As You Were
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Inuyasha or it's characters.
Chapter One
"Alright, that about does it!" exclaimed the eager miko, placing the last herb in her basket. Kagome stood and stretched fully, before brushing the specks of earth from her jeans.
Raising her head, she closed her eyes and allowed the sun's rays to caress her face.
Releasing a sigh, she bent down and grabbed her basket, resting it against her hip. She turned and proceeded towards the village, noting the position of the sun in the sky and realizing how long she had been out.
I can already imagine the fit that Inuyasha will throw after taking too long again.
The thought made her giggle. He really had no self control sometimes. She paused in her movement, turning to face away from the village. Thinking her plan over briefly, she headed away from her home.
It was close to a year ago now that she had decided to stay behind in the Fuedal Era after defeating Naraku. She'd grown a lot in that time, learned new things and made a life for herself. It took some getting used to; not being able to travel to the future, not seeing her family. She knew it would be when she made the decision. As her reliance on the well weakened though, she found herself gain more independence in her new time.
She'd grown stronger than she was before. She'd mastered her archery skills thanks to Kaede, Inuyasha and Sango had taught her how to use a sword, and Miroku had even taught her some hand to hand combat, though she admitted that wasn't her best skill.
Her friends had changed too. Sango and Miroku were now married and residing in the village they had all grown to call home. Their three children never failed to liven things up for everyone, though it could never be boring with Inuyasha around. Shippo was getting stronger with his fox magic and loved tormenting the half demon on a regular basis as 'practice', though Kagome had a sneaking supsicion that he was actually trying to impress Rin with his antics.
The little girl still resided amongst them, with frequent visits from Sesshoumaru of course. It was during these times that Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru would engage in battle, though she was certain it wasn't done maliciously. Since defeating Naraku, Inuyasha would often complain there was no one to put up a 'decent fight' anymore and he grew restless. Even though Sesshoumaru wouldn't say it aloud, she figured that was why he continued to taunt his brother as well.
Brushing a small branch from her view, Kagome stepped into a large clearing and walked all the way towards the centre before stopping. Laying her free hand down, she gingerly swept her fingers along the worn edges of the Bone Eater's Well.
The sadness that tugged at her caused a small smile to form on her features. As she did every time she visited the closed-up portal, she tried to sense even a shred of magic within it's depths. The nothingness that met her efforts caused her to sigh.
Mom, Grandpa, Souta, Buyo…
The longing swept up within her. She missed her family terribly. While she didn't regret the choice she made, she often wondered how they were doing, if they missed her as much as she missed them.
Removing her hand from the well, she shifted her basket once more before turning to head back to the village. Suddenly she felt a sharp pull at her senses.
Demon!
Spinning around, she turned just in time to witness a large snake demon barrel through the forest's edge. The debris shattered to the ground around the serpent, it's black and brown skin gleaming in the fading sunlight.
"I thought I sssensssed a priessstesss."
Kagome ignored the snake and raised her arm behind her to grasp her bow and arrows, ready to make quick work of the low class monster. She came up empty handed.
I left them at the village!
Cursing her mistake, she glowered at the demon when it laughed.
"Misssing sssomething are we, priessstesss?" the demon mocked, edging closer to her as it slowly slithered along the ground. Raising its head, the snake poised itself to lunge.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she warned, halting the demon's attack. "I may not have any weapons but you're still no match for me. Leave now while you can or be purified on the spot." Her words were steady and firm, hiding the uncertainty she felt at being without her bow and arrows.
The slits of its eyes narrowed, sizing her up. "You do posssesss power priessstesss, power that will soon be mine!"
The snake lunged for her, fangs extended. Kagome had already prepared herself for such an attack, charging her basket full of reiki before hurtling it at the demon's face. The object hit its mark and she was rewarded with a sizzling sound. The demon screamed in horror, thrashing it's head about. The remains of the basket and herbs fell away revealing angry, charged, skin.
Without any warning, the snake swung it's tail down towards her. Jumping to the side, Kagome barely managed to dodge the attack before another was launched. The tail gracefully redirected and swung at her from the side, catching her legs and knocking them out from under her. She landed hard on the ground and the air escaped her lungs harshly.
Struggling to fight the disorientation, she drew in a ragged breath as the snake slithered closer, its head now hovering above the well. As the dizziness faded, she glared at the demon.
"You will pay for that ssseverly." it hissed, poison dripping from its elongated fangs onto the edges of the well. The wood sizzled and smoke billowed up from the toxic liquid as it melted the bark.
The sight made her stomach churn.
She moved to get up when the snake's tail slammed down on her, pinning her arms to her side. Before she had time to call on her holy powers, the demon lunged for her once more. Kagome closed her eyes, awaiting the impact.
Another violent scream was heard before she felt a strong grip take hold of her and she felt herself moving. It passed quickly and she opened her eyes, wondering what happened. The first thing she saw was the snake surrounded in blood, its tail now missing. The demon glared at her fiercely before it turned and disappeared into the trees from where it came.
"Pathetic."
Kagome stiffened at the sound. I know that voice.
Whipping her head to the side, she gasped. "Sesshoumaru!"
His molten eyes turned to her, pinning her with his gaze. "Indeed." he responded.
She quickly took in their situation and flushed. His left arm was wrapped securely around her waist, pressing her to him, while his right held the still drawn Bakusaiga. Meanwhile both her hands were resting on the cool surface of his armour.
She removed her hands and stepped away as he sheathed his sword. "Thank you, for saving me. He was a lot quicker than I anticipated." she admitted grudgingly, getting over her embarrassment. It was a hard thing to admit she had been bested by a low class demon, let alone to the Lord of the Western Lands.
"It is of no consequence, the vermin has left." he replied monotonously.
She nodded in agreement. "Were you in the village visiting Rin?" she asked.
He looked to her again. "Hn. I left shortly before I heard the commotion."
Makes sense, he had to have been close to get here when he did.
"Well thank you again, I better be going now. I'm sure Inuyasha will be wondering where I am." she stated, knowing he probably didn't want to stick around making small talk with her. They'd conversed more over the year, mostly about Rin, but she never pushed him too far.
He raised a brow ever so slightly. "You require no escort?"
Kagome felt her face heat up. How embarrassing! "No, I think I can manage." she laughed gently.
He nodded once before turning and disappearing into the trees. Once his aura was undetectable she sighed. She took one last look around the clearing, frowning when she saw the scraps from her basket. She reminded herself that she might have been the basket were it not for Sesshoumaru saving her.
She turned and started walking. Come to think of it, that's not the first time Sesshoumaru saved me. He rescued me that time with Mukotsu, as well as Rin and I when we were kidnapped by Takema—
Kagome stopped. What was…that?
She remained still, waiting to see if it happened again. Seconds ticked by, causing her to shake her head. "Must be my imagination." she mumbled softly. As she moved to step once more, she gasped, a pulse of energy reaching her senses.
There was something nearby, but she couldn't identify what it was. Had the snake returned? She followed the source, trying to determine its location. No, its not a demon, it's almost familiar somehow though. Her gaze scanned her surroundings before eventually landing on the well.
Narrowing her eyes, she walked towards the structure. Peering down into the darkness, she felt another pulse of energy hit her.
Her heart began thumping in her chest, realizing why the power was so familiar to her. "The well is…open!" she wondered incredulously. She hadn't felt this energy in a year, but she realized it now, the tingling sensation warming her
Immediately thoughts of seeing her family swarmed her.
Kagome paused. I should tell the others, they're probably wondering where I am.
She'd already been gone way too long, it was a wonder Inuyasha wasn't here already. Then it hit her. If he comes looking for me, he'll follow my scent here and know what happened.
Ignoring the bad feeling in her stomach, she gripped the worn, melted, edges of the well and swung her legs over before jumping in.
The familiar rush of adrenaline hit her as she fell, momentarily she panicked that she may hit the bottom. Relief flooded her system as blue lights surrounded her, enveloping her in the long lost sensation.
The magic subsided and she felt herself hit solid ground. She looked around for the ladder she had used many times to climb out, but found none. Why isn't it here?
She shrugged it off, figuring that her family must have removed it since they planned on her never returning. "Just gotta do this the old fashioned way." she stated, clapping her hands together.
Moving to the side of the well, she felt along the edge for some kind of grips. Slowly but surely she scaled the wall and after a couple slips and scratches, she finally gripped the wooden frame. Pulling herself up, she rested on the wood for a couple seconds, the edge digging into her torso, before finally managing to get one leg over.
She sighed triumphantly as she stood and looked around. Her hopes were quickly squandered when she seen the same forest she had just left only moments ago. "What…happened?" she whispered, stunned.
It didn't work.
The joy she had felt seconds ago crumbled, leaving a massive lump in her throat. She swallowed, trying to rid herself of the overwhelming urge to cry. Looking at the well, she distracted her thoughts by trying to figure out what went wrong.
It took her a few moments before she noticed something was different. She kneeled in front of the well, tracing the surface with her hand when realization dawned on her.
"What happened to the marks left by that snake demon?" she wondered aloud.
Panic set in. This was not good. First the well opened, then she didn't cross over to the future, now the well was fixed.
She stood up and marched back to the village. "I need to see Inuyasha and tell him what happened."
Her walk was shorter than normal, due to the fact she was nearly sprinting. This whole event had her freaked out and she just wanted to be back in Kaede's hut with her friends. Reaching the hill, she glanced up quickly from her thoughts only to stop dead in her tracks.
The valley below her which was normally filled with huts and crops, was bare.
Kagome stared dumbfounded at the valley. She turned her head to the right and then left, as if she had somehow overlooked an entire village. "What the hell is going on?" she shouted, distressed and confused. This made no sense! What happened to everyone? To everything!
She took a deep breath to try and calm herself. She needed to figure out what was going on, now.
Taking a step down the hill, she shrieked as her foot slid out from under her. Unable to grab hold of anything, she tumbled down the slope, landing in a heap at the bottom. She groaned, dizzy from the fall, and tried to raise herself up. A sharp pain grew in her right temple, she reached up to press her hand against where it hurt, only to pull it away covered in blood.
I must have hit it on a rock or something.
She sat up, with much effort, keeping the pressure on her head to attempt to stop the bleeding. "What am I going to do?" she asked herself. She had no idea where she was or how she got here. The well had only ever taken her to the Fuedal Era and the future, so she had to be in one of them.
But then why didn't she recognize this place?
The thought stumped her. She bit her lip, contemplating what to do.
Maybe she should go back to the well? If it was capable of bringing her here, surely it would take her back? Deciding she had no other option, she struggled to stand, pushing herself off the ground for momentum. She squeezed her eyes shut as the pain in her head protested the movement. When it subsided, she opened her eyes slowly and took a deep breath before attempting to climb the hill.
She edged up the grassy slope carefully, noticing the slickness. Why is it all wet? It didn't rain… How she wished for the path that was always right here.
Something bright entered her vision ahead of her and caught her attention. Lifting her gaze, she gasped, losing her footing in the process. Instantly her left arm was grabbed before she could tumble back down the hill, and pulled into a sturdy grip. The pain in her head returned with a vengeance and she thought she might be sick from it.
Realizing someone had helped her and still held her, she lifted her face to thank them but stopped dead in her tracks.
"S-Sesshoumaru?" she asked disbelievingly.
Warm, amber, eyes, narrowed slightly. "Who are you, human?"
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