Kagome jumped a bit as her mind collided with her body again. She quickly recognized that she was back inside the jewel.

"Kuwabara!" She shouted out. He had heard her before, he had talked to her. She waited a several minutes. Maybe his room was further away from the garden. Maybe Yukina was trying to wake him and the others up. He would come; he would let her know it was ok again.

Slowly Kagome curled into herself. Had it all been another illusion. Just another one of the jewels sick games. It had to be.

"I never left. I was always here. Just a trick not real." She had to convince herself of it. Otherwise the pain of being outside of the jewel only to be trapped once again would just be too much to bear. Still even if it was a trick she cried for the friends she had left behind once again.

(Genki's)

Yukina ran through the hall to find the boys. She didn't have to travel far because her shout had already woken them up. Genki was not far behind.

"What is it?" Yusuke asked the second he saw her. Hiei was looking over her with a critical eye.

"Kagome… she…" Yukina tried to explain quickly but she was out of breath. As soon as Kuwabara heard Kagome's name he quickly looked around He didn't see her anywhere. But she should be if Yukina still had the jewel.

"Slow down. What happened to Kagome?" Kurama urged while remaining one of the only calm ones in the group. Kuwabara was eager for an answer but knew that if he rushed Yukina it would just take longer.

"We were out in the garden. Kagome wanted to see the stars. She looked so peaceful that I wanted to give her a few moments. I just went a few feet away. I didn't mean for anything to happen." Yukina was almost in tears explaining what happened. She felt like it was her fault and she couldn't get the panicked look of Kagome's face out of her mind.

"Yukina what happened to the jewel where is it?" Kuwabara asked gently.

"A demon took it. He just ran out and snatched it up." Yukina really was crying now. Kurama stepped in and tried to comfort her.

"Damn." Yusuke shouted.

"It's not your fault." Hiei told her "Which way did the demon run off?"

Yukina pointed in the direction that she had seen him take off in. Kurama let Genki take over caring for Yukina as the team quickly gave chase. They were going to get Kagome back.

(With Shippo)

Shippo had heard the girl's shout but ignored it. He took off towards the forest he was more comfortable their and had the advantage. He knew that she would alert the rest of the house and no doubt they would take chase.

Shippo ran for a couple hours. He made it quite away out before he stopped. He looked down at the jewel second guessing his decision to leave it with Kagome's family. He had wanted to give them a chance to grieve. Though now he thought that he should have just kept the jewel with him to begin with.

He was lost in thought longer then he meant to be it wasn't long before the team caught up with him.

"Hey you! Give the jewel back!" Yusuke shouted.

Shippo only smirked at them "And why should I? You're the careless idiots who left it out in the yard."

Hiei growled right back not even bothering to make a comment.

"Really we are going to need it back. It would be much easier if you just handed it over." Kurama may have been smiling at him but Shippo caught on to the subtle threat lying underneath.

The tension was broken however when Kuwabara stepped up with a grief-stricken look on his face.

"She's crying." He said softly.

Shippo looked down at the jewel. It was obvious that he was talking about Kagome. As Shippo thought back he did remember Koenma saying that one of the team could communicate with Kagome inside the jewel.

"What do you mean Kuwabara?" Kurama asked

Kuwabara ignored him and looked over at Shippo. He didn't want to attack because he might accidently hit the jewel so he did the only thing left he could think of with Kagome's sobs reaching his ears.

"Please, I can hear her. She's crying. Let me talk to her please." He begged.

Shippo was reluctant. He didn't want to trust these boys with the jewel and Kagome. Though if Kagome was truly hurting and this boy could help her he would concede even if only for a sort while.

"This doesn't mean I trust you." He said slowly handing the jewel to Kuwabara.

The others relaxed slightly now that the jewel was back in their care. Kurama and Hiei kept a very close watch on Shippo their looks conveying that they clearly didn't trust him either.

"Kagome" She threw her hands over her ears. She wouldn't let it trick her again. Not now her fear and pain was still too fresh.

"I'm right here" She shook her head

No you're not. It's the jewel, the jewel is laying another mind game. She thought.

"Come on Kagome answer me please."

"Go away!" She shouted "Just leave me alone for once. No more tricks please. No more false visions." She wanted just a small amount of piece from the jewel. She knew it would always torment her but to come back so soon after its last torment and then for the jewel to talk in his voice was beyond cruel.

Kuwabara was shocked by the answer he got. "What is it?" Yusuke asked

"She doesn't believe it's really me. She thinks the last day was a trick from the jewel. That none of it was real."

"What do you mean?" Shippo asked surely if he had just been talking to her it wouldn't have produced that large of a reaction to their separation of just a couple hours.

"Idiot." Hiei called him

Kurama glared over at Shippo. He considered it his fault that everything happened. "We had temporally freed Kagome from the jewel. She had been able to project herself out of the jewel. However because she's still new to projection techniques she couldn't move far away from the jewel."

"When you stole the jewel, and ran off, you forced her mind back inside." Yusuke summed up

Shippo was looking as white as a ghost. Koenma had said they made progress freeing her not that she was projecting herself out of the jewel. If he had known that everything would have been different. He could have talked with her. Seen his mother again. Now she was too scared of being hurt to even communicate with Kuwabara. It was his entire fault.

A bit more drama in this chapter but I like it. I do have an idea to get Kagome back out thanks to some wonderful reviews I've gotten in the past. So please review and tell me what you think.