After Midnight by Indigo_miko
Between Dusk and Dawn
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha. It belongs to the wondrous, and sometimes frustrating, Rumiko Takahashi.
Prologue
Between Dusk and Dawn
The woman slowly circled the well. Her clothing tattered and the beginnings of an ugly purple bruise forming near her left temple. She paid little heed to the stark black tresses whipping across her vision nor the last waves of daytime heat stirring the grass around her ankles.
'Innocuous,' she thought as she skimmed her fingertips across the sun-warmed wood. Her head tilted to the side in a considering manner.
'Souta was right to be wary of you,' she directed her thoughts toward the structure. A rueful smile crawled over her lips. It matched her darkened eyes.
She noted she was still bleeding. A slow trickle roping down her forearm to drip from her fingertips. It stained the petals of the small yellow flowers near her feet. The wounds felt distant, far less real than the wood under her palm.
It was not smart for her to be here now. The scent of blood would draw predators. She couldn't bring herself to care.
'I will have my moment, all else be damned.' The muscles in her jaw tightened.
A tingle swept down her spine. It alerted her to the others approaching long before they broke the tree line. In her peripheral vision she saw them stop on the shadowy edge of the forest.
She wasn't sure if she was thankful for their hesitancy to approach or not.
Her kit hurried a few paces ahead of them, no doubt determined to comfort his mother. A red clad arm across his chest stopped him. He glanced up in question and received the shake of a snowy head in response.
'Imagine, it only took this for Inuyasha to finally show some tact.' A hollow laugh built up in her chest. Too much, it was simply all too much.
In a moment of philosophical thought she began to understand the battle with Naraku was like midnight in her life. It was a time between. Things long ago begun had ended. Things long ago ended had a chance to begin again.
Her attention turned to the group of seven beings awaiting her recognition.
Miroku was flexing his right hand, now bare of beads and glove. As the muscles worked, the ghost of a chime could be heard from the rings of his staff. His other arm was broken and lashed protectively to his chest. Blood dribbled sluggishly down his forehead.
Sango's eyes were still red and puffy. Nicks and scrapes ran the length of her body. Her arms were wrapped loosely around Kohaku, and the young boy held Kirara in his grip.
Shippou blinked curious eyes up to Kagome as she perused their group.
'Inuyasha.' Her gaze fell on the familiar unkempt silver hair. His dog ears twitched in anxiety. Slightly behind him and to his right stood Kikyo.
The two mikos locked appraising stares. Calculating brown clashed with dulled ocean blue. Though Kagome couldn't see it for the angle of their bodies she knew Inuyasha had his clawed hand entwined with the other priestess'.
It was now, after the battle, that she could feel her strength failing.
She sucked in a shaky breath. 'No tears.'
The eyes of the group watched her. In most could be seen understanding, but in one set there was such deep guilt looking at it cut her.
Despite their ragged appearance her friends seemed to shimmer.
This time for them was dawn.
'Second chances,' she thought.
Kagome turned back to the Bone Eater's Well and bowed deeply. It's depths peered back at her like the grave.
"Goodbye, my family," she whispered.
As the breeze caught her words she wondered if somewhere near a sink, in a kitchen she no longer had a way to get to, her mother would hear them and understand.
Turning back to her group she was surprised to see Sango had moved towards her. The taijiya searched her face for a moment before they embraced, linked arms, and the whole assembly headed back towards the village.
Casting a short glance over her shoulder Kagome was stunned. The well was afire in the dying glow of the sun. Shadows pooled around its edges.
For once it looked as it truly was, between.
And standing next to it silhouetted in the crimson light of the setting sun was...
'...Sesshomaru...'
In the moment before she ripped her eyes away from the unearthly vision Kagome wondered if she was headed into dawn, or dusk.
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AN:
Naraku: ::shuffles pages of script::
Inu-cast ::sits around drinking capri suns::
Indigo: Well, this is sort of the beginning. The story starts off a little slow but let me assure you it is Sess/Kag...
Kags: ::looks at Sessho and blushes::
Indigo: ::rolls her eyes:: I have no idea how long it'll take....
Naraku: ::shuffling script pages more frantically::
Indigo: ...but eventually we'll get there. It'll probably take a couple chapters to get them to even meet.
Naraku: WHAT!? I'm not even IN this fic!!
Indigo: ::scuffs shoe and looks guilty:: Well, you see...I don't like you.
Naraku: But I have so much character potential. ::gives creepy Naraku version of puppy eyes::
Inu-cast: ::shudders::
Indigo: Well, I'm terribly sorry. I only brought you in for a quick second to set up an event timeline. ....I want a new baddie.
Naraku: You can't do this to me! I've been the bane of the Inu-tachi existence for YEARS! ::throws script::
Indigo: Exactly! You're boring.....and you whine like a baby.
Sessho: ::snorts::
Indigo: Look, it's over. Just accept it. ::steers Naraku towards studio doors:: There's still plenty of work out there for you. If not in fanfic, then think reality TV.
::opens door and shoves Naraku out::
Naraku: Hey! ::slam::
Indigo: Well, just keep in mind I'm working toward that ever allusive lemon in the distance. It all depends on how well I can get Sesshy and Kags to work together.
Well you know the drill. Read and review.