Author's Notes: Frequent readers will note that I like to pick points in cannon and alternate from them. I call this "Alternate Cannon" rather than Alternate Universe or Cannon......wish they had that category.
From there.....The beginning of this might seem like its going the wrong way. Like I've posted on the wrong site because it's the wrong pairing. Don't worry about it. While most of the fic is completely unplanned.....the hook up of our favorites is one of those things that is going to happen, hell or high water. It just might take a bit to get there. Hang in there. I promise - a good, sweet ride.
1
Weekends were difficult. So much homework, so little time. Then there was the fact that she was ferrying between the Sengoku-jidai and her own time. She sighed as she hauled the big yellow bag over the rim of the well again, sans help from her almost fiancé. He was probably out demon hunting with Miroku again. Sango must be thrilled.
Thoughts of her now heavy with child adoptive sister brought a smile to Kagome's face. She was going to be an auntie in a month or so, and she could barely wait. What was really going to suck, though, was that she wouldn't be able to be in the past nearly as much as she wanted to be after the baby was born - not to mention the likelihood of her actually being there for the birth was slim to none. It irked her - a lot.
Prepping for college was what finishing high school was all about, but it was virtually pointless for her. Legally, she was required to do it, or her mother could face huge fines from the government, but since she wasn't going on to college, why was she going through this misery? With the defeat of Naraku, the disappearance of the Shikon, and an attempt at normalcy, the Inu-tachi had found a rhythm of life that worked - for now. Once Kagome was done with her mandatory schooling, she would be staying with InuYasha in the past with only occasional trips to the future to see her family.
As she finally flipped a leg over the rim of the ancient well, Kagome took an inventory of her surroundings. Extending her senses as far as they would go, she sensed nothing, but knew better than to trust that. Since Naraku's defeat, Sesshoumaru and his small pack had been hanging close to Edo, and it was nothing for him to be watching from the bushes, cloaking the entire presence of his party. He was good at that.
The trouble with Sesshoumaru is that he is utterly brilliant, sadistic, impossible to read, and operates on the fence - never black, nor white, but always gray areas with him. One never knew if he was watching you to protect you or watching you to find a good place to flay and display you. He was absolutely impossible to detect unless he wanted you to know that he was there, and if he wanted you to know he was there, it was because he wanted to scare the unholy shit out of you, nine times of ten.
This was not to say there weren't positive aspects to him. His adoration of Rin and Jaken were second to none, and his care for them and AhUn were essentially part of his make up - it would go against his nature to do anything other than care for them. He was also pretty easy on the eyes - at least what of him you could see. He was pretty heavily clothed - and in extreme finery, to boot. Not to mention armored. And full of weapons. Shaking her head, Kagome hoisted the pack over her back again and lugged it into the forest towards the village.
~(O)~
Watching her, while little brother dearest was off playing boy hero, was his duty. He was his family's alpha, and while neither his brother nor his brother's soon to be mate had ever submitted to him, he was honor bound to watch over, at the very least, her. InuYasha could watch out for himself nowadays. Shifting slightly in the underbrush, not making a sound, he watched the emotions play across her face - annoyance, nostalgia, caution, amusement, and more annoyance as she shook her head and walked in the direction of the village. More than likely, she knew he was here, despite the precautions of Rin and Jaken being miles away and his jyaki being well masked. The miko was very astute, despite her clumsy and annoying nature.
Getting up slowly as she moved out of his line of sight, he walked slowly behind her, always keeping her within eye shot. The years had disciplined her, he noted, as she walked steadily through the wood, not even breaking a sweat now with her heavy pack. He wondered briefly how much longer InuYasha would go before he would claim her. It had been two and a half years since Naraku's end. The girl traversed faithfully between her world and his for little more than teen angst and a promise of faithfulness from his brother. Either she was mentally challenged or a virtuous rarity unknown in this or any age.
Yeah. He knew about the well, and what it did, and where she was from. It explained a lot. Especially those damned clothes. The way she spoke. The lack of honorifics. The odd foods. Sesshoumaru had learned much in the two plus years he'd just watched her walk back and forth from well to village. She and the hanyou were two of a kind and definitely made for one another.
Watching her approach the huts, he turned back. His job was done as he scented the air and caught the familiar scent of his father and Izayoi a dozen miles or so away. The pup would be home soon, and she was safe enough in the village.
And who knew what Rin was doing to Jaken - the kappa might be either tied down and covered in flowers or she could have taught AhUn to sit on him. She was getting wily for her age... He really should check on things.
~(O)~