A/n: Ooooh, look at meee, I'm updating! Hey people, you need to review, or I might not write anymore...*sniff* All my teachers are telling me I'm not doing my work, and it's all for you people!!! I kinda laugh when my English teacher tells me to write more...hehe... ok, ending the fake guilt trip, I hope you have fun with this chapter! It's long! :D

Disclaimer: I disclaim...see? Says so right over there *Points to last chapter*

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Chapter 4 - The Meeting, and the Meddling

Kagome looked around at the forest she rode through, gazing admiringly at the various foliage. A few animals popped their heads out at her passing, but none came close. A couple birds were singing in the trees, and she tried to spot the one she heard clearly.

Then she saw it. The little bluebird sitting about twenty feet in front of her horse, up above in an oak tree. Closing her eyes, she tried to hone in on the bird's mind, sensing it's aura and it's presence.

Soon, it's singing stopped, and she felt it's full attention on her. She opened her eyes with a smile, and whistled to it. It flew to her immediately, landing on the top of the horse's head, smack dab between the beast's ears.

She almost burst into giggles. She loved doing this. Talking to animals as though they were people was a great pastime. Even if it did make her look a little nutty.

"Hello sweetling," she crooned, reaching out to stroke the bird with a forefinger. It leaned into her touch, chirping it's pleasure, which she also felt in her mind. "Would you take me to the hot spring?" She closed her eyes again, willing her known information about the spring and it's location into the bird's mind.

Once she was sure she'd given the bluebird everything she knew about the spring's whereabouts, she opened her eyes again and looked into the black eyes of the bird. They flashed blue for an instant, and Kagome cleared her throat nervously.

Now that bird was more intelligent. She couldn't always control the information she gave to people, and sometimes she gave them more. She knew that the bird now had substantial knowledge for a bird, knowledge that might put it in danger. She sighed, praying to the gods that that wouldn't happen, and that the bird would live normally.

Then the bird whistled and got her attention again. It took off, flying slowly so that the horse could trot at an easy pace. No point in rushing after all.

Kagome watched the little bluebird with fascination. It was free here, in its natural element. It had no problems in finding a home, it knew. It never had to worry about its parents, or its siblings. Or its crotchety old fart of a grandpa. It was free.

She sighed, wishing freedom for herself. It was hard to find a place to belong. A miko such as herself would roam from place to place, healing until the villagers would see her as something to fear, and then she would leave again. She didn't wish for that life at all.

She wanted to be a bluebird, flying freely for all its days until it found absolute contentment. And maybe a mate to share her life with.

Kouga was nice and all, but she didn't know him. What was the point of making an effort like that, if the person might turn out to be horrible somewhere along the road? She'd rather be friends with someone, get to know them with relatively little romantic indication. A little, of course, or nothing would ever happen.

She dreamed of her knight in shining armor, just like all those western tales. Of princesses and princes, dragons and fighting "the bad guys".

Of course, here there actually were dragons, and they were no fun at all. Unless you met a nice one, which was actually a pleasant experience if one went about it right...

She chuckled to herself. Sometimes she hated being a dreamer, someone who was never happy with what they had. Always wanting something more. But it was fun to dream.

She clucked to her horse, urging it forward. They continued on for a while, following the little bluebird wherever it went. Soon enough, maybe too soon, the territory began to look unfamiliar to Kagome, and she knew she'd just gone farther than she ever had before.

She began to think about her mother, about why she sent her on her way like this. Surely there were some ulterior motives here? She couldn't understand. Kagome had so many responsibilities back at her village, she wondered how, or why, on earth her mother would let her go. It really wasn't making any sense at all.

"Oh well," she said to herself, and to her horse, whose ears flitted back at the sudden noise. She was content with a hot spring to sink into every once in a while. She was thinking too much about this.

Another hour and 2 pit-stops later, they finally arrived at the hot spring. Looking past it, she could see the dark black and grey of the castle looming less than a mile away.

"Maybe I'll visit it later," she said to herself, and motioned to the little bluebird. She held out her hand to it, and it nuzzled against her bent fingers. She brought her hand to her mouth and kissed the top of its tiny little head. It chirped, and then flew away back into the forest, searching for its home.

Kagome sighed, staring after the bird longingly. Then she turned back to the wonderful hot spring before her and grinned in anticipation. Quickly, she closed her eyes and put her hands out, searching for anyone or anything that could happen upon her while she bathed. Content, she looked around the pool, and almost laughed.

There were large rocks spread all around the parameter of the spring, just perfect. She walked around, touching each stone briefly, adding a little power to each one. She came back to the rock she began at, and drew her arms up and clapped them together above her head. When she drew them down, a pink aura surrounded the area in a dome, then vanished as it became invisible.

Anyone passing by would see an empty, drained spring that - from the looks of it - had been dry for years.

Chortling in giddiness, she shed her clothing quickly, draping the items over her horse, who chewed contentedly on the grass inside Kagome's protection bubble. She almost jumped into the spring, but remembered her soap.

She searched through her bags, finally finding a little leather pouch full of sand soap. She broke a piece off of the larger chunk, then allowed herself to jump in, laughing when the sand stone turned into a mass of bubbles.

Once she was done cleaning herself, she just sat and enjoyed the pool's warmth, eventually slipping into a light sleep.

An few hours later, Kagome stretched, finally finished with packing her things on her horse. She'd taken a little lunch break, and that, plus her bath, was getting her feeling very energized.

So, she decided, I'm taking a walk.

Someone just decided something she'd regret for a long time.

~~~*~~~

Inuyasha paced up and down his battered room, every once in awhile knocking something off a pedestal or tearing something with his elongated claws. There was pain and conflict on his face, which was why no one else was in the room. He didn't want anyone to witness his pain.

He wanted his servants and everyone who had been his friend to see him like he used to be. Sure, this form was powerful, but he didn't want anyone else to leave his life. Not that he'd openly admit that.

Right now, he needed a plan. He wanted to be free from this curse, to be a hanyou again. He'd never realized, in all the time he'd wanted to be a demon, that it would be like this. This horrible pain every day, trying to deny himself the things his body seemed to want. It was slow and painful torture.

Kikyo. That hateful woman who had done this to him. He'd never understand it. She had been so kind, so loving. But he simply didn't want to settle down. And he certainly didn't want to become human for her. She was kind, and he liked her a lot. But that was asking a lot for someone you'd met only recently.

But Kikyo - poor lost soul - took that as a direct attack on the feelings between them. He couldn't straight out say he wasn't ready for any kind of marriage. No, he had to be an ass and even go so far as to mention love. It was his own fault for leading her on.

And now he was stuck like this. So he needed help. And fast.

~~~*~~~

Kagome swept a few stray hairs off her forehead. It was hot! If she knew that the temperature would go up like this, she wouldn't have come here.

She snorted a very unladylike snort. As if. She would have come here to this gigantic, beautiful, enrapturing castle just to satisfy her curiosity, whether or not it was hot.

Although, it was really hot. Maybe there would be water inside the abandoned castle? She sure hoped so.

As the castle loomed closer and closer, she began to hear noises. Not frightening noises. People noises. Ans as they got louder and louder, she began to think that maybe the castle wasn't, in fact, abandoned.

Sure enough, when she and the horse pushed through the last of the trees, Kagome saw a village. And there, behind it, was the castle. And it was biiig.

So she stood there in awe for a few moments, admiring her surroundings with something akin to horror. Her mother had lied! She'd said this place was abandoned! Had she meant for Kagome to discover this, or was it an accident?

Kagome had half a mind to go straight home, and kill her mother, but the other, curious and wonderful half, decided to stay and poke around.

She looked around at the village people and frowned. They looked...grumpy. Or sad. Or both, depending on age and gender.

She continued to frown, looking for any visible signs of Happy. But there was no Happy to be found. Kagome sighed, and then jumped in the saddle at the sight of a familiar face.

"Kaede baa-chan!" She ran to the old woman, who smiled and returned the furious hug. Kagome was a strong child, but what was she doing here? Was this what Higurashi-hime was speaking of?

"Kagome, what brings ye here?" She asked kindly. Kagome smiled giddily.

"Mama sent me here to take a bath Obaa-chan!" Kagome continued to smile, and Kaede fought the urge to shake her head at the girl.

"Hai, child, but why are ye here?" She gestured behind her to the village and the castle.

"Oh that,"Kagome replied. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I dunno. I was kind of curious about it." Then she hugged Kaede again. "It's been so long Obaa-chan."

Kaede smiled down at Kagome. It had been a while. She hadn't seen Kagome since she was a little girl. And now she was all of...?

"How old are ye child?" she asked kindly, a tiny voice speaking in the back of her mind.

"18 for 3 moons now Obaa-chan," she answered promptly. Kaede nodded slowly, a grin forming on her face.

"Come inside the castle, child, I have need of your assistance." Kagome complied happily, bounding swiftly into the castle.

Kagome looked up at the decorations inside the castle, and her mouth hung wide open, never having seen such wealth before. Servants bustled about, heaps of food piled onto platters in the hands.

She was feeling at home already.

~~~*~~~

From up above, Inuyasha stood growling at the window. A miko? Who the hell was she, and why was Kaede letting her in?

Inuyasha paced up and down his room, knocking things over in his fury. Kaede was up to something. He could smell it. More like he could smell her fear, and that meant the same thing. She was definitely up to something.

He'd bet anything it had to do with him. The worst thing about this entire ordeal was that he still thought the same thoughts, felt the same about most everything.

Mind, he was angrier about more, but that didn't count. If he said he was still the same, then he was. No argument.

And that girl, who the hell was she?! He'd never seen her before, though she did look a little too familiar. And therefore, she had no right to intrude.

He began to move to open his door, but stopped before his claws reached the handle. Thinking, for once, he ran over to a long forgotten chest.

He pried it open with a claw, breaking locks quickly and easily. Finally, he grasped what he was aiming to find.

Inuyasha held up the mask and looked at it, a smirk fighting it's way onto his face. How ironic. It was a dog mask, one fashioned to look like his late father.

"If the old man could see me now..." he growled. He didn't remember much about his father, but he knew enough to assume that he would be mightily pissed about this.

Placing the mask on his face, he stomped over to the cracked mirror. His red eyes were hidden by shadows, making them look merely dark, and the blue shone through a little. The purple stripes on his face were shielded from sight as well. His fangs were the only thing on his face that weren't hidden, but he didn't care. Those and his ears were still like a hanyou.

At least she'd know he was a hanyou. He couldn't let her know about his transformation. Inuyasha slapped himself when reality set in. He couldn't let her leave at all! No one was supposed to know about him even being alive!

Finally, he deemed himself worthy of being seen in public - albeit a small public - and managed to only stomp down the stairs. Normally he trampled, but he wanted information. He couldn't get any if this bitch ran away.

~~~*~~~

Kagome pulled her eyes off the tapestries and focused on Kaede. It was very difficult to do, but she managed somehow.

"Child, I must ask a favor of ye," the old woman croaked out. Kagome raised an eyebrow. 'What's with all the favors,' she wondered. 'Ooo, I bet Kaede had ulterior motives too!' Kagome smiled innocently at her great-god-mother.

"The lord of our castle has taken a dire illness, and ye are the first miko who's passed recently. We'd all appreciate it if ye might take the lord under your wing," she finished.

Kagome tried not to pout. 'No ulterior motives at all.'

"Hai!" she said spiritedly. Might as well do something here. She'd send a message to her mother tonight, if she could somehow -

"Oi! Wench!"

Kagome blinked. Intrigued, and ignoring Kaede's horror-stricken face, she turned around...

And screamed.

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OOOO!!!! I just wrote you guys 5 ½ pages! Oh yeah! Good for me! Teehee, please review?? And read my other stories! They are in dire need of critiquing and/or loving! :) Paweeeese? Alright, have fun reading and REVIEWING! ^ _ ^ Love ya'll.... -Ariana