Sorry for the wait.
Chapter 2I woke up with a headache. Sitting up I grabbed my head and rocked back and forth. Slowly, I opened my eyes to the dark room. It wasn't morning. I glanced to my left and found my alarm clock wasn't there. Then I remembered. I was in the feudal era. Everything was familiar yet foreign. My eyes slowly adjusted to the dark of the room. I tried to go back to sleep. It seemed an hour had past when I decided I couldn't get back to sleep.
Standing up I gasped in pain, my ankle. I forgot that I had sprained it. I stood there, mind still sleepy. I stumbled to the door and found a full moon. It was bright compared to inside the hut. I stared up in wonder, it was beautiful. Walking over to the edge of the woods I kept glancing at the moon. Finally I made it to the nearest tree. I sat down with only minimal pain to my ankle. I sat there for a few minutes just looking at the moon and stars. There was a shooting star that flew behind the moon. I stared after it and kept looking at the spot in which it disappeared. It suddenly got darker. I looked over at the moon and found clouds covering part of it.
I got up and went back to the hut, and slept.
Sesshomaru
Looking up at the sky I found it bleak and gray. It's going to rain today. There was about two hours until sunrise. Rin was sound asleep and I was bored. I went over today's plans in my head.
First thing is to wake up Rin. Then I have to find her breakfast, there's a stream not far away. After that we are going to visit Kohaku. I will leave her there and depart to visit mother. She wants me to meet one of father's allies. After that I will scout for Naraku. That sounds like it would past the time.
I got up. If I get her breakfast now I can have more time to look for Naraku. With everything neat and organized in my head I have nothing to possibly focus on than what I am doing. Everything should be planned out in advance.
Kagome
My head still hurt and I felt like throwing up. Standing up slowly I went to the door. Outside it was cloudy. The air was completely still. It's going to rain, I thought, and I didn't bring an umbrella. Then it occurred to me, where was my stuff?
Turning around I searched the hut, nothing. Great, I lost my bag. I walked outside and stood there, thinking that I had been cursed. I heard a rustle behind me. Whirling around I saw Kikyo. She was walking towards me, smiling. I smiled back and tried to think of something to say. What do you say to the woman that you willingly saved to steal the one you loved?
"You're looking well Kagome." Kikyo said pleasantly.
"Ya, I feel good." I lied. "How are you Kikyo?" I can't blame her, only myself. I still regret it, even if I know it's wrong.
"Good, I hear you have quit a story to tell us." She beamed.
"Ya, I need everyone here, it's important."
"Shippo went to get Sango and Miroku. Kaede is getting Inuyasha." She had a puzzled look on her face. "What's so important?"
"Well it's a long story," Not to mention embarrassing, "I would rather have everybody here." I smiled, trying to convince her to wait.
"I understand." Her eyes told me that she really does understand, she was being totally sincere. So I walked back to the hut and waited for everybody to get here. A few minutes later Inuyasha, Kikyo, and Kaede came in and sat down. I tried to smile but couldn't. I chewed myself out mentally. We sat in silence for what seemed like forever.
Shippo came bounding in the hut smiling. He sensed the tension while Miroku, Sango, and Kirara came in. The tension disappeared as Sango came and sat next to me. She squeezed my hand and I felt comfort, it wasn't enough. I stood up and faced Kaede.
"I have brought you all here…, wait, that sounds too formal. Crap!" I hit my forehead with my hand. "I was kidnapped by Naraku. The jewel is back because… because… of me." I stared at the floor. The silence was worse than being yelled at. "If it weren't for Sesshomaru I would have been…"
"Sesshomaru…?" Inuyasha interrupted. I looked up. He was half standing with a look of puzzlement on his face. I looked back at the floor.
"Sesshomaru saved me and even brought me to the nearest village so that I could get back and not get lost." My voice was small.
"Why would he save you, Sesshomaru isn't the saving type." Inuyasha sounded confused.
"Maybe he's actually nice! Maybe the only reason he was mean was because he doesn't like you!" I yelled, frustrated. Sesshomaru did give me a reason why he saved me, but it's not because he's nice. I don't know why I felt the need to defend him. He wasn't mean during the trip, he really didn't say anything. It was nice to walk in companionable silence with people. It seemed Inuyasha and I had always been fighting.
"You barely know the guy!" Inuyasha yelled back.
"And you do?" I practically screamed at him. "When have you and Sesshomaru ever had a decent conversation?" His face went blank.
"That's enough." Kaede said. "Kagome tell us how Naraku is back." My face paled. I turned and faced the wall; I couldn't bear to see their reactions.
"The jewel is back because I regret my wish. I still have feelings for Inuyasha and am jealous of Kikyo. The jewel brought back Naraku to carry out its wishes for me to continue the battle." My face was hot by the time I was done.
"What battle?" asked Sango, she sounded tired.
"I don't know, he said the battle that has been waging since before time began." I answered.
"It's the battle of humans and demons." Kikyo said slowly. "Midoriko, the one who made the jewel, fought this battle, and still is. We priestesses purify the jewel by lending her our power. We help Midoriko overpower them. When the jewel is corrupt she is overpowered by the demons."
"Midoriko spoke to me." I blurted. "She said I had to accept my wish or I will replace her. I guess she was talking about the battle." Kikyo nodded. I sat down next to Sango. She grabbed my hand and squeezed. The look in her eyes made me want to cry. I made up my mind then.
The conversation excluded me then. I sat in the corner while the others gave their ideas on what to do. My mind was far away, on the moon.
As the sun was going down I sat on the top of a hill a little ways from Edo. I turned around when I heard footsteps. Surprisingly, it was Kikyo. She sat down next to me, not saying anything. We sat there a while, in total silence. When she finally did speak, it was soft and strangely, it felt like she was going through this.
"Kagome, I know it's hard to let go. I struggled when it was you and him." She was staring at the sky. "I could barely stand being around you. And the way he looked at you, it drove me mad." Then she looked at me. "I regret the things I did, I hurt him. I know how it feels, to watch the one you love being happy with someone else." Her eyes were sad and distant, looking beyond me into the past. "It makes you want to get as far away as possible. I tried but I was always pulled back."
"Do you believe in fate?" I asked her. Her eyes focused on the present.
"I believe there's a reason." She replied. With that she stood up, I stood up with her and then she was hugging me. "Don't try to avoid it, because that only makes it worse." She whispered in my ear. And then she walked away. I stared after her, with nothing to say.
Her words rang in my head. How could I confront myself when it only hurts? I stared as the sun went behind the horizon and I stood there as the sky went black and the stars appeared. As I stared at them I felt extremely small. Going to rub my eyes I felt my cheeks were wet. I was crying and had not even realized it.
I walked back to Kaede's hut. She was waiting outside. I could tell she wanted to talk. She motioned for me to follow her. I walked behind her, not knowing what to expect. Only when she stopped did I realize where she led me. It was the sacred tree. She sat against it looking thoughtful. I sat next to her, my knees hugged against my chest. We sat there, in silence.
"Kagome, I can't say I have been in your shoes. But I have been in one similar. When I was a girl my sister Kikyo was the priestess of the village. Everyone admired her, myself included. I knew I would never be as good as her, or as liked as she was." I brushed away the strands that were in my face. "I was injured because of her. I never hated her for it, but I hated her when she died. I hated her because she left me. She left me the responsibility I didn't want." Kaede had started crying. "Yet I did as she told me; I buried the jewel with her body, in attempt to get rid of it." She looked up at the stars. "I became the priestess, no time for my own wants. Now I'm an old woman, I never had a chance for love or anything I enjoyed." She looked at me. "I'm not saying that you have no right to feel sad, I'm saying you should enjoy life. It will take a while to be able to smile, but I know you can." She stood up. With one last look at me she walked towards her hut.
I waited for a few minutes, staring at the sacred tree. Its sight was very familiar, even comforting. It stood to withstand time, immune to emotion. Kaede never had time for herself, she was living what her sister made for her. I thought I was living for myself, doing what I wanted. Thinking back I realized it was the jewel. It pulled me back to the feudal era, it caused lady centipede to come back. It pulled me through time, again and again. The jewel was the reason for everything. Yet I would never have experienced the things I did. My powers, the love of my friends, the tingle when I traveled through the well, would all be gone forever.
I stood up briskly, wiping myself off I ran back to the hut. I walked in and Kaede was sitting getting a glass of water from the jug she kept. She didn't offer me one, and I know why. She knows I'm leaving, I thought. Her smile was sad. "I'll miss ye Kagome." She said sadly. "We all will." I grabbed my bow and quiver, now full of arrows.
"I have to." I whispered. She nodded and I walked out of the hut. Sango was bounding to the hut. She spotted me and stopped a few feet away. After looking at my expression she started to cry. I hugged her. Wary of my bow.
"Kagome, promise me you'll be happy." She said as she squeezed me. "Promise me you won't regret anything."
"I never have. I will always remember everything, the good and the bad." I said feeling the truth of them as they came out without warning. She looked me in the eyes. Satisfied I was telling the truth she hugged me fiercely before letting go. The tears rolled down both our cheeks, goodbyes are always the hardest. With that I waked away from that life, keeping the memories locked until I can stand to remember without the pain.
It was hard to find Sesshomaru. I walked for days, not seeing any sign of him anywhere. After the seventh day I heard Rin's laughter. It echoed through my mind, cheerful and happy. I stepped into the clearing. Sesshomaru didn't even look my way, didn't even seemed bothered. Jaken was taking a nap. Rin was holding a bouquet of flowers. She looked over at me and smiled brightly. She ran over and hugged me. My bow I was carrying almost fell of my back.
"I thought you were going back to your friends. What happened?" She looked at me curiously.
"Well I told them not to worry, and I decided to help Sesshomaru find Naraku."
"What makes you think he's trying to find Naraku?" asked Jaken suspiciously.
"Well when I was traveling with Sesshomaru about two weeks ago I noticed him on edge. He was looking for something; I'm assuming that something is Naraku."
Jaken glared at me. "You were only traveling with them for three days, how could you tell Sesshomaru was on edge?"
"Well… I…" I was at a loss for words, how did I notice he was tense. "He was all tensed up, like he expected an attack. His hands twitched like they were ready to strike." Sesshomaru glanced my way, just barely. Jaken looked at me in disbelief. Shaking his head he started to mutter under his breath as he walked off.
Sesshomaru stood up with one fluid motion. It was as graceful as a cat, and yet was a dog. Jaken scrambled to get his staff. "Were leaving.", was all Sesshomaru said before turning his back and walking in a steady pace into the forest.
I trailed behind him, next to Rin. His hair was pure white with a hint of silver, I was transfixed by it. Every time he moved it looked like a white river. It swished back and forth slightly as he walked. He stopped. It was such a surprise I almost ran into him. I was close enough to touch his hair. Thinking better of it I decided not to.
"Stay here, I smell Naraku." He said, then turned left and started to walk.
"Wait!" I yelled after him. He stopped, waiting for me to finish. "Let me come with you, I can help you." He nodded just briefly before continuing on. I quickly followed suit.