A/N: Hello everyone! I am (as always) so sorry for my readers for not having this out sooner. There have been a load of computer problems, but now I finally have a brand-spanking new laptop! Yay me!

I realize that it has been much longer than a year since my last update, but I have been wrestling with a bit of an issue that I hope all of you would lend me some help with. If you please! These are just the times when I wish that had a polling option like they do on deviantArt… That would be so awesome!

I apologize in advance for this chapter being so short. I wanted to continue to do a little fluff! Hehe.

It is at the end of this chapter so I don't bore all of you to tears with my ranting and heaps of doubt! Please enjoy the chapter, and hopefully you will take the time to read the additional author's note at the end of this!

Thank You: As of now, the list has simply become much too long for me to continue listing all of the names of my loyal, absolutely FANTASTIC readers that have stuck by me through and through, even with my erratic updates and my endless whining about pre-medical school life.

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless."

-Mother Theresa

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah. I bet that's all you readers hear and read when you see these disclaimers. They're the same every time – especially since I copy and paste this on each chapter... Inuyasha and the characters affiliated with him do not, in any way, belong to me. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, Shogakuken, etc.

Chapter 18: Blue Skies

"A wind has blown the rain away and blown the sky away and all the leaves away, and the trees stand. I think, I too, have known autumn too long."

E. E. Cummings

This was not good… Not good at all.

The little red vines seemed no more than small tattoos, but Kagome knew better. They appeared right after Okinamaru had revealed some of her new powers, brought her wings into the light. Even now, in the distant recesses of her mind, Kagome could hear their soft rustling, much like the brush of comforting hands. She put them away, but they remained near. Constant. It was strangely… comforting.

The swirling whorls spread so much wider now than before. Their path was no longer limited to the backs of her arms and down to her hips. They crept along from the small, warm place over her heart and edged along her back, tickled against her side and curved along her breast like a lover's hand.

Kagome peered closer to the mirror, nearly nose-to-nose with the glass. She turned all around. Once. Twice. She did it one last time before exposing the graceful line of her back. A long skirt hung low about her hips and threatened to fall. All she could see were the criss-crossed vines.

This was definitely not good, Kagome decided to herself when she traced a slender vine. She followed it from her shoulder blade, around to her neck. "Damn."

Asking Okinamaru would be so awkward. She'd never disrobe to show him what she meant. She doubted she needed to, but he should never see this. She looked so odd standing before the mirror. It looked as though someone had taken a permanent marker to her skin.

Lips curled in distaste and worry, Kagome tugged the upper half of the plain dress she wore up and over her arms. The little buttons in the back were much harder when there was not a servant around to help. Today she just felt like being alone though… With no one to constantly flutter around her as an irritating moth intent to be devoured by a flame. Inuyasha told her no one should know they were leaving.

She wrestled, staggering around her empty room with a few choice words when her toe slammed into the corner of the bed.

Stupid thing was too large and too bulky.

Pride obviously bruised to match her poor foot, Kagome did the last of the buttons at the top of the dress and breathed out a thick sigh of relief. It was done. She smoothed her hands over the edge of the bodice, lingering over a single shred of lace hugging at her hip. None of her clothing back home was ever like this. She recalled her closet at home now and remembered that she did not have a stitch of feminine clothing.

Kagome spent another moment glancing herself over. None of the vines could be seen anywhere in this dress, and that satisfied her greatly.

She would need to leave soon; Inuyasha was waiting somewhere downstairs to show her around his world. Small sparks of anxiety rushed up her spine at the foreboding thought. It was ridiculous because no one save for those at the ball would be able to recognize her.

Biting down hard on the side of her cheek, Kagome slipped out with a lasting sigh that seemed to seal the door behind her.

"To be honest, when you said you were going to show me Madrien, this was not exactly what I was envisioning."

A sot rustle, an amused smirk she could almost hear stretching his lips. "No? What were you expecting, sweetling?"

"I don't know… It was not this though." A moment of silence settled in the small space between them. "Don't call me sweetling, Inuyasha. You keep making me repeat myself."

At that, Inuyasha laughed. He was not making her do anything. Kagome was just too stubborn to let the name pass by her. He thought maybe he could wear her down, but hers was a stubborn lot. It amused him to no end actually, and, he thought not with a frown creasing his forehead, it did the same to Kouga. He raised a hackle at the thought but it passed quickly enough. Kagome agreed to go with him today.

The silence returned, as gentle as ever. Strangely, it was not something either of them seemed to mind.

They sat at the fringes of some woods Inuyasha never bothered to identify. Kagome wouldn't have remembered it anyway. They stopped there with the horses grazing not too far from them with their aimless amblings, rooting through tall grasses that brushed now at Kagome's arm. She looked down briefly. Something glinted to the edges of her vision, and just as quickly her gaze was drawn up from the grass. Was everything more peaceful here, or was she just lazy?

Probably just lazy. Kagome smiled at the thought. She drew her knees up, the edges of the dress already tucked under her feet. Inuyasha should have told her they were going to ride horseback, but maybe he was just not that thoughtful. Kagome could believe that. She sighed inaudibly and closed her eyes.

This felt nice.

"Sweetling?"

And there went that feeling right with the wind. Kagome turned her head to the side, cheek pressed along her knee. "What was that?" she wondered with dripping honey along her lips.

Inuyasha met her gaze wryly, arching an eyebrow, but inclined his head. "Kagome," the hanyou emphasized with great gravity. In turn, Kagome smiled more genuinely this time and nodded to indicate that she was listening to him.

"Were you hoping to see some of those… 'malls' you showed me back in your world? I can tell you there is nothing like that here," Inuyasha explained. Kagome marred her forehead with a frown. It was highly unlikely, but she could swear Inuyasha was almost disappointed.

Kagome shrugged to hide her disbelief of her thought trails. "It's not really a big deal. I'm shocked you even remembered what it was called," she teased him shamelessly. "I like this though. It's quiet." Kagome blinked, as though trying to pull Inuyasha together in a clearer picture. He cocked his head to the side, ears drawing forward a little more.

The action caused her to laugh. Those ears were so cute! She sighed yet again and shrugged. Again. Kagome knew she had to stop doing that.

She continued her words a little hesitantly. "To be honest, I'm not really too ready to go back out among people. You know, since the entire ball fiasco. They'll stare you know."

Inuyasha felt a small churn in his stomach at the confession. Her voice dropped low to almost blend into the wind. He knew then she had not been meaning to admit her fear, but it might have just… slipped out. He lay under dappled light, arms crossed behind his head. He turned golden eyes to meet blue skies. What was he going to say to that? Kagome's gaze went to something else in the landscape; obviously she did not expect an answer, but that bothered him.

Did that mean he could offer nothing to her? Inuyasha's brow ticked. That was nonsense. He could deal with this. In one way. What would Sesshomaru say? As soon as the thought came to him, he dismissed it. His brother was a demon. Like he would know how to offer comfort. How did Selena put up with him day-in and day-out? And have children-? Inuyasha made a small face and wiped his mind clean. Think about something else.

He could just reach out and kiss her. That would distract Kagome quickly, and all of these thoughts of fear would just go away.

Somehow, the plan did not have as much merit as it would have a little while ago. Inuyasha did not know why that was, but it was. Acting instead on no inner voice, he reached out with a clawed hand and ran a hand down the length of her arm, traced the crease of her elbow before latching onto her wrist. Kagome allowed this with stunned silence. This was not an Inuyasha she was used to… He just stared ahead like his hand acted on its own. Her bewilderment only increased when he turned her palm over and laced their fingers together. Their hands fell on the grass between them.

"I was not looking forward to another shopping trip with you anyway, Kagome," Inuyasha said gruffly. Confusion sizzled along Kagome's skin and against his. He resisted looking to her features. "You have such strange tastes in clothing. I fear what you'd pick out and make me wear in front of my people." Inuyasha finally melded golden eyes with her own azure ones. "I could not face them either."

It took Kagome a second longer than usual to figure out what Inuyasha was trying to say. When she did, her features softened. Kagome stretched out beside Inuyasha until she was staring at the sky as well. Their clasped hands remained between the two of them.

"Crush my hopes and dreams, why don't you?" Kagome shot back.

Inuyasha could only hear contentment in her voice.

A/N: I have been thinking over Search for Twilight and when it was started. I began the story back when I was in high school – sophomore year to be exact. I would like to believe that my writing has come a long way since then. Please tell me it's come a long way since then! XD

Lately, I have been receiving numerous PM's about Kagome and Inuyasha falling in love too quickly, and, yes, I do realize that seems to be the trend with this story. I DO apologize for that. I want to first say a big thank you for anyone that comes along and offers me constructive criticism like that. This is in no way a rant against those readers, nor is it a pity cry, or anything of the sort. I, for one, have matured enough through the years to realize that there is no way I would want a story where the characters are all of a sudden in love with one another.

I always appreciate anyone that helps me better my writing. Lord knows it needs a lot of work!

Like I said, I started this back in high school with a good amount of naivety, as well as lack of tact, about writing and the development of relationships. I absolutely lacked the appreciation (and sophistication) to really flesh out a relationship between two characters that might end up being together because it is beautiful and meaningful. You could say I was in absolute adoration of the concept of 'instant gratification' back then. Hehe.

Some of you may (or may not have noticed, and that's okay!) that I have been trying to tone down their relationship, pull it back enough where Kagome can try to figure out where her feelings stand when it comes to Inuyasha, as well as putting together everything else that is going on in her life at this moment – which is undeniably a lot! I realize, though, the previous chapters make the toning-down in later ones seem a bit… unnecessary or incongruous to the story as a whole.

So this rant has brought me to a sort of crossroads right now. If all of you would please help me, I would greatly appreciate it!

My question is this: Would all of you like me to continue writing this story as I have been, or would you like to see me to try for a rewrite?

Leaving the story the way it is gives me the advantage of always seeing how much I have improved as the years have passed as well as helping me further that improvement with each new chapter that is going to be written.

On the other hand, the rewrite will allow me the chance to begin Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship anew. It would no longer be Mary-Sue-esque (hopefully XD). I got comments from readers that this story and its characters might very well be heading in that direction (I believe there are times when it is, and times when it is not). Rewriting it would give me a chance to flesh out the plot and the truth behind Kagome's past further, link ideas that might have gone astray during the long periods between each chapter.

All in all, this decision is not mine to make alone. While I thoroughly love and adore writing, while I know I write for the simple pleasure of writing, I always know there is a larger reason for which I continue this story: it's for all of my readers. All of you are the backbone to this story and breathe life into it. I want to continue to share this story, these characters, their flaws, their trials, everything, with all of you. This is why I would love for all of you to help me in my decision. It is difficult for me to decide because it is not only me that is invested in Search for Twilight. It is all of you.

I would love to hear your answer in a review or in a PM, whichever you prefer and whichever you could afford the time to write me. At any rate, I want to thank all of you for being so wonderful to me and so supportive of this story. Whatever you choose, I still appreciate all of your feedback! Thank you all SO much!