AN: This will be a story with shorter chapters and an almost drabble-like tone in later chapters. I hope this will lend itself to being updated more often than once every 4 months like some of my other stories. I will return to my other stories as well. This is simply something to get the creative juices flowing.
Summary - 20 years after Kagome vanished at the final battle, Sesshomaru finds a strange creature dying in the woods. Who is this girl? Where did she come from? Why is she in such horrible shape?
The ending of the manga was just a little too pat and perfect. It seemed almost like an illusion. But, didn't Byakuya of the illusions cut Kagome before she vanished? Didn't the Shikon no Tama admit that she would have lived her life trapped in the illusion of the perfect life in the present? What if everything that happened after she pierced the Shikon with her arrow was just that, an illusion? What if she subconsciously made a wish and just didn't know what was really happening? Could she be trapped for all eternity in the jewel or would she find some way to escape? Would she still be sane after experiencing the constant battle against the evil, hungry demons and Naraku? Was this the ultimate desire of the jewel of which Naraku had spoken? And what was Naraku's wish? It seems all he wanted was to spend eternity together with Kikyo. Did the jewel pervert that wish by sealing Naraku and Kikyo's reincarnation in the eternal struggle? Did the human bandit Onigumo suffer regrets watching his demon possessed body kill Kikyo two or three times?
Chapter 1 - What have I found?
Sesshomaru stared down at the puddle of humanity collapsed on the forest floor in disgust. It always amazed him how sadistic the human race could be to others of his kind, or to lowly animals. Now he stared at irrefutable evidence that humans did not even hold their own kind in any regard.
The pitiful creature before him made him want to destroy at least a few villages in retribution. His face wrinkled a bit as he contemplated his next move. From the smell, it was obvious that this bundle of hair was a human, although it did not exactly smell right. There was a stronger odor of a noxious plant that almost obliterated the human scent. Still, if one with his amazing abilities was to investigate closely, the underlying tang of humanity was clear.
Also present was the sickening smell of blood and a festering wound. His eyes could not penetrate the tangled mass of black hair that obscured most of the body, so he couldn't be sure of the extent of the injuries on this being. Yet, he was loathe to touch the creature. From the looks of the unwashed hair, it was likely that this being was infested with fleas and other parasites; none of which he wanted to transfer to his person. So, with as little contact as possible, he hooked his boot under an edge of the mat of hair and shoved the pile over.
The body that was revealed to his curious eyes was in even worse shape than the mat of hair. Dried patches of mud clung to the mostly naked body of what appeared to be a small child. Mixed in with the dirt on the back that was exposed to him were trails of old, dried blood that ran from the child's neck.
His brows furrowed in an angry frown as he inspected the strange coverings on the child's body. There was what appeared to be a metal corset that wrapped around the skinny torso from just under the arms down to the child's waist. From there, two strips of metal, the width of two of his fingers, ran from the edge of the armor down the non-existent cheeks of the child's rear, to disappear between its legs. At the top of the armor, two more strips of metal the same width, disappeared up into the mass of hair towards the neck.
His head tilted slightly to the side as he tried to figure out this puzzle. What in the world had he found? He looked closer and found locking mechanisms on the back of the corset and realization dawned on him. This was some type of slave or pet. He had heard of the atrocities of some of the supposed "noblemen" of the human world, but had believed them to be only rumors and unfounded accusations, as he had never witnessed these acts first hand.
Upon this startling realization, another unwelcome thought followed closely on its heels. This thing was female as indicated by the chastity belt attached to the bottom of the armor. His confusion morphed into full-blown anger at this thought. How could any living being treat a small girl child in such a deplorable manner?