Midoriko's Gift by Serena530

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or his characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.

Midoriko's Gift

Part One
Chapter One: Making Adjustments

Kagome stood on the battle field with her friends and allies. Naraku was gone as well as all his incarnations. She looked down at her hand where the complete jewel of four souls sat glowing gently from her pure touch.

She looked back up to everyone. Sango and Miroku, Shippo and Kirara, Kouga, Genta, and Hakaku, Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Un, and finally Sesshomaru and Inuyasha.

They had all been there to help defeat Naraku. Well, all except the children. There had simply been no safe place for them to go to without someone from the large group to watch them.

Finally it was all over, but now it was time to get rid of the jewel. She knew she couldn't wait. Waiting meant the chance for another power hungry demon to come along and take the jewel.

She looked at each of them again, seeing the exhaustion, relief, and joy on their faces as they looked at each other. But one face was not looking at the others and sharing in their silent celebration. Sesshomaru was looking at her and as she meet his eyes she could tell that he knew what she was about to do, and was waiting for her to get to it.

He nodded and she nodded in return before she raised her hand and looked at the jewel.

"I wish for Midoriko to be free." Kagome whispered.

Kagome blinked and within one moment to the next she was standing in the dark depths of the bone eaters well with an empty hand. She looked up and saw the wood of the well house roof, and her face crumbled as she realized she had been returned to her time.

She quickly climbed to the top of the well and jumped back in but nothing happened. She hit the hard packed dirt at the bottom and collapsed to her knees.

She was trapped in her time and she hadn't even been able to say goodbye. She was forever separated from her friends, her second family, the one she loved.

She buried her face in her hands and cried out her grief.

~oOoMGoOo~

Kagome lay in her bed dozing, trying to fall asleep completely.

It had been four days since she was returned from the past. After she had cried herself dry she made her way home and told her mother what happened then went to bed. She hadn't spoken or left her bed since.

She had no appetite and no wish to speak to anyone. She just wanted to sleep since it was her only way to escape. She just wanted to escape the pain.

She just didn't know why it had happened, why she had been torn away from the past. Why was she sent back and allowed to get to know people, make friends, and find love only to be ripped away from it? It wasn't fair!

How am I supposed to move on and live my life when my life is in the past? Sure I have mom, Souta, and grandpa, but they weren't there and don't know what I experienced. She thought morosely.

Kagome had told them bits and pieces, but they had never known the full truth of what she had experienced. They would have been horrified and her mother wouldn't have let her go back. Her mother especially wouldn't have let her return if she knew the truth of how Inuyasha didn't always protect her as he was supposed to; if she had known the truth of the triangle between her, Inuyasha, and Kikyou.

Her family just couldn't understand and even if she did tell them all the gritty details now it was likely only to lead to an argument and them being glad she was locked out of the past. Something that would only make her feel worse then she already did.

She knew they would feel so strongly because they cared and wanted her safe, but this was her life. It was the life she had been living for months and had gotten used to, adapted to it, and had expected to be able to continue with it when the jewel was gone.

She just didn't know what to do. How was she supposed to get used to going to school every day, and getting along with friends she had grown distant to? How could she do it without talking to someone who understood her and knew what she had been through?

Just as she was drifting deeper into sleep she felt a heavy intense sensation cover her body then move in what felt like a soothing caress.

Her eyes snapped open and she blinked as her heart began to race. Had she just imagined that? Had she dreamed the feel of that youki?

It came again as if to tell her that it was real, and she jumped up and moved to her window. She pushed aside the curtains and saw the unmistakable figure of a tall man. He was dressed in black slacks and a dark navy blue pullover V-neck sweater, his hair was white and trailed down his back in a long pony tail.

"Sesshomaru." Kagome whispered and watched as he looked up right her as if he had heard her, which she realized he most likely did with the sensitivity of his hearing.

She couldn't believe he was there, but he was. He really was. Then she blinked and realized he was a demon and he was there, in the future, which meant others probably were as well.

She spun around and practically burst out of her room as she darted for the stairs. Her mind kept repeating names of those who could also be there. Shippo, Kouga, Kirara, Inuyasha.

Kagome raced through the living room and opened the front door, and ran to the demon lord, unconcerned about hurting her bare feet. She stopped in front of him and stared, stared up at him. She blinked as she realized he was taller than the last time she saw him, and even then he had been tall.

"Sesshomaru." She breathed out again as tears pricked her eyes. He was there; a connection to her past.

"Miko." The demon lord said before looking her over. "You do not appear to be faring well now that you are back in your time."

Kagome flushed slightly and opened and closed her mouth a few times, speechless before the tall demon.

"How did you know I was from this time, and why are you here?" She finally asked. "Not that I'm not glad to see you." She added quickly.

"You told me I was here days after the jewel returned you, and that I had become a good friend." Sesshomaru replied, and her eyes widened.

"Really?! I really went back?" She asked excitedly.

"Yes. We became friends there as well." He answered, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can you tell me what happened to everyone?" She asked quickly. She didn't care that she would be going back and would find out these things for herself at that point. She needed to know something right now.

"I will tell you some once we are inside." Sesshomaru said as he gestured toward her house.

Once inside they settled in the living room and she listened as he informed her that Sango and Miroku had married not long after her disappearance. They had lived a good long life and had a few kids.

Kouga had mated Ayame, which was something Kagome was happy to hear. At least he wouldn't be after her when she returned. Sadly Keade had died of old age a few years after her return to the past. Happily Shippo and Rin mated, and they were still very much alive but were currently out of the country.

Kagome listened quietly and was happy that everything turned out well for her friends, but was sad that she would lose Keade after she returned. She was a bit surprised that Rin and Shippo ended up together since she thought they saw each other as brother and sister.

I guess things changed as they grew older. She thought with a smile.

That information was all he told her about her friends. The only other thing he added when she asked was that he had never mated. Apparently the one he had chosen had died without ever knowing how he felt.

She was sad to hear that and wanted to ask why he had never told the person, but she felt it wasn't her business. After all, they hadn't actually built the friendship her future self had spoken of.

"So how did you find me, and what've you been doing these days?" She asked, deciding to change the subject instead of lingering on something that must be painful for him.

As she listened she realized that she was content. Sesshomaru showing up and all but telling her that she would return to the past had done wonders for her mood. He was there and they would build a friendship. A friendship that she was sure would help her get through her schooling and her time waiting to return to the past, where she belonged.

~oOoMGoOo~

As the years passed Kagome became good friends with Sesshomaru. He helped her with her homework when she needed it and helped her control and use her powers so she would be better prepared when she returned to the past.

It had been surprising to learn that her reiki had increased dramatically when she made her wish on the jewel. It was also nice to be able to just talk to him normally and not have to censor herself so she didn't look crazy. She had actually taken the time to tell him the events of the past from her point of view, from being pulled into the well up until she made the wish, and it had helped her heal a great deal.

She had always felt guilty for shattering the jewel and making the hunt necessary, not to mention all the lives that had been effected and ended because of the shards. He had made her understand that there was nothing to feel guilty about. It had happened for a reason; otherwise it may have fallen into the wrong hands.

Sesshomaru had also helped her sort through the mess that was the love triangle between herself, Inuyasha, and Kikyou. The older priestess was long gone and she was completely sure of her love for Inuyasha, but it didn't change the fact that Inuyasha had spent months comparing the two of them and choosing Kikyou all the time before she finally passed.

He helped her understand that Inuyasha did know the difference between the two of them even if he had never outright said it or acted like he didn't. Their scent was completely different, their personalities were completely different, and though they looked similar they still in fact looked different.

She also began to understand that just as Inuyasha was her first love Kikyou was his, and regardless of the fact that she had been dead the piece of Kagome's soul that had been animating her body was also providing her personality and memories.

His love had come back and though she was dead he still loved her, so he had to deal with his instincts pushing him back and forth between the two of them because he cared for them both.

Sesshomaru even pointed out quite firmly that she wasn't weak like Inuyasha kept saying and like she believed. He explained that her problem was that she had never been trained to use her considerable power.

Kagome knew he was right. She couldn't suddenly know what a priestess would know in a few months without training of some kind. She had done the best she could with her arrows and what seemed to come instinctively when her life was in danger.

Not to mention if she was so weak she wouldn't have been the one who could sense the jewel shards or purify them. She wouldn't have been the one who could see and sense what others couldn't.

Sesshomaru made her understand that she needed to be strong not just with her power and convictions, but with her mind as well. She needed to be so strong of mind that she would not let hurtful words affect her, because she would know herself and know the words were not true.

Beyond those things Kagome also learned that Sesshomaru was a wealthy business man and that he seemed sad. She knew that the only reason she could tell he was sad was because he allowed her to really know him and let her in otherwise she wouldn't have seen it.

He never said anything about his life in the past beyond the fact that they were friends or of her and Inuyasha. She didn't mind though. He said she had told him he had been there so she had obviously returned to the past, which meant it was possible Inuyasha and her older self were around. Maybe waiting for her to return to the past before revealing themselves to her family.