InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unbridled, Unvoiced Passions ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Early Author's Note: WARNING! This is one of those wonderful `filler' chapters. Gomen people but it must be done! Love you, now read!

Disclaimer: Never have, never will!

Unbridled, Unvoiced Passions

A bittersweet love story

In the depths of a hidden room, a library aged with the written works and family trinkets of a long forgotten tale. Scrolls, held captive from the brutal maturity of paper, told the secrets of lost time, of forgotten battles, of legends and myths, but mostly of his unbridled, unvoiced passions.

The room, sealed by an ancient magic, is opened after nearly three centuries of dormancy. A girl's curiosity and utmost respect for all things lost to time discovers the secrets of the hidden chambers; a secret she was unknowingly a part of. However, opening the chamber just might have been the biggest mistake of her life.

Chapter 4

Kagome's nose burned with the unfamiliar scent of salt crystallizing their shimmering tracks down her pale skin. The smell was horrid and unwelcome to the usually happy young woman.

Her heart clenched for Inuyasha not because she had betrayed him, but because she hadn't and he truly believed otherwise. There were so many ways the conversation could have gone; it just decided to go the wrong way.

She couldn't sit in agony over this forever, could she? Her will was much too stubborn and she was far too strong a fighter both physically and spiritually to allow something like this to tear at her.

Kagome stood with a forceful resolution and wiped furiously at her tears. She would find the secret to Sesshoumaru's obsession and then she would be able to figure out a way to end this whole stupid mess.

First things first, though, she needed to uncover the books and let the horrors they contained reveal themselves to her.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

Kagome opened a box in the back corner of her small walk-in closet and began removing all her old keepsakes and silly trinkets she had kept over the years. There, underneath all the toys, letters, clothes, and other such nonsense, Kagome felt the now familiar leather bindings of Sesshoumaru's journals.

She pulled them out and left the confines of her closet. After placing the books on her desk, Kagome grabbed her childhood comforter and settled herself in the chair for a long night.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

The first book hadn't been too shocking. It held the usual `Who is she?' `Where is she from?' and `Why is she with him?' However, the end of the book held something that made her want to read the next installment, while at the same time she wanted to hide from the secrets it might reveal.

Kagome relaxed into her chair and ran her hands through her hair, pulling at the base of her neck in frustration. She had been contemplating the last sentence for well over an hour now, and was no closer to deciding whether to keep going or not than when she had finished reading the damn sentence.

"Why me?"

Her whispered plea would not be answered. There was only one person that could answer her, and he was almost five hundred years in the past.

"What does Midoriko have to do with my soul?"

`Midoriko should be pleased to see that the soul is well used' What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Kagome stared at the back of the first book and glared. It was frustrating how the inanimate object sat unfazed by her heated stare.

She couldn't read the second book right now if she wanted to anyhow. It was daylight, and the damned thing only worked when the moon was kissing its forbidden covers.

A soft knock played in her ears as she stood from her desk to stretch. Apparently the world was ready for her to join in the daily events that currently made up her life.

"Coming"

Kagome opened the door to her mother's bright smile and a large cup of tea. She accepted the liquid heat with a grateful smile and wordlessly invited her mother in by moving to sit on the bed.

Her mother closed the door and joined Kagome on the bed while looking her over critically. The light touch of lines under her eyes was enough to tell Mrs. Higurashi that her daughter hadn't slept that night; a fact that thoroughly worried her.

She glanced over to Kagome's desk to see the three books she had picked up a few months ago laying heavily on the surface. Obviously, she had gotten herself wrapped in her reading so much that she had forgotten the time.

"Honey, it's still early. Why don't you get at least a few hours of sleep?"

Kagome lifted her head from the alluring aroma of her Black Pekoe and Mango tea and gave her mother a thankful, albeit a bit guilty and shy, smile.

"That would be nice"

Mrs. Higurashi just shook her head and stood to leave.

"I think it's nice that you get to stay home and spend some time with all of us. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Kagome watched her mother smile wistfully, while she could only nod as her heart squeezed down on her lungs.

"Perhaps we can go out to lunch after you've rested."

"I'd like that mom"

Mrs. Higurashi simply smiled and walked quietly out of her room, making sure to close the door softly behind her.

Kagome could only stare at the door in wonder. How is it that a mother can make you feel so guilty? She really had been neglecting her family lately.

First she complained about being home for such a long period of time, then she threw herself into her studies to avoid the call of `his' journal, and lately she'd been busying herself with the tourists to keep her mind on anything but the feudal era or the likes.

Her mother was a very patient woman, but how long could a mother go without the company of her child when they were merely feet apart?

Kagome sighed and looked back into the dark swirls of her hot tea.

"I don't suppose you could help me?"

She watched the steam as it rose from her cup and swirled around her face, creating a mesmerizing dance of scents.

"I didn't think so."

Kagome sipped her tea before placing it on her nightstand, intent on letting it cool a bit before she drank anymore. She stretched out on her bed, marveling in the catlike rhythm her body assumed at that, and lay back into the mattress.

She mulled over the events that led her to the journal and couldn't help but laugh at how unpredictable her life still was. That thought took her back to the books themselves and all the secrets that had been revealed to her so far.

Before her tea had a chance to call on her again, Kagome was lost to a world of fitful dream crossed memories.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

White and red streaks danced across the skies, skittering the earth every once and again, only accompanied by the deadly ring of blades connecting.

The colors stopped on the earth, yards from each other, yet still only a breath away. Their solid forms were intimidating and most likely frightening to most beings, but this group had seen far worse than this.

He spoke with his signature look of utter indifference; the oddity came not from his words but rather no sound being transferred to her ears. His combatant tensed at his words while risking a quick glance at her and ran to attack, oblivious of the true intent of his sparring partner.

He spoke again, yet still no sound was emitted. His sword came up in front of him, almost vertical to the ground, and flashed an eerie aura that pushed the attacker down into his own pool of blood.

She felt her own scream, but she couldn't hear it. Could he hear it, though? He made no reaction to her voice, so maybe he couldn't hear her after all.

The sword lowered and pointed menacingly towards her fallen comrade as their enemy began advancing on him. She tried again, and yet again he did not react. How was she supposed to save him if he couldn't hear her?

She began to panic and did the only thing she could think of when their battles became this severe.

Her arrow ripped through the thick air, purifying the poison he left to taint the ground when he had transformed earlier, shimmering brighter and brighter as it sped along.

A sharp clang resounded in the hollows of the air and she watched in fascination as her arrow fell to the ground, taking with it the remnants of a powerful sword, now a rusty blade.

He stopped in his tracks and turned murderous eyes to her; the depths of hatred ringing brightly in front of her as he began his advance.

Her instincts kicked in as she reached back for a new arrow while standing her ground as a proud warrior. She knew that she had not only angered him, but offended him as well. His once untouchable tokijin was now a useless scrap of weaponry, and it was her fault.

The bow was pulled tight in perfect form and sang as she released her powers along with her arrow.

He caught the offending weapon between two of his fingers and let it drop harmlessly at his side. She could smell the tang of his flesh burning almost as well as she could hear the crackle of energy.

She watched her arrow fall to the ground, the world slowing until her own heartbeat was loud and slow in her mind.

Each step he took, too fast for the human eye, was merely a slow crawl in her vision that chased panic into the pit of her stomach. Still, her eyes stayed on the arrow.

It just kept falling, as though there were no ground it would ever touch. But then there wasn't, as she looked around her and could only see darkness.

From the corner of her eye, a shimmering white light pierced her vision.

She focused on the light until she could see a single dark line crossing it diagonally. It was her arrow.

She focused on the arrow then, not small in any way, and the white light subsided, giving way to white silk.

He was still coming towards her, now at a leisurely pace. There was a striking difference though, for now his eyes held curiosity and fascination.

She reached out to touch the enigma and before her eyes he stood. He was close to her now, just standing there…watching her. In that single instance, she couldn't find the will to fear him.

She dared to think he was as close as a lover might be, yet somehow a respectable calm had settled between them.

Her eyes found his as a sharp gasp escaped her lips. She covered her mouth when she heard the gasp, as she couldn't hear before.

Now, alone here with him, she was free to speak again.

She took a step back, not in fear, but perhaps to see him better. And he did not stop her. In fact, he took the chance to look her over as well.

She felt so utterly free for that one moment. Free to breathe, free to see, free to feel; it was all she had ever wanted was to be simply…free.

Her eyes traced the lines of his body and the markings that forever signified his birthright to royalty. She could see his strong aura pulsating with the very power he possessed.

When she looked back into his eyes, she saw a mark of approval in them. He nodded to her once and soundlessly turned to leave.

"Wait!"

She reached out for him, begging him to stop, begging her body to go after him, but she was paralyzed.

He paused momentarily and regarded her with a slight turn of his head.

"Why should I?"

He resumed his walk and kept going until he was completely out of sight, all the while she kept screaming.

"I don't understand!"

>.< >.< >.<

She covered her eyes and wept into her palms as though the world would change and everything would be clearer to her somehow. Her knees fell into the soft grass below as she gave in to the weight of pressure that had plagued her every minute of her life since falling back into the feudal era. She didn't understand any of it.

A thought struck her then. She wanted to understand. Understand what?

If he would listen, what question would she ask?

What was it about her that left him yearning to write so much?

Would she want to know the answer if she did ask it then?

Did she truly want to understand his fascination?

Did she honestly want to understand…him?

Yes, she did. She always had. But then…why?

Why now, after all this time, would she want to search out the answers to questions she had been asking since first meeting him?

What was different now?

Was it because he cared in some way?

Was it because she knew that he had his own questions to ask her?

Would he ask her those questions, or would his pride stand in the way?

Did his curiosity somehow make her feel as though she could ask him?

She wanted to understand, but could she bring herself to face him?

Could she confront Sesshoumaru?

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

Kagome woke with a start and placed a hand on her chest to calm the frantic beats of her heart.

His name played over and again in her mind like a mantra, as though uttering that one name alone would answer all her questions.

She didn't even know what all of the questions were, she only knew that she had to ask him.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

It had been a week since her strange memory crossed dream. She remembered the battle that had been the end of tokijin, but it was somehow altered in her dream. The fears and anticipation she felt were…different somehow. And the fact that she remembered the dream at all was proof enough that it had stemmed from memories and not fantasy.

Kagome knew that the change had something to do with the journal. For some reason, just knowing that Sesshoumaru had come to seek her out rather than Inuyasha had completely changed her view of quite a few of the brothers' battles. She was actually beginning to question his intentions since the first time she had met him.

What a confusing predicament she had gotten herself into this time. And to think that she wouldn't even have known all of this had she been strong enough to ward off that stupid ogre in the first place.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

Kagome sat back against the soft cushions of her mother's car seat with a sigh. They were on their way to see the doctor in hopes of removing her cast a couple of weeks early.

To be honest, Kagome was horribly tired of the restrictions on bathing all because of the damn plaster contraption. She wanted nothing more than to simply soak in a hot bubble bath surrounded by hundreds of candles and soft music.

Kagome laughed at herself; she had become somewhat of a hopeless romantic since her days in the feudal era began. Something about living a fairytale made her look at life with more of a crystal view instead of the rose colored glasses the rest of the world saw through, and it was a beautiful life to see.

"We're here"

Kagome looked up to her mother and smiled. She knew for a fact that her leg was healed; her powers hadn't been voided in this time period, merely weakened.

She walked into the hospital through the automatic double doors and nearly cringed at the strong scent of sanitizing chemicals that was signature to the medical building. The faux scents and nauseous odors of her era had become somewhat of a headache for the outdoor girl lately.

Kagome sat in one of the many plastic chairs that lined the walls and scattered the floor of the waiting room while her mother signed her in at the nurse's station.

There were many sweet faces and kind people here trying to create a warm atmosphere, but Kagome couldn't wait to leave and hopefully never come back. She loved healing people, and generally caring for them in whatever way was needed, but hospitals always held a sense of death around them and it thoroughly creeped her out.

She looked up in time to see her mother approaching just a few feet away.

"Will this take long?"

Mrs. Higurashi laughed lightly at her daughter's obvious distaste for the hospital and sat down next to her before answering.

"No honey, the doctor is with a patient now and then he'll be able to see us. One of the nurses should be coming out any minute to get you started."

Kagome nodded and smiled, thankful for the speedy service of the Tokyo hospital. The place may have been unsettling to her, but the staff was both speedy and efficient, which helped to put her at ease a bit; some of the best doctor's in Japan worked there, and that was always comforting.

"Higurashi, Kagome"

She glanced up to the nurse standing at the door to the main ward and sent her a smile. The nurse was a young girl, maybe three years older than she was, and yet she seemed very mature; this profession had a way of doing that to someone.

Kagome stood up and walked to the doctor, bowing slightly before resuming her walk. The nurse looked slightly taken aback by the girl's old fashioned manners and sent Mrs. Higurashi a questioning glance that was answered by a small shrug.

Mrs. Higurashi watched the entire exchange with poorly veiled amusement. Her daughter obviously didn't realize that her manners were that of the higher classes, more respectable and refined than most. She wondered if Kagome realized that she was highly respected due in most part to such characteristics.

She shook her head and walked up to the nurse that still held the door open for her to follow. The nurse smiled at her as she paused to bow, much in the same way Kagome had, before continuing on.

"If you'll just follow me, Higurashi-san"

Mrs. Higurashi had a hard time pushing down the laughter that threatened to spill after that comment. Kagome had looked calm and poised, but her eyes were utterly shocked. Apparently she didn't know how others viewed her in this era.

"Oh hush mom"

Kagome whispered so low that Mrs. Higurashi had to lean towards her to hear the comment. It was meant to cease her laughing, but Kagome's words only caused her mirth to rise, eliciting a small laughter louder than previously.

This only earned her a glare, which caused her to laugh all the more. Kagome looked as though she could strike her anytime, again adding to the laughter. It grew with each look and comment her daughter sent her way.

By the time they reached the room, if that's what you call a bed sectioned off by curtains, that the doctor was to meet them at, Mrs. Higurashi was covering her mouth and clutching her stomach all in an attempt to ward of the sudden `giggle attack'.

The nurse wasted no time in checking all of Kagome's vitals, a necessary evil for all visits whether large or small, and exited the room with a bright smile. Kagome turned on her mother and glared, hoping the point would be made, but her mother just laughed harder.

"If looks could kill…ooh, I'll let you finish that thought."

Mrs. Higurashi broke out into fits of laughter that even covering her mouth could not calm. The silly little events that led to her over abundance of mirth simply caused her to laugh harder, and Kagome wasn't exactly helping with her resistance on the matter. Really, her daughter ought to laugh more often.

"I'm…sorry"

The whole exercise was in vain, for alas she could not stop the sudden feeling of pure mirth rolling through her body from the very pit of her stomach. It was just too much; she had to sit down and try to stop them before she got the hiccups.

Mrs. Higurashi took three deep breaths while sitting on a swivel stool next to the hospital bed. She didn't dare look at Kagome because she knew the angered glared she was receiving at the moment would break her concentration and she'd be lost to laughter again.

The doctor chose that moment to enter the `room' and watched her from the end of the bed, simultaneously reviewing Kagome's paperwork. He sent her a questioning glare, which Kagome returned with a slight shrug and a hopeless glare towards her mother.

"Good morning, Kagome, I'm Doctor. Atsumori; you can just call me Doc."

"Good morning"

"So, I see you want to have this beast removed, eh?"

He knocked on her cast for emphasis and nearly laughed when he noticed the death glare she gave it. Doc checked the paperwork again and scrunched his face in confusion.

"You shouldn't be in here for at least another two weeks. Even then we might not be able to take the cast off. You had a pretty bad break from what I can see."

The Doc turned to a plastic structure on the wall near Kagome and flipped on the switch. As the light flickered on behind the white plastic board, Doc placed two x-rays of her leg up and pointed out the break to her.

"It's not as though you couldn't tell what I'm seeing without my guidance anyway. The bones were severed, just not separated."

In other words, Kagome leg had broken evenly and would have fallen off if not for the skin and muscle surrounding the bone. The only reason she didn't have surgery or pins was because the bones seemed to have miraculously stayed where they were supposed to, just not attached anymore.

Kagome nodded her understanding and waited for Doctor Atsumori to collect the x-rays before speaking.

"I know this is out of regulation, but I believe this cast can come off. I've always been a quick healer."

At his disbelieving look, Kagome changed tactics.

"Would you at least look?"

The Doc seemed to mull over the idea for a minute before nodding in assent. There was no harm in doing what she asked really.

"I'll just go get my tools and we'll get this thing taken off so we can take some new x-rays, alright?"

"Thanks Doc"

He smiled at her reply and left the room for his supplies, only to return a few minutes later ready to begin his handy work.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

Once the cast was taken off and the x-rays were taken, the two were left to their own devices. They had to wait for at least twenty minutes for the x-rays to print out, and so they sat.

Kagome was growing impatient and was about to hop off the bed against the Doc's orders just to prove to him that her leg was fine. Just as she was pushing herself up, Doc walked in and gave her a very scathing look.

"And what if it were broken still, hmm?"

Kagome had the decency to blush as she sat back against the pillows, but then huffed in irritation since she knew that the bones were healed; she'd had enough of them in the past to be able to differentiate the broken, healing, and healed bones within her body.

The Doc went around the bed and turned on the x-ray machine once more. However, as he set the x-rays up onto the lighted contraption, he had to check the name and identification numbers for possible errors. There was no way that the prints he was seeing now were prints of the bones inside this girl's leg.

"Alright, I'm stumped. How'd you do it?"

"Huh?"

"You're bones. They are healed, miracle enough, but the strange part is the way they healed."

"Is something wrong?"

Kagome was afraid that her leg had somehow jarred itself out of place and healed crooked, or something along those lines.

"Oh no, not at all, let me explain. Normally when a bone breaks as severely as yours did, the bones reattach but they leave an indent, or scar if you will on the bone itself. It's only slight mind you, but it's there none-the-less. In your case though…"

Kagome raised a brow at him and watched as he scratched the back of his neck in confusion. He looked so much like the sword smith Totosai at that moment that Kagome could swear he was a distant descendant somehow.

"My case?"

"Yes, you see, here is where your bone was broken."

He waited for her to nod, indicating that she could see the picture well enough, then continued.

"By all means you should have some sort of mark there. But you don't, it's as if you never broke your leg in the first place. I just don't understand!"

Kagome smiled and watched as the doctor retrieved the x-rays in a sort of daze, almost wonderment.

"Its all right Doc, that's a good thing isn't it?"

The good Doc just laughed and patted her on the back before gathering his paperwork and handing a set to Kagome. He gave Mrs. Higurashi a set to sign and they were on their way with strict orders to return within the week for strength training.

Kagome nearly laughed at the thought of the hospital's idea of `strength training'.

Doc had told her to use her crutches for the next few weeks, but as soon as she got home…those stilts were firewood. End of story!

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

Kagome sighed in absolute luxurious bliss. She had waited to bathe until that evening, just before bed, and had even picked up some scented candles on the way home from the hospital to enhance the experience. There truly was nothing like soaking in steaming water with the aroma of the wilderness surrounding you.

Of course, her wilderness was patented at the moment, leaving something to be yearned for. She hated the fact that her body was ready to return her to the feudal era, yet she could not return.

It wasn't that bad really. She still had a few bits of work to do before graduating and she had every intention of finishing that part of her present life before her return. Her exit exams were scheduled for this coming Friday and it was only Monday, so pushing the subject of her return date on her mom was actually unnecessary at the moment.

For now, Kagome decided to simply enjoy her freedom, however small it might be. Too long now had she felt a prisoner of the past, of fate, of duty and honor, but most of all a prisoner unto herself.

She could walk away from her responsibilities and never look back; she had had that chance many times actually. But she was not one to shirk responsibility and so had accepted her life along with its shackles of imprisonment.

Kagome sighed and sunk deeper into the steaming water. It was truly remarkable the effects a bath could do when you had been denied one for so long.

She had been home for almost five and a half months now, and the time was beginning to wear a bit on her patience. Perhaps these next few weeks weren't going to be as easy as she had first thought. With her body in full repair again, Kagome knew that she would be restless against the idle routine she had fallen into.

Doc had decided to allow her a choice of martial arts, yoga, or a combination of both in placement of her `strength training'. It was a compromise on both their parts, but Kagome was all too willing to give in because the benefits were more than just restored strength; it was the chance to get some technical training for the battlefield.

At that thought, Kagome let out a small squeal of triumph and splashed water all over the floor. She glared at the mess and decided to end her relaxation time.

Kagome left the comforts of her bath and readied herself for another long night. There was a second installment of `his' journal that she was actually getting a bit antsy about. She really needed to know what the book contained.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

After the first book, Kagome had decided that her bed was a more practical place for reading. She didn't really enjoy the body aches that came with sitting upright at a desk for long periods of time.

She wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and took hold of the second book. Once she opened the cover, the pages would reveal themselves one by one. It was a sequential set of scenes that played in her mind's eye, casting images of the beautiful young lord in to her thoughts as he performed his writing ritual.

It was odd, though, that the books revealed not only the moments he was writing, but also his temperaments and thoughts, his actions during the writing sessions. Kagome couldn't place the `how's or the `why's of the mystic journal, but she could discern the emotions.

That's what baffled her the most though. Sesshoumaru, by all rights and intents, had wanted nothing but her death since the day they met and she had proven to hold something over him. Her humanity proved more useful in the retrieval of his father's fang than his demon blood. She had also proved herself a formidable foe in battle against him and she was sure that he didn't like that little fact either.

It was obvious that the young demon lord hated humans, but he held a special place in his frosty heart just for her. She had expected that place to be full of hatred and loathing or even indifference. She actually would have wished for those emotions given that the alternate, the truth, was something much more frightening.

The emotions she felt from him through his journals were not those of a bitter hatred, but rather a growing curiosity and even a grudging respect. Kagome was certain that he was against liking her in any way, and so the respect that rolled off of him for her was most assuredly not welcome.

She would simply have to piece the puzzle of Sesshoumaru together as best she could while she had the chance to do so undisturbed. And so Kagome opened the second book.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

Midoriko, that strange priestess that created that hated jewel so long ago, seems to pale in comparison to her. Though Midoriko has the ability to choose to whose soul she shall be entrusted, I don't believe even she knew the powers that Kagome held captive.

If at any time in my studies I had thought the girl to be weak, I was wrong. Kagome is anything but weak. Emotional, loud, rambunctious, studious, efficient, strong, the list goes on for ages. For that, I can not begin to comprehend why it is she stays with my brother.

He doesn't treat her with near enough respect; he wouldn't know how. The boy was raised a ruffian and a ruffian he shall stay.

But the girl, I don't know much about her past, she is quite obviously not royalty, but she's educated, well spoken if not outspoken, a warrior at heart, and quite so a formidable foe.

I can't say I would have wanted to battle with her were I anyone else, but with my skills, she is quite an interesting player on the battlefield. When in battle, we seem to end in a sort of stalemate. Neither of us can overpower the other.

Tonight is the last I shall spend alone.

Tomorrow I begin my journey in search of the half-breed Naraku. This time, however, I go not alone, but with her.

It took a great deal of coercing on my part, but not because of her. My brother is not one to spend time with me, as I would not wish to spend time with him. However, our goal is one and the same, and this way I can be nearer to her.

It feels strange to want to be near a human, but if I have learned anything it is that she is no ordinary human. Kagome is a powerful priestess that is quite possibly the key to the half-breed's demise.

Though I don't think she believes it herself, she is most likely the strongest of her pack. I have seen their power and as a group they are nearly invincible, but she alone will be the one to end the horrible power that has become Naraku.

I don't know what I am expecting once travel commences. Perhaps I will go into this deal with an open mind, clear and devoid of all thoughts, simply so I may experience what is human. It would be a wiser choice than the alternate option. I may despise the lesser species, but that's not to say I don't want to understand them.

I have tried many times to understand the human race, but alas I am cast away from the truths. They rise and fall like the tides of my father's sea. No matter the trials, they weather the storm and rise again in the end.

I wonder often who will be the victor in the great wars between humans and demons. It used to be that demons would prevail beyond a shadow of a doubt. However, the humans have a nagging way of adapting and building stronger, faster, and larger than before.

I fear they may out number the demon race one-day, and should we not stand as a whole against them as we should, we would surely fail. Our race would be lost to the sands of time, never to rise again.

The humans have always been a nuisance that drives hatred into the hearts of many demons not only because they are inferior, but also because those of the higher intellect in the demon race can see the changes they bring. Those changes may entail our demise.

Still, I cannot deny my fascination with the young priestess. She is like a force that calls all creatures to her to form a new and better life. But even she is unaware of the call of her aura.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

Kagome lay back against her headboard and let out a frustrated sigh. The journal was long, too long and it made her tired.

Of all the things he could have said about her, none of what he actually said was what she would have ever expected. Throughout the journal, his view of her seemed to get better and better.

In the end of the second book, which she surmised was somewhere within the next few months, he had admitted a sort of kinship with her. She wasn't too surprised to find that she would be the one to offer such a bond, but she wondered what it was that he would do to cause her to respond to him that way.

When all was said and done, the only thing Kagome could be sure of was that her and Sesshoumaru were going to form a friendship that he would appreciate more than he let on. `I'll have to remember that for later reference'.

She realized that they would pull forces to create a bond of allies that was more unlikely than the friendship to ever work, and that she was going to be experiencing some major growths in her spiritual abilities.

As exciting as all of this sounded, it gave Kagome a wary feeling towards her near future. Because she knew all of this, would any of it change? She wasn't so sure she wanted any of it to change, besides her death of course.

She would deal with all of that later. For now, Kagome had a decision to make. The third piece of the journal obviously held everything from the unlikely friendship to the death she so feared. So, did she really want to read it?

That was something she would have to decide on later. Right now she was going to get some sleep. She yawned and stretched in a passive catlike manner, reveling in the feeling of renewed muscle.

She carefully slid the books along the side of her bed until they rested between the frame and her nightstand. Seeing the time at five in the morning brought on another bought of yawns and stretches, just before she fell into a deep, undisturbed sleep.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-` `-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

Next chapter will be MUCH more exciting. RETURN TO FEUDAL ERA!!!