Deep Forest
Stopping in the middle of the forest she sniffed the air as she looked up at the ominous gray clouds that had blown over her head during the day. She could smell the rain in the air and decided she needed to find shelter and soon before it started to rain. At that moment a single drop fell, landing on her breast the drop rolling around the curve of them. Kagome let out a small gasp sucking in her stomach as she curled her shoulders, whipping the cold water away from her sensitive skin. Staring up at the sky she growled as another drop landed on her nose.
"Damn you Kami!" she growled, wiping her nose. Looking back into the forest she started running hopping she would come across shelter soon. 'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" she growled to herself as it grew darker and she had to stop running for fear of running into a tree or over a cliff, hell it didn't even have to be dark for her to do that she realized earlier that day. Coming to a stop she looked about uncertain of which direction to go in since the one she had been going on didn't seem fruitful in the least bit. Stumbling around a few moments she finally found and there in front of her was an abandoned shack.
Running towards it she jumped up the steps, coming to the front door she froze, wondering if maybe some one had taken her idea and found shelter in the hut as well. Courtesy took over and she knocked on the door when she got no answer in replay she tried opening the door but it was stuck, pulling harder it finally opened catching Kagome completely off guard she fell onto the veranda. She groaned as she got to her knees and crawled into the one room shack, staying on her knees she pulled the door closed, glad it was easier to shut it then opening it had been. She removed her sword along with her bow and quiver set, placing them by her side for easy access. Taking off her backpack she began digging through it in search of dry clothes, finding her pajamas and her sweater she pulled them out along with her sleeping bag. Pulling off her wet uniform she laid it out to dry, then pull on her pajamas and her sweater, digging through her bag more she found her old towel and her cd player.
"Wow I forgot I even had you." She told her cd player as she began drying her hair. After five minutes of drying her hair she stopped, folded up her towel and placed it inside her backpack once more. Unzipping her sleeping bag she slid into it, glad that it was already warm from her sitting on it while drying her hair. She laid there, staring up at the ceiling listening to the rain fall on at it; Kagome was bored, honestly bored. She couldn't even remember the last time she was bored, she began looking around even though she couldn't really see anything but she continued looking at darkness. "O my cd player!" she told herself, having forgotten about it in that short time period. Sitting up she dug through her bag in search of it, finding it she laid back down and placed the headphones over her ears. "I wander what I was listening to last." She told herself, pressing play she listened to the disc spin then it caught and her ears where filled with the clear sound of a guitar starting out like a drum roll as the singer came in she recognized the song.
"Not that one." She told herself as she changed to the next song. "Perfect." She told herself as she changed it to the next one and started singing along softly, as the song entered into the chorus it stopped and her ears where met once more by the sound of rain. Completely taken off guard she looked down at her cd player but wasn't able to make out anything on the screen. Digging through her bag once more she found a tiny flashlight, turning it on she shined it on the cd but it had turned off. Turning it back on she noticed the battery sign blinking in the corner before it once more turned off along with her flashlight, turning her attention to her flashlight she began turning it on and off but nothing worked. "Fucking batteries." She growled softly, placing the dead cd player and flashlight back into her bag. "Maybe its for the best, with my luck I would be listening to it and wouldn't hear any one approaching until it was to late and I'd end up loosing my head." She told herself.
Continuing to listen to the rain she heard something else… something odd, the rhythm in the rain had changed some how as if it was hitting something. Paranoia began building up inside of her making her sit up, she let all her other sense fade as she only used her ears listening as best she could, trying desperately to hear everything under the run. There it was, a branch snapping and footsteps, many footsteps. Getting out of her sleeping bag she searched around for her bow and quiver, finding it she pulled out an arrow, she notched it onto the bow pointed it straight at the door and waited.
Collecting her Miko powers she kept her breathing in check as she stared daggers at the door, concentrating all her sense on one thing. Her powers shed a soft blue light on the shack enabling her to see better; in front of her the door began to jiggle as the thing outside tried to open. Kagome steadied herself, as she got ready to purify anything coming through the door. When it finally slid open Kagome quickly targeted her opponent but it soon pulled back throwing its arms up in protection.
"NO, Don't shoot! Human, human!" a man cried, Kagome quickly lowered her arrow and her Miko powers died away casting her in darkness once more.
"Human?" she asked, not expecting her intruder to be human at all, she was caught off guard.
"Yes, human." A different voice answered, it seemed gruff and old.
"I see, how many of you are there?" she asked not able to see all of them.
"Three." A third voice called, this one seemed to be the youngest of them all.
"Can we come in?" the first man asked.
"Yes, there is plenty of room, you may stay the night." She told them as they entered into the shack. They settled against the wall opposite of Kagome, the last man in shut the door behind him as one of the men pulled something off the other mans arms and he emptied his load into the center of the room. As it fell Kagome could tell by the sound that it was firewood and at that moment she was glad she had let the men stay.
"Do you have a flint, Miko?" the man with the gruff voice asked.
"No, I'm afraid I do not." Kagome replied.
"Kin, flint." The man ordered and the youngest handed him a flint, a minute and a few sparks later the man had a fire going, which lit the entire shack immediately filling it with warmth. Kagome looked up at the men, now able to see them. The first, with the gruff voice she assumed had been the eldest and she was correct his eyes were just as black as his hair which had gray streaks running through it along with his wild beard that he had growing, he was large and very muscular he was most likely invincible on the battle field when up against humans. The second man seemed to be of middle age maybe twenty-five or so his hair was jet black too but his eyes where a soft warm brown making her think of her brother Souta. He was fairly built but he had a more shrewd look to him making Kagome think of him as the brains of the little trio and the first man the bronze making the third one to be the youngster who just managed to scrap by with both his wit and his strength. Looking to the third man she was taken aback, he must have been the same age as she but what was most peculiar was his appearance, he wasn't Japanese in the slightest. He looked American, but he couldn't have been! America didn't exist yet; he had reddish hair with a soft curl to it and his eyes were an eerie green, his skin was tanned lightly from being out in the sun, not dark like the other men.
"Don't worry, he's human." The eldest said, trying to reassure her but Kagome didn't need any assuring she knew he wasn't a demon.
"I know," she told him giving the man a curt glance as her gave turned back to the youth. "You're not from around her are you?" she asked, even though she already new the answer.
"None of us are Miko." The middleman replied.
"No, I mean he's not even from Japan, not even the continent. You're from some place completely different." She told him. The youngest looked to his other two companions for help, unsure what to make of the situation. Seeing his how uncomfortable he became under her close scrutiny Kagome looked away.
"I apologize for my rudeness, I am Kagome." She told them bowing slightly.
"I am Ryuji." The eldest replied bowing in return.
"I am Matsu." The middleman replied bowing as well.
"And I am Kin." The youngest replied following suit of the other two.
"Are you three ronin?" Kagome asked, having taken notice of their armor and swords and remembering the battlefield she had come across earlier.
"Yes, how did you know?" asked Kin looking at Kagome completely perplexed.
"I had come across the battlefield earlier in the day." She explained to him.
"It was a blood bath, a complete slaughter house." Ryuji commented off handedly.
"I can only imagine." Kagome sympathized, remembering what it was like fighting against Narakus undead armies, and the battle for Sounga the countless amounts of undead warriors who could not be killed.
"No priestess, I don't think you could ever imagine something so horrendous you are far to young to have seen such terrible things." Matsu assured her, Kagome only smiled at him knowing exactly how wrong he was.
"No," Ryuji corrected him. "This woman, this priestess has seen worse things then we could ever dream of." He finished as he looked at Kagome, and she returned his gaze unwavering.
"How can you tell?" Kin asked, amazed at all of their perceptions. Ryuji began laughing at Kin wholeheartedly.
"You really are just a whelp aren't you!" he declared as he continued to laugh. A slight blush spread across the boys face as he stared down at his hands, Kagome gave him a soft smile hoping it would ease him.
"Well first off, she has not only a bow and quiver but also a very nice looking sword,"
'That I had both just acquired today." Kagome thought to herself as he continued.
"And did you see the way she scared Matsu when he opened the door." Ryuji said with another roar of laughter.
"Yes, you should really knock before entering into an unknown shelter, especially on a night like this you never know who might be inside. You are all lucky it was only a Miko like myself and not an unforgiving demon." She advised. 'DAMN I am SO out of character.' Kagome thought, mentally slapping herself. 'Always got to play the role of the wise beyond her years Miko, I guess I'm more like Kikyo then I thought.' She scoffed herself.
"There was no light, so we thought it to be empty." Kin began to explain.
"Surprise, Surprise." Kagome commented as she smiled at him Kin blushed as he saw her smiling at him and he looked back down at his hands. Ryuji, who had caught the little interplay, erupted into even more laughter as he leaned behind Matsu and hit Kin on the back. Kagome shook her head softly as laid her fingers tips across her face rubbing it slightly, smiling as she placed her hand back into her lap. 'What have I gotten myself into?' she asked herself. 'Stuck in a shack out in the middle of nowhere with three ronins one who is a loud mouth, the other doesn't say anything at all and the youngest who gets flustered just from getting a little attention from a women, how completely foolish all of them.' Kagome complained to herself. 'WOW, I really have been with Sesshomaru for too long, getting frustrated by hanging around my own kind for only ten minutes. Maybe it was a good idea to get away for a bit.' She told herself as she looked across at the three men, but that just made her feel lonely. The truth was she missed Sesshomaru, more then she truly wanted to admit, she had only been gone for a day but it seemed so much longer then that.
"What is that?" Matsu asked as he pointed towards Kagome's cd player that was lying on top of her backpack reaching over she nonchalantly closed the flap.
"It is nothing to be concerning yourself with." She told him as she gazed into his eyes, trying her hardest to intimidate him with her look but it wasn't working, as she would have liked. Matsu, stared at her not completely sure what to make of the strangely dressed Miko that was sitting across from him.
"What are you trying to hide?" he asked as he rubbed his chin.
"Every Miko has her secrets." She countered keeping her composure.
"I'm not sure if you even are a Miko." Matsu told her openly.
"Well then, I can simply prove it to you." Kagome supplied.
"How? There are no demons in these woods at this time of night along with this weather." He pointed out.
"Who ever said my powers where restricted to purifying demons?" she asked him but didn't expect an answer
"But, you are a Miko, your suppose to help people." Matsu rebutted.
"And I do" she said smiling and nodding to them, pointing out with out words that she had helped them.
"Yeah, Matsu, she didn't have to let us in here!" Kin told him.
"There is three of us and only one of her, we could have made her help us." Matsu stated Ryuji reached over and placed a hand on his friends shoulder squeezing it tightly making the man wince in pain.
"But that would have been rude Matsu, we might be ronin but we are still civilized gentleman." Ryuji told him, as he smiled sheepishly at Kagome. "I am sorry for my friends behavior, he's still a little strung up since the battle it really got to him." He explained as he bowed to her slightly.
"I see, it is quite alright, I understand. If I may ask who was your opponent? I recall only seeing one set of flags, surely they must have lost men as well." Kagome asked as she looked towards Ryuji for an answer.
"Well, we were met by a band of demons, our lord had heard about the band who had been destroying the local villages. Stealing food, rapping the women, killing every one then setting the village on fire leaving behind nothing but death and chaos." He informed her solemnly.
"How horrible, how many demons?" Kagome Inquired.
"Only 5." Kin told her, as he stared into the fire.
"Only 5? Did you manage to kill any of them?" she asked, stunned by the turn of events.
"Yes, and we didn't manage to kill even one of those blood bastards." Matsu growled. All three warriors became silent as they stared into the fire recalling their battle with the demons.
"I got it!" Ryuji declared as he pounded his fist into his hand, grabbing every ones attention. "You're a powerful Miko aren't you!" he cried.
"Well," Kagome began but was cut off before she could finish.
"You could kill those demons, they would be easy pickings for someone like yourself!" he told her, completely convinced that Kagome was the answer to his prayers. She shook her head at him knowing she couldn't do it, she wasn't nearly strong enough to take out five demons who were strong enough to cut down an entire army of skilled samurai.
"No, I can't do it. Maybe if I had more training and my powers were stronger." She tried to explain.
"O, I know you could do it!" Kin assured her as he looked at her with admiration. As she looked at him she suddenly found herself thinking over Shippo, sadness rolled over her like fog; she hadn't thought about the fox kit in such a long time it made her feel guilty but she quickly pushed it away not wishing to begin crying in front of the ronins.
"I could probably purify one, but five, I don't think so. I would need a team." She told him.
"Well we can be your team!" Ryuji volunteered.
"Yeah, we can be your team!" Kin excluded himself happily.
"Yes, we could dispatch of those demons easily." Matsu agreed.
"No," Kagome stated as she waved her hand at the idea "If that happened I would be leading us all to our deaths. What I would need would be a well trained and fearless demon exterminator, a brave monk with immense spiritual powers, a half demon with a fanged sword and a fire neko." Kagome replied as she stared somberly into the fire, a picture of her friends flashing past her minds eye as she described each of them.
"So you've done this before." Ryuji said gleefully as he smiled at her wholeheartedly.
"No, they did. And they died for it." She told him, her eyes gone cold as stone.
"I'm sorry for your lose." He apologized.
"Its not your fault," she replied with a soft smile. "It was fate." She finished. "And I wish not to repeat it, I'm sorry truly but I am of no use."
"Of course you are! You're a Miko! Don't worry you said you needed training well we can train you!" Kin proclaimed.
"The boy's right, we can train you." Ryuji assured her.
"Maybe in swordsmanship, but in harnessing my Miko powers? I think a priestess would be required for that." She explained as she rubbed her forehead.
"So we will find you one." Matsu provided.
"And where are we to find a priestess." She asked, knowing she wouldn't lead these men into battle but she thought she would just see where the conversation would lead her.
"I heard that the keeper of the Shikon no tama was staying in a village not to far from here." Ryuji supplied at that Kagome began to laugh, glad she wasn't drinking anything or it would have come out her nose in a most un-lady like fashion not that you could squirt anything out your nose in a lady like fashion.
"Yes, I scoffed when I first heard it as well." Matsu commented off handedly "But it seems its true."
"Hmm well I suppose we'll just have to venture to this village and have a look for ourselves." Kagome offered.
"Yes, we should. If the rain lets up we'll leave tomorrow." Ryuji confirmed. 'So much for not leading these men into battle, but if there is a Miko out there calling herself the guardian of the jewel I should check it out.' She told herself.
"Yes. Tomorrow, but for now I am quite tired and if we are to venture off tomorrow I suggest we all rest well." Kagome advised as she slid back into her sleeping bag and turned her back on the ronins, she didn't feel completely comfortable about falling asleep in a room with a bunch of men she had just met moments before hand but she had no choice but to place her life in their hands. 'Sesshomaru would hate me if he ever knew I had let a bunch of strange mine share the night under the same roof as myself and that is why he is to never find out! And watch, he some how manages to find me and walks through the door right…now!' right as Kagome said that she looked door at the door but nothing happened. 'Good! That's a good sign…right?' she asked herself, letting out a soft sign. 'O I just don't know any more but I might as well try sleeping.' And with that Kagome focused on sleeping.
