Chapter One
They laughed- they cried- they screamed to empty skies.
Quite frankly, humans annoyed the hell out of him. Oh how the mighty were brought low in this era, Sesshoumaru mourned with a one of the sporadic jolts of nostalgia he'd learned to live with through the years. Years upon heaps of years long gone by, youkai dimming to the dullest memory.
He was a man living in that memory, all earthly things that ever had meaning long since given to dust; only fragments remaining- two teeth, one that had once been the key to Heaven, the other to Earth, hanging from a leather thong on his neck, powers long since spent; a scuffed metal breastplate, once belonging to a complete set; a preserved sliver of cloth, once tying the hair of a small child turned woman turned dust. The visible tattoo markings of his taiyoukai had faded as such tattoos, even ones made by youkai, are apt over half a century.
He asserted himself elsewhere instead; in the Rolex hanging from a slim wrist, casually worn Armani suit, and tied up calf-length hair that shone of the purest steel in an unconscious imitation of his father.
"Out of my way!" He muttered, shunting pedestrians to the side; if he didn't get to the meeting soon, the deal would close...
A gaggle of schoolgirls stood in his path, poorly concealing their opinion of his figure. He only shallowly inhaled out of a long, bitter acquaintance with the female love of slathering themselves in smelly things, shampoo included, and the scent of their perfumed hair washed over his senses. The scent a brand that had come out some years ago- a rose and wisteria mix, one that reminded him of times long past, though for the life of him, he couldn't say why. Almost reminded him of his half-brother...
He stopped in his tracks; it'd been years since he'd thought of that hanyou and it was a struggle to remember the child's name. Inu-Yasha. The boy's companions were distant memories, not worth recollection, despite their efforts in Naraku's demise.
The girl foremost, curious, reached a solicitous hand to him, effectively shaking him out of his reverie. "Need something, mister?" She batted her eyes, filled with a curious hope, and an even curioser innocence. He'd forgotten how slowly these human children grew up.
Sesshoumaru couldn't say how pathetic their puny flirtations- how inexperienced and how... Sighing, he shrugged off her hand as quickly as the thought had flown across his mind.
"No thank you, child. This business man has no need of your assistance." Willing his feet to walk as he thought, he was quickly swallowed by the crowds.
Kagome started after Eri as she approached the strange looking business man, hips a'sway, but stopped as she saw there was no need. He gave her a polite brush off, nothing more than any of them, with the exception of the eternally optimistic Eri, had expected. She returned, grinning, and not embarrassed in the least.
The girl pulled out the story for the rest of the day, and by sunset, she'd regaled each of the trio as to how the man had been this close (the point demonstrated with a forefinger and thumb) to asking her to marry him, and he was soo-ooo handsome, ne?
This was endured by the other girls with an indulgent grin and a shake of the head.
As they forgot, Kagome remembered the man, and as the months passed- full of well-hopping and shard-hunting- she found herself wishing she'd never seen him. Or anticipating when she would; the young woman found that his visage popped up a lot in quiet moments. A man who she'd saw through a distantly crowded square!
She didn't have to thrust about to remember what he looked like (a fact that she found annoyed her to no end) ; long hair the color of bleached bone, skin taut over high cheekbones, narrow, jutting jaw, and eyes that dominated the whole of his face, even if she was too far away to see the color. The man's coloring and facial features were vaguely reminiscent of Inu-Yasha. Did this mean that she and Inu-Yasha were to become- at this she blushed and realized the buried hope that she and Inu-Yasha might stand a chance.
Despite Kikyo… Kagome's lips gave a painful twist.
Of course, Kagome always knew that she was attracted to the hanyou; he was handsome, sometimes painfully innocent, possessing a good heart- all in all she'd be fool not to appreciate him. There was fission too, in their arguments, that belied passion if come to a realization; Kagome's toes curled in her shoes and she blushed again.
Was this man her descendent?
"Oi! Wench! Where the fucking hell have you been?" The object of her earlier thoughts glared down at her as she scrambled out of the well, tossing up her backpack before swinging a leg and straddling the well's upper lip.
"Around," She answered airily, grinning as she saw that he was well and truly annoyed at her assumed manner.
"Time is shards! C'mon." She knew better than to ask for a hand with her things, instead pulling the new sleeping bag that her mother had made her take, up behind her then swinging the other leg to stand.
They snaked through the forest, bickering companionably over inane things. When she reached the village, she was cheerfully welcomed to share her friends' fire.
"Thanks guys." She said, settling her stuff into a corner and rolling out her sleeping bag.
"Got anything for me?" Asked one of the multiple Shippos currently bouncing around the hut, "Look at the trick I've been-"
"-Driving everyone insane with, all fucking day! Now that Kagome's here and you've shown her, you can quit it." Inu-Yasha placed a well-aimed whack on the nearest Shippo, consternation on every line of his features as his hand passed through the shade.
"See, Kagome, I've covered my scent so dog-boy can't figure-" WHACK! Suddenly there was one Shippo, racing to Kagome with his hands over his head and whimpering.
"Doesn't mean I can't keep whacking until I find the right one." Inu-Yasha grinned and stalked out of the hut.
Kagome hid a smile as she cradled the pouting Shippo. Sango and Miroku shared grins but when things got nasty inside, Kagome took the kit to watch the sun dip behind the western mountains.
AN: R&R, if you would!