Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha!

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Review, pwease?

OH HO HO, WHERE AM I GOING WITH THIS?

[I have no idea.]


Just like Kagome had expected, Sesshoumaru took her back to Inuyasha. First they had stopped back by his castle, to drop off Rin so that she could be checked over, and then Sesshoumaru took her back to where she had been picked up from. She felt as if she were just being handed off; which, in a way, she was. She don't know what she expected, but part of her had hoped that the demon lord would keep her with him. She could come in handy, even though he didn't need or want the shards, right? But sadly, he dropped her off and then left without another word.

And she still didn't get her school uniform back. When Sango had asked about her miko attire, she couldn't come up with a better answer than, "My uniform was taken." And that explanation didn't sound very good; Sango's face had turned pink, Miroku's eyes got wide, and Inuyasha got pissed off. Shippou, as innocent as he is, was confused about the others' reactions. She could have said "I lost my other clothes," but that sounded even worse.

The next time Kagome went home, she apologized to her mother and told the woman that she had lost her uniform, and Kaede let her have a miko outfit. Her mom said it was okay, and got her a new one. Although she packed it with her when she went back to the Feudal Era, she never put it on, instead preferring to wear the clothes that Sesshoumaru had given her.


Now, it had been a little under a month since Sesshoumaru had asked for Kagome's help in finding Rin. They traveled on like always, and had found two more Jewel Shards since she had gotten back. Although she still refused to hold a conversation with Inuyasha, she became friendly with the rest of her friends once more, even though she hardly paid attention to what they were saying. Her head was up in the clouds.

Now that she had the miko clothing on, a lot of villagers asked her to stay and heal their wounded. She only knew a little about herbs and healing, so when they had stopped by Kaede's village again, they stayed for a couple of days so that the old woman could teach Kagome more. Kaede was more than thrilled that the girl was trying to learn the ways of the priestess. It irritated Inuyasha to no end, because in his eyes, she was becoming more and more like Kikyou. Being completely honest, it irritated her as well. But she kept telling herself that this was what she had chosen; she wanted nothing more than to help those in need.

Kagome and the gang frequently stayed for a couple of days every now and then at small villages, and now they didn't need Miroku's fake services to be able to stay in a nice room. If some of the villagers needed healing, or the crops or temple needed blessing, or if a woman was giving birth, they were given a room to stay in and food to eat. With Inuyasha and Sango killing demons, and Kagome and Miroku performing services, they became very busy.

One night, when Kagome was feeling tired but not tired enough to sleep, she wandered off in the forest next to the village. She took her bow and quiver with her, just in case she needed to protect herself. Most demons didn't bother her now that her miko power was obvious enough for them to realize she was a threat to them. She had found a small pond and was sitting on the edge, her feet in the cool water and looking up at the moon when Sesshoumaru walked through the trees across from her. She tried to get him to talk, but he stayed silent until she got up to leave about an hour or so later. When she turned around, his voice drifted over to her from across the water. "Miko." When she turned back around to see what the demon wanted, he had disappeared. When Kagome went back to the village and her room, she felt Inuyasha's eyes on her.

She went off again the following nights that they stayed at that village, but she hadn't seen Sesshoumaru again. When she figured it was just a coincidence that they had met that night, she stopped leaving in middle of the night. She could tell the others had noticed something, because they seemed to be cautious around her. She didn't know what they thought they knew, but their imaginations were probably going off in all kinds of directions.

Kagome smiled and helped all those that asked her for her aid, and directed Inuyasha to a Jewel Shard when she sensed one nearby. Now that they had most of the shards, it was getting increasingly difficult to find them. She had taken the shards out of the bottle and formed them together once more. It was almost complete. The next time they went back to Kaede's village, the old woman gave her a necklace to put the large jewel on.

The first night Inuyasha had left, Kagome was awake. Even though she knew what she would find, she followed him quietly. He seemed to be too distracted to realize she was about thirty feet behind him. Wearing her tabi instead of her uniform shoes, she glided over the underbrush as if she was meant to be there, barely making a sound. When she stopped behind a tree and looked past it to see him and Kikyou together, she turned back around and went back.

It didn't really bother her anymore. It bothered her more now that he was keeping it from everyone than it was that he was going off in middle of the night to see another girl. As much as part of her didn't want to admit it, the crush Kagome had on the hanyou seemed to go away. Now it was just a dull realization, telling her, "You used to love him."

But the main reason why it didn't bother her, was now that every time she felt her soul being tugged because Kikyou was near, she would wait until Inuyasha got up at night and snuck out of whatever village they were in. And when she was sure he was gone, she got up and went the other way, off to where she met with Sesshoumaru.


I really like the idea of Kagome and Sesshoumaru meeting at night just like Inuyasha and Kikyou do. It interests me. :'p