~~~Prologue~~~
Kagome and Inuyasha had been traveling alone for the past month, Shippou left with Miroku to deal with a small demon problem in a village a weeks walk from Edo that wouldn't accept Inuyasha's help, while Sango went to her village to pay her respects, since it was the third anniversary of their deaths. Kagome was now eighteen years old, barely a graduate from High School, still trying to destroy Naraku. She has gotten better at controlling her Reiki, but not as great as she should be.
"Wench, get outta your head. We got more ground to cover." Inuyasha barks from beside her, pulling her out of her thoughts. She looks over to him and huffs, "The sun is almost gone, we need to set up camp before the light is completely gone."
"I can see in the dark, wench." Was his only reply as he kept on walking. Kagome rolls her eyes and walks through a bush into a small clearing big enough for a small fire, her sleeping bag and Inuyasha to sit, if he didn't leave her in the middle of the night like usual. She sets her pack down and goes about finding firewood and builds a small fire. She then goes to look for the stream that she heard a few miles back, knowing that Inuyasha would figure out she wasn't with him soon.
After getting her water, she begins cooking their meal of dried meats, rice and veggies. She makes herself a very tiny portion, saving the rest for Inuyasha, and settles herself against a tree and begins to meditate. She learned that if she meditates for at least an hour every night, she will sleep better and have better control over her Reki. She gets almost completely into her meditation, until she feels a slight brush of a powerful aura against her senses. Her eyes fly open to see Sesshomaru standing on the other side of the fire.
"Miko." He rumbles, his voice smooth yet rough, a soothing sound to her ears.
"Sesshomaru-sama." She nods to him, "How can I help you tonight?" She asks.
"Come." He motions for her to come with him, turns around and walks off. She shrugs and follows him.