He was still stuck in this infernal forest grove. Every time he tried to leave, he found himself flung back into his prison, none too gently. After the handful of times, he'd managed to get himself knocked out or severely injured, he'd taken to carefully patrolling the perimeter lost in thought. His human body healed very slowly without the benefit of his demon powers and it would do no good to get himself killed in this purgatory.

The gods weren't so cruel as to let him starve to death while he fought with his aptly named inner demons and every morning, he would stumble upon some form of sustenance. He fought against it, at first. He would not rely on the charity of an invisible entity to survive and he stubbornly refused to consume human food. He still deemed the act below him, but finally, hunger won out and he grudgingly began to eat the provided nourishment. He needed to survive, that didn't mean he had to like it. The answers he sought were slow in coming and only led to more questions. He was a solitary being, but the longer he went without the contact of another living thing, the more quickly he began to feel quite keenly the absence of his traveling companions. He feared he may lose what was left of his sanity if he didn't find a way out soon.

His ruminations had taken an uncomfortable turn lately and he was forced to confront head-on his deeply rooted feelings of hatred toward his half-brother. Truth be told, his reasons for despising the hanyou were not solely his fault. Maybe things would have been different if they had truly been brothers, but Sesshoumaru was having trouble forgiving his father's role in their adversity. Inu were supposed to be loyal and it wasn't Inuyasha's fault their father had cheated on Sesshoumaru's mother, but his infidelity had driven a sizable wedge through their family. Had Inutaisho not abandoned them, maybe his mother would have been the caring and nurturing woman she should have been and he would not have become such a cold and unfeeling creature.

When Rin came into his life, the icy shell around his heart had started to thaw just a little. He firmly believed humans had their place, and it wasn't with him, but the little girl had wormed her way into his good graces before he realized what was happening. This too led him to the conclusion that maybe he didn't hate all humans, but the woman who had torn his family apart still held his loathing. It was this reasoning that had him shunning the romantic overtures of the females in his court. Women were not to be trusted. He would never risk taking a homewrecker to his bed.

Little by little he found himself letting go of his malice toward his brother as they began to encounter each other with increasing frequency during the hunt for Naraku and the jewel. He didn't back down from a challenge when it presented itself, but his heart just wasn't in the fight. He no longer sought to end Inuyasha's life over his father's fang. He had wanted his brother's sword because he believed that his father owed it to him for betraying his mother and leaving them to fend for themselves. He was resentful that the bastard child had received such favor while he had been left in the cold and desired to take it from him in a misguided act of revenge against their sire. He had banished enough ill-will that when the time came for the final battle, they were able to work together nearly seamlessly to take down their shared enemy.

He directed his thoughts away from Inuyasha and his father. They were leading to questions he knew he wasn't ready to consider. It seemed his brother had no shortage of luck when it came to those who cared for him. Their father had chosen to die to protect the whelp, and though he detested the woman whose name he would not honor by thinking it, she too had done all she could to protect him until her death. He had even had the affections of a holy priestess, though he had squandered it in his lust for power, all thanks to his human weakness.

Then there was Kagome…No he refused to let his thoughts linger on her. He would lose his mind completely if he didn't stop there. He had to get out of this confinement and soon.

When Kagome regained consciousness, she found herself spread out on a large, unfamiliar cream-colored was dozing in a matching armchair adjacent to her feet and the judging by the orange tinted light filtering through the window blinds, the sun was beginning to set. She stretched stiffly and scooted into a sitting position as she looked around.

"You're awake," he yawned, and scratched his head in an undeniably dog-like fashion, "feeling up to visitors? The kit is going nuts with worry out there."

She nodded once and pulled the blanket that had been draped over her up around her shoulders. He eyed her over carefully before inclining his head in agreement and going to the door.

There was a commotion and her friends came flooding in, lead by Shippo who rushed over and threw himself onto the couch next to her to snuggle into her side.

"Are you okay, mama? We were so worried about you!" He hugged tightly to her waist and she lazily draped an arm around his small shoulders.

"I'll be alright, Shippo, I'm just kind of in shock. I can't believe I didn't remember him. I could feel that something was wrong. Why couldn't I remember?" Her focus was far away and as they all looked at her, they knew her attention was on a being that was not in the room.

"Don't worry about the bast...uh, my brother, Kagome. I'm sure he's fine wherever he is. We're all here in one piece and he is the toughest out of all of us. He's probably off doing his own thing now that he doesn't have anything to worry about."

Inuyasha's words did nothing to assuage her fears. Something was wrong, she could sense it. Her miko powers were long gone, but her instincts were still very much intact and they set her on edge whispering danger.

"That's just it, Yash," she said, using his human name, "we're all here. Together. You have changed so much because of the jewel. Even Jaken and Ah-Un have been transformed completely, but Sesshoumaru must be completely alone. He was the strongest of anyone. His pride was built upon being the strongest and most powerful demon that ever lived. What if he was changed too? I'm certain he has been. You know how he feels about humans. When he realizes what has happened and he loses everything that made up his identity, how is he going to react? He's going to be completely broken and he doesn't even have one friend to help him through it."

Inuyasha cringed as the full weight of her words hit him. Sesshoumaru was strong, that was true, but he knew that no matter how physically powerful his half-brother was, there was still weakness in his soul as a result of their father's dereliction. He knew the taiyoukai would have ended his own life before admitting it, but he was damaged.

Jaken chose that moment to interject.

"Miss Kagome, I know the great lord better than anyone. If ever there was a person who could find him and bring him back to his previous glory, it's you. I have faith in you. Rin, Ah-Un, and I will follow you in whatever you decide." The former kappa bowed low, an awkward gesture in his new body.

The show of loyalty awakened something in Kagome. If Sesshoumaru's most trusted companion believed she could find him, maybe she should believe in herself. All hope was not yet lost. Somehow the others had managed to find her, she had to trust that they would be reunited as well. She pushed aside the self-doubt telling her he wouldn't want to be found, especially by her, and resolved that she would do everything in her power to bring him home.