The pain had Kagome doubled over on her knees with her arms wrapped tightly around her lower abdomen. Neither the cold floor pressed against her cheek nor the sweat dripping down her body did anything to cool her flushed skin. She had her teeth clenched tightly together as she tried desperately not to make any noise. Unfortunately a strained whine managed to escape.
She heard the ruffle of the sleeping bag next to her a moment before she felt a paw rub against her cheek. She opened one eye and saw a very groggy looking Shippo peering down at her.
"Momma..."
"I'm sorry sweetheart I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep and ill try harder not wake you up again." She said smiling up at his concerned face.
"Your leaving tonight aren't you?" He said with a pout.
With great will power she managed to move her body into a sitting position and pulled Shippo into her lap.
"I'll only be gone a week and I'll be back before you know it." She said as she combed his hair with her fingers.
"Are you going to bring me back a surprise!" He no longer wore the pout.
"Only if you have good behavior while I'm gone." She tapped his nose with her finger to let him know how serious she was.
"I promise I'll be extra good!!" He then jumped up and hugged her neck.
She gave him a big hug in return before she tucked him back into the sleeping bag. Then she kissed his forehead as they said their goodbyes.
Grabbing her red pack, that was nearly the size of her old yellow one, she stopped at Kaede's doorway and turned around to say, "love you Shippo. See you soon."
"Love you to Mamma." With that said and with the promise of a new toy Shippo snuggled down deep into the sleeping bag and let sleep take ahold once more.
At that she headed out the doorway and proceeded to walk down the pathway to the Bone Eaters Well.
The trip took a lot longer than normal because every few minutes a particularly intense cramps would freeze her movement and steal her breath away.
This is a time where she actually missed Inuyasha. If he was here then she would have already been home by now.
However Inuyasha and the rest of their pack was on the way to a village about a week away. Kaede had received word about a rouge demon terrorizing the village and had asked the group to take care of it. It only took four bowls of ramen noodle to convince Inuyasha to go.
Naraku had been defeated about a year ago and with the jewel completed and no more need to hunt down the shards the pack had a lot more free time. So on occasion they would help demons and humans when they were needed.
Sango and Miroku had finally gotten married and decided to make another slayer village in memory of Sango's past. Every now and again they would join Inuyasha and try to end the disputs between demons or humans in a more political way. When that didn't work Inuyasha would take care of the problem with his tetsaiga.
"Finally!" She sighed in relief.
She could see the Bone Eaters Well just ahead. The cramps seemed to ease down a bit knowing she would be home and in a hot bath very soon. She quickened her pace and was at the edge of the well within minutes. Without a second thought she threw the bag in and prepared to follow it.
A chill ran straight down her spine and had the hair on the back of her neck standing at attention. Her body froze to the side of the well. Someone was watching her, and they were very close by.
She sent out her aura in a big wave as she peered across the opening of the well and into the distance. With the aid of the crescent moon she was able to slightly make out the edge of the Forrest. She looked left and then right but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Her aura didn't pick up anything menacing either.
She turned around quickly thinking someone might be trying to sneek up on her, but there was no one there. She seemed to be all alone.
'I know someone is close. I really need to get home, but I can't let them see the magic of the well. '
She closed her eyes and focused on slowing her breathing and willed her ears to pick up any strange noise.
...
It was quiet. Very quiet. Like in those horror movies when the killer is about to jump out and stab you. Eerie and just plain creepy.
At that moment Mother Nature decided that she needed another shot of pain. She did manage to stay standing but tightly wrapped her arms around the constricting muscles in her lower abdomen.
After a minute the pain started to reced and she was able to open her eyes. What she saw made her blink twice. Then she screamed and only managed to whack her hip against the side of the well as she tried to get away.
"Sesshoumaru!" She yelled in shock and relief. "You cant just go sneeking up on people like that." She raised her hand in the air to emphasize her point. "Can't you wear a bell or some..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes finally connected with his.
Kagome gasped as the blood red color sent a more intense chill down her spine.
She slowly lowered her hand and spoke more softly. "Se-Sesshoumaru?"
"You are in heat." His voice was deeper than his normal baritone and it sent a different kind of shiver through her body.