Kagome yawned as she felt the two-headed dragon, which she had been flying on for hours, slow its pace and lower itself to the ground to land. In the dim moon light she saw a rather large building with an old sakura tree beside it. "Sesshou-kun, is this where we’re staying?"

"Yes." Sesshoumaru dismounted the dragon, turned around, and helped Kagome off as well. His brows furrowed, he decided to ask what had been bothering him most of the night, "Why did you tell the taijiya and the okami who you were?"

Kagome sighed as she absent-mindedly rubbed one of Aun’s necks. "I couldn’t really help it, I guess. I couldn’t have fathomed how Kouga-kun would have felt—hell, he probably would have killed Inu Yasha upon hearing about what had happened to me… As for telling Sango… I probably could have avoided doing that, but at the time, I was so mad at Inu Yasha that I couldn’t think straight… I’m sorry."

Sesshoumaru’s gaze bore into Kagome’s eyes as he hesitated. "Very well—don’t do it again, okay?"

Kagome smiled, relieved. "Of course not…"

Sesshoumaru stared for a moment, taken aback by his own interest in her happiness. He, whom had once been a ruthless warrior, he, whom had vowed never to love a human woman—yet it was he, who melted when he saw that innocent smile. He felt heat rise in his cheeks as her hand reached out for his. "Sesshou-kun, are we going to sleep tonight?"

Sesshoumaru nodded slowly as he led Kagome to a small building that was beside of the much larger one. "That building out there—it’s a shrine, so that’s why we aren’t sleeping in there."

"Ooh…" Kagome stretched as she followed Sesshoumaru into the side-building. She took a quick glance around the dusty room and noticed—only one bed. She turned to Sesshoumaru for either a suggestion, or at least, an explanation.

Sesshoumaru looked back at Kagome, also at a loss. He nervously looked at the single bed available in the small room. He had personally planned on sleeping in something more comfortable than a floor, but he also wasn’t about to force Kagome to sleep on the floor. "Kana-chan, why don’t you take the bed—I’ll be fine without one."

"Are you sure?"

Sesshoumaru nodded stoically. "Besides, I have to begin working early in the morning—I don’t need to sleep in that bed."

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The next morning—(which was actually only a few hours later ^_~)

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Kagome stretched as she pushed her way out the bamboo door/curtain and felt the warm mid-morning sun on her skin. She looked around, but could not see Sesshoumaru anywhere close. She leaned against the walls of the small hut that she had slept in and took in a deep breath, sampling the morning scents. She had caught Sesshoumaru’s scent, but felt somewhat hesitant to bother him, as she remembered that he had told her that he would be working on something. She decided, that instead of going directly to him, she would wander around him, playing mind games of her own—if he wasn’t too busy, he would say something to her.

Kagome casually approached the old knotted cherry tree, walking all around it—looking, feeling the rough branches. However knotted, old, and ugly the tree seemed, it still almost radiated with warmth, having much the same effect that the Goshinboku tree had. Kagome knew, without having heard anything about it, that there had to be something special about this tree and the shrine beside of it.

Sesshoumaru glanced up at Kagome as he continued carving the branch that he had taken from the old tree. "She seems to like you, Kana-chan…"

Kagome whirled around, surprised by the fact that Sesshoumaru had spoken so quickly to her. "She?"

"This tree, this shrine—this is where my mother was buried. Her spirit still resides within the cherry tree there." Sesshoumaru held up the branch that he had been working on and pointed to a place in the tree that was missing such a limb. A smile graced his lips as he returned to his work. "This bow will hold a lot of strength, Kana-chan. It shall be able to do things that no ordinary weapon would."

Kagome, wide-eyed, nodded. She bowed her head to the tree and then turned to the shrine. "I suppose that I should go to pay my respects, then…"

Sesshoumaru nodded, almost as though he did not much care about anything more than completing the task at hand.

Kagome entered the shrine and began going through the usual ritual that was observed by any member of her religion. She paused, though, when she felt a cold wind swirl around the room and heard the doors to the shrine slam shut. For a brief moment, the entire room was pitch dark.

The candles that lined the walls began lighting, as though it was of their own accord. Kagome looked around the room and saw that she was no longer alone.

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Kouga groaned as he noticed Inu Yasha’s now constant fidgeting. "Is that all you’re going to do? I mean, come on, at least try to do something with yourself."

Inu Yasha snarled when he looked up at Kouga, whom was standing in front of him, arms crossed. "I ain’t go any reason to listen to you, ya’ damn mangy wolf."

Kouga reached down and backhanded Inu Yasha. "Would you stop whimpering and do something with yourself? Geez, you’re so childish."

Inu Yasha lunged for Kouga, but instead came into painful contact with the trunk of the tree that had been behind Kouga. Kouga smiled mischievously from a branch above. "I’ll bet that you couldn’t catch a fly without using that damn sword, could you, dog shit?"

Inu Yasha growled again as he made another move to attack Kouga, which was also met with empty hands. Now, in his time of pain, Kouga had dared to mock him and act as though there was nothing the matter.

Kouga’s mocking smile widened as he dodged each of Inu Yasha’s pathetic attempts. [I don’t mean to act so cold—I understand how he feels—but if he doesn’t get up and get to moving, he will continue to get more and more depressed…]

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Kagome gasped as she saw the translucent figure before her. She seemed to be so real, but Kagome could also see the candles lit on the wall—right through her!

"You are the miko that my son spoke of?" Harsh, colorless eyes bore into Kagome’s gaze. "I thought only humans could be miko."

Kagome sighed as she pointed to the jewel shard embedded into her chest. "Sesshou-kun didn’t explain, did he?"

The yokai woman shook her head, all the while staring at Kagome in great interest. "You speak of my son so informally—yet you are not a yokai?"

Kagome shook her head, knowing that a ghost would hardly give away her secret to anyone. "My name is Kagome—I was born as a human. I am as I am now because Sesshou-kun saved my life. His blood has been paired with a shard of the Shikon no Tama—thus creating what I am now. We are planning to destroy a most sinister evil that has come to these lands, and that is why we are here now."

The woman nodded as she glanced back towards the door to the shrine. "What are you to my son? Servant, friend, slave?"

Kagome blushed as she replied, "Over this time that I have spent with him, I have gone from being considered as a lower being to what I believe to be a… well, good friend."

"And what is it that you wish to be, seeing as you seem unsure of your position with Sesshoumaru?"

Kagome flushed scarlet as she held her hands together near her chest and closed her eyes. "I would like to be more than a mere friend, I suppose…"

The yokai apparition drew closer to Kagome, hooking an icy finger under Kagome’s chin. "What are you after, his power, his land? Are you yet another greedy woman seeking to toy with Sesshoumaru? Do you truly believe that he would be so careless as to allow you to play with his mind in such a way?"

Kagome shook her head violently. "I would never do such a thing to him… Even though he seemed cold-hearted when I first began to know him, time revealed that there is much more to him… You should be proud of your son, he is a truly caring person."

"You’re holding something back… what is it that you are meaning to say?"

Kagome stepped back, surprised by the shade’s ingenuity. "Well…"

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A.N. Well, this chapter is certainly… different…

Ano… somebody said something about being jealous of my status as a graduate… I’m class of 2005, that’s why I’ve been doing ACTs and exams and everything—I don’t graduate until next year.

Also, someone mentioned being uncomfortable with Kagome telling everyone as soon as she sees them that she’s a hanyou, etc. Well, thank you for pointing that out, I hadn’t quite looked at it that way—she had been telling people when it was necessary, or at least, when she saw necessary. We have to remember, Kagome’s the type of warm-hearted person that can’t stand to see people in pain, especially not when she thinks she can alleviate that pain.