It was hot.
The sun's rays beamed down aggressively against the backdrop of a crystal clear blue sky. For once, Kagome had been grateful that she listened to her mother and brought the t-shirt version of her school uniform. Had she still been wearing her long sleeve shirt, she would've definitely baked like a potato. Luckily, Sango was able to roll up the sleeves of her kimono however, Inuyasha and Miroku were ultimately left option-less and continued on in full gear.
"I have never wished for rain as much as I do now," said Miroku, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Even a cloud would be nice," whined Shippou.
Kagome sighed, ignoring the conversation starting up next to her. Although the group's dynamic seemed to be returning to normal, it was hard to miss the lack of conversation between the young girl and the half-demon. In fact, this was probably the longest period of time that had ever gone by without the two talking. Thanks to this, it was hard to say her mood had changed drastically, if at all. Despite this, Kagome had no desire to attempt to talk to Inuyasha. As unbelievable as it was, she almost didn't care. For once, and maybe the first time ever, she wasn't interested in trying to comfort her beloved. For once, she was interested in comforting herself.
On the other hand, Inuyasha was well aware of it all; the tension between him and Kagome, the little to no communication, and it was killing him. He wanted to reach out to her and talk to her, but every time he tried, the words never came out. Moreover, if he allowed himself to focus on Kagome for just more than a minute, he was struck with a sense of overwhelming guilt. It tore him apart inside. He was well aware of whom his heart was yearning for, but denying his love for the girl behind him was hardly an option either. Plus, he had heard the things she whispered to herself out loud and mentally kicked himself for letting this go this far. But he just couldn't let go. Not now.
Noticing the lack of engagement from the two, Sango turned to Kagome,
"How do people keep cool in your time when it gets this hot?"
"Mm? Oh, we have air conditioners and fans!"
"Air conditioners?" Shippou was suddenly equally curious.
"Yeah... They're these machines, they blow cold air. You change the temperature on them too" Kagome replied, trying to keep a pep in her tone, at least for the sake of her friends.
"That's incredible! So you never really get hot then, do you?" Sango said with amazement.
Kagome let a small laugh, "No, I guess not"
"Too bad we don't have those in our time. I think I'm on the verge of melting," said Miroku, rolling his eyes dramatically. "I have no idea how Inuyasha is managing"
"Feh! I couldn't care less! Rain, Snow, Sun, whatever!" said Inuyasha suddenly.
For some reason, Inuyasha's voice was strange to her for Kagome. For one thing, it was usually directed at her and he was definitely more opinionated but the lack of acknowledgment made him and his voice seem foreign and strange.
' I guess he technically is a stranger to you now…' she thought sadly.
Suddenly, the skies became temporarily overcast as three soul collectors flew over them. All eyes widened in surprise, especially Inuyasha's.
"Soul collectors?," Asked the Demon slayer, "But whose could they be?"
"They can't be Kikyou's, can they?"
All eyes dropped to the ground. These days, it seemed only Shippou and his innocence was capable of telling the truth.
"Well, what the hell are we standing around for!?" Growled Inuyasha. "Let's go!"
He took off running without Kagome. Kagome, however, was relieved and happily accompanied Sango on the back of Kirara.
But now, she was wishing for rain too. Hell, a thunderstorm would've been better than this.
…...
When they had reached the destination of the soul collectors, they noticed that the hot ball of gas in the sky was hard to see and the air had a sudden chill. A light fog was present in the air too.
To the (silent and internal) delight of Kagome, the soul collectors were not Kikyou's. In fact, they belonged to what appeared to be a human girl. When she had stepped out of the hut the collector's had arrived at, it was hard for anyone to not be confused.
"Who the hell you?" Yelled Inuyasha. He didn't intend to sound as angry or vicious as he had, but the last thing he needed now was someone playing with his emotions.
However, the young girl seemed unphased.
"Me? You're the ones invading my land. I should be asking you that" she replied, annoyance present in her tone.
"Calm down Inuyasha. She's clearly of no harm" Miroku said. However, he wanted to know why the girl had the shinidamachu with her.
"Can I ask you, what are you doing with those demons?" All eyes turned to Miroku, who seemed to be the only one currently capable of rational thought.
"Oh them? They help me to see future" she replied calmly.
"The future?" Kagome asked. "Like a fortune teller?"
"Precisely"
Sango added, "How do they do that? I thought they simply... Well.. Gathered souls? I wasn't aware they had other purposes"
The girl let out a giggle, "They usually don't but these ones are special. They talk to me and tell me about the future and the past of those who come around. I guess they wanted you to come and see me"
"Keh! What a load of crap! Ain't nobody of capable of seeing anything unless they're some kind of demon!" Inuyasha growled again.
"Really Hanyou?"
"Huh..?" Inuyasha was suddenly surprised
'What the..?'
"Let's see. Your soul is lost. That is because it is mourning a woman who recently died. Right?"
Jaws dropped.
"Shall I keep going?"
The silence from the group encouraged the young girl to continue.
"If you keep it up half-demon, you are going to lose someone else you love. And when you do, it'll be next to impossible to get her back. Her heart will be swayed and her mind will be made up differently about you"
"Damn you! Just who the hell do you think you are!?"
"How is that for a reading?" she questioned arrogantly.
Suddenly, the young girl turned toward Sango.
"Demon slayer. You are in a great deal of inner turmoil. Your brother's life hangs on to threads but he was the one to murder your family, right?"
Sango blinked and nodded her head slowly.
"Your weapon will be destroyed. Repairing it will consist of a test of your inner strength. However, I see your happiness. Your life will be full and you will feel joy soon"
Sango was amazed, "How did you..?"
"I told you, the soul collectors"
With that, she turned her attention toward Miroku and began yet again,
"Monk, your life is caught up in a curse that sends everything into nothingness. Soon, it'll bring you a great deal of pain. You will overcome it, but only because you will be numb to it. But, you too shall live a full life. The woman you love will stay with you"
That was all Miroku needed to hear.
"Do you hear that, my beloved Sango? We will be together" he said, pulling the demon slayer into his arms.
"Miroku…"
The moment was short-lived, however. You see, his hand...
SMACK
"I think I'll be fine on my own!" Yelled Sango angrily as the monk laughed to himself.
"Excuse me.." Kagome started but was quickly interrupted.
"Priestess…" started the girl, but stopped and appeared to think for a minute. The soul collectors suddenly appeared restless and flew around frantically.
And then they stopped and relaxed again.
The girl unexpectedly furrowed her brow.
"I'm sorry... I can't see yours. That's never happened before"
Kagome was disappointed and felt her only shoulders sink. How is that even fair? Both Miroku and Sango got happy lives but she couldn't even get a small prediction? Maybe Inuyasha was right and the girl just simply made a lucky guess.
The girl had lowered her head too,
'That's odd... I've never been incapable of reading someone before..,' she thought.
'Who is this priestess..?'
…...
After the shock of the girl's capabilities, they had sat down outside the hut for tea that the girl had prepared.
"We never learned your name" said Kagome quietly.
"Mirai"
"Your name is future?"
"Funny isn't it?" she replied. "Once my parents learned of my capabilities, they changed my name from whatever it was. I was too young to remember. But this one is much more fitting, wouldn't you say?"
"So that would mean you've had the soul collectors with you for a while now" stated Miroku, the handprint still fresh on his cheek
"I guess so. But they've always floated around here. I must have made friends with them when I was little too"
Inuyasha, who had finally had enough of this weird, freaky, future-telling child, got up.
"Who cares? We've wasted enough of our time here. We have jewel shards to hunt for!"
Mirai raised her gaze up to Inuyasha and said, "If you're going to continue ahead, I must warn you"
Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Inuyasha, and Shippou all looked back at her
"Warn us?" questioned Sango, "What about?"
Mirai suddenly turned her head to what seemed to be nothing in the distance.
"Beyond this fog is a mountain and a village. It seems to be like any other village but I can assure that that is not the case" she said, keeping a steady gaze up.
"How do you mean?" Kagome asked.
"For one, the entire village is built on a grave yard"
"Graveyard?"
Mirai turned back to Kagome to reply.
"Yes. Demons and humans were laid to rest there. They live in harmony there but.."
Miroku couldn't help it, "Go on…?"
"Strange things happen there," said Mirai, turning her head back to the distance. "People see things, hear things. It always seems to be uneasy. I hear that they are currently looking for their princess, but I can't say for what exactly. Not to mention, the entire place seems to be swallowed by a giant barrier that many other demons keep trying to break. But why, even I don't know. I'm assuming they hide something precious there. But that's just what rumors say"
Inuyasha looked in the same direction as Mirai and although he hated to admit it, the brat appeared to be telling the truth. He got uneasy just glancing that way. But that was something he would keep to himself.
"Who cares? If it's dangerous, we'll just kill it"
Kagome couldn't help but roll her eyes in frustration
'At least one of us is back to normal' she thought.
Mirai shrugged. "If you choose to go on, I suggest you leave now. The sun is still up, past this fog, that is. And I would recommend you get there before dark. It gives you some leverage on whatever this village contains"
"Fine by me" replied the visibly irritated half-demon.
They thanked the young girl for her hospitality and entertainment and turned to continue on their way but then,
"Wait!"
They turned back to Mirai, who was now staring intently at Kagome.
"I can see it now. Your name is Kagome"
Kagome was taken aback, as was Inuyasha.
'How did she know my name..? We didn't tell her..'
"I figured it out. You're not from this time. You're from five hundred years ahead, a different life time, correct?"
"Well… I…" Kagome stammered.
"It doesn't matter. Kagome, you will be faced with a difficult decision soon. I can't tell you what your decision will be but, it'll be quick. Whether or not it will be right or wrong, I cannot say either"
"Uh…"
"However, your life will be in danger," Mirai said in a tone that unexpectedly appeared to be darker.
"Feh! Now I know your fortunes are shit. Kagome has me to protect her" Inuyasha stated confidently for the first time.
But Mirai smirked, "As if, Hanyou. Your heart is too busy hurting and debating to see the danger Kagome will face. You're going to fail her" she remarked rudely.
She then turned her attention back to Kagome.
"No one will help you. It will be completely up to you to save yourself"
AN: I know Inuyasha and Kagome seem a little OOC but it's for the sake of the story! Sorry for the delay, I really wanted to get this scene right! Enjoy, review, etc!