Whisper Soft by Mistress Fluffy

Un

The harsh glare of day dissolved into the soothing sigh of night, the peaceful night sounds slowly taking more notice but never becoming louder than a whisper. The sliver of moon curved upward like the sly grin of a mischievous boy ready to pull pranks and break any rules set before him. The soft breeze stirring fallen leaves into new places yet undiscovered. And one young woman, under the cover of a soft night fled into the evening and beyond the wall of protection. A harsh honey eyed individual noted the departing figure from the ring of a sleeping group in a small hut, shrugged and leaned against a tree trunk.

Confrontations had come to a head due to the pressure that was continuingly being forced upon the second to youngest member of the group, and thus, Kagome snapped. Her cerulean orbs flashing in her moment of anger over the unfair treatment, her arms failing about as if drowning without a life saver. The rest of the group taken back by the change in the relatively peaceful individual decided it best that they take a break and settle down for the night, letting her rant to the group's unofficial leader Inuyasha. The two yelled the extent of frustrations and long held hatred.

The argument finally ended with Kagome simply saying, "I'm going to continue this quest and hopefully still be a friend to you but I will be able to have my own life. I know it's selfish and I shouldn't do it but, I am going to." She turned around and promptly began getting ready to go to bed, regardless of the slowly freezing eyes of her long time friend, Inuyasha. The other group members, consisting of a monk, a demon exterminator, and a young fox demon, chose to silently set camp rather then their usual boisterous antics.

Back to the present moment, the young girl, Kagome, stole away to the surrounding woods circling a tiny village. She glanced back when she was out of eyesight of the small huts and wooden bridges, the rice paddies lying silent and alone, she sighed at her escape. Throwing an overly large yellow backpack higher up on her slim back, she continued toward her goal of her decaying well in the middle of a clearing. Softly humming a tune, she picked her way throw the trail she had taken a million times before and would continue to take; she barely noticed she was being stealthily followed. Upon reaching her destination, Kagome dropped her heavy load and rested against the dead wood and tangling vines. She glanced quickly around the dark trees and their long shadows, eyeing the suspicious ones longer than necessary. She reached under her thin white sweater, groping for the thin chain whose pendant housed the jewel shards that so many demons hungered after.

She stifled a startled scream when her companion, Inuyasha stepped out of the shadows cast by the looming trees. "You better be coming back." He narrowed his piercing eyes on her hand that clasped his precious shards.

She nodded, silently concurring to the command. "I just want to visit my family, take a test, and restock the supplies. I should be back in a couple days time. Sound ok?" She heaved the backpack back on, waiting for his agreement. All she got was a swift nod. She smiled softly, musing that he'll live to be happy at least for a little while. She spoke up, disturbing the quiet that had descended, "well I'll see you in a couple days time." And with turning, she swung onto the lip of the well and jumped into the depths below, vanishing in a flash of sapphire light. He crossed his arms, jetted his left hip out, and tapped his right foot waiting while the person walking towards him sauntered into the quiet clearing.

He watched silently as his walking dead ex-girlfriend strolled into the clearing, stopping when she caught eye with the quiet demon. "So I see my reincarnation went home." She softly crossed her slim arms across her chest, standing upright. "And I see you are being a patient little dog demon waiting for her."

Inuyasha snarled, briefly displaying sharp canines, "I was making sure she was leaving. What are you doing here?" His clawed fingers tensed for any sudden movement.

She shrugged, glancing away for a second to gaze in the direction of her old village, "Sometimes the remnants of my soul wish to have me here, I am drawn to this place, the place of my death." She slowly looked back at her old love, slightly feeling the flickers of the dying flames of her love for him. "And other things draw me to this place."

His eyes softened, remembering the time when they were close and he was willing to give up his superhuman powers for love. "Do you ever venture to the God Tree?"

Kikyo unconsciously fingered the long sleeves of her red kimono top, gazing at him for a second before speaking. "Yes periodically I manage to go there, but I quickly leave. That place holds no happy memories." He nodded in agreement, "But I am not here to reminisce of things that are never going to be again. I'm here to ask to join your group."

Inuyasha startled asked, "Why? I thought you were with Naraku."

She shook her head, "No, he betrayed me for the last time and I do not take betrayal lightly." He readied to speak what was an obvious statement regarding their past, "I have come to understanding that you did not betray me, we were young and foolish. That is the end, I wish to destroy Naraku and go to Hell."

Inuyasha scowled, "but in the end you want me to go with you." She nodded in agreement, "but I don't want to." Kikyo shrugged as if that was the least of her worries.

"In time you will." She paused, slowly turning around to melt back into the depthless shadows. "I will be back the next night, here, if you wish me to be in your group of adventurers, come. If you do not wish it, do not come."

With those departing words, she took two long strides and melded into the woods leaving the Inuyasha to ponder on her proposition. As much as it galled him to realize it, the advantages of the addition to the party would outweigh the negatives, he would just have to forfeit Kagome's opinion in the matter because if Kikyo was going to have tabs on him, it would not look good if he was seen going to her for the answer. So he would discuss it with Miroku, Sango, and Shippo his fellow adventurers and hope that they saw the logic in adding her. He sighed inaudibly, turning slowly and swiftly bounding up to the treetops, making his way towards the small hut at the outer edges of the tiny village that housed his slumbering comrades.

As he set foot at the ground in front of the humble hut, the young fox demon stepped out rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Where's Kagome?" His large emerald orbs focusing on the older demon.

"She went home for a couple days but she'll be back," Inuyasha briefly tensed up as he saw Shippo's nose cringe in recognition of the lingering scent, he quickly went to explain. "Kikyo stopped by after Kagome left; she wants to join our group."

"I don't want her with us! She'll upset Kagome!" Shippo's high pitched voice whined at the possibility of upsetting Kagome, he looked to her as an idol and he didn't want to loose her at all.

Inuyasha glared at the pitiful youngster, "we have to consider it runt. Shut up and go back to sleep, the others are sleeping." He quickly jumped on the roof and lay down, readying himself to drift off to a light, alert sleep. Shippo stepped out more in the open so he could see the laying figure of Inuyasha; he glared pitifully and stomped off to his bedding.

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The next day heralded the important decision of Kikyo joining the troupe, all involved wished Kagome was present to bring what they believed objection but with the insistence from Inuyasha, they saw the reasoning--and logic. Miroku, who sat silently polishing his golden staff gazing off into the distance of woods and mountains, the spots next to him vacant save for a slim young woman with an overly large boomerang settled in her lap.

Sango spoke up, "I do not know what to think of about Kikyo joining us. What do you think Hōshi?" She glanced at her companion for a response.

He sighed, slowly stopping his repetitive motion that allowed him to drift off to another plane of thought. "I can honestly say, I do not know." He closed his lilac tinted eyes with another sigh, setting his staff on the vacant spot next to him. "Kagome will be most disturbed and I do not believe that Inuyasha asked her as he told us he did. I have a feeling that doom will cloud us after Kagome comes back and Kikyo is allied with us." He rested his callused palms on his crossed legs, his staff forgotten. "I have no idea what to do concerning formalities with Kikyo either."

Sango huffed, "Hōshi, she tried to kill us, I do not believe we have to be civil to her."

"Oh but what if Inuyasha deems we have to?" Miroku retorted.

Feeling at a lost for any intelligent response, the young woman quickly changed subjects. "Do you think Kagome holds any affection for Inuyasha anymore? After that argument, it would seem as though they are cordial to each other but not as friendly as they used to be."

"I noticed a decided swift of affection within the last run-in with Sesshomaru." Sango laughed out right at the notion that he was hinting at.

"Come on, Monk, that's preposterous!" Sango held her stomach; the fact that she was laughing so hard was a relief to the tense normally felt. "Lord Sesshomaru and Kagome? For one it would never work out and another, both wishes to kill each other."

The monk shrugged, getting up from his cross legged position and grabbing his staff, "it was a marked difference. Nothing more and nothing less." The intelligent sounding monk began walking to the visible village behind him, pausing a few feet behind Sango, who was quickly getting up and following his lead to go back. He smirked, "who knows maybe they are participating in premarital bliss?"

Sango huffed loudly, busily trying her weapon upon her person, "and here I thought you were being mature for once. My mistake." She walked past him, scarcely giving him a moment's notice but the lecherous monk took that brief moment and groped the derrière of the passing exterminator. Her screech sounded throughout the woods and into the village causing various people to shake their heads in shame. Minutes later, Sango emerged into the village--alone. A grim expression on her delicate features and a slightly red hand.

Sango, while going back to Kaede's hut, she looked towards one of the small bridges scattered throughout the village and saw Shippo. Changing direction and calling out his name, she decided it would be best if she talked with the youngest member of the group. "Hey Shippo, how are you this day?"

The fox demon sighed as if the world was on his puny shoulders, his fox-like feet dangling, barely managing to touch the softly flowing stream. "I wish Kagome was here, she'd put an end to Kikyo traveling with us." Sango sat down, internally deciding this conversation was going to take a while.

"Yes, she would. But sometimes," She paused in her advice, "one must do things that one does not necessarily agree with or like. It is one of the trails of growing up." Softly smiling, she hoped that the allure of being the elusive "adult" would prove to sway the young child.

He pouted, obviously tangled up in what was a desire to be more mature, and thus more adult-like, and being more, himself. He settled on himself, "but I don't wanna like it! I want Kagome to be here and kicked Kikyo out!" Shippo angrily kicking the innocent water to the other side of dry land, making Sango sigh with resignation.

"Just remember, we do not know what Kagome will do. She may see the advantage and logic in having a skilled, if not dead, warrior amongst us." Sango got up to leave, took two steps and stopped, saying, "But I understand your feelings, for I wish them to happen as well." And she continued on her way.

Shippo glanced back at the departing figure of another woman he looked up to and sighed. "I wish I was mature like everyone else." But he continued to kick the offending stream.

Word Count: 2165

Enjoy and review. Also, Un is One in French.