Chapter One

The wind softly danced through the red horizons of autumn, gliding through the forest before caressing the cheeks of a priestess lost in thought. Her large stormy blue eyes unfocused as they gazed up into the cascades of ember hues, watching as leaves would gracefully fall to the ground.

It seemed like it hadn't been so long ago that the group had finally destroyed Naraku, but already it had been almost a decade. Miroku and Sango's children were growing strong and were becoming the pride of their parents' lives. Shippo still spent most of his time away from the village learning to become a proper fox demon, but returned often to visit. Kohaku had grown into a fine young man, and was now the age Kagome had been when she decided to return to the feudal era. Rin had also grown into a lovely young woman, and sometimes reminded Kagome of herself when she was that age.

Yes, everyone had been growing, everyone that is except InuYasha. He was still the same, and would probably remain so for a very long time. This was not something Kagome had considered in her happy ending. She felt at home in this strange land and was happy to return. Kagome had learned much from Jinenji and Kaede about healing herbs, and how to properly control her divine powers. She was now becoming a master, and was confident in being able to wander away to have time to herself; though this habit seemed to be happening more often in the recent days.

She just couldn't take it, every time she saw Sango's children, or any families in the village really, she always felt a tug, and a primal need. Tears welled in Kagome's eyes as she remembered her frustrations with InuYasha on this matter. It had been the root of many fights between them over the past couple years. The frustrated woman had tried to understand his reasoning, but every time she does conquer a problem he'd make up another excuse. In the end Kagome had come to the conclusion that InuYasha just wasn't ready for children, and sadly probably wouldn't be in her lifetime. The question left unanswered was would she be satisfied with this? Was his juvenile love really enough to satisfy her adult mind and body? Kagome had yet to come to a conclusion with this question, and was also afraid to know the answer.

Sighing Kagome drifted away from her thoughts as she realized it was getting dark and decided it was time to head back to the village. Standing she made sure to dust herself off and pick up her bow and the basket she had been using to collect herbs throughout the day. Then she turned and made her way home.

The priestess arrived just before dark and headed to Kaede's hut. She paused to put her thoughts behind her and made her way in with a smile on her face.

"Good Evening Kaede and Rin!" Kagome said cheerfully announcing her presence.

Rin turned up from where she was preparing dinner and smiled in return, "Hello Kagome! I can see your time in the forest today was well spent!" she stated gesturing towards Kagome's basket of herbs.

"Ah, that's right! Kaede, I found that bark you were asking for, I'll get the tea ready for you." Kagome explained before getting started with her assignment.

"Oh thank you Kagome, It seems my body isn't what is used to be. Ye are such a kind spirit, and for that I'm forever grateful." The elderly priest said softly in her weary voice from where she was resting on her humble futon.

Kagome merely nodded before handing Kaede a cup of the green tea and willow bark mixture, "Of course, you've taught me so much, and have done so much for everyone, this is the least I can do!"

"So Kagome, I'm guessing since you were gone all day you and Inuyasha had another fight?" Rin asked attentively while dishing out a portion of stew for everyone.

Kagome let out a long exasperating sigh. Rin was really good about picking up on everything, "Yeah, you could say that. He's been being such a jerk, sometimes I wish He still had his subjugation necklace…then I'd give him a good sit! I'm just tired of it, lately it seems all we ever do it fight…times like this I really wish I could go back to Mama's house….but I made my choice I guess…." She trailed off tears pricking at the corners of her eyes when she remembers her family. Souta was probably in college by now, or close to it….How are Mom and Grandpa doing?
Rin politely coughed to snap Kagome out of her thoughts before throwing out a suggestion she had been thinking about for a while, "Well…Lord Sesshoumaru should be visiting in a couple days, maybe you could go traveling with him to take some time for yourself to clear your head? I don't think he'd mind too much seeing as how strong and dependable you are."

Kagome almost choked on her food at this notion and sputtered, "Travel with Sesshoumaru!? I know he's become more tolerant of us Rin, but I don't think he'd feel comfortable with me tagging along just for some vacation time…"

"Oh come on Kagome, I'm sure getting away from here, and InuYasha will do you a world of good. You will never know until you ask, and I don't think it'd cause too much trouble to just ask." Rin implored.

Kagome felt reluctant but admitted Sesshoumaru had been a lot kinder since her problems started with InuYasha, but even if Sesshoumaru did permit her to tag along wouldn't it cause more harm than good?

"I'll think about it…." She finally mumbled before finishing off her meal and standing up to make her leave. "Thank you for the food and the discussion, I'll leave some of these herbs here as a thank you. I'm going to head home now, Good night!" with that Kagome waved good bye before stepping out into the crisp night air.

This is my very first Fanfiction I've written. I hope you'll be patient and enjoy the ride with me. I'm a bit rusty on my writing skills, so updates maybe slow.