Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props to Rumiko Takahashi for her baffling greatness.

Chapter 4

A piercing, feminine shriek broke through the campsite, waking every person lying around the dimming fire. The pack was camping in a clearing just beyond Edo because Sango wanted to spend one last night in the outdoors before retiring to the comforts of their hut for the remainder of her pregnancy. She only had about a month and a half left before the baby came.

"Kagome!" It was the pregnant taijiya that reacted the quickest, getting to her feet and rushing towards her sister from the future. Before she could reach her however, her husband gripped her around her rounding waist to stop her. That crazy look in their friend's eyes didn't bode well for anyone who tried to get close, much less for a fragile woman who was with child. Well, technically, Sango was far from being a fragile woman but Miroku wouldn't let her risk their baby's life.

"Get away from me! Traitor!" Kagome spat bitterly at the restrained slayer as she backed away hastily, her eyes locked with the older woman's own chocolate orbs.

"But Kagome, I haven't done anything. Tell me what's wrong?" Sango insisted from the secure embrace of Miroku's arms. What could possibly be going through Kagome's head? Was it the curse that was making her act so irrationally?

"I saw you! I saw the red fading from your eyes! You're working for Naraku, aren't you? He's back, isn't he?!" The priestess insisted, back peddling until she was stopped by a strong hand that clasped around the back of her neck. She turned panicked eyes upon the taiyoukai who towered over her by a minimum of a foot and a half. His intense golden eyes locked with hers and a growl of warning rippled out of his throat in a guttural echo.

"You were having a nightmare, miko. Calm down." He spoke through clenched teeth. He knew he shouldn't be angry at her for the disturbance; it wasn't her fault that the curse affected her in such a way. However, he found it harder than he had expected to control his annoyance. That scream had aggravated his ears in a way that no sound had for a long while. He could tell Inuyasha felt the same from the way he was rubbing at his soft ears just a few feet away, standing a short distance in front of Sango for added protection.

"A…nightmare? But," Kagome stuttered and tried to struggle out of his firm grasp in her incredulity. It had been so real, how could it have been just a nightmare. She'd seen Sango send a wicked smirk at her as they all went to sleep, scarlet eyes matching Naraku's flashing at her. It was a warning, a sign. They hadn't really won, Naraku wasn't truly dead. He was hiding somewhere!

"No, it was real! He's using her! She's another one of his puppets!" With new determination, the miko struggled harder in Sesshoumaru's grasp and desperately tried to gain ground on the now fearful taijiya. With a precise pressure exactly where his thumb gripped, Kagome fell limp in his hold. Sometimes, pressure points came in handy.

Ignoring everyone's gasp at the underhanded technique, Sesshoumaru slid her body to the ground softly before placing his left arm under her knees and his right one around her upper back. Lifting her to his chest, he trudged back to his previous resting place against a nearby tree. He settled back down and held her to his body, wrapping his fur pelt around her back for comfortable support. In a way that calmed agitated inu pups, he let a constant, soft growl take over his chest so it would resonate through her body and lull her into a pleasant sleep. He would keep it up until she woke up in the morning, assuring that she would have no more nightmares this night.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha began, approaching his brother and his unconscious best friend.

"Shut your mouth, little brother. We will speak of this in the morning." The young lord hushed his half-sibling. It would not do for the whelp's voice to agitate the slumbering miko through the comfort brought by his rumbling chest. So reluctantly, Inuyasha left to go find his own vacated spot at the base of a tree across their camp. Slowly, Miroku and Sango settled back down also, happy they'd left Shippou back at Kaede's with Rin and Jaken. It would not do for the little kit to see his mother figure act in such a way.

Kirara, who had stayed calm despite the whole affair, cuddled back up to Sango's side after giving a warning nudge at Sesshoumaru's boot. She would watch him and make sure he did nothing that would threaten Kagome, even if he had just knocked her unconscious using a pressure point at the base of her neck. It had been for the better, to calm her down more than to keep the others safe because they all knew Kagome couldn't hurt them even if she wanted to. Her soul was too gentle for such senseless harm.

The rest of the night and the next morning went by smoothly, only the two inu brothers had stayed awake to make sure Kagome was well. After a hearty breakfast of fish and noodles around the campfire, the group retired to the village, none speaking of last night's incident. One thing was for sure though; the curse had definitely worked. Slowly, Kagome's dreams were blurring with her reality, making her believe that things her mind made up while she slept were in fact real. Would she have really injured the pregnant slayer she considered her sister if the two of them hadn't been held back from each other? Was any curse powerful enough to make Kagome go against the kind essence of her soul?

It was nearly time for lunch, after Miroku and Sango had went to the springs to bathe, when Kagome spoke up. The rest of the group were idly following Rin and Shippou as they frolicked around the outskirts of Edo and chased butterflies. Kagome turned to Inuyasha with a frown on her brow.

"I want to go home for a day or two. I need to get some notes from Ayumi for the upcoming algebra exam." She told him, sending a sidelong glance at the stoic youkai who was walking a few steps beside them. Inuyasha nodded in understanding.

"Alright, I'll take you home. I'll even stop in to mess with Souta a little bit." The hanyou joked as he swung his arm up to rest it around her shoulders.

"While you're at it, please don't bully my cat anymore. Poor Buyo's getting up there in age. And before we go, I need to go see Kaede for something." Kagome excused herself, making Inuyasha take his arm back so she could go join Kaede in her hut. "Both of you keep your ears to yourselves." She warned with a soft glare before taking off in a jog. The brothers turned to each other as soon as she was far enough so they could have their own discussion.

"We have to find a way to stop this from getting bad. Kagome doesn't deserve to become insane." Inuyasha spoke up first, his words almost echoing the demon lord's thoughts. Two pairs of golden eyes locked and Sesshoumaru nodded.

"We must go see my mother, then. You will come along this time since you were the bait used to lure us in last time." Pausing for a moment, Sesshoumaru continued. "My mother thinks you are weak and will not take kindly to your barbaric way of speech. This Sesshoumaru strongly encourages you to be on your worst behaviour. She does not deserve any measure of effort at respect."

"Don't know why I'm even askin' but if she tries anything, can I cut her down?" This had a barely there smirk rising on the elder brother's lips. Oh how their thoughts were going the same direction for once.

"You may try, half-demon." Inuyasha rolled his eyes and started strolling along once more.

"Don't start that crap today ya bastard, I thought we were on a first name basis now."

Back in Kaede's hut, Kagome thankfully took the object the old priestess was handing her. She slipped it into the pocket of her jeans and shot a smile at the woman who was like a grandmother to her in the Feudal Era.

"Now Kagome, are ye sure this will work? Ye could be wrong about it, ye know." Kaede warned as she took a seat on the other side of the fire pit where lunch was cooking for the group of ragtag people that was outside. She would be glad when things settled down and Sesshoumaru left; the demon instilled fear in the villagers and the children of the village were getting restless at the idea of playing with Sango's baby. Also, Rin had to get back to her learning and her practicing if she wanted to succeed.

"Well, it's the only thing I can think about that would make it possible. And yeah, they'll probably get angry with me but they'll get over it. I just really need this." Getting up off of her knees, the 17 year-old bowed in thanks and picked up her yellow backpack. She had to stock up on supplies while she was gone since Inuyasha had basically engulfed all of the ramen she had brought and she also wanted to bring some candy for Shippou. And an apology chocolate bar for Sango would make the both of them feel better about the night's incident.

The young miko left the small hut and headed in the direction of Inuyasha's forest where the Goshinboku and the well resided. Both of those meant the world to her and she was glad they were so close to each other; a reminder of meeting Inuyasha and all of her adventures through time. She caught up to the silver-haired brothers on the grassy path that led to the clearing of the well and shoved her way between them so she was at the front of the trio with a bright smile on her face.

"What's wrong with you?" Inuyasha asked once he saw the overjoyed look on her face. She shook her head and giggled childishly. She knew her behaviour seemed suspicious but she couldn't stop herself. Sesshoumaru, as usual, stayed silent and simply pondered her actions in his complicated mind.

"You'll find out very soon." She winked at her best friend with another laugh and continued their short journey to the Bone Eater's well. Sliding her hand into her pocket, she ran her fingers over the smooth, round surface of part of the object in her possession. They were going to bite her head off, if she even managed the feat she was planning. She could just imagine their reactions as they stopped a few feet away from her way home.

"And very soon turns out to be now!" She exclaimed as she turned to face the brothers and pulled out a beaded necklace from her pocket. It was almost the same as Inuyasha's except this one was made out of darker, almost black round beads and the claw-like beads were gray, leaning towards silver like their hair in the bright sunlight. Inuyasha took a step back with a look of horror. He already had a subjugation necklace; he had no need to get close to another one.

"What are you doing with that thing, Kagome?" The hanyou asked sceptically with furrowed brows, a scowl aimed at the beaded piece of hell in her right palm.

"Well, I was thinking, the only thing different between you and everyone else is your beads. I have this idea that your beads are the reason you can come to my time through the well. So, last time I went home, I asked Kaede to make me another before I left so I could test the theory out with the help of someone else when I came back. Now that I'm going home again, I want to put my theory to the test." She giddily explained, her eyes going back and forth between the expressions that the brothers had painted on their faces. Inuyasha looked a little pale and horrified while Sesshoumaru seemed confused, though he held his passive mask straight.

A few moments went by before anyone said another word. Kagome waited patiently for them to figure it out, hinting at her plan by looking between them and the well. It wasn't that complicated of a plan, really. So when neither of them said a thing, she sighed and rolled her hazel eyes.

"Oh, come on! There are three people in this clearing, two of which hold the ability to cross over. That leaves one being to test out my theory with. Figure it out, people!" She exasperated. A glimmer of understanding passed through the taiyoukai's eyes while his half-brother almost choked on his breath.

"Aw hell, Kagome, you can't really mean it, can you? I mean, Sesshoumaru in the future? There are so many things wrong with that!" Inuyasha spluttered in a rushed out matter. Sesshoumaru turned his gaze sharply to his and lifted a perfectly arched silver eyebrow.

"Expand on your observation, brother."

"First of all, the sound and smell is bad enough for me, I can't imagine how it'd be for you. Second, humans are everywhere and killing 'em isn't an option, 'specially her gramps who's gonna shout at you for bein' a demon and throw some damn sutras around." He insisted, trying to knock some sense into his foolish friend while deterring his brother. There's no possible way Sesshoumaru would want to be in a world composed of only millions of humans. He hated them already, making an exception for only the select few in his pack.

"I will not kill anyone from her home if that is what the miko wishes. Putting up with odours and sounds cannot be as difficult as it has been putting up with you, little brother." Much to Kagome and Inuyasha's amazement, there was actually a note of teasing to accompany his last statement. That alone shut the half-demon up and made Kagome jump with happiness.

"Okay, good! First, you have to jump in before I put the necklace on to make sure you can't pass through on your own." She instructed, taking on a serious composure. Almost hissing at her words that sounded too close to a command for comfort, the inuyoukai raised his chin and leapt gracefully onto the lip of the well.

Kagome nodded in encouragement when he shot her a look of uncertainty and she held her breath when he let himself drop down. Barely three seconds later, he was up in the air and gliding back down to the ground. It never failed to amaze her how fast the brothers could be, Sesshoumaru even more so. She hadn,t even seen him shoot back out of the wooden structure.

"Now, I'm going to put this around your neck," she held the necklace of beads up, letting them dangle from the tips of her index and middle fingers. He simply waited silently for her to proceed. It was all so sudden but he didn't care. How many would kill to get a personal look at what the future held in store for the world? Not that he cared or that he was doing it for that reason. He was simply going along with the little miko's whims, feeling like he owed her for having rushed her into her trap a couple days ago. Sesshoumaru prided himself on not owing anything to anyone, hating to be indebted. Hopefully trusting him enough to take him to her home meant that she was not angry with him. There was nothing worse than having a pack member feel cross with you in inu society.

Kagome stepped up to the tall youkai while Inuyasha simply stood aside lost in thought, waiting for the result. He hoped it wouldn't work as he watched her get up on her tiptoes and him bending his head down slightly so she could reach. With finality, she slipped the enchanted beads around his neck and dropped back onto the balls of her feet. His clawed hand went up to touch the foreign object that was now a part of his person. Could she sit him too, now; the way she did Inuyasha?

"Though technically it works like Inuyasha's subjugation beads and I've picked out a word of subjugation for it, I won't use it. This is strictly for my theory. Now, go on and try crossing over again. If it works, we're right behind you, right Inuyasha?" She asked when she saw that the hanyou was staring distractedly off into space.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. Whatever." He grumbled, his triangle ears lying back flat on his head at being caught off guard.

The two watched with baited breath as Sesshoumaru repeated his previous actions, leaping up onto the lip of the well without a sound and dropping inside. To Kagome's satisfaction, they were greeted with the shimmering blue glow that took over each time they went through. She cheered and grabbed Inuyasha's hand, taking them the few steps that separated them from the well and climbing over the rim, waiting for Inuyasha to do the same before jumping in, being engulfed in the same blue light that had surrounded Sesshoumaru just seconds before. She had been right. The key to crossing over was beads infused with her power; beads she could use to subdue them if they tried to disrupt the relative peace of her present.

Author's note:

Hey guys, another chapter done for this fic! It seemed pretty boring and rushed to me but it was needed for my storyline and plot to progress. I hope you enjoyed it! Happy holidays all and I wish you all the best! :) -Nat