Moving On

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 1

Kagome sped through the trees of Inuyasha's Forest. Angry, red scratches appeared on her usually smooth skin. Her hair bounced up and down as she jumped over protruding roots and bushes. Her azure eyes were filled with fear as her fists were clenched. She could feel herself running out of breath and the air around her was heavy as sweat trickled down her face. The sun's rays were blocked by the thick canopy of the forest for which she was grateful for. If she was going to run for her life, at least it wouldn't be under the blazing heat.

Shaking her head, Kagome wondered how in the world she got herself into this. It's been three years since she first came to the Feudal Era and they finally defeated that despicable hanyou, Naraku. It was actually quite a miracle that they were able to defeat him in the first place. Of course they couldn't have done it without the help of a certain daiyoukai along with the other demons he had assembled. Which I might add, was quite a few. Some of them, Kagome recognized as those they had either helped or fought or both. Even those like Jinenji and Shiori had joined them.

During that time, Naraku had planned to pull a surprise attack on them. His demons were led by Kagura and Kanna. And the battle had begun. At first, everyone was busy with all the lesser species of youkai but when Naraku had finally made himself known, it was Inuyasha who fought him immediately head-on. Soon after, Sesshomaru also joined in the fight. Kagome was off in the distance where everyone said she would be safe with Shippo, Rin, Ah-Un and even Jaken by her side. It was driving her mad knowing that they still thought her to be too weak to protect herself. She wasn't a child damn it! She could very well take care of herself, thank you very much!

While she was ranting to herself, she tried to find something, anything to help them with. So it surprised her when Kikyo suddenly approached her. The older miko had asked if she was willing to prove herself and Kagome had agreed almost instantly. They had devised a simple and fast plan to destroy the hanyou for good. Just for this time, they would set aside their differences and work together—no lies, no backstabbing. It had worked rather nicely, Kagome was able to make sure that the children were safe before rushing into the battlefield, shooting her way through and by the time she reached the clearing where Naraku, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were, Kikyo appeared on the other side. Giving each other the signal, both mikos readied their bows and aimed straight for the evil hanyou. It was time for Kagome to do her part, they only had a split second to pull this stunt and they were determined not miss this opportunity.

"SIT!"

Inuyasha, who was forcing his Tetsuaiga upon Naraku's deformed arm and was above the evil hanyou, had his face pummeled to the ground. Naraku jumped out of the way; unaware of the opening he had given the mikos. Before they had registered what happened next, two arrows full of powerful miko energy headed directly for Naraku's heart and piece of the Jewel. Light enveloped the whole clearing and even the great daiyoukai had to shield his sensitive eyes from it. As it faded, Kagome peeked to see if Naraku was done when a familiar yet ugly appendage knocked her towards a tree trunk. She had fallen unconscious at the impact.

The next thing she knew was that when she woke up, she was already in Kaede's hut and so was everyone in the Inu tachi. Sango told her how she and Kikyo landed a rather fatal blow on Naraku and Sesshomaru took the chance to finish him off. Inuyasha, who had finally pulled himself from the ground, snatched the tainted shard that flew from the wounded chest of the half-breed. That shard was immediately purified by Kikyo and due to the power in Sesshomaru's strike and the loss of the Jewel's power all at the same time, Naraku was finally gone. Kagome couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in herself for not having the ability to dodge that damned tentacle. Her back had seen better days, she admitted. The pain was going to kill her. She couldn't even sit up without help. Sighing at the inevitable, Kagome had let herself rest for five days. Thanks to the healing abilities of a miko and the herbs of Kaede to help boost her energy, Kagome was able to recover quite quickly.

But just when she thought her troubles were over, Inuyasha had come barging in and shouting at her saying that she was the reason why Kikyo was avoiding him. It seems that the older miko had not come to see Inuyasha at all after the battle. Even when he had gone after her, Kikyo would not see him. She came back once only to leave a message for Kagome and give her the purified shard that belonged to Naraku. Kikyo had said that she was grateful for her help and was impressed to see the power and courage of someone who bested her first-hand.

Inuyasha had screamed and caused a huge ruckus. He had threatened and chased Kagome out of bed, out of the hut and into the woods. He was aimlessly swinging his claws in an attempt to behead the young priestess. He had blamed her for Kikyo's indifference towards him. Sango and Miroku and even Shippo stalled him long enough for Kagome to get a head start. So all these events add up to the fact that she was now running for her life, first from Inuyasha, now, from a hunger-crazed demon who thought that the jewel around her neck was pretty and that she would make a fine miko ala carte. And to top things off, she had stupidly forgotten her weapons back in the village. If not for her current problem, Kagome would've laughed at the irony.

Racing towards the only safe place she knew, Kagome pushed herself to go faster and head for the well. But the Fates seem to have a different plan for her…she tripped. Damn! Kagome tried to scramble to her feet but the demon was already hovering above her with saliva dripping from its ugly mouth…

Sesshomaru, who was coincidentally near the vicinity, heard the faint impact of a body on a rock. The scent of blood wafted to his nose, it was disturbingly familiar. Against his better judgment, Sesshomaru slowly made his way to the source. As he got closer, the stench of a lowly demon became stronger as well as the scent of the thick red liquid. The demon lord immediately thought to dispatch of the former, regardless of the circumstances. He was not one to tolerate trash, humans and demons—even half-breeds—alike.

Sesshomaru traced the scents to a clearing. Amber eyes scanned the forest floor and landed on a familiar human woman lying next to a boulder, unconscious and barely breathing. A thin line of blood ran across her right cheek and Sesshomaru could clearly see her body was broken. Her black tresses were fanned around her head and her eyes were closed. Her attire was nearly shredded and she was covered in wounds.

Recognizing her as the female that traveled with his half-brother and the one that played an admirable role in Naraku's defeat, Sesshomaru let his eyes lazily travel to the vile demon. Sesshomaru made himself known as he stepped out of the trees. After a few steps, the savage was already looking at him. It had dark, rough skin and violet spikes were shooting from its head. It had orange horns and crimson eyes. Repulsed by both the stink and the appearance, Sesshomaru killed the demon without a second thought. The poor thing didn't even register what was happening when he suddenly had his head roll on the ground. Soft, sizzling sounds could be heard in the background as the deceased demon slowly melted. Shifting his golden gaze back to the miko, he examined her. He felt her back to notice bruises, scars and gashes that bled dangerously. She had a bump on her head, too. With that thought, he ripped parts of Kagome's top to form make-shift bandages that will cover her wounds for now. Despite his approval of the miko's display of strength, he will not shred his own clothes for a ningen female. The great Lord Sesshomaru is not that generous.

After wrapping her gashes, Sesshomaru said nothing and his face was blank as he hoisted the miko over his shoulder. It was pretty tricky seeing as he only had one arm and yet, anyone who would've seen him would think that that was the most elegant movement in the world. Steadily getting to his feet, the Inu Youkai took a small whiff of the air and turned on his heels. It was going to rain. Deciding not to bring the female straight to his camp tonight, so as not to upset his ward with the sight of the bloodied miko, he found and settled them in a cave. And just in time too, it had started to drizzle. He went out for a while to hunt. When he came back, Kagome was moaning in pain and it looked like she was having a nightmare.

Inwardly contemplating about the reason for his untimely act of chivalry towards the girl, he removed his outer garment and threw it on her body like a make-shift blanket. Satisfied with it he had foregone setting a fire and leaned against the wall, leaving Kagome on the other side of the cave. Sensing no danger, Sesshomaru drifted into a light sleep as he listened to the down pour of the rain and the miko's steadying heart beat.

Kagome woke up after a few hours and felt a soft fabric caressing her skin. Confused, she sat up to see what it was only to discover that there was no light. The ground and the walls were rocky so she gathered that she was in a cave. She also felt that her middle section was a little painful but when she looked down at her body, she could faintly see her top was now shredded into bandages of some sort that were neatly wrapped around her torso. The look of horror etched its way on her face. Frantic and hysterical, Kagome whipped her head as lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the heavens. Her body was covered in goosebumps as the chilling breeze came in contact with her skin. She quickly dove in the pile of clothing that was still wrapped around her. Just then, she noticed the dim outline of a hexagon pattern with flowers in each one. Kagome's eyes widened in realization, this belonged to Inuyasha's brother! Rising carefully and quietly, Kagome tried to get away hoping that the demon lord was not there. Her mind screamed at her to run and it took all of Kagome's self-control to stop herself from shouting and tripping on her way out. She was already about to plunge into the pouring rain but was stopped by the sound of a deep rumbling coming from inside the cave,

"Cease your feeble attempt to escape, priestess." His tone was emotionless as always and his eyes were still closed showing his mild interest in the matter. Kagome froze on the spot. Oh crap!

TBC…

Please read and review on this one. ^-^ It's edited and I really hope that this one will be better... :) Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it!