Chapter 1
As it turned out Sesshoumaru had been right. The further they got from the village the more demons they encountered and the less time there was for rest. They found themselves reverting back to their old tricks, conning Lords or elders in to taking them into their houses. Though, as they found, they didn't always have to. Often enough Kagome's rank as a Leaf shinobi got them shelter and found without having to rely on cons. In those cases, Kagome could also send her reports back to the Leaf as she had agreed to before they left.
The battles with demons were largely different than they had been before. Low level demons were not what Naraku had brought into the ninja world. No, it was the mid-range to high level demons that were smarter and stronger. There were battles that had taken them days to win and had left them totally exhausted. The worst battles were the ones that put them between villages or hamlets and large numbers of powerful demons. Their fear pushed them harder. Even when they succeeded the destruction and loss was devastating. Kagome lamented that there was not more that could be done for these villages.
After one such battle they found themselves in the home of an elder whose son had been badly injured. "You saved my son's life, it is the very least I can do." The man had said.
Kagome had hidden her cringe as best she could but Sango caught her. Thankfully she didn't bring it up until they were alone.
"Are you alright?" she asked as they washed themselves.
"I didn't save this village. I condemned it." Kagome said. "If I had done things differently, if I hadn't pushed everyone away then this wouldn't have…."
"You can't take all the blame." Sango argued.
"Can't I though? If it weren't for me there would be no demons in this world. Naraku came to this world through me. I lived to protect the jewel but I could have stopped him. I…I got distracted."
The confession hung between them. If Sango knew what Kagome meant she didn't let on. Eventually they stepped out of the hot spring and dried off. They rejoined the group in the elder's house for a sparse meal. Kagome wrote out her report for Tsunade. She handed it off to one of the villagers to run to a messenger outpost. She hoped that there were no demons between the town on the outpost. She'd hate to send someone else to their death. So, she sat up with Sesshomaru watching for the messenger's return. The moment the boy returned she went inside with the others.
"Kagome, whatever burden you are trying to bare, don't do it alone." He told her as she left.
The next day they left the little village. The elders still looked at all of them like they were real heroes. Kagome still didn't feel much like it but she accepted their thanks. The same went for the next village and the village after that. Soon all the villages began to blur together. She almost began to believe she was back in the feudal era. Her homesickness, however, let her know that she was not there. She missed Naruto, Sakura, and even Kakashi. Some part of her even wanted to speak to Sasuke. Explain everything to him. Those feelings that she had for him kept pulling her back into her new reality. However, the greatest struggle of returning to demon slaying with the old Gang was the different fight styles. Humans, specifically the shinobi she had been fighting since coming to this world, fought with jutsu and choreographed movements. With demons there was no finesse, no plan. Humans used weapons, demons used claws. The wounds were poisoned from venomous claws and bites. They got better at tending the wounds and covering each other. Especially where it concerned Kagome. It had taken a few fights for them to stop over compensating for her perceived weaknesses. Days and weeks began to blur together and Kagome began to feel numb. Even her wounds stopped hurting and just ached.
"So, where are we exactly?" Inuyasha asked as the rested one night.
"Not far from the Land of Wind. If we continue in this direction the forest will begin to thin out and eventually become desert. Pushing on we would come to the Village Hidden in the Sand." Kagome explained rolling out her map.
"Another Hidden Village?" Sango said. "More ninja?"
"Yes."
"Do you think it's worth it to continue on? Any demons out there in the sand?" Inuyasha asked the group.
"I think we've gotten an idea of what's out here. We should head back and tell the village what we've found." Sango stated. "There is no way for us to take this on on our own."
"Sango's right. We can't do this on our own. That, and, we aren't prepared to cross the desert."
Sesshomaru nodded, taking it all in. "We'll rest and then begin the journey back."
The next day Kagome and Sango went out to hunt while the others remained in camp planning their route back. When they'd taken down a deer and a few small animals they returned to camp. There was something off, however, as they got closer. There was a group of ninja on the road near their campsite. It was obvious that the ninja didn't trust the two demons and were attempting to push them off the road. Kagome sped up to intervene.
"Stop!" Kagome yelled. "We are here under orders from Lady Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage. Under whose authority do you seek to remove us?"
The clearing was silent for a moment. "We're an envoy from the Sand! We are traveling with the Kazekage himself! So, move!" A young girl yelled.
Kagome raised her eyebrow at the mention of the Kazekage.
"Listen here you brat!" Inuyasha yelled.
"Inuyasha, shut up." She said calmly.
A sudden commotion drew their attention from the girl. A black clad figure pushed its way through the small crowd. The man pulled the girl back. "Calm down, Matsuri." The man said before he lifted his head to address the other group.
He paused. "Kagome?"
"Kankuro?" Kagome felt a little stupid. Who else did she know who wore back in the desert and had purple on their face.
"Long time no see. Didn't expect to find you out this way."
Kagome shrugged. "Same could be said for you."
Both Matsuri and Inuyasha voiced their shock that the two knew each other. Kagome thought for moment explaining about explaining that they had met as enemies during the chunin exams but thought better of it. Her companions would not understand the situation and it would get too complicated. It seemed that Kankuro had similar misgivings about explaining to Matsuri.
"Kankuro, what's going on?" A dry voiced asked from down the line.
"We found an old friend." Kankuro said wrapping an arm around Kagome's shoulder.
"Lord Gaara," Kagome responded with a bow.
"Kagome Higurashi," he relied with a similar bow.
He called for a break and settled himself with Kagome's group. They discussed their mission and their plans for their return. Matsuri watched it all, barely understanding what they were talking about. Eventually, Kagome pushed the subject toward why the Sand ninja were heading toward the Leaf village.
"The chunin exams." Kankuro stated as though it was obvious. "Matsuri, here, and her teammates are all participating. Hopefully, it won't be as exciting as our year, right?"
With that Matsuri perked up. "You guys were in the same chunin exams?"
"Oh yeah, and I'm glad I didn't have to face that one." Kankuro said pointing at Kagome.
"Oh, come on, we almost fought. Just not in the chunin exams." Kagome replied with a smirk.
"That wouldn't have been a fight, that would have been a bloodbath and we both know it." Kankuro exclaimed and Gaara laughed. "You took away my only defense, I was helpless and out-numbered. It wasn't fair."
Kagome laughed as well and seeing Matsuri's confusion explained, "Kankuro and Temari were having a little spat with a couple of my teammates and a friend. When I got there Kankuro was about to use the Crow against that friend. I used a seal to keep him from doing so. By then there were four of us against the two of them. He was lucky Gaara stepped in to save them. Between Sasuke and I, we could have done some serious damage."
"Lord Gaara could've taken you!" Matsuri shot.
The older ninja laughed. "No doubt, but at the time he wasn't involved. He was nearby but not acting to help. When he did, he put a complete stop to the fight."
"I didn't need to get involved. Besides, fighting outside the chunin exams was prohibited and, despite wanting to fight the two of you, I believed I could wait until the exams." Gaara stated simply.
"There's fighting in the chunin exams?" Matsuri asked worriedly.
They all turned to look at her. Before she had been all blustering and confident but not she looked almost too young to be heading for the exam. Had the Rookie Ten looked like that once? Kagome let out a deep breath. "Don't worry. The chunin exams isn't made to break you, it's meant to test whether or not you are ready to be a chunin. If you've prepared, you'll be fine. I promise, I passed and rust me, I wasn't really ready."
"Then how did you advance?"
"She cheated." Kankuro muttered and received a glare from Kagome. "What?! You went from a genin to a jonin in like 2 days. That's cheating! I don't care who you saved." Kankuro crossed his arms like a child.
"Who-?" Matsuri started, obviously confused.
"The Lord Hokage at the time. He was under attack by a man then known as Orochimaru. I got to him in time and helped to fight Orochimaru off." Kagome said. "However, you shouldn't count on an event like that to help you out. Don't worry, if these two are with you I'm sure you're ready."
"Besides, you can probably do better than some of her teammates." Kankuro said before leaning down to whisper. "Two of them are still genin."
"What? Really?"
"Yep. They're probably participating this year. Who knows if they'll actually succeed."
Kagome shrugged. With the amount of experience they both had should have put them at the rank of jonin, if not chunin. It surprised her that Tsunade hadn't advanced them on their own merit and would make them retake the exams. Though, it could easily be her way of keeping them busy and off the road to look for the Gang. It was also likely to get Sasuke back into Village life.
"Lord Kazekage," a ninja said coming up to the group. "We need to continue on."
"Right." Gaara said standing. "We you be joining us?"
"Yes." Kagome answered without any consideration.
Gaara stepped into his cart and the rest took up their places along the caravan. The Gang joined them with Sango and Kagome taking up a pace near the front. The pace was slower than they would have made in their own but none of them complained. There was no need for them to be back in the village. Though Kagome could tell that Sango was eager to return to her children and there was some part of Kagome that wanted to return to her old team.
"So, tell me, what is this chunin exam?" Sango asked quietly.
"It's the method used to test whether a ninja is ready to advance. Children in most villages go to an academy before they become a ninja. They study the basics, how chakra works, etcetera. When they graduate most go on as genin, the lowest rank, to train under a jonin, an experienced ninja." Kagome explained.
"Like you."
Kagome nodded. "After some time, the jonin will recommend them to take the chunin exam. It's a three-part test that tests the skills required of a chunin. Chunin are often called on to lead certain missions and carry a military rank equivalent to that of captain."
She and Sango spent the rest of the discussed the ranking system. The hardest part to convey was the rank of anbu. There was no way to explain the secretive force or even an equivalent from the past to help. When explanations failed they turned to discussing the Kages and their roles in the government and what it was like in areas where there weren't any. Discussing the mechanisms of the world seemed natural and easy, safe even. If the topic seemed strange to their companions, none of them said anything. Kagome almost wondered how many of them knew. The thought made her stomach sour.
Days passed and Kagome could feel the boarder of the Land of Fire growing closer. Nervousness clawed at her at the thought of facing the village she had called home. She wasn't the only nervous one, Matsuri seemed to be growing quieter as the days went on. Finally, when the girl had stopped speaking and eating, Kagome fell back to talk with her. Just as Kagome came beside her a dark feeling washed over her. From the front of the group Kagome heard a shout of warning from Inuyasha. The next thing Kagome knew the caravan was surrounded by lizard demons. Kagome cursed and pulled the girl to the ground just as one of the demons attacked.
"Stay down, Matsuri." Kagome ordered.
She pushed the demon away with her miko powers and drew her sword. Focusing on protecting the Sand ninja, Kagome managed to fall into step fighting off the lizards. All of the sudden a wire shot out from behind her. Kagome turned and saw Matsuri staring down the horde of demons with a Johyo in her hand. Cursing, Kagome turned fully and ran toward the girl. Just as she reached her, pain ripped through her right leg. She collapsed, pulling the girl down with her. Covering the girl, Kagome formed a bow and arrow from energy and took down several demons in a row. A cheer from around her told her that the demons had been killed or chased off.
"Thank the gods." She muttered falling back to the ground.
"Kagome!" Sango yelled. "Your leg!"
"Let me through," a man's voice demanded. There were hands on her leg and she blacked out. Poison.
The next time Kagome woke she was being cared on someone's red clad back. "Yasha?" she asked.
"Hey there sleepy head. How you feeing?" the half demon asked.
"Tired, sore. How long have I been out?"
"About a day. That healer did a pretty nice job on your leg. Might not even scar. The venom didn't seem like a problem either." He replied. "If you feel up to it you might even try walking. But you should try to wake up first."
She hummed in agreement. "Matsuri?"
"A little shaken but unharmed. She blames herself. I kinda agree."
"Inuyasha." Kagome growled and she felt him tense instinctually. "She's just a child. She wanted to help. Unlike us she knows nothing about demons. You can't blame her."
Her companion grunted and Kagome found herself drifting back to sleep. She found herself waking again in what must have been in the early morning. The group had made camp and there was a small fire going. She pushed herself up off of a seeping mat and examined her surroundings. Sango was sleeping near her but she couldn't find Inuyasha or Sesshomaru and assumed that they were patrolling the area.
"Your awake." Kagome jumped at the soft voice. She turned and found Gaara sitting at the edge of the group, apparently, keeping watch on the area around them.
"Gaara, what are you doing?"
"A Kazekage should keep watch over his people, in every sense." He replied, tone hinting at a smile. "That, and sleep has never been easy for me."
Kagome stood and limped to sit beside him. That sat in companionable silence while the sun rose above their camp. When they had first met, Kagome would never have thought of just sitting with him like this. Now, though, it felt completely natural. As they parted to leave he gave her a shy smile before climbing into the carriage. In the distance, Kagome could see the gates of the village guiding her home.