A Spring of New Beginnings
Chapter One
"Sesshomaru! Hey! Would you wake up already?!" Inu-Yasha's impatient voice shouted. Drowsily, Sesshomaru opened one golden eye and glanced down at his younger brother.
"What's the rush, Inu-Yasha?" Sesshomaru asked, stifling a yawn with one hand and propping himself on the elbow of the other.
"We're going to Kagome's time to visit, Sesshomaru-sama! Let's go, or you'll be left behind!" Kohaku replied, excitedly, not noticing the somewhat miffed expression that crossed Inu-Yasha's features at that moment. At the mention of Kagome, Sesshomaru was immediately awakened from his lazy mood. It had been some time since the reborn miko had visited Sengoku Jidai and he missed her.
"I'll beat you all there. See you in a few minutes!" Sesshomaru said, with a grin, before flashing out of sight.
"Sesshomaru!" Inu-Yasha shouted, then took chase. He got to the well just as Sesshomaru jumped in. This got a long string of curses from Inu-Yasha, that he continued even when he'd gone into the well after his brother.
Kagome smiled as her friends' presences crossed her mind and she laughed when she heard Sesshomaru joking with his irate younger brother.
"He's so different from the way he once was! It's hard to believe that Sesshomaru was once a cold, sadistic bastard!" Kagome thought, as she watched the brothers leave the well-house, just in time for the rest of their close knit group to arrive behind them. Within a few moments, Kagome, Sota, and the rest were outside, greeting the visitors from the past. Amid all of the greetings, Inu-Yasha's and Sesshomaru's were the loudest. Kagome could only laugh as the two brothers glared at one another, jealously when they both shouted their greetings at the same time.
"Hey, Kohaku, wanna go play video games?" Sota asked, eagerly.
"Sure……………….but what're video games?" Kohaku asked, confused, but allowed Sota to lead him and Rin off. As everyone else went inside, Sesshomaru lingered. It was just too beautiful a day to spend it inside.
"I'll just explore a little. I'm sure there can be no harm in that." Sesshomaru thought, as he jumped onto the rooftop, then vaulted to the neighboring one, with no effort at all on his part. He could see that the buildings around Kagome's home were pretty much the same, except maybe for different colors. Then he arrived at another shrine, this one similar to the Higurashi Shrine, but different. Curious, Sesshomaru went to get a closer look, making sure he kept out of sight from any that might see him. When he found a good hiding place, he found that he could see the shrine miko clearly. She was a vision of long raven hair and pale skin. She was sitting before a fire, meditating, seemingly unaware of his presence. Then, suddenly, something exploded into his back, right in the spot where he'd been struck with Kohaku's chain sickle. Pain surged through him and he felt something warm, wet, and sticky on his back.
"Help……………………….it hurts…………………Inu-Yasha!" Sesshomaru's mind cried, before blackness enveloped him.
