To Be Cursed by BrokenSouledPoetess

One

~*~

The weary group of Shard Hunters were just settling into a nice clearing - near a hot spring of course - for the night when Kagome sensed jewel shards, coming fast. She was just about to notify the group when she felt the tell-tale youki of Kouga. Sure that Inuyasha was already aware of the ookami prince, the miko kept her mouth shut and went about making camp. A fire had already been started and just as she was walking to her backpack to rifle through her belongings and retrieve her bathing items, a whirlwind swept through the camp, dust and debris filling the air.

Kagome had been stopped mid-trek to her pack when strong hands grasped hers and held them tightly to a firm chest. Tilting her head back to regard the wolf, Kagome smiled brightly and asked, "What brings you here Kouga? Are we on your territory?"

The handsome prince of the wolf demon tribe grinned down at her, a fang peeking out over his lower lip and his blue eyes twinkling. "Do I need a reason to visit my woman? And no, you aren't on my territory. I have been out scouting around for hints of Naraku and since I caught your sweet scent on the air, I figured I would come by and see how you were doing."

Although he was rather dense when it came to the fact that she only liked him as a friend, Kouga truly was a sweet guy and Kagome couldn't help but smile at him. Sometimes, she wished she could love him the way she loved Inuyasha; even if just for the fact that she knew Kouga held some feelings for her and never shied away from declaring them at every opportunity. At times, she had wondered if he did it just to irritate the half-demon but after he had done the same thing without the dog present, she knew it was just how he was.

Before the young miko even had a chance to reply, her hands were torn free from Kouga's and a snarling Inuyasha jumped between the two, pushing Kagome behind him, ignorant of the look of anger that crossed her face at his rough handling and childish antics. "Back off ya mangy wolf! Kagome ain't your woman!" The inu hanyou growled and tightened his grip on the Tetsusaiga.

"I suppose she is yours then, Mutt Face?" Kouga snorted, well aware that Kagome still remained unmated and unmarked. The Prince of the Wolf Demon clan did in fact love Kagome and although he knew she only loved him as a friend - for the time being only, if he had anything to say about it - he couldn't resist irritating the half-demon.

At the callous reply of "Of course she isn't! She's my shard detector and you keep your paws off her!" Kouga peered over the hanyou's shoulder at Kagome and plainly saw the hurt play across the priestess's eyes. Now, he felt guilty. He hadn't been trying to hurt Kagome, only fuck with Inuyasha; now that he knew that subject hit a nerve with her, he would leave it alone. "Whatever you say Dog-Boy. Kagome deserves better than you anyway."

That said he disappeared from Inuyasha's line of site, only to reappear behind him and trap Kagome's hands in his once more. "Take care, my Kagome. Next time I see you, I will bring Naraku's head on a platter." And he was gone in a whirlwind of dust.

"Why that no-good, flea-bitten wolf! Why does he even bother sniffing around here anyway?! If he is looking for a powerful mate, the bastard should be off chasing Kikyou or some demoness, not Kagome." Inuyasha groused. Once more he was unaware of how his words hurt the young miko, and leaped from the ground to land in a tree close by the campsite. "Hurry up with the food, will ya? I'm starving here!"

"Inuyasha, osuwari!" Kagome spat at her dog-eared companion. How could he be such a jerk all the time? Was she really so horrible? Kagome had been spending massive amounts of time training with Kaede to control her powers and even Miroku had helped teach her how to cast ofudas and spells and her miko powers had grown and developed quite nicely, though a lot of it was due to her own work.

Kagome had learned all she could about the uses of her powers for healing and purification from the elder miko and knew that there was far more that she could do. After Miroku too had exhausted his reservoir of information that would aid her, she had started spending an hour every night after they made camp to meditate. On her nightly visits to a quiet area away from the rest, Kagome had learned how to center her energy in her core and focus it to her hands. From there, she learned how to better control the amount of ki she poured into her spirit arrows and had much more success with them.

She had even figured out how to throw up a barrier without the use of ofudas or incantations, which proved to be extremely useful. It was rather difficult to concentrate on a specific spell when in the heat of battle. Her friends had yet to know about this most recent development simply because Kagome didn't have it finely tuned enough to use in battle without fail and didn't want to risk her friends counting on her for it. Sango had also taken up the job of training her in the art of swordplay; after all, she wouldn't always be able to count on being able to stay outside the fray and would more than likely end up in melee range. The two got up an hour before sunrise to practice every day that she was in the Feudal Era and she kept up her lessons even during her time at home.

With all that she had accomplished in the past six months, Kagome had thought she had proved herself to be of importance; that she was neither worthless nor weak. Yet, Inuyasha still compared her to Kikyou and even demonesses! Honestly, how much downgrading can one person take? Every time Kouga was in the picture, Inuyasha would act as though she were his property only to crush her spirit underfoot by another heartless comment on her worth. He had even had fits over Hojou and Kagome saw him very little. She was her own person and would never be a possession. Not that she would mind belonging to someone; on the contrary, she really wanted to belong to someone, to somewhere.

Time had passed, as it is wont to do, since Kagome had first met and fallen in love with Inuyasha and it seemed as though with every second lost, she fell out of love with him a little more. She could no longer say with confidence - even if in her own heart - that she would like to belong to Inuyasha. Besides, he wanted Kikyou; the original miko.

This brings us back to the current situation: Inuyasha once more in a self-made crater and a softly crying Kagome lying in her sleeping bag. She had forgone making supper and truly didn't care if she ate or not at the moment. Sango had taken up where she left off, with Miroku helping her, and Shippou was sitting next to Kagome, lightly running his fingers through her bangs. She hadn't even made it to the hot springs nor done her evening ritual of meditation.

~*~

Kagome awoke with a start several hours later. She had slipped into a fitful sleep at the gentle hands of her adopted son and the time spent in slumber's arms did little to restore her energy. The entire time she had heard Inuyasha's harsh words repeating in her mind and images of he and Kikyou together had been her only imagery. Dragging one small hand across her eyes to scrub away the gritty feeling of restless sleep, Kagome peered around the camp at her friends.

Sango and Miroku were on the opposite side of the slowly dying fire lying close to one another, Kirara was nestled close to Sango with her twin tails across her nose and Shippou was curled up next to her in her sleeping bag. Turning sapphire eyes to the tree tops, Kagome found that Inuyasha was not present. As she continued to scan the area with now wide eyes, Kagome saw the eerie silver glow of soul stealers over the trees a good distance from camp.

Gingerly lifting Shippou from his place against her side and placing him in the warm spot she had inhabited, Kagome stood and tip-toed to her backpack, withdrawing her bathing necessities. Once her various soaps and hair products, along with a fluffy towel, pajamas and her bow and arrows, were secured in her arms, she turned from her companions and made her way to the nearby hot springs.

Her first smile since seeing Kouga earlier in the day graced her soft lips when she arrived at her destination. Truly, she did love this era. The beauty was unprecedented and with the passing years, Kagome had been finding it harder and harder to see her future in her own time. She loved her family dearly but she wasn't sure she could leave behind the past she had been pulled into either. The miko desperately hoped that once their quest came to an end, she would be able to continue traveling between times; it would be nearly impossible to pick one era to stay in.

The hot spring that was near their camp was one of the most beautiful she had come across in all her travels. The spring itself wasn't overly large but the waters were crystal clear and the welcoming scent of minerals and sulfur wafted from the surface in large billows of steam. The shrubbery around the area was dense and lush, closing off the spring to the outside world and rocks and boulders seemed to have been strategically placed around the edge and towards the middle of the pool of water.

Wasting no more time on observing the natural beauty of her bathing place, Kagome skipped to the edge of the water, placed her belongings within arms reach and stripped off her dirty, sweaty clothes. It was summer in the Sengoku Jidai and the season had proved to be hellish. The daylight hours were riddled with intense heat and suffocating humidity and Kagome found the way the weather made her clothes stick to her skin most distasteful. In fact, she had told Inuyasha that while it was such unbearably oppressive weather, they would make camp at any point in time if water was present.

Surprisingly, he had agreed after only a few 'sits'.

Not bothering to test the temperature of the water, Kagome slid fully into the welcoming warmth and grabbed up her body wash and loofah. Once she had scrubbed the sweat and grime from her skin, she began the tiresome ritual of washing and conditioning her long locks. When her journey to the past first started some five years ago, her ebony hair had been only to the middle of her back. Now, the dark strands reached well past her backside and although they were heavy in the heat and a mess to work through when tangled, she couldn't bring herself to cut it.

Once her hair was squeaky clean and shining from her attention, she pinned it to her head with a few hair clips and settled against a rock in the center of the spring to relax and think. She was already planning to have a good session of meditation once her cleansing ritual was done and knew she had to think through the things that were bothering her now, before they could disrupt her.

'Why do I let every little thing he says bother me so much? I know he will always love Kikyou and that I will always pale in comparison to her, regardless of whether or not I am more powerful than she. I don't love him as much as I used to but still enough that he hurts me. Damnit all! I just want to be loved!'

After spitting a few more choice words at Inuyasha in her mind, Kagome found that she felt somewhat better and entertained the notion that the burden on her heart could possibly lift entirely if only she would make said words vocal. Shaking her head against the tempting idea, she scrubbed her dirty clothes clean and rose from the steamy heaven she had been immersed in to towel dry before getting dressed in a soft pair of dark blue sleeping shorts and a tank top of the same color.

Having laid her now wet, but clean, clothing against a rock, Kagome sat down against the same rock and pulled her legs into the lotus position. Pale eyelids slid closed over deep sapphire eyes and Kagome's breathing slowed considerably. Clearing her mind of errant thoughts, the miko focused her attention on the core of power within her and was soon glowing a soft blue color, completely lost in her state of torpor. She went through her basic exercises, pulling her energy forth from her soul to engulf her hands and form her barrier.

An hour had passed around the in-trance miko and just as Kagome was pulling herself back to full awareness, she heard her name being spoken. The voice was deep and soothing and not at all frightening, even if the idea that someone seemed to be speaking to her in her mind was. Since she wasn't sure what to do, she simply remained in her trance and kept silent. Again the voice called to her, telling her to open her eyes. Whether it was the surprise at such a demand or her actual obedience to the unknown voice, her eyes flew open and landed on a shimmering, translucent form not three feet from where she sat.

~*~