The Willow Maid by Rachel

He heard a young girl singing

Disclaimer: The only one for this Fic. I do not own Inuyasha, nor the song The Willow Maid.

A young man walked through the forest

With his quiver and hunting bow

He heard a young girl singing

And followed the sound below

There he met the maiden

Who lives in the willow

A distant and familiar scent drifted across his path. Rain, wildflowers and lighting were mixed in with new notes that aroused his curiosity further. He was far from Edo and it had been a century since his ward had passed, so the miko could not still live. Yet her scent was here and faintly he could hear her voice raised in song. He turned and followed, intent on having answers.

Gradually, the sound grew though he still could not understand the words. Mist threaded through the trees as he walked without a sound. This was an ancient forest deep within the West. He did not often have cause to patrol here, but news of a strange healer and encroachment from a nearby human domain had reached him. It was his duty to investigate. Had he not found the miko's scent, he would have continued to the youkai village to question them.

As it was, they could wait. His beast still mourned her rejection, and her death. If she was still alive…he was not sure how he would handle it. He needed to know.

The trees opened into a clearing around the largest willow he had ever seen. It rivaled even Bokuseno, the ancient magnolia who provided the sheaths for his father's fangs. Tucked close to the trunk was a small hut and garden. The clearing was strewn with tiny mushrooms, the caps colored a bright red. The maid in the garden fell silent and looked up as he approached. 

It was her. The same scent, the same face though she had undoubtedly changed - her ink black hair had turned smoky and grown out with red ends. Her green eyes flew wide as she recognized him, the color iridescent, shifting to the blue he remembered as she smiled. 

"Sesshomaru! What are you doing here?" Swiftly and far more gracefully than he expected, she rose and crossed to hug him. He stiffened, confused and unsure. She noticed and hastily backed away. "Sorry, I just haven't seen you in so long. I missed you. Why did you stay away?"

The inu stared at her. Her scent remained clear, despite the new notes he could tell she was not lying. "You missed- me?"

She struck his shoulder "Of course I did! You're important to me!" Shyness overcame her and she ducked her head, smoke and fire locks shifting over her face. Her voice whispered "It hurt when you never came back."

Everything in him had frozen. What was this? She had… "You sent me away."

Hair tossed as she met his eyes in shock "What?"

Inwardly Sesshomaru trembled. Had he misunderstood? Had he wasted time they could have been…? "I spoke to the whelp of my intent, and he challenged me for mating rights." Her eyes were wide and she started shaking. More gently he continued "When you interrupted you told me to leave - accepting his suit over mine."

—---

Kagome barely heard his next words. Sesshomaru had intended to mate her? And thought that she rejected him? Rejected him because Inuyasha… Inuyasha had? 

She recalled that moment with perfect clarity. Sesshomaru's barely hidden unhappiness as he turned away. Inuyasha's smug smirk as he walked towards her. Her fists clenched. Inuyasha had known. He had known what she had accidentally done. And he had never told her. 

"That no good son of a fucking bitch!" Sesshomaru's eyes widened in an uncharacteristic display of emotion as her rant began. "He fucking knew! He knew I had no idea!" She paced away from him. "And he used it! He deliberately used my ignorance to make me reject you."

Sesshomaru scoffed. "The half-breed is hardly intelligent enough-" 

She whirled to face him, her finger in the air. "Oh-hoh no. You always underestimated him. Yes he's an idiot but a clever one. How else did he survive as a child? The two of you fighting when you visited was practically a tradition. I always spoke with him first when I broke it up so he'd storm away and I could spend more time with you!"

He reached for her but she whirled away again, too incensed to stand still. "And he knew that! He knew that's why I did it! He accepted that we were best as friends, but that didn't stop him from chasing off anyone else who tried to get my attention! But to actually claim mating right he never intended to use?"

She paused and looked back at him. "You know, that's right before Sango and Miroku left to rebuild the slayer's village. Sango wasn't happy with him since the fight, but she didn't say anything. Did he chase them away too?" Kagome groaned and gripped her hair. Taking deep breaths she crossed to the willow's trunk and leaned against it. 

Sesshomaru stepped to her side. "The Slayer approached this one when he passed their village. She asked about the cause of the fight, but this o-" he hesitated, and she turned to look at him. His mask had dropped, the pain in his eyes clear. "I was too wounded to respond."

Kagome sighed. "I suppose it doesn't matter now. I can't even yell at him for it."

He tilted his head in confusion. "You cannot?"

She looked at him surprised. "You don't - well of course not, you never came back to Edo." She straightened and lifted her hands to frame his face. "He died. A long time back."

She watched as he absorbed that information. "How?"

Shrugging, she shook her head. "The best I could figure out, it had something to do with his human nights. Humans age faster the more stress their body is under and his body has been through enough to kill a human several times over. He always complained of aches and pains, but one night when he turned he just collapsed and didn't make it to sunrise."

Sesshomaru acknowledged the information and dismissed it as his hands cupped hers, not allowing her to pull away. "You are correct, his actions do not matter now. However, we are still alive. Still, alone?"

Kagome blushed, looking up at him. How could he possibly be alone? Surely after all this time he'd gotten over her unintentional rejection and found a demoness to mate. "Things happened and I never found someone, but didn't you-?"

The inu pulled her close and shook his head. "No one could compare to you." She blushed, as his voice whispered in her ear. "I have always enjoyed your scent. It still calls to me, but it has changed. What happened?"

Author's Note: I know I should be working on Schemes, but inspiration struck for this story. It would not let go until it was finished at like 12:00 last night. I'm very happy with it and I hope you like it.