Weight of the World

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not mine, so these characters are not mine.

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Chapter One

Kagome stormed away from the camp site, unable to contain her rage anymore.

"Kagome!" Sango exclaimed behind her.

"Don't!" Kagome said, not looking at her best friend. "I don't want to hear it! I'm leaving."

"Let me go!" Shippo wailed.

"Shippo, she needs to be alone," Miroku said. Kagome was sure he was holding the little kitsune back.

She walked through the woods, her bow and arrows slung over her back along with her yellow backpack. The high weeds brushed against her naked legs and made her itchy, but she couldn't stop, she wouldn't find an easier way to go. The need to get away was greater than her discomfort.

He had gone after Kikyo again; just up and left without so much as a backward glance. Kagome didn't need to read his mind to know where he had gone, and neither did the others. And she was sick and tired of being second, of his constant adoration of her previous incarnation. Could he really be as dense as everyone seemed to think he was? Could he really not see her pain every time he chose to follow Kikyo and leave her behind?

Kikyo. Always trailing behind them, or walking before them. Why couldn't that dead priestess give it a rest? And she had saved her, saved the woman who made Inuyasha go weak at the knees, the woman who made all rational thought desert Inuyasha's mind whenever he caught her scent or saw her soul catchers. If she could go back in time and change that moment, would she? No, she wouldn't; it wasn't in her nature. But, god, how she wished she hadn't been called by that damn woman's keepers to save her sorry dead ass!

She had no idea where she was going. All she knew was she was going in the opposite direction of that stupid, inconsiderate hanyou. She stepped into a pool of water. "Shit!" She retracted her wet foot and looked around her.

She was in a swampy area. Lily pads dotted the dank water, some in bloom and others with small frogs atop them. Fireflies danced in the cool clear air and the full moon shown brightly upon the surface of the water.

"Priestess," a voice called to her.

"Lady Kagome!" a young girl cried.

Kagome stepped back, her hand over her mouth. "Sesshomaru! Rin!"

Rin ran over and bowed before Kagome.

"I am sorry. I didn't know you were here. I will go," Kagome said, turning back.

"Why are you far away from my brother?" Sesshomaru said.

Kagome stopped. "Your brother is an idiot."

"I know that, but that hasn't stopped you from being with him before," he replied.

Kagome turned back and looked at Sesshomaru. Rin had skipped away and was picking flowers at a respectable distance from them. "He-" but she couldn't continue. She couldn't say it out loud; saying it aloud would make it more real than she wanted it to be.

"He is chasing the dead priestess," he said.

She nodded. Tears were beginning to flood her eyes, but she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't give anyone the satisfaction of her tears over Inuyasha's latest action.

"Why are you not waiting for him to return?"

"I-I-I will not stand for it anymore," she said. "I will wait for him no longer."

He arched an eyebrow. "And how will you retrieve the last shards?"

Kagome looked away. The shards. She needed Inuyasha to get the last shards. She growled low in her throat and crossed her arms, angry. She could use Kouga, but he wasn't nearly strong enough to combat the demons she would encounter. She would just have to get them alone, using the sacred bow and arrows.

"I will do it alone," she said, nodding and clutching the bag of arrows of her shoulder.

A small smile graced Sesshomaru's face. "I am sure you will." He turned away. "Rin, let's go."

"Yes, my Lord." Rin skipped over to Sesshomaru and followed him. She looked back at Kagome as they walked away. "Why is Lady Kagome by herself? Is she not coming with us?"

Sesshomaru stopped and looked at his ward. She was growing into a woman more and more everyday, but her innocence was still untouched. Her large brown eyes returned his gaze, trusting and steady. "Rin, why do you ask?" he said.

"My Lady needs your power, my Lord. How else will she get the shards?" she replied.

"She is a priestess."

"But she still needs your help, my Lord. Do you object to helping her?"

The tone in Rin's voice made him pause. What was she really trying to say? Perhaps he was remiss in thinking she was as innocent as he had thought. She seemed to be testing him. He turned away and began walking again.

"Come, Lady Kagome," Rin said, grabbing Kagome's hand.

Kagome followed.

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"We will stop here for the night," Sesshomaru said a few hours later.

They entered a small clearing. The ground was covered in a soft grass and the moon shown softly through the leaves of the large trees overheard. Rin release Kagome's hand and skipped around, investigating everything until she was satisfied, and then returned to Kagome's side.

"Do you think Master Jaken will find us, my Lord?" Rin said.

"Ah-un will be able to catch our scent," he replied, leaning against a tree and looking up at the moon. "There is a hot spring nearby, Kagome." He pointed in the direction of the spring.

Kagome nodded. "Let's go," she said, grabbing the girl's hand.

Rin hummed as they undressed and got into the spring. Kagome sighed and relaxed a little, watching Rin as she played in the water; she was like Shippo. Kagome felt a small pang in her heart. She shouldn't have left. They must be worried now. I wonder if Inuyasha has gone back yet? she thought. They wouldn't begin to look for her until he got back; they wouldn't even know where to start; they needed his nose.

"Come, let me wash your hair," Kagome said.

Rin obeyed, turning her back to Kagome. "My Lord is very good," she said.

"Yes, he is," Kagome replied absently as she rubbed shampoo into the girl's hair.

"You should stay with us. He would let you stay."

Kagome smiled. "I don't know . . . ."

"I want you to stay."

"Why?"

Rin paused. "Master Jaken is mean."

"You seem to handle him well, though, Lady Rin," Kagome said, giggling. She had seen enough of Rin and Jaken to know that the girl could outwit the green demon in every skirmish.

Rin seemed to perk up at the title. "Do you really think I could be a Lady?"

"You are already a Lady. You're Sesshomaru's Lady."

Rin's hands flew to her face and she giggled. Kagome wished she could see the blush creeping across the girl's face, but she diligently continued to wash the girl's hair. "I am, aren't I?"

Kagome nodded and poured water over Rin's head.

"Let's not tell my Lord, though," Rin said, her high receding.

"Of course," Kagome replied. "Okay, all done."

Rin moved away and played with her hair. "How did you make it so soft?"

"I, um, I have special herbs," she said, unsure if Rin knew about how she could pass through the well to her time in modern Japan.

"Can you show me which ones?"

"Um, well, no. I, uh-"

"Rin, it is time to get out," Sesshomaru said from the shadows.

"Yes, my Lord." Rin got out immediately and wrapped her body in towel. "Are you coming?" she said to Kagome.

Kagome was unsure. She didn't want Sesshomaru to see her naked body, not that she thought he'd do anything; she was just embarrassed. How long had he been standing there? Had he seen anything? Did he usually watch Rin bathe?

"Lady Kagome?" Rin said.

"Um, yeah." Kagome got out and quickly grabbed her towel, covering her shivering body. She peered into the shadows but couldn't see him anywhere. Perhaps he had gone. Maybe he had come just to tell them to get out. He had come at an opportune time though, before she had to lie to Rin about her true origins. She dried herself and put on clean clothes.

Rin already had on a new yukata. Where did her clothes come from? Kagome thought as they walked back to the campsite. She shrugged. It didn't matter.

Sesshomaru had started a fire and there was a fresh kill already cooking. Rin skipped around, looking for flowers and examining the trees. Kagome leaned against a tree and looked up the stars.

Inuyasha, her mind thought, unbidden. The tears were beginning to surface again, and she couldn't stop them this time. She covered her face with her hands and cried softly; she didn't want to upset Rin. Sesshomaru would be able to tell she was crying, but he wouldn't say anything.

Why did he always go back to her? Was she not enough for him? Kikyo didn't even want him for who he was; Kikyo wanted him to be human. Kagome liked him just as he was, and had convinced him once that he should stay hanyou—at least for a little while—when they thought they had defeated Naraku. Of course, when they completed the shikon jewel he promised to become a full demon, but she had begun to wonder if he would become human just to please Kikyo. What was that ghastly woman's hold on him?

"Lady Kagome, why do you cry?" Rin asked.

Kagome jumped. Rin was peering closely into her face. "Do not worry about me, Lady Rin."

Rin sat next to Kagome and placed her head in Kagome's lap. Kagome smoothed the girl's hair, trying to comfort her. "I will be fine. I just miss someone."

"Inuyasha?"

Kagome nodded.

"Sometimes," she said softly, "I cry when my Lord is gone too."

Kagome smiled. "Inuyasha is not my Lord, Lady Rin; he is my companion."

Rin frowned. "Is there a difference?"

Kagome looked up and saw Sesshomaru watching them from across the fire. "For you, no." She began to massage Rin's head. "Do not worry. I will be fine."

Rin sighed and closed her eyes. Her breathing became deep and steady.

"You are good with children," Sesshomaru said when Rin was asleep.

"So are you," she replied.

He looked away from her.

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R & R.