Chapter 5

The hut is just up ahead. The demon lord is gone, for now. The humans, kitsune, and neko are all asleep. The half-breed is also asleep against the wall. The miko is unconscious in the middle of the room, definitely not sleeping. The miko is unconscious, trying to heal herself. She should be weak enough to kidnap. I will just reach for the miko and ah! The miko has a pure barrier around herself. I am unable to break through, but I can mess with the girl inside. Her mind, I will torture her mind, make her scream in agony inside her barrier.

"Kagome! Kagome! Wake up!" What the heck is going on? I woke up to Kagome hovering above ground surrounded by her barrier, screaming! What's wrong?

"What's wrong with Kagome?" By now, everyone was awake. Sesshomaru was even still there. Everyone looked really worried but they couldn't do anything.

"I can not break through her barrier." Kaede had been trying for a while now but was unable to get through.

Suddenly Kagome began to glow blue, and lift higher, almost touching the roof. Then, suddenly, she stopped glowing and dropped to the ground. Sesshomaru dove forward without thinking and didn't notice when he slipped right through the barrier. Everyone watched, dumbfounded, as Sesshomaru caught her and Inuyasha charged in to check on her. But when everyone else tried to rush in the barrier, they were rejected and pushed away, even Kaede.

As Inuyasha ran to Kagome and Sesshomaru, he noticed that his skin felt weird, like it was burning, or being purified. When he got to Kagome, the burning intensified slightly. She looks so weak and vulnerable. Anyone could attack her now.

As he was thinking this, Kagome's eyes suddenly opened. Her pupils were gone, and her white eyes glowed the same pink of the barrier. Inuyasha was quickly thrown from the barrier and the hut.

When Sesshomaru saw this, he held Kagome tight, attempting to calm her down. Her eyes stopped glowing pink and her pupils returned just before she closed her eyes and went limp in Sesshomaru's arms. Then the barrier dissipated.

For a few moments, everyone just stood there, afraid to be the first to move. Sesshomaru was the first to move, carrying Kagome and giving her to Kaede. Miroku went out to check on Inuyasha.

When Miroku and Inuyasha came back, Kagome was just coming to. When she opened her eyes, she immediately jumped up after seeing seven pairs of eyes looking at her. Unfortunately, she wasn't strong enough yet to hold herself up and would've face planted if Sesshomaru hadn't caught her. Inuyasha was fuming at his brother's and Kagome's closeness.

"Child, are ye alright? What happened?" Kaede looked concerned.

"Yeah! What the hell was all that about?" Inuyasha was still fuming, even though Kagome was now sitting against the wall.

"What do you mean? I don't know what you're talking about." Kagome had a blank look on her face. She really had no idea what everyone was talking about.

"What do you mean what do I mean? What was with all the hovering in the air, and the screaming, and the barrier, AND THROWING ME OUT?" Inuyasha was getting catastrophic and was now up in Kagome's face. Kagome, in turn, looked like she wanted to cry from his pressure.

Another figure with silver hair came in between Kagome and Inuyasha. "Leave the girl alone, Inuyasha. She has already been through enough without you yelling at her." Everyone gaped at Sesshomaru, surprised that he protected Kagome. She was just as surprised as everyone else.

To break the silence, Kaede decided to get the answers to the questions she had. "Inuyasha, why did ye get propelled from Kagome's barrier? What were ye thinking when ye were in the barrier?"

"I only thought that she looked a little weak and vulnerable. Then that was when I was thrown out." Inuyasha glared over at Sesshomaru and Kagome.

"I see. Now I understand. While Kagome was in the state that she was in, she would not let anyone in her barrier that she knew might cause harm to her, physically or mentally." But why Sesshomaru was allowed in is still a mystery to this old woman.

"If that is the case, why was Sesshomaru allowed in the barrier and wasn't thrown out?" Miroku asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

Everyone looked over at Sesshomaru, who was still standing in front of Kagome, glaring back at the group. "Why are you all looking at me? I do not know why I could go in." I do not even know why I went in after the miko. My body just acted on instinct.

But you are glad that you saved her, aren't you?

No, she is just a human. I do not have any feelings for her.

You do. You just won't admit it! Do not let your pride hold back your heart.

Ignoring his inner voice, Sesshomaru glanced back at Kagome, only to see empty space. Everyone else was still deep in conversation, not yet noticing that the object of their conversation was missing. Inuyasha even glanced over to glare at Sesshomaru and didn't notice Kagome's absence.

When Inuyasha returned to the conversation, mostly shouting at the monk and the 'old hag', Sesshomaru left the hut to look for the troublesome human. He found her sitting upright against a tree on a hill overseeing the village, not too far away.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kagome turned to see Sesshomaru sporting his normal stoic expression.

"I couldn't take all the yelling in there. I wanted to see the sunset." Kagome turned back to watch the sun slowly dip down below the distant hills.

Sesshomaru's temper flared at the woman's cool attitude to him. "You are quite injured, you should not be out alone." Why do I care?

"Why do you care? You hate humans. I would think you would be glad that one more human would be dead." Kagome didn't even give Sesshomaru the slightest acknowledgement. Why am I being so cold?

Sesshomaru was surprised at her accusation, but was even more surprised by his answer. "I hate humans that are stupid, weak, and assault my senses with their putrid smell. You are an exception."

Kagome unconsciously turned her head to look at Sesshomaru in shock. Did he just admit to liking me? I must have imagined it.

Kagome, upon hearing Sango calling for her in the distance, tried to stand up on her own. Not being strong enough to support herself, her legs gave and her vision flashed in and out. Seeing the fast approaching ground, Kagome closed her eyes for the impact and lost consciousness.