Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha. All rights are reserved for Rumiko Takahashi.
"Kagome, Kagome? Kago no naka no tori wa,
Itsu itsu deyaru?
Yoake no bun ni,
Tsuru to kame to subetta.
Ushiro no shoumen daare?"
The song rung freely in the space around me. It was a children's song I'd come to dislike since I was little because they would put me in the middle of the ring of kids and begin circling me. When the song ended I would have to guess who was standing behind me to be able to trade places with that person. I could always tell who was behind me back then, but I wasn't so sure about now. "Who is behind me?"I finally asked aloud. The voice singing behind me was unmistakable and so I knew my answer. "Kikyo?" A light appeared behind me and I turned to see her somber face watching me.
"You must wake up, Kagome." She looked sad now as she reached a hand out to me. The light suddenly disappeared and the song started again.
"Kagome, Kagome? The bird in the cage,
when will you come out?
In the evening of the dawn,
the crane and turtle slipped.
Who stands right behind you now?"
I listened to the voices singing in the dark as the song played and when it stopped I could see the person behind me. Shocked, I called out the name of the person behind me which happened to be, "Kagome." I turned abruptly to face myself whose face was pale and scared. "What is this?" I yelled into the dark.
"Your fear," a voice replied, "of death."
I looked at the girl in front of me and could see her visibly shaking. "Fear of death?"
"And loneliness," the voice added. "Be careful, Kagome... Or you shall betray yourself with your own fears."
Before I could answer my lungs fought for air suddenly. I began to cough violently until the air flow evened out. I opened my eyes and realized that I was no longer in the darkened room. Sesshomaru was kneeling over me with tenseiga drawn. The realization finally hit me, I had died moments ago. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his shoulders in a tight embrace.
"Lady Kagome, are you ok?" a little girl's voice asked.
"Rin?" I asked in return. "I'm alright." I was surprised when Sesshomaru's arms tightened around my waist. He lifted me from the ground and for a moment I think he was content listening to the sound of a heart beat in my chest.
"L-lord Sesshomaru? Why did you bring Inuyasha's wench back to life?" Jaken asked in his rude and frantic voice.
"Oh hush, Lord Jaken," said Rin before a rock was easily and skillfully thrown at his head.
"M-my lord." He was clearly more shocked about Sesshomaru's actions than I was and stumbled a distance away to rub the lump that had formed on his head.
"Kagome, Kagome," he whispered in my ear which made me freeze. The memory of my death realm came back to me and made my eyes go wide. "What ails you?"
"That song..." He looked down at me with his face impassive now.
"What song?" he asked quietly.
"Kagome, Kagome." I looked up at him then at our embrace. He seemed content to hold me in his arms for the rest of eternity. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have minded being in his arms forever, but that was a goal better saved for a later date when things weren't Shikon jewel this and Naraku that.
"I know that game," Rin replied with excitement in her voice before she started to circle us and sing. "Kagome, Kagome? Kago no naka no tori wa, itsu itsu deyaru? Yoake no bun ni, tsuru to kame to subetta? Ushiro no shoumen daare?"
"A voice was singing it to me and told me that I would betray myself if I wasn't careful." My mind began frantically breaking down the song of the children's game. It all came down to the theory of betrayal. Kikyo and myself where the ones who appeared behind me, but how was it possible to betray myself? I was almost certain that the voice who spoke to me was familiar and I had a theory that they would help me figure out what this meant. "First Soum warned me of my possible death, then my death happened, and now I have people in death who tell me not to betray myself. As if they knew I would come back to life-" Unless they knew I was with Sesshomaru!
"Kagome! Hey Kagome!" I heard my name being called in the distance which made me lose my train of thought. I looked up to see my friends Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Inuyasha, and even Kikyo making their way towards our little group. I waved at them and realized I was still in Sesshomaru's grasp. I wasn't sure if I should back away from him or not but he didn't seem eager to move.
"Lord Jaken, Lord Jaken, why are you so green?" Rin began singing idly while she picked flowers near us. Jaken gave her an annoyed look before he went back to sulking on his newly claimed rock.
I looked up at Sesshomaru and put my hands on his chest, when I applied the tiniest amount of pressure as to let him know of my intentions he growled and tightened his grip. I smiled up at him playfully and reached up to lace my fingers through his silken hair, this action was rewarded with a kiss. "Do you insist on keeping me all to yourself?" I asked as I gazed up into his molten amber eyes.
"No other shall have you," he replied adamantly.
I laughed before batting my lashes at him, "Can my friends at least borrow me for a moment?" I asked with amusement.
"Hn... Perhaps," he answered before swiftly placing a chaste kiss on my lips and then letting go of me.
I admit I missed his body heat the moment he stepped away, even though his movements were sometimes too fast for me to follow. He could be gone for a fraction of a second and it would be too long of an absence it seemed. I ignored my body's urge to be with him as my friends grew near. I waved and prepared myself to play the inevitable game of twenty one questions with them.
"Kagome, you look so pale," Sango commented as she dismounted from Kirara who looked like she was glad to have a break from carrying people. "What happened?"
"Uh- well, it's kind of a long story." It might not be the best idea to tell a group of friends that I had just died and then been like, "It's okay though guys because heartless Sesshomaru here brought me back." But that wasn't true because the Sesshomaru they knew wasn't the real Sesshomaru. He had a heart; he just chose not to listen to it all the time.
"Who does that scent belong to? It smells like a female dog demon," Inuyasha growled as he sniffed the air.
"It was, uh, an acquaintance of Lord Sesshomaru's." I winced inwardly and cursed myself for using his formal name, it made me sound like I wasn't worthy of him or that I was hiding our relationship from my friends. Which I kind of was hiding it I guess, but knowing this group they'd probably blow it out of proportion anyway.
"Are you feeling well, Kagome?" Kikyo asked from my side. "I went and got Inuyasha after you were abducted by Inuhana."
"Lady Kagome?" Miroku chimed in with the rest of them with his own little question.
And then all I could hear was the echoing of my name over and over again as the world began to spin out of control. My legs failed me as I struggled to stay upright and by the time strong familiar arms were holding me up I could hardly feel them anymore. And then the song played again.
"Kagome, Kagome? Kago no naka no tori wa,
Itsu itsu deyaru?
Yoake no bun ni,
Tsuru to kame to subetta?
Ushiro no shoumen daare?"
My eyes had been clouded until the song stopped and then I saw my friends who were all circling me with worried expressions. "Kagome, Kagome, who is behind you now?" the voice asked. I didn't have to look to know who was holding me up because my body had been craving him for weeks now. I reached out and grabbed a strand of his silken hair and hoped with all my heart that it wouldn't be Sesshomaru who betrayed me.
"Are you alright, Miko?" he asked me quietly.
"Yes, I think so... Just too much excitement I guess." I recovered my balance and faced my friends who were, all but Kikyo, gawking at Sesshomaru and I. I bit back the urge to laugh nervously and faced them with confidence.
"Kagome?" Shippo looked up at me with his big teal innocent eyes.
"What is it, Shippo?" I asked in return.
"Are you and Sesshomaru 'hooking up'?" he asked completely oblivious to his blunt use of modern teen language that he must have picked up from me somewhere along the line.
"I am courting her," Sesshomaru answered smoothly. Now there, that was the way to properly phrase our relationship because I was fairly certain no one could just 'hook up' with Lord Sesshomaru. It was impossible not to want him after seeing his more open and animalistic side.
"A demon courting a miko, now that's something you don't see every day," I mumbled under my breath and could have sworn I heard Sesshomaru laugh quietly behind me. We all headed back to Inuyasha's camp and rested there for the night. I was glad for the peace and quiet sleep that awaited me that night because I had had enough of dreams and talk of death not to mention people calling out my name. It was time for this Kagome to get some much needed rest before taking on the mysteries of this very long day in her life. So with that I snuggled into Sesshomaru's soft fur pelt and drifted into a wonderfully deep sleep.
Thanks for reading! This chapter was inspired by the children's game Kagome Kagome which is shown in Inuyasha. The next chapter might take me a day or two to write depending on inspiration so sorry in advance. Next chapter: Kagome's Shadow Mirror. Thanks again!
-Lala 3