By his side by Laura

On a rainy night

It was dark. Not just dark. You know, darker than usual. She couldn’t see a thing past her fingers when she put them in front of her face. The situation was not good at all, as anything could attack her without much of a warning, and it could be too late for her to react. Yes, sure, she could sense their youki, and know if they were coming, but sometimes powerful youkai hide it if they are trying to attack surreptitiously. She was after all by herself, accompanied only by a small child spirit that hadn’t left her side for months now. It comforted her when she need it and provided solitude when things got hard. But she knew that the ghost needed her more than she did, trapped between both worlds as he was. 

Anyway, being alone in the forest with a storm about to come was not wise. She had become more powerful, everyone in feudal Japan knew it by now. Rumors of her training for the past two years had been spread all around the country. Some had even started to believe that she was the descendant of Midoriko. She laughed at the idea. However, it still didn't mean that she should’ve been wondering alone, not making camp when it was already past midnight. 

Many things had happened since Naraku’s death and the wish of the jewel’s riddance. Kagome was living and traveling around Japan on her own now. She had been living in the feudal era for three years now. She even graduated high school with her friends. But one day she went to see the well one more time and felt it working. She  was so happy and didn't thought about it once: She decided right that moment to go back to the past to live alongside Inuyasha. 

Her mother and family had been sad but she knew university was not for her. She wanted excitement, adventure. How could she lead a normal life like she had for those three years (after she completed her duty as protector of the Shikon no Tama), when every night she craved to travel, to go back, to see Inuyasha again? She had lucid dreams almost every night. She could not have taken it anymore. She had tried hard to adapt to living in her own time, but it just wasn’t hers anymore. She didn’t belong there. Her heart was somewhere else. 

When she want back, Inuyasha greeted her smiling. He also had been near the well, missing her. He had never failed to visit every three days. He proposed to her right away, after all, even if he had loved Kikyo in the past, he had also loved Kagome, especially during the last year they had been together. 

Kagome was amused to find that Sango and Miroku had married and had three children already: two beautiful twin girls and a new born baby boy. Kagome wanted that too, and she knew she didn’t have to wait long. Preparations for the wedding started right away. She also started learning about herbs, antidotes and exorcism from Jimanji and Kaede, who had Rin to look over, as the little girl needed a human female to guide her.

Sesshomaru, who visited sometimes to bring things to her, had left her in Kaede's care. However, he never stopped to look at Kagome. He did so just once. When she had come back from the future after being away for three years. He had been passing to leave a new kimono to Rin, when Jaken pointed to him that Kagome had come back. He hadn’t look at her first, to avoid looking at Inuyasha too, who was with her at the time. The siblings' relationship was not good yet, even if some tiny improvements had been made. Too tiny. He only did look when she called him big brother, kind of her way of announcing to him that she had accepted his brother’s proposal of marriage. He had to know, right? Plus, at least for old times sake. She missed their conversations but knew that then as she was engaged, being alone with another male was out of the question, even more if he was a youkai. She tried not to think too much about it.

At first traveling around with Inuyasha and taking care of Rin and Sango’s kids had been good enough. She was happy. But she felt something was missing and she couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was. She had the feeling she was alone even when she was in Inuyasha's embrace. So she begun behaving strange around Inuyasha, and he noticed it after a while. The preparations for their wedding hadn't being going so well either as many things to do came up to them each day, like helping Miroku and Sango to move to the new Tayija village Kohaku had helped put back together, where they were going to all live now, except Kaede. Also, Shippo had decided he wanted to keep his training, as he had around ninety-eight years of it left and he wanted to do it fast, saying he couldn’t let Rin outgrow his height. Parting with him had been painful as China was very far away, even more so because there weren't any planes to shorten the distance like in the future.

It was also hard getting used to not having her future gadgets. Life in the past was harsh, even if Inuyasha tried to make it easier for her. Sometimes he would yell at her because she couldn’t be satisfied with anything, always complaining to him. He called her a cry baby. No matter how much he tried for her, it never was enough. She knew he was right, and she felt bad towards him. They were both stressed out with everything that was going on. Their fights were a regular thing. It was a cycle, and Kagome feared it wouldn’t end. She was not enjoying herself anymore. Was that how it was supposed to be?

Nonetheless, one day, a passing miko, an old acquaintance of Kaede came to visit the old lady. Kagome was there when she entered the hut where they had been preparing dinner, as Kagome had been living there with her and Rin. She was going to move to Sango's village in a week. 

Sayuri, the miko, told Kagome that she was from a miko training temple in a mountain not so far from Edo. Kagome listened to her tales enthralled. They all were independent women who dedicated their lives to the riddance of evil youkai and spirits. They assisted those in need, and did not marry. Living in the temple until they were fully trained, and then roaming around Japan, coming back when they wanted. Most of them decided to settle down in some village only after they got old. Kagome wanted to know this place. She wanted a new life and she knew this was it. She asked her if she could join them and Sayuri said she didn’t know, only the Mother Miko could accept new trainees in the temple after assessing their power.

Kagome packed her things and left a letter to Inuyasha telling him she was sorry but that she couldn’t marry him, something didn’t feel right. It was not his fault and she wished for him a good life and to be happy. She didn’t say where she was going, just that she was going to train and to please not look for her. It was the best for both of them, she wrote, even if it was hard. She cried a river while saying goodbye, the sheet of paper of her letter paying the price. She did love him but she knew they weren't right for each other. They were too similar, and that made them fight all the time. She couldn't live like that. They were both miserable. 

She also cried when she hugged Kaede and caressed little Rin’s cheek. She had had to said goodbye many times now in her life, but it was still hard. As she was on her way to the temple with the miko Sayuri, she thought about the possible life she was leaving behind, Inuyasha’s face coming to her mind as she wondered how he would react when he came back from hunting and saw the letter she left with Kaede. Would he be heartbroken as she was? He probably would. But her decision had been made, and even though her face was sad, her steps were strong taking her to a better destiny, or so she was what she hoped.

She was well greeted at the temple. The Mother Miko was surprised with her power and compared her to Midoriko. From there the rumors of her descending from her started. She denied it but people didn’t listen to her. Training was hard but she loved the exhilaration of it. During the first few days, the getting up at three in the morning and cleaning with the other mikos was hard but it got easier with time. For once she felt she was doing the right thing. 

However, even if she had told Inuyasha not to find her, about three times or so he showed up asking her to come back, to marry him, saying that he missed her like crazy, that he couldn’t live without her, but all three times Kagome rejected him, sending him back to Edo, telling him not to come again, claiming that she didn’t love him anymore. But she knew it was not true, as many nights she cried herself to sleep, or others didn’t sleep at all thinking about him and not being able to appeased the hurt of her own heart. Meditation and training had helped a lot, but it was not enough to ease the sickness in her heart. She still felt lonely as if something was missing in her life. But she kept wondering….what was it?

Strangely, those nights she had rather strange dreams were Sesshoumaru came out. Her conversations about the stars and constellations with him kept playing in her head. She wanted to see him, she realized. If not, how come he came out in her mind over and over again? It was as if he and his hanyou brother were fighting inside her head over who could had more of her thinking time. She marked it off as the consequence of being lonely. She wanted to feel real love, and she hadn’t felt it with Inuyasha. But why was she thinking of his older brother? He was attractive, yes, and wise, sure, and a rich, powerful lord. However, he was a full youkai who hated humans and had little compasion, even if he had learned a bit by having dear ones to protect. He’d still kill whoever bothered him or got on his way. She was no match for him, so why the hell did she thought about him so much? 

After two years of training, she was allowed to roam Japan, and she found it as an opportunity to release herself from her interior ache. She was taught at the temple to not depend on anyone, to be pleased with solitude, to welcome the feeling that being powerful gave her, to never allow anyone to look down on her, and she had decided to keep it that way. Many daiyoukais came to claim her hand while she was training, as she had become so strong. Many craved her. She could now kill ten youkais with her arrows, or five by purifying them with her own hands. She had a lot of energy, so much that she had never felt so alive.

She had been traveling for three months when she met Kukiro, the little spirit boy that follow her everywhere. After a tiring day of helping a near village in the southeast of Japan, she had made camp in a cave and was looking for some wood to make a fire when she saw him crying near the river. She asked him for his story. He had been killed by his own mother and he didn’t understand why. He was sick when he died, barely four years old. Kagome cried with him, not comprehending either why a woman would kill her own child. She couldn’t help him cross to the other world because she couldn’t alleviate the pain in his heart. So she told him to follow her. She would heal him slowly by loving him as a son. He reminded her so much of Shippo. She gave her some of her energy to make his body less ethereal. He was grateful and told her he would serve her for as long as he could. 

That had been three months ago and now there she was, heading West, with loyal Kukiro by her side, wondering if she would have to walk all night until morning as with a storm pouring down so hard, sleep was out of the question. Her clothes were already all wet. She was walking slow trying not to fall down and to keep her accelerated heartbeat in check, as that and the scent of fear could draw youkais even quicker than the sound of footsteps hitting the muddy ground. The forest reduced her options for cover a lot. She had decided to walk all night, see where her footsteps took her, as no cover or safe haven for camp had shown itself so far.

Kukiro stopped suddenly, and so did she. Someone was approaching. And really fast. A youkai. No, a Daiyoukai. He’s aura was so powerful that she could feel it from a kilometer away. He wasn’t trying to hide it. Her muscles tensed up, and she grabbed an arrow and putting it in her bow, prepared to attack whomever was coming onto her. He  began to approached slowly as he came closer. When he was about two meters, she could know by his aura who he was. She relaxed. He was no enemy. Well, he wasn’t exactly a friend either. 

"Hello, Seshoumaru-sama”. She bowed her head a little as a greeting. Even if they had spend many moments together during the search of Naraku, it didn’t mean that she was as comfortable with him as to not show him respect. Probably no one ever did. 

"Hn, what are you doing here all alone miko?” He looked around her, spotting Kukiro and narrowing his eyes when he saw him, but quickly dismissing him to return to observing her. The miko had changed in all those years. Her garments were a different color, her hair longer and straighter. Her aura had grown and she was so powerful now. He smiled in his insides.

“I couldn’t find a place to make camp because of the storm, so I was searching for one." As she looked at him upside down, she was internally pleased to see him. They hadn’t seen each other in a long time. He looked even better than before, if that was even possible. He had probably been living at his fortress, and that’s why he looked more taken care of than before. Not that he looked any less back then, is just that now his clothes were all silk, his hair neatly tied in a matching ribbon with the colors of his house. He looked regal from head to toe. So hard not to sigh upon the sighting of such a handsome male. 

"Why isn’t my brother with you?” He raised his eyebrows at her sigh. Was she tired? She looked so. How many hours had she been walking around here in the pouring rain? And why hadn’t she met his disgrace of a brother? As far as Sesshoumaru knew, Inuyasha had been looking for her since she had left the miko temple. Why hadn’t they met if news had come to him this afternoon that he had entered the Western lands this morning to carry his search as her scent lead there?

“I don’t keep contact with him anymore" Her reply was rather cold. She didn’t like talking about the subject. Sesshoumaru was slowly approaching her which was making her quite nervous.

"Hnn" He was very close to her now, and she could see him in all his majesty. Again, the thought of how beautiful and tall he was, filled her mind. He took her breath away. Sesshoumaru. The Aristocrat Assassin. Painfully perfect. "Come, follow me." Was all he said, breaking her out of her obsessive thoughts, before turning around and picking up a quick pace. She followed him, how could she not? As if she had any other choice in her current situation. Although, even if she did, she might have just followed him anyways. But honestly, can you blame her for it?

She had no idea where he was taking her, but she felt she could trust him. She didn’t see what reasons he could possibly have had to kill her, and if he had them, he would have already done so by then. So she followed him for around an hour, and then he pointed upwards. She guessed it was towards a mountain as she couldn’t see anything else than black in front of her.  She was so tired, and he sensed it, so instead of going ahead on his own, he pulled her by the arm and got her on his cloud, taking them to a cave inside the mountain he had just pointed at. 

Author's note: 

Ok. I'm reposting the chapters with the things I've edited. Sorry for the ones that have already read and have to read it again but it is for the improvements of the story. Hope you like the changes. I have corrected until chapter 3. Wait the rest during the next few days.  

The story is told in third person, so all the characters' thought can be shown to you guys. I hope it is not confusing. It's written from the writer's point of view, who, of course, knows everything.

Also, I published a new story, a drabble. Check it out!