oh." She said, feeling slow and dumb. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

That put them back into another awkward silence that neither of them seemed to know how to break. They traveled that way for a long time, in silence, and the hallways were long and bare. They seemed to stretch into an eternity without change or variation. Kagome wondered how Tetsuya kept himself from getting lost, when everything looked the same. Eventually, she felt her legs weakening and her mental will lessening steadily. All she wanted to do was sit down and rest for a while. That was all. But she didn't have the nerve to ask Tetsuya for some reason, so she continued to follow him silently. Finally he seemed to realize that something was bothering her.

"Are you alright?" The older mans' face was kind and concerned, and strangely handsome as he stared down at her. "Do you need to rest for a while?"

She was about to admit that she was exhausted when she noticed the way he was looking at her. His intense blue eyes regarded her as if she were some weakened toddler who was following him around because she was lost and incompetent. She didn't want him to think of her that way. For some reason, that feeling compelled her to go on. She shook her head, smiling at him. "No, I'm fine, thanks. How much further until we find your father?"

"Just a little while…" he said reluctantly, still worried about her, "But you look awful. Are you sure you don't want to sit down for a while?"

Kagome shook her head, a little annoyed at his persistence. She wished he would stop tempting her like that. "I feel fine." She said with a bit more force.

Tetsuya's face hardened, apparently he was getting more and more determined. "Well you don't look fine." He said, with an air of determination. "Here, let me go get you a cushion from the next room and you can rest for a while."

Kagome didn't argue this time. Instead she watched as Tetsuya left her and entered a room down the hallway. He returned soon with a blue satin pillow and placed it in the ground on the hallway. Kagome smiled as sweetly as she could at him.

"Really, its fine." She said. "I would like to keep moving." It was true. Now that the option of resting had been presented to her, she couldn't stand the thought of sitting still. She knew that if she stopped moving, everything that had happened to her would sink in. She would realize that she was in a hopeless situation, and that everything had gone wrong. And then she would weaken. If she sat down and rested, she felt as if she would never have the strength to make herself stand up again.

Tetsuya sighed and tossed his auburn hair out of his face with a sideways nod of his head. "Very well, then." He said, picking up the pillow and carrying it with him down the hall. Kagome could tell that he was keeping it in case he thought she needed to rest again. He kept the pillow locked against his chest, as if he were worried that someone was going to show up and take it from him. His knuckles were white against the bright blue satin. As Kagome walked, she continued to try and remember something… anything… but the more and more she tried, the weaker and weaker she felt. It was as if trying to remember was sapping the energy from her. She felt sick and dizzy, but she needed to keep trying. She needed to remember something.

"This is ridiculous." Tetsuya's strong, smooth voice broke her concentration. She looked up to see Tetsuya watching her with frustrated blue eyes.

"You're so stubborn! You're going to walk yourself dead!" With that, the young man scooped a startled Kagome up off the floor into his arms, and proceeded to carry her bridal style down the hall. The pillow pressing against her back.

Kagome blushed furiously, feeling her stomach squirm with embarrassment. "No, Tetsuya, really. Thank you, but-"

"No." Tetsuya said, his eyes locked firmly ahead. "I won't hear of it. You've obviously been through something terrible, and you deserve a rest. Now stay still and relax while I take you to father. We don't have that much further to travel."

Kagome gave in, her sore feet throbbing and her head spinning. But as she lay there, in Tetsuya's arms, she started thinking. That was a mistake. She suddenly felt so weak and vulnerable and stupid. Something had gone really wrong, and she was in such a helpless position, being carried bridal style around a huge, cold mansion by some man she didn't know. She didn't know anything, couldn't remember anything, couldn't find any of the memories that she was desperately struggling to get to, didn't know who she was even, or what she looked like. How had all of this happened? Soon, Kagome was sobbing into Tetsuya's kimono.

The older man was baffled at first, so he just let her cry in his arms while he watched her. "It's going to be alright." He said finally, to the sobbing girl in his arms. "You'll see. My father's a really nice man. He'll be able to help you out. Everything will be fine. There's no way anyone could throw a girl like you out into the streets."

Kagome sniffled and lay limply in Tetsuya's arms, her hand clutching his shoulder, her face buried into his chest, as she listened to the rhythm of his softly-falling feet. Soon, he came to a stop.

"We're here."

In some small way, Kagome was disappointed. She had finally felt comfortable, for the first time since she woke up in the cellar. She had found a bit of peace and protection in Tetsuya's strong arms. They were like protective barriers wrapped around her and ensuring her that she would be safe. A few minutes ago, she had been mortified by the thought of him holding her in his arms, but now she would have given anything to stay there for just a little bit longer.

"Let me stop crying first." She mumbled as she was set down onto her sore feet again. "I don't want to show up blubbering like an idiot." She used the heel of her hand, which was smooth and soft, to wipe away her stinging tears. "Sorry." She muttered.

"Why?"

"I totally broke down back there." She said quietly. "I didn't mean to get your kimono wet."

"That's what you're worried about?" Kagome looked up, slightly afraid that he would be giving her that pitying look again. The one she couldn't stand. But instead, she met a warm smile and beautiful blue eyes. "You've been through hell and back again, you don't remember who you are or where you're from, and you're worried that you got my kimono wet?" He half laughed at her childishness, making Kagome smile.

When he was done his eyes were sparkling. "Whoever you are, you must be a great woman."

Kagome blushed, her heart pounding. "Thank you."

"Come on," he said, putting his hand casually on her shoulder, making her feel relaxed. "Let's go see Father."

Her relaxation vanished. Suddenly she was very nervous, and incredibly afraid. "Are you sure he'll be ok with this?" She asked tentatively, brushing her hair behind her ear and looking up at Tetsuya meekly.

"He'll be fine, I promise." There was so much confidence in Tetsuya's voice that she couldn't help but believe him. It was clear from the small smile on Tetsuya's face, and the gleam in his blue eyes that he looked up to his father a great deal. But still, she was so nervous that her stomach could have dropped out onto the floor. She wished she didn't have to meet the Lord of the castle. She wished she could just stay with Tetsuya. That would have been nice.

Tetsuya led her through a doorway to a shuddered curtain that was plain and brown. It hung from the ceiling, and acted as a sort of shield, one that only allowed you to see vague shadowy figures on the other side. Kagome tried to peer through it to make out the Lord, but could not determine which shapes were furniture and which would belong to a human. The light was dim and thick, the air cold and thin. For someone who was supposed to be such a pleasant man, he lived in a very unpleasant room.

"My Lord, and father," Tetsuya called to the curtain. "There is someone here who I want you to meet." He said, glancing down at Kagome and smiling at her. She smiled back as well as sshe could, but her heart was so busy pounding in her chest that she had trouble focusing on anything else.

"Come in, Tetsuya." Came a deep, pensive voice. Kagome shivered when she heard it. There was something about that voice that seemed… strange.

With one last reassuring smile at the girl beneath him, Tetsuya, keeping his arm firmly around Kagome's shoulder, pushed back the brown shuddered curtain, and Kagome came face to face with a man. He was pale, and lean, his thick black hair was pulled up into a high pony-tail, most likely for convenience. He had milky slate blue eyes that widened in shock when he saw her. Kagome suddenly felt the urge to go running out of the room. There was something about this man.

"This is my father." Tetsuya said proudly, gazing at his father with love and admiration. "Naraku."

A/N: Next chapter comming soonish. I promise. And it would be so nice if you reviewed... it really would. (Hint hint, wink wink, saynomore, saynomore).

XOX nanirain