Awakening

It was the silence that woke Kagome. She hadn't heard a lack of noise so profound in all her sixteen years. It was as if the world were waiting for something, and all of nature was holding it's breath. She sat up and looked around. She was in a cave, but she couldn't recall the events before waking there. With a start, she realized that she was alone in the darkness. None of her companions, or their belongings, were to be seen. She got to her feet and walked to the mouth of the cave. She surveyed the landscape before her and gasped. She turned around to look at the cave.

This is where Kikyo tended Onigumo, and where Naraku was born, she thought.

She shivered and walked out into the sunlight. The stillness lingered in the air. There were no birds singing, no sounds of animals from the forest. Despite the bright sunlight there was an air of eeriness to the day. Kagome set off through the tall grass toward Kaede's village.

Halfway through the grass Kagome stopped. Something was prickling her danger sense. She stretched out with her power that she'd inherited as Kikyo's reincarnation. Her ability to sense youkai. Kagome shivered. There was definitely a demon near her. She was being stalked. Screwing up her courage Kagome decided to face her stalker.

"Who are you? I know you're there."

"Why did you come out of the Iwamuro no Miko?" came a voice from behind Kagome.

She turned but didn't see anyone. She shuddered as a wind moved through the grass making it look like an undulating green sea. The youkai could be standing not two feet from her and she wouldn't see him until it was too late.

"What's the Iwamuro no Miko?" Kagome asked.

"The cave you just left. What business do you have there?"

"I don't know. I just woke up there. I don't even know how I got there."

A few feet away, a tall figure rose out of the grass.

"Can it be?" the youkai asked.

Kagome stared at the demon. He was tall. At least six feet. He had red hair pulled into a pony tail high on his head. Green eyes stared at her in frank examination. He looked vaguely familiar to Kagome.

"Who are you?" the girl asked.

"Kagome?" The demon seemed to be ignoring her question.

"Yes. I am Kagome."

The youkai's eyes filled with tears and he rushed to her. Kagome squeaked as he picked her up and proceeded to give her a back popping hug.

"Kagome, we thought you were dead," the youkai cried.

The youkai's face split into a smile when he noticed Kagome's look of confusion.

"You don't recognize me do you?"

Kagome just shook her head.

"It's me. Shippo."

Kagome's eyes widened. She threw her arms around the kitsune's neck, then pulled back to look into his eyes.

"You got big," she said.

Shippo put her down and nodded. "When you went missing and all our troubles started, I thought it was time that I started to grow up."

Kagome stood in silence for a second. "What do you mean I went missing?"

"It's been ten years since anyone saw you," Shippo said softly. "You had a fight with Inuyasha and both of you stormed off in different directions. You were gone for three days before we thought anything was really wrong. We'd assumed that you'd gone back to your world and so Inuyasha went to look for you. He came back saying that you hadn't been home and we started searching here. Inuyasha and I followed you scent as best as we could, but it was three days old. We finally tracked you to the cave where Kikyo tended Onigumo and there we found your bow and arrows."

"And no one knows what happened?" asked a shocked Kagome.

Shippo shook his head. Then he brightened.

"Come on. Everyone will want to see that you've returned."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction of the village. The walked quickly through the forest and Kagome paused at the sight of the goshinboku.

I wonder how my disappearance affected Inuyasha, she thought.


Author's Note:

Iwamuro no Miko - Miko's Cave