A/N- It is only fair that I warn you. I will only update this story when I wish to take a brief break from my other one. Also, if any plot appears what so ever in this story then it is completely accidental. This is only meant to be a story that shows the steady growth of friendship, trust and eventually love. Characters are likely to be OOC and I will not strain to complete this story. I will eventuallyfinish it I suppose but I will not promise anything. After all I said I wouldn't even start a new story but...I did. Well...this is only my second fic and I have not even been doing my first one for three weeks now. So I do not guarantee a good story...but I do read other fics and I know what I like in a story. Anywho...here ya go.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but an unhealthy obsession with cold hearted demon lords and feisty mikos
Pain. Failure. Regret. Loss. Guilt. They all burned through me as I fell. I had given it everything I had and this victory would contain the loathed taste of bitter-sweetness. Sure I had won. At what cost? In every way that mattered I had failed. I had failed. The finalty of the sentence caught me off guard and it hit me hard. I could accept death with honor and pride. I could accept the end of all things with the grace a Taiyoukai should have. Still, the sting of failure, all the respect and land lost, every ounce of power I'd earned simply gone.
Pain. It began to take over, to consume me. I let it run it's course, eating away at my very soul. Even through the pain the sense of failure stayed to linger on the edge of my mind. I felt the pain radiate through me and still the thought stayed. A light and then complete darkness. Just before I let the darkness swallow me whole I had to wonder if it was heaven embracing me. Something was approaching with an enchanting and soothing scent. Yes...perhaps it was heaven.
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" What do you think it is?...err...was?" I looked at the dead youkai with a horrified expression. The training I had finally received kicked in and I noticed the traits that would define it's origin of youkai. Most of it's poor body was bloodied, cut, or bruised so badly that you couldn't see the real creature.
" It's a hawk demon. Judging by the color of it's skin I'd day it was choked or poisoned. The poor thing must have refused to die after that and was beaten. He's about eighty years in youkai so that means...the poor thing couldn't be a day over fourteen in human. It's a shame what people will do to another living being." I heard the depressing ' thunk ' of dirt hitting the bottom of a grave and my heart squeezed. We had done this too many times lately, buried the dead from youkai villages. I was sure Naraku was behind all this. The most powerful had been wounded the least which meant he was looking for allies and trying to be persistent with them.
" Naraku is around here somewhere." I felt a hand on my shoulder and was glad that it was Sango instead of the Monk with the wandering hand.
" Don't worry Kagome we'll find him. If that coward will actually show his face then we'll find and kill him." I nodded but still felt so unsatisfied. Too many lives had been lost because of him. His life as repayment for all his wrong doing was not enough. It was so unlike me to want someone to hurt but I wanted to see him kneel in pain and suffer.
" Come on Sango, Shippo, Let's go to the hot spring." Sango seemed glad that I wouldn't stay in my depressed state while Shippo looked away blushing. What in the world had gotten into him?
" Umm, actually I'd rather just stay here with Inuyasha and Miroku." Oh dear Kami he was becoming one of them. My Shippo was growing up. I patted his head none the less and grabbed my bag that contained my bathing supplies.
" Very well. Ready Sango?" She nodded with a smile and we were off. Maybe I could use Shippo to my advantage...
" Hey Shippo, do Okaa-san a favor and make sure the boys don't peek on aunt Sango and I, ok?" He nodded eagerly, happy to have his positioned ranked up to protector of bathing women. I waved as I left the clearing the village that smelled of blood and burned flesh.
None too soon I found myself surrounded by swirls of steam that danced as they rose to caress my bare skin. The water was disturbed beside me and I greeted my Slayer friend that became more like my sister every day with a soft ' hmm'.
" Do you think it will ever end Sango?" She turned to me with a soft expression on her face.
" I'm afraid the only answer to that is to wait and see." I sucked in a deep breath as I ducked under water. The heat was all there was for one heart beat before I surfaced. I poured the creamy substance into my hand, careful to not let it slip from my grasp as I thoroughly lathered my hair until it was covered with foam. Sango giggled as I piled my thick hair into a mane on top of my head. The sound was a nice compared to the usual battle cry that had recently been the only sound allowed to escape her lips.
I dipped backwards and allowed the foamy substance to wash away. Sango quickly followed my example. I repeated the process only with a conditioner this time and soon found that simply floating on the waters heated surface was enough to relieve some of the stress I was feeling after the many battles I'd fought. I could almost regret the training I'd sought out after one of my many near death experiences. Three years had been enough and I had started to train the day after my birthday, marking my third year in the warring states era. I had trained for a year and a half now leaving me a nineteen and a half year old battle-ready miko-warrior.
" Are you ready to leave Sango?" She nodded as she stood up and out of the water, radiating steam as she did.
" Let's go Kagome." I had battled many demons since I had been trained, much to Inuyasha's dismay. He seemed to think I wouldn't want him anymore if I was trained and didn't need his protection. He didn't seem to understand that I didn't keep him around as a protector but as a friend.
" What took 'ya so long?!" I shook my head as we entered the camp. Two seconds, he couldn't go two seconds without complaining.
" It's called bathing. You should try it sometime." He stick his nose up in the air.
" Keh, I don't need no smelly water." I wrinkled my nose in disapproval.
" With your sensitive nose it seems you really should find that offensive." His brow twitched and I recognized that as a sign to be ready for a prompt sitting.
" What is that supposed to mean exactly?" Shippo, being ever young and dense answered honestly.
" Oh, it means that you stink Inuyasha." Perhaps Shippo hadn't grown as much as I'd thought. Inuyasha hit him in the head and Shippo came running toward me.
" Okaa-san! Inuyasha hit me!" I smiled and kissed the growing bump on his head.
" Inuyasha, why did you hit Shippo?" Inuyasha turned to me with a 'duh' expression.
" ' cause he said I stink." I couldn't stop my smile from spreading. The seemed too normal after all the rough battles.
" So because a little boy, much younger that you, said something that offended you, you hit him?" Inuyasha crossed his arms.
" Keh, if the runt would think about what he was saying maybe I wouldn't have had to." I raised a hand to his shoulder and he turned to me with a scowl.
" Actually Inuyasha you're the one that asked what I had said meant. He was really only answering your question. Even if it was rhetorical." He just linked his hands behind his head and closed his eyes in an arrogant manner.
" But Okaa-san," Shippo began in a whiny voice," he hit me! Are you gonna just let him go?" I ruffled his hair.
" Shippo, do you want me to bring up the little incident with the ramen...?" I let my voice trail off. I heard Sango and Miroku hold back their laughter at the memories of the prank Shippo had played on Inuyasha. Poor Inuyasha had thought all of his precious ramen was gone.
Shippo blushed." Umm, no that's ok." Seeing as I hadn't punished him for it he probably wasn't eager for me to start now.
" Well, then we should make camp. Let's go a little ways away from here. This place is too depressing. Death seems to cling to it." Everyone nodded in agreement. We eventually found a little clearing and Sango and I started to clear the fallen branches out of the way. Miroku started a fire and I set out the beds. I began to rummage through my bag and drug out some of the curry my mom had made. Setting out all the things I would need to heat it up I heard a grunt.
" Oi! What are you doing?!" I prepared for the battle that was sure to come. We were out of ramen. Not even the fires of hell would make Inuyasha eat anything other that ramen.
" Inuyasha, I am getting things ready to make curry." His eyes narrowed.
" Why? Where's the ramen?" I sighed.
" We are out of ramen Inuyasha. I'll have to get some next time I go home." He shifted, not knowing what to do. He must be having an inner conflict. His natures were contradicting themselves. He didn't want me to go home and yet he wanted his ramen.
" At this rate we won't be back at the well for a whole week! This will be pure torture! One pack! There must be one more pack!" I shook my head and he snatched my bag away. He tossed out my night clothes, my books...but no ramen.
" Keh, there's none here." I giggled.
" Yeah I told you that, remember? You know the first step to recovery is coming out of denial. Admit it, you're addicted." He turned away with is nose in the air.
" I don't need ramen. I survived on much less before."
" Yeah but you had never tasted ramen before then." He seemed to accept it and his shoulders dropped in defeat.
" No more ramen." I let a happy chuckle escape.
" Not for a week. Here, try some curry." He reluctantly took the now heated food and tasted it experimentally. He flinched back.
" It just wasn't meant to be was it." He shook his head in agreement. I patted his shoulder but handed him a bag of chips. Those would at least keep him from starving. I could hunt tomorrow and make some stew that didn't have as many spices. He would at least not complain about that. I handed out the rest of the bowls and they dug in. I had some rice but it was useless if no one enjoyed the spices. I smiled at the vision my friends created. Miroku was scooting closer to Sango and she was casting occasional glances his way and her eyes would dart away when their gaze met. Shippo petted Kirara with one hand and she purred as she nibbled on her fish. The fire cast a golden low on their faces making the whole thing feel more like home.
I picked off the last of my food and set the dish aside. Announcing my fatigue with a yawn I giggled as yawns spread throughout the circle. Grabbing my bag I left and quickly changed into my pajamas. They were black with little blue cresent moons all over them. They were the soft cotton kind that were perfect for a chilly night. I returned to camp to see Shippo already curled up on my sleeping bag, snoring softly. I gathered the dishes and set them aside.
" Mmmm. I'm so tired. I'll do these dishes tomorrow." I crawled over to my bag and curled up inside it as if I was finding shelter from the cold world outside. In my own way I was. Worn out from the stressful day of battle I welcomed the dreams that surrounded me.
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It was a nice warm day. I was here in the feudal era and my friends and family were all around me. I knew this was a dream. My family couldn't come to this era like I could. That didn't mean I couldn't enjoy it though. I heard gently crashing waves behind me. There was a vast expansion of ocean there when I turned. It went farther than I could see. Looking down I noticed I was wearing my bathing suit. Eager to join the waving tide I ran and waded into the water. It was heaven. I allowed myself to float on the surface. I looked at the smiling faces of my family and friends and I smiled back. The warm water caressed my skin and I closed my eyes. When I finally opened them once more the expressions on my friends and families faces were horrified. I frowned but just as I was about to ask what was the matter I felt a pull. Then a more forceful tug. I gased as I went under water. Pulling back up only once more using all of my strength the last thing I saw was their sad expressions, as if excepting my death. Something just pulled me and pulled me. It was choking, suffocating me. I couldn't breath. Just as I was sure I would die...
_ _
I gasped and sat straight up. My senses were going hay wire. I felt dizzy and I tried to make something out of my jumbled thoughts. Breath, I told myself. Just breath...the feeling of suffocating wouldn't go away. I shook my head. Something was there. Suddenly my senses came out of their fog. Youki...there was an unimaginable amount of youki that had just been released. It seemed familiar but...it was like looking through a water fall. Even though it was clear there was just too much to see through it. The weight of it was crushing me. I struggled to breath. It wasn't until five or six minutes later that it faded enough for me to truly focus.
I tried to see through the fog but it was still unclear. The energy source was growing weaker, I knew that. It was obviously a demon. It was...male. If the quantity of the energy released didn't tell me he was powerful then the amount of youki in it certainly did. The direction it was coming from suddenly became clear. I stood and on instinct grabbed my bag. Deciding I could handle whatever it was I didn't wake my friends. Inuyasha wasn't here...I knew where he was so I didn't have to worry about him.
I took off at record speed I ran as fast as I could, grateful for my long legged pajamas for keeping the sting of the thorns at a minimum. I was heading west. As I got closer I could sense an evil aura mingled in with the other, more powerful one. The evilness was unmistakable. Naraku had been here. I realized that not waking my friends had been a bad idea. I had gone at least a mile already...besides his aura was gone, almost like it was stale. He hadn't been here for at least half an hour. Even if he was here there was nothing I could do but fight.
I stopped suddenly and almost fell into the giant pit at my feet. Not quite accustomed to random giant pits in the middle of no where but not in the least surprised I looked up. Deep down in the center was a little red dot. I started to slide down closer until it became a big red dot that looked strangely like a body. I felt my heart squeeze as I realized the red looked an awful lot like blood. The body had a pale green smoke coming off of it. Running over to it and turning it over I froze.
I refused to believe it. I didn't want to. It wasn't real. I was still in my dream. I had to be. The silver hair pooled at my knees was not covered in blood. The gashes on the body were made up. The body in front of me was not Sesshomaru.
With painful realization I admitted that it wasn't a dream. It was real. I was here with the lord of the western lands in my already bloodied hands. He wasn't dead but his heart beats were faint and his breaths shallow. He was clinging to life by less then a thread. I reached up to his bloody face only succeeding in smearing a palm shaped blood mark on hid cheek. Oh, yes this was no dream. This was cold harsh reality. Now, like reality, I had a choice to make and time would not stop long enough for me to decide what to do. So, asking myself a question as old as time itself I sighed.
What should I do...
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A/N- So, did you like it. I am making this story fresh and unedited. My goal is not to write the worlds best fanfic I only do this to get away from my other fic for a bit. Which I WILL finish come hell of high water. It's simple really. It you like it, say so. It you don't, I honestly don't care with this one so you can review if you want...or not. I will need some inspiration though. Suggestions aren't hurting anyone so feel free to send one in. I appreciate all those that simply put there faith in me for a second chapter. With love for all those who read...
~Dreamer~