Inuyasha 1. Grief and Resolve

_**Aljan Moonfire does not own Inuyasha in any way, shape, or form.**_

"Speaking."

'_Thinking._'

.-. - scene break and/or POV change

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**_Prologue: Grief and Resolve _**

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Kagome fell through time, her long dark hair billowing with the power inherent in the well that she always trusted to take her home. As always, she landed gently, the soft caress of swirling blue power setting her lightly on her feet. She looked up to check her location, purely out of habit, and was unsurprised to see the roof of the well-house blocking out the sky.

Hitching her old yellow back-pack up on her shoulders, she quickly began to climb the side of the well. Lately she had been spending more and more time in the past, and she was grateful that Inuyasha had promised to give her a week and a half to spend some time with her biological family.

Lately she'd felt like she'd been neglecting them in favor of the strange family she had formed five hundred years in the past. Of course, she also knew that the only reason Inuyasha had conceded so easily was that he'd been distracted by the soul-stealers that had been floating around the forest lately.

It had also been almost three years since she had first been pulled through the well. She'd be turning eighteen over the next week. It had been over a year ago now since she and her companions had had that final confrontation with Naraku at Mt. Hakurei. It didn't help that they hadn't even gotten a glimpse of the foul hanyou since.

Every once and a while they'd be on the foul end of one the monster's cowardly plots, but Inuyasha hadn't managed to get the former human at sword point in a very long time. She knew very well that the Inu-hanyou had gotten far beyond frustrated with the lack of progress in the past year. These days almost all he did was sulk and push her to find more jewel shards.

Not that she could really blame him, but it would be a relief to get away from him for a while. Either way, she had gotten a bit off topic with her thoughts. She sighed and, opening the door a crack to check for witnesses, breathed a sigh of relief when she saw no one there. Feeling free to continue with her reminiscing, she did so.

It hadn't been long after their confrontation with that creepy baby and Kagura that they'd head rumors of a priestess with strong powers traveling through the area. Inuyasha had immediately drawn parallels with his dead lover and had, almost desperately, pushed them all to look for her.

Many different things had happened, things that she didn't really feel like going into right now, but eventually it turned out that the dog-boy had been right. It had indeed been Kikyo that had been the wandering priestess. However, the undead woman had been working through shikigami because she had been badly injured by Naraku's attacks.

Of course, when the woman's disciples had come to Kagome for assistance with purifying the miasma that had slowly been corrupting and destroying Kikyo's clay body, she had immediately agreed to help. It had taken a lot out of her, but she had managed to heal the woman.

When she had woken Kikyo had been gone, but she had just smiled, feeling tired and accomplished. As Kikyo had soon found out, when she had purified the deadly poison she hadn't just healed Kikyo's body, but her very soul.

She had taken away as much hatred and betrayal as she could from her incarnation's heart, and given up at little bit more of her own soul in return. As a result Kikyo could once again feel love, and happiness, and all the positive emotions that made life worth living.

Of course, because Kikyo was dead, no matter how fiercely she clung to life, the emotions were muffled. Despite this, when the woman now thought of Inuyasha it was no longer with unbearable hatred and sadness, but joy and love. She was now able to appreciate the beauty of the world around her again, and instead of simply going through the motions of her duty, she was able to enjoy it.

Astonished, Kikyo had immediately sought out her reincarnation and asked her about it. After that rather enlightening conversation, one which untangled much that had much muddled and misunderstood between them, the two incarnations of the same soul had declared a truce, one that had lasted ever since.

Kagome shook her head to rid it of the introspective thoughts, and pushed open the front door of the house, calling as she did so, "Mama! I'm home!"

Higurashi Nodoka* stuck her head out of the kitchen to welcome home her daughter, "Welcome back, Kagome." The kind woman said with a soft smile.

"It's good to be back." The girl replied with a soft smile as she dropped her large bag in the walkway. After toeing off her shoes the teenager joined her mother in the kitchen.

"We weren't expecting you back so soon," Nodoka told Kagome as she gave her daughter a welcoming hug.

"I managed to convince Inuyasha that letting me back early was a good thing." She replied and then grinned, "You don't mind do you?"

"Of course not, sweetheart." Was her response. "Why don't you go take a bath while I finish up diner?" the woman suggested.

"Sure!" Kagome replied enthusiastically. One of the things she missed the most about the future when she was in the past was the convenience of daily baths and/or showers. She quickly dashed back out the foyer to grab her bag and then made her way upstairs. After dropping her things off in her room and grabbing a clean towel she began to run her bath.

Ten minutes later when she sunk down into the water and relaxed she smiled. "It's good to be home…" she muttered to herself.

.-.

It was less than a week later that Kagome found herself wandering around the mall that was only a short train ride from her family's shrine. Taking an empty table that was small enough to fit only a couple of people at a nearby café, she sat down and quickly ordered something to drink and a pastry.**

When her warm drink arrived she raised it to her lips and took a sip, slowly inhaling the familiar fumes. Whenever she had time to relax like this in her time she was always struck by the paradox that was her own existence. That she was able to feel so at home in such different worlds (for that's what they may as well be) always astonished her.

She loved the past. Despite the dangers that prowled the lands of the Sengoku Jidai, she always found something there to make it worth it. Whether it was her friends, or her adoptive son, or the simple pleasure she was able to take in seeing every star in the sky when she looked up at night, the past never failed to settle something restless in her soul.

But here, in the future… It was where she was raised, where her family was, where she had spent the first fifteen years of her life, unknowing of the immense power nestled in her body and soul. And sometimes, when she sat in a place like this, nibbling away at something sweet in an anonymous coffee shop, she could forget.

Forget about battles and blood and the incessant pulling on her soul that dragged her here and there across the countryside. Forget about pain and screams and death and an innocence she'd never realized she had being ever so slowly stripped away from her. And she'd close her eyes and smile.

But then she would open her eyes and stare down at the hard calluses that had been slowly built up over the years she'd spent wielding a bow and arrow, the small occasional scar marring the smooth skin. And she'd remember. And still, she would smile.

As she smiled she glanced out the clear window of the small shop and her eyes widened as she saw three familiar faces, laughing together like the best friends that they were. Her eyes softened with sadness as she remembered a time when she was one of them.

It had been over two years ago now that she and her three friends had finally graduated from middle school. She had somehow managed to convince her stubborn hanyou friend to let her come for the graduation ceremony.

Afterwards, when the four girls had managed to escape from the throngs of people wishing them well, she had had to listen with sadness as Yuka and Ayumi began to exchange their plans for high school and cheer excitedly about passing the exam to go to the same school. When Eri had turned to her to ask about her plans, she'd had to explain to them how her illnesses were getting worse and that she would have to be home schooled.

They had all been very sympathetic, and promised to keep in touch, promising that they would always be the best of friends, and it had almost made her want to cry. Here her best friends were, trying to comfort her, and here she was, lying straight to their faces. She hadn't seen them since.

Not because they didn't want to see her, or hadn't tried to call and ask how she was and if she wanted to hang out sometime. She was the one avoiding them. She knew that if she met them it would somehow lead to a conversation about Inuyasha, or how she was feeling, and she'd have to lie to them again. She hated lying. And while at the time she had seen the necessity in the stories, when she had graduated she had no longer felt the need to lie to an entirely new student body.

It had hurt, and made her feel like she was abandoning her future for the past, but she had also seen the necessity in the action. She had a responsibility, a duty, to gather the jewel shards and to guard the jewel once it was whole. With her and her group ranging farther and farther out from the village of Edo in their seemingly endless search for Naraku and jewel shards, she just couldn't keep up with two such separate and straining lives. The home schooling was the only compromise she could see.

She ducked down as far as she could in her chair without drawing even more attention to herself and pulled her long dark hair from its clasp; letting it fall forward to shield her face from sight as her former best friends made their way into the coffee shop.

Kagome stiffened as they somehow chose the table right behind her and listened to their on going conversation with one ear. Sipping at her cooling drink, she focused on listening and frowned as she did so. The people and places that they were talking about were entirely unfamiliar to her, their voices lower and smoother with an unfamiliar maturity she'd never heard in them before.

They stayed and spoke for a good hour and even when they finally left they never recognized they person they had sat so close to. Once she was sure they were gone she sat upright again and tucked her hair behind her ears, leaving it loose. She stared slightly mournfully into the pooled remains of the formerly warm drink that nestled loosely in her hand.

Kagome twisted her lips into a slight grimace and swiftly knocked back the last of the beverage. As she carefully set it back down and picked up the tab a waitress had left there almost half an hour ago, she pondered what had just happened, and what it meant.

Her friends had moved on. They hadn't replaced her, or gone out of their way to forget her; but they had moved on all the same. They were growing up, probably getting ready to enter university, and however much they may have disliked it, they were leaving behind the people they had been. They were leaving her behind too.

Suddenly pausing in the process of leaving a tip, the young woman gave a slight shake of her head and continued in her action. No, they hadn't left her behind; they'd left each other behind. And she also knew that it was her fault, not theirs. She had no right to sulk about it.

She gave a slight smile. She was happy for them; really and truly. And she supposed it was time she moved on too. She had two families waiting for her after all. She quickly pulled on the light sweater she had removed when she'd entered the shop an hour and a half ago, paid, and left.

What should she bring back for Shippo this time?

.-.

Two hours later Kagome hummed a happy tune she couldn't quite recall the words to under her breath as the stepped off the train, full shopping bags hanging from each of her hands. Suddenly she stopped and blinked lightly, a strange and foreboding feeling clutching at her heart.

She quickly shook it off and tried to begin humming again but her upbeat mood was long lost now. She shrugged and, readjusting her grip on the bags as she did so, swiftly made her way down the sidewalk, weaving through the other pedestrians with the practiced ease a city dweller never forgets.

Suddenly, multiple sirens wailed through the air as two fire trucks and a police car raced by her in the same direction she had been going. She heard someone near her comment, "Isn't that the direction of the Higurashi Shrine?" he asked.

Kagome's eyes widened and she was suddenly pushing her way through the crowd, all grace gone as she raced her way down the last few blocks left of her journey, that foreboding feeling quickly securing a new and tighter grip on her suddenly heavy heart.

When she saw the smoke and fire rising above the familiar tori gates that led to her family's shrine she suddenly felt as though she was moving through water, unable to move fast enough to escape the desperate fear dragging at her straining limbs.

.-.

The next few days passed in a blur of horror and grief, her eyes unbearably dry as arrangements were made and funerals given. As there were no other surviving relatives and she had recently turned eighteen, the deed to the remains of the Higurashi Shrine was handed over to her, along with anything that had once belonged to her family

She knew she was in shock, knew that as soon as their deaths finally sunk in she'd break, so, for now at least, she clung desperately to the numbness that had enveloped her ever since she had heard the news. Her mind, sharp with pain and grief that, even when numbed by shock, almost drowned her, flew through temporary solutions to her problems and then her body followed through.

Using the money she had inherited, she rented a nearby storage facility and everything that had been salvaged from the remains of the shrine was stored there. Numbly, she packed the new bag she had bought on her trip to the mall on that day that seemed so long ago now, but was really only three days, with the supplies she had also bought then.

Her eyes darkened by the pent up onslaught of emotions she was so carefully keeping under lock and key, Kagome stepped back onto the shrine grounds, carefully avoiding looking at the ash covered remains of what had been her home. The unshakable Goshinboku still stood there; tall and proud as ever despite the persistent scorch marks that were etched into the earth around it. However, her attention was centered on the well house that somehow still stood on shaky legs, guarding what lied within.

She didn't even remember opening the door or jumping into the well, and the next thing she knew, she was collapsed on the ground beside it, five hundred years into the past, sobbing uncontrollably and incoherently into a shoulder the same size as her own as cool arms encircled her in a sympathetic embrace.

.-.

Kikyo had been in the area for awhile, wandering through the forest and occasionally visiting Inuyasha. She had watched as her reincarnation had jumped down the Bone Eater's Well, smiling at the chance to visit her family.

So, she was quite surprised when the girl emerged from the well over three days early. The undead priestess quickly set up a light barrier so Inuyasha wouldn't notice their presence, and moved out of the trees to greet the other miko as she clambered out of the dry well.

She was even more shocked when, on sighting her, the younger girl immediately latched onto the normally stoic woman and began to sob, unintelligible words pouring out of her mouth between harsh breaths. She quickly strengthened the barrier so that the sounds of Kagome's sorrow couldn't escape, and hesitantly returned the embrace in hopes of comforting the clearly distraught girl.

Ever so slowly Kagome's tears softened and eventually died off all together. Kagome suddenly thought to wonder who it had been that had held her through the out pouring of her grief and stiffened in embarrassment, slowly drawing away.

She was slightly surprised that it had been her previous incarnation, but slightly relieved as well. Though Sango could probably relate to her loss the best, it was Kikyo that understood her personally the most.

Perhaps it was because the two young women were two parts of the same soul, but once they'd had a chance to work out their differences they had become very close. They both admired parts of the other and could relate very well to the sadness that occupied the darkest parts of their hearts. They had come to realize that they understood each other very well, despite their early enmity.

"What happened, Kagome?" Kikyo asked gently, curious and wanting to help her friend as best she could.

Kagome's eyes grew darker in their grief once again, and Kikyo inwardly worried that the other girl might begin to cry once more. But Kagome just shut her eyes softly as a single tear trailed down her cheek and explained.

She told Kikyo about her trip to the mall and how she had returned to find almost nothing left of her family's shrine when she returned. Her entire house had burnt to the ground with her mother, little brother, and grandfather inside. Before the firefighters could get there, the fires had spread, encroaching on even the main shrine and the forest to the back as well.

There had been no survivors.

She gave a half sob as she finally accepted it. Her family, the family she had grown up surrounded by, the family that she had loved with her whole being, the family that had loved her back, the family that had supported her through all of her trips into the past… They were gone. And they would never come back.

As Kikyo waited patiently for her reincarnation to calm down again, wrapping a single arm around the younger girl in comfort as she did; Kagome thought, and grieved, and realized that she never wanted something like this to happen again.

Just as she had reflected in the coffee shop, she had had two families, one in the past and one in the future. Now that her 'future' family was gone she would protect her 'past'. And there was only one way that she could think of to do it. Now she just had to gather the courage to ask.

Then she blinked in realization. "Where is Inuyasha?" she wondered out loud to her previous incarnation. She knew just how keen her hanyou friend's nose was and normally he'd have been here as soon as he scented her appearance in the past.

Smiling slightly in amusement at the sudden change in subject, Kikyo replied, "I would assume somewhere near the village. I have placed a strong enough barrier around us that he shouldn't be able to sense us." She explained.

Kagome nodded in understanding and slight relief, glad that the inu-hanyou would be unable to interrupt this conversation. Then she spoke, "Kikyo?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" the young woman replied, slightly surprised at the other girl's uncharacteristic nervousness.

Kagome firmed her resolve and asked strongly, raising her head to look the other in the eye, "Will you train me?"

"Train you?" Kikyo repeated.

"Yes." Kagome confirmed. "I don't want to lose anybody like this ever again, and in order to protect Shippo and Sango and Miroku; Kirara, and even Inuyasha, I want to be stronger. Will you teach me how to control my powers?" she asked again. "How to be a real miko?"

Her eyes widening slightly, Kikyo nodded in understanding. She considered for moment and then replied. "Yes, I will."

Kagome hugged her previous incarnation in thanks, but it wasn't long before the young woman pushed the other off her gently. "We have a few days before Inuyasha expects you, right?" She continued when Kagome nodded.

"Well then; we might as well begin right now."

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* - In the actual series Kagome's mother is never actually given a name. I chose to call her Nodoka for two reasons; the first is that Nodoka can mean calm, serene, quiet, and/or peaceful, which I think really outlines her character, brief as her appearance in this story is. I also chose it because she physically resembles Saotome Nodoka from Ranma ½ to a certain degree.

** - I'm too lazy right now to choose what she orders. Just imagine that she's eating some of your favorites.

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~ Author's Note ~

I know that I probably shouldn't be starting another story right now, especially as I have two others in the works right now (both of which will probably end up eventually being of smoewhat epic length), but I really couldn't resist.

As mentioned in the summary, this is a rewrite of night flame miko's Disowned. As I was rereading it a week or two ago I was hit with an onslaught of inspiration (In fact, I already have the next few chapters in the works) and I immediately asked said miko if I could adopt it for my own.

If you have read night flame miko's version of the story before, I'm sure you've noticed the many differences between this story and that. But, I assure you, that even though it has started differently and the writing style is completely different as well, it will still follow the basic plot of the original and only diverge once I get to the point where night flame miko discontinued her version. Obviously though, I will tell it in a different way.

I hope you like it so far, and if you have any other questions feel free to review, and I'll answer as best I can. You should review anyway though you know…

~ Aljan Moonfire ~


	2. Disowned

_**Aljan Moonfire does not own Inuyasha in any way, shape or form**_

"Speaking."

'_Thinking._'

.-. - scence break or POv change

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_**Chapter 1: Disowned**_

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**A Year Later…**

Kagome groaned lightly as she woke, biting her lip to muffle the noise as she sat up. Despite her efforts Inuyasha easily heard her from where he was crouched in the middle of the room, poking at the fire to keep himself busy. Almost immediately he was by her side hovering over her in a way that might have annoyed her if she didn't know how much he blamed himself for her injury.

As far as Kagome was concerned though, that wasn't the case at all. Inuyasha had always been her protector, her best friend, and her first love. She didn't see the healing wound she now sported on her right side as his fault in any way. If anything, it was her own mistake that had gotten her injured.

It had been their most major fight for a while with many of their allies on their side of the battle and quite a few of Naraku's incarnations on the other. Of course, in way that had become almost typical over the past couple of years, the man himself had not partaken in any aspect of the fight except though said incarnations.

Kagura, of course, had been there, as well as Kanna, Hakudoshi, and a pair of identical children that looked to be around the age of the last two. They had been called, rather unimaginatively, Kira and Kinra. For a change, one that had led to tragedy, Kohaku had also been there, his eyes blanked of all emotion and will.

On their side, as always, had been herself, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango and Kirara. Shippo had been there as well but hadn't participated in the thick of the fighting as Kagome had managed to place him behind a basic barrier anchored by an arrow before the fight really began. Koga had also been there, having followed Kagura's scent to the site of the battle.

The twins had started off by introducing themselves, and then immediately attacking, along with Hakudoshi. Apparently connected in some sick way Kagome really didn't want to imagine, the two could see through each other's eyes and hear each other's thoughts (They even finished each other's sentences, which was quite creepy), but that wasn't their real power. Though physically weaker than many of their predecessors, the two were, upon skin contact, able to absorb the spiritual energies of their enemies.

The type of energy was irrelevant to the two and they could absorb and twist the energies of a priest or miko to their uses just as well as a yokai's yoki. Not expecting such a thing they were put on the defensive for most of the fight. With ever present Saimyosho hovering about, just waiting for Miroku to use his Kazana, he was unable to get rid of them that way, and Inuyasha and Koga were kept busy by Hakudoshi and Kagura.

As Kagura and Koga, and Inuyasha and Hakudoshi battled towards one end of the field, she, Miroku, and Sango had faced the other three. Kanna had done as she once had before, and attempted to take Kagome's soul from her body, locking it within her mirror. With no other souls besides Kagome's currently imprisoned in the void mirror, she had almost succeeded. In fact, had it not been for the part of her that now resided in Kikyo's clay body miles away she had no doubt that she might have died.

As was, it wasn't until the battle had been almost finished before she had managed to gather enough strength to use that connection to pull the rest of her large soul from the mirror, once again cracking it. She had managed to wrest the details of the part of the fight that she'd missed from her most perverted companion after the battle so most of the rest she only knew from what he had seen from his own point of view.

With Kanna able to mostly keep Kagome out the fight altogether with her mirror and Sango unilaterally distracted by her younger brother, he had had to deal with the twins by himself. His fight with them had been frustrating to the extreme. Though he had managed to hold them off for the most part, he had known that he was quickly failing.

Seeing no other option, he had risked the poison of Naraku's demonic wasps to open his Kazana, swiftly suck in the twin incarnations and a few of the Saimyosho before he was able to close it again. He had immediately collapsed, but as he had taken to having one of Kagome's antitoxins on him at all times after having learned how to use them from said miko, he had quickly dosed himself with it.

Knowing he'd be pretty much useless for the rest of the fight he had tugged Kagome's by then almost comatose body from the center of the battlefield to where she had placed the barrier around Shippo. Quickly settling himself and the young woman as comfortably as he could manage, he had turned his attention to Sango, the love of his life, who was currently facing her little brother.

At that point Kohaku had been practically unscathed; his elder sister unable to muster the will to wound him. He on the other hand, then completely under the control of Naraku, had no such compunctions. Sango had barely been able to stand, her body so torn by her brother's kusari-gama* anyone could see she was about to pass out from the immense loss of blood.

She had pleaded with him as she staggered from the blows, begging the boy to remember, and even though he gave no sign of doing so, every blow he rained down upon his sister failed to hit a vital organ. When she had finally collapsed to one knee before him, she something softly enough that Miroku couldn't hear and Kohaku had suddenly begun to fight Naraku's compulsions with everything he had.

Sango had watched on hopefully, praying that her precious brother, the last part of her family, would succeed. Then, suddenly, one of the Saimyosho had appeared behind the boy. Just as the female demon-slayer had made to call out a warning, the large bug had pierced the boy's back and pulled out a small shard of darkly shining jewel.

As the large demonic bee had swiftly flown away, jewel shard in tow, the boy had immediately collapsed, his weapon falling to the ground beside him. Miroku had told her that all he could remember thinking as he'd struggled to his feet was that it seemed Naraku had cut his losses there. He also admitted that he was most likely in shock at the time as well.

Sango had stumbled over to her once again dead brother as stricken tears had trailed silently down her cheeks. He had reached her just as she had sunk down to her knees before the corpse. He had collapsed beside her as well, still suffering from the remnants of the wasps' poison and helped her turn the body over to lie on its back.

Immediately he had realized that there was no hope. The boy was well and truly dead this time. Sango on the other had seemed unwilling to accept it and spent the rest of the battle, which honestly didn't take much longer, as well the aftermath, trying to wake the young boy, as if he were just sleeping. As her cries grew increasingly frustrated, grief stricken, and hysteric, he had sat beside her through it all, offering his silent support.

The battle that hey had mostly forgotten at this point by those two had still continued however, and almost immediately after Miroku had left her side, Kagome had awoken, and freed her own soul in the process. Her mirror broken once again, Kanna had retreated, vanishing quickly into the distance on the backs of several lesser demons. In doing this she also left Kagura and Hakudoshi to battle the rest of the group on their own as Kagome watched on.

The battles between the other four had continued in their typical fashion. Hakudoshi and Inuyasha were almost evenly matched, his speed on the demon horse Entei evenly matched by Inuyasha's raw power. Still, Inuyasha had gradually gained the upper hand and they both knew it, as did anyone who watched.

Koga's battle had gone the other way, with Kagura quickly gaining and holding the upper hand over the wolf prince. In the beginning of the battle he had even managed to land a few hits but it hadn't lasted long. As Kagome had turned her attention to that battle she had quickly deduced that he wouldn't be able to win without assistance.

And so, drawing her bow for the first time in this battle, she had focused her sights on Kagura, knowing that the wind witch would be unable to block or avoid the holy arrow. Just as she had gathered her remaining energies and prepared to fire, Kagura managed to trap the wolf demon in a particularly vicious tornado that lifted him off the ground and threatened to tear him to pieces should the attack last much longer.

"Koga-kun!" she had screamed in alarm, losing focus at the sight of her friend being mauled in such a manner. Unfortunately this had the added side effect of drawing the attention of the remaining combatants. Inuyasha had been distracted, earning him a vicious, but relatively shallow, injury on his left arm, but Kagura, seeing the miko all but unguarded, sent a blast of cutting wind at the priestess.

Kagome had managed to avoid the worst of it, but her cry of pain when it clipped her side and left a rather deep wound (one that would leave her with yet another scar), distracted Inuyasha yet again. This time the distraction was almost fatal, but on smelling the young woman's blood in the air, Inuyasha became enraged, and somehow managed to drive off the other two as Koga lay moaning on the ground, somehow still alive.

Seeing that her friends were all still alive, at that point Kagome had finally lost the will to stay conscious and passed out. When she next woke it had been all too brief, and she stayed awake for only a few minutes before passing out again where she was lying on Kirara's back.

The next time she woke she managed to stay conscious longer and found herself back at Kaede's hut, having her wounds rebound by said woman. Soon Inuyasha had come in and they had talked for awhile about what had happened while she was unconscious.

Apparently they had done some quick first aid on the worst of their wounds and then hurried back to Edo so Kaede could hopefully do the rest. Kagome had, as far as he knew, been unconscious for almost a week; thankfully the battle hadn't happened all too far from the small village so they were able to get here quickly while traveling as fast as they could in their condition.

She had also spoken with Miroku, and far too briefly with Sango, eventually managing to wrest the story of Kohaku's death from them. She had quickly tired though, and eventually fallen asleep again.

Now that she was conscious of her injury though, she was able to direct some of her quickly recovering power to the wound, causing it to heal faster than it would have other wise, as she slept. It had now been almost a week since then and she was mostly healed, but moving too quickly still caused her pain.

After assuring the hanyou that she was alright, she settled herself more comfortably against the wall of the hut and looked back at Inuyasha. She could see that something was troubling him but before she could ask Shippo bounded into the room and cheered in excitement as he rushed to give Kagome a hug.

Before the small kitsune could reach her though, Inuyasha restrained him by grabbing onto his small tail. Kagome made a brief sound of protest as he raised the boy up to eye level but he quickly silenced her with a serious glare, his eyes so appearing to be so dark a gold they as to be almost brown. He turned his attention back to the now whining kit and shut him up with the same look.

Shippo suddenly seemed to remember something and became very still. Then Miroku carried Sango in and settled her on the other side of the hut. His attention solely focused on the distraught woman, he practically ignored the other members of the group as he settled the still seriously injured woman on a futon, acknowledging their presence but nothing else.

Seeing that those two were hardly paying attention, Kagome turned back to the two serious boys and asked, "Guys? What's wrong?"

Now noticing that her adopted son's eyes were lightly rimed with red, as if he had been crying, she began to grow worried and asked again, "What's wrong?"

Inuyasha drew the majority of her attention back to himself when he replied, "Kagome…" He bit his lower lip in nervousness and continued. "We," he shook the hand that still held Shippo hostage and then set him on the floor, indicating that this was the small demon's opinion as well, "have come to a decision."

She gulped slightly in nervousness, she had never seen Inuyasha act this way before and Shippo wasn't behaving as he normally did as well. "What do you mean?" she asked rather helplessly, a bad feeling burning in her gut.

"That recent fight we had…" he trailed off before somewhat gaining the courage to continue, "You almost died." He said starkly. "When you were unconscious for so long we were unsure if you'd ever wake up. I talked to Shippo and Miroku over that period of time and we all agreed." He hesitated, as if anticipating her anger before continuing. "It's too dangerous for you here Kagome."

"What?" she asked incredulously, "You can't be serious…" she trailed off looking around the hut. Miroku had all of his attention focused on Sango, who was unconscious, and Shippo and Inuyasha just waited out the reaction, pure stubborn determination clouding their eyes.

They were going to send her away? They wouldn't…couldn't…could they? Her tear filled eyes turned back to Inuyasha's honest features that were drawn in almost as much distress, though no tears were in the offing. "Why?" she asked as one of the tears left her eyes, hoping this was some kind of horrible joke, "Am I that much of a liability?"

"Do I get in the way that much?" she continued, "Why…Why are you sending me away?" she asked almost incoherently now, tears pour in streams down her cheeks.

At this Inuyasha began to almost panic and he hastily tried to correct her, "No!" he almost yelled, and then quieter, "You're not a liability in any way Kagome!" he said waving his clawed hands in front of him, a mannerism he had picked up from her over their travels.

As Kagome calmed down slightly he stopped the motion and sighed, continuing to speak, "It's just… we don't want you to die Kagome. We realized it when you almost didn't dodge that last attack." He placed one of his hands on the floor in emphasis as he continued. "We _can't_ always be there to protect you. So, we decided that you'd be safer in your own time." He concluded.

When she made to protest he held up his other hand to forestall it and continued to speak, "We can't afford to be distracted during battle, Kagome. And trust me, when you screamed and were injured we were _very_ distracted. Please go back to your own time and seal the well. We would feel better knowing you were safe, back in your own home…" he trailed off running out of words and trying not to think of how much this would hurt the innocent girl.

She looked down, staring at where her fists were clenching in her skirt and now silent tears fell from her chin to splash against them. Then she looked up and the sheer pain and loss that was apparent there made his heart stop in shock before continuing at an accelerated pace.

She looked away to glance around the room. Shippo would meet her gaze and Miroku wouldn't look at her at all, still staring at the taijiya sleeping next to where he sat. "Miroku, Shippo? What do you say?" she asked in a last ditch effort, hoping they would realize their mistake and take back the horrible words.

If only she could turn back time, maybe then this wouldn't be necessary… she almost laughed through her tears at the irony inherent in her thoughts.

Miroku just shook his head and turn away slightly, indicating his indifference to the subject as Shippo replied, breaking her heart as he did, "Just go, Kagome." He said, his childish voice ripping into her like a blade.

When he said her name, said it in such a cold way she could barely stand it, her hand actually came up to clutch at her shirt. She was almost surprised to feel no blood. There was no physical wound, certainly, but how could anything that caused such pain be anything but?

"Sh-shippo?" she asked, eyes wide with uncertainty and pain as grief clouded her vision until the only thing that was real were his words.

"Go back to your own time Kagome." He said again. "I accepted you as my mother, but no mother of mine would put herself in danger all the time. No mother of mine would make me worry so much that she won't come back from her fights. Kagome," he repeated, his voice like arrows to her heart every time he said her name, "Just leave. This isn't your time, and it isn't your fight. Just go."

As his defiant gaze left hers she struggled to her feet, a hand still clutching at her chest as if her heart were struggling to beat. Stumbling to the door she grabbed her bow and quiver, as well as her bag (Which was somehow all packed and ready to go), she went. She left the hut as quickly as she could, no longer wanting to hear a thing they said – she didn't think she could handle anymore without breaking completely.

Walking blindly in the direction of the well, she was lost in a renewed and revitalized sense of grief as she stumbled along the familiar path. As soon as she reached the edge of the clearing and saw the old well through the veil of silent tears trailing down her face, she collapsed to her knees, finally breaking.

As her body shook with the force of her sobs all she could think of were the last words said in that familiar hut. Her son… her son had disowned her. Her adopted brother had listened and done nothing as her sister slept peacefully through it all. And…and…her best friend; her once love… She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think at all.

Forcing herself to her feet again she stumbled over to the innocent seeming well, eventually collapsing next to it. Her back resting on the wooden side as she continued to cry, her face lifted up to the sky, she tried to reason with herself. It wasn't their fault… They didn't know, she hadn't told them about the fire, or about her family. Again her heart was stabbed with a now familiar pain at the thought.

She drew up her knees and rested her forehead on them, the tears never stopping. There was no way she was going back to her time. She had long since finished high school, and this era had long since ruined her for a simple, peaceful life. And her family… the tears fell faster and pain grew to be so great that she didn't even notice the other presence as it entered the clearing until it was right beside her.

Looking over absently, she saw her… Kikyo. Kikyo slowly moved to stand before her reincarnation, her face not as cold as usual, and sunk down to her knees before her. Taking the young woman into her cool arms, as she held her Kagome's sobs began anew as she cried her heart out into Kikyo's white clad shoulder.

When the younger woman finally settled down, Kikyo pulled back to look Kagome in the eyes, "What happened, Kagome," she asked, concerned.

"They want me to go back Kikyo, they say I'm a distraction, that when I was nearly killed in the last fight that I distracted them from their own battles." Tears began to fall again as she recounted this. "Kikyo," she said, heartbroken, "Shippo called me Kagome…he hasn't done that in -" a sob broke past her lips as she remembered her adopted son and the happiness he had radiated the first time she said he could call her mother if he wanted to, "- he hasn't called me that in, at least…ten months."

Again she buried her head in the older girl's shoulder letting the shuddering sobs break over her once again as Kikyo again soothed the girl, feeling her anger grow at Kagome's supposed 'friends'. So much had happened in the past year. After Kikyo had agreed to train her she had asked her not to tell anyone (as if she had anyone to tell), explaining that everyone was distracted enough without finding out about and worrying on her and her problems.

Kikyo had reluctantly promised but told her that they would find out eventually. Whether it was when she no longer returned to her time or Inuyasha went searching for her was anyone's guess. But Kagome soon fixed that; she took back Inuyasha's beads under the pretence of friends not hurting friends. Without the link to her he couldn't go through the well to her time.

The other problem was quickly taken care of as well. Kagome would occasionally say she was going back to her time but she would only buy supplies and gifts before she returned to spend her remaining time with Kikyo, learning how to become a proper priestess. She didn't tell her friends about those lessons either. Her reason were that if her friends didn't know then neither did Naraku, and if she could surprise him in the final battle it may just win them the fight.

"Will you go back?" Kikyo asked quietly. She didn't want the girl to leave, not after she and Kagome had grown so close. In fact she had come to love the younger woman like a sister; she had come to love Kagome as much as she loved Kaede.

What she had said had made sense so Kikyo hadn't argued with her too much. Now she regretted it; if her friends had known that Kagome was now a miko (and a powerful one, even more powerful than herself), then maybe they wouldn't have broken Kagome like this. She suddenly realized that Kagome had calmed down and was in deep thought.

"What are you going to do then, Kagome?" She asked again. This time Kagome's eyes cleared and she smiled weakly at Kikyo, once again amazing the other miko with her strength. How could someone who was betrayed like that find any strength left to smile?

"Well, they asked me to seal the well. No doubt Miroku will come to check later; he can feel the well's power, even if he can't use it… I guess I'll seal it from this side and then…just…leave… It's partially what they wanted, so it'll have to make do." She said, biting her lip at the remembrance of said monk's indifference.

"They'll think I'm on the other side of the well and…" she trialed off before sighing and looking up at Kikyo again, "Do you have a miko outfit I could borrow for now? They'll know I'm still here if they hear rumors of a priestess dressed strangely traveling around." She licked her lips as she thought again. "I suppose I'll have to change my name as well, for now at least…" Kagome's attention turned inward again as she contemplated everything she would have to do.

Kikyo felt a surge of sadness and regret at the bleakness behind her thoughtful gaze. How and when had Kagome become so strong? Her family dying a year ago hadn't stopped her in her quest… She had even hid her pain so well not even her supposed friends suspected anything, and Kikyo had heard that the woman named Sango was quite perceptive when it came to anything about Kagome. Sighing, she contemplated the challenges Kagome had ahead of her.

"Yes," she replied, "I have a spare miko garment. You may have it Kagome, and if you wish you may accompany me as well…" Kikyo smiled slightly at Kagome but she shook her head in refusal, her eyes sad.

"No, Kikyo. My frie… the others will come to look for you, and they'll need you to locate shards for them. And Kikyo, please don't be angry at them, they don't know anything –" Holding up a hand Kagome stopped Kikyo from interrupting at that last.

"-I know that what they did and the way they did it was… ('_Horrible and so painful_' she thought to herself)…not very nice, but they don't know…anything, about anything. They probably didn't even mean to hurt me; they just want to protect me…" Sighing slightly Kikyo nodded, the mask she had created long ago stopping the emotions that Kagome had granted her from showing through.

Why did her and her reincarnation have such horrible lives? Was it simply the fate of some souls to have such painful existences? "Very well Kagome, I will assist them in their search, should they ask, but what shall you do? The well is very powerful; sealing it will no doubt be not only dangerous to you but have other side effects as well."

Kagome stood shakily before she replied, Kikyo standing with her, holding her steady. As she did so Kikyo quickly contacted her soul stealers, worried that her surrogate sister's friends may come to check on Kagome soon. For the moment it seemed they were leaving Kagome to her task though.

'_How nice of them._' she thought snidely to herself, angry for Inuyasha's part in this.

Kagome carefully dusted herself off and wiped away the last traces of her tears before answering Kikyo. "I'll keep on searching for jewel shards as a traveling miko. I doubt Naraku will show himself anytime soon though, he hasn't been around much over the last year anyway…" worries about said hanyou fluttered through her mind like angry birds before she shunted them off to the side for the moment.

Sighing Kagome focused back on Kikyo who was watching her through slightly worried eyes, her mask hid a lot, but not all. Shaking her head at herself she continued, "As for the well… don't worry about it too much. I'll deal with it."

"I shall have to leave soon Kagome," Kikyo stated suddenly, her soul stealers alerting her to Inuyasha's entrance of the forest, "Inuyasha is coming. I will distract him for as long as possible, so hurry."

As she walked towards the trees Kikyo took out her spare miko shihakusho and handed it to Kagome, who had followed her. "Good luck…" Kikyo looked down and back into Kagome's eyes, worried about her reaction to what she said next, "and good bye, my soul-sister."

Kagome started a bit. Although she had long since come to see Kikyo as a sort of elder sister, she hadn't realized that the feeling was reciprocated. Smiling a true smile for the first time in the last hour she threw herself at Kikyo and hugged her happily, temporarily forgetting her situation.

"You too, my sister." She responded. Releasing the startled miko, she smiled once again. The smile soon dimmed though, and as she turned to face the well, she heard Kikyo leave behind her. A whispered good-bye floated to her ears and she whispered one back before striding towards the well.

Soon reaching it, she put her new outfit and her bag to the side where they wouldn't get in the way before laying her hands on the well. She felt the power encased within it pulse upwards to her, as if in greeting. Smiling grimly Kagome took one of the arrows from her quiver and swiped the tip across her palm, drawing blood.

She flinched at the sharp pain. She had known this day would come, so she had researched the sealing powerful objects in her time and through questions to other miko she had met on her travels.

Placing her now bloodied palm on the well she could practically feel her holy blood seeping into the wood. The wound she had inflicted on herself would be a gateway to the power inherent in the well. Kagome had learnt that to truly seal something away, was to actually take it's power into oneself. The most dangerous thing about such sealings was that once started they couldn't be stopped. If the object was too powerful it could easily overwhelm the attempted sealer.

Kagome wasn't too worried. Through all the times she had traveled using the well she had felt a very limited amount of energy actually residing in it. She had eventually come to the conclusion that the well drew upon the energy of the bones it consumed and the Shikon Jewel to transport her through time. As such, she theorized that it did not have much energy in and of itself, and it was only that energy that she had to take.

Gritting her teeth, Kagome forced her powers through the cut in her palm and used her energy to grip a small portion of the well's power. Ever so slowly, she pulled it into herself, quickly getting used to the feeling. As soon as the first tendril energy entered her, Kagome felt the energy start to pick up at its own pace, flowing into her like water from a tap into a bucket. Kagome could feel it begin to fill her up with power.

It didn't take long for her to realize her mistake. The energy just kept coming, ever stronger and more powerful. She couldn't even attempt to stop it; it would be like stopping a river from following its natural course with a brick. Searching through the power she suddenly realized just how much energy the well kept stored within it.

She had been right, it did use the bones of nearby demons to transport her through time, but it then used the huge well of energy kept within itself to bring the bones to itself and keep the link through the times. Not only that, but it seemed to create its own energy so it would never, ever, break that link with time. It was as if the well was endless, and didn't hold water but energy.

Taking in a shuddering breath, Kagome spread her feet and grimly let the energy fill her to the brim. Soon it was overflowing around her, making itself known as a visible blue aura that surrounded her. The power swirled around her, growing so thick she couldn't see through it, and making her feel as if she were underwater.

Finally the last bit disappeared inside her and she had to viciously fight the fluctuating power; tamping it down until it was contained within her and not exploding around her body.

Bending down to grab her things, it felt as if she were moving through sludge, her body slow to obey the commands she gave it. Gripping the miko garment, as well as her bag and weapons, she made her way into the forest, and away from the village. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew she had to get away before the others found her. If she saw them she didn't know what she'd do, and they mustn't know she had sealed the well whilst still in the Sengoku Jidai.

Stopping by a large tree, she leaned against it breathing hard, feeling as if her pack, bow and quiver suddenly amazingly heavy, as if they'd gained 20 kilos instead of the meager ten or so they really were.

As she rested for a moment amongst the tree's large roots, she wondered what she should do now. She hadn't really thought it through before, despite the confidence she'd displayed for Kikyo. Now that she did, it finally hit her how hopeless her situation was. Sure, she'd trained and she could now aptly defend herself, but even walking a few hundred yards had been hard for her with the added weight of the wells energy weighing her down.

Added on to that, she knew she wasn't far enough away yet either. If the wind changed direction Inuyasha would still be able to smell her. She just couldn't find the strength to go on though, especially with the strong feeling of betrayal still lingering in her heart.

How could they do that to her? Sure, they didn't know really know her circumstances on the other side of the well, but they knew that she considered them her second family. Yet despite this still they decided to send her back, as if she would be happy and safe in the future knowing that in the past her friends were fighting for their lives every single day.

She could feel her heart break all over again as she replayed Shippo's words over in her head. She knew what he had done; despite his age Shippo was very smart and he knew that no matter what any of them said she would have continued to fight their decision. He knew that the only way to get her to leave would be to break her. So he did, he had completely and utterly broken her.

The sobs tore from her throat again as his and Inuyasha's words spun through her mind, tearing into her heart like sharp claws. As the tears once more rained down her cheeks, Kagome leaned into the tree and felt the emotions build up in her. She remembered far too late just how tied her miko powers were to her emotions. She felt the wall she had built within herself to hold back the well's power fall and the energy leapt from her grasp, spreading around her body it started to rush out of her in an immense force.

With a strangled scream Kagome gripped it tightly, trying to stop it from getting any further from her. Even as the power wrenched and battered against her will, she knew that if it got free all the demons in the surrounding area would be purified before they even knew what hit them. Unfortunately, that included Inuyasha, Shippo and Kirara.

Trying desperately to reign in the power and her own emotions at the same time, she gritted her teeth against the very physical pain it was causing her. Attempting to pull it back within herself, she didn't notice the presences nearby until something scaly rubbed along her arm. Nearly screaming in shock, Kagome forced her eyes open and stared in surprise at the soul stealers that had surrounded her. She vaguely wondered what they were doing here, so close to being purified, before her power gave another powerful wrench and she strangled a scream as it gained a few inches.

She felt the soul stealers brush against her again and started when she finally realized what they were doing. They were taking the extra energy! Sure, she had known they were parasites and that some soul stealers followed Kikyo around to help her find souls, but she hadn't realized that they actually fed on energy!

As more and more of the stealers brushed against her, she felt the power within her start to withdraw, until finally she could fit it within her without it fighting against her hold. Sitting back on her heels wearily, she vaguely wondered at what point she had fallen to the forest floor.

Then looking around, she saw ten, or even more, soul stealers flying around, one or another occasionally brushing up against her skin. They didn't take any more energy, but they seemed to enjoy the physical contact. Examining her surroundings more, she suddenly realized how dark the forest really was.

She hadn't noticed before because of the luminescence of the soul stealers, and looking at all of them she realized they were definitely brighter than normal. Did they change the energy that they took into light?

Fascinated, she watched as they flew through the air around her, seemingly content to stay with her for now. She didn't mind at all, because even now she could feel the well creating more energy as it was supposed to. She could also feel the link it had with time, but whenever she tried to touch that link her mind or miko powers shied away, as if there was something missing in order for her to connect. Some kind of catalyst (her science teachers would so be proud) was needed for her to use that link again.

Standing up, Kagome picked up her things. Feeling decidedly lighter, she smiled, enjoying the soft light the soul stealers projected. With a bounce in her step, she headed away from her second home, knowing that more space was needed between her and _them_.

Glancing around, she noticed almost happily that the soul stealers had continued to travel with her, one or another brushing up along her to take new energy from her before it could attempt to fight her control again. Making her way ever deeper into the ever darkening forest, she kept herself on the move for most of the night before settling down, her physical energy having finally run out.

She leaned up against yet another large tree wearily as the day's exhaustion finally caught up with her. She fell asleep like that, simply leaning against the tree, content in the knowledge that the soul stealers would stop the well's energy from escaping her grasp as she slept.

* * *

* - A sort of hand held sickle attached to a chain. It can be used for both close and mid-ranged attacks, and is Kohaku's primary weapon.

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~ Author's Note ~

Here we are: the first chapter of Disowned (Because the last one was really a prologue). Things have started to get interesting for Kagome, and the plot as begun to move as well. So, how do you like it? I'm rather proud of this chapter (Over 6400 words!) so I hope you like it too.

As always, if you have questions, or just want to compliment me or urge for an update or feed my numerous plot bunnies, (even flames are welcome so I can laugh at them) Review! The button to do so is below…

~ Aljan Moonfire ~


	3. An Encounter

_**Aljan Moonfire does not own Inuyasha in any way, shape, or form.**_

"Speaking."

'_Thinking_.'

.-. - scene break and/or POV change

_**

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_**Chapter 2: An Encounter**_

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Kagome awoke quickly the next morning, her mind immediately latching onto the memories of the day before. As her subconscious ruthlessly threw them into the front of her mind she felt the power within her begin to stir restlessly. She quickly pushed the unbearably painful memories into the back of her still waking consciousness, the memory of her difficult fight with her power the evening before and how much it had tired her out fresh in her mind.

Carefully examining the immense reserves of power now contained within her, she noticed that they were still at a manageable level. That could only mean that the stealers had stayed the night and taken excess energy from her as she slept.

A rush of gratitude swept through her even as she felt something strange brush against her. Cracking her still tired eyes open; she noticed that none of the soul stealers were close enough to have brushed up against her. Confused, she glanced around and jumped slightly in surprise when she felt the brushing sensation again.

She suddenly realized with a sharp start backwards that something was brushing against her mind, not her physical body. Sitting up straighter, she concentrated on the alien awareness that continued to brush against something within her.

Once the awareness knew it had her attention she noticed a soul stealer separate itself from the others and come closer. Soon it was lazily coiling in front of her, floating a few feet in the air so it was directly at eye level. As it did so the presence against her mind got stronger and more insistent. She suddenly realized that the soul stealer before her was what was touching her mind!

Reaching out slowly with a gentle hand, she lightly touched the soul stealer in front of her, carefully resting her long fingers on the creature's delicate snout. With the onset of physical contact the presence within her mind quickly expanded and Kagome sucked in a startled breath at the confusing sensation.

It seemed as if the presence had a question, but didn't quite know how to ask it. From what she could discern of the mental contact, soul stealers just didn't think the way humans did. Their thought process was much simpler, but more complex in that simplicity, with a distinctly primal edge that would have made her uneasy if she weren't so used to the way demons thought and acted.

Sensing no overt danger from the presence, or any intention to harm, Kagome cautiously opened her mind and let the presence in more fully. As soon as she did so Kagome understood the question it had been attempting to convey as if it had spoken it in plain Japanese. The question was quite simple: Would she be willing to let them stay and feed off her excess energy in return for something?

Kagome smiled and answered quite eagerly: Yes, by all means. All she'd ask for in return was companionship and occasional assistance. An almost startled feeling spread through the presence's consciousness. It almost felt as if it had expected her to want something much more costly. Then the presence warmed with a feeling of content; she could only compare it to what a human feels after having an excellent meal, with no more worries for the day. She quickly realized this was it's way of agreeing to her terms.

With her almost automatic acceptance of them, she was suddenly surrounded by smooth, scaly bodies as each stealer 'introduced' themselves. She soon realized that they didn't recognize each other by names or anything physical, but by the feeling of the presence in their minds. She quickly accepted the greetings as the different minds moved within hers, the separate awarenesses coming to the fore one at a time.

Once she was able to recognize each of the twelve soul stealers immediately, they finally backed away and spread out around her. It was a curious sensation, she soon found; each of the stealers had a distinctively different awareness, but they all carried the basically content feeling the first had adopted after it'd accepted her terms. Each of the presences seemed to have found a place in the back of her mind where they seemed content to stay so she was finally able to concentrate on the surrounding area.

Decidedly more cheerful now that she knew she wouldn't be alone on her so vaguely planned journey, Kagome stood and ruefully noticed that her belongings were strewn about on the ground around her. She must have just dumped them randomly and immediately fallen asleep.

She stretched to loosen stiff muscles, which had grown sore from sleeping in such an awkward position, and prepared to get going. She quickly changed into the miko outfit that Kikyo had given her and packed what she had been wearing into her bag. She then slung it over her back, and, picking up her bow and quiver, started to move forward in the same direction she had been going when she had finally stopped for the night.

The soul stealers quickly surrounded her, two or three staying nearby whilst the rest went further away, ranging both ahead and behind. Occasionally they would swap places so that a different soul stealer could take in some of the well's ever regenerating energy.

Kagome soon set a steady pace, stopping only for a brief lunch. Finally it was time for dinner. She was quite satisfied with the distance she had managed to make, and it was nice to travel without an annoying hanyou in the background urging her to go faster then her human body was equipped to handle.

The soul stealers were actually quite good company, and warned her if any dangerous animals were around. They seemed to be perfectly okay with taking orders from her, and were equally willing to act as scouts. Quickly settling down for the night, she rolled out her bedroll and was soon asleep, content in the knowledge that one of her new friends would wake her should there be any danger.

.-.

Kagome woke early the next morning; long before the sun made its appearance above the trees. As a result, the forest was illuminated sparsely at best and a light layer of mist swirling across the ground gave the air a subtle chill. Quickly repacking the few necessities that she'd removed the night before, she stood, slinging the bag and quiver of arrows over her shoulder as she gripped her wooden bow in her other hand.

Joining up with the soul stealers, who seemed rather eager to get moving, she swiftly moved off into the trees. She spent the day much as she had the one before, persistently walking until noon, when she stopped to eat, and then continuing forward until dusk, when she stopped for the night.

She continued with this repeating schedule for the next few days, making good time. Over the course of her journey she came to learn even more about her odd companions. She had learnt early on that the soul stealers enjoyed physical contact. She soon learned that this was because it allowed them to strengthen their mental connections and gave them a deep feeling of belonging, something they genuinely treasured. They also seemed to really enjoy making contact with her, finding her complex and rapidly switching emotions to be fascinating.

A few days after the… incident… Kagome sensed something different in the presence of a few of her scouting stealers. From their 'position' in her mind, they 'told' her that there was a large human road up ahead moving towards the northwest. Thanking them she told them they could come back if they wished, stroking them in thanks when they arrived not long after.

Glancing up through the branches of the forest, she noticed that the sky was quickly beginning to darken. She frowned lightly at it for a moment before nodding, resolving to check out the human road the next day.

Quickly finding a clearing, she prepared to settle down for the night. After eating she did what was quickly becoming a routine, and settled into a meditation pose, crossing her legs comfortably and resting her hands on her knees. She dove into her power, checking on the well's energy, noting the level of her own reserves, and claming her mind enough for sleep.

She then frowned suddenly and opened her eyes, the small, gentle aura that had surrounded her as she'd focused inwards quickly dissipating into the night air. The energy of the well seemed to be slowly merging with her own power, taking on the same distinct undertone as her own aura.

This, quite understandably, confused her. Everything living thing in the world, from the smallest wisp of grass to the strongest of demons, had an aura. An aura was like a name, or a distinct scent; it told those who could sense them what, and who, you were. And no two auras were the same.

Her brows furrowed even further in bewilderment as she wondered what it could mean. If the well's energy was merging with her own, did that mean that the well was becoming a part of her? She huffed in frustration and flopped ungracefully backwards, flinging her arms out to her sides as she did so.

Staring upwards at the stars that were visible from where she lay, she turned the conundrum that was her own power over in her head, trying to make some sense of it. She didn't know how long she laid there, unable to come to a conclusion before she sat back up again to prod the dying fire.

It was at times like these that she wished that she had the experience of her former incarnation. Despite her year long tutelage under said incarnation's guidance, she didn't really have all that much experience with even her own powers.

Kikyo had long ago told her that she was undeniably powerful, and her control over that power was much better than it had been. However, despite the many different techniques and uses of her strength that she had learned, she had next to no real life experience in using them. It had been one of the reasons Kikyo'd been against hiding Kagome's powers early on; if Kagome couldn't practice in real life situations around her friends, how was she to learn how to utilize them properly?

Still, even Kikyo had made no mention that something like this might happen to her. She had vaguely mentioned the 'side effects' of sealing something powerful, but that was about it. Kagome groaned softly in frustration and then sighed tiredly. There was really nothing she could do about it, and it didn't seem to be affecting her in adverse ways, so, for now at least, she decided to leave it well enough alone.

She quickly prepared herself for sleep and lay down in her sleeping bag. She needed to get some rest for tomorrow. Despite the worries rapidly circling in head, she was soon fast asleep.

.-.

Kagome woke quickly as the birds first began to sing. Her soul stealers flew past; sounding out light trills to welcome the grey light of the dawn (it had taken a while for her to figure out that the sweet musical sounds were coming from her soul stealers, something she was still a bit embarrassed about).

As she stretched lazily, a stealer wrapped itself around her arm, hugging tightly to her skin. She looked over at it as the scales brushed along her skin and smiled. This one had been the first stealer that had 'spoken' to her and, strangely enough, it had an almost greenish tinge to its light. In fact, each soul stealer had something to differentiate between themselves and the others.

She had quite accurately dubbed this one Emerald and, she had to admit, that it was her favorite simply because it stayed with her no matter what. It was like it was as attached to her as she was to it. The others would swap places every once in awhile, but this one was always nearby.

Emerald unwrapped itself and, releasing a light musical trill as it did so, rose into the air, coiling above her as she went about her morning business. She quickly changed back into her miko shihakusho and prepared herself some instant ramen.

_'Ha! No more ramen for you, Inuyasha! That'll teach you to send me away like that!_' she thought slightly vindictively as she quickly slurped up the noodles. She just couldn't help the thought or the slightly guilty and depressed mood that temporarily weighed her down afterwards.

She quickly finished off her breakfast and, after cleaning up in a nearby stream, was ready to head off once more. Her stealers spread out, Emerald faithfully pacing along beside her and always keeping a stronger touch within her mind. The others moved out to surround her, scanning the area for any demonic or threatening presences.

Moving toward the large human road, she eventually positioned herself to move parallel to it. She considered it a stroke of luck, as the road continued heading in the direction that took her the furthest from her ex-friends; a west, northwest heading. Not that it mattered. She simply had to search for shards and help people as a traveling miko until Naraku showed himself for the final battle.

A small part of her wondered if it would really be that simple, but it was quickly crushed by forced optimism. She pushed herself hard, using the punishing exercise to keep her thoughts from turning dark. The stealers warned her should anything come to close, be it human or demon, and she avoided them all.

She stopped for a brief lunch, and was silently glad that soul stealers only fed on energy; otherwise her rations wouldn't last very long considering she had 13 mouths to feed, including herself. She was soon traveling again, moving late into the evening with her only her stealer's light as guidance.

Finally she could push herself no further, and, asking her stealers to search for an adequate clearing, she sent them out. Then she sat with her back to a tall tree, ignoring the rough bark as it bit into her back through the miko garment. Sighing heavily, she let her mind wander as the light trills of her companions sounded through the night.

.-.

Sessshomaru allowed his piercing golden eyes to drift close as his retainer and ward finally fell into the deepest reaches of sleep. Spreading his other senses to search for threats, on finding none, he opened them again. Taking in the clearing he had decided his small group would rest in for the night with the same calm criticism as always, he decided to stay awake for tonight, though he'd have to sleep again soon.

His aristocratically arched brow twitched with slight annoyance as the kappa he kept around mostly for amusement purposes curled tighter around the Staff of Heads and murmured, "Sessshomaru-sama…" blissfully. As there were no witnesses, he allowed himself a brief huff of impatience at Jaken's obnoxious hero worship.

He then turned his attention to the only human of his party, expression softening slightly at the sight of the small girl sleeping against the resting Ah-Un. Despite what he would like most to think, Sessshomaru did have emotions, he just kept them hidden in order to avoid the weakness they displayed to other demons.

The human girl he had saved on the whim of Tenseiga was one of the few he could ever remember caring for, a number of people so few he didn't have to use more than a few fingers to count them. His father had been one, and Rin a second. Before his father had taken to that human princess his mother had been another, but after she had learned that his father actually preferred the presence of a human to her… well, she had changed. And not in a good way.

These days he actively avoided her as much as possible. She was likely to either nag him for his distinct lack of responsibility, or pointedly wish for grandchildren, which was equally as horrifying. As for his only other close relative… Giving another sigh of impatience at the thought, he reached forward to prod a bit more life into the small fire at the center of the circular clearing.

Suddenly, he sensed movement in the higher branches of the trees around the clearing, but just as he turned his attention to it, it vanished. Sitting upright again, he spread his senses once more and almost immediately honed in on the presences moving towards him.

He then furrowed his brows in slight confusion. He felt almost as if he should know whoever was approaching, but the signature of the aura was just off enough that he couldn't immediately identify it. However, what he could identify was enough to set him on edge. It was a miko, but the other small presences that surrounded it were blatantly demonic in origin.

He might have thought it to be that undead miko his foolish half-brother was so obsessed with, but the scents of graveyard soil and death were distinctly absent. Then the miko stepped into the clearing and his eyes widened minutely with slight surprise. She was wearing the traditional red and white shihakusho, but her long dark hair was left loose to fall below her small waist.

Multiple soul stealers twirled around her, brushing up against her as if seeking reassurance. Their luminescence reflected off the panes of her face with elegant shadows that flickered mysteriously as she tucked some of her hair behind a small rounded ear. The movement drew attention to her face, the surprise there more than apparent. With the moonlight hiding the flaws of her humanity, he couldn't deny that she was really quite attractive.

It was then that he finally recognized her as the strange miko that traveled with his half-brother. He couldn't help but be slightly curious as to why she no longer seemed to be traveling with him, as well as the change in her aura. Now that she was so close, he could tell that not only had her signature shifted, but what he could sense of her reserves was much larger than they had been before.

Then she suddenly seemed to remember something and bowed at the waist, her hair falling in a dark waterfall over her shoulder to stop just above the ground. "My lord." She said politely. His eyebrow raised in distinct surprise at her apparent manners. From what he knew of her she was just as uncouth as his younger half-brother. It rose even further as she kept her head down and continued speaking in the same polite tone.

"I apologize for intruding. This was the only clearing in the area and I seek a camping site here, just for the night." Suddenly realizing that his surprise could be seen on his face should she look up, he blanked his face of all emotion and rose silently to his feet.

Soon he stood in front of her, considering the girl before him. He had only heard her speak on two occasions, either when in battle or after he'd inadvertently saved her. So it was either in anger or embarrassed gratitude… if she spoke like this normally he supposed he might have to revise his first opinion of her. He quickly decided to test her current behavior first.

He just barely caught her light gasp as she realized her was standing not two feet from her, and permitted himself an inward smirk. Then he said, "This Sesshomaru supposes that calling you wench would be inappropriate now, considering you are no longer dressed as such." He smirked a bit at her reaction. She had abruptly straightened to glare at him, and then when she'd realized what she was doing looked away just as quickly.

He was almost glad to know that the fire he'd seen in her when she'd first fought him wasn't completely gone. Then she replied, "I would appreciate being called by my birth name, my lord." Then she hesitated and he wondered what she was going to say next. "Under different circumstances I would respect you with the same." His eyes widened in surprise at the informality she was suggesting and he quickly looked away, appreciating the fact that she had yet to raise her eyes since she'd glared at him.

He carefully refused, keeping his voice as indifferent as ever, "Respect is earned, not granted. Until then, Miko, this Sesshomaru shall refer to you by your station.'" She sighed but nodded her head in agreement, as he turned back to look at her. Then he spoke again, asking with almost unnoticeable derision, "Where is the half-breed, Miko? Do you not travel with him?"

She gave an almost indiscernible wince and answered, "I no longer travel with him, my lord." She confirmed "Our circumstances changed and we had to part ways. They do not know where I am, and I would prefer it that way." She looked away as she said this and he couldn't help but notice the way her eyes softened as they fell on his sleeping ward. Then the fire sputtered and he would have to have been blind not to notice how she stared at it so longingly.

Sesshoumaru's calculating gaze roved her form as he considered her answer. He had questions, ones he wanted answers to, but unlike his half brother, he wasn't an idiot. He could clearly see that the miko was close to collapsing with exhaustion. He supposed no answers would be forthcoming should she go into an exhaustion induced coma.

It was a good thing she was no longer dressed as she used to, otherwise he wouldn't even consider doing what he was about to. Twisting around he strode quickly across the clearing, only to stop before the fire. He heard the miko's slight sigh of relief and inwardly smirked at what might happen next.

"You may use the fire, Miko. But in return, tomorrow this Sesshomaru will have answers to some questions he has." He heard her start in surprise before she walked gracefully over to him. Inwardly he raised an eyebrow. Where was the careless, trip-happy miko he knew? Maybe his half-brother had a deteriorating effect on all those around him and now that she was no longer in close proximity to the half-breed, she wasn't affected...it was an interesting idea, one worth exploring.

"That seems to be an adequate offer, my lord." She said with a sort of surprise. "But knowledge is power. Perchance I do not like the question, may I simply answer to the best of my ability, and only if it should not compromise those I am loyal to?"

He turned to glance at her, looking her over once more. Outwardly he made sure to seem slightly annoyed, but inwardly he was a bit impressed. Considering their past encounters, he hadn't thought it at all possible for her to speak in such a dignified manner. He also knew that knowledge could be a dangerous weapon when wielded correctly, so he allowed it, giving her a slight down turn of the head in acceptance of the terms.

As soon as she saw the small nod her dignified and graceful persona went out the window and he watched in a sort of stunned silence as she bustled around the campfire, quickly making herself comfortable. After setting up her odd bedroll near to the fire, she seemed content to simply revel in the heat for a moment.

He took the opportunity brought by her distraction to return to sitting at the foot of the largest tree on the edge of the clearing and marveled at her almost bipolar behavior. One moment polite as a noble, the next exuberant as a cheerful peasant girl… he wondered at the difference. He'd never enjoyed spending much time around females, and Rin was a relatively simple girl, so he couldn't decide if her behavior was typical of the sex.

He found himself hoping it was unique to her, otherwise he'd have to eventually deal with a growing clone in Rin, as at least some of their behaviors resembled one another. The glowing parasites she'd arrived with continued to swirl around her, assisting her in her preparations for the night as they did so. Then she murmured a quick goodnight and was almost instantly asleep.

He blinked slowly as she quickly settled into a deep sleep, wondering at her trust, to be able to relax so thoroughly in his presence. Was she an idiot after all? No, she'd managed to somehow negotiate her way into his campsite without any bloodshed, so that couldn't be it. He eventually ended up thoroughly pondering the mystery of the surprising, if temporary, addition to his small group for the rest of night.

* * *

~ Author's Note ~

Well, I hope you all like this chapter; I personally enjoyed writing from Sesshoumaru's perspective. What do you guys think of it? Do you think I portrayed him properly? I know quite a few of you have been anticipating his entrance, so I hope you're satisfied with how I did it.

Next time will hopefully see some careful advancement in their relationship, or at least have Sesshomaru become a bit more open to actually conversing casually with Kagome. You people have no idea how hard it is to advance their relationship realistically; at the moment I have no idea how to get them out of the 'she/he is human/former enemy' faze. It'll honestly be easier to get Kagome moving forward with this, 'cause despite how much I like him, our dear Fluffy-sama can be real stick in the mud sometimes.

Well, can't really think of anything else to say so… See ya next time then… and don't forget to review.

~ Aljan Moonfire ~


	4. Interrogations and Ponderings

_**Aljan Moonfire does not own Inuyasha in any way, shape, or form.**_

"Speaking."

'_Thinking_.'

.-. - scene break and/or POV change

* * *

**_Chapter 3 – Interrogations and Ponderings_**

* * *

The next morning Kagome woke and slowly sat up with a huge yawn. Her attention was then immediately caught by two things. 1: the strong demonic presence nearby, and, 2: the well's energy was much higher than it usually was. The second registered rather slowly, and it was with sudden alarm that she stood and looked about the clearing, temporarily ignoring the being sitting across the fire from her in favor of finding her companions.

She soon sighed in relief when she spotted them circling together a small distance away. The second they realized she was awake they flew back and started collecting energy from her. She sighed in relief as the pressure building up within her receded. It was like water building up in a dam, just waiting to burst its banks unless she found a way to release it somehow.

What still confused her was the fact that the well's aura was starting to take on some of her signature, and that her own aura had begun to take on some of it's characteristics as well. She quickly shook off the introspective thoughts to continue later.

As her stealers circled around her, brushing along her in a confusing feel of scales and cloth on skin, she wondered why they had been so far away from her. What had they been doing? Holding a soul stealer conference? She smiled slightly at the thought, but figured that there wasn't really an easy way of asking them without prying. If they didn't attempt to tell her then she wasn't supposed to know she supposed...

That was when she remembered the demon lord whose presence she had ignored in favor of her soul stealers… Shit. He was going to kill her, wasn't he? Returning to the campfire, she noticed he was still sitting down and, luckily for her, nothing was glowing a poisonous green.

"I apologize my lord," she said hastily, "for not immediately greeting you this morning. I was…distracted." She quickly bowed to enhance her words. Her soul stealers continued to wind around her as she did so. For some reason she didn't quite understand, they were all staying close to her, and it was actually hard to see past the flying creatures. Holding her bow, she swallowed any further words in nervousness and wondered when she should start praying; before or after the death threat?

"Why were you so distracted, Miko, that you forgot the presence of a demon lord?" His voice was slightly amused and he still hadn't moved yet. Rising out of the bow she sat on her sleeping bag, silently ordering some of the stealers to move, so she that could actually see said demon lord. "And why, Miko," he continued, "do you allow such…_parasites_…to travel with you." His voice was filled with a faint scorn as he regarded her with sharp, impatient eyes.

She supposed this was to be the beginning of the interrogation. She quickly fought back the urge to yell at him for disrespecting her companions, (he _was_ a daiyoukai, he could disrespect stuff as much as he wanted, she supposed) and thought her answer through, wondering just how much she wanted to tell him right now.

Finally she decided, "I cannot tell you all of it, my lord. Suffice it to say that it is important that they travel with me." She looked up, hoping that that had been a good enough answer.

Apparently it wasn't, because his eyes had narrowed and he soon asked with carefully disguised aggravation, "Why must they travel with you, Miko?" he demanded. "And what happened between you and your previous companions to make it necessary for you to travel separately?" he continued.

This time his eyes were dangerous, just daring her to side step his questions again. She sighed, it wasn't too important to tell him the second after all, eventually he'd probably find out anyway, but if she told him the first…? What might he do? Kill her soul stealers so that the well's energy would overflow and kill her? Because she really _would_ die if that happened…

She considered the options for a moment before beginning to speak again. She would tell him as much as possible without endangering herself or newest companions. She stopped the anxious fidgeting she'd been unable to hide and raised cautious eyes to look at him warily. That blank mask of his was firmly in place again, but there was a dangerous glint still apparent in his eyes.

"They help me with my travels, my lord," she began, partially answering his first question. "They warn me if dangerous beings are nearby and scout out ahead of me unfamiliar places; things like that… They helped me find this clearing last night, even telling me that there were already youkai here." He simply stared at her as if just by looking at her he could tell if she were lying or not.

It was rather unnerving to say the least, and she knew that he knew that she wasn't telling him everything that she knew… and now she was just giving herself a headache. She almost felt relieved when he nodded, giving her permission to continue. Almost.

"As for your second question, my…friends," she began hesitantly, "were…distracted in our most recent battle…when I was nearly killed. They asked me to return to my…home…" She felt the familiar tears well in her eyes but angrily held them in place. She refused to cry for _them_ anymore; if they were willing to disown her in such a way, then she was unwilling to give anymore of herself to them then she already had.

She then realized she had lapsed into silence and he though he seemed to be watching her curiously, he was patiently waiting for her to regain her composure. She quickly did so, fighting a losing battle to keep her voice from wavering, "They…insisted that I leave. My son…he disowned me…" she choked out.

"I left, and said that I would go back…home, but I didn't. Instead I acquired a proper miko garment and…well…here I am…waiting for Naraku to show his ugly hide so I can join in the final battle and help take him down…" She looked up at him but he was once more regarding the forest to the side as if it held the answers to the universe hidden in its shade.

"Miko," he finally responded slowly, "it seems a foolish thing, to send you away now, just because of your near death. Surely your companions have been in similar situations and they were not asked to leave?" His voice was low; he seemed mystified, as if the idea of protecting someone in such a way was completely foreign to him.

"Yes, my lord," she replied just as carefully, trying to put it as objectively as she could, "but they don't know that I have been training myself. They assume that I am still only able to sense the jewel shards. As such, they thought that I was…putting myself in danger unnecessarily. As there is another who can sense the shards, who they believe has more experience in such things then I do…" she trailed off, certain he would get the picture and unwilling to say anymore

He nodded in understanding and said no more, clearly thinking over what she'd said. She hesitated before speaking again, unwilling interrupt his thoughts, but something had just occurred to her. "y lord…may I ask…?" she continued more confidently when he nodded for her to do so, "Considering our past, when I entered the clearing…why did you not kill me on sight, or at least threaten to do so?"

Kagome hoped she wasn't pushing her luck by asking this, but it had been nagging at her. When they had met each other before, he had either automatically attacked her, or simply ignored her. The fact that they were almost having a…a conversation; the mere idea of it was, for lack of a better word, more than a bit unnerving.

She looked up at him and flinched slightly when she noticed how hard his gaze was. He soon he turned his eyes to the sky though and continued to gaze at it for so long that she almost didn't believe she was going to get an answer. Then his voice finally broke the silence, "This Sesshomaru shall answer only this question, Miko," he said, "and only considering that you have answered his. At one point Naraku had captured Rin, intending to use her against this one* as he is wont to do. This one went to take her back, but she had been hidden away in Mt. Hakurei, a pure mountain. Although this one could enter, the purity of the location significantly lowered his abilities."

She briefly gawked at him before composing herself. This was the most she had ever heard him say at one time! She quickly paid attention as he continued, "When this Sesshomaru found her she was about to be killed, and this one was unable to reach her in time due to the lowering of his abilities by the sacred barrier. But an un-dead miko shot an arrow and saved her life. When this one asked how he could end his debt, she requested that if this one were to encounter you, this Sesshomaru should never attack unless you provoke him."

He continued to look at her as he concluded his story. "This one has honored her request and has not attacked you unless you have attempted to do this one or those he protects harm. As you haven't, this one has yet to have harmed you." Kagome was quite stunned at first; she didn't even notice Sesshoumaru watching for her reaction. Then her face broke into a brilliant smile and she clapped her hands together happily.

"Kikyo did that?" she asked wonderingly. Then she frowned lightly and continued thinking out loud, "But why me, why not the group as a whole? Or especially Inuyasha…actually…holy crap." She turned her eyes towards the daiyoukai in astonishment, unaware of her rapidly deteriorating language, "You've never attacked him have you...?"

She quickly sensed his slight astonishment and confusion as he raised a brow in perplexity. She waved her hands before her chest, quickly backtracking a bit. "No, no, no;" she said, "I mean, you've provoked him, sure, but you always let him attack first." She explained. "Except for that time with Tokijin, every other time he has been the one to launch the attack first… It's no wonder Kikyo didn't ask for Inuyasha; it would have been a waste as with a few well placed verbal barbs he would have attacked you immediately…" she finished, still with that slight wonder coating her voice.

She tensed slightly in anticipation as he opened his mouth to ask what was sure to be yet another question, and was grateful when the sound of a yawn as Rin awoke took his attention away from her. They both watched as the child blinked sleepily, letting her arms stretch out as she continued to yawn. Suddenly she seemed to waken completely and her eyes hastily scanned the clearing as if searching for something.

A wide grin crossed her face when she noticed Sesshoumaru on the other side of the clearing, her eyes completely skipping over Kagome's form in favor of that of her lord. She quickly sprang to her feet and ran around the fire to come to a stop next to the daiyoukai, smiling brightly. She carefully left just enough space between herself and Sesshoumaru that she wouldn't be crowding him.

"Good morning, Sesshoumaru-sama!" she chirped softly but cheerily. "Rin is awake now, so can Rin go find some food Sesshoumaru-sama? The berries Jaken-sama got Rin yesterday were icky!" The child said this all emphatically, but with a soft voice, clearly respecting his sensitive hearing.

During her short speech she used wild hand motions and lots of facial movements to describe just how she felt about the berries without getting into too much detail. Both of their attention though, quickly turned to the Miko when she let out a light giggle at Rin's antics. As soon as the small girl noticed her, she started examining the priestess curiously.

Finally, pointing at Kagome, Rin turned to Sesshoumaru and asked with curiosity, "Who's that Sesshoumaru-sama? Rin thinks she has seen the pretty lady before, but Rin can't remember where." She finished, with a pricelessly puzzled expression.

Almost as soon as she finished the question, Rin ran back around the fire to the miko's side, not even waiting for a response. She carefully tucked her hands behind her back and, leaning forward slightly in excitement, she asked, "What is your name pretty lady? Rin's name is Rin." She introduced herself.

Kagome smiled at the child and said, equally excited, "My name is Kagome, Rin-chan. It's nice to meet you. I used to travel with Sesshoumaru-sama's half-brother; that's probably where you know me from." She added.

Rin's eyes widened and she did a little skip-dance in place, a huge grin crossing her features as she pointed at Kagome again and declared, "Rin remembers you Kagome-san; you helped save Rin that time with Kohaku-kun."

Kagome nodded in agreement before glancing at Sesshoumaru, her face alight with a bright smile. She wasn't even thinking about who he was when she mouthed at him with a discrete point at Rin, "She is sooooo _cute_!"

Just as Kagome was getting into a lengthy discussion with Rin about positive qualities of different flowers, a soul stealer, Emerald actually, swirled down to wind itself around Kagome's torso. Rin was visibly shocked, having not noticed the luminescent creatures before, but Kagome didn't notice.

Her eyes were blank as she absently stroked the creature, absorbing the information it was communicating. Her eyes suddenly cleared and she glanced up at the sun, her eyes widening and a short gasp escaping her as she realized the time.

"Oh, Kami-sama!" she exclaimed, "I didn't realize the time! I've got to get going if I want to make any distance today." She quickly started packing her things up, apologizing to Rin for needing to leave so soon after meeting her. Rin looked devastated but was soon her happy, smiling self when Kagome promised to spend an hour or two with her the next time they met. With Sesshomaru's permission of course.**

The young woman was soon ready to go, her backpack once again in place, bow in hand and arrows securely in her quiver. She glanced once more around the small clearing she'd pent the night in. Sesshoumaru too, was standing as he oversaw the breaking down of the camp by Jaken*** and Ah-Un. Turning around she once again bowed low to Sesshoumaru in farewell.

"I thank you Sesshoumaru-sama, for letting me share in your campsite. If you have any more questions when we meet again, I won't mind answering them to the best of my ability." Turning to Rin she gave the small girl a hug, "I'm sure I'll see you around Rin-chan, it was wonderful to meet you again!"

Still wearing a smile, she turned to the remaining demons, "Goodbye Jaken, I'm sorry for being so harsh on you (she may have gotten a bit physical when she had 'told off' Jaken earlier), and it was nice to meet you, Ah-Un."

Jaken just huffed and turned away, but was secretly pleased that for once someone acknowledged him, and even _apologized_ for hurting him; it was a new and almost pleasant feeling. Ah-Un shook their heads and one let out a snort; their own version of a wave. She waved back before turning and heading into the forest once more, giving one last bow to Sesshoumaru before leaving their sight.

.-.

It wasn't long after she'd left that Sesshomaru and his small group of followers also removed themselves from the clearing, moving in almost the opposite direction Kagome had, Jaken staying a step or two behind him, keeping a secure grip on the reins of Ah-Un (even though it mostly wasn't needed).

As always, Rin either skipped alongside the Lord of the West or perched herself upon the back of Ah-Un, chattering all the while about how wonderful she found her new friend. As she did so Sesshomaru couldn't stop his own thoughts from turning to the young miko as well.

His surprising encounter with her the night before had been interesting enough, but the talk he'd had with her the morning after had been informative in its own way as well. When she'd first woken she'd actually ignored him in favor of those pests she seems to insist on traveling with. Although he may admit that they could be useful in the ways she described, they clearly did more than that for her.

He hadn't slept the night before, keeping watch for any intruders less friendly than the miko, but he'd also done it to keep an eye on the girl as well. Not that he believed she'd be so foolish as to actually try something, but there was still something she was hiding from him, and he wouldn't be satisfied until he knew what it was.

Over the course of the night her energy levels had steadily risen until they almost seemed ready to pour out of her fragile body. It was at that point that the soul stealers had surrounded her and siphoned off the excess energy. It would seem that she kept them around to help her regulate the energy she was unable to completely control on her own.

As she had fallen asleep fairly close to him, the soul stealers, who understandably seemed rather nervous of him, weren't willing to stay nearby for long and only took enough of the energy to stop it from completely overflowing. As a result, when she had woken she had immediately turned to them to see what was wrong.

He had watched with amusement as she had stumbled over to them, still half asleep, and let them take a good portion of her energy. Then she had seemed to recall his presence and rushed back over to the fireside, still ungainly with sleep, to apologize for disregarding him in favor of more urgent business. Not that she had actually come out and said that, it had taken a good bit of prodding before she had even admitted that it was necessary for them to travel with her.

Even then she hadn't told him why, which said a good deal for her prudence, he supposed. And he couldn't have really pushed harder for more information either; he had tacitly given his word that he wouldn't after all.

Then she had answered his earlier questions about her current relationship with her (now former, he supposed) companions, even though it had seemed like she was about to cry through more than half of it. Though he'd never admit it, crying women had always made him nervous. He'd usually just freeze up completely, but if anyone knew of his inward panic attacks…

Moving on though, she'd eventually calmed down, and he'd asked a few questions. Her answer had made sense though: her comrades decided to remove what they thought to be a weakness and replace it with something stronger. He could understand that, but he had also seen the poorly disguised pain in her eyes. They had probably thought they were doing better by her by sending her away, but they didn't consider the fact that she'd prefer staying with them, despite the danger.

He also understood that, he supposed, glancing back slightly at his own entourage. He understood the need for companionship; even if he would not admit it to anyone but himself.

Avoiding the uncomfortable thought with the ease of long practice, he turned back to his reminiscing. Then she had asked why he had not threatened her when they first met the night before. It was a slightly uncomfortable subject for him (he did_ not _like owing people anything), but he had answered nonetheless.

In her astonishment at the undead one's actions her language had quickly begun to deteriorate. He had almost smirked. It had only been a matter of time after all. Then she had wondered why the other miko had not asked for the same thing in regards to Inuyasha, something he had briefly wondered himself.

She was really far more intelligent than he had expected, reasoning it out the way she did. It was true after all; he had never really felt the need to expend any effort in attacking the mutt when he just had to open his mouth to get his half-brother to do the same. It was still interesting though, that she'd been able to see it.

It was then that Rin had woken up and the two females had gotten along just splendidly, as he'd half expected. Then Jaken had awoken, and if the miko hadn't shut the toad up he would have. Why did he keep that kappa around again…?

He was broken out of his thoughts by said demon's squawking. Turning slightly to look back at the small group trailing behind him, he was unsurprised to see the youkai once again covered with multiple flowers as Rin laughed delightedly. Oh, yes, that's why, he remembered. It was quite enjoyable to torment the toad after all.

Sesshoumaru shook his head slightly, returning to his thoughts of the miko. She was such an unusual female; by the end of her very short stay she had managed to befriend everyone in his entourage and even acted quite familiarly with _him_. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was actually looking forward to what might occur during her next visit. Looking over his entourage once again and noting their happier-than-usual countenance, he knew he was not the only one.

.-.

**Elsewhere, in the evening of the same day…**

Kagome prodded at the fire again, causing a few small sparks to fly out of the small pit it burned in to die in the wet grass. It had rained for a short while earlier in the day, and though she had taken shelter for the worst of it, it had made it quite hard to get a fire going.

Tired from the day's exertions, she hugged her knees to her chest and sighed almost silently as she rested her chin on top of them. As her eyes drifted closed her thoughts turned inexorably towards what she had been avoiding thinking about since that morning, and, for once, it was not her former companions, or the circumstances surrounding their separation, that she was shying away from.

Sesshoumaru… he wasn't initially all that much different than her earlier experiences of him, cold, calculating, and, as always, more than just determined to get what he wants no matter what. She remembered the same focus from their first encounter so long ago. It had been quite an experience to have all that attention focused on her, and what she knew. She'd never been more aware of it than that morning, just how different the two brothers were.

In the same situation he could image Inuyasha's reaction to her refusing to tell him what she knew. She also knew that it probably wouldn't have been very pleasant, to say the least.

Sesshomaru though, he had honored their earlier agreement and hadn't pushed her over much for answers. During their conversation he had kept his attention and eyes on her, not looking away overmuch as if what she was speaking about didn't matter. And he only saw _her _when he looked at her, something she would never be able to say of the younger of the two.

It had been more than a bit pleasant to say the least. She couldn't help but wonder it to herself as she banked the fire for the night and finally settled down to sleep. When would she see the daiyoukai again?

* * *

* - As far as I know, in the original Japanese manga and anime Sesshomaru addresses himself as 'kono Sesshomaru' or, quite literally, 'this Sesshomaru'; always speaking of himself in the formal third person. The corresponding, equally formal, 'this one' just seems like the next logical step when he speaks in more than single sentences. (Just so you know, this ridiculously formal way of speaking will continue until he feels comfortable enough in someone's *coughKagome'scough* presence to relax a bit.)

** - This permission came in the form of a simple nod from Sesshoumaru; she was glad he so easily gave his permission, if he had said no who knows what Rin and Kagome may have had to resort to in order to convince him otherwise

*** - Jaken had thrown quite the hissy fit when he realized there was actually a _human wench_, as he put it, in their campsite. He soon learnt the hard way why you don't want piss off Kagome, a lesson he should have learned from their previous encounters. Rin was reduced to a shaking ball of laughter after watching her Jaken-sama get told off by her Kagome-san.

* * *

~ Author's Note ~

Another chapter done! If you people actually read this, I would like to bring your attention to the last part of the chapter, where both Sesshomaru and Kagome give their impressions of the encounter. That's important character development there, not filler! Also, those cliff notes are important, so go back and read them!

Ah… sorry about that abruptness… Another thing though, this chapter is a bit shorter than I had originally planned, but it would have taken another two or three thousand words to find as good a stopping point. Even then it probably would have been a cliffhanger. So, my apologies, but, even though I got this out later than I expected, you get a double update in compensation. Feel free to celebreate as that chapter will be up within the next hour.

Reviews are always welcome!

~ Aljan Moonfire ~


	5. Sickness and Health

_**Aljan Moonfire does not own Inuyasha in any way, shape, or form.**_

"Speaking."

'_Thinking_.'

.-. - scene break and/or POV change

* * *

_**Chapter 4 – Sickness and Health**_

* * *

**A Month Later…**

Kagome moved out of the village, and greeted her soul stealers, wearing a thoughtful frown as she pondered what she had heard. The news she had overheard in the town market wasn't good. Apparently, a village a few miles to the northeast was suffering from a sickness, one that could almost be termed a plague. The villages that normally traded with them obsessively avoided them like…well, like the plague, putting the people who lived there through even worse times without the money earned from trading to buy basic medicine and food.

At first Kagome had mostly ignored the news; she had been moving in a generally western direction for a good reason. That way led away from_ them_ after all. But at this point she couldn't leave the village to its own devices; as it was, it was lucky that sickness hadn't spread very far. It wasn't in her nature to leave them alone when she knew she could help either.

Sighing she picked up the pace, only to smile when two of the younger soul stealers raced past her, playing a flying form of tag. She had noticed that the more time she spent with them, the more intelligent they got, picking up more and more individual qualities. Especially Emerald, which wasn't surprising considering how much time it spent with her; it was what could only be described as mischievous.

Once she had asked it to take her to a good camping site and it led her right through a stream, letting out light trills and curling in on itself as it did so, rocking in the air as if with laughter. At first she had been incensed, but soon she was laughing with it. She got it back though; her eyes glinted as a smirk wormed its way onto her face. Yes, she got it back _good_.

She remembered once asking Kikyo how she spent so much time alone except for her soul stealers, and didn't it make it inconvenient to go through towns? Especially considering how most people reacted to demons. But Kikyo had merely given her a confused look, saying that soul stealers were actually very intelligent and that they picked up things fast. Why would she want any other company? There was also the fact that her stealers warned her of any villages before she even saw them and, should the need arise; she simply went in without them.

Kagome understood that very well now, being in the same position. The only difference was that when she went into villages she took her stealers with her. As far as she was concerned they were equal, and she wasn't going to leave them outside like outcasts of her one woman group. Never mind the fact that without them she would (and still could) die.

Naturally, she received strange looks and people avoided her and whispered behind her back. If she spent a while in one place though, they would eventually become curious, the more courageous ones coming closer first. When others realized that the demons weren't attacking on sight, they would come closer as well, some even touching them.

She loved seeing their faces as they heard the light trills of the stealers as they wound around them or her happily. She knew she had changed quite a few minds concerning demons, considering how nice these ones seemed.

Shaking her head to rid it of the reminiscing thoughts, she turned her attention back to the road, soon making good time down it. She traveled for a few more hours before stopping for a light lunch, and once she was done she pushed herself to arrive before nightfall, hoping that she wouldn't have to sleep outside again so soon. Also, though she didn't have far to travel, she did not relish the idea of arriving after dark; most villagers would generally take it as a bad sign, an omen, especially something like a priestess arriving with demons in tow.

But she must have misjudged the distance, because when it the small village finally appeared in the distance she had less than an hour until sunset. She had cut it too close. She didn't want to arrive in an unfamiliar village filled with sickness and starving people who feared demons during the night; she wasn't stupid after all.

So, moving into the nearby forest, she set up camp not too far from the village, making sure to remain out of sight. Just to make sure, she also sent out the two youngest soul stealers (she had dubbed them 'The Twins') to scout for nearby humans or demons. Soon after she promptly fell asleep, aware that in the morning she was going to need as much power as possible in order to heal a village full of people.

.-.

She was awake before the first light came into the sky, a habit that had quickly been formed due to the false light of her stealers. Using the time remaining until dawn as productively as she could, she examined the area, collecting herbs that may possibly help and storing them in a small, foldable basket she kept in her bag. By the time the sky was bright with the sunrise she was heading back to the village, her basket full and her powers in closely in check.

Before she even set foot in the village she could feel the sickness. It hovered over the people like a dark blanket, smothering even hope underneath it. As soon as she entered she could feel eyes upon her; the hairs on the back of her neck rose as she felt their gazes sharpen, a purely instinctual feeling chilling her spine.

Moving to the center of the village she wasn't surprised when she was met by a crowd of villagers milling about with sharp tools clutched in their hands. As soon as they sighted her the murmuring stopped and a gaunt man dressed in old, grey, and far too worn clothes stepped forward. His hands clenched tightly around his make-shift weapon as he eyed her soul stealers. Eventually his gaze finally shifted to her and even from her distance she could clearly see him grind his teeth.

"What do you want here, priestess, and why do you bring these foul…_things_…into our midst?" His voice was rough and hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time, his fingers white with the strength he was gripping his staff. Kagome took a step forward and pretended not to notice them shift into more aggressive stances.

"I had heard there was an illness in this village, so I came to help. These demons will not harm you, I need them to help me with healing and they have strong properties in that area." Her eyes were steady and her voice did not waver as she told the white lie.

The stealers helped her keep her power under control and they found useful medicinal herbs for her. She knew, though, that the villagers would assume she meant it in a more magical or spiritual way. That was fine with her as long as they let her keep her companions nearby. If they did not, then she would simply leave them to their fate. She didn't really like to think on it much, but she had grown more discriminating with where she placed her trust since… since_ that_ happened.

The man's gaze was wary as he replied, but his voice held less anger, and if one searched deeply you could almost hear his careful hope, "You know how to heal us miko? This sickness is an unusual one; it does not react to herbs. It was forged by a half-demon," here his gaze sharpened once more on her stealers.

"He came," he continued, "selling special foods, saying they were fruits of good fortune. He had come and gone within a day, and then all who had eaten the fruits fell horribly ill. Those who lived with them caught the illness within a week; and they were all dead in less than a month. We kept them cut off from the rest of us, hoping to stop the disease." His lips clenched as he told the horrible story, creasing as white as his still tightly clenched hands.

"It didn't work, and we cannot tell who will fall ill next until the illness is too far along for any common medicines to heal it." He then turned his eyes back to Kagome, hope still warring with despair, "So do you truly think you can help us, woman who travels with demons? Or do you work for the hanyou and are only here to gloat?"

Kagome listened to him rant calmly, but immediately suspected Naraku. It was just like him to lay low and, even while supposedly gone, spread pervasive darkness from the shadows. He had probably sent a puppet to these poor people, and from what she could tell the village didn't have a miko of its own. There were very few villages without one these days, and those that didn't were few and far between. He must have picked one of those farthest from Inuyasha in hopes of the disease spreading quickly and killing off many innocents before it could be stopped by a powerful enough miko, one such as Kikyo.

"Yes, I can heal you." She replied, calmly ignoring the insults. "No, I do not work for a hanyou, and as I said, these demons are only here to help me. If you will show me to the sick area I will work out a way to heal these people." She continued. "I just ask that if I want something to be done, it will be done without question or complaint. Am I understood?"

They still seemed wary, especially the man she had been speaking to, but gradually they all nodded their heads until only the gaunt man had yet to agree. "I shall consent miko. But first I would like to know the name of the one who is helping us." Kagome cocked her head slightly, wondering if this was somehow a trick in disguise; she honestly wouldn't be surprised if it were.

"My name is Kagami, I am a traveling miko. And you are?" The man looked her over, eyes narrowed suspiciously before meeting her gaze again.

"I am Hotaka." He finally replied. "A farmer." His face scrunched up slightly, as if he was regretting his next words before he even spoke them, "Thank you, Kagami-sama, for coming to help us." Kagome bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement of the title before striding forward, ignoring the surrounding people's anxious glances at her companions. Many of her stealers wound around her closely, seeking comfort from the perceived threat.

"Hotaka-san, please take me to the sick area. I would like to begin as soon as possible." He backed away from her slightly, and she absently wondered if his hands hurt. If he gripped his hoe any harder then his hand would probably fuse with it… that or snap it in half, whichever came first. She hid the small smile the thought evoked behind her sleeve, pretending to push some hair out of her face.

Turning sharply on his heel, he walked swiftly in one direction. Kagome moved after him, easily keeping pace with him even though she could tell he was walking as fast as he possibly could without breaking into a jog. She supposed he was trying to leave her behind so he could call back and tell her to hurry up. Of course, he hadn't been traveling for years on end, much of that time being led by an anxious and testy hanyou.

Keeping up the swift pace, they soon arrived at a large wall of what looked like… well, just random stuff piled on top of each other really. There was planks of wood, logs, chairs, futons…just things all thrown on top of each other until a wall of about head height separated one part of the village from the other. It was obvious that quite a few trees had been chopped down to be placed in the wall as well.

She looked at Hotaka impassively, waiting for some kind of explanation, but he only pointed wordlessly at a hut that was now a part of the strange wall. She looked from him to it for a moment, and he gave a slight, silent bow and without a word, walked off, still holding the farming implement in his hand with a death grip.

Shaking her head slightly at the rude behavior, she walked to the hut and entered. As soon as she did so she winced as an awful smell reached her nose. To her surprise a hole had been made in the back of the room, and through it she could see the cordoned off area. Emerging from the hole into the light beyond, she nearly gagged. The stench was much worse here, as if the simple barrier they had created had trapped the smell as well as anything else.

Eyes watering she sent out her stealers to find any who were still alive. Then, letting her spiritual powers rise, she used them to examine the air around herself. There was…something…there, something in the air. Most likely the disease, it seemed to be airborne, carried from person to person as dust or spores on the wind.

Still…there was something strange about this disease, something off, even familiar. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough of it on the wind for her to examine thoroughly. Slowly her soul stealers drifted back to her. Their news wasn't good. What had once been an area that was capable of (and at one point clearly had) housing over fifty people, now had eleven that still clung to life, five of whom didn't seem to have long left to live at all.

Hurrying to the closest of those five; this time she did gag when she entered their small hut. It was filled with the stench of old feces and vomit, and when her eyes accustomed finally themselves to the dim light she couldn't help the tear that trailed down her cheek at the sight. A person lay on the futon, and from what little skin that remained she seemed to be unnaturally pale.

Large blisters covered her body, most of which had popped and were oozing a thick, clear liquid. Around the blisters was darkened skin that looked as if it were bruised, but it Kagome could tell with a glance that that skin was long dead and beginning to rot. Not only that, but the area around the woman's eyes and mouth was scratched and bleeding sluggishly, as if she'd attempted to claw her own eyes out at one point. There was no doubt that whatever was in the air had irritated her throat and eyes enough for her to scratch herself raw.

Kneeling at the woman's side, Kagome laid her small basket of herbs next to the woman's head. Allowing her powers to rise to the surface, she channeled the energy to her hands and placed them lightly on the woman's brow. Closing her eyes with concentration, she used her powers to examine the disease.

Her eyebrows soon pulled together in a distressed frown; whatever this disease was, it was certainly not natural. She had thought Naraku had simply captured or created an already existing disease and infected the fruit with it earlier, but it seems that assumption was incorrect.

Yet even though she couldn't recognize the disease, there was something vaguely familiar about the symptoms. Wracking her memory she examined the woman's body once again. Her heart nearly stopped as she came to the young woman's lungs and realized what exactly that sad excuse of a hanyou had done.

Letting out a growl she proceeded to cleanse the woman's lungs of the miasma Naraku had infected the fruit with. He had recreated his miasma into a disease, injecting fruit with it and having it focus on the lungs and skin. Pulling more of her power to the surface, she pushed it through the woman's body, purifying every taint of miasma she encountered.

She then used even more energy to heal the oozing blisters and rekindle life in the salvageable dead skin. Unfortunately the skin in those areas would be slightly off color and extra sensitive, but it was the best she could do for now. When she finally judged the woman to be healed enough that she would survive, Kagome sat back onto her heels and wiped the sweat from her brow. While she still had a lot of spiritual power left over, it was physically exhausting to do such a strong healing all in one go.

Stepping out of the hut she moved to what she presumed to be the center of the cut off side of the village. She then gathered much of her remaining power to herself and let it build up beneath her skin, vaguely aware of the fact that she was giving off a faint pinkish-blue light. Closing her eyes she felt out the traces of miasma in the air that had been released through the sick people's lungs and directly into the air to travel on the wind to the rest of the village and beyond.

Opening the first of the gates that held her powers in check, keeping them from overwhelming her, she felt the energy flow out of her in with a swift rush. As it did so she let her head fall back in a kind of bliss as her mouth parted on a soft sigh of release. The power flowed through her in an almost unstoppable current and did her will, attacking every trace of miasma in the surrounding air down to the smallest particle. Even the miasma that had already entered the lungs of the healthier villagers; it searched it all out and scorched it from existence.

Finally, when every particle she could sense in the surrounding area was gone, Kagome stopped the flow, collapsing to the ground in momentary exhaustion. Panting with exertion, she called her stealers to her and asked them to take her to the remaining ten people that were still infected. She would fight past the tiredness to heal them completely before she passed out. Unfortunately, she underestimated the damage the disease could do to people's bodies, as well as the amount of healing energy her body could handle channeling.

She managed to heal six other people (the remaining four that were the worst off and two others) before she finally fainted from extreme exhaustion. She had forgotten that not only did she have to heal them, but that by using up so much of her own power the well's energy would fight against her hold even more viciously than usual, sensing the temporary weakness and fighting for freedom.

It all eventually became too much, and before she succumbed to the darkness of unconsciousness she thanked the Kami that she had managed to heal those who may not have survived until she was strong enough to heal them entirely. Blackness washed over her wavering vision like a tide, and she absently hoped that she wouldn't be unconscious too long; she still had people she had to heal after all.

.-.

Kagome woke with the emperor of all headaches prancing around her sore skull. Groaning, she opened her gritty eyes before closing them again immediately at the glaring light. Her mind recognized the sound of movement nearby and, this time prepared for the sudden light, she carefully opened her eyes once more.

A woman was shuffling around nearby, her back to Kagome. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but Kagome couldn't quite remember what for the life of her. For the moment her mind was a complete blur, even her thoughts mostly incoherent. The women finally turned around and nearly dropped the cup she was holding at seeing the miko's open eyes. Rushing over to Kagome she set the cup down carefully next to her head and peered at her from at close distance, though she was careful not to crowd her overmuch.

"My lady!" she exclaimed softly in slight alarm, "You should not be awake so soon! You used too much energy healing us; you must rest to regain your strength." As the women anxiously examined her Kagome finally placed the face. Attempting to speak, she was startled when her voice came out as only a faint croak. The woman's eyes widened in realization and she hastily tipped what tasted like tea from the small cup down Kagome's aching throat.

Trying again, this time Kagome was rewarded by the quiet sound of her own voice. "You are the woman I healed first." She said softly.

The woman let a slight smile cross her face, acknowledging the statement as true. Now that she was no longer sick, Kagome could see that she was actually quite pretty; certainly no beauty, but still rather pretty. Even the slight discoloration that could be seen in places from the newly healed skin did not detract much from her looks.

The woman nodded emphatically in further confirmation, quite energetic for someone who had recently been on death's door. "Yes my lady! My name is Tarika." She introduced herself. "And you are my lady?" she inquired slightly more hesitantly.

Kagome attempted to lift an eyebrow at the question, surprised that no one had told Tarika her false name, but the effort to do so was just too much at the moment. "I am Kagami. A traveling miko. Did you not know? I told the other villagers; surely someone would mention it?"

Tarika's eyes darkened and her lips spread into a hard, thin line at the still softly spoken question. "The other villagers saw your light, Kagami-sama. They assumed that something terrible had befallen you, that your demons attacked you or some other such foolishness. They collapsed the entrance and attack anyone who attempts to leave. We are trapped here. It is lucky that your healing re-energized our bodies, for otherwise we would surely have starved days ago."

Kagome could feel the anger in her building up quickly. Why were people of the Sengoku Jidai such idiots? She would have to beat some sense into them later; that was for sure at least. Then Tarika's last words finally caught up with her and she couldn't help the slight gasp that escaped her.

"Days? How long have I been out? What of those I was unable to heal?" Tarika placed her hand on her arm soothingly, shaking her head and smiling at Kagome's obvious concern. "Calm yourself my lady. You have only been out for a week at the least-"

At Kagome's startled noise she quickly raised a hand to forestall any further comments. "Do not fear my lady, those that you healed completely, such as myself, have been helping those that are not yet fully healed. We still have some food stores to keep us going, as well as the herbs left over from before. The blisters and such are finally starting to heal, thanks to you destroying the curse." She added, hoping to reassure the miko further.

The she edged backwards and when there was enough space, fell into a deep bow, placing her head close to the floor in supplication. "Thank you so much my lady. Thank you for coming to our village; we were without hope, but you have healed us!"

Kagome hastily raised herself up on the elbows and protested weakly, embarrassed by the excessive thanks. "You don't have to bow." She replied, her voice still soft, "It was nothing. And I'm not done really; I haven't even finished healing the others. This is a part of my job as a traveling miko." She finished; her voice hesitant as Tarika sat up, brow etched with confusion.

"But we wish to thank you." The woman replied. "You have helped us immensely, saving our lives in the process. Does that not deserve our gratitude?" At Kagome's slightly taken aback look she let out a light laugh. "Do not worry yourself Kagami-sama. We shall show our gratitude, but if it pleases you, we shall show it in small ways, so you will not feel uncomfortable." Kagome gave a slightly relieved smile.

"Thank you Tarika." She said, hesitating slightly before continuing, "May I call you a friend?" she asked. The woman's eyes lit up and she nodded emphatically, clearly resisting the urge to give the miko a tight hug.

"I would be honored my lady." She responded, clearly meaning it in the truest sense. "Thank you so much."

Kagome patted Tarika's hand, and said good-naturedly, "My friends call me Kagami. No more of this my lady stuff, it makes me feel old." Tarika simply laughed at her disgusted face.

"Very well Kagami-sa - I mean, Kagami. Shall I let in your demons? They have been circling this hut for the past couple of days; sometimes they enter, and sometimes they don't. Is that alright Kagami?"

Kagome gasped slightly, and quickly moving inward she examined her power, fearing the worst. Much to her surprise, the well's power was still there, but it was humming contentedly in the background, not attempting to fight her own energy at all. Maybe it was because she was almost at full strength? Her week-long sleep had certainly restored her spiritual power, but why hadn't the well used that time to escape?

That's when she noticed it. The well had almost fully taken on her signature, and her it's. While she still viewed her and its power separately, they were essentially the same thing now. Considering that they now shared an identical aura signature, the only difference was that the well was still linked to time and had essentially unlimited power in reserve… Shit. What the hell had she gotten herself into now?

Feeling familiar scales brush along her skin, she pulled herself out of her thoughts and found herself surrounded by glittering bodies. She laughed as they all started trilling; she could feel her soul stealers happiness and relief pushing at the back of her mind. They had been very worried for her. She could also see that they were dangerously low on energy. It was all too obvious what they had done. Her dear stealers had starved themselves so her miko energy could heal her faster, only coming in when they absolutely needed the energy.

She felt tears gathering in her eyes and reached out, petting all the stealers she could reach. "You silly things. You didn't have to do that for me, I would have been fine given time. Here, take it, you need it more than I do right now."

Opening her power to them, she could see her skin glowing lightly as her stealers trilled even louder and brushed against her, taking portions of her energy. She grinned; thankful for once that she had an unusual amount of spiritual energy. The remaining people she had to heal would be easy, leaving more than enough left over for her stealers to have a good 'meal'.

Once they had enough, she closed the gates to her power, remembering a time when that had been difficult. Her eyes darkened as the image of a brash hanyou comparing her to Kikyo came to mind, his yelling that she wasn't good enough, that she had to learn to be as controlled as Kikyo.

Her eyes misted over and she felt the hurt all over again as her mind replayed their betrayal; it was with a surprising jolt that the well once more surged forth. Using her feelings it started to fight her again, creating more power and riding on her emotions in an attempt to get free. Quickly sitting in a traditional meditation pose, she did a breathing technique Kikyo had taught her. Soon she had calmed her emotions and felt the well's power settling back down, her stealers continuing to feed off of any excess energy.

Opening her eyes to look around the hut, she quickly noted that Tarika had left, probably some time ago knowing how she could lose track of time these days. Rising to her feet and stretching, Kagome moved out of the hut. Asking her soul stealers to lead her, she followed them to the remaining injured people and grinning slightly when Emerald wrapped around her and removed to budge, clearly having missed her.

Shaking her head at its antics, she entered a hut and began what she knew would be a long day of healing. She had no idea.

It seemed Naraku was always a step ahead, even here. The disease had recreated the miasma in the people's bodies, focusing on their lungs as it released itself into the air in short bursts. Building up in ever increasing quantities, it didn't start to attack their bodies again until it was strong enough to kill them.

Going to each and every person this time, she healed the sicker people first, knowing she was lucky she had woken so soon, any later and they may have really died despite her efforts. Then she once again walked to the center of the village.

This time she did not release so much power and, controlling it precisely, she hunted through the winds, soon finding the miasma in the air and once again purifying it. She followed the miasma through the air currents and along the paths of the wind, surprised at how far it had spread. She was soon far beyond the village, using her spiritual abilities as a second awareness.

She followed the miasma much further than she had ever realized she was capable of going, moving over the land as swiftly as the wind. But even she had her limits, and she could feel her power beginning to stretch thin. Luckily enough though, Naraku had had a flaw in his plan. He had thought to have the disease spread from person to person, not rely solely on it's traveling through the air to infect its victims, and by the time she was reaching the edge of her limits the miasma was too thin and dispersed to cause any more damage.

She was about to turn back and return her to her physical body she noticed something…a familiar yoki. Pushing a slight bit further she finally examined the land around her, actually _looking_ where she was. It was with a jolt to her heart and swiftly building tears in her real eyes that she realized she had inadvertently traveled back to Inuyasha.

And there he was; the red-clad betrayer and those that still followed him, namely Miroku and Shippo, Shippo perched on Miroku's shoulder. Sango looked as if she had been crying recently but was there as well. Unsure of how to feel about the woman she had once called sister without hesitation, she turned her attention away from her, absently noticing that Kikyo had joined the group as well, as she had requested.

Then she noticed that they were all watching something that was apparently behind her. So, turning her awareness in that direction, she was pleasantly surprised to see Sesshoumaru standing atop a small hill, looking down on her old group. She ignored Inuyasha as he shouted familiar insults at the daiyoukai. She didn't want to see them right now; it had been an accident coming her in the first place.

But seeing Sesshoumaru was nice. For some reason she knew that if she ever had to place her trust in him, and if he ever took that trust upon himself, he would _never_ betray her. It simply would go against every honorable thing he believed in and lived by. She doubted she would ever have to do that though, place her trust in him that is; it would take a lot for her to place her trust so blindly in anyone ever again.

Moving downwards she stood next to him, examining both him and those below them. The others hadn't changed much at all except their faces and eyes. They were more drawn; their eyes had lost some of that happy light she had always seen in them. Even Kikyo looked more stoic than usual.

"This Sesshoumaru must admit that he is surprised to see you, Miko." A deep male voice suddenly commented.

Kagome started and turned to Sesshoumaru, and her heart stopped as he looked directly into her, presumably invisible, eyes. He shouldn't be able to see her though! It was impossible, no one had ever… But she had to remember that this was Sesshoumaru she was thinking of. Even she knew that he was supposedly so insanely powerful that anything was possible for him, much like his great and terrible father.

Dragging on a bit more power she forced her awareness to glow with a slight bit of light, she heard faint gasps from below as their observers saw a glowing being slowly take form next to Sesshoumaru. She knew that they wouldn't be able to tell who she was, her awareness didn't have enough form to tell distinct looks, but that she was female would be obvious at least.

"I am surprised as well, my lord. I had previously thought it impossible to be seen when in this form." His eyebrow rose and he smirked slightly, completely ignoring the spluttering hanyou in favor of her, something she found some dark amusement in.

"You should know better than that, _Kagami_. This Sesshoumaru has found the tales of your exploits to be amusing. Do tell, what village are you located in now?" Again her heart almost stopped as he said her false name. How could he know? She hadn't done anything too important in the course of her travels. Sure she had killed a demon here, saved someone there, but nothing for _him_ to keep track of!

Then she remembered that he'd asked a question, and thinking back she vaguely remembered a person telling her the name of the village she was located in. Racking her brain furiously, she soon remembered it and smiled. "I believe the village is called Bertu, my lord." His eyes widened almost imperceptibly at the name and he turned slightly so he was facing her more.

"Now this one is truly surprised Miko. This Sesshomaru did not realize the extent of your power. You have traveled quite a distance from your body; it is dangerous to leave it so far behind." It said something for Sesshoumaru's sheer presence that he had made her completely forget those that had hurt her so grievously in a matter of minutes. Sighing, she shrugged her shoulders slightly, detachedly finding it odd to see her light-encased awareness act as her real body would.

"I know that my lord." She replied, "But Naraku had poisoned the village with his miasma, and I had to heal them. Soon I found that the disease was airborne. By the time I followed after it, it had spread all the way to here. It was necessary." Nodding slightly he turned back to face his brother (who was, for once, speechless; shocked to incapacity by the fact his brother had actually _complimented_ someone.)

"This Sesshoumaru once told you that respect was earned, not given. You seem to be well on your way to earning that of this one." His eyes glinted slightly as he looked at her, a small smirk playing across his lips. He then spoke again, but she knew what he said was far too soft for the others present to hear. "Should you earn it, by which name should this Sesshoumaru call you? Your given or chosen name?"

At the question she noticed that the light that made up her awareness glowed brighter even as her body in reality flushed slightly. "I would ask that you use my given name my lord, for that is who I am, not my chosen name." His smirk grew slightly, as if he approved of her choice.

"In that case this one suggests that you get back to your body, Miko. You have accomplished quite the feat, for a human." Without thinking she stuck an ethereal tongue out at him, and his eyebrow rose in renewed surprise as she glowed even brighter with her blush.

Giving a slight wave of farewell she hurriedly flew back to her body, only hearing a faint, "What the fuck was that you bastard! You finally gotten yourself a girl?" from her former hanyou companion.

She sighed inwardly at his immaturity; would he never learn? You do _not_ want to provoke Sesshoumaru! It was all too obvious to her that Sesshoumaru had always been playing with Inuyasha; if he could see her when she was her purely spiritual form then he was many times stronger then they had always believed.

As she returned to her body and opened her eyes she shoved any further thoughts of the daiyoukai to the back of her mind. Looking around her immediate surroundings and taking in the still devastated town, she resolved to leave as soon as she could.

Despite the quick friendship she had struck up with Tarika, the overwhelming gratitude of the rest of the village (Even the gruff Hotaka had done a one-eighty and was now treating her with respect) was beginning to grate on her even after less than a day.

Nodding her head in resolve she quickly communicated her intentions to her stealers and prepared to leave the next morning.

* * *

~ Author's Note ~

Chapter 4 has arrived! The second chapter today! I'm getting excited; it will really begin to diverge from night flame miko's original in the next chapter. I'll try to post it as soon as I can but I'm not making any promises. By next week would honestly be my best estimate.

Reviews are always more than just welcome and the button is below, so just click on it!

~ Aljan Moonfire ~


	6. Hanyou

_**Aljan Moonfire does not own Inuyasha.**_

"Speaking."

'_Thinking._'

* * *

_**Chapter 5 - Hanyou**_

* * *

"Damn it!" Inuyasha snarled, clearly resisting the urge to take a swipe at the monk who was currently attempting to attend to his wounds. "That bastard…" he muttered threateningly under his breath, not for the first time.

Miroku sighed, and replied as he finished tying a bandage into place. "Inuyasha, you really are too reckless." He chided, slightly mockingly.

Inuyasha simply glared, knowing by now that any attempt to deny that charge would fail against the monk's many, many examples to the contrary. Kikyo, watching from the other side of the clearing they had stopped at for the night, frowned almost imperceptibly at the hanyou's language, but had to admit that he (from his perspective at least) may have had a fairly good excuse to rant as he had been doing on and off for the past few hours.

It had been over a month since she had first agreed to join the motley band of people at Kagome's request, and it certainly hadn't been a walk in the park. The small group seemed to be quite wary of her (not that she could really blame them) and all of them except for Inuyasha even seemed to go out of their way to avoid her.

The monk, who seemed subdued in comparison to Kagome's stories of him, seemed to always keep an eye on her, watching for any sort of suspicious behavior. The taijiya, Sango, had also done so, but the slightly hostile attention of the demon slayer had been tempered by the woman's obvious grief over the loss of her best friend. This continued to confuse her though; hadn't she known that Kagome would be forced to leave the group?

That was beside the point though; she knew that despite Inuyasha's clumsy efforts, she wasn't at all welcomed in the group. Miroku and Sango were wary of her, just waiting for her to betray them. The small kitsune (presumably Kagome's Shippo-chan) mostly took refuge with them, and also seemed to be at least slightly afraid of her. The small two-tailed Nekomata that the taijiya rode was the same, but avoided her less out of fear and more out of wariness.

Inuyasha tried to make her feel welcome, but he wasn't exactly socially adept (understatement of the century) and could only do so much. Even then, though she would always love Inuyasha, being around him 24/7 had also made her less oblivious to his faults. He was rude and reckless, always charging into fights and other less physical altercations with all the subtlety of a maddened bull. Even then he was crude and tactless at the best of times, always sticking his own foot in his mouth at the worst possible moment. All of this was displayed almost perfectly by the most recent fight said hanyou was brooding over.

Well, rather than the fight (which he did lose, the battle ending once he was beaten to a pulp and his opponent leaving him moaning on the ground with a few pointed insults clearly meant to rub his defeat in) he seemed to be devoted to insulting his most recent (and also most long standing from what she could tell) adversary.

She had never really seen the Lord of the West in action before, but it was clear to her than even if Inuyasha had, with the help of his father's fang, managed to reach a level of strength where he could completely over power most of his opponents, Sessshomaru was much, much, just … more… at almost everything else. Skill, technique, perception, speed; even his insults were superior the hanyou's. If it really came down to it he was even better looking.

She knew Inuyasha very well though; just as well as Kagome really. It came as no surprise to her that the two brothers (_half_-brothers, she was sure both would insist) would clash on just about everything; Inuyasha jealous of his perfect, pure-blooded, elder sibling, and Sesshomaru completely indifferent to the younger's many, many issues. That on top of their original – if uneven - rivalry (probably stemming from the Inutaisho falling in love with a human in the first place) and every meeting between the two was a disaster just waiting to happen.

That didn't even count the strangeness before the actual battle. Even she had been taken aback by it; but knowing Kagome's (which probably equaled out to being hers as well for that matter) luck she shouldn't have been really. She hadn't noticed her at first, having no where near the senses of the demon lord, but when the 'anonymous' figure had formed she had immediately recognized the persistent tugging on her soul, even if the aura was different.

That had also given her pause; auras just don't change like that. If it hadn't been for the recognition by the portion of their soul she contained she may not have recognized her at all. She knew the monk hadn't, and he was probably the one most trained in such things besides herself. She was still struggling to understand what could have happened to her over the past month though.

Speaking of such, it was obvious that over the month she had been separated from the group the young miko seemed to have run into the daiyoukai at least once, and possibly multiple times. From what she was able to glean of the conversation Kagome was clearly doing better than she had the last time she'd seen her. If the daiyoukai had anything to do with it she, despite her almost instinctive misgivings when it comes to demons, couldn't really find it in her to disapprove. If the inu youkai _ever_ hurt her though, well… she couldn't be held accountable for her actions.

Shaking her head to clear it of the distracting thoughts, the miko returned her attention to the two men before her as their argument seemed to escalate. Giving a silent sigh of exasperation, Kikyo rose to her feet silently and left the campsite, seeking some quiet to continue her thoughts in.

She didn't notice the slightly narrowed pair of dark eyes that followed her movements out of the clearing.

.-.

Sango was confused.

She was also suspicious, grief-ridden, and all around aggravated. This really wasn't all that unusual actually; she could be very emotional when it came to the things – the people, really – that were most important to her. What was unusual was that all of these emotions were focused around different people than usual.

Of course there was her brother first of all. She had always doted on the boy in that way elder sisters do as they grew up, and when he became the last member of her family - her village – that she had any chance of getting back she had grown to love him all the more fiercely. He was just about all she had left after all.

Even as she had grown closer to the members of the group (most namely Kagome and Miroku) she had never let go of the hope that one day she would have her little brother back. In that fateful fight with the newest batch of Naraku's spawnings all of that hope vanished along with the fading light in Kohaku's eyes.

He was gone, and he was never coming back. If it weren't for Miroku she may have completely drowned in the unending grief that realization brought. But he had been there, and despite his own wounds, and the poison that had him quite out of it for the week or so following the battle, he had managed to pull her through. There had obviously been some help from Kaede-baasan with her more physical wounds, but Miroku had been her anchor.

It was not until another week had passed since the battle that she began to wonder where Kagome was; knowing that if she'd had a choice the small miko would have been at her side as well. The answer she had managed to drag out of Inuyasha just didn't make any sense at all though!

That was where a lot of the confusion, aggravation, and suspicion came from.

It made absolutely no sense at all for Kagome, one of the sweetest and most forgiving, but also incidentally the most stubborn and loyal, people she'd ever known, to voluntarily give up on a quest she herself had all but started and wasted four years of her life on! Miroku was just as clueless as she was, barely even remembering the time around when she left, and Shippo refused to speak about it at all.

As a result she had no choice but to take Inuyasha's rendition of Kagome's departure as the truth; something she didn't want to do at all. To make matters even worse, immediately after Kagome left he had brought Kikyo into the group as a replacement, only upping the tension that seemed about to suffocate all those involved.

Nobody, except for Inuyasha of course, trusted the undead miko, and with very good reason. She had tried to kill Kagome more than once in order to claim a soul that was no longer hers, and had repeatedly stated her intentions to take Inuyasha with her to hell at some point. It was just common sense to watch her with suspicion really.

That wasn't even considering what she had noticed over the past year in regards to Kagome. The girl had become quieter, more thoughtful, and she had even begun to move with a kind of grace that she had never seen before in the usually clumsy miko. The fact that it was the kind of movement only seen in decent fighters – ones with good trainers at that – made it all the more worrying.

Also, she had noticed that even before Kikyo had joined the group she'd been hanging around their general vicinity much more often than usual. It was suspicious then, and now she couldn't shake the feeling that the undead woman was somehow involved with both Kagome's departure and her changes beforehand.

And so, as Sango watched Kikyo observe the budding argument between Miroku and Inuyasha (one that was bound to involve Shippo as well at some point) she was completely unable to discern anything from the clay-woman's expression. When the miko rose and exited the clearing her eyes, narrowed in suspicion, traced after her movements.

Soon her body followed. There were only two people involved in this mess that she hadn't questioned yet. One of them, being a Nekomata, couldn't speak. The other had just left the clearing and was swiftly moving out of even Inuyasha's sensory range.

She had some questions, and for once she was going to get some straight answers - even if she had to beat them out of her friend's previous incarnation.

.-.

Approaching the moonlit brook that shimmered from just beyond the edge of the trees, Kikyo took swift and precisely measured steps out of the forest. Stopping at the bank of the small creak, she crouched down, red hakama billowing around her legs, to dip slender fingers into the cool water. Watching with seeming fascination as small ripples spread from the meeting of clay and liquid, she didn't even glance up as she spoke, "So how long will you follow me, Taijiya?" she said.

There were a few moments of silence before the grass behind her rustled in answer. "For as long as I need to, Miko," came the just as stilted response. "I want some answers." She said, her voice wavering between implied threat and uncertain civility.

Kikyo stood at the somewhat surprising response and turned to face the young woman behind her. Meeting the dark eyes with her own inscrutable gaze, the undead woman was surprised by the multitude of emotions swirling there. "Answers to what?" she replied, raising an unnaturally perfect brow in question.

At the seemingly innocent question the dams holding back Sango's many questions burst, and the words spilled in an uncontrolled flood off her tongue. "Like, why are you here? What did you have to do with Kagome leaving? Why did she even leave in the first place? What has been going on with her over the past year? I know that something was off – and I know that you have something to do with it. And how does all of it involve Inuyasha? – If it does at all…" she trailed off, breathing hard as she finally ran out of words – for the moment at least, Kikyo was sure.

Kikyo took a large unneeded breath a let it out in a huff of slight amusement. "That's a lot of questions," she commented wryly, slightly unsure of how to respond. "And I would think that you'd already know the answers to some of them at least." She continued.

"Well, I don't." the slayer shot back, frustrated.

Struggling against a smile, Kikyo muttered, "Clearly," underneath her breath before continuing. "Do you really want the answers though?" she asked. "If you don't already know then it might be unpleasant to hear."

Sango stared at her for a moment trying to discern the undead miko's motives in saying something like that, but the miko's face was unreadable. She set her jaw stubbornly. "Yes. I'm sure." She replied.

'_Should I tell her everything of it?' _the miko wondered as she pondered the answer. Kikyo continued to study her in return for a moment, before seeming to come to a decision. "I'm here because Kagome asked me to be." She finally replied to the first question.

Sango just stared at her for a moment taken aback by even this first answer. "Wait, what do you mean? I thought Inuyasha was the one who asked you." She frowned as she replied confused.

"Well, yes, he did." Kikyo said, still inwardly amused. "But that's not why I'm here."

"Then why _are _you here?" Sango asked again, frustrated with the non-answers.

"The story behind my decision to be here is a fairly long one, and one not entirely mine to tell. I also don't trust you enough to tell all of it." The miko finally answered. "But I suppose the answers to your questions don't infringe too much upon it, at least not enough for me to have any reason _not_ to tell you."

She paused for moment, wondering if the taijiya was going to interrupt her, but when the other woman didn't continued. "To answer a few of your questions you need to understand that the relationship between myself and Kagome was nowhere near as bad as it may have seemed." Sango once again looked as if she might interrupt at this statement, but managed to hold back whatever question was trembling on her tongue.

"It was not all that long after that fiasco at Mt. Hakurei that we came to a truce, and while at that point we were not enemies any longer, we were also not quite friends." She paused for half a moment. "That changed about a year ago. Something happened then to Kagome, something I will not relate without her permission." She stared deeply into the slayers eyes as she said this, trying to make a point as the woman made to object. Sango grimaced slightly but finally conceded with a nod.

Nodding in return Kikyo continued, "It was then that Kagome asked me to train her, to help her become strong, and to teach her how to use her miko powers." She paused again for a moment. "I accepted."

Sango stared wide eyed at the other woman, wanting desperately to ask the questions that teetered dangerously on the end of her tongue. Knowing though that to push too much probably wouldn't end well; she swallowed the questions and continued to listen.

"Over the past year I did indeed train her whenever we got the chance. As of right now Kagome is more powerful than even me, though admittedly less experienced, and I have taught her almost everything I know. As she asked though, I kept it hidden. She knew that the only chance she might have against Naraku was to train in secret, so that even her companions would not know of it. As of a month ago though, I came to regret that decision." Kikyo paused, her expression growing slightly mournful as she paused in her story.

"I am not sure why you do not know this part of the story yet, but I shall relate what I know of it all the same. During that last battle over a month ago you were not the only one injured. Kagome too suffered relatively grievous wounds, and as she acquired them she almost fatally distracted Inuyasha. I am not completely clear on what happened next, but what I do know is that those of your group not injured sent Kagome away, ordering her to go back to her home, and practically banishing her from your group."

Kikyo lowered her head slightly in respect for her reincarnation's loss. "Broken-hearted and in shock, she obeyed as best she could stand, not knowing what else to do. Before she left though, she requested that I join your group when Inuyasha asked and, once again, I agreed." She finished.

Sango was in just as much shock as she was now sure Kagome had been. '_It's no wonder those two didn't want to tell me,'_ she began to think angrily. _'What the hell were they thinking? But Kagome, poor Kagome… they must have broken her heart… It makes me wonder if even she can forgive them.'_

Having some inkling of Sango's thoughts as her emotions flashed unhidden over her face Kikyo once again grew thoughtful. '_So she didn't know after all…_' she thought, pondering the implications. '_I'll trust her with one last thing then.'_

Before Sango could even open her mouth to comment on the story, Kikyo once again spoke, staring seriously at the woman before her. "That, of course, is not the entirety of what happened that night. However, I will tell you one thing more if you swear not to tell the other members of the group, especially Inuyasha, of it."

Broken out of her thoughts and shocked by the proposition, Sango didn't even stop to think about it. "Of course." The words spilled out of her words in an almost unintelligible hurry. She grimaced slightly as she heard herself, embarrassed. "I mean; I won't tell, I swear." She stated seriously, correcting herself.

Seeing the resolve in the taijiya's eyes, Kikyo nodded and began. "Kagome did not go 'home'." As she said this she emphasized the last word meaningfully.

Sango was confused for a moment, not quite understanding, but then her eyes widened incredulously. Then, seeking affirmation, she raised her gaze to meet Kikyo's and said, "You mean..?"

Kikyo gave an almost invisible smirk. "Yes."

As Kikyo confirmed what she had said, Sango's eyes narrowed slightly, considering the consequences. Kagome was still in this time. That meant she was somewhere out there, probably continuing her quest for the shards on her own. Also, if what Kikyo said about the results of her training over the past year is true, she probably won't have too many problems handling it.

It was also more than just likely that they would eventually meet again. While she wasn't exactly looking forward to Inuyasha's reaction when he found out, she couldn't help but be grateful for Kagome's decision, and whatever part Kikyo played in it.

Turning her attention back to the undead miko that was patiently waiting for a response, she said, "Thank you," and gave a slight bow. "Thank you for telling me," she continued. "You have given me a lot to think about." She frowned at this last, but the gratitude was almost palpable.

Then she stood, a look that varied between thoughtful and angry on her face, and turned to leave, the forest barley making a rustle in her wake. She soon disappeared among the trees, quickly vanishing from the undead miko's sight as she made her way back to the group's campsite.

Kikyo herself did not follow for quite a while, choosing instead to take the rare quiet time to meditate for a bit, desperately hoping she had made the right choice in revealing as much as she did to the taijiya. But if she hadn't… If this was the wrong choice…

'_I hope you can forgive me, Kagome. And I hope you won't need to.'_

.-.

**Over a week later…**

Kagome sighed in relief as she sat up from where she had been leaning over her latest patient, the wound she had been tending to finally closed. The man she had been healing had sliced his own leg open while at work chopping wood for his family's fire. While not a large injury, it had been quite deep for such an everyday wound and had taken a bit of effort to heal properly.

Not that she was at all averse to tending to such mundane injuries after the last village she had visited. She'd take something like this over an unnatural plague every day. Just thinking about the kind of deaths that disease had caused and would have caused still made her shiver in disgust. Naraku was one sick bastard to have thought up such a thing. Not that she didn't already know that, but…

Closing her eyes and shaking her head slightly in an almost imperceptible movement, Kagome quickly attempted to rid herself of the distracting thoughts. Turning her attention back to the woman and child that had watched her work anxiously, she smiled and said, "He'll be fine with a few days rest." She assured the pair hovering on the other side of the man. "He should be able to get back to work within the week." She continued, giving the man's wife a comforting smile.

The woman smiled back tremulously, reaching up to wipe worried tears from the corners of her eyes. As she took away her hand, it was apparent that the woman was just about as plain and ordinary as they come, but the relief and love obvious in her expression as she gazed at her spouse made her beautiful.

The she turned her attention back to the miko and spoke, "Thank you, my lady," she said softly as she released her son from her grip. "Thank you so much. I don't know what we would have done without you, Kagami-sama." She bowed her head, her gratitude apparent.

Kagome smiled awkwardly in return, inwardly wincing as she returned the half bow with a tilt of her head. "You are welcome," she returned. After the results of her actions at Bertu, she was simply grateful to not have to deal with anyone groveling in gratitude or apology. The thanks still unnerved her slightly, but she was learning to accept it as best she could.

"But your thanks are not necessary," she continued, "I would have done it regardless." She was also, if she did say so herself, learning how to accept it with grace. Hopefully.

After exchanging a few more awkward (at least on her end) pleasantries with the woman she left the small hut that belonged to the family, squinting her eyes against the setting sun as she did so. Glancing to the east, in the direction of the village of Bertu, she sighed again.

It had been over a week since she had left the village, and she still couldn't get some of the things that had happened there out of her mind. First and foremost was the plague. She couldn't help but worry about what Naraku was up to, and if something like that would happen again, except perhaps on a larger scale.

Running a close second was Sesshomaru. She seemed incapable of keeping the daiyoukai out of her thoughts for long periods of time, and the state of her previous companions, especially Sango, was beginning to worry her as well. She still couldn't help but wonder at how easily he had distracted her from their presence though. Was it just him? She didn't think she had ever blushed more frequently and in such a short period of time before. At that thought she couldn't help but flush again in embarrassment.

She blinked abruptly as she was broken out of her thoughts by a young woman running up to her, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Kagami-sama! Kagami-sama!" she skidded to a stop in front of the bewildered miko before looking up at her and continuing. "Kagami-sama, some of the village men found a young girl collapsed in the woods! Some of the women have brought her to the hot springs, but she's so injured, we don't know what to do! Can you help her?" she asked worriedly.

"Of course." Kagome said. "Take me to her immediately."

.-.

Pushing gently past the concerned women surrounding the girl, bushes rustling at her feet, and into the hot spring clearing her eyes immediately fell on the child. Eyes widening with horror, she gasped as she noticed the horrible shape the poor girl was in.

She looked to be around thirteen or fourteen years old, her face caked in so much blood and mud she couldn't tell if it was injured or not, much less her general features. Her hair was tangled and torn, as well as missing large clumps in places, and just as dirty and blood covered as the rest of her. She was wearing a much too large set of shirt and pants, but the sleeves were short and she could see that one arm was clearly broken in multiple places, and both were covered in countless scratches and bruises.

The girl's nose also looked to be broken and bloody, and the clothes were roughly torn in places and were held up by only thick rope. It was obvious that the girl had been beaten, and badly, and this was just from what was visible outside of the clothes. She was almost scared of what the girl looked like under them.

Straightening her spine, Kagome rushed to the child's side. She would have to clean the girl off before she did any healing, if there was any dirt in the wounds when the skin healed over…it would not be pleasant for the girl in any case.

Before she began though, she turned to the concerned women surrounding her, "If all of you would leave us for a moment?" she asked. At the somewhat surprised and slightly suspicious looks, she explained, "I'll have to get her clean before I begin to heal her, and if she wakes it will be embarrassing enough if I'm the only one here." She left unsaid her concerns of the girl's reaction to being surrounded by so many people after receiving such brutal injuries.

The women nodded and made sounds of agreement as they thought of how they might feel in the girl's place. Before they left though, one of the more considerate women left behind a clean, spare kimono for the girl-child.

Picking up the girl as carefully as she could manage, she moved her closer to the spring. As Kagome was laying her down though, something felt off, as if her instincts were screaming that something wasn't right with the situation. Shaking off the feeling, she paused in concern when the girl gave a low groan.

She had hoped she would be able to at least clean the girl off before she woke up; from what she could tell, it was going to be an incredibly painful experience if she was conscious for it. Quickly reaching for the rope, she had it undone and was beginning to remove it when the girl's eyes suddenly snapped open.

Sitting up reflexively, the girl let out a hoarse scream as her body reacted to the harsh movement. Her eyes immediately flashed to Kagome and they widened in obvious fear at her presence. She rapidly began backing away, but didn't have far to go with the hot spring directly behind her.

After she noticed this for herself, her eyes bounced desperately around the clearing, looking for other escape routes. Finding none, she returned her attention to Kagome and began to speak, voice low and hoarse from previous screaming, "I'm sorry! Please don't kill me!" she begged. "I'll leave, I swear, you'll never have to see me again! Just, please don't hurt me!" Tears streamed down the girl's face involuntarily and Kagome automatically reached out in concern.

Aborting the action midway, she instead took the girls hands in her own, to stop her from moving about unnecessarily. The girl stopped begging at the action and looked down, her eyes still wide with fear and her breath coming in short gasps. Kagome made soothing sounds, attempting to calm her down.

"It's ok, I won't hurt you," she tried to reassure the girl in a soft voice. "I promise. I want to help. And after I get you cleaned up, I'll heal you, alright?" she continued.

Gripping the girl's overly large shirt before she could say anything in either confirmation or to object, Kagome pulled it off of her in a single swift motion as carefully as she could. The girl, who had seemed to be calming down, once again shoved away, this time to the side and along the bank of the hot spring, practically fleeing from Kagome's line of vision.

And this time Kagome knew why. There, plainly visible now that the shirt was off, were two mud caked, blood spattered wings held half open at clearly awkward angles. Her mind blanked for a moment. Then she immediately realized what her senses had been trying to tell her.

"You…" she breathed in shock, "You're a hanyou."

.-.

The girl winced at the soft, final statement. She knew what would happen now, it wasn't like it was the first time something like this had happened, though it was admittedly the first time a miko had been involved. She quickly looked around for any less obvious escape routes. She had never been purified before and she wasn't exactly relishing the chance to experience such a thing.

The miko made a movement towards her that she barely caught out of the corner of her eye, and she cringed, cursing the fresh tears that left new trails through the dirt and blood on her face, as well as the weakness they displayed. Was…was this the end? She squeezed her eyes shut in horrified anticipation.

When nothing happened after a few moments, she opened her eyes slightly to peek at the miko kneeling not to far from her. She hadn't moved an inch since that last, and was staring at her with an odd expression on her face. Then she slowly spread her arms out to her side, empty hands facing the girl.

"It's ok; I'm not going to hurt you." The miko repeated, as if she hadn't even seen _them._ "I promise."

The miko didn't move after that, but that just made her even more afraid. No one, no one who knew about her had ever reacted that way. It was unfamiliar, and almost more terrifying than if the miko had reacted in the expected negative fashion. So, despite the calm voice, the girl backed up even further, letting out a cut off hiss of pain when a large boulder blocked her path.

One of her wings was trailing on the ground beside her, and it looked to be the most damaged out of everything. The ones that had… had done this to her; they had been aiming for her wings and her torso, she knew that the rest of her looked mostly normal so they'd been almost side notes to… them.

Turning her attention back to the miko, she was surprised by the emotion she recognized in the holy maiden's eyes. It was sorrow; sorrow and sympathy. Why… why was she looking at her like that? She clearly knew what she was; she had said it herself… so why..?

"Why wouldn't you hurt me?" she said, both hesitant and suspicious. "You're a priestess; you're made to hurt demons." The miko shook her head and inched forward a bit, stopping when the girl noticed. What was with this miko? And what was it about her that made her respond at all?

"I'm not like most priestesses," the miko pointed out, as if the girl was unable to tell that for herself. "I believe in helping and healing all." Right, like she hadn't heard lines like that before. "Also," here the miko used her hands to indicate herself, and the girl tried not to flinch at the movement. "I don't have all that much energy at the moment, so I'm not much of a danger to you right now." She claimed.

Not trusting the miko in the slightest, the girl eyed her for an endless moment. Biting her lip in careful concentration, fighting through the pain, she tentatively grasped a small portion of her yoki to confirm the claim. Extending the thread of energy to wrap around the other female, she frowned in concentration.

Just as the miko had said, there wasn't much readily available energy within her… there was something though, just beneath the surface that she couldn't quite identify. What..? She stretched herself more, both curious and wary, but just as she might have felt something…

The thread snapped back into herself, what remained of her small energy resources almost completely depleted. Exhausted, she collapsed, but didn't do more than flinch as the strange miko rushed to her side.

'_She…she's really worried about me…_' she thought with a faint sense of wonder. Then her vision blurred, and even as she strained against it, darkness encroached upon her line of sight.

The last thing she saw before she finally passed out was two concerned blue-gray eyes framed by long curtains of silky black hair.

* * *

~ Author's Note ~

Well, chapter five has finally arrived. Hey, that kinda rhymed… I think… *slightly embarrassed cough* Anyway, I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to post this, but a combination of an increasing college workload, writer's block on all of my stories, and other 'real life' concerns have been conspiring against me for the past few weeks. Sorry again, but there is a warning on my profile concerning such things. Procrastination can be a horrible thing…

This chapter introduces a new character though, so hopefully that makes up for the delay. Also, especially to those who read the original version by night flame miko, this where my story has really started to diverge from that one. Hopefully my way of doing things is working for it though! Feedback is always appreciated, so tell me what you think of how I portrayed Kikyo and Sango in the first part; I'm a bit unsure about it still.

Thank you for you patience with my rambling *cue exaggerated bow*, and please, do review. See ya next time…

~ Aljan Moonfire ~


	7. Toriasha

**_Aljan Moonfire Does Not Own Inuyasha. _**

****"Speaking."

'_Thinking.'_

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Toriasha**

* * *

Kagome inwardly raised an eyebrow as she felt the girl's yoki brush against her own energies, surprised. She had never before met a hanyou that had such control over their own demonic abilities – well, without the help of some sort of medium like the Tetsuaiga, or the barrier orb of the bat-youkai. She had thought it impossible. Well, it seems that this girl had proven her wrong.

She gasped in concern as she felt the child abruptly lose her concentration – not that that was at all surprising considering her injuries – and collapse back into unconsciousness. She rapidly covered what distance was left between them to hover over the still gravely injured hanyou and sighed softly in relief when she discovered that she'd simply fainted.

"Well, at least you won't be able to put up any resistance to the bath or healing now," Kagome murmured softly to herself. Seeing no need to delay any longer, she quickly removed the too large pants, careful of aggravating any further injuries. She winced at the bruises and cuts that covered the girl's legs, but was thankful that at least they weren't broken.

While carefully moving the younger female to the nearby hot spring, Kagome suddenly realized that she didn't even know her patient's name. As she did her best to seat the pre-teen comfortably on a convenient rock shelf on the edge of the closest pool, she made a mental note to ask for it once she woke up.

Kagome then quickly removed her own miko garments before entering the pool. Turning, she gently guided the hanyou in after her. She then turned to her bag, having placed it close to the edge of the spring even before the village women had left, and pulled the last of her 'future' cleaning supplies from it.

'_Seems I'll have to rely on more feudal methods of hygiene from now on.' _she thought mournfully. She was really going to miss the shampoo and conditioner especially. Lining up the products and bathing utensils within an arms reach, she grabbed her softest scrubber and began to carefully clean the wounds of any infection. She was especially careful when she reached the cuts on the badly broken arm, or the obviously fractured ribs. What the hell had happened to the poor girl?

Her patient made soft, unconscious sounds of discomfort whenever Kagome came across an injury that was more painful than the others, but other than that, she was silent, her head resting against the miko in her sleep. Eventually the inevitable came. Kagome had finished washing down everything else, even taking the time to wash and rinse the girl's almost green hair, and had nothing left but her wings to clean up.

"I'm sorry, but it has to be done," she murmured to the unconscious child.

Furrowing her brows slightly in concentration, Kagome carefully gripped the finely feathered wing in her hands and raised it from under the water. Ever so gently, she began to preen it, letting her fingers run through the feathers, pushing out the dirt and blood, and scrubbing as lightly as possible on any wounds.

Despite the odd shift of discomfort the girl made in her sleep when Kagome's fingers met a particularly bad scratch, she also noticed the girl relaxing into her shoulder even more. The tense, instinctively defensive manner the pre-teen had adopted even while unaware had finally dissolved.

She smiled softly; no doubt only her parents had been as kind as to preen her small wings for her. Kagome wasn't stupid; she knew how people felt about hanyou. As her fingers ran through the gradually cleaner feathers, she felt the place where the wing had snapped. Expertly feeling around the break she nodded to herself; it was a clean break, so it would be easy to heal. Tilting her head thoughtfully, she realized that like most birds bones, these bones were hollow - because they weighed less it allowed them to fly easier. If she set the wing properly, it would be extremely easy to heal.

She winced ever so slightly in sympathy though; she would feel the pain of it even through her exhausted slumber. It would be easier to do out of the water though. Careful not to make any sudden movements, she splashed some water over the rock shelf she had set the girl down on earlier, cleaning it of any dirt and blood that had been left behind. She then slowly raised the child to lay on the rock and then followed her out of the water with a soft splash.

On kneeling beside the pre-teen, she carefully rested her hands on the girl's legs and then gently sent her power out towards her injuries. Her power pushed at her control, wanting to purify the demonic energies of the hanyou, but she held it firmly in check – her intentions here were only to heal, not kill.

Very swiftly, the wounds on the girl's lower half healed over, and once those were mended the miko turned her attention to the hanyou's much more badly injured torso and face. The external wounds of the girl's torso soon proved to be relatively easy to heal, but she just as quickly discovered internal bleeding around the lungs and abdominal area. Thankfully, it was healed just as quickly. She was grateful for the advanced anatomy course she had taken through home-schooling; she doubted that a miko of this era would have been able to make much sense of the injury.

She then turned her attention to the wings. Straightening out the more badly injured wing, she cringed at the scraping sounds coming from the bones and when they were in line placed a few fingers directly over the break. Kagome then sent out her powers to examine the fracture from the inside.

Kagome brow scrunched in thought as she felt out the bones, she soon began to knit the two halves back together, healing the veins in and around the bone as well. She smiled at the comparatively simple healing; the hollow bones made everything so much simpler and she didn't have to recreate marrow or nerves or anything, just blood veins and bone.

Once the wings were once again whole Kagome turned her attention to the badly bruised face of the girl and quickly began to reduce the swelling, healing a severely split lip, a broken nose, and a black eye just as quickly. Soon enough the hanyou was good as new as Kagome to a moment to admire her own handiwork.

Dark green hair, still damp from the bath, fanned around a finely boned face and almost abnormally narrow eyes. Closed as they were in sleep the thinness wasn't as noticeable, but the slightly parted lips echoed the thinness. Her body was just as delicately boned as her face, all thin wrists and ankles and long limbs. Topping the ends of slender hands and feet, talons were apparent, though probably almost unnoticeable from a distance.

All in all, Kagome could tell that the half-youkai would grow up to be an attractive, though not traditionally beautiful, woman – if she survived that long. She knew all too well the kind of fate that would await an unprotected hanyou. For now though, she was safe, and she'd protect the reality of what she was from the villagers. She knew they probably wouldn't react all that well.

After redressing herself in the previously discarded miko uniform, Kagome ever so gently wrapped the soft red kimono one of the women had left behind around the girl and after securing the obi, lifted her into her arms and stood. It was time to go back. This child needed rest – and some good food if the fact that Kagome could still feel the indents of her ribs was any hint.

And maybe – just maybe, mind you – Kagome's journey wouldn't be quite as silent anymore. She glanced down at the girl resting against her shoulder.

Just maybe.

.-.

Kagome made sure to keep her hands as steady as possible as she cut another lock of green hair from the head of the kneeling girl before her. As the wispy strands floated to the ground to join its fellows, she fluffed the now shorter green curtain of hair around the child's shoulders.

"There you are, Toriasha-chan." She said, rather proud of herself. "That's much better."

The girl was quiet, but at the pronouncement she turned to look at herself in a nearby bowl of water. Kagome couldn't help but be even prouder as she caught the slight and swiftly fading smile that had crossed the girl's lips.

It had been a few days since the hanyou had been found so horribly injured in the forest, and just about the only thing she had managed to coax out of her was her name, and the kind of hanyou she was. She hadn't been able to get any of the details out of her yet, but she'd said that her mother had been a Tengu – a crow demon.

That had distinctly surprised her. From what she could remember of what Sango had told her of the different kinds of demons, Tengu were just as rare these days as the White Inu – that is, the royal family of the West. The only Tengu that Sango had ever heard of ruled the Northern Lands, as the Wolves ruled the East, and the Dragons, the South. That this girl-child could be half Tengu really made her wonder at the life the girl must have had, and how she'd ended up in the state she'd found her in.

Shaking aside her ponderings on the puzzle that was her newest charge, Kagome bent down to collect the hairs from the hut's floor and throw them into the small fire that continued to smolder in the center of the room. "Toriasha-chan," she then began, "I'm going to have to move on soon."

The girl turned to her with a startled expression, her normally nearly closed eyes opening in startlement as the miko continued, "I _am_ a traveling miko, and I'd originally only stopped here for some supplies. The only reason I've even stayed this long was to make sure that you were alright." Seeing how the girl's face had fallen almost imperceptibly and the slight hunching of the hanyou's shoulders, she quickly continued. "However, you yourself aren't going to be able to stay all that long either, um, considering, so…I was wondering if you'd like to travel with me for a while…" she trailed off, unsure of what to say next that might convince the hanyou to come with her.

As she'd spoken, the soul stealers in the cottage with them – Emerald and the twins at the moment– had noticed her anxiousness and moved closer, feelings of reassurance and comfort emanating from their consciousnesses.

Toriasha's eyes had widened further at the offer, her mouth dropping in shock. No one had ever given even the slightest hint of ever even being inclined to travel with her, let alone the implied offer of protection the strange miko was offering. Shaking off the shock after a moment the girl looked carefully into the miko's eyes, searching desperately for any sign of deceit. On seeing nothing but warmth and a slightly nervous welcome, the hanyou teared up a bit, but quickly wiped away the evidence and began to nod, slowly and empathically.

Kagome sighed in relief, having been afraid that the skittish half-youkai would refuse. No matter how kind she'd tried to be to the nervous girl, she was still a miko, and a rather powerful one at that. As much as she dislikes it, most miko were practically raised to hate youkai and normally killed them on sight.

"Well then, I was planning on leaving tomorrow morning, if that's alright with you?" Toriasha nodded again, relaxing, and moved to look at her new haircut in the water again. Kagome relaxed herself as the half-tengu calmed down and moved to check on their lunch.

.-.

They set out just after dawn the next morning, before the sun had burned away the early morning fog. Soon after leaving the small town that they'd inhabited for the past few days Kagome led her new charge off the road and once again into the woods, now heading slightly to the north. The soul stealers flew around the two in intricate patterns the whole way, excited to be on the road once again.

Toriasha easily kept pace with the older woman, her bare feet tapping gently on the forest floor with each quick step she took. As they moved further away from any human habitation she became more and more comfortable in the presence of the miko and her soul stealers.

She had been terrified when she'd first woken a few days ago; the last thing she remembered before that was being in the presence of a very strange miko with pretty eyes.

Despite the seemingly gentle eyes, she had long since come to learn that mikos of any sort meant usually meant some kind of pain. Even dark mikos – though she herself had only ever met one – saw hanyou as abominations; the merging of what they saw as pure and good (humans) with darkness and evil (demons). She still didn't entirely trust the dark-haired miko she was currently traveling with, but there was something about her that made her want to stay close to her

She still couldn't really describe it, even to herself, but there was something very…warm about her. It was like her very aura engulfed everyone she met in comfort and compassion - as if just being in her presence healed something within her; something she didn't know had been broken. She had never met anyone like her before. Right now there was a large part of her that was very intrigued by the kind human, and that part was much larger than the part that didn't want to trust her.

The girl soon returned her attention to her surroundings though as she realized that the atmosphere of the forest was steadily becoming darker. The trees had begun to get taller and taller; their trunks closer together and their roots springing higher from the ground. It almost seemed as if they might wrench their more grounded parts from the earth and walk at any moment.

She was quickly jolted to an abrupt stop when she felt the pure aura of her priestess companion pulse. Turning swiftly, her eyes widened when they landed on the miko. She had stopped some ways back, though still clearly in sight, and her eyes were closed. A focused frown had overtaken her face, as if she were listening very intently to something, and as Toriasha made her way back to the woman her face furrowed into a similar frown of confusion.

'_What is she doing?'_

.-.

Before they had left the village, actually before her new traveling companion had even woken up, Kagome had woken herself and soon sat down to meditate in an attempt to get a more accurate fix on the location of the closest jewel shard. The general direction she discovered was mainly to the Northwest.

Remembering the lessons Kikyo and Sango had given her periodically over the past few years on the general locations of certain types of demons, and what those demons were; she realized that the direction she would soon be traveling in lead towards the dense forest of the tree demons

From what she had been told she knew that tree youkai were generally a gentle, peaceful people lived out most of their very, very long lives as simple trees. It was very rare to find one willing to interact with the world around them outside of that. Most even preferred to dream away entire centuries, their conscious spreading out across the land in their seeds. In this was in this way that it was said that every great forest in Japan had a nest of tree youkai in its center; and that every tree that takes root around them was their children, protecting them from the troubles of the rest of the world.

Thus, most human knowledge of tree demons has long since been lost, and only the most general information about them was known, even to demon hunters and miko – and most of that information wasn't solid at all, more a product of rumor and myth. The Great Forest of the Western Lands was one of the only places where a tree youkai's presence might be more than just a rumor, and become something much more like fact.

Throughout the beginning of this trip into the forest she divided her attention between the child she had asked to accompany her and the tugging of the jewel shard. She was glad to see the girl's spirits rise as they left the beaten path of the main road and turned off into the woods. Though the girl didn't chose to chatter the way her former companions had often had, she was glad for the company all the same.

They had been traveling for quite a few hours when she began to sense a certain change in atmosphere that signaled to her the beginning of the tree youkai forest.

They entered it at a steady pace, and beside her she could almost feel it as the half-tengu also sensed the suddenly more menacing atmosphere of the forest.

Kagome's eyes then widened and she almost stumbled to a halt as the call of the jewel shard was suddenly muffled; as if someone was trying to hide it from her senses. If that didn't tell her they had been noticed, nothing would.

She quickly closed her eyes and concentrated, her hands linking before her as she once again searched for her connection to the shard. With a swift pulse of power she strengthened the connection once again. Carefully visualizing it, she opened her eyes to see string of almost violet power disappearing into the forest to her right.

She frowned again at the sight. Whenever she'd done this before sealing the well, her power had shone in her inner eye a bright pink. It seemed the blue energy of the well really had merged completely with her own; changing even the more physical color of her power. She didn't know what this meant at all…

Kagome took a deep breath and pushed the confusion to the side. She'd deal with it later – right now she had to focus on the jewel shard. Glancing at the quietly worried hanyou, she hesitated before saying, "Don't worry. I just temporarily lost the aura of… what I'm searching for. Let's continue."

Toriasha just frowned deeper at the pause. '_But then the question is; what is she searching for, especially if it's powerful enough to for her to be able to sense it from so far away? And why?'_

Pretending to ignore the questioning gaze of her companion, Kagome turned to her right and once again began to follow the call of the shard. Seeing that the miko wasn't about to answer the unspoken question, Toriasha let out a soft sigh and followed suit.

* * *

**Author's Note**

So, I suppose a sorry is owed to all the faithful readers of this story for taking so long to get this chapter out. I took a long time for me to decide where I wanted to have this story go next, because I wanted Kagome to have another little adventure before she ran into Sesshoumaru again, as well as a chance to get to know her new friend better. This is what I came up with.

To those of you who can see where this might be going: Congratulations. Review and I'll tell you whether or not you've got it right. To those who can't… well, you'll just have to wait 'till the next update then, won't you?

R&R…

~ Aljan Moonfire ~


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