They left that next morning before the sun rose. By late afternoon the sun bathed everything in a glow when on the outskirts of the village Kouga stopped to rest and sat Kagome on her feet.
"Well, you are here." Kouga looked towards the village.
"Ya, and still no Sesshoumaru." Hakkaku looked over his shoulder to the woods behind them.
"I don't think he will show up to retrieve a human miko, knowing that I left his domain. Thank you for helping me."
"I will see you to the village. Ginta, Hakkaku remain here and watch them." He pointed to the wolves. Getting close enough to the village that he felt it was safe to leave her, he stopped. "You are here safe, but next time you choose to go someplace make sure you carry a weapon because the next time you might not be so lucky."
"I will. Thanks again. Hey Kouga. Why don't you give Ayame a break for a chance and get to know her." He gave her a hug then turned to walk back to his comrades as she walked out into the open heading into the village.
"Look everyone its lady Kagome." A villager spoke.
"Lady Kagome." Another spoke.
"Lady Kagome's returned." Another cried out as he ran through the small village.
"Well that's that. Kaede knows I'm here." Kagome told herself as she continued towards Kaede's hut. As she drew near, Kaede came out. "Hello lady Kaede." She watched as Kaede looked around. "No, Sesshoumaru is not here."
"We will speak within." Kaede turned and walked in.
"What's wrong lady..." Kagome stopped when she walked in after Kaede and saw the western lord. "Sesshoumaru!" Kagome stood there and watched as Sesshoumaru sat there not saying anything.
"Come take a seat child." Kaede grabbed a cup and poured some tea for Kagome as she took a seat. "How is it that you got here from the western lord's domain without any means of a weapon other than your miko abilities and unharmed?"
"I um." She tapped her fingers together.
"When did you arrange with the wolf to leave my domain?"
"I didn't arrange anything with Kouga. I waited until all the candle lights were out the night you left then when it reached mid-night I snuck out of the area after climbing a tree and going over the wall. I covered my scent with my miko abilities, as you probably could tell. I traveled for a bit longer until I stopped to rest and fell asleep. Come morning I headed out until I came upon that stream. Crossing it I stopped to catch a bite to eat until I lost it and made my way to shore and came face to face with a wolf that had a mangled and bleeding hind leg and I screamed. Not long after I screamed the wolf charged towards me, but did not reach me due to something brown and black knocking it away from me followed by a loud snap. I did not know it was Kouga until Ginta got my attention."
"Where you treated wrongly upon your stay?" Kagome slowly shook her head no. "Then why would you leave in the night unarmed child?" Out of no where tears began to appear.
"What concern am I to Him? Where was He when the battle with Naraku was happening? Where was He when my group was being killed and a tentacle was pierced through Inuyasha's heart then ripped through his body? Where was He when his brother breathed his last breath and was tossed to the ground like a piece of trash? Why didn't He show up to help destroy Naraku after many years of looking for Naraku himself?" She took a deep breath.
"Hmm! Where were You? Why did you save me? Why did you save me after you got what you fought your brother so long for? Why concern yourself with a mere human miko who stood in your way of obtaining your father's fang countless of times." Kagome took another breath. "You want to know why I left? I left because..." Kagome stood quickly and left the hut.
"Blame the child not lord Sesshoumaru of her harsh words, but understand where her point and her words are coming from. The girl is hurting. A hurt that will be deep for a long while but, will go away with time." Kaede took a sip of her tea. Thinking over what the elder miko said, he gave her a nod of his head as he stood picking up his swords and putting them in his sash then left the hut.
Meanwhile
Continuing to weep as she ran, she noticed not that she had ran past the sacred tree nor had ran across a rope bridge suspended over rushing water. None of the landscape made any imprint within her brain as the pain of memories as well as the conversation at the hut clashed together in her mind.
"What was I thinking going off like that back at the hut? That really was not smart to do towards Sesshoumaru." She stopped short as a large and heavy gust of air came rushing up against her as if to stop her in her tracks. Looking around she didn't see anyone but then she looked down to see her right foot was about to step off of a cliff. "Umm that would have been very bad." Slowly moving back a bit she stood there watching as the remainder of the sun slipped behind the mountains far in the distance. As the moon began to make it's way to high in the sky, a wolf howled it's worship to the moon from the next hill, as a white owl with a wingspan as wide as a person's outstretched arms swooped down from a nearby tree branch down to the depths below and lifted again with a rabbit clutched in it's talons.
"Had this Sesshoumaru known, he would have been within the battle." Came the western lord's voice as he stepped behind the miko. She turned slightly to the side.
"Sesshoumaru, I was wrong to..." He walked up and stood next to her and looked at the moon.
"You need not explain." He turned to leave.
"Sesshoumaru could you..." She slightly shook her head no. Stopping he slightly turned his head to face her. "It's nothing. Never mind."
"You sought the answer of a question."
"Could you tell me why you saved me? What reason you had in doing so Sesshoumaru."
"A Warrior's Honor." He began to walk again but stopped. "The elder miko will be worried. Come." He waited for her to come over to him. Once she did a ball of light engulfed them and shot to the sky and within mere minutes the light appeared in the village. Feeling a powerful force land outside her hut, Kaede went outside.
"Welcome back. Come in for the nights are drawing colder by every passing day." Putting more wood on the fire, Kaede then went over and took a seat. "So have you decided what choice of action you will plan on taking child?"
"My options being staying here grieving with a heavy heart because I lived here with my friends and close to where I used to be able to go home when I needed time to think and be alone or…"
"Returning to the western domain with the western lord to give time for your heart to begin to heal so it won't be so hard for you." Kaede spoke up.
"If I stay here you will have help around the hut and gathering your herbs."
"You are learned in the ways of herbs and a big help, but until your heart and mind are clear of deep hurt and grief, ye will hinder work."
"So you are saying going with Sesshoumaru would be of benefit for me."
"Though he won't admit it, ye both would benefit by it due to the loss of a close friend to ye and a brother to ye lord Sesshoumaru."
"So the choice is up to me this time!" Kagome looked from Kaede to Sesshoumaru then back again. Neither one said anything as Kagome sat there in much needed thought. "I guess that I really don't have a choice either way. So when would you care to set out to head back to your home?" Turning she did not see Sesshoumaru so she went outside and saw him looking at the sky. "When would you care to set out?"
"Come dawn. You sleep within hut." She watched as he rose to the sky then was gone.
The sun was about to crest the top of the nearest peak, but the shadow of the full moon still lingered on the opposite horizon when Kaede woke and came over to gently wake Kagome. After shaking the girl's shoulder the aged woman went over to stroke the fire, when she felt the strong power of the western lord land outside the hut.
"Kagome, he is here. Rise up and ready yourself." Kaede went over to the entrance of the hut to let Sesshoumaru in. "Greetings. Please come in."
Walking through the entrance he spotted Kagome stretching. Raising his eyebrow as he saw how her hair was everywhere about her head.
"Kaede, could I leave something here?"
"You may do so, but what be the item?" Reaching over to her backpack she pulled it over to her and opened it. She pulled out a red and white outfit.
"Could I leave this behind?"
"Your miko outfit?"
"Yes. It does not set those within the domain at ease when they found out that I am a miko and with this with me or wearing it while I'm there won't help matters any. They already despise that another human is within the walls. The less I make everyone uncomfortable the better. Many there..." She looked slightly to Sesshoumaru.
"If you think it to be wise. It will be here if you need it."
"Thanks Kaede."
"We leave." Sesshoumaru said by the door. Kagome closed her bag and stood.
"Wait. Are there away extra bows and quivers with arrows around? I promised Kouga that I'd protect myself." Kagome watched Kaede walk over to the wall and picked up a bow and quiver. "I can't take that. That's your bow and quiver lady Kaede. You've given me so much already." She gave the old woman a hug before turning and walking out of the hut behind Sesshoumaru. Outside there were some villagers going out to start their daily duties.
"You are leaving us again lady Kagome?" A middle aged man came over to her but kept a close eye on the western lord.
"Yes just for a while, but you still have lady Kaede."
"It's not befitting that a young woman go around with such company."
"Thanks, but I need to take care of something and before you know it, the village will soon be tired of me being around helping all the time."
"Hardly, you are quiet pleasing to look at. Like new flower buds blooming for the first time every spring."
"Come along grandfather. You have embarrassed lady Kagome enough." A young man voiced.
"Nonsense, you would do well to woo a young beautiful and healthy woman such as she. She would bare you healthy sons." The aged man voiced once again as the young man lead his grandfather away. Kagome tried to cover her blushing face as she began to walk to leave the village the other way speaking to herself.
"I'm not beautiful. That man's eyes must be failing him." Looking ahead of her, she saw the backside of Sesshoumaru. "So here we are once again traveling together to your domain."
"It would seem."
"Rin will be excited where as for everyone else dreadful not to mention damaging to your self image within many eyes."
"She will indeed. Worry not of those at the domain."
"So the traveling is going to be as before? Where we walk to where we are going and in silence."
"Unless you have another way to travel."
"No I just thought…" She stopped.
"Thought what? That I would carry you as Inuyasha or the wolf?" He voiced as he continued on.
"No I did not think of that. I just thought you would want to arrive at your home sooner being that you can travel faster than I in many ways." She looked at his back. "I know you're nothing like Inuyasha or Kouga in many ways, but in many ways you are. Like it or not you and Inuyasha were fathered by the same man." She felt his aura flare and watched him stop. Turning he took a hold of her shoulder and the next thing she knew a glowing light surrounded them and she could not feel the ground.
Elsewhere
"You wretched girl why are we stopping?"
"Rin has to go." The child said over her shoulder as she slid off the two-headed dragon and ran out of sight.
"That child is becoming more unreasonable. Why can't lord Sesshoumaru abandon her."
"Jaken!" Came a voice behind him. He quickly turned around on the dragon's back to see Sesshoumaru. "Were you not to remain at the domain?"
"Kagome!" Came a little girl's voice. "Rin told you master Jaken that we will see Kagome again." She ran over to Kagome then looked up at Sesshoumaru. "Are we heading out now or make camp Sesshoumaru-sama?"
With a slight nod he began to walk. Kagome slightly jumped when the dragon began to walk behind everyone. "Ah-Un won't hurt you Kagome. No need to jump."
"It's just he walks heavy is all."
Silence surrounded the odd traveling group as the girl switched between talking to Kagome and the dragon. Needing to go into the bushes, Kagome looked at the back of Sesshoumaru, she began to slow a bit and seeing that Rin was talking to the dragon, she quickly dashed into the trees to find a place that would be suitable to cover her up during some private moment. Upon covering up her scent and lowering herself close to the ground she heard Rin franticly calling out for her.
"Great! Now Sesshoumaru is going to think I left again." Finishing up on her business, she headed towards the sound of the frantic girl as she uncovered her scent.
"Kagome where did you go? Rin called for Kagome. Why did you not answer?"
"I was, I mean, that I needed some privacy."
"Let me remind you that if it was not for you, we would not be here having to travel back to lord Sesshoumaru's domain. Now let's be off."
"That will be enough Jaken. Camp will be made here."
"You heard him human. Retrieve wood." Jaken pointed the staff of heads at Kagome.
"I'm not some damned dog that will roll over and play fetch or follow commands from some damned green insect that barely reaches my knees in height. When all I want to do right now to him is purify him until he is nothing but ashes. So if you're itching for someone to play doggie and retrieve the wood you do it yourself." She turned right and left the camp.
"Jaken made Kagome mad. Shame on master Jaken."
"Shut up Rin."
"Jaken retrieve the wood." Jaken watched as Sesshoumaru left camp heading a different direction.
Slowing to a slow walk, Kagome decided to take a seat by a tree. Sitting against the tree Kagome closed her eyes then started taking slow deep breaths to calm down. She took in a rather deep breath to which made her cough when what she had said came back to her, but more importantly the part where she said 'I'm not some damned dog.' stood out and kept bouncing off the walls of her memory.
"What makes him think I'm going to fetch wood like some dog whose master has thrown a stick and expects the dog to do as he's told and retrieve the stick. I'm a human being and not some trained dog. The only one who's a dog and a giant one at that is...Sesshoumaru, and what a magnificent one he is to." She remembered when Sesshoumaru transformed into his true form within the tomb. Sure it was frightening at seeing how much power he had to be able to do such a thing. "But that imp had no right."
"Safety of the camp does not surround this place that you sit. Your wolf would be disappointed to know you sit unarmed by one's self." She looked to see Sesshoumaru coming into the area that she was at and stopped ten feet from her and looking down at her.
"Sesshoumaru!" He watched as she looked up at him as if she was caught doing something in secret. "I just needed to leave the camp to keep from purifying that imp. Please don't think that I think ill of dogs or those of the canine breed. It's just in my era people have dogs that they train and teach them to do tricks. One of those tricks is where the master of the dog throws a stick and commands him or her to retrieve the stick that they had just thrown. They do that over and over again until either the owner gets tired or until the dog gets tired or bored."
"Does all who have canine blood treated as such in that era?"
All those who are domestic are. If you are asking if youkai that are of the canine breed are treated the same as normal dogs, I would have to say that there are no youkai in my era or if there was they have managed to go around undetected by those of priests. I could not even detect them when I was able to visit my family. My little brother Souta and I had a pet that was named Buyo. He was a fat and lazy cat. My brother and grandfather would always tease me from time to time by saying that I had a pet dog because of Inuyasha, and that the saying 'A dog is a man's best friend.' They would be heart broken to know Inuyasha had died. He was loved by them. They began to think of him as a member of the family."
"This little brother his years would be?"
"He is seven years younger then me. So if I'm nineteen that makes my little brother twelve." Going silent she stood up. "You know it is strange to carry on a peaceful conversation with you or even a conversation at all. For one you don't fly off the deep end and yell when you speak. It is quite nice. Even though it will take a bit to get completely used to it. Well I had best gather the wood."
"Jaken gathers the wood. Return to camp." Leaving to head to camp she stopped and looked back to see Sesshoumaru was not there.