Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, not this chapter, not the next or any others.

A/N: I originally planned to finish the whole story before posting, but this is as far as I can go for now. Don't know when the next update will be. I could be tomorrow, or next year. Give it a try and see if you like it. Thanks for the read.

She found herself beside a river bank; she recognized it as the river in the Inuyasha forest where she sometime took a walk to.

Good, that meant she wasn't too far from the village, about thirty minute walk, and was lucky that the dimensional hole thingy had not done her any harm. She should head back. Everyone must have been worried.

Just then her stomach growled. She looked at the position of the sun which indicated that it was almost noon.

She had been out all night?

It was evening when that black portal swallowed her. It was strange that no one, especially Sesshomaru and Inuyasha who had keen noses, had come to get her. Inuyasha often came if she had gone somewhere without informing anyone and wasn't back after nightfall because of the many lost events in the forest, and almost become demon's food experiences from the past, they were a bit over protective of her. It hadn't change even now when she was all grown up.

Well, she was all intact and in one piece so it shouldn't matter. She wanted to return to the village right away, but her stomach seemed to have another idea, so she decided to catch some fish instead. She had been out all night, it shouldn't make that much different to add an hour or two. She needed strength to walk after all.

A few minutes later, two fish were laid on the river bank. Catching fish was her specialty. She had spent most of her life catching them, and it had the fun of its own.

She then built a fire; it wasn't easy without proper equipment. She missed the green imp demon, Jacken, at a time like this, when he would proudly built fire by using the two heads staff of a young human woman and an old man, and boasting about how important he was. She smiled at the memory.

She had gathered some dry woods and leaves as well as rocks. She was lucky to find the kind that would start a flicker of fire if smashed against one another.

After she had recharged her energy with food, she headed back toward the village, thinking about the reality she did not want to face. She had been proposed to and somehow Sesshomaru had gotten the wind of it. She told him it was true and told him that Fumio, was a good man which was also another truth, when he asked what the boy was like. She had wanted to know about his thought on the idea of her getting marry, which she now wished she never knew.

"Do as you wish," and "Do you need help with the wedding preparation?" he said. She had to use all of her straight to not burst out to tears at his indifference and willingness to help. She had already refused the proposal right out the bat, but now she couldn't even tell him so. It hurt so much to know that he did not think of her the same way she did him. She lied to him saying she would let him know if she decides on anything.

She took a walk into the forest to clear her head, more like to release her sadness where no one, but birds and wild animals would see her tears. In there, she wailed to her heart content. She was not a crybaby, but she couldn't help feeling sad.

She was in no hurry, letting the evening sun bath her skin after she had released some of her sadness. Her right hand was holding a branch she had picked up along the way and swayed it freely on her way back. She wanted to cry some more and drown in her misery longer, but to have Inuyasha come and find her in such a messy stage, running nose, buffy eyes, when he tracked her scent down would be a disaster. He is kind, but his insensitive and sometime big mouth personality would have alarmed the whole village that she had been crying, and everyone, especially Kagome, would be on her case to no end. She did not mind her knowing, but she didn't want everyone to pity her, to remind her the painful truth that he had rejected her.

Just then, an old white haired demon, about seventy in human's age, with bat-like ears was screaming telling her to get out of the way.

Get out of the way of what?

She looked around in confusion. A dark dimensional hole was opening right in front of her, reminding her of the time Sesshomaru's mother opened the portal way to hell.

Too late!

When she spotted it, it was already on her, pulling her in. She heard the old bat-ears demon screaming how she shouldn't be here, mixing with her own screaming inside the freezing dimension.

I'm going to die, she thought as her lungs were knocked out of airs, and everything turned black.

But she didn't die apparently since she was now on her way to the village. The only problem was there was no village when she got there.

She stared at the supposed to be a village that was now instead inhabited by trees. She stared at it, mouth opened, lost for words.

What happened to the village?

She then ran toward the hill where the supposed to be bone eater well was, but same as the village, only the hill was there. Something wasn't right. The whole world seemed to be spinning. No, everything wasn't right.

Her legs felt like they would collapse, but she refused to give in. Unconscious for one night was enough; she couldn't afford to waste any more time. She needed to investigate what was going on.

She then turned rapidity to find the Inuyasha tree and was surprised to find the, someday-will-be-big-enough-to-pin-Inuyasha, tree. It was about ten year-old, give or take. How did she know it was the right tree? Very reasonable; instinct!

Her legs finally gave in, and she was kneeling in front of the tree.

Had she gone back in time?

For how far? A hundred year? Two hundred?

It could be longer, giving how small the tree was.

Crab!

What should she do now? Not only could she never tell her lord she loves him, but would never see him again. She always knew in the back of her mind that she would never be in a romantic relationship with him, but to stay by his side as his ward was still a choice. But now she lost even that chance. Her friends too, she would never see them again. She blankly stared at the tree as if it would suddenly carve a path to the future.

Just then a low, smooth, boyish voice came from the forest commended her to, "Move". Her eyes followed the voice into the forest where a boy about fifteen in human age was standing. His cold golden eyes stared at her nonchalantly, his head held high with dignity even when his white kimono was all torn and smeared with dripping bed blood that did not seem like it would stop anytime soon.

She was staring at the new comer with mix feelings, too shock to speak. Her eyes watered in happiness to have met him here, but afraid for his injures and his life.

Just then, the too familiar growling green whip came straight at her in a wave snake-like. If not for her quick reflex after all the training Sango and Kohaku had put her through, she would had shared the same fate as the tree behind her which was now cut in half, sending echoing sound throughout the forest on its way down.

He tried to kill me? Lord Sesshoumaru? She thought in disbelief, but then remembered that he was not the same lord who had been doting on her. He had yet to meet her.

Ironically, the one lying on the ground now was Sesshomaru. His wounds must have been too much and had knocked him out cold.

She laid him against a nearby tree, which wasn't an easy job. Even though he was a head shorter than he was or he would be in the future, he was till tall, the same height as Rin. And boy, the weight of an unconscious person wasn't feather light.

She took off his breast piece armor to inspect the wounds, knowing he would be extremely pissed when he wakes up, but she didn't care. His safety came first. She then took off the top half of his kimono to inspect the wounds. He would have been dead if he were a human because there was a hollow hole about a fist size in his stomach; two more nasty claw marks on his right shoulder.

She untied the water bottle from her waist, she did not always carry it, but somehow she did this time, and she was happy that she did.

She washed his wounds as best she could and patched up the wounds with bandages made of the torn of her skirt kimono.

Oh, boy, I hope he won't kill me for having my scent all over him, she thought.

While he rested, she decided to hunt for food. She had never seen him eat, he's too dignifies to let anyone watch him consuming and always said he did not like human's foods. But not liking and not needing are different things. She should prepare something in case Sesshomaru changed his mind.

Too bad, she did not have her bow with her. The hunt would've been a lot easier.

She pulled out her knife, or a short sword, when she found a prey, a rabbit.

Why did she have a knife?

Why not?

In a land where demons loaming around picking humans for food, how could she, who had been well trained, went into the forest alone without any weapon?

She didn't enjoy the killed, but she had to eat, and that was the way of life so as she did the same thing she had done a million times, aimed and threw the knife.

Talking about the knife, it was given by Sesshomaru just a year ago when she was sixteen. He did not expect her to be capable of fighting, the fragile little girl who had always needed protection and always had protectors both inside and outside of the village. But experiences and taught her otherwise. She could not expect to always be protected because even if she were saved a million times, there would be a time when she would have to face it herself.

So she asked Sango to train her, and often given tips from Kohaku whenever he was around. Sesshomaru himself trained her once in a while. She wanted to be independent enough to not be a distraction for her protectors in fights. "Don't make me work harder than I have to," her lord had once said.

She skinned the rabbits, three of them, built a small fire for the second time that day, and roasted them. If a choice were given, she would have stewed them, the kind that would make your mouth water just by being near it, but the lacked of equipment and ingredients, roasted would have to do. With all that done, he returned to her lord's side, imagine the moment when he wakes up. It could go many ways.