I stared at my own reflection at the nearby pond alone, thinking about everything. My reflection was just an image that surfaced in the water; just something that appeared whenever I did. I needed some serious think time by myself. For once, today, Inuyasha had actually smiled at me – it was small, but nevertheless it made me happy- for bringing extra cups of ramen, extra spicy. Though that might have been due to the fact that he WANTED the ramen. I smiled softly at the water, then temporarily broke my reflection by kicking at it. I loved the cool feel of the water as I dipped my feet in. I sat there for a moment, just enjoying my rare relaxation time. Then I started thinking about Kikyou. I would always play second fiddle. Good old reliable Kagome, there when you need her AND also there when you don't. But I loved him, and love ignores anything negative. Love will forget the fact that the giver's love is one-sided. I brushed away the strand of hair that threatened to tickle my nose. The air seemed colder now, the wind gustier, the sky a darker shade of sunset. I guessed I'd better be heading back to camp. Everyone was most likely to have finished eating dinner.
Love. It was a funny four-letter word I'd come to think about often lately. I hated being the Betty to Inuyasha's Archie. But I listened to my heart, and it told me that it didn't matter- as long as Inuyasha was happy. As long as he acknowledged my existence. 'Yo!' a familiar female voice greeted from behind me. I spun around. 'Kagura.' I hissed. I didn't particularly like this offshoot of Naraku, though Kagura didn't seem to want to be under his control. I didn't know why. Maybe it was because she just reeked of Naraku. Why are you alone, hmm?' she asked, grinning maliciously, as if planning something horrible in her mind. My death, perhaps. ' Oh, I'm not,' I lied, hoping that it was too dark to see the sweat inching down my forehead. 'Well, supposed miko, let's see how well you'd do without that pathetic gang of five- the little puppy, the useless baby fox demon, the cursed monk, the demon slayer and the cat of hers. Oh, how nice. I see you've forgotten your bow and arrows. You sure make life easy for me, don't you?' She asked, laughing evilly, slowly revealing her fan. I kicked at the ground in desperation. Inuyasha… save me… I was only minutes away from camp… then whatever hope I might have had vanished as I spotted Kikyou's soul collectors.
Inuyasha would use my absence as an excuse to go see her, no doubt. Miroku and Sango would cherish some alone time as a couple- I groaned inwardly. Was I really just a supposed miko? Was I not strong enough to handle the Wind Sorceress on my own? I was determined to prove her wrong, but she attacked before I was even ready. I ducked, but not fast enough as a blade neatly cut a bit of my skin. 'OOO, blood,' Kagura cooed, moving in for the kill, sending another one of her Dance Of The Blades. Blood spurted out of my deep wounds as I fell to the ground. Would… I… die? Was…I…so …weak? Memories flashed through my mind. Inuyasha. All I could think about at the very last moment was he. 'Inu… yasha.' I whispered, before closing my eyes and waiting for Kagura to finish me off.
But the expected final blow never came. Without even caring why she didn't bother to do so, I attempted to escape, injured as I was. I tried to grope my way in the darkness, and eventually felt a foot. Naturally, I choked out the first name that came to mind: 'Inuyasha?' The foot had on boots and it was trying to shake my hand off. 'No,' snarled someone familiar, 'What does this lowly ningen think she is doing?' I gasped, and immediately pulled my hand back as if it had been touching hot coal. 'I'm sorry,' I whimpered, forgetting my pain for a while, and exchanging it for fear of death. It was Sesshomaru. And I didn't think he really liked me. 'Jaken!' He ordered. 'Place her atop of Ah-Un. This Sesshomaru can smell lots of her blood. And that Kagura's, too. She must be seriously injured. Send her back to her camp.' I winced as I was roughly put on Ah-Un. What? Was Sesshomaru giving me a lift? Amazing. And did he mention smelling Kagura's blood? Then… was it he who had prevented Kagura from killing me off? I smiled appreciatively at him in the dark, then wondered if he did it so that he could, himself, enjoy the pleasure of killing me. At that, my smile faded away and I was carried into the night, my eyelids slowly drooping…'Thank you, Sesshomaru- Sama,' I gratefully thanked, though softly. I knew he could hear me.
