The Tides of Time by Megami no Hikari
Enter The Fray
InuYasha and it's character's are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
There once was a girl from the future trying to find herself in the past.
Kagome was perhaps a little too optimistic and just a bit naive. However, she was not the least bit stupid. Others tended to underestimate her intelligence but learning the ropes in a world one only read about in fairy tales and history books had a hell of a learning curve for a modern day teenager. In the end, she was far wiser and stronger than she appeared but allowed others to make assumptions as they may using their ignorance to her advantage. Even her ragtag collective of shard hunters treated her with kid gloves. Sure she'd seen her fair share of trouble and scrapes, sometimes more than necessary, but survived all the same.
3 years had come and gone since Mistress Centipede wrenched Kagome from her peaceful life into Feudal Era Japan. 3 years since she discovered the awakening of the mysterious power burgeoning within her very soul. 3 years since she awakened the half demon InuYasha and subsequently lost her heart to him. And during that span of time, her heart lay broken by that same hanyou.
Kagome never intended to fall in love with the nearly feral hanyou boy she mistakenly released from the Goshinboku tree. He almost suceeded in killing her that day but somehow they ended up traveling together on a never-ending quest to reclaim the shards of the Shikon no Tama. During their adventures, he managed to save her hide more times than she could count. Eventually their reluctant alliance transformed into a budding friendship as they continued their journey. One day, Kagome realized that she had fallen deeply into unrequited love. Inu Yasha never deceived her nor insinuated that there was a true possibility of a future between them.
Even though he never gave her false hopes, the plain spoken inu hanyou always seemed conflicted when it came to her. He kept her close but never tried to cross the line that would truly push their relationship past the boundaries of friendship. After the hag Urasue resurrected Kikyo, the rift between Kagome and Inu Yasha grew. Although he was posessive when she was around other males, he never tried to kiss her nor did he show her any obvious signs of affection. The only time he had ever held her in an passionate embrace resulted in her being pushed into the well in his attempt to force her to remain in her own time. Although he meant to protect her with his efforts, in the end he only managed to add to her growing frustration. Each time he ran off in search of the undead priestess Kikyo, Kagome could feel a little crack form in the blissful future she envisioned once Naraku was defeated.
The moment she watched InuYasha embrace the empty clay body that was once the vessel for Kikyo's soul and kiss her lifeless lips, she realized that no matter how much she loved him she would always live in the shadow of Kikyo's memory. She watched InuYasha lock away his pain refusing to acknowledge his sorrow even as tears brimmed in his golden eyes. Now Kagome could not help but to mourn for the star crossed lovers as well as herself. There was no triumph in her heart for she was not so callous or selfish to rejoice in her former rival's demise. How could she when their feelings had been so similar? She had that epiphany after seeing the understanding that shone in the resurrected miko's eyes on the day Kagome put her life at risk to save her from Naraku's Miasma. Before her 2nd death, Kikyo finally recognized Kagome’s place in InuYasha’s life just as the blue-eyed miko realized how necessary the hanyou’s first love was to his happiness.
She never saw him truly mourn and part of her knew he always would inside. What woman could live with the idea that no matter how much she loved a man, she would stand as a reminder and testament of what could have been? What was she to do? Kagome knew she would never willfully abandon InuYasha even if it hurt to look at him more and more each day. Weeks continued to lapse since Kikyo’s death and he had yet to utter word about it. The absence of grief and brave face he continued to put on really bothered her.
She had so many questions in her heart that she was afraid to have answered. What was her place in the dynamic of InuYasha’s life? What would happen once this journey she began so long ago ended? She wanted to remain by his side but where did she stand now? If he decided to move on with her how could she be so sure that he was truly happy with what she could give and that his feelings were genuine? If she still saw shadows of Kikyo's reflection when she looked into a mirror, how did Inu Yasha feel when he looked at her? Her heart twisted in her chest as her mind conjured the idea that there was a possibility that he saw her as a poor substitute for his deceased lover.
The usually cheery young woman’s contemplative mood persisted since Kikyo’s death. Her mind continued to whirl with questions she had no answers to and thoughts that seemed to go nowhere. She became noticeably quieter and often lost. Not even InuYasha’s persistent questions and rude remarks could rouse more than a half-hearted rebuke. She batted aside everyone’s concerns as best she could plastering a false smile on her face as a shield to her real thoughts and insecurities.
Kagome did not want to distract the group with her worries when they were so close to completing their quest. They had more pitfalls in detours in their journey as it was. She didn’t want to burden anyone with her turbulent emotions.
It didn’t help that the group was on the verge of drastic change. Sesshoumaru and his mismatched band of followers approached the group a nearly two months after the Lord of West defeated the water demon Numawatari with his Meido Zangetsuho* with an unbelievable request.
Although their paths had crossed on numerous occasion, Kagome was shell-shocked when he stalked into camp silently followed by his jubilant young ward Rin, Jaken and A-Un. All Hell broke loose immediately afterwards.
*Tensaiga's offensive technique after being reforged by Totosai after Sesshoumaru's request
-This is my first Sess/Kag fanfiction. I was once a Inu/Kag shipper but even though it's canon the pairing seems so forced that I began to wonder if it even made sense. It may never be canon but a Sess/Kag just seems much hotter and has so much potential. Additionally, I find that in an effort to make Kagome look like a better deal authors tend to demonize Kikyo despite all she's done to redeem herself since her ressurection. Cut the woman some slack, she literally went to Hell and back.
*Please note I shifted the timeline from a few days to a couple months for consistency's sake - 9/17