Hey guys! Lady here. I know I've been shadowed lately. A lot has been going on in life that hardly leaves time for hobbies. I got married last month (yay!) and work has been crazy!
This story is a 'remaster' of my previous story "Daiyokai" from last year. I read over it and I thought to apply some techniques I learned this past year in school. I changed the attitudes of some of the characters and greatly shortened some of the chapters.
Let me know how you guys feel about it!
Again, being that I'm still in school there will be no regular posting. This is strictly a hobby of mine and I make no money from these fanfictions. I do, however, have a Ko-Fi account, so if you wish to make donations, consider buying me a coffee! Just search for ScreamingBanchie, the icon is a manga version of SessKags.
It had been just over three years since Kagome and her group defeated Naraku. Just over three years since the well sucked her back in and sealed itself, trapping Kagome in the modern era. Now, after all this time she was able to see the sky on the other side. This could only mean the well had another mission for her and her family. But was Inuyasha still waiting for her on the other side?
She could feel a slight breeze coming through the passage of time, kissing her face and ruffling her knee length skirt. Goosebumps crossed over her body as the ruffling of leaves echoed through the musty depths. She sat there on the edge of their world, her feet hanging off into oblivion. All she would have to do would be to jump. One motion and she would be back where she truly belonged.
Her mother stood behind her in the doorway of the shrine for a while. She had no idea what Kagome saw, she never did. Unlike her daughter and father, she wasn't gifted with the spiritual sight. She wasn't, however, oblivious to her daughter's body language. She knew Kagome had been miserable here in their time and to see her daughter pick up her shoulders for the first time in years soothed her heart.
"Go on dear. Your friends are waiting for you. I know they miss you. I know he misses you." Her mother pressed a firm hand to her back. "Just please tell us goodbye if you do decide to stay." Kagome turned and kissed her mother's damp cheek.
"I'll be back Momma." She pushed herself off the edge of the well, letting her body float through time.
Just a few moments later, her feet landed softly on the ground in the feudal era. She looked up. It was hard to see the sky from the bottom of the well and the mass of trees that surrounded her. Hopefully, Inuyasha was nearby waiting for her. Maybe he'd been waiting all this time. She grabbed the vines and heaved herself up the walls and over the lip of the well. She stumbled over the side and into the tall grass.
"Inuyasha… I'm here."
She got to her feet and turned on her heel, running as fast as she could through the underbrush. The unruliness of the area alarmed her. It was almost like no one had been here. There was no path, no indents in the grass or anything. "Inuyasha… I'm home…" She cleared the forest line and darted down the path between the rice fields. Her heart was in a panic. Where was Inuyasha? She paid no attention to the villagers waving at her from their work in the fields as she made a beeline for Kaede's hut.
She snatched open the curtain and went slack-jawed, he wasn't here. Rin, Kaede, and Sesshomaru looked at her in surprise but before anyone could react she darted out of the doorway. Rin's shrill voice echoed in her ears but she didn't bother to listen.
"Inuyasha!"
Her voice echoed through the village as she ran. Her attention brought her to the shrine steps and she quickly made her way up the stairs. But before she could clear the top she was snatched by her arm. It was Sesshomaru.
"You need to go home Priestess. There is nothing for you here."
His blank expression made him hard to read.
"Excuse me? Let me go!" She snatched her arm from his grip and bolted over the top of the steps. Her eyes landed on a very upset Inuyasha and a very calm Kikyo. She had the hanyou by the wrist and he was clearly upset.
"Kagome…" His face softened at the sight of her. "Oh, Kagome." He pulled forward but Kikyo had a firm grip on him.
"Inuyasha… what's going on? Why is… she here?" Kagome took a step back as Kikyo glared daggers through her shaking frame. She took another step back, bumping into Sesshomaru. He placed his hand on her back to space her from him.
"I told you, Priestess… you should go home."
Kikyo pulled Inuyasha behind her. "Lord Sesshomaru is right Kagome. You should go home."
Kagome turned to look up at Sesshomaru. She could see the faintest hint of sadness in his eyes. He mouthed something to her but the blood in her ears made it hard to concentrate on what he said. She turned back towards Inuyasha and Kikyo. They were hand in hand as they looked at her.
After a few moments, Inuyasha broke away from the woman and started to walk towards her. Her reaction was to back up and get away and she did. She pushed past Sesshomaru and bolted down the steps. Inuyasha didn't follow her, instead, he stood by his brother, his shoulders slack with defeat.
Her vision was blurry with tears and her heart was shattered into a million pieces. Was this what she waited for? To be mocked by the woman she thought she was able to escape? To be let down yet again by the man who had held her heart in his hands for the past three years?
She made the mistake of looking over her shoulder at them. Kikyo was standing beside Inuyasha and Sesshomaru was slowly walking down the steps. She gasped as her chest caved in on itself. Her body collapsed on her and she fell forward, falling through the air and down the steps.
Nothing mattered anymore. Not Inuyasha, not Kikyo, not even herself.
Sesshomaru watched her collapse and start to fall down the stairs. He cursed as he lunged for her but he was too late. The sound of her sobs was overtaken by the echo of her head meeting the stone steps. He was racked with hate for his half-brother as he crouched down beside the woman.
Her blood spilled over the worn stone and rolled down several steps before he collected her limp body. Sesshomaru held her close to him and looked back to his bother to see he and his mate's back to him. He felt a tug at his armor and looked down.
"Send me home… please… I can't."
Kagome's eyes rolled back as her lids fluttered shut. Sesshomaru sighed as her hand slipped from his armor.
"What a shame I have for a brother." He whispered as he walked down the remaining steps and into Kaede's hut.
The two women plucked Kagome from his arms and shooed him out. He stood outside the hut and listened as the women panicked and cried over their injured sister. He could also hear Inuyasha and Kikyo arguing above them in the shrine house.
What bothered him the most was the fact that Inuyasha didn't move a muscle to save or even help Kagome. Memories began to flood his mind of times when Inuyasha was faster than even he if it meant protecting Kagome.
Other memories of Inuyasha abandoning Kagome for the clay priestess also came to him. He huffed at the thought of Inuyasha throwing Kagome away for a woman who didn't even love him.
A few hours later Kagome peeled her eyes open and glanced up at the wooden ceiling of the worn-down hut. Her head pounded and her vision was a little blurry. Her heart skipped several beats and she felt like she was going to die before she finally caught her breath. She felt the embrace of someone lingering on her body which helped her calm down a little. A gentle hand came to rest on her damp forehead. She was able to move slightly and look up at a very calm Sesshomaru.
His hair was falling over his shoulders and pooling around in his lap and near her head. He looked at her with sad golden eyes, there was even a slight frown on his face. He was dabbing a cool rag against her neck and cheeks. She struggled to move but a firm hand on her shoulder pinned her to the mat.
"You don't need to get up. Soon, I will take you where you need to go… but for now, you need to rest."
Sesshomaru's voice was quiet and a bit formal. He also sounded… softer than normal. He was sitting beside her with his legs crossed. His armor was gone and so was the upper layer of his hankimono. His mokumoku was pooled around her, covering her legs and cushioning her head from the floor. It was strange being in his company like this. He looked so… exposed to her.
She tangled her hands in the warm, thick fur and squeezed. "My Lord… what happened to me?"
His soft hand returned to her forehead and a sigh escaped him. The gentle breath rolled over her damp neck and blew a few strands of hair in her face, which he quickly moved away.
"You fell. You took off running down the stairs and fell, hitting your head."
Kagome reached one hand up and rested it on a bandage on the side of her head. The slight pressure sent a shock of pain through her body, making her tense up. Her hand shot out and gripped his nu-bakama and she sucked in a sharp breath.
"You shouldn't touch it. The bandage is only loosely placed upon you." He collected both of her hands and folded them back into his mokumoku.
Kagome closed her eyes and stifled a sob. Her lips pursed as she tried not to breathe. She pulled the mokumoku towards her face and buried her tears in it. Her body shook as violent sobs racked through her. All Sesshomaru could do was sit and let her get it out of her system.
She reminded him of Rin in so many ways. Kagome was broken and she didn't deserve all the evil that gravitated to her. She was pure like his child and deserved so much more than the fate his brother has constantly brought her. He dreaded the day that Kagome would return, ever since Kikyo showed back up in their little village two years ago.
Her shaking body brought him from his thoughts. "I devoted everything, Lord Sesshomaru… everything." She pushed herself up on her hands but her sobs knocked her back down again. Her body was tensing and trembling with every shaky breath she managed to take. "I spent three years waiting for him." Her voice was muffled in the fabric of his nu-bakama.
"Some men will never outgrow the ways of their boyhood. He will never understand what it's like to love anyone because he is still a child."
"But I loved him! I actually loved him! I devoted everything to him. My every waking moment was for Inuyasha."
She sat up but the blood rushed to her head too fast, making her falter once more. He caught her and held her in place. Her hands were firm on his calves as she tried to orient herself. She kept trying to push herself up but every movement sent pain through her body. Sesshomaru eventually grew tired of her trying to move when he told her not to and pulled her down in his lap.
"You're going to hurt yourself. Stay still."
She leaned her throbbing head against his firm chest. He smelled of dry cherry blossoms and blood, making her relax even more into his arms. His embrace melted her tense muscles and she felt incredibly small against him. Sesshomaru drew his mokumoku close and began to rock her.
"You are so much like Rin… I guess all human females desire comfort and warmth."
She smiled to herself. Though in the back of her mind alarms were going off. This isn't the Sesshomaru she grew to fear and fight against. He was… fatherly now and gentle. But she couldn't quite wrap her mind around why he was here with her now, why he was comforting her of all people in her time of need.
If you are unsure of certain names of the articles of clothing that I use, please go to DOKUGA and search for "Glossary of Japanese Clothing: Inuyasha Characters"