Inuyasha 1. Chapter 1

Cast-off Of the Half-Breed

By Trinabear

Summary: Kagome doesn't know why Lord Sesshomaru is so hostile towards her whenever they chance to meet. Even though they became somewhat allies in order to defeat Naraku, somehow during the three years she was stuck in her time while the well was sealed, their precarious relationship distingrated. Now she almost fears for her life. She knows it is only a matter of time so she must leave Edo under some believable pretense, so that Sesshomaru will not come after her. And everyone is well aware of just how much dogs love a good chase. You better run Kagome. Run Kagome. Run.

Kagome had planned on keeping out of his way whenever he came to the village to check on Rin. Now she knew she couldn't stay in Edo. At least for several months. She knew that she had insulted him when she found him, injured and unconscious, on the forest floor, and lent him aid. Looking back, Kagome could not fathom how she did it, considering Sesshomaru was so heavy, but she somehow half rolled, half slid him onto a carrier constructed from tree branches and a couple of blankets she had in her leather satchel. Then she proceeded to drag him to a nearby cave to tend to his wounds. She saw signs of a vicious battle, but did not see any enemy remains around in the area. However, the violence upon the land itself was impossible to miss. Trees were broken in half, branches lying scattered helplessly on the forest floor, or rent completely from the earth and cast aside like a gardener would pluck weeds from the garden. It looked like a giant claw had rent up the earth itself, the way it was gouged into deep furrows. She could only guess as to what became of any bodies of the enemy. Sesshomaru either melted the bodies with his poison or, in his Inu form, defeated and ate the enemy. 'Yuck!' She thought. 'At least I will not have to worry about youkai being attracted to the smell of blood and gore. Well, except for the blood from where Sesshomaru was. I will just cover it up with dirt as best as I can and hope that any demons in the area won't be able to smell it.'

After bringing Sesshomaru into the shallow cave, she dismantled the carrier so she could cover him with the blankets and use the tree branches to start a fire. Kagome could only pray that he would remain unconscious while she cleaned and dressed his wounds. She knew Sesshomaru barely tolerated the humans in Edo for Rin's sake, but she knew he probably would not hesitate to kill her for touching him and infecting him with her filthy human hands if he so decided to.

Even though they became somewhat allies in order to defeat Naraku, somehow during the three years she was stuck in her time while the well was sealed, their precarious relationship disintegrated. She knew better than to cross any invisible lines with him. However, she just could not leave him like that. Her conscious would not let her.

Since Inuyasha mated the pretty bat hanyou, Shiori that the Inutachi gang met on their quest for shards and moved away, Kagome didn't really have anyone to champion her if Sesshomaru truly wanted to hurt her. That wasn't saying that Kagome couldn't protect herself. She didn't slouch during those three years at home. Oh no. She received training on her miko abilities, as well as learning the art of swordplay, hand-to-hand combat, and how to fight with various weapons. She also studied the art of medicinal healing with various roots and herbs. She studied like there was no tomorrow because Kagome just knew she wanted to live in the past. She had faith that the well would unseal itself. She just needed to be ready when the time came. Of course, what was three years to a demon with centuries of experience? Sesshomaru could break her like a twig.

So, after cleaning and dressing his wounds, Kagome stocked the cave with firewood, hunted for a small boar and prepared the meat for Sesshomaru. (He would most likely be hungry upon awakening.) She placed the prepared meat on the boar skin near his makeshift pallet, along with some fresh water in a clay pitcher that she found in the cave. Then she waited until Sesshomaru's demon abilities had mostly healed his wounds and she knew that he was out of danger before leaving the cave. Kagome pulled out several sutras from her satchel, charged them with her reiki and placed them just inside the cave entrance. The sutras would ensure that while Sesshomaru could leave the cave, nothing that bore him ill will would be able to enter it. Looking around one last time, Kagome made sure to purify her scent from anything she touched inside the cave, including the clay pot holding the water, Sesshomaru himself and anything else she might have inadvertently touched. Heck, the firewood as well. Then she got the hell out of there and practically half-ran, half-jogged to Edo. She kept her scent and aura hidden the moment she set foot from the cave so she would not lead an angry Daiyoukai on a rampage to the village all the while praying that he wouldn't be able to trace her reiki signature on the sutras.

Even though it was only a few miles to Edo and she was in great physical condition, in her half-panicked state Kagome was surely winded by the time she made it to Kaede's hut. After bursting into the hut looking like the hounds of hell were after her and giving Kaede quite a fright, Kagome explained to the elderly miko what happened. They both decided that it would be best if Kagome went home thru the well for a few months until things died down. Kaede promised to look in on Kagome's hut for her and to let Shippo know where she went when he came back from Kitsune School and to let Koga know that she went home for the Summer to help her Mother, but that she had some gifts for his family. If Sesshomaru came around Kaede would just tell him that Kagome had to go home for 'personal reasons' that she couldn't disclose. Kagome knew he would see right thru that flimsy excuse but it could not be helped. She also knew that Rin would not understand why she was leaving so she asked Kaede not to tell her the truth. Rin seemed to believe that Sesshomaru was testing her abilities or some such thing. However, Kagome knew better. For some strange reason, while Sesshomaru seemed to be rather civil to Kaede, Sango and Miroku, his dislike for Kagome was painfully obvious.

During holidays, special events, or just because, Kagome would give out little presents to everyone. It was not much. Crayons, blankets, drawing pads, etc. Even small candies or other such treats. No one minded. It was just something Kagome did ever since she started to regularly travel back and forth thru the well since she was fifteen. She would take a coin or two, or some other such object that she thought she could sell, and take it back to her time from the Feudal Era. It wasn't too hard to sell such small trinkets. After all, the family shrine had several storage sheds full of anything and everything. It was easy to say that it was uncovered during one of Jiichan's cleaning escapades. Therefore, no one became suspicious and asked questions. At first, she did it because, while ramen was really cheap at fifteen cents a cup, Inuyasha could eat his weight in them at every meal. In addition, gauze, ointment and other first-aid products were somewhat expensive after awhile. Especially with the way the Tachi ran thru it. So every so often Kagome would take something and sell it in her time. She never told the gang how much anything cost though. They just would not understand. I mean in a day and age when a family subsisted on a couple of copper coins for a year, to be told the cost of a box of band-aids was greater that what a family would live on for twenty years was mindboggling! That's what five hundred years of inflation did for an economy. Miroku understood about the money situation. He was the gang's unofficial treasurer. It was Miroku himself even, who originally gave the idea to Kagome to sell trinkets from the past in the present. One day, after stopping to rest after a fruitless day of searching for jewel shards, Miroku placed a small bracelet into Kagome's hands and quietly asked her to sell it in her time. "But Miroku, that village elder gifted you with that bracelet after saving his grand-daughter from that demon last week! I thought you were going to give it to Sango?"

"Kagome, Sango and I discussed it and decided that we would much rather have some of those sleeping futons that you carry around instead. A pretty bracelet, while nice, isn't too practical at night on the cold hard ground. And with Winter on its' way, I feel that it is best to be prepared, just in case Inuyasha decides that we should continue hunting for shards instead of being in Edo in a nice warm hut." They both chuckled. "Yeah, you're right Miroku. Inuyasha isn't one for letting the grass grow under his feet." Kagome remarked. "I'll see what I can do. Perhaps I will even get Shippo one as well. Especially since he is getting bigger and has taken to kicking me in the stomach in the middle of the night sometimes while dreaming."

Unfortunately, it was almost a regular occurrence to have to banish some evil spirit, or what have you from someone's home, in exchange for a meal and a place to sleep. Or else sleep out in the woods on the cold ground. Hungry. Let's face it. Hunting for Naraku was not very profitable back then.

The second reason, Kagome was ashamed to admit, was the fact that her so-called "supply runs" was stretching her families small budget just a bit too much. She didn't realize how much until, early one morning, upon coming back home for a much need bath and to stock up on ramen, she didn't encounter her Mother in the kitchen fixing breakfast but Jiichan himself.

"Morning Jiichan. Umm, where's Momma? She isn't sick is she?" Kagome started to go up the stairs to check on her when Jiichan stopped her. "No Kagome she went to work already." Stunned, Kagome slowly turned around and stared at her grandfather. "What do you mean she went to work?" She slowly asked.

"I mean that Mother of yours got a part-time job at the local grocery store. What I don't understand is why. We have enough income from the shrine, unless she is wanting some fancy new gadget for the kitchen or some such and now I have to fend for myself in the kitchen blah blah blah" he rambled on and on. Kagome tuned him out as she sat down at the table and thought to herself, 'Momma got a job to help make ends meet? Why? I know the shrine doesn't make that much money but we have never had to struggle before. It can't be because of my supply runs. Can it? Surely the Tachi gang doesn't cost us that much money.' Kagome thought about what she needed on her list and started to think about how much everything cost. 'Oh no! This is all my fault! I am the reason Momma took that job! My supply runs are costing us a fortune! Why didn't she say anything?' You know why Kagome, that same small voice whispered to her, your Momma would tell you that a fifteen-year old shouldn't have to worry about the household budget. 'And a fifteen-year old shouldn't be wondering around Feudal Japan fighting demons either, but I am.' She angrily thought. Kagome felt in her pocket for the bracelet Miroku gave her. 'Well I won't be a burden on this family anymore. Miroku, you have given me the best idea in the world! I would hug you right now if you were here! Well, perhaps not. You would take advantage of that. From now on, I will do what I can to help support this family too! Now to have a little heart to heart talk with Momma!" And that's what Kagome did.

After many hugs, tears and tissues, Kagome and her Mom came to an agreement. Kagome would bring back something to sell every time she came back for a "supply run" and, if there was any money left over, Momma would use it however she saw fit. Momma would quit her job with the grocery store and stay home for Souta's sake. "After eating some of Jiichan's cooking, I think that his friends are getting a little tired of him showing up at their homes during meal times." Momma chuckled.

Now of course, when Kagome came back that summer after three long years, she had plenty of gifts for her "Feudal Era Family", as she liked to think of them fondly. A messenger was dispatched to Inuyasha, per his orders as soon as she came back, so he came and brought his little family for a special reunion. Kagome cooed over his one-year old twins, appropriately named Yuichi, (brave first son) and Yuji, (brave second son) with their violet eyes, silver hair and furry little ears. Kagome just could not resist touching the velvety softness of those ears while the twins giggled. Inuyasha and Shiori were so proud. As for Koga, after the destruction of Naraku, upon uniting the wolf demon tribes, mated Ayame. He sent special greetings by way of Ginta and Hakkaku. Ayame was close to giving birth and he couldn't leave. Nevertheless, he would be sure to visit next summer and bring Ayame and their little cubs with him then. Moreover, later that same Fall that Kagome came back, after Inuyasha and his brood left, Lord Sesshomaru showed up with Rin to stay in the village that winter. Kagome tried to gift the young girl with a small cloth doll and a change of kimono dresses she had sewn herself. Kagome had to wait a couple of weeks after Rin came back because Sesshomaru's gift wasn't ready and she wanted to present them at the same time. She presented Rin's gift first. She had Sesshomaru's gift still in her bag in Kaede's hut. To say that Sesshomaru didn't like Kagome giving Rin a gift was an understatement. Sesshomaru became almost violent, snatching the toy and melting it with his poison, right in front of everyone.

"How dare you try to purchase this one's wards affections in this hateful manner!" he snarled at the little miko. "No, I wasn't! I give out small gifts to everyone all of the time! I even gave Shippo and the other village children toys when I returned! I didn't mean to-"

"Why did you wait to present my ward with this trash? Are you trying to say that this Sesshomaru cannot provide adequately for his own ward?!" His eyes turned pink around the edges. "N-no no!" Kagome stuttered. "That's not what I-"

"Silence Miko! From now on if Rin requires anything this Sesshomau will provide it. Not some filthy cast-off of the half-breed." Everyone gasped! "Hey!" Kagome shouted. "Where do you get off saying that to me you jerk?"

Quick as a flash Sesshomaru's claws found their way around Kagome's throat as he lifted her five-foot frame up into the air until she was level with his own citrine orbs at his six and one half foot height.

"Watch what you say to this Sesshomau Miko, you do not have the half breed to hide behind anymore." He snarled venomously, allowing the tips of his claws to slightly dig into the soft skin of her throat. Tiny pinpricks of blood appeared as small dots on her skin. Kagome winced from the stinging sensation his claws caused. She could only hold onto his wrist with both hands, struggling to breathe, legs dangling helplessly almost two feet from the ground.

Seeing the miko's face starting to turn different shades of red, Sesshomaru carelessly dropped her to the ground before casually strolling off, leaving her coughing and sputtering on the ground.

Everyone was stunned. Even Rin was silent. She knew better than to even mourn the loss of something she barely even got to see, much less hold in her hands.

A few days later Jaken appeared and, looking almost apologetically at Kagome, presented Rin with gifts from Lord Sesshomaru himself. There were several exquisitely crafted boxes of various sizes of sweet smelling cedar wood. Each was hand carved and painted with various scenes of court life, featuring elegant ladies of the court with Rin's name written in delicate kanji on the lid of each box. The latches were constructed of pure silver and sparkled brightly in the firelight. As Rin opened box after box, she revealed the loviest china dolls that Kagome had ever seen. The faces were painted in the fashion of court ladies of that day and age, complete with white faces, red bow lips and thinly arched eyebrows. Each doll was different, with its own wardrobe complete with sleeping and bathing yukata, bathing supplies, geta sandals with tabi socks, silken kimono with matching obi, hair ornaments, miniature brushes, combs, etc. Every little girls dream doll fantasy come to life.

The boxes, Kagome noticed, when placed together in a certain order, showed a complete story of a day in the life at court. She also noted that the exquisite kimono the dolls had were featured on various ladies painted on the boxes that the kimono resided in. As she studied the details more closely, Kagome saw that the faces on the boxes were exactly like the dolls'. Only a true master could have carved and painted the little works of art. Only a youkai could have done it in the few days it took Sesshomaru to return to his palace and for Jaken to return. Whoever did this not only worked both night and day, but had to work in conjunction with whoever made up the dolls' faces and clothes. Kagome could only wonder at the cost of such gifts. The dolls each had beautiful long black hair, going down to their tiny china feet when unbound. "Look Kagome!" Rin cried. "Their hair is black with a little wave to it just like yours is! And their eyes are blue too!" Sure enough, when Kagome looked closely, at the dolls, she saw that their eyes were blue indeed.

'Huh.' Thought Kagome. 'I wonder what kind of message the great Lord Sesshomaru is sending me with that. It definitely can't be that I am as pretty as one of those court ladies. That's a laugh. Of course I doubt Lord Sesshomaru has a sense of humor. I know he is trying to tell me something. I just don't know what. Oh well. I don't care. He is probably just trying to mock me or something. Who knows?' Nevertheless, a small voice whispered inside of her, you do care Kagome. Even if just a little bit. It still hurts.

Kagome saw that the dolls sported real hair. 'Well, duh Kagome. Of course they would. Synthetic hair hasn't been invented yet. Not that Sesshomaru would have fake hair on those dolls!' She idly wondered what demoness the hair came from.'Surely Sesshomaru wouldn't allow disgusting human hair to grace those dolls' heads!' She angrily thought.

While Kagome had these thoughts, and more, racing around inside her head, she just nodded and smiled at Rin while Sango, Miroku, their three children and Kaede looked on. She couldn't say a word. No really, she couldn't. Sesshomaru had damaged her throat so badly that Kaede forbad her speaking for at least a week to be sure that there wasn't any lasting damage to her voice box. The bruises took longer to heal. Kagome wore scarves to cover her throat to keep people from staring. Lucky for it was starting to turn chilly so she used that as an excuse for the scarves. She definately would not go home until she was fully healed. 'If Momma saw this she would forbid me from ever returning here!'

Kagome realized, that, as generous as little Rin was with sharing her toys, none of the village children would touch those dolls, much less play with them, for fear of incurring the Lords' wrath. And Rin wouldn't want to take them outside for fear of getting the dolls dirty or causing them damage anyway. It would be a good toy for the winter while one was cooped up inside but as soon as it became warm outside, the dolls would be left, forgotten inside the wooden boxes. Rin was naturally an exuberant child with lots of energy and was used to the outdoors and traveling. She wasn't like a regular nobleman's daughter of this age, dressed up like a china doll on display herself all of the time and not allowed outdoors unless it was for show. Rin needed toys that she wouldn't be afraid of damaging. Hence the small cloth doll and cotton kimonos. It could be easily mended and washed. Kagome had sewn the two kimonos for the doll herself. She can still feel the prick of the needle every time she missed a stitch. Oh well, it taught her how to sew properly. She knew she would need all the experience she could get.

After the doll incident, Kagome tried to stay out of Sesshomaru's way as much as possible, without it looking like she was avoiding him. No use in letting him start thinking of her prey now.

That first Winter was easy, as he didn't visit the village but only once. He had Jaken deliver clothing and other such items for Rin while riding Ah-Un during the Winter. But Kagome knew that come next Spring he would be here several times a month like he has during the past three years while she was gone. Then he would take Rin traveling during the Summer months before returning her to Edo in the fall.

Kagome had all winter long to look at those dolls while Rin played with them for hours on end. And, while Rin practically bagged Kagome to play dolls with her, Kagome would gently refuse. She knew that Sesshomaru would be able to smell her scent on the toys. She shuttered to think of what he would say or do then.

To say that Kagome was hurt was an understatement. While she was happy for Rin, Kagome herself wanted to cry. After having Inuyasha call her names like, wench, shard detector and not good enough, all the while chasing off any possible male company (whether she wanted it or not,) for her, he would run off to the undead miko. But, she realized that she only had a schoolgirl crush for the hanyou and that Inuyasha was just too immature, too much like a spoiled little brother just having to get his way all of the time. Only with the strength of several grown men to back up his spoiled ways. But, eventually he did grow up. Some. Thank goodness for Shiori. She really helped him along. Now she has to deal with his older brother. Correction. Half brother. Ugh! She knew the Inu Lord held no feelings of goodwill towards her, but to think that she would try to bribe a child for their affection! That's even worse that Inuyasha accusing her of flirting with Koga and leading him on! As if!

Sesshomaru's accusations made her question herself every time she thought about going home that Winter to her time to restock on supplies and, while shopping, start to pick up something that she thought her friends would like, whether it was a new scented soap for Sango, a toy for Shippo, ointment for Kaede's joints or paper for Miroku. She kept a small supply of wooden toys and small candies in Kaede's hut to be given to the village children for being good after coming to the old miko for treatment. Like the time little Janrui broke his arm and was bedridden for over a month. His mom still thanks Kagome for the small wooden dog and top. It helped him to while away the time in bed when he wasn't sleeping off the healing tea Kaede kept brewing for him to drink to help with the healing and the pain.

Even Jaken was amazed at how his Lord seemed to go out of his way to insult the miko and how she seemed to avoid him. He looked discretely at the dark brown leather bag that Kagome gave him to help him carry various odds and ends around, hanging off of Ah-Uns saddle underneath some other bags. It was stamped with the crescent moon on the top flap while his name was burned into the leather underneath. He hoped that his Lord wouldn't notice it and make him give it back to Kagome or worse, destroy it like he did with the cloth doll. Ah-Un was also graced with the miko's generosity, for inside the leather bag was another bag made of a strange, but quite sturdy material, that when opened held some kind of sweet smelling type of grain-like substance. The miko explained to him that it was a kind of treat food for Ah-Un for when Jaken thought that the dragon steed was being good. Just to be careful and not let the dragon gorge himself. She didn't want him to make himself sick. Ah-Un not only seemed to enjoy the sweet feed, but also understood that he had to behave himself for Jaken in order to receive the "treat". Even Lord Sesshomaru commented on how much better Ah-Un was behaving for Jaken. He wanted to cry tears of joy! Lord Sesshomaru gave him, Jaken, his most loyal vassal a compliment and didn't stomp on him! Jaken really needed to get more of that sweet feed from the Lady Miko.

Now Kagome and Jaken didn't see eye to eye on a great many things. Their first introduction to each other all those years ago was not the way to start any kind of a um, loving relationship. But Kagome did start to respect the Kappa. Especially after witnessing firsthand him fiercely protecting Rin against a tiger demon early that Spring before she found Sesshomaru in the woods. Poor Jaken was gravely injured and had slept for days after that attack. Rin didn't even suffer a scratch. That is when Kagome gave him the leather bag filled with the feed. She told him it was in honor of protecting Lord Sesshomaru's ward. Of course, Lord Sesshomaru wasn't around at the time Jaken received this auspicious gift. Moreover, Jaken knew better than to tell him about it. Even a year after he received that gift, Jaken kept it hidden underneath the other saddlebags stashed on Ah-Un. Just in case. Of course Kagome was going to gift Jaken with the leather bag before the tiger demon episode anyway. But with the way Sesshomaru acted about the doll, she just didn't know if the little Kappa would accept it or not. She thought that he wouldn't take it on the basis that it came from a filthy human, but realized that he would probably be even more afraid if Sesshomaru found out about it. Still, Kagome made sure to give Jaken the bag when no one was around to see. Not even Rin. She didn't want anyone to accidently say anything about it in front of Lord Sesshomaru. Jaken took the present. However reluctantly. She hoped he wouldn't get into trouble for it.


	2. Chapter 2 The Invisible Woman

Of course, the "doll incident," as Kagome likes to call it happened over six months ago and was just after Kagome came back when the well reopened for her. Inuyasha was already mated, but Kagome knew about his love interest and his plans to mate as soon as possible after Naraku's defeat. She gave it her blessing long ago. The love she felt for the hanyou was that of a brother anyway. Everyone in their little pack knew of the possibility that she would be forced home to her time, never to return and she insisted that they live their lives to the fullest and not put themselves on hold for her. She truly didn't know if she would leave and therefore didn't know if she would be allowed to come back. If ever.

During the three years she was gone, Kagome had this feeling that she would see them again. She couldn't explain it but, after returning home, she just had this feeling come over her that everything would be all right. After having a long talk with her mother about it, they both decided that it was best to prepare as if she was going to return eventually. That's why she started taking weapons classes and studied up on natural healing remedies. There were her miko skills to strengthen. Not to mention finish high school. Kagome even found the time to work around the shrine so she could earn extra money to purchase things she would need for the Feudal Era. And that included small gifts for her feudal era family and friends. True, she still had items from the past that she could sell, but she wanted to earn the money to pay for the gifts. Just for her own personal satisfaction. What she couldn't buy, she bought materials and made herself. She made wedding gifts for Sango and Miroku, Inuyasha and Shiori and yes, even Koga and Ayame.

Rin's cloth doll was just one of those assorted gifts. She even found a beautiful calligraphy set in an antique store to give to Sesshomaru. It was one in which you had to refill the ink instead of the modern ones that came with ink cartridges. That way he wouldn't have to worry about running out of ink and coming to her all of the time for more. Of course, she definitely wouldn't give it to him now. It was stored away in Kaedes' hut on a back shelf. When she bothered to remember it she would remind herself that she needed to store it in her own hut so Kaede could have her shelf space back. But she never did.

Kagome's brother Souta took a couple of wood carving classes at school for extra credit and became quite good at it, if she did say so herself. He offered to make her a box to hold the calligraphy pens. He fashioned little compartment drawers for all of the different nibs and one long drawer that spanned the entire length and width of the bottom of the box to hold the expensive parchment paper Kagome purchased for the set. She wasn't sure if Sesshomaru had some sort of seal for any correspondence he did, seeing as she never received any messages from him personally herself, but just in case, she asked Souta to fix a drawer in the case that could hold the special seal and sealing wax. For just in case she thought. Souta did a wonderful job on the box and even lined the inside compartments with black velvet for her.

Kagome was going to pay one of her friends older siblings, a third year art major in college, to paint scenes on the box, but he told her he would do it for free if he could show it to his art professor for a grade. She agreed. That was why she had to wait a couple of weeks after Sesshomaru brought Rin to the village to present Rin with her doll in the first place.

The box was of course, nothing as splendid as Rin's doll boxes, but she was proud of it anyway. The box had a giant Inu sitting on his haunches, while howling at the crescent moon in the midnight sky. Far off in the distance a Sakura tree stood next to a flowing river, its' blossoms dancing in the breeze. The giant Inu had beautiful silver fur that reflected the moonlight perfectly. And those gleaming red eyes were alive with intelligence and something else. Kagome made sure the Inu was in Sesshomaru's likeness, down to the Prussian blue crescent moon on his forehead, the magenta stripes on his cheeks, the soft feathering on his legs and the extra long fluffy tail. Every time she looked at the small painting, her fingers would itch to touch those silky strands. She only saw Sesshomaru's true form once, and, while it was very scary at the time, since he was battling Inuyasha in their father's tomb, she could not deny how magnificent and beautiful he was. She must have some kind of sick death wish, to be attracted to Sesshomaru in any kind of way she thought wryly.

She remembers when she placed the box in a black silken drawstring bag and wrapped it with brown craft paper and tying it with package twine, if he would like it or scoff at it. Probably throw it in her face if he didn't melt it first, she guessed now.

Meanwhile, as Kagome was speaking to Kaede about going thru the well and why, Lord Sesshomaru found himself lying upon a couple of old blankets in a slightly damp shallow cave. Sniffing the air inside cautiously while glancing around, he noticed a small fire burning with some unknown type of meat placed on an animal skin near enough to it to keep it warm. As he sat up he noticed strangly constructed bandages around his chest. While nothing in the cave suggested that anyone had ever been there, the absence of any scent suggested that whomever placed him in that cave at least had some knowledge of hiding their scent. The person in question also had knowledge of the healing arts. But who would be so stupid as to approach an extremely powerful demon when injured? "Miko." Sesshomaru breathed.

Standing up he quickly stripped the bandages from his person and, just as he was fixing to throw them onto the fire, gave them a curious sniff. A slight, but delectable scent wafted thru his sensitive nose. 'I know exactly who was here. And I know exactly where to find her.' He thought.

Quickly gathering his haori, and putting them on, he glanced at the meat near the fire. After sniffing it cautiously for anything out of the ordinory, he took a small bite. Upon finding it to be tasty, and because he was in fact extremly hungry, Sesshomaru quickly consumed the flesh before leaving the cave.

He paused at the cave's entrance upon sensing sutras placed there. 'If that miko thinks she can trap me in such a weak fashion-' Sesshomaru thought, before realizing that the sutras were not designed to keep him prisoner, but to keep others out of the cave while he rested. 'Clever miko. Clever. But I still know where to find you.' Sesshomaru melted the sutras with his acid claws and then left the cave, heading straight for a small well near Edo.

Now, as Kagome trudged tiredly to the well, she rubbed her neck idly, scratching at the faint pinprick scars there.' I need to get some more concealer for the marks,' she absentmindly mused as she wondered how she got into yet another mess. Of course, she reasoned with herself, she realized that no matter how angry Sesshomaru got and what he did to her as a result, she couldn't just leave him lying in the woods. If for no other reason than how much his lands and its' inhabitants depended upon him. Call him anything you like, he was a good, just and fair ruler. His lands prospered, whereas other lands suffered. She should know. She couldn't begin to count the number of miles she walked across Japan, searching for shards. Seeing firsthand the devastation the people, demon and human alike, suffered because some petty lord couldn't look beyond their own noses to see what their greed and selfishness wrought to the land and its' people.

'I had heard that Sesshomaru was going to annex some more land soon. Possibly even Edo. I must think to ask Kaede about that.' Musing quietly to herself, she thought that this might be a good time as any to see a throat specialist too. 'I had better think up a good story to tell the doctor while keeping it from Momma so she won't worry or worse, keep me from returning to the past.

Every once in a while after talking, her throat would start hurting. So she learned to keep quiet for long periods of time. Now, anyone who knows Kagome knows that Kagome babbles and seems to speak nonstop. It is just another personality quirk of hers that made everyone around her adore her. Of course she knew it was a nervous habit and she didn't talk as often as she did now as an adult as when she was fifteen, but even Shippo, who only got to visit from Kitsune Training School from time to time, noticed how quiet she became. She told him it was a sign of growing up. He nodded but didn't comment on it, except to ask why she didn't sing at night anymore.

Kagome used to sing to Shippo at night to get him to sleep after she and Inuyasha rescued him from the thunder brothers. He had terrible nightmares back then. It became a habit to sing a couple of songs every night as the gang sat around the campfire. She noticed that even Jaken and Lord Sesshomaru seemed to enjoy her music. Rin always loved it. But she didn't do it anymore.

What could she say? Shippo wasn't there when Sesshomaru hurt her throat and she didn't want him to know so she replied, "I've just run out of songs to sing son."

"Oh, then I will just have to write some for you while I am at school so you will have more then." he innocently replied.

Kagome just smiled and nodded. How could she tell him that whenever she tried to sing, her throat would hurt so much, that tears would come to her eyes and she just had to stop.

Kagome used to love to sing. She was in choir in middle school and took lessons in high school. Her high school professor was a bit disappointed that she didn't continue on to college.

"With your voice you can get a vocal scholarship easily. I can even write a recommendation letter for you Kagome."

"Thank you Professor, but that won't be necessary at this time. I am going to wait a while before going on to college." Kagome lied.

"Oh well then. That is a shame. But just remember Kagome, whenever you need that recommendation, I will be here for you."

"Thank you again Professor. That is very kind of you."

"Truly, it is nothing. You have a great talent. And you know I don't say that to just anyone."

"Yes Professor. I know."

Kagome was so lost in her musings on the past as she neared the well that she almost missed. Sesshomaru's youkai. 'Uh oh! I need to hurry.' She thought as she sped up. 'I was hoping for more time.' Kagome knew she was being a coward, but even with practicing her miko skills and combat training at home, she knew she couldn't possibly begin to hurt Sesshomaru. To him she was just a bug to be squashed. Even if she broke his armor with a purification arrow when she was fifteen, it was a lucky shot. Even if he didn't hurt her physically, he could destroy the well or the entire village. Now was not the time to allow careless words get an innocent killed. She had almost made it to the well when Lord Sesshomaru stepped out of the foliage at the forests edge of the clearing.

"Miko, tell this Sesshomaru, why this, "holding up some torn bandages in his claws, "was wrapped around his torso, reeking of your scent."

'Damn. How could I have been so careless! Maybe I didn't remove my scent enough from those—'

"Miko. Do not keep this Sesshomaru waiting for your answer."

"Well, you see Lord Sesshomaru," Kagome stammered, "when I came upon you in the forest wounded and unconscious-"

"Do not expect this Sesshomaru to believe that you felt pity for This One."

"No no that's not it I—"

"Then do not think to say that this Sesshomaru was too weak to heal his wounds that he would need the help of the half-breeds castoff." He declared, throwing the bandages down at her feet. "Nor will this Sesshomaru become indebted to one such as you."

'What?' She thought. 'How dare he say that? As if I want any favors from the likes of him.' Kagome clenched her teeth to keep from crying out loud. She definitely didn't want those claws around her neck again. Even now, she has to cover up the scars so no one notices or worries about her. Only Kaede knew about her throat.

"Have nothing to say Miko?" The cold Lord drawled to her."

'Why is he treating me like dirt? Well two can play his game. If he wants someone to kiss his butt, then that's what I will do. I'll probably die anyway. Might as well try to play by his rules and see what happens.'

Kagome cleared her throat before speaking. "Lord Sesshomaru," Kagome politely bowed her head and, keeping her head bowed spoke, "if it pleases you to tell this Lowly One exactly how This One has offended thee, then This One will do her utmost to rectify this grievous mistake and insure that it will not happen in the future." 'Ha! Take that Sesshomaru!' Kagome thought.

"Merely your presence offends. Perhaps if you did not disgrace This One with your pathetic company, it would correct the error." Sesshomaru stated coldly.

'So,' she thought while keeping her head bowed, 'he doesn't want to see me in my own village. Does he think that I will just stay in my own time? Or else move from my home so he will become more comfortable? Damn him! I will not. I will beat him at this.'

"If This One's lowly presence offends Lord Sesshomaru, then This One greatly apologizes and will take pains to correct this most grievous of errors immediately. As for pushing this Lowly One's unwanted and unneeded pathetic healing abilities upon someone so great as the Lord of the West, this Lowly One did not wish harm but only to help. It is in this Lowly One's nature to help others, even if the help is uncalled for or unasked for. It certainly was not this Lowly One's intentions nor desire to have the Great Daiyoukai of the West to be in her debt by any means. The only pitiable reasoning this Lowly One can give is the concern of the Western Lord and its' inhabitants, should it's Lord be left on the forest floor unconscious for an indeterminable period of time. And since this Lowly One had no others around to ask for help, it was up to this Lowly One alone to take Lord Sesshomaru to the closest adequate shelter she could find in order to render her pathetic attempts at first aid."

Still bowing she thought to herself, 'I hope that speech is enough to get me free passage to the well. My throat is starting to hurt. If I can get to the well I won't be coming back for a while I promise you that you jerk. I'll also make sure to pull a Houdini act every time you show up.'

While she was standing there, head bowed perfectly thinking these nasty thoughts, Lord Sesshomaru was watching and studying the Miko before him.

'I wonder how long before her neck starts to ache?' He idly thought.

"Hn. Make sure your presence is removed whenever this Sesshomaru visits his ward."

"Yes, of course Lord Sesshomaru." Kagome readily agreed.

He watched her for a few more moments before turning around and heading into the forest towards his lands.

Kagome kept her head bowed until she was sure that he had left the area. Only when she felt his aura at a great distance did she straighten her back. With a loud popping sound to her spine, she sighed to herself, 'Way to get your head cut off Kagome.' Then, with that last thought, she walked the last few feet to the well, climbed over the short wooden wall and jumped in.

True to her word, Kagome was gone for almost six months, missing the early spring and summer seasons in the feudal era. However, she wasn't sitting around at home for nothing either. She made twice-weekly visits with a throat specialist who recommended surgery immediately to remove scar tissue to her voice box. "Otherwise Miss Hirguishi, your voice will only become worse over time and you may eventually lose the ability to speak. Especially since it has been almost six months since your accident. Do not worry though. I will schedule the surgery immediately. There won't be any visible scaring as a result and you should heal fairly quickly, since you are young and healthy. You are actually quite lucky young lady, that you came to see me when you did. If you had waited even another six months, you might have suffered almost irreparable damage to your voice box.

Kagome winced and reluctantly scheduled the surgery for the next week and gummed up the courage to tell her mother about it.

Later, in the kitchen of the Hirguashi household: "Kagome, I understand why you didn't want me to worry, but honey, your health is very important to me. Also, you may not realize this yet, but seeing as how you have an adopted son, you will soon find out, if you haven't already, that a parent will always worry about their children in some small way or another. It is after all, one of the unwritten rules of parenthood. Thou shalt always worry about one's child. Whether they know about it or not." Mrs. Hirguishi scolded Kagome.

"Oh Momma, I love you and I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to keep anything from you it's just that I-"

"Hush Kagome it's all right. I was young once too and didn't want my parents to worry about me if I could help it either. Now, let's go over what we need to do to prepare for this surgery OK?

"OK Momma." Kagome replied.

While going over the details of the surgery and the following therapy sessions Mrs. Hirguashi silently fumed.' Lord Sesshomaru is very lucky he isn't standing before me right now. Oh how I would love to give him a piece of my mind! And then some!'

Geesh, Momma Hirguashi can be scary sometimes.

In addition to the surgery, therapy and sessions with a voice coach to retrain herself to speak properly, learning how to modulate her voice so that she could be heard and understood without shouting or screeching, thereby straining her vocal chords, Kagome had to take medicine in the form of shots to help prevent infection and to help her throat and voice box recover more quickly. These shots were very expensive, costing almost one thousand dollars each, and had to be administered twice weekly for three months.

Even with insurance, it was still quite a debt for the Hirguashi household. Without the remaining trinkets from the past that Kagome had stuffed in a box in the closet to sell, the surgery, and everything that came with it, would be quite impossible to afford.

However, the specialist was worth the money. And then some. He not only lived up to all of his promises of the results of the surgery, he even managed to take care of those pinprick scars on Kagome's throat without her even asking. When asked about it the doctor told her that he knew how sensitive pretty young ladies can be about noticeable scars. He had an opportunity to get rid of them and he took it. 'Wow! I'm so lucky I went to him. I didn't even think to ask about that.' Kagome thought.

To be honest, Mrs. Hirguashi was thinking the exact same thing. But for many different reasons then what Kagome was thinking. While she was grateful that Kagome wasn't going to have permanent damage to her lovely voice, Mrs. Hirguashi, for lack of a better term, found herself attracted to the older, handsome throat doctor. She also found that attraction was reciprocated, when, after Kagome's last scheduled visit before returning to the Feudal Era, the doctor asked to speak to her mom alone.

"Kagome, why don't you go on down to the car and I will be down in a moment. "Mrs. Hirguishi suggested, handing her the keys. "All right Mom. See you in a moment." Then Kagome left the office.

"Is there something that I should be concerned about doctor?" Mrs. Hirguashi asked worriedly as she sat back down.

"Oh no not at all. As a matter of fact, Kagome is making splendid progress. Much better than even I had anticipated. But that's not why I wished to speak with you in private. Please forgive me for sounding too forward but I wanted to ask if you would please have dinner with me."

"Oh. What can I say?"

"Please say yes."

"Oh. Oh. Yes. I would enjoy having dinner with you Doctor."

"Please. Call me Atsushi." (industrious doctor)

"All right. Atsushi. "Mrs. Hirguashi lightly blushed. " Please call me Kumiko." (long time beautiful child)

"Thank you Kumiko. I am sorry. I didn't mean to place you on the spot like this, but I have been placed in the unique position of finding myself wishing slightly that Kagome was not my patient for the pure selfish reason of wanting to ask her mother out to dinner, without it conflicting with any doctor-patient relationships. Even though you yourself are not my patient, your daughter, until today, was my regular patient. And besides the bi-annual check-ups with me, that will not be a concern any longer." Atsushi explained to her.

"Oh." Kumiko blushed even further. "Well, as long as we are confessing things to one another I may as well let you know that I was thinking those very same thoughts and, as glad as I am that Kagome has had her last visit with you, I was a bit disappointed at not being able to see you anymore in any capacity." They both chuckled at that.

Thus began Kumiko's relationship with the kind, handsome doctor while Kagome left for the past. Even though Kagome was happy for her Mom, she could not spend too much time thinking about it because she found herself playing the part of the invisible woman whenever Sesshomaru came to call on Rin. Which was a lot. Instead of bringing Rin to the village towards the end of the fall season to stay for the Winter while he left to do whatever it is that Lords do, Sesshomaru dropped Rin off at Kaedes hut during high Summer, while Kagome was still in the future, and kept popping in and out at the most random of times.

Now Kagome left in early April of that year, had surgery, and came back around mid- September. But sometimes she wished she didn't. She had to virtually run and hide every time Sesshomaru showed up as per his instructions just before her extended stay with her family.

Usually she found herself huddled inside her own hut for hours at a time whenever he chose to grace the village with his presence. Moreover, that was one of the more pleasant times. She quickly learned to have some "busy" work left at all times in her hut, otherwise she would probably explode. She had to camp out in Inuyasha's forest for two days because he appeared while she was out gathering herbs. For some reason he stuck around. Later she found out that he stayed close because he had arranged to meet another Lord for something or other nearby. While he technically wasn't in the village per say, he was close enough that Kagome, being in the woods at the time, couldn't tell just how far from the village he was just by sensing his aura alone. Granted Sesshomaru had one of the largest and most powerful auras of anyone she had ever met, but she just wasn't very good at judging a person/demon's distance just by sensing their aura yet. That and she kind of thought that Sesshomaru knew that she was in the forest and had deliberately flared out his aura just enough to make her believe that he was still in Edo. He normally kept it tightly reigned in because it was so large. Of course, no one thought to check on her. At least it didn't rain. Thank the Kami for small favors.

Still another time Kagome was coming back from a nearby village from a mission as a favor to Kaede and had to turn around and go back to that village. Either that or camp out in the forest again. No thank you. She sent a messenger to Kaede, asking her to let Kagome know when it would be "safe" to venture home. She had to wait a week. Good thing the villagers had an empty hut she could stay for free. She didn't have enough money to rent a room at the local inn for that lenght of time. How embarrassing that would have been!

The only reprieve she thought she would get from Lord Sesshomaru and his "visits" was Winter itself that year. With that and the snowstorms, Lord Sesshomaru never came around. Of course, he surprised her, and everyone else, yet again, by visiting Rin randomly all winter long.

By the time Spring rolled around, Kagome knew that she just couldn't take it anymore. She was quite ready to pull her hair out. She was just plain ole' miserable and just knew that even if Sesshomaru took Rin back to the palace, he would still manage to find some kind of excuse to make her life hell. She just knew that he was doing It to see her make a mistake in order to punish this "Lowly One." She thought. 'I have barely been back into the past for a year, well not even that if you count my stay at home during the summer and already I am feeling regret. I cannot even walk around in my own village peacefully because of Sesshomaru. Something has got to give!' She cried to herself.

So she decided to leave Edo and everyone she loved. She didn't want to but, for her own sanity, she just couldn't do it anymore. She needed to make plans and figure out a perfectly good reason to leave. All, of course, without it looking like she was running away. Which she was.


	3. Chapter 3 Tea and Conversation

Greetings everyone! Before continuing this story, I would just like to say thank you to everyone who took the time to not only read this work of fiction but to mark it as a favorite and follow it. It makes me feel a bit proud of myself to know that there are those out there who like this story enough to want to continue reading it. I honestly didn't know if anyone would want to continue reading this beyond the first chapter. I had it in a notebook for months before taking the first step to putting it in cyberspace. So, yes I was a bit nervous as well as excited. I must confess that it will take some time to upload this story because, while it is over fifty-eight pages in length in my notebook, it is by no means finished. Therefore, if you want to "stay till the end" you will have a very long time in which to do so.

Now I must mention my fellow reviewers for this story. I must thank each and every one of you for taking the time to tell me how much you enjoy this fanfic so far. While some reviews were short and to the point, others were a bit more "in depth." And while I haven't quite gotten the hang of navigating the site enough to privately respond to some of these reviews, other reviews were from guests who just wanted to drop in, leave a pile, and then run away without giving me a chance to say anything in defense to myself. Therefore I will now take the time to respond. I am sorry in advance for this. If you are like myself, you have no wish to read thru drabble like this and just want to go on with the story, then just please scroll down until it says Chapter 3 and enjoy! Otherwise, gentle reviewers the answers you seek are found here.

To reviewer Ikutolover93: Don't worry. Sesshomaru will stop being an a**. It will just take a few more chapters. I promise.

To Uh: Thank you for pointing out that I misspelled Kagome's last name and omitted the letter 'a'. I had to insert her surname in the computer dictionary for any auto-corrections and I must have inserted it misspelled. While it probably wasn't important to anyone else, since you were the only one to notice it, my thanks all the same. I researched the character names so I would not misspell any and look what I gained for my effort. But just to let you know I do reread my chapters before I post them. Dear.

To Agenais: I know that Kagome's anime character is a sweet, somewhat hot-tempered girl of fifteen, but I wanted to convey her as a young woman of around nineteen to twenty years of age who has matured a bit and learned some restraint. As young people grow up and mature, their personalities mature as well. Hopefully for the better. Sometimes not. In this case, Kagome still has her temper. She has just learned that you cannot display it to everyone you meet who says and does things that you find unfair or do not agree with. While she is a product of the twenty-first century where people are more outspoken, she is trying to live in the fourteenth century, where rulers were almost gods in their little kingdoms, with control over the lives of anyone lucky (or unlucky) enough to live on their lands. To give offence, no matter how small, to such rulers could be, at the very least, a one-way trip to the dungeon. At the worst, your head might find itself sitting atop a pike along the entrance to said lord's castle. So when Sesshomaru didn't kill Kagome for trying to yell at him like she is used to yelling at Inuyasha, understand that he had a little 'necklace' on that allowed her some measure of control. Sesshomaru does not. Therefore, Kagome definitely had to watch her step (and temper) with him around. Don't worry though. Sesshomaru will soon feel her wrath within the next few chapters. After all, our favorite heroine cannot be a doormat for too much longer. Kagome will win out.

From Guest: I never took Sesshomaru for a sneaky stalker with a hair fetish, but it is a bit interesting to think that he would want Kagome's hair enough to clean out her comb and brush set after she used it. But alas, he gave no thought to poor Kagome's hair enough to save it up, much less think to use it as doll hair on a toy for Rin enough to plan ahead in such a fashion! What can I say, he may be a brilliant strategist when it comes to the Art of War, but he failed big-time when it came to doll hair! So no, the hair on the dolls is not from Kagome herself. It is just hair that the dollmaker used. Sesshomaru was, however, very specific as how the dolls (and paintings on the boxes) would look, including the blue eyes and dark hair with a slight wave to it. Now make of that what you will.

For Elizabeth: While I cannot exactly say why Sesshomaru is tormenting Kagome in such a fashion, I can tell you this. Sesshomaru, while being a very cold and stoic creature on the outside, is swarming with emotions on the inside. The reason why he does not show his feelings will be explained soon. I promise. He does seem to have major issues concerning Kagome, which has everyone who has been witness to his interactions towards her puzzled. I will say that sometimes people, instead of confronting the question at hand, will go off quietly and assume whatever they wish. Usually those assumptions are wrong, as in Sesshomaru's case here. Let's face it. Sesshomaru just isn't the type to see something and "talk" about it in order to gain the correct answer. He doesn't trust anyone enough to do that. You will, again, find out why very, very soon. Sesshomaru is extremely intelligent and observes everyone and everything down to the last detail before drawing conclusions. He is almost uncannily correct in those observations and evaluations. He has to be in order to survive to be the youngest Lord in Japan. Unfortunately, his observations have failed him in this one rare instance. You will soon learn what that observation was. Therefore, he is quite literately, taking his jealously and anger out on the one person who is most innocent in this case. Kagome.

Now, to answer another question concerning the killing of demons. Sesshomaru was just defending himself. That is all. As for Sesshomaru smelling blood on the doll from when Kagome pricked her finger while sewing? He didn't smell any blood. It was just a fingerpick and, while a bit irritating and painful, no blood was shed onto any aspect of the doll while she sewed it. Kagome probably washed the doll after sewing it anyway. Who knows? I didn't ask her. Now your email was unique in that your message was so long that it was truncated due to length, and I am sorry to say that I have not figured out how to view it in full. The site didn't give me any directions on how to do that and I am just fumbling around in the dark so to speak. Again I am very sorry about that and once I have accomplished this I will finish the response. But by then your questions will, hopefully, have been answered as the story progresses.

Now let's see, oh yes my last review is from GreenWhistle, who believes that I desperately need a beta for my work, should have put in a prologue for all of those who became confused when I gave Kagome's mother a first name, and that I should try writing one shots to "better my writing skills," so to speak. This message was also truncated due to length.

First and foremost, I am not sure exactly what sorts of problems I may have with this story that I need a beta for it, but let me start by giving ff's definition of a beta, shall we? A beta reader is a person who reads a work of fiction with a critical eye, with the aim of improving grammar, spelling characterization, and general style of a story prior to its release to the general public. Oh I do admit that I know that I do not have correct grammar in this story. Let's make that perfectly clear once and for all, shall we? I want my story to read like real life and not like a formal tea party. Therefore there will be sentence fragments left and right in this story. Again, for those of you who are offended by incorrect sentence structure you must stop reading my story now ! OK, now, I will try to work on that but I don't think a beta, short of being an English teacher is going to help me very much. Let's face it. This story is not going to the presses anytime soon and I am sure that all 13,000 plus betas out in fanfiction land have much better things to do than to pick apart my poor little mess of a story. Yes I looked. There are over 13,000 registered betas on fanfiction. Well in the anime/manga, part alone. Wow! That many professional English teachers, huh? No the qualifications are just a little bit lower that that ladies and gentlemen. In order to be a beta one must a: be a registered member for at least one month or more, b: have published at least five stories on the site or have published entries totaling at least six thousand words and, c: must accurately complete both the Profile and Preferences part of this beta section. That's it. Nothing about English classes, being a teacher, etc. Sorry. No professionals allowed. Seriously folks. I have read some truly terrible stories out there because of horrific grammar and I applaud the person for the effort to get anything written in the first place and put it on a public web site. It takes a lot of courage to spill your guts like that. That is why I was a member for over three years on ff before doing this. I am just a big coward. And, ummm lazy as well.

Now to tackle the grand Prologue thing. I didn't want a Prologue. Plain and simple. Now I hear a few people out there scratching their heads and asking themselves, "What's a prologue?" Well, a prologue, or an opening, as it is sometimes called, is quite simply put, an introduction to a story. It is meant to introduce the setting, preview the characters, and establish a theme or a moral, if there is one, for the story. It is also a useful tool to help tie together an earlier story into another, as in the case of those wonderful sequels that I had have been delighted to read on ff, and can also provide other information that the author (that's me) deems worthy.

In most cases, you will see prologues in Greek Tragedies, works by Shakespeare and Chaucer, etc. Most stories do not have a prologue as you have told me I have mistakenly omitted. In fact, if I have gone and introduced every character in my so-called prologue, as you wanted, I probably would still be listing them now. As for becoming confused about Kagome's Mother having a first name? Why? Was it a shock to you? Did you want the kind doctor to call her Mrs. Higurashi forever because the anime didn't feel that, as a secondary character, she was not important enough to rate a first name? Well too bad. She is important in this story. This is not some comical background character like in the anime series. Let me be honest about that, shall we? Kumiko plays a very important role in my story at least. No matter what anyone else may say about it. I personally do not care if she was considered comical relief in Inuyasha, The Series. She is not in this story. That is the point. All of my characters in this story will be OUT OF CHARACTER according to the anime at various points in time. Miroku will not be grabbing any women's butts while asking them to "bare his children", Inuyasha won't come crashing thru the trees waving his sword around at Sesshomaru, and Kagome isn't wearing a cute little green sailor skirt and yelling "sit" all day long. Nope won't happen here. Please understand that I am not Rumiko. I am sure that if I were, I wouldn't be here. Ha ha. Last but not least: I have read my story out loud, several times and I am a bit obsessive about it to be honest. I am constantly editing and scrutinizing every little thing because I don't want to mess up something huge. Like the stories' timeline. But I guess that I did something right when I am called to the carpet over a misspelled name and the lack of a prologue to my story confused someone. By the way, I wouldn't want to have any smaller, finer details explained to me in a prologue. It kind of takes away from the whole "think about what you have read" bit, you know?

Now I know that I have come across as "blowing my top" over some criticism, but really, with the only reason to having a prologue is to introduce a so-called secondary character is just laughable. As for the suggestion of writing one-shots to improve my writing skills. I know that I would much rather take a creative writing skills class. I am sure that I would benefit much more. And no one, except for the teacher, would become offended at my lack of a prologue. Thanks anyway. And if I have insulted everyone so much that you stop reading this story, well, I guess that it wasn't good enough to capture your interest to begin with anyway. So you are perhaps much better off to not read it and save your valuable time for something much more pleasant. Like getting an oil change or cleaning out the garage. You know. Something like that. Seriously though. I really do need to clean out my garage and get the oil changed on my car. Still I am in front of my computer doing this. Huh.

Anyway, on with Chapter Three!

Chapter Three: Tea and Conversation

Kagome went looking for Kaede to discuss the matter of leaving Edo without looking like she was running away from Sesshomaru. And Kaede, Kami bless her, gave her the most wonderful reason to leave.

It turns out that Rin had been staying in Edo for the past few years to get her used to being around humans again. She had been following Sesshomaru around ever since she was a little girl, and didn't remember any other way. While Sesshomaru cared greatly for Rin and protected her fiercely, he didn't teach her "human ways" so to speak. Rin needed to learn the small courtesies that all humans practically grow up knowing in daily village life. Rin was also very shy around large groups of humans. She was more comfortable around a palace full of demons instead. Sesshomaru did not want anyone to say that Rin was disadvantaged in any way by being his ward. Now, with Inuyasha gone, Sesshomaru was a bit concerned for Rin's welfare and safety. So he was in negotiations with the current demon ruler of this part of Japan, trying to annex the village, as well as Inuyasha's forest.

'So that's why he has been coming around so much lately. It wasn't because of me at all. I really have been paranoid for nothing.' Kagome realized. But she was still determined to leave Edo just to have some peace.

While sitting down to brew some tea, Kaede told her that a miko's training comes in stages. The first stage Kagome has mostly completed, which was study and meditation in a village with the head miko or at a shrine especially dedicated for monk and miko training, along with herbal lore and weapons training, among other things. The next stage is just as important. In order to be unbiased, knowledgeable and experienced about the world, a miko must travel from village to village. While Edo had a shrine and several miko, with Kaede being the head miko, a lot of villages did not. Edo was very lucky, in that respect. The shrine itself was quite large, despite Edo being somewhat small in comparison. That is because the shrine itself was established for many hundreds of years before Edo came into existence. As people came to visit the shrine for blessings and to make offerings, some of the travelers stayed. One family became two. Then two became four. So on and so forth, until the local headman of the small group of settlers decided to ask the local Daimyo for a charter in order to legally trade with other villages. Of course, this meant taxes as well as proving their worth. But the village, and shrine would receive protection from bandits and relief during such times like terrible floods or severe drought. Families could also send second and even third born sons to the Daimyo to be trained as soldiers or even be apprenticed in another village to learn a fair trade. No longer would parents worry about the younger children having nothing when they die because the eldest would inherit everything. The same second and third sons could then come back to the village, if they so chose, with a viable skill. Even their daughters could have hope of making a good marriage. Thus Edo Proper was established.

Now Edo boasts of a small garrison consisting of trained soldiers from the locals as well as seasoned warriors from the local lord. Everyone is generally peaceful and happy there.

Even though most villages had healers in some capacity or another, miko's' were specially trained in the healing arts and could use their reiki in conjunction with the various plants and herbs to heal the most lethal of diseases, injuries or poison and to speed up the healing process without taxing their strength to much with greater success. That's why any village, no matter how great or small, will openly welcome any miko into their mist and entice them to stay for as long a period of time as they can.

"Even Kikyo was a traveling miko for two years Kagome." Kaede informed her. "Of course she came back here to live afterwards. It's not uncommon for traveling miko's to eventually return to their home village. But unless you travel to another shrine to study, you will not be considered a fully well-rounded and trained miko without becoming a traveling miko to gain experience. Who knows, you may enjoy it so much you will want to become a permanent traveling miko. I myself enjoyed meeting new faces and greeting old ones again. I only settled back here because I was getting older and my body was a bit impolitely, mind you, telling me that a nice soft futon and a roof over my head was much preferable to the cold hard ground and rainy nights." She chuckled. The water for the tea started to boil and Kaede took the kettle off of the fire and poured Kagome and herself a cup.

Kagome smiled and asked, "What must I do to become a traveling miko?"

"Well, first, you must get approval from your village headman and miko teacher as well as the lord of these lands-"

'Oh no!' Kagome half rose from her seat thinking, 'Sesshomaru would never-'

"Now before you start thinking and worrying about Lord Sesshomaru just ye sit down right now Kagome. Let me tell you that Lord Sesshomaru does not rule these lands just yet, and I have already sent word and received official documentation from the current lord, sanctioning his approval for you to continue your training as a traveling miko. For, contrary to your future beliefs, holy people and demons are not bitter enemies, no matter what anyone should tell you. Unless, of course, you are a rogue demon, most monks and miko work in conjunction with the demon lords of these lands to help ensure a safe, stable environment for all of its inhabitants. Therefore all holy people looking to continue their training must have written approval from their village leader, sensei, and local Daimyo before traveling around the countryside. It ensures that the monk or miko in question is competent enough to be on their own while traveling as well as to weed out the individuals who only wish to wreak havoc on innocents in the name of the Kami. Let me tell you there were some horrible creatures who caused much destruction and devastation in the name of Kami before this screening process. Why, Lord Sesshomaru himself relies on his own holy people to help keep the peace." Kaede informed her while sipping her tea.

"Wow, I didn't realize that." Kagome spoke surprised.

"Of course you did not." Kaede replied. "Now that does not mean that humans are not going to be wary of demons or even prejudiced against them, oh no. Anyone with any common sense should be cautious when meeting a demon of any kind of power. And there will be holy people who will, for one reason or another will want to kill every demon they come into contact with simply because it is a demon. The same with demons concerning humans. Look at hanyou, for example. Humans and demons too, will get strange ideas about the blood being tainted, and in order to save their soul, or some such nonsense, the hanyou in question must be destroyed. Inuyasha himself was a classic example. That young man was ostracized from his own home after his mother died, simply because of his hanyou status. He had to live on his own from a very young age just struggling from day to day to feed himself. Never worry, mind you, about such courtesies like table manners or watching what you say to others for fear of being rude or insulting to them. What little he did learn from his mother was quickly forgotten in the face of just surviving." Kaede informed her.

This Kagome knew all too well. Inuyasha still had terrible table manners. But he was much better now than he was when she first met him almost six years ago.

"Now," Kaede continued, "you may want to know why Lord Sesshomaru didn't take the boy in when Lady Izayoi died. I do not know, seeing as I am not privileged to be Lord Sesshomaru's confidant. I can only give you a couple of educated speculations. The first, being that Lord Sesshomaru, in the eyes of Demon Society, was quite young when the Great Inu no Tashio died, and as a result, faced many challenges to his throne. He himself struggled for over two hundred years to stabilize his lands and prove himself to the other lords that he was more than capable of ruling. I am sure that he, in some ways, blames Inuyasha for their father's death and his resulting struggles. Even though he was an innocent newborn at the time, their father had just finished battling a great dragon demon and, even though he sealed that demon, did not come away uninjured. Instead of bringing troops to help him to defend Izayoi, the Great Lord himself rushed to her side and rescued her alone, dying in the process for her sake and the sake of Inuyasha. Resulting in Lord Sesshomaru's struggle just to keep his own inheritance. In those two hundred years, his lands suffered as well. Lord Sesshomaru had to work very hard, sometimes unmercifully so, in order to survive himself. He faced harsh criticism, many assassination attempts, challenges to his throne and too many petty uprisings, both abroad and in his own court, to enjoy much of life as we know it. You see him as cold and stoic. Well he had to be. If he so much as showed any kind of emotion or even the smallest of kindnesses towards anyone or, anything, it was taken away from him. Sometimes quite violently." Here Kaede paused for breath and a sip of tea before she continued speaking to an enraptured Kagome.

Did you know that an enemy burned Lord Sesshomaru's family gardens at his fortress, as petty revenge because he refused to mate the daughter of said enemy? That enemy knew that Lord Sesshomaru liked to stroll thru the gardens in the evenings because he enjoyed the flowers and Sakura trees. So they had someone sneak into the palace and burn those beautiful gardens. You know, his late grandmother planted many of the rare flowers that used to grow in that garden. Her specialty was growing things, I was told."

Kagome was aghast. 'Oh Sesshomaru. It is a wonder you are still sane.'

Kaede continued. "Even though it has been over fifty years since the last such incident, and his lands are now peaceful and prosperous, Lord Sesshomaru is still uneasy. Otherwise, he wouldn't leave Rin in Edo during the winter months, where it is obviously harsher here, but at his more than comfortable fortress. Lord Sesshomaru cannot take anything for granted. Everything must fall under suspicion, lest a major disaster occur to either him or his lands. That's another reason why he acted so badly towards you, Kagome, concerning your simple gift to Rin. He has experienced firsthand in others what costs that even the most innocent of gifts have wrought."

Kaede sat back, drinking her tea while giving Kagome time to mull over what she said.

'It's also why he wanted Inuyasha's sword so badly.' Kagome realized. 'He was simply tired of fighting others for the sake of his own lands. Well, I don't blame him. Two hundred years of fighting would make anybody desperate. It was only when he experienced firsthand, just exactly how much Inuyasha's very sanity, nay his very life, depended on that sword, that Sesshomaru stopped fighting him for it. '

'What it must have cost you, Lord Sesshomaru, to give up that sword for your brother's sake.' Kagome began to feel a bit sick to her stomach at the thought of judging Lord Sesshomaru, of all people, er, demons, wrongly. Miko's must be unbiased at all times and just look at me! I completely took Inuyasha's side and didn't even consider Sesshomaru's feelings on the matter. Who am I kidding! I didn't think he had any!'

"Tell me Kaede, do all hanyou experience problems similar to Inuyasha, and need a seal for their demon blood?" Kagome asked.

"Nay child. Inuyasha is a very rare and special case. His father's blood is so strong because Lord Inu no Tashio himself was such a strong demon. His blood quite overpowered Lady Izayoi's much weaker human blood. He truly needed some kind of seal in order to live. Inu no Tashio knew this and planned for it." Pouring herself another cup of tea before continuing, Kaede said, "If you believe Lord Sesshomaru to be strong that is because you have never met Lord Inu no Tashio himself. If he had lived, his power could be reckoned to that of a god. So it was quite surprising, to many, that he died the way he did. His battle with that dragon demon must have been tremendous indeed. Of course with siring a pup on a weak human, gave his enemies the edge they needed. Tashio was faced with an enumerable amount of challenges as a result, which had to have weakened him enough for a final blow. Anyone, no matter how strong, cannot continue to fight almost continuously without any recovery time whatsoever. Now, while many demons do not see anything wrong with having human mates and hanyou offspring, does not mean that the nobility and even royalty can do that. They are under scrutiny almost constantly and pressures us common folk couldn't begin to fathom." Again, Kaede paused in her lecturing to take another sip of her tea.

"So," Kagome interjected, "Inu no Tashio knew his blood would overpower the Lady Izayoi's blood and that Inuyasha would obviously need a seal. However, seeing as how Inuyasha would obviously lose the sword as a newborn, he placed it in a black pearl and hid it in his eye. The seal has been controlling his demon side since the time he was born." Kagome reasoned aloud.

"Yes." Kaede agreed with a sigh. "Now let's get you prepared for your journey as a traveling miko. You may also want to visit your mother and let her know what you are planning to do before you leave."

"Wait Kaede. You said that you had several ideas as to why Lord Sesshomaru didn't take Inuyasha and raise him after Izayoi died. One being that he was bitter about his father's death and blamed Inuyasha for it and all of the resulting problems he faced. What was the other reason?"

"Why, to protect him Kagome." Kaede told her.

"What? Protect Inuyasha! How could ignoring Inuyasha all of his life be protection!" Kagome protested.

Kaede gave Kagome a wise look before replying, "Remember how I told you Kagome, that whenever Lord Sesshomaru showed the smallest hint of emotion or kindness to anyone or anything how it was taken away from him in some manner by his enemies?"

"Yes."

"Well, imagine what would have happened to Inuyasha if Lord Sesshomaru brought him to live at his fortress, much less one of his lesser castles. His enemies would have quite possibly either have killed him or have turned Inuyasha into a tool to be used against Sesshomaru himself. At least this way, Inuyasha is still alive. Not many know this, not even Inuyasha, but the fifty years he was pinned to the Goshinboku, Lord Sesshomaru had a barrier placed around the tree, so that no creature bearing the intent to harm Inuyasha in any way could come near him until he awoke from his slumber and could protect himself." Kaede paused before continuing.

"I know this because my sister only had strength enough to seal him to that tree, and no one had the power, much less the forethought, of erecting a protective barrier around the tree at that time. It was only when I became older and stronger as a miko that I could feel the power signature of that barrier. And it was only quite recently when I noticed how Lord Sesshomaru's power signature was exactly the same as that barrier, that I realized how much Lord Sesshomaru cared for his brother. He just could not reveal to anyone, even Inuyasha himself, just how much."

'Oh Lord Sesshomaru. How lonely you must truly be to not even allow your feelings towards your brother to be known. Rin is truly lucky and special indeed.' Kagome thought.

"Of course," Kaede continued unmindful of Kagome's thoughts, "there is also the fact that Lord Sesshomaru didn't kill Inuyasha either, no matter how many times he threatened to do so."

Kagome just gave Kaede a look.

"On another note, you do realize Kagome, that when Lord Sesshomaru finally takes a mate, that Lady will not only have to be strong both mentally and physically, but will face many, many challenges simply for being titled Lady of the West." Kaede stated.

"Well, good luck to the demoness he chooses. She will need it."

"What makes you believe Lord Sesshomaru will choose a demoness over a human mate?"

"But Kaede, you told me earlier that Sesshomaru's father's enemies rose up against him simply for marrying and siring a hanyou pup with a human. There is no way Sesshomaru will marry a human after that, much less have hanyou offspring."

Kaede laughed before she spoke, "This is quite true. If Sesshomaru married just any human. While Izayoi was in fact, a princess, beautiful, kind, sweet, and very much in love with Tashio himself, she had no real power whatsoever. And that is what any demon lord or lady respects first and foremost. Power. If Izayoi were a miko of any caliber, then perhaps Tashio might have been forgiven his sin of loving a human. But she didn't have any power. In the end, Tashio condemned himself. Lord Sesshomaru, on the other hand, by mating a powerful woman will redeem his bloodline. Therefore, not just any powerful woman will do. She has to be respected and revered by all species. Humans and demons alike."

"Well, in that case Sesshomaru is going to live the rest of his life as a bachelor.," scoffed Kagome.

"I would not be too sure of that if I were you Kagome. There is one woman that I personally know of who is respected by everyone and she is sitting right in front of me."

"Kaede…." Kagome started.

"Now now Kagome it's true. When I wrote to Lord Immuto about you becoming a traveling miko to continue your training, he replied to me that he was delighted to hear that you lived in his lands and that he hopes that, upon completion of your training, that the Shikon Miko herself will come for an extended visit to his humble abode. He also went so far as to extend the invitation for you to come by any time during your travels to spend the night when you happen to find yourself in the area."

"But Lord Immuto is the Southern Lord. His palace is anything but humble."

"Yes, I know Kagome. And to be given an open invitation such as that, to use his palace like a common inn, suggests respect. Because no lord, no matter how minor, gives such invitations like that to those they have never personally met or been advised to meet. Not even the other lords give each other such invitations. Of course, Lord Immuto is single as well Kagome. Moreover, to mate the Shikon Miko would be quite a prize indeed. So I must caution you about whose invitation you accept when traveling Kagome. Unless you find yourself mated to a demon who is less than worthy of you."

Kagome thought, 'Maybe that's why Inuyasha chased away all of those guys who acted like they were interested in me. It was just another way of protecting me. Why didn't he just tell me instead of letting me "sit" him half to death as a result? Am I that hard to talk to? Did Inuyasha really just not know how to tell me? Stupid. Did Sango not know this either? Why didn't she say anything?'

"Tell me Kaede, did Sango know about any of this?"

"Kagome, Sango may be very knowledgeable when it comes to matters of demon slaying but remember, she is only a couple of years older than you. In many ways, she was more innocent and sheltered than you were. And she lost her entire village back when she first met you, as well as her mother at quite a young age. Unless her father himself taught her the intricacies of demon mating in royal society when she was a young child, then I am going to say that no, she herself would not have known this information. Yes, she knows that demons mate for power, but no I do not believe that she personally gave too much thought beyond the various weaknesses of demons in order to slay them, much less the particulars when it came to looking for a mate with the ruling class. Especially since her tribe dealt with primarily lower class demons, who can only be compared to regular wild animals like boar or deer. Just because they can speak our language does not make them intelligent."

"Kagome, I would even go so far as to tell you that Miroku would know more about demon mating rituals than Sango does, but only because he is perverted." Kagome and Kaede both laughed at this.

"Yes. You are right about that Kaede. Miroku would only know about demon mating rituals for the wrong reasons."

"Exactly. Now it is quite late and we must get you prepared for your journey. Do not worry. I will not tell anyone until after you have left what happened. I know that you do not want Lord Sesshomaru to harass you any more than he already has."

"Thanks Kaede."


	4. Chapter 4 Evil spirits be gone!

Chapter 4: Evil Spirits Be Gone!

Kagome packed all of the necessary items she would need for her journey as a traveling miko. She had already gone home for her bi-annual checkup to find out that she was progressing so well that the doctor decided to see her once a year instead of twice yearly. She was even more surprised to find out that Dr. Atsushi and her mother were still dating and, that it was starting to look serious.

Souta seemed to be OK with it, but Jiichan, she noticed, was a bit surly over the affair. 'I guess he thinks that he will have to do his own cooking if Mom marries and moves out. 'Kagome guessed.

No wonder. Jiichan's cooking came in two flavors: burned to a crisp or raw.

While she was happy for her Mom to find love and romance again, it just made her realize exactly how lonely she was when it came to matters of the heart.

Kagome was a bit nervous about traveling on her own, but Kaede kept reassuring her that she would be fine. "Miko and Monks are revered by both demons and humans alike. Not even bandits, as evil as they are, will bother holy people for fear of their soul. Naraku, of course, was an exception. For the most part you will be welcome everywhere you go. Especially since, you are the Shikon Miko Kagome. Just wait. You will see how it is." Kaede informed her.

The morning Kagome left was beautiful and sunny. With a large leather satchel, sleeping bag and cooking utensils strapped to her back, her bow and two quivers of arrows slung across her shoulder and a short sword at her hip, she was ready.

Kagome did not want to wear the traditional red and white miko clothing, (thanks to being mistaken for Kikyo one too many times) but still needed to be recognized as a traveling miko. So she, with some suggestions from Kaede, modified the miko outfit just a bit. While red and white was much more popular among miko, it being the most basic of miko uniform colors, as long as the clothing styles were adhered to, the colors could be changed. Usually the colors the miko wore reflected that of the local Lord from whose lands the miko in question hailed from. In this case, Kagome's local lord was Lord Immuto. His colors were blue and white.

Therefore, Kagome, on Kaede's good advice, still wore the traditional hakama, only it was blue instead of red and did not billow out so much to make long-distance walking easier for her. Kagome did not want to wear the geta sandals while traveling either. It just wasn't practical for walking long distances. She opted instead for black calf high boots, similar to what Lord Sesshomaru wore, except they came from her own era and had very cushiony insoles. Even her haroi, while still white had blue ribbon that matched her hakama, entwined in the sleeves that were tighter fitting around her arms and did not billow so much either. She really hated it when her sleeves became entangled with her bowstring. She didn't know how other miko managed it. Kagome's bow was a more modern compound bow, which gave her greater control, more power and longer distance. Of course, she could still shoot with a miko longbow, and kept the bow she acquired from Mount Azusa at Kaede's hut, in honor of Kikyo, Kaede's deceased elder sister. She just favored the compound bow better, since she trained with it almost constantly during the three years she was at home after the well was sealed.

As Kagome walked along the fairly busy road, going to Jinenji's farm, her first major stop on her journey, she knew that her bow got a few strange looks, especially from the occasional soldier, who she knew wanted to stop and ask her questions about it. However, because of her miko status, just like Kaede told her, they didn't bother her. As she traveled, she thought about all that Kaede told her concerning Lord Sesshomaru, demons and holy people in general.

'Maybe it is just me that Sesshomaru doesn't like.' Kagome thought while walking. 'Of course, I don't know why he keeps calling me Inuyasha's cast-off, considering we never really courted or anything. Well I did have a bit of a crush on him for a while, but that was a long time ago and turned out to be nothing more that friendship. At least now, Sesshomaru can't say that I am contaminating his presence if I am not around. Moreover, I can honestly say that I didn't avoid him by running away. I am continuing my miko training. That is all.'

'Oh just who am I kidding? I am running away.' She thought angrily to herself. 'When did I become such a coward? Is what Sesshomaru said to me true? Did I really use Inuyasha as a shield to hide behind whenever my big mouth ran away from me?'

'Gosh,' she thought, 'I remember movies that had all talk-and-no-action characters like that. My school friends and I would make bets on how soon it would be before that person got his butt stomped. We always laughed about it too because people like that deserved it. Now look at me. Am I like that? Was I like that? Oooh, Sesshomaru, you make me so mad! Making me second-guess myself like that!'

'I didn't use Inuyasha like that!' She declared. 'I mean, sure I wasn't very good with a bow yet and I didn't have much control over my powers either, but I wasn't a coward hiding behind anybody!'

Kagome kicked some rocks out of her path as she continued to walk down the road musing to herself and starting to insert small hand gestures while thinking, 'How dare he say such things! He's a coward! Yeah, afraid to show his true feelings to anyone for fear somebody will take his feelings and use them against him. I mean, sure back when his dad died he probably had to do that and I get it that royal families are pretty stoic in public…' Kagome trailed off her thinking and idly stared at the scenery around her before thinking, 'Just look at the royal family in England. The Queen over there barely cracks a smile during royal functions! Of course, that pretty lady that married that good looking prince a few years back is always smiling, but…well she wasn't born into it so…Uggh! I'm second-guessing my second-guesses! Gosh Kagome, can you confuse yourself just a little bit more here?

Kagome continued walking down the road, unmindful of some of the odd looks she was starting to get from various travelers as they passed her, headed in the opposite direction. She just continued to think to herself, trying to make sense of all Kaede told her, sometimes mumbling a word or two out loud.

'Anyway, since Kaede told me that Sesshomaru's lands have been rather peaceful for the last fifty years or so, you think that he would loosen up a bit. Maybe crack a smile. Surely after two hundred years he's weeded out all of his enemies at court and all.'

Passersby would hear Kagome mumble the words such as "smile" and "enemies" and hurry away from her, thinking that something might be wrong with the slightly strange miko. Kagome continued with her thoughts, oblivious to what was happening around her.

'Or maybe he hasn't. After all, demons do live for hundreds, if not thousands of years. They have plenty of time to lie in wait before making a move when you least expect it. Like putting poison in your food or a noose around your neck in a dark hallway.'

Kagome shook her head. 'Now I am starting to sound like a bad murder mystery movie, where every time the lights go out, somebody dies. Yuck!'

'Makes me wonder if Sesshomaru didn't just clean house and be done with it because he needed to catch the real person, or demon, behind all of those assassination attempts? I mean, in that Greek story where Hercules fought the Hydra, he couldn't simply kill it by cutting off its head. Two more heads would grow back for each one he cut off. No Hercules had to destroy the Hydra's body as well.' Kagome tried to remember exactly how the Hydra story went .'At least,' she thought to herself, ' I think that's how the story went. Maybe it wasn't even Hercules who fought the Hydra at all. Geesh, Kagome, can't even get a story to argue your point about right.' She sighed in frustration out loud.

'I wonder if that is what Sesshomaru tried to do. Is that why he needed Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga? To destroy the "Hydra" once and for all, so to speak? Did he think it would make him look weak to ask Inuyasha for help and so he had to steal it from him? Especially since he never really helped Inuyasha after the Lady Izayoi died? Would Inuyasha have helped Sesshomaru if he did ask?'

Kagome continued to ponder as she trudged on the dirt road.

'Hmmm. Probably not back then, no. Now. Well I don't know. They still aren't on the best of terms, but at least Inuyasha and Sesshomaru aren't trying to kill each other every time they meet now. I think. They certainly aren't all hugs and kisses either.' Kagome giggled at the sudden thought of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha hugging and kissing each other like some of her friends would do in middle school.

Again, Kagome was oblivious to the sudden stares and whispers of "odd" and "crazy" other passersby were saying every time she laughed out loud or made angry noises at what she thought about.

Suddenly, Kagome felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see a concerned-looking middle-aged farmer with who appeared to be his wife and young son, along with a mildly prosperous merchant, along with the merchant's two guards.

"Excuse me Lady Miko." The farmer politely bowed and asked, "Is there an evil spirit here that you are trying to banish?"

"An evil spirit?" Kagome blinked at him.

"Yes, Lady Miko. You see we noticed, "Here the farmer gestured to the small group standing around her, "you seemed to be arguing with something in the middle of the road while waving your hands around. Are you trying to subdue it? Do you need some assistance? If so, this kind merchant has graciously consented to allow you the use of his two fine, strong guards to help you subdue the evil creature, should you require it."

As the farmer pointed to the merchant and the two guards, all three men bowed to Kagome while the merchant added, "Yes Lady Miko. My two guards are very strong and well trained. If you need help, they will be more than happy to assist you. "

Kagome stared at the small group that hovered almost anxiously around her. 'Uh oh. How do you find yourself in these kinds of messes Kagome! Great. If you tell them the truth, they will think you are crazy or a fool. That won't go down too well around these parts. No one would want a fool miko to help them.'

Kagome thought quickly and answered, "Oh um, thank you, but I won't be requiring any assistance today. I've just finished subduing the evil spirit and it won't bother anyone else anymore. Ha ha." She smiled weakly at the group before continuing.

"Thank you so much for your concern and for allowing me the use of two such fine, strong soldiers." Kagome bowed, and missed the two guards giving each other a glance before pulling their shoulders back while puffing out their chests with pride. After all, a pretty miko doesn't come along every day handing out compliments to them.

Meanwhile, the merchant beamed at Kagome's praise of his soldiers. He, Tashi, against his father's wishes, hired these two guards himself, instead of taking the old family steward as a traveling companion. His father argued that the guards weren't needed on such a short overnight trip along a peaceful road. He was just throwing away good money. Now he, Tashi, would tell his Father all about how his two guards, no, his bodyguards, helped a miko, yes a beautiful miko, as she struggled to subdue a horrible, evil spirit who was about to take his life! Moreover, she thanked him profusely and blessed him as well! Well, just as soon as he asked her to bless him.

"Lady Miko," the merchant bowed once again to Kagome before introducing himself, "My name is Tashi. I, on behalf of everyone would like to congratulate you on banishing said evil spirit and would humbly ask that you please bless all of us so that the spirit in question won't come after us as revenge for helping you to subdue it?"

Kagome looked at all of the anxious faces in front of her before giving a silent sigh to herself and, answering with a smile replied, "Of course I will Tashi. Thank you for suggesting it."

Then, after giving a hurried blessing to the grateful group and, reassuring them once again that the evil spirit won't be following them, bowed once again while saying thanks, and hurried down the road.

'Gosh Kagome,' she thought to herself, 'you really have to watch what you say around here! Or in this case think!'


End file.
