"Kagome?"

The words penetrated her skull and then her mind. Whose voice is that? All she wanted was to sleep more. She rolled over and curled herself into a ball. She was dreaming once more of Sesshoumarou. Not like the achingly sweet initial dream she had, this was light and soothing but. . .somehow, she wanted that first dream because it felt so real.

"KAGOME WAKE UP!!!"

She vaguely heard the sound of wood being pushed and slammed to the side. That was the door probably. . .Then there was loud footsteps against the wooden floorboards. She was hearing but not listening entirely. The next thing she knew, someone pulled her up and shook her so hard. Her back had been on the floor while she slept so when she suddenly changed position, the sunlight flooded into her eyes, sharp and hurting. She couldn't keep her eyes closed anymore. She snapped them open and looked upon a man with dog ears and long bushy white hair, not to mention fangs and golden eyes. The sight frustrated her.

"INU-YASHA SIT!!!"

At once Inu-yasha fell on his chest, causing a big crater to form on the floor. Darn. . .He forgot about the spell on his necklace. His muscles tensed in irritation. After worrying and searching for hours, is this all that she had to say? He gritted his teeth. "Why'd you do that for?" He shouted from beneath, unable to see Kagome's face.

"Let me ask you the same thing! Why'd you have to shake me just to wake me up?" Kagome retorted and before she can say more, a bundle of fur suddenly jumped into her arms. "Shippo!"

"Kagome! We've been looking for hours and we. . ." the little fox-boy was almost in tears. Kagome hugged him in assurance. Shippo looked up to her as the mother he never had and she felt guilty for leaving him. She felt him reach out and touch her head. "Are you hurt, Kagome? You have bandages on your head."

Kagome's hand immediately reached out to touch the side of her head. The rough fabric came in contact with her fingers and she even felt the dried blood on it. She must have hurt herself in the pit she had fallen in. The only problem was. . .who saved her from it and who tended to her wounds "I'm fine, Shippo. But. . ." She felt confused. What just happened? How did she get here? She looked up almost expecting some kind old lady standing by holding a bowl of soup for them but instead her eyes fell upon the two people leaning on the wall. The girl in warrior clothes smiled at her and the monk beside the girl grinned.

"Sango! Miruko! Are you all alright? What happened?" Sango wearily sat beside her and dropped her humonguous boomerang weapon on the floor. She had dirt on her clothes and everybody had some on too. She looked as though they just came from a battle.

"Nothing to worry about Kagome. Kikyo outsmarted us and she had us trapped in an energy-reducing sphere. We saw you when you arrived before we all passed out. We were right there in the same field as you and Kikyo but you couldn't see us because of the sphere."

"And when we woke up, we were already lying on the ground! We were suddenly free and Kikyo was gone!" Shippo continued the tale. "It was still night when we woke up and we tried to find you but you were also nowhere to be found. There was a huge crater right there on the field Kagome. It was like someone stuck a sword and tore it open!"

"Enough of your overexaggerated comments, Shippo." Miruko sighed. "I deduce that someone defeated Kikio and who else to do that but you Kagome! You have all our thanks."

Kagome shook her head. "No, Miruko. I did not save defeat Kikio. I was being chased into a pit. I passed out and woke up only to find myself here!"

"That's strange." Sango's brows furrowed in confusion. "But there's nobody else. . "

Something was trying to reveal itself from the back of Kagome's mind but she can't seem to put a finger on what that is. She concentrated. She must have missed something. Her eyes travelled all over the house, on the wall, the floor, the hallway, the dirt path leading toward the forest, the window, the ceiling. . .And suddenly, her body jerked as though something had hit her. She remember where she was! This scene, this place, this house was in the dream she had where Sesshoumarou was. . .

She blushed at the thought of Sesshoumarou. . .It was all a dream. The full demon had told her so. Everything then was so hazy and full of darkness and moonlight just as dreams always do. A part of her was happy that it was all a dream because it meant that she didn't embarassed herself on the real Sesshoumarou and another part was grieving because she wanted it all to be real.

Remembering the dream did not answer any of the questions plaguing them now. It added even more questions. Why am I in the same place as the place in my dream? Is it just a coincidence? Is my dream telling me something? At her loss of answers, she ran a hand across her face in frustration. She thanked the heavens for their savior and she guessed it was enough for now to be saved.

"We will never know, won't we?" Sango said, getting to her feet. "We'll really have to go now. Obviously, there's a village nearby. Let's ask for lodgings there and refresh ourselves. It had been a long night."

"You're right, Sango." Kagome agreed and stood up too . Inu-yasha already recovered from the spell and had leapt out of the house in haste as though place was burning. He crossed his arms and started to walk toward the village, a look of irritation on his face, not bothering to wait for them. He was angered not only because Kagome made him embrace the floor but because of Kagome in the whole. He didn't had the ability to save her the night before and he felt utterly helpless. He was supposed to protect all of the people in the group. . .ESPECIALLY Kagome but last night, they were at the mercy of the enemy with no protection at all. He himself wondered who their savior was but decided not to think about it. Whoever that person was, he won't let that person do the saving again. He must brush up his act and be the savior next time. It's not that he wanted to be hailed a savior. He just want everyone to be protected and he feels better if he's the one doing the protecting.

Everyone followed the stomping creature ahead of them. Inu-yasha really was getting worked up in this early morning. Everyone was tired and spent. At least there's someone who will tow them now when they're at their lowest. Kagome was at the rear, immersed in the questions swimming around her mind. All the while, her clenched right fingers were absently stroking a bump on her right palm. A bump? It didn't hurt at all and she must have hit it with a rock somewhere. Nevertheless, she opened her hand to examine the bump. She gasped. This was the hand she used to caress Sesshoumarou's cheek in her dream. This was the same hand Sesshoumarou kissed and this was the same spot he nibbled on until it became red! The realization struck her like an impending train. No. . .she must be crazy for even hinting that her dream was actually real just because she had a real proof. It wasn't actually a proof. Maybe she did hit it somewhere in the same spot before she dreamed. Maybe it was there all along.

The house, the mark on her palm. . .what else? She challenge fate to give her more misleading clues that prove her dream was real. It wasn't true. It was all a stupid dream of a girl who will never have the chance to tell her beloved what she feels. Not being able to tell is not actually tiring. She felt a thrill seeing him. . .as though she was just a child with a crush on a celebrity. It didn't hurt very much now but. . .she also know there's a big possibility that it will hurt in the future.

Inu-yasha felt someone crash into his back. He turned around abruptly only to face Kagome pushed to the ground at the force which emanated from the collision. She landed on her bottom but the ground was near and the fall didn't hurt at all. It only made Kagome fall into a daze. She was in that state for a moment until Inu-yasha grunted and pulled Kagome back to her feet. She swayed and almost lost her balance if not because of Inu-yasha's solid form. He held her now starting to get a bit confused of her strange actions. She fell on the left side of his frame until finally like a snap, she awakened from her daze.

"Are you alright, Kagome?" Miruko asked tentatively. They were watching the two the whole time.

"I'm sorry. I'm fine. I just fell." Kagome managed a weak smile and left Inu-yasha's hold to walk on her own. Actually, I was thinking of the dream again where SESSHOUMAROU was! That was the full answer but she dare not tell that to them or to anyone. She looked back to them and to Inu-yasha. He was frowning at her, his brows raised, and his amber eyes kind of clouded over. He must be preparing to say something sarcastic to me. She remarked bleakly.

"Let's go." was all Inu-yasha said as he walked past them. Gone were those strange looks only to be replaced by an impassivity that was so much like Sesshoumarou. Kagome's heart ached at the sight. It was all because of that stupid dream. It worsened everything. She was just supposed to be a child having a crush on a far-off star but now. . .she was a girl having her first real taste of passion and love only to find that it will never be hers. She was starting to get mad.

They walked in silence until they reached the village. Everyone was hospitable and gave them everything they wanted. Kagome wanted a hot bath so badly to get the steam off her. Thank goodness there was a hot spring nearby. She jumped into the watery goodness and indulged in the calming sensation it gave. For a while, she can forget about the dream and Sesshoumarou.

"Sesshoumarou?" She thought she saw someone in the shadows behind the trees. She was alone in the hot water because Sango was still changing. She wondered if Sesshoumaro will really appear. She blushed at the thought. She was naked in the water!

"Rin, let's go" Sesshoumarou said and turned his back to walk away from the pools. He had been looking for Rin only to find her sitting behind a tree. She beckoned to him and almost like a fool, he followed only to be met by the gaze of the bearer of the Shikon no Tama jewel. He cursed at himself and immediately turned away. Surely, she saw him but only as a shadow and if she's a big fool, she would follow thus, he must go now.

Rin scrambled after Sesshoumarou. She lifted her big, innocent eyes at him. "Are you mad at me Lord Sesshoumarou?"

"No" The child did not know anything and it was not wise to fling his irritation at her.

"I was going to talk to Lady Kagome but you arrived so I decided not to."

"What for?"

"I wanted to see if she's alright. I wanted to tell her that it was us who saved her."

Sesshoumarou tried to keep the displeasure from his voice because it would show his emotions. "Don't do that, Rin." His voice was cold, calm and serious and he was sure that Rin would get the message.

"Why not?" She was confused.

"Because it's better that she does not know, do you understand me?" He finally looked down at her and immediately saw the discomfort and confusion in Rin's eyes. He inwardly sighed. He did not want to scare her.

"Oh. . of course, I will not tell her." She heard the sternness in Sesshoumarou's voice and saw anger almost clouding his eyes. She dropped her gaze away from him. Good job Rin! You made him angry at you!

"Come now Rin. Let's not mingle ourselves with them. It will only bring more trouble."

Rin wanted to calm the anger that she thought she saw. She gingerly slipped her hand into Sesshoumarou's. For a second, she thought he was going to pull away and to her happiness, he did not do so but held on instead to led her back to where Jaken was. Rin smiled. Lord Sesshoumarou is actually a nice person. He just doesn't show that part of him very much. She wondered if Lady Kagome had seen her master's kindness and she giggled at the thought. What a wonderful story it would be! She had a feeling that the story had already started.