Standing Tall by Anya Rose

Prologue

Stuck

"I don't understand how this could have happened," Kagome moaned, covering her face with her hands. "Why can't I get through?" Her voice was muffled, but Inuyasha, who was standing beside her crouched form, placed a hand on her shoulder. "The magic is gone, Inuyasha! I can't feel it anymore!" The hanyou nodded in agreement, even though she wasn't looking at him, crouching beside as the smell of her tears reached his nose. She leaned into his half-embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist. "What if it never opens up again?"

Her question was quiet, but the whisper was almost too much for her friend to bear. He hugged her tighter, scooping her up and sitting on the edge of the well, letting her shift until she was comfortable in his lap. "I don't think it'll stay closed, 'Gome," he said gruffly, not sure of what he could say to soothe the hurt he smelled coming from her skin. "Maybe you've still got somethin' you need to do."

Kagome sniffled, burrowing her face further into the warmth of his fire rat. "What else could I possibly have to do, Inuyasha? We fixed the jewel, we defeated Naraku, and we even got rid of the jewel! What else is there?" Her small body shook, and Inuyasha could barely stand the grief rolling off of her, his ears slowly and steadily pressing back against his skull.

"I don't know, Kagome."

They were silent for a moment, and Kagome sniffed again, shifting so that her head was fitted more snugly into the crook of his neck. "I mean, there isn't any reason for it to have closed... What is Mama going to do when I don't come back? I told her that all this Naraku business would be over soon, and I know she would have expected me home by now." Inuyasha couldn't find anything to say, and Kagome lifted her head, salt tracks trailing down her cheeks. "We should go to Kaede's," she mumbled, loosening her grip on him and standing. Inuyasha stood after her, watching as she dusted off her skirt and started toward the village.

-----~-----

"Kagome!"

Instantly, Kagome found herself wrapped in Sango's arms, the slayer's words almost unintelligible. "Sango, I can't breathe," she mumbled after a moment, but she thought that maybe the lack of conviction in her voice might have been what caused her friend to let her go.

"Kagome, what's wrong?"

The former Shikon miko pressed into the hut, sinking down onto the floor in front of the fire. "The well closed." Her statement was met with silence, and as Inuyasha entered, Miroku seemed to be the only one to snap out of the stupor.

"Lady Kagome, what do you mean?" She looked up, and the grief in her eyes shone much brighter in the light of the fire.

"I mean it closed, Miroku. I thought that after I made my wish, I would go back to my time, but the well is closed. I can't get home." The teenager allowed Shippo to climb into her lap, and she hugged her adopted son close to her chest, holding in her tears.

"Oh, Kagome!" The young woman was suddenly engulfed in Sango's arms again, and Kagome finally let go, sobbing onto her friend's shoulder. Faintly, she felt another set of arms wrap around the both of them, and she shifted in order to accommodate Miroku's embrace, crying for all she was worth.

In the end, Sango managed to lie her down, cradling her head in her lap and stroking her hair. Miroku could see the immense worry in his love's eyes, and he watched as Kagome slowly relaxed, her eyes closing from exhaustion. Knowing that Sango wouldn't want to move her, he shifted until he could sit next to them, beckoning Shippo to their side as the kit stood looking worriedly at his mother.

"Sango, my love, I feel that Lady Kagome will need some girl time when she awakens." The slayer nodded, and then remembered that the old priestess had gone out to collect herbs just thirty minutes before Kagome arrived.

"Could you talk to Kaede for me? Tell her what happened?"

"Of course. Inuyasha, will you go out and get something for her to eat when she wakes?"

The hanyou looked blankly at him for a moment, then nodded and stood, leaving the hut without a word. Miroku followed after a moment, and Sango was left alone, the young woman she had come to think of as a sister asleep in her lap.

"Sango, will Mama be alright?" The young fox demon scooted closer to Kagome's side, a tiny paw stroking her hair.

"She'll be fine, Shippo," the slayer answered, hoping beyond hope that she was right.

-----~-----

Across the country, a pair of violet eyes stared triumphantly into a bowl of water, the image in the middle of it just as Keiko predicted; the little miko was distraught, and although it would take he and his followers a while to mobilize, he was sure that the pressure of never returning home would be forever pressing against her mind. Perfect.

"Keiko, bring Azumi to me, now."

"Of course, my lord." The neko demoness bowed out of the room, and he continued to watch the miko in the Seer's Glass, content with the way things had gone that day.

"You called, Kato?"

Turning his eyes to his most faithful servant, he nodded, watching as she waited for his command. "I want you to watch the village for me while Keiko and I begin our recruitment. Your sister will not be able to See anything during that time; I will need her energies for other things. Can you do that for me?" The neko, who was more willowy and taller than her sister, nodded once, her gray eyes like steel.

"I suppose I can," she answered, although his request hadn't been a question. He nodded and smiled, motioning her forward as he pulled a prominent erection from his hakamas, watching as Azumi's normally emotionless eyes lit up.

"Come, mate."

She came quickly, and Kato smiled as she moved her kimono, sinking down onto him with a sigh. He pulled her hair from the chopsticks that held it in its intricate design, winding his claws into the chocolate tresses as he buried his face in her neck, thrusting up into her tight sheath for a moment before flipping them and asserting his dominance over her.

As they finished, he sank his fangs into his mating mark, loving the moan that fell from her throat and the shudders that shook her lovely form. Licking the wound, he kissed her chin, looking down into her face as pure calm fell over her features. For a moment, a flash of something, like a memory long forgotten, caused his gut to twist painfully, but it passed quickly, and he shook it off, planting a light kiss against his mate's nose, waiting until her breathing calmed before beginning to move in her again.

He would not finish with her for a while, but in the back of his mind, he reveled in the thought that soon, all of Japan would be his. He couldn't wait.

-----~-----
Author's Note: Let me know what you think, and Happy Fourth!