Yay, 10 chapters! Thanks to everyone who has been sticking around!

Chapter 10: Kagome goes on a Trip

After the fever was gone, it took only another day for Sesshoumaru's healing powers to bring the taiyoukai back to normal. With her patient fully recovered, Kagome was finally allowed to leave the castle and was brought back to her village by Jakken and Ah-Un. During her stay at the castle, she had had spent more time with Sesshoumaru than ever before. She still did not like him, he was arrogant, cold and still treated her with little to no respect but she also got a glimpse of the man he could be if it wasn't for his icy demeanor. Soon after their first conversation, or better fight, in the garden she had realized that he was terribly bored and apparently saw her as a welcome diversion. He had made her describe the future she was from and while he obviously did not approve of a lot of it, she was amazed how fast he understood the concepts of the modern world. Also, his servants, while being terrified of is wrath, were unanimous in their praise for the young lord, his political skills and battle prowess. It all made her see a more differentiated picture of the demon she had only ever experienced as a sometimes enemy, sometimes ally who travelled around with a sweet girl, a two-headed dragon and an annoying retainer.

As soon as Kagome was got down from Ah-Un's back, she was surrounded by her friends demanding to hear all about what happened, where she had been and why Jakken had got her to help Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha was especially upset, telling her over and over again that he would have come to her rescue if the others hadn't sabotaged his plans. It took the young miko all of the rest of the day to calm them down, telling them that yes, she was alright and no, nobody had hurt her in the demon castle. They were satisfied after hearing her detailed account of what had happened, except for Rin who made Kagome describe the tiniest details of her lord's home. Sesshoumaru had obviously never taken the little girl to his home.

Life in the village continued after that and Kagome was back to being the assistant village miko. All would have been well if the girl from the future wouldn't have brought Sesshoumaru's words back with her. 'Only the weak are content with a life that is not of their choosing, miko. If your life does not please you, change it'. As it was, her life did not please her and while all of her friends enjoyed to be finally able to settle down, Kagome grew more and more restless. In the end, it was Kaede who made her realize what she would do when she told Kagome that every young miko was expected to travel the country for a while to learn from other mikos and perfect her skills before she settled down. Travelling mikos were respected, so she would not have the troubles a woman travelling alone would normally face and she was now thanks to Kaede's training much better in controlling her powers in combat against demons. After making her mind up about leaving the village for some time to travel around and to try to find a way for her to get home, she talked to Kaede. The old miko was not thrilled by the prospect of losing her assistant but she had felt the young woman's restlessness for a while by then. Kagome did not belong in this era, after all and she was still certain that the young miko had yet to find her destiny. Maybe she could find it on her travels. Her friends, of course, worried and tried to change her mind or allow at least someone to come with her but she refused. She loved them all but this was something she had to do on her own.

Kagome left on a sunny morning with her trusted yellow backpack stuffed with anything she might need on the trip. It was a perfect day for travelling, warm but not hot, with a mild breeze and so she continued walking until the sun began to set and she searched for a place to camp. After collecting some wood and lighting a fire, she settled down and stared at the flames. She was so immersed in her thoughts that she almost screamed when a small figure emerged from the bushes. It was Rin.

"Rin! What on earth are you doing here? How did you follow me?"

Smiling, the small girl sat down opposite the fire. She had even brought a small pack with her belongings.

"Lord Sesshoumaru showed me how to be silent. I want to come with you, Kagome. It's so boring in the village."

Kagome shook her head. Really, she could sympathize with the girl. After all, she had accompanied Sesshoumaru on his travels and had probably been in all kinds of adventures and was now forced to live in a human village where the biggest excitement were the innocent games she played with Shippo. But Sesshoumaru would have her head if anything happened to Rin so she had to bring the girl back.

"I'm sorry, Rin, but you can't come with me. It's too late to go back today but tomorrow we'll have to go back and you have to promise not to follow me again."

…

While Kagome and Rin went to sleep in the woods, Sesshoumaru arrived at the village to check on his ward. When he realized that the child was not where she was supposed to be, he went straight to his half-brother's hut and ripped the door open. The wooden door crashed on a tree several meters away. The interior of the hut reeked of humans and human food, making him wrinkle his nose slightly in disgust. It fortunately did not take long for Inuyasha to get up and start yelling at his elder brother. He stopped, though, when Sesshoumaru grabbed him by the throat. His voice was very calm and void of any emotion.

"Where is Rin?"

"She's not here? Damn that brat!"

Sesshoumaru tightened his grip. He had not the nerve to deal with Inuyasha's stupidity or his foul mouth. The former hanyou struggled to breathe until Sesshoumaru loosened his grip a bit.

"She probably ran after Kagome. Left in the morning."

As soon as his brother's claws left his neck, Inuyasha stumbled back and started yelling again but Sesshoumaru ignored him. He had briefly considered punching his brother but that would have probably killed the human. So instead, he simply left the ranting Inuyasha to his wife and started searching for the scents of Rin and the miko.

…

When Kagome woke up in the middle of the night, she knew that something was wrong. The forest had become eerily quiet and her miko senses sent off all the alarm bells in her body to warn her of the youkai whose presence was rapidly closing in on them. Grabbing her bow, she shook Rin awake. It was most important to get the child out of the way of the impeding fight.

"Rin, listen to me! You have to run as fast as you can away from here. There is a youkai I have to fight and I must be sure that you are safe."

The girl was pale and wide eyed but she did as she was told. In the past when she still had been with lord Sesshoumaru, he had ordered her occasionally to do the same thing.

Relieved to have Rin out of the way, Kagome turned with a notched arrow just in time to see a huge wild boar demon emerging from the trees, running in her direction. Sending Rin away had cost her precious seconds, thus she had not enough time to properly aim her arrow which only grazed the youkai instead of hitting and purifying it. Only a heartbeat later, she felt one of its tusk tearing though cloth and skin and her own blood running down her body. Screaming in agony she collected her last strength to grab an arrow and thrust it into the boar's eye. The demon let out a pained scream and turned to ashes in Kagome's purifying light.

The young miko collapsed on the ground. It was cold. Everything was cold except for the warm blood that was leaving her body, taking all the warmth with it.

This was not how it was supposed to end.

She had a destiny to fulfil, hadn't she?

Maybe it was all a joke.

Then, darkness.

A/N: Sorry for the cliff hanger. Reviews are always very much appreciated.