The Problem by lifeisadream

The Arrival

Okay, um...a few things to note here...um...I'm tired and I'm cranky right now seeing as how it's past my bedtime. Ahem, actually it's not, but I still am tired and cranky. So I may have missed a few corrections here and there. Don't be shy and tell me what you think. And let me see, was there anything else? Um...oh, I'll start putting up quotes starting next chapter. The quotes probably won't have anything to do with the story or their corresponding chapters, but I just like putting them in there so I think I will. We'll see. Oh, and if there is anything specific that you can see fitting into this fic, please pass along the idea and I just might work it in. Um...that's it and enjoy.

As I much as I hate to say it, I don't own Inuyasha. But maybe someday, when I'm filthy rich, I will.

The Problem

Chapter one: The Arrival

So we had a little problem. Okay, actually a big problem, a pretty big problem. A pretty big problem with white hair, white clothes, and gold eyes. Yep...a big, BIG problem. And to be honest, there was no way to solve it. I mean, I'm never one to exaggerate. In fact, a lot of the times, especially when facing Inuyasha, I under exaggerate. Like that first time Kouga had declared that I was his woman. In my world that's not exactly something I could brush aside (I mean I would've very much liked teaching him a good lesson), but fortunately for Kouga, Inuyasha was there and I had to pretend it was nothing and move on. Or like that other time when I saw, or rather, gathered that Inuyasha had gone to see Kikyo even though I'd spent the whole week healing him. That time I'd pretended nothing had happened even though I could feel my heart breaking. See what I mean, I'm an under exaggerator, it helps me live a more...peaceful life. Only this time, well...let's just say you can under exaggerate only so far. But maybe I should first tell you what happened and then you can understand what I mean when I say big problem. Big, BIG problem.

Well, it all started today morning. It was a regular day, and we had just woken up, or at least me and Inuyasha had. As much as I hated to do it, I got out of my sleeping bag, leaving behind its cozy and warm confines for the cold and brittle morning air. I shivered and yawned but sent a smile in Inuyasha's general direction. In return I got a grunt. I couldn't help but smile though even as I allowed a small frown to crease my brows; it was almost cute how he was bent on being cranky all the time even though he knew I didn't take it seriously. But I frowned anyway for his benefit and went to was h up and change for the day.

By the time I'd made it back, everyone else was awake and my morning greetings were met with much better responses. Shippo even jumped up and hugged me around the neck as best as he could and afterward remained perched on my shoulder as Sango and me made breakfast for everyone. Things were normal so far.

It was as I sat down with my bowl of ramen, Shippo now on my lap, that Inuyasha suddenly tensed, dropping his already empty bowl to the ground in his hurry to pull out Tessaiga. The effect was immediate; we were all suddenly standing guard, me with my bow and arrow, Sango with her boomerang.

"What is it Inuyasha?" I asked.

He was silent for a few minutes, ears and nose both twitching as he tested the surroundings for anything out of place. Then, if possible, he tensed further and gave use our one word answer. "Sesshoumaru."

But, somehow, at his response, I couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief; Sesshoumaru we could handle, albeit not easily. Yet it still had to be said; he was hardly a threat any longer. He no longer needed or rather wanted Tessaiga and his prime target was Naraku. It didn't seem as though he targeted Inuyasha anymore. In fact, we had come across Sesshoumaru at least four times and left him without a scratch. Really, was all Inuyasha's over anxiousness really needed? See, under exaggeration.

It took maybe less than a minute for him to come within my field of vision, and I must say here that I was very surprised by my first view of him. He was moving toward us in a direct b-line, straight through the trees or anything else that lay in his way. But he wasn't cutting his way through as would be logical; in fact, he had his back turned to them...and us. He was crashing through the forest, moving backward toward us, seemingly not even lifting a muscle. His body was even slanted the wrong way almost as though something was dragging him straight toward us and he was fighting it. Can you see why I was unsettled?

I looked at the others, wondering if they'd noticed anything odd. Miroku had one questioning eyebrow up, regarding the demon with confusion where as Inuyasha's frown became more apparent and he began to look around the forest for other assailants. Sango was also looking at the demon lord but with a surprised blank look as though she seriously doubted what she was seeing. Kirara, who minutes before had turned into her full demon form, meowed and changed back into kitten form and crouched down at the foot of a befuddled Shippo. Okay, so it wasn't only me.

Maybe at about twenty yards or so from us, Sesshoumaru suddenly straightened, the speed with which he had been moving dropping considerably. He turned in the air and finally came to a stop maybe ten feet away from where Sango was standing just a little ahead of me. Silently, he glanced around our camp, not bothering to explain his odd appearance and us too shocked to do much but stare back at him. His eyes reached mine and stopped there, something unknown to me shifting behind their gold veil. Ten suddenly his whole face tightened with apparent anger (surprising in itself), his eyes narrowing dangerously, and his hands curling into tight fists. Somewhere to my right and slightly ahead, Inuyasha moved, readying Tessaiga should he need to use it. But before he could do much else, Sesshoumaru turned on his heel s and glided smoothly down the path he had made upon his entrance. But he'd hardly gone more than fifty feet when he stopped. He stood, almost contemplatively then turned to the right and walked that way. This time it took him less than three stops before he stopped again.

In semi-wonder and shock, me and my friends exchanged mystified glances. Was it possible that Sesshoumaru had hit his head and lost his sanity? Well, actually, that was quite possible, the him hitting his head, considering the way he'd been crashing through the trees a few minutes ago.

"Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha decide to ask, and I could tell that he was confused from the lack of rudeness in his tone.

Sesshoumaru didn't answer. Instead, he turned once more, walked toward us but did not stop upon reaching us and continued his smooth strides as though this was all perfectly normal. But again, almost as though there was an invisible barrier, he came to a sudden stop at about the same distance as before.

"What's he doing?" Shippo asked, much of his apprehension gone in the light of the mystery of the situation.

I gave him a small shrug, unable to do the much else as the demon lord copied out his actions in the two remaining direction. At his fifth stop, he paused for a longer time, his whole body so tense that I could see it from the sixty or so feet that lay between us. Then quite casually, he leaned against a nearby tree, his back toward us.

It took us a good minute to take in this anti-climatic ending (although maybe we shouldn't have been so quick to take it as the ending). Inuyasha was first to come to his senses thanks to his quick temper and the rest of us followed him shortly after.

"Oi, Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha called out haughtily though he did not leave our group. "What do you want?"

Again he got no response, which, perhaps was not the best thing that Sesshoumaru could have done to ward off a fight. Wait, what am I saying? For all we knew, that's exactly what he could have been wanting, a fight, although it didn't exactly make sense. Why make Inuyasha to start the fight when he could have started it very well on his own? In fact, if memory serves me right, he'd done exactly that many times before and seed to have no qualms about it. Well anyway....

With an angry growl, Tessaiga brandished for the world to see, Inuyasha leapt towards his older brother. Effortlessly and without even looking behind him, Sesshoumaru dodged Inuyasha's blow, back flipped through the air and over Inuyasha's head all in less than a heartbeat. I could hardly keep track of his movements, but then again that was hardly anything new. His hand flashed forward and with a quick slicing movement of his arm he disarmed Inuyasha before his hair had time to fall back against his body in toe of his flip. Tessaiga fell to the ground and transformed back into its original size. Inuyasha made as to grab for it, hardly aware of what was happening, but was quickly yet efficiently knocked to the ground by Sesshoumaru's other hand.

In my fear for Inuyasha, I quickly strung an arrow, already aiming but paused as Sesshoumaru calmly stepped away from Inuyasha. Beside me Sango and Miroku stopped as well since thy to had started to take charge, ready to come to Inuyasha's help when needed.

With the regular cold look in his eyes, Sesshoumaru looked down at Inuyasha and said, "Leave Inuyasha. I want nothing from you for the moment." I could feel goose pimples forming on my arms at his voice; it was maddeningly calm and deep, totally contrasting his actions. Which h do you believe, the voice, the face, or the actions?

Grunting slightly, Inuyasha pushed himself back onto his feet, glancing warily to where Tessaiga lay peacefully on the ground. "What do you want Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha asked, voicing all our thoughts. "Why are you here?"

It looked as though he was going to once more be answered by silence as Sesshoumaru quietly turned his back once more to us and went to lean against the same tree as before. Then, just when I'd given up all hope, his voice sounded in its calm sort of way. "Go about your normal business. My presence does not concern you."

I so disagreed with him there. I mean come on, did he really expect us to eat breakfast and break camp as he stood calmly by his tree not twenty yards from us? Come on, who was he kidding? And I wasn't the only one to think so either. Almost immediately colour rushed into Inuyasha's face and he turned angrily to face his brother. "Sesshoumaru, you bastard, what do you want?"

But Sesshoumaru seemed to have lapsed back into his silent mode and didn't even spare Inuyasha a glance. Just as Inuyasha was about to start again, Miroku cut in, luckily or unluckily depending on how you look at it.

"Inuyasha, perhaps it'd be best to leave Sesshoumaru-sama alone." Out of our whole group, Miroku was the only one who seemed to think it necessary to always refer to him as Sesshoumaru-sama. We were all pretty used to it.

I could tell that this did little if any to persuade Inuyasha to back off. But I was curious to see what would happen were we to go along with what Sesshoumaru wanted us to do, so I decided to help Miroku out.

"Inuyasha, come on back," I called in a would-be casual voice (it was hard to act natural with Sesshoumaru so close by). "There's still more ramen and it's getting cold."

Inuyasha's eyes widened in shock as though he couldn't believe I'd actually said that. To be honest, neither could I. I mean come on, who thought about ramen when there was a dangerous and potentially psychotic demon lord about? But I'd already said it and now had to move on.

Sango, a bit less enthusiastic about listening to the demon lord, gave him a suspicious look over as though looking for hidden motives. But we all know that was a lost cause; if Sesshoumaru didn't want you to know something then you wouldn't. After a few minutes, Sango gave up and went to join Miroku and Shippo at the campfire. Inuyasha was the only one left.

He turned and gave us all an incredulous look. Then, almost stealthily, he picked up Tessaiga and I could tell he wanted to transform it.

"Inuyasha," I said with warning in my voice and was surprised to know that I wasn't the only one who'd said it. Sesshoumaru's voice, though calmer than my own, did a much better job of conveying the danger that Inuyasha's action would inaugurate.

Perhaps it was the double threat of being beaten to a pulp and being sat that made Inuyasha sheath his sword. I let out a sigh of relief, hoping this would be the end of it. I knew, maybe if we ignored him, Sesshoumaru would just up and leave. Then again...who was I kidding?

Inuyasha followed me back to the camp fire, but kept his eyes on Sesshoumaru and his hand on Tessaiga's hilt. But I couldn't blame him; in fact, I was happier for it. We all were.

We went on with the rest of our day as though he wasn't there, but it was almost painfully obvious that it was all an act. Our movements were careful and at all times wary and any possible conversation was strained or all together non-existent. We finished breakfast and Miroku and Shippo were commissioned the task of cleaning up. I had my math book out and was studying but was hardly concentrating, making sure to keep one hand on my bow and arrow. Inuyasha stood guard the whole time, keeping his eyes glued on his brother. Yet throughout the whole while, Sesshoumaru stood frigidly by his tree, not even turning to glance at us and what we were doing. Needless to say, it was all very unnerving, never mind confusing.

It was when we'd started on our path for the day that we got our first reaction out of Sesshoumaru. I'd taken less than ten steps when I'd suddenly heard a soft growl from the demon lord. We all whipped around quickly, wanting to know what had elicited the growl.

He was standing in pretty much the same position as before, only now a few feet away from the tree he'd been leaning on. His hands were once again curled into fists, showing more anger than ever before. But then, after a short few heartbeats, his hands unfurled and he turned to face us, a blank expression back over his features.

"Continue."

Okay, I swear to god, I nearly fell to the ground. What was with this guy? Did he even realise how odd he was acting?

It was Inuyasha's turn to growl, but once more he was silenced by Miroku. "Let's just go Inuyasha," Miroku said calmly, then added in an undertone (although I'm pretty sure Sesshoumaru heard anyway with his super sensitive ears), "I have a theory."

Well now that was promising; when ever Miroku had a theory it often turned out true. I glanced quickly at Sesshoumaru for a reaction but all I got back was a nonchalant look. Okay, I'll admit it, sometimes I really hated that poker face of his. How were you supposed to know what went on inside his head without any clue? But hey, maybe there really was nothing going on in that skull of his. Ha ha ha, yeah, that's definitely it....

...Okay, so I'm not exactly logical when under strain, but it's not like it's my fault...ahem, yeah.

We were all very curious as to what was going, but we didn't dare question Miroku about his theory while Sesshoumaru was within hearing range. So, instead, we decided to continue on our way as Sesshoumaru had suggested...or rather ordered. Whatever. For every step that we took, however, Sesshoumaru took one twenty yards behind us, almost like a very boring version of 'follow the leader'.

Normally, I'm a very patient person and all my friends (with the exception of Inuyasha who would never openly admit to it) could vouch for it. But there are times, like when I'm solving (or trying to anyway) a very hard problem, patient Kagome disappears off the face of the earth. So, for example, when I was maybe nine years old, my grandfather gave me a rubix cube for my birthday, and I loved it. I'd been asking for one for months. But as the days wore on and I failed to solve it, my patience grew non-existent and by the third day, my mother found the remains of my once coveted present at the bottom of the trashcan, covered in dirt and yesterday's pizza. In short, frustration and me, not a good combination. In any case, the mystery of the ever following Sesshoumaru was beginning to have me frustrated and I knew full well that soon, my friends (and Sesshoumaru) would be acquainted with frustrated Kagome. The same thing was true for Inuyasha though. And as I glanced at him and the look on his face, I immediately grew ashamed of myself. As much as I loved Inuyasha for who he was (and that included his short temper), I did not want to have the same temper as him and so I resolved to remain as calm as I possibly could.

But the question remained, why was he following us? I glanced at him, noting his speed and distance were exactly the same as before. Odd and creepy didn't even begin to describe it.

At about one o'clock according to my watch, we stopped for lunch and a short break. It was Sango's turn to cook and Miroku went to help er. Behind us, at still 60 feet, Sesshoumaru stopped and sat on a boulder. An idea had occurred to me as we'd walked and I was eager to discuss it with the others. Throughout our whole walk today, he'd kept at almost exactly the same distance almost as though something kept him there. However, I didn't want to risk being overheard, so I settled for taking another go at my math homework.

This time around, I concentrated better having succumbed to the oddity of our situation. I didn't pay much attention to the others, glancing up only when the sound of a slap reverberated in the little clearing we sat in. I can't even say what the others were doing for sure, just that they were actually quieter than normal. Not that I was complaining for I now finally had the quiet that I needed to do my homework.

In about half an hour, lunch was ready and was wafting delicious smells among us. I could feel my stomach rumbling with hunger, the morning meal just didn't feel all so satisfactory with the demon lord's sudden appearance. I accepted a big helping from Sango with a big smile on my face and was just about to take my first bite when I suddenly stopped, feeling uncomfortable. The others, including Inuyasha, had started eating, seemingly unaware of anything disconcerting. I glanced nervously to where Sesshoumaru was sitting, looking blankly at the sky above. But I swear I could see a pondering look in his eyes. I glanced back at the others.

"Guys, don't you think we should at least offer him some?" I asked, pointing to the remaining food still simmering in my pot. I just couldn't start eating with him sitting there and not. It's one of those pet peeves of mine, brought on by mother's insistence on being polite.

There was a hushed silence about the camp and Inuyasha seemed to think I'd officially lost my mind judging by the look on his face. It took them a few minutes, but slowly Sango gave a shrug and Miroku said, "I don't see why not."

With a rather uneasy smile of my own, I reached into my backpack and pulled out an extra bowl. But before I could even begin to fill it, I was interrupted by Sesshoumaru himself.

"That won't be necessary."

Oh so it does live!

Well, never mind. I glanced at him, noting that he was still looking up at the sky, his expression as blank as before. Then, with a shrug, I put the bowl back in my backpack and ate my lunch. If he didn't want any food that was his business. Duty only called for me to offer. The choice was up to him. Yet, there was still a nagging feeling in my stomach that said I was missing something.

Afterward, we went on with our day as we had in the morning, us going our way and Sesshoumaru following sixty feet behind us like some silent, white shadow. Inuyasha snapped at him at intervals and each time was silenced mostly under the threat of being sat. But by now, we could all sympathize with him. What the hell was he doing with us?

But soon, the mystery of Sesshoumaru was swept from my mind by a more immediate mystery. I was walking beside Sango, Shippo on my shoulder as I pushed my bike along with me. The sun was slowly sinking toward the west though it was still quite a way from sunset.

Suddenly, without my realising it, I felt my feet stumble awkwardly and I though I was about to fall. Luckily, I managed to steady myself in time to avoid the fall, though I ended up stubbing my toe painfully against a rock. Okay, it's been a while since I'd dirked out like this. I mean, sure the road was uneven and gravely, but I'd honestly thought I'd become used to it after two years of walking on it and other such paths. I quickly glanced around me, checking to make sure no one had noticed and much to my relief, Shippo didn't mention anything. I sighed a sigh of relief and pushed the whole thing out of my mind.

Hardly half an hour had passed when I stumbled again, this time far worse than before so that I couldn't stop the sudden gasp from leaving my lungs. But I could've sworn I'd felt as though I'd been pushed. First thing that came to my mind was to check on Sesshoumaru, but he was merely looking at the ground with an intense look as though the rest of the world was dead to him. Okay, so he hadn't pushed me.

"Are you okay Kagome?" Shippo's voice sounded from my right and I turned to give him a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine Shippo-chan." That seemed to be enough for him and nothing more was mentioned.

Inuyasha picked this time to call out to Sesshoumaru again. "Oi, you planning on following us all day?"

Up till now, Sesshoumaru had been ignoring us, especially Inuyasha. But he looked up suddenly, his fine brows furrowing only slightly as he frowned at us. "I have neither the time nor the patience for you right now."

At this, Inuyasha whirled around angrily. "Then why don't you leave us alone then, you bastard." Really, he had a point there. If he really didn't want have anything to do with us so badly, all he had to do was leave.

In a flash, Sesshoumaru was standing directly before Inuyasha, his left hand wrapped tightly around Inuyasha's throat as his other hand fished out to keep Inuyasha's hands in control. "Watch your language, little brother, or I won't hesitate to snap your worthless neck in half." The warning in his voice rang too clearly to be underestimated, even by me despite my fascination with underestimation.

I pulled an arrow into place and quickly aimed (something needless considering how close he was), watching as Inuyasha turned steadily redder. "Let him go." It was surprising even to me just how deceptively calm my voice was.

For a second his hold on Inuyasha tightened and an odd look seemed to transfer between the two brothers. Then, his fingers unwound themselves and his hands fell to his side. He turned and walked away and took his station sixty feet away from us. Okay, I think it was safe to say I was dumbfounded. How come he hadn't chided me, let alone attacked me? He'd done it before, what held him back now? What was this?

Perhaps out of nervousness or due to some secret understanding, Inuyasha chose not to linger on the situation. Instead, he began walking again, leading us through the countryside. After a few minutes, Miroku left his position at Sango's side and went to walk beside Inuyasha, quietly discussing something as soon as they were side by side. Sango fell into step with me and we exchanged mystified looks. There were just too many mysteries and secrets going about today.

We stopped a little ways off a river bank for the night. I handed out some sandwiches that my mom had made as we sat around the campfire. Once more I thought it would be best to offer the demon lord some food, but my offer was easily rejected. I did not insist, especially not after he'd attacked Inuyasha.

It was as I was reading my language class notes that it happened again, and this time there was no way I could've ignored it. Shippo was sitting on Sango's lap, playing with Kirara, while Sango was busy polishing Hiraikotsu. Miroku sat close by her, though he seemed a bit preoccupied. Inuyasha, as oppose to normal, stood leaning against a nearby tree in an uncanny imitation of his brother who stood twenty yards before us. I was completely absorbed in my work, comparing Yume's notes with the ones I had made. Then, quite suddenly, I found myself sprawled on the ground as though I'd been pushed forcefully from behind. I was so stunned that it took me several minutes to take in what had happened. I just lay there, flat on my stomach, blinking as my mind slowly began to function again.

"Oookay...," I said in a faint voice as I sat back up again. "What the hell!"

"Kagome!" Shippo said, jumping to my side. "Are you okay?"

I looked up, unsure how to respond to this, and noticed that everyone was now looking at me with wide, incredulous eyes as though I'd just sprouted a second head from my neck, and I could feel the red burning into my face. Sure I was odd and weird by the standards of sengoku jidai, but even I had my limits.

"What happened?" Inuyasha asked, moving to crouch down beside me.

Couldn't have told you if I'd wanted to, I thought to myself. I opened my mouth to say so out loud, but was interrupted by Miroku before I could even get a word out.

"That's not going to work, Sesshoumaru-sama, and you know it too."

Well, now that was odd to say. I looked at Miroku, trying to confirm that he had actually said what I'd heard. He was looking steadily at Sesshoumaru, a bemused look on his face. In my confusion, I whipped around to see what it was that Sesshoumaru had been doing that was apparently not going to work. Was he trying to sneak up behind Inuyasha while he was distracted to steal Tessaiga?

No, he was doing nothing of the sort. Actually, he stood exactly where he had been the last time I'd looked, a cold look of displeasure on his face as he openly glared at Miroku. Okay, was he trying to turn Miroku into stone? Well, it wasn't working and honestly, I don't think I could tell you exactly how Miroku was managing to keep calm under such a stare.

Then, with what I swear was a sigh, his stoic mask took over his face again and he said, "How long have you known?"

Okay, three words: what the hell?!

Miroku seemed to know exactly what. "I suspected so from your entrance. Though I did not think it was with Kagome-sama."

What? What with Kagome-sama? I quickly looked at the others; was I the only one missing something here? Shippo had had a look that showed the amount of confusion I was feeling. Sango, though looking surprised and a bit concerned, looked as though she was on the verge of understanding something. And Inuyasha, most surprising of all, was taking this quite calmly and there was even a mischievous glow in his eyes. I had to speak up.

"Uh...Miroku, what exactly are you talking about?"

With one last glance toward Sesshoumaru, Miroku turned to face me, the laughter in his eyes growing more evident. "The reason why you fell down just now."

Okay, that didn't simplify matters. Honestly, did he think it would?

"What?" That about summed it up.

"I don't know much about it, but there's a spell on Sesshoumaru-sama," Miroku answered.

"Oh, don't be too vague," I said as he stopped there and looked as though he wouldn't continue.

Once more, Miroku glanced at Sesshoumaru, almost as though asking for permission. "I don't know how much of this I can tell without getting myself killed. But seeing as how it's with you, Kagome-sama, you have the right to know." He paused to glance once more at Sesshoumaru.

I turned around in my seat to look at him too. His face was blank, and he was staring off into space again, almost as though he wasn't even aware of our presence. So I guess that's as much as a go-ahead as we could've expected from Sesshoumaru.

Miroku seemed to agree with me on this for he began to tell me what he knew with a little help from a still shocked Sango who also seemed to understand the situation. As it would seem, Sesshoumaru had gone and gotten himself into a spot of trouble with some holly spirit or extremely powerful demon (for only such were capable of casting this kind of spell) one way or another. And to prove their point or to punish him (Sesshoumaru failed to clarify as to which it was) the demon or spirit had gone and put the spell on Sesshoumaru. The spell, it would seem, was a binding spell that forced the victim (in this case Sesshoumaru) to stay within twenty yards and no more of the indirect victim (and now me) at all times for an indefinite amount of time until such time as the spell has been lifted.

I blinked, my mind fighting to take all this in. it crossed my mind that this could just be some practical joke, but if it was, how did they get Sesshoumaru to go along with it?

"Okay," I said slowly, trying to keep up, "so you're telling me that I'm gonna be stuck with Sesshoumaru within 18meters of me for god knows how long?"

Miroku nodded, his eyes still laughing, and I felt myself pale. "Yes, Kagome-sama."

Okay, breathe Kagome, breathe. This can't be happening. And why were Inuyasha and Miroku taking this so calmly. I could see some of my fear reflected in Sango and Shippo's eyes.

I shook my head, refusing to accept it. "How? How did they even get close enough to put the spell on him/ this is Sesshoumaru we're talking about here." For someone who travelled back and forth in time through a well, travelled with youkai and helped fight them and collected pieces of a magic jewel, I was having a lot of difficulty accepting this.

Miroku shrugged and looked at the demon lord again. "I don't know the details."

I looked around helplessly, my eyes falling on the current cause of my troubles. Sesshoumaru had turned his head so that now he was staring with great intensity at me even though he still had his stoic mask over his face. I tried to stare back but it was a hopeless battle. I turned back to Miroku.

"We don't know how or why the spell was cast," Miroku said, his voice suddenly sympathetic. "All we know is that it is done and now you must live with it."

I shook my head in denial, didn't he understand just how much of a difference this made in my life?

"Stop being scared," Inuyasha grunted unsympathetically. "He's not going to kill you."

Honestly, I didn't know Inuyasha had that much faith in his brother especially since the number of attempts his brother had made on my life weren't exactly non-existent.

"And what makes you say that?" Sango asked in my stead, her eyes narrowed with anger or suspicion.

"If he wanted to, he would've already tried to," Inuyasha said smugly and I realised that he was right though it brought me little comfort. But there was a hidden ring of laughter to Inuyasha's voice that gave me the distinct feeling that he knew more than he was letting on.

"He's only tried to ward off the spell," Miroku added. "Hence why Kagome-sama fell down.'

"It's a relief to know at least I'm not that clumsy," I said under my breath. Really, it was astonishing that we were having this conversation in front of him and we still had all our limbs in tact. "So then what can we do to take the spell off? Should we go find the person who cast it?"

Again Miroku shrugged but it was Sango who answered. " I doubt that would do much help. Most binding spells that I've read about can only be removed once the terms have been met."

"The terms?"

"The conditions that was asked for by the caster or something like that. Basically, the reason for casting the spell. If the issued is resolved, then the spell will be lifted automatically."

I blinked in surprise. That was it? Once more I glanced at the demon lord but turned away again as I saw that he was till staring straight at me. "So then, why are we here? How come he hasn't just done what needs to be done?"

It was Sango's turn to shrug. "Perhaps he doesn't know how to do it.'

"Or he may prefer things as they are," Miroku suggested, now openly smiling. Sometimes, I would like nothing better than to break his nose to teach him a good lesson. Honestly, what part of this was funny?

"Feh!" Inuyasha sounded at my frown. "I didn't know you were this scared of Sesshoumaru." Was it just me, or did Sesshoumaru just growl at this?

I jumped to my feet to face Inuyasha; I was angry. "I'm not scared. I'm worried. Have you though of what happens if we get attacked? He won't be able to move freely–,"

"Who cares about that?"

"And about when I need to take a bath or something –,"

"You take too many."

"--and what about when I go home? What happens then?!" I growled, my frustration getting the best of me.

At this, Inuyasha smiled and I could feel the blood rushing to my face. "All the more reason for you not to go."

"I can't not go!" By now I was fighting to keep my voice level. Hardly remembering that the others were still there. 'I have tests and quizzes that I'm already failing, thanks to you. And I need to see my family and friends. I won't just give them up for you!"

It was Inuyasha's turn to turn red. "All you should be concerned about is finding the jewel shards. Don't you even care whether we get Naraku?"

It was a question but I hardly needed to answer it. The answer was obvious and I hated Inuyasha for doubting it. I remained silent, trying to get a hold over my emotions for the sake of my dignity even though I would've liked nothing better to punch that look off his face. Getting into a fight with Inuyasha, however, has always been pointless. He's too stubborn to admit to anything, and I would just be wasting my breath; I had long since outgrown the age that sitting him would satisfy me. I let out a slow breath, once more in control of myself and turned instead to Miroku. Perhaps he would be able to shed some light on this whole situation.

"Isn't there anyway we can lift it?"

Miroku shook his head and said, "Only Sesshoumaru-sama can tell us that."

I frowned then sighed, deciding it would be best to accept it and move along. Things would go more smoothly that way, although maybe I should question him about this. There were just too many unknowns that he would be able to clear away if he was willing. Then we could perhaps lift this spell before long and free both of us. I could hardly imagine spending the rest of my life with Sesshoumaru always there in the background, though I guess I would probably get used to it. But it was definitely something that I wasn't looking forward to, and I'm sure neither was he. In the past couple of years, I'd come to put up with his "visits" and I've come across him enough times to hardly be afraid of him now. After all, Sesshoumaru had improved much in the sense that he no longer attacked us, save Inuyasha and even that only occasionally. Often we crossed paths and he would just leave, sometimes after exchanging a few thoughts here and there about Naraku and what not. In fact, I must say, he had become quite dependable in our fight against Naraku and had saved our lives at least once, and in my case twice (including the time he saved me from Mokotsu). If Inuyasha couldn't get to us, then chances were that somehow or other Sesshoumaru did. Sure he was less scary, but he remained unapproachable and seemed to like it that way.

That night as I went to sleep, wary with having Sesshoumaru, especially a reluctant Sesshoumaru, that close while I slept, many questions and worries plagued me. What happened when I wanted to go home? He would definitely not like being in a world where only humans existed and without half the peace and quiet of the forests of sengoku jidai. And the fact was, he would be a danger to my friends and my family, let alone himself. That is if I am even able to take him through the well. Would he be stuck in the past, the spell keeping me back along with him? Would I be able to go home?

I wondered what the terms had been and why Sesshoumaru hadn't already completed them. And why on earth was I the one picked for this? I mean, if I had to, I would understand if it was Inuyasha. But me? What could possibly be gained from attaching him to me?