Lost and Found

An Inuyasha Fan fiction

Chapter 1:

Honoring the Lost

A/N: I haven't posted any of my writing in a really long time, but I felt I wanted to write out my own take on a Kag/Kou fic. Please, go easy on me, but criticism is always helpful.

"If the days won't allow us to see each other, memories will, and if my eyes can't see you, my heart will never forget you"

This was it. The day had come. Ten years. Ten long years since she had stepped out of her house, intent on another day of school; perhaps a dinner with her family to celebrate her sixteenth birthday. The day she attempted to retrieve Buyo from the well house. The day she was pulled from this time and thrust into the warring states era. The day she first laid eyes on Inuyasha. Eight years from the day when the well sealed itself. Six years from when she had given up all hope of returning to the time she loved; the man she had loved. Tears filled her eyes, dripping down her face onto the pillow under her head. No. Don't do that. She had done enough of that. Kagome sat up, wiping her eyes of the leaking tears. It had taken some time, but she had found peace in an odd way. Fitting in the modern world wasn't an option, not really. Even now, she never quite felt right here, but it got better once she began to study history. It seemed their defeat of Narraku had changed the books. At first it had been a mild curiosity, a whim that turned into so much more. Research turned into study, study turned into classes.

One day, she began to explore.

At first she would drive out to where she would begin her searches. Places that by memory and map, she pieced together; most all had come up empty. One of those days where she couldn't even get through the motions of the day, she forced herself onto her bike and pedaled away. Minutes. Hours. She had no idea how long she'd traveled. Hunger didnt bother her, but thirst had only been staved off by her small water bottle for so long. She stopped in the nearest town and grabbed supplies. More water, food, a jacket and a sleeping bag. She stuffed it into a new bag and climed back onto the bike, continuing on her way.

Days. For the first time in years she felt calm, happy. Home. Though, at this point she had mostly stuck to the roads. One day, she decided to venture off into the wilderness. She petaled down a long since abandoned road, staring off into the distance. Mountains. She hadn't tried there yet. How many cliff sides did her friends rest upon in their journeys? She turned into the line of trees. It had taken some practice to get accustomed to the rough terrain, but she had done it many times before. After several scrapes and bruises she had gotten a pretty good hang of it. Unfortunately supplies were going to run out. She had plenty of food, but water was going to be a problem. She stopped near a tree and sat upon the ground. Did she want to return? Re supply and come back? No. That was a long journey. But what else could she do? She sighed, leaning back. What a pity. She stared at the sky, breathing in the fresh air. It seemed that she wasn't destined to see that mountain view again. Her hands raked the dirt, letting the feeling settle before picking a twig and flicking it a few times, watching as it bounced . If only she had a way to hunt. Could she hunt? Could she find water? Was she seriously freaking thinking about living like that, just to get some silly mountain view? Flick. The view she may have shared with her friends? Yes, she would certainly try. If only there was a way. She couldn't very well chase some animals down, and she only and a small hunting knife in her bag. If only. Flick. Flick. The woman leapt to her feet. Raking her mind, if only she could remember how. Hadn't sango talked about it once? A solution was upon her.

It had been a long time since she had to use any rel survival skills, and she had almost given up until she stumbled on some berries by a river. The water problem was solved, if only she could get her bows to work. Days. She had efficiently created a net for fish. Gutting them was hard, and not to mention just totally gross, but she managed. She had no one to do it for her. It got easier over time. She did not venture far from the river, her source of constant food and water. She created a camp for herself.

The miko was actually quite proud of her work. If only they could see her now. She laughed about this to herself by the fire one night, tears in her eyes. It was almost like she could feel them there with her. Perhaps their spirits. At first she could only cry, but in time it became a comfort. Once in a while she swore she could feel a gentle touch, a warm hug; laughter.

Months. It was ready. She gave an excited squeal as the arrow fired from her bow with enough strength to embed it into the trunk of a large tree. She could hunt. She successfully hunted a rabbit in a few days, only to weep after having killed it. It took longer to skin it. She vomited twice, but hours later, the miko had a small pile of meat on sticks roasting in the fire. She could stay a while longer.

Weeks.

It was one of those days, where she seemed to just lay there, staring at the sky, lost in her memories. This time they were of shippo. His laughter echoed in her mind. The sound of rustling leaves jerked her out of her fantasy land. Sitting up slowly, she glanced around the camp. She hadn't had any close predators, but she had seen evidence of their presence. The Miko's blood ran cold, reaching for her bow and notching an arrow into it as she got to her feet. Footsteps. It was close. She turned, trying to spot the source of the noise. She nearly screamed. Not two feet away, it's face only visible through a bush, stood a wolf.

"You scared me little guy." She said softly, arrow still pointed at the creature. Her nerves were shot. This creature could have killed her right there, only it didn't. It sniffed the air around her, eventually taking a step forward. Then another before it reached her, it was close enough to touch, but she could't bring herself to shoot it. The miko lowered her weapon reaching a hand down until her hand delved into soft fur. She laughed, her mind racing back to a certain wolf demon. The sudden noise startled the beast, and it took off.

She didn't know why, or what compelled her do it, but Kagome got to her feet, leaping forward as she tried to catch up with the wolf. "Wait no! Come back!" She cried, following it up the river, its tracks in the muddy bank leading her way.

Hopeless. She had lost the damn thing, and the incline was starting to get steep. She decided on going only a little further, a set of ledges ahead that she could climb easily, there she would make her stop. The ledges were steeper than she had expected, but soon enough she only had to pull herself up onto the last ledge. She couldn't even see over the top of it. The girl grabbed onto the ledge, hoisting herself up.

Once she had pulled herself all the way up, she crawled a few feel and flopped down to the ground. Damn. Her breath calmed, her muscles stopped screaming, and slowly she opened her eyes.

Beautiful. The river lead to a mountain waterfall. It was so beautiful. Why could the wolf have lead her here. Hn. Wait. She squinted her eyes, turning her head every which way. No. It couldn't be. This place. It almost reminded her of the wolf den. Kagome sprang to her feet, throwing her bag onto her back. It certainly looked like it, but how could she prove it. If only the caves were still there. There by the waterfall, a large caved opened up into darkness. Creating a torch to carry with her, she adventured in, step by step both praying that no modern wolves lived here, and hoping she could at least find a clue. Proof that they were really there. Not for fame or glory, not to find the first proof of the myths that mingled with history, that was part of her past; but to have it for herself. A token, something to hold that was of that time.

Nothing. Hours she wandered through the tunnels, many were caved in, and others were just plain empty. Nothing. There was nothing here. This was as close as she was going to get to - SLAM. Something had caught her foot, and she hit the ground. Dammit! How clutzy of her. Typical. She could almost hear Inuyasha.

'Walk much, stupid?'

"You're so stupid Inuyasha." She croaked, her voice broken as she fought her tears. He would only have complained about that too. She sat up, what had she tripped on anyways? She groped the ground, her hand came upon something hard; definately not rock, and there was an edge on one side, sticking out of the earth.

And so she dug, and dug, finally wrenching the metal from the ground, letting out a manic sort of cackle as she examined it. Wolf armor. Part of it, perhaps a shoulder plate. There had to be more. And unearthed more dirt than she ever could have imagined, now feeling bad for all the grave digging the boys had done. Eventually, strewn in front of her, was a full set of wolf armor. She didn't know whether she wept in joy, or sorrow, but seemed she had been at it for hours before the sadness weakened to a dull ache.

The fur was deteriorated, but the metal was still good as new, it if hadn't been so dirty, but this was it, the beginning of finding the pieces of the past. If she found one, could she find more?

Yes. Yes she could, and she did.

Another year later, she still traveled, having adorned the wolf armor as her own. It worked pretty damn well considering. As her clothes became unmaintainable, she used a pelt she had collected to wear around her waist. Months later, she came upon her second piece, a scroll. It was written by none other than a familiar toad demon. She wept again as she read it. She could almost hear his squeaky voice in her mind. Hiraikotsu came next, along side a familiar staff in a broken down shrine.

This nearly destroyed her, only the comfort of her friends things did she find peace, she could not leave them behind, and so she became stronger, carrying the weight of her past along with the items that she was carrying, Kagome went on to find more, piece after piece, until one day a thought occurred to her as she sprawled out in the grass. She had long since abandoned the sleeping bag, it had been too much to carry at the beginning, but there were nights she regretted it. Oh how it would be to sleep in a bed again. A bed. Home. How long had she been away? How many months had she been living this fantasy? Home. She had to go home.