A New Life by Yuya

The Years Between Us

Disclaimer: I do not own the InuYasha series and it's characters.

A/N: I don't typically do these but I feel this story needs some explanation. I will try to keep as much OOC-ness out as possible and I will try to keep to most of the story's timelines. I have modified some details to fit my needs, of course. Please enjoy, friends.

In the dark of night, sword fighting could be heard resonating throughout the grounds where a woman in a tight leather suit practiced. The person she was fighting against seemed rather old but was agile and strong, and with a seemingly effortless push against her weapon, he sent her flying. The woman flipped in the air and landed on her feet, skidding for a small distance before setting off towards the elderly figure. 

"More power Kagome, your blows are half-hearted at best." The man reprimanded sternly. 

The woman known as Kagome growled as she leaped and did a semi-circular motion with her sharp weapon, only to be blocked and nearly sliced in half by the retaliating blow. Sprinting to the side, Kagome followed her opponent as he jumped on top of poles. She swung her weapon, a bat'leth, to her right side and held it straight as she sunk her feet into the sand beneath her and jumped towards the pole closest to her. Without pause, she jumped right off that one and straight onto the one behind her master and swung her bat'leth in a long arc. With a grunt, he received her blow with his juan and quickly flicked his wrist in a complete circle to hit her bat'leth full force. Without missing a beat, the master stepped and swiped his blade low, forcing Kagome to jump back. He approached her from the ground bellow and jumped with his juan pointing in the air in a stabbing motion. At the very last second, Kagome managed to hook the juan in one of the semi-circles of her weapon and shove her master at a safer distance away from her so she could regain her footing.

Just as she prepared another pounce, she stopped and looked towards the stone stairs leading to the entrance of her master's dojo. Kagome recognized the aura before she saw the white-clad figure reach the last step. She turned to her master and bowed at the waist. "Master Ma, thank you for the training." The older man simply held his sword behind him with both hands then nodded before leaving.

Kagome turned her dark head towards the other man waiting for her at the top of the stairs, a million questions in her mind as to his presence. She shook her head before strapping her weapon across her back and heading towards the far left side of the training grounds to get a large crate. Without a word to the newcomer, Kagome turned towards a building in the back of the property and set the crate down in order to remove her thigh-high boots and stepping onto he higher platform. Crate in hand, she made her way through several halls before coming to a set of shoji doors and went inside, aware of the person following her quietly. Once inside, she set the crate down into a small closet. "I don't remember inviting you in, Sesshoumaru."

The dog demon in question simply glanced around the room calmly. "You have been gone for years now, miko." He simply said after a moment of watching the woman shuffle about the room, keeping her hands busy under his intense stare."I have heard from Rin that you cause quite the panic amongst those you call friends." 

"InuYasha's dead now, Sesshoumaru. I had to do what I needed to survive." Kagome sighed, untying her hair from its tall ponytail. Sesshoumaru grunted and looked around the room they were in. 

It appeared as it were hers alone, her scent was predominant in here. Scouring the bookshelves with his golden eyes, Sesshoumaru spoke in low, even tones. "Your response to my brother's death was to learn martial arts." Perhaps it was a question, but it sounded more like criticism to Kagome. 

She whipped around and balled her fists. "I had no choice!" She hissed. The leather-clad miko started pacing, glaring at Sesshoumaru once in a  while. "I had no protector anymore. Sango and Miroku have their family now and Shippo has kitsune training." She brushed a frustrated hand through her hair. "After Kaede passed away, I had nowhere to go and no one to talk to, so I left and sought Master Ma." With a huff, the dark-haired woman sat in front of Sesshoumaru, arms and legs crossed. "It's been really hard." She grumbled under her breath, her lower lip jutting out in a slight pout.

Sesshoumaru turned his gaze on her, taking note of her body language and held onto the urge to roll his eyes. She acts and looks like a mere child. Can this infant truly be the strongest priestess - nay, the strongest female in existence? Sesshoumaru eyed her for a moment more. She radiates power, yet she is merely able to wield but a fraction of it. He closed his eyes before standing up. What a waste. Sesshoumaru headed to the shoji door and made to open it. "Girl, you shall come to me when your training here ends." With that, he walked out into the cold night and left the miko all alone in her room.

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Five years later

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Kagome's dark cloak danced in the wind as she stared at the stone engraved with InuYasha's name, sitting right beside the one with his mother's name. She threw a flower in between the graves and turned towards the east where she would journey to Kaede's village to visit her friends. She heaved a great sigh as she thought of her long absence and what it could mean for their friendship. She bit her lip as she walked down a narrow path flanked by long grass lazying in the wind. Up ahead, the sun was shining pretty fiercely but the miko wore a cloak with a hood to keep the sun out of her eyes and to keep an air or mystery against possible attackers. She had found that hiding her figure and face, she gained a certain advantage as she kept her opponents guessing. It was a slight advantage, but one none the less. 

The other advantage she had was her outfit under the cloak. Kagome wore a tight leather outfit and thigh high boots that ended in a thick three inch heel. The boots flared slightly around her knees and the base of her thighs. Around her upper thighs were throwing knives strapped on both legs and a  dark green sash was around her waist from there.The sash tied into a limp bow with the extra fabric reaching the backs of her knees. Behind her, there were two wakizashi criss-crossing and a bat'leth pointing from one shoulder to the opposing hip. The bat'leth had been forged at her request, soon after she started her training with Master Ma, it had been difficult to describe but was well worth it as she had become quite skilled with the weapon. Kagome had remembered seeing the bat'leth in her time while watching an american show from the 60's, she had vaguely wondered about copyright infringement at the time of her request but quickly dismissed the idea.

Surely, she had centuries before she needed to worry about such a thing.

Kagome smiled to herself, now entering a wooded area with a  wider path. She tapped the stone figure on the side of the road with her gloved hand. The gloves she wore went up to just under her shoulders and flared around her arm much like her boots did around her knees. Her shoulders were completely bare as her top only came up around her breasts in a sweetheart neckline.She was fully aware that the low cut top appeared to hug and lift her very generous bosom in a rather scandalous way, but it had proved distracting to many a male she had fought against. She was not above using her looks to gain an edge in a fight, which was something Sango had taught her as being quite important for female fighters. In her original time, Kagome was used to seeing women showing off too much skin, but not the people from this time. It was sometimes a bit of a nuissance when more conservative people spoke up about her attire, attempting to shame her in public.

The cloak came in quite handy in times where her outfit was an unwanted distraction.

She pulled the cloak tighter around her as she heard footsteps ahead of her and could detect three separate auras. It had become a necessity to be able to judge her surrounding on an almost constant basis, her powers tended to attract the sort of being that sought to use it for their own. Kagome made sure her hood was in place before the path turned a little and brought three human males into sight. She could tell they were not going to be any trouble even before one of them offered a greeting as he walked past. She nodded her head in response, offering a quick greeting in return before continuing on her way. She heaved a soft sigh and looked at the sky through the branches above her. It was early afternoon and she wouldn't reach the village before dawn at this pace. Thoughts of the village brought on thoughts of her friends once more.

Kagome had been gone for eight years, yet, she had not aged a day. The hood not only hid her face from view, but also the mark on her forehead that meant she was now an immortal miko like Midoriko was before she turned her soul into the jewel of four souls. The mark meant that Midoriko was Kagome's ancestor, as well, and Kikyou was not her incarnation.

What only a few people knew that Kagome had absorbed the jewel after her wish. She was born with it and therefore she would die with it. It wasn't a bad thing nor was it a good thing, either. It simply meant that Kagome's destiny was to be full of adventures. The girl snorted to herself. Full of danger, more like. She wouldn't have it any other way and the reason because apparent to her as the village she had missed came into view. A feeling of joy quickly spread through Kagome's chest, accompanied by a feeling of being home. This was her home and always would be. She faltered somewhat, as faces flashed in her mind's eye. She knew she would get to see them again one day, if she lived long enough, but that was still so far away from now. She sighed to herself and kept on walking, passing by more and more people as she got closer to Edo. Truly, the place had become much larger since she last saw it.

Again, she was flooded with images of the future and knowing that she would get to see this place grow whilst knowing how much bigger it was destined to be, made her pride as though she was thinking of her child. Kagome waved hello to yet more passerby, this time they were a couple she had once helped in the past. As Kagome got onto the main road that cut through the middle of Edo, children raced alongside then passed her, presumably to tell of her arrival. She remembered them fondly as toddlers and could not believe how quickly they had grown. It was truly amazing to her how they still remembered the miko that used to travel with InuYasha. A small pang accompanied the visual of her long lost friend in her mind. She sighed. 

All too soon, Kagome heard the unmistakable sound of a loud slap being received and could not believe the monk hadn't learned. By the sound of it, they were not far off and Kagome knew they had come to see for themselves that the miko was truly returned. She quickened her pace so she could meet up with them and finally make their reunion. Sango's head became visible over the small incline in the road and soon both women's feet flew across the path to throw arms around each other. Miroku, being slowed by their progeny, finally met up with the now crying women and had a sheepish look upon his face as he picked a the angry red hand print on his cheek. Kagome peeked around the curtain that was Sango's luscious hair and spotted a small boy's head around the monk's shoulder. She gasped at the addition to the family and reached out as if in a trance.

Sango giggled and plucked the child from the sling on Miroku's back. "Kagome, this is our son Daisuke." She poked his cheek dimple then giggled as he smiled a gummy smile. "Daisuke, this is my friend Kagome." Both parents looked at their son adoringly and Kagome felt a pinch in her heart but smiled none the less.

"Can I hold him?" She asked softly, her voice filled with awe at the small human that her friends created.

Miroku nodded. "Of course you can." He said warmly and motioned for Sango to hand Daisuke over to Kagome, easily side-stepping the mischievous twins as they ran circles around their father. A soft reprimand from their mother changed their behaviour very quickly, but they all knew they would start up again soon.

Kagome cooed softly to the infant in her arms as they walked back to Sango and Miroku's hut. The child grasped her finger firmly and Kagome smiled. "You'll be a strong warrior some day Daisuke." Sango turned her head to Kagome and nodded.

"Daisuke will be trained by Kohaku as soon as he comes of age." She confirmed. 

Kagome looked up. "Ho? And where is Kohaku now? Is he doing good?"

Sango nodded but Miroku answered. "He's taken on the responsibility of demon-hunting since my lovely Sango here" He gave his wife's shoulder an affectionate squeeze. "Is taking care of our family."

Again, Kagome felt a pinch in her heart but refused to acknowledge it. Instead, she peered down at the child once and kept on walking towards the hut her friends called their home. She knew they would let her stay, but Kagome did not want to impose so she planned on staying in a hut she knew the village kept free in case she returned. It had been the hut she had shared with InuYasha before his death. She looked up at the sound of her name and saw that they were already there. Kagome handed Daisuke back over to Sango and helped Miroku as he collected the twins then headed inside for a late supper. 

They chatted happily for a few hours, the children having been put to bed long ago, but all too soon, it was also time for the adults to retire. Kagome stood and gathered her weapons at the door. "You can stay the night, you know. We have room." Came Miroku's soft voice, no doubt attempting not to wake his children. Kagome looked at her friends and sighed.

"Come on, no one's been there in years, it hasn't been cleaned out." Sango said, frowning slightly at the thought of her best friend sleeping on a dusty futon.

Kagome smiled warmly. "I'm sure it's fine in there." She said as she shouldered the last of her weapons and flipped her cloak around her shoulders. "I'll be fine." With that, she wished them a good night and left their home. The truth was that she was loathe to sleep in the home she shared with her lost friend, but she was more so at the thought to have to see the happy family for too long at a time. Kagome bit her lip in thought. She was envious of their life together as it was something she had wished for herself for as long as she could remember. She absently stroked her hip where the scar remained from a time long ago when lady centipede ripped the jewel from her body. 

All too soon, Kagome was faced with the hut that held so many intimate memories that her heart ached most painfully. 

Would she ever get over the pain of losing her past and her future?