I know. I took forever to update. But hey, I got eye surgery, and now I can see, and as I've been telling everyone, the world is so bright and pretty and, OMG, I don't need glasses to see!
But the computer hurt my eyes for some time, and I couldn't stay on it long enough to finish a chapter or update.
But I can see,and I'm broke, and it doesn't matter because...
I CAN SEE!
Thanks to...
Xokaggyfanox – Kagome's powers will be explained later. Trust me, she's going to have more power, just, you know, not that much control. Expect it to not follow any miko power's rules, because It won't.
Zero-serenity – I will so not tell you if the gang is still alive. All I know is I have some HUGE surprises for all of you, and…Kagome won't know what hit her.
InDarknessDeath – Why, thank you very, very, much.
Sess Koibito – Oh, who has the last shard? All I will tell is that when you find out, you'll say something like, 'Duh, of course.'
Theloverofthe3inu's2ever – Mmmm, actually, your idea sounds very interesting. Could you explain more about the dead's point of view?
AllySan - Que te estes esforzando por leer esta historia me hace muy feliz. Espero que la sigas disfrutando tanto como hasta ahora, y tienes razón, Sesshoumaru y sus sentimientos por Kagome son inevitables, y sólo seguirán creciendo.
AkiChan323 – I'm very happy you are enjoying this story,and I hope your mother is better. My best wishes.
w0ah – I'm so happy you think this is a great story! Keep reading it, I'm sure you'll enjoy the rest. (at least I hope you will).
As for Inuyasha still being alive...I'm afraid I will not say if he is or isn't. You'll just have to keep on reading.
Now go, read, and enjoy.
Fragments of A Shattered Moon
Old Enemies from the Grave
"Just once, I wish my enemies would stay dead."
"You're too soft."
Kagome, who minutes ago was busy contemplating how she could end up in such an horrible, awkward position, jumps at the serious voice. She fights against the growing urge to groan, sure the other miko will not appreciate complaint…at all. Kagome uses all her learned patience with Inuyasha and stares at Kikyo with careful eyes that somehow have not lost their innocence.
Kikyo does not understand how someone that has traveled with a demon slayer, an orphan kitsune, a perverted monk and a power hungry hanyou could remain innocent.
She doesn't know how a miko can be innocent.
Because a miko is a protector, and most importantly, a miko is a weapon. Mikos fight and cure and observe the cruelty in the world so that the civilians will be spared. Mikos learn to mend bones, stitch injuries, sense, protect, kill…
Mikos learn to kill before they learn anything else.
Kikyo knows more than enough about miko responsibilities and the burdens than come with them.
A miko is never seen as just another human, but rather like the only force between humans and youkai, and the responsibility burns the heart, scars the skin, annihilates the soul, until there is nothing left of the human and there is only a miko.
Kikyo has been burned, destroyed and erased all her life.
She's been around for a while. She fell in love with a hanyou she should have seen as her enemy. She died by the hands of another idiotic hanyou that later decided to revive her. She tried to kill the only man, hanyou, which she ever loved. She woke up and Inuyasha still loved her, but there was another woman next to him. A woman that looked like her, except not at all like her. Her reincarnation, and Inuyasha looked at Kikyo but he looked at the young miko far more.
He doesn't know it, of course, because Inuyasha was a moron fifty years ago and fifty years later he is still a moron. And Kagome, her reincarnation, obviously only reincarnated her clueless genes.
They are so different; Kikyo often doubts Kagome is her reincarnation. Maybe she is Kaede's. But no, their physical resemblance is too much to be ignored.
"What?" Kagome finally asks, breaking the silence that was growing between them.
Kikyo turns her brown eyes to her, crosses them with Kagome's blue, and they are not the same person. They've never been the same person. They are different, and they have no idea of how anyone can confuse them.
"You're too soft," Kikyo repeats. She hardly repeats herself, but she always finds herself doing it when she is with the girl. "I don't know how you've survived this world." What she really wants to say is something like, 'Don't lose that innocence. Don't lose that innocence. Don't lose that innocence.'
Kikyo was never innocent. She never had the chance. And yet, there this girl is, Kagome Higurashi, the new Shikkon No Tama miko, all soft smiles and big eyes and fucking innocence.
She is everything Kikyo ever wanted to be. That is why she hates her so much, why she can't stand the sight of her, why she is here, with them, helping kill Naraku. She doesn't want Kagome to get killed, as she will certainly do if no one is there to take care of her. She doesn't even trust Inuyasha with Kagome.
Because Kagome, despite being a miko and carrying the responsibilities that come with it, still shines, still is more human than miko. Kagome has her dreams and her hopes and choices. Mikos don't have choices.
And Kami, if she couldn't be happy in her last life, and she is refused happiness even after being brought back to life, then at least Kagome will be happy.
She is her reincarnation, so as much as both of them hate it, there are parts of them that belong to the two, and maybe, just maybe, this is the world's way of saying sorry to Kikyo. Maybe it's the way in which it tells her that she is happy, only 500 years in the future.
A big part of her tells her that they are not the same, and so it is not her happiness.
Kikyo ignores it.
So Kikyo has decided to be hurtful and evil towards her, just like she was when she first met her. Exactly like she did when she first saw her and realized the younger girl had taken over her life. With the same hatred she felt when she finally understood that Inuyasha loved Kagome far more than he ever loved her.
This way, maybe she'll knock some sense into her, and she'll stay alive, go back to her life, and live. Live in happy, carefree, duty-less naivety, 500 years from now.
"Kagome…" she says again, before the other girl can say some nonsense. "How will you destroy the pearl?"
She has to ask because she just knows she is going to say something stupid like…
"Mmm, wish for something nice?"
Yes, stupid.
"Idiot," she tells her, and her eyes are hard on her.
Kagome wonders if maybe she should yell for Inuyasha to save her before Kikyo decides to kill her.
"You can't just ask for something nice," Kikyo says, voice full of spite. Her eyes refuse to leave Kagome's.
Kagome sees in those eyes the strength she wants, the force that she needs to keep her friends safe, and the determination that will never be hers. She sees in Kikyo the beautiful, gracious, elegant woman she will never be. Kagome has been sure, since the moment she first laid eyes on the gorgeous miko, that she will never be enough for Inuyasha, that Kikyo is the only woman worthy of someone like Inuyasha.
She is just someone from the future, and she doesn't hold a light to the powerful miko.
She's always been nothing more than a shadow compared to what Kikyo is.
And she always says the stupidest things when she is with her…"You can't?" It crushes her nice ideals of world peace, or a tolerant world, or maybe just a world where all her loved ones could find happiness. Kagome doesn't understand this era where everything has to end in a bad way. She doesn't know why everyone fights so hard to seek sadness and ruin any chance at happiness. "But why?" It truly is the only question that pops into her mind.
Kikyo narrows her eyes at her. Kagome almost squeals, and she thinks that as many bad things as the future has, at least it doesn't hold her past self, who she is certain is trying to kill her.
True.
Kikyo wants to strangle her. "You have to ask for something that you wouldn't want. For something that would make you completely unhappy, something completely selfless."
And Kikyo treasures Kagome now, in this present, in this moment, because she knows she is the only person in the world that can ask for that kind of wish. Kagome is the only person who puts herself after everyone else without even thinking about it.She is the only hope this world has, and she will achieve what she couldn't. Even fifty years before, Kikyo only wanted Inuyasha to ask for something that would make her happy. She was too selfish to ever be able to destroy the pearl.
Had Inuyasha asked for his wish, would the pearl have disappeared only to be found again by someone even greedier?
Would she still be guarding it? Would Inuyasha still be at her side?
Would Kagome ever have been part of their lives?
Kagome only wants her loved ones happy. Kagome is the only one who can make the Shikkon No Tama disappear. Kikyo never thought she would meet the right kind of person to send the stupid pearl into oblivion.
Kagome's eyes sadden. "You want me to ask for something that will make me unhappy?"
Kikyo watches her and knows she is asking for too much. She has already gone through far more than she was supposed to. "Yes." What more is there to say? She can't offer the girl an apology or reassuring smile. She can't give her hope; it's not her job. She refuses to cocoon her more than she is.
Kikyo is no idiot, and she knows there is a possibility that, one day, Kagome will find herself alone with no one to take care of her. She has to make her a bit more independent. She has to give her the tools to defend herself if the time comes where she's left alone.
If she tried to explain this to Kagome, she would just look at her, never to believe.
Kikyo imagines Kagome comes from a world where the chaos that exists now is impossible, a world with no demons to kill or burdens that are so heavy they break your will, a world where things are simple and allows naivety. She's always imagined her surrounded by friends in a world less cruel and fatal. Maybe a world where she only had to go to school and she could laugh as freely as she does and not be out of place. She wonders if her home at the future is like that. She hopes so.
She hopes the future is better than the past. She hopes humanity has finally learned from their mistakes, and there are no more wars, injustice, cruelty and racism.
Surely, if someone like Kagome exists 500 years in the future, the world is a better place.
Kagome belongs in a word where demons are just nightmares.
"Oh," is Kagome's only response. "So I can't ask for Naraku to just never exist?"
Kikyo almost smiles before she remembers she has to hate her to keep her alive. "No."
"How about something semi-nice?"
"No." Her lips almost curl upwards.
"Something bordering on the line between nice and horrible?"
How has she managed to stay alive? "No."
"Well," she finally says, "That sucks."
Truly, she doesn't belong to this world.
Yes, Kikyo will be mean and horrible and hate her, but she will protect her until the very end and no one will lay a hand on her.
She sometimes wishes to reach for the younger girl's hands and tell her she can trust her. She will be with her. She'll protect her. That she is like a little sister to her, even if some part of her hates her. She wants to tell her that underneath all the harsh words and the horrible glares, past the unimaginable jealously she causes in her, she wants her to be happy.
She wants her to feel protected. She wants her to know that she will never, ever, allow a soul to hurt her if she is there to prevent it.
She wants to tell her that she is everything she never could even dream she could be.
But she doesn't.
***
"I want to take a bath."
"There's a hot spring. Go take it."
Kagome glares at him. "You're here."
Sesshoumaru narrows her eyes at her. "Where else am I supposed to be?" Really, her mind goes places he never wants to reach. Besides, they've had this conversation throughout the months, and the result of it has always been the same.
He stays, and she does a show of getting into the hot springs without showing off anything.
She's been successful so far, not that he would care, and the only reason he knows is not because he is peaking. No, it's simply because she can trip on her own feet and break her neck if he doesn0t watch out for her. He doesn't want to revive her for a third time.
Kagome raises her fist to his face. "You pervert! I will not undress with you here!"
It takes a few moments to finally catch Kagome's thoughts. That she is voicing what he was thinking is just unsettling. He looks at her as indignantly as he can. "What makes you think I would like to see you naked?"
Kagome's face grows red with anger. "Are you saying I would not be a nice view to appreciate?"
Sesshoumaru is sure she has no restrain between her mind and her mouth. She just says the first thing that pops into her brain. An evil thought crosses his mind. "I do believe I deserve better," he simply states.
She is fuming. "What the hell do you mean you deserve better?" she angrily shouts, scaring some of the birds away. Sesshoumaru wonders how long it will take until they are attacked. For someone that has been dead twice, she does not measure her actions. Or tone of voice. "I will happen to let you know that I have an extraordinary, enviable body." All the walking and training and strict diet they are forced into in this era has given her an admirable body.
When she could still go to the future, her friends used to ask her how she could have such a nice body when she was always sick and missing classes. They wanted to know her secret. Kagome toyed with the idea of telling them to just throw themselves down a well. Since some of them would actually consider it, she refrained from suggesting so.
Sesshoumaru arches an eyebrow, looking at her like some mere mortal. In all truth, Kagome is a mere mortal, but that gives him no right to mock her and her splendid body. Since fast food and candy stores don't exist in the Feudal Era, much less in this time, where Naraku would have gladly burn them just because they make people happy, she eats as healthy as she can and trains and is always running for her life, and this body she's been given is probably the only good thing that has come from being stuck in this time.
Kagome hates everything about her situation but this part.
Not that there is anyone to appreciate it because obviously Sesshoumaru can't be considered. She thinks the people that come to kill her eye her far more than the youkai she now spends every second of her life with.
"I'm sure I've seen better than you," he simply says.
That. Is. It.
Just because he does happen to have a somewhat nice body doesn't give him the right. Kagome will not let the good for nothing idiot who thinks he is so great mock her. And it's not like she has been peaking because she hasn't. It's even ridiculous to think that. It's just that sometimes during their training, he takes his shirt off, and it should be illegal for him to take his shirt off. Or illegal for him to wear a shirt.
She's not going there.
But he does take it off, and most of the time she just loses her concentration and ends up on the floor. Of course, it's not because she likes what she sees. It's simply that she can't believe such a lack of…indecency. Never mind that in the future they have far more…alluring clothes.
Besides, even if she had looked, it's not her fault. It just so happens that he is well toned and marked and has a great six pack, and his arms are just perfect, and his hair glows around him, and he is tall and lean and…
Kagome most definitely doesn't notice his abs or his pectorals or his cold, golden eyes. She doesn't notice his carved face or the way his body flexes as he moves.
And she definitely doesn't think he looks like a god, because he is not, and he is far from being one, and…
Kagome shakes her head to try to straighten her thoughts. What did he say this time, anyway?
She looks at him. He has that 'I'm mocking you' look on his face that she so hates. In reality, his face would look blank to anyone else, but Kagome is so used to him by now that she just knows he is mocking her.
She will make him pay.
"What did you say?"
His mocking face grows. "You are not that special, Kagome."
"You idiot! I'll show you!" Kagome says, and in a moment of what she will later remember as a moment of complete mental break down, she takes her clothes off and stands with only her underwear in front of Sesshoumaru. To make it worse, it's fucking chilly, and she is trembling…
Sesshoumaru just stares at her with his delicate eye-brow raised. Then he smirks, actually smirks, and says, in a completely curious tone, "Is that…?" He has no idea what kind of fabric that is, but it looks soft and shiny. "I didn't know undergarments looked…" he waves his hand to her underwear, "…like that."
It takes Kagome a couple of minutes to process and realize what she has just done.
"Ah!" she yells, as she tries to cover herself with her hands. "Look what you made me do!" Before Sesshoumaru can point out that he didn't make her do anything, she turns from him and jumps into the spring. "And don't you dare join me or come here until I'm fully dressed!" she yells at him from the other side of the spring.
The thought of joining her has not crossed his mind in all the months they have travelled. Now, however…
Sesshoumaru, he decides, has to give it to her. She does have an…acceptable body. A very acceptable body, not that he would ever lower himself to appreciate someone like her.
Still, as he goes to find himself a place to sit that is far away to satisfy Kagome and her 'modesty', he can't help but feel his lips turn upwards.
Maybe acceptable is an understatement.
He can hear Kagome murmur things like 'pervert' and 'idiot' under her breath. He wonders if she knows that he can hear her just fine.
He doubts it.
***
Kagome stares at Sesshoumaru with big eyes that have seen too much to be innocent.
They still, somehow, hold hope, and he can't phantom how she can do it.
He thinks, even when she was in comatose, as he is now calling the months she immersed in self-pity, she still held that hope. How she does it is beyond him, and he does not, definitely does not think that it's a good thing.
He would never think something like that.
He would never find anything about her…nice or good or anything that is…an acceptable trait. He definitely doesn't think back of the few moments that she stood before him almost naked. He doesn't remember her long legs, or her toned arms, or her very small waist. The picture of her black hair shining around her and her blue eyes defying him do not fill his thoughts.
He is Sesshoumaru Taisho. He has lived a long time. He's been with many female youkai, and the mere image of Kagome, of all people, almost naked in front of him, does not bring urges in him.
He doesn't even like her. He can't stand her, and just because she is now the only person that is on his side and his...teammate does not mean anything. He does not think of her as a woman. He will never think of her as anything more than his shard detector and…
Sesshoumaru wants to snarl at himself. He just contradicted his very own thoughts because he thinks of her as his teammate, and he doesn't understand the concept well enough, but he is sure that means she is more than just a shard detector.
So maybe he does take care of her. He watches out for her, and he walks next to her so she won't trip and fall down a huge hole or something equally ridiculous. He guards her in the night, when she has to sleep and he doesn't, and he always finds hot springs so she, and he, can take a bath, but that doesn't mean anything. He just likes cleanliness.
She doesn't mean anything.
Sesshoumaru's eyes go to her. Although she does remind him of Rin sometimes, he thinks mostly of just Kagome.
It's impossible to look at Kagome, to be with Kagome, and think of anyone else. Even with the similar traits she shared with his Rin, they are opposites.
Only his half brother could be stupid enough to confuse her with Kikyo. If Kagome just barely reminds him of Rin, she reminds him even less of the other miko. They have nothing similar, except perhaps the hair, and even in that they are different.
Kagome can be nothing more or less than Kagome.
She is like nothing else he has ever encountered. Even now that she is always on alert, she holds an air of carelessness no one but she can have in a time like this. Like she thought she might wake up and find herself in a secure world.
He will ask her soon where her home is located. He is very curious to know about the place where she comes from. Are they all this clueless? Are all her people as different as she is, or is she the only one? Is she rare even amongst her own?
Her feet are touching the water of the hot spring. She's moving them back and forth, alternating them. Her eyes leave his and go to the water, where the reflection on the sun can be seen. In less than an hour, the sun will lie down for the day until night surrounds them. Sesshoumaru has decided they will stay here for the night, since Kagome seems so reluctant to leave.
Red leaves encase them. For once, there is no wind, and the normal noises of the forest are all that is heard. They sit on a rock at the border of the spring. He has his legs crossed, and he is next to Kagome, watching as she unsettles the water with her feet.
She breaks the reflections that forms in it, making the image of his face disperse. Oddly enough, her reflection disperses towards him, and they find each other in the middle.
He knows it's wrong. The idea is ridiculous and the last thing he needs is to…
But she has become such a constant part of his life that he does not know…
He doesn't know.
He doesn't know, and he always knows, so he should know. He should know what she is doing to him. He should know what is happening to him.
He should know the place she has in his life.
'Everything.' A voice in his head say. 'She's everything you have.'
He shuts the voice down, drowns the words, and erases them from his mind. Sesshoumaru frowns inwardly. His face remains blank to the world.
"Hey," Kagome says, "what's wrong with you?"
His face remains blank to the world, that is, except to Kagome. Stupid miko, knowing how to read him. No words come out. There really is nothing to tell her because he doesn't know.
Everything shouldn't be a title for her to hold. She is, after all, only human, and she tends to end up in the worst situations ever possible. Besides, he is Sesshoumaru, and only he, himself, Sesshoumaru Taisho, is everything to him.
She is just the person that came along for the ride.
Even Rin was never so constant in his life. He certainly didn't spend as much time with her as he has with Kagome. He doesn't even think he spent such a long time without separation from his mother when he was a child.
Kagome seems to sense the struggle within him because she suddenly kicks the water and turns her blue eyes to him. They are narrowed and guarded, and he wonders what she will ask next.
"So…" she says bluntly because that's the way she is. "Once we get the pearl back, what are you going to do with it?"
Sesshoumaru just stares at her curious eyes, guarded. "You are the Shikkon No Tama miko," he says.
She shrugged. "What are you going to do with it, once you have it?" She sighs. "All I want from that pearl is for it to disappear."
"It is your responsibility."
She shakes her head. "I know, but what will you do with it?"
Kagome needs to know. She needs to know what someone like Sesshoumaru would ask of the pearl. Would he ask it to bring back Rin? To give him back his lands? To regain all that is his?
None of those wishes will make the pearl disappear. She knows what she has to do to erase if from the face of this Earth. She just doesn't want to do with it, so she waits and pleads to the sky for something that is impossible. She wants the burden of the stupid pearl taken off her shoulders.
It is not possible.
So she asks Sesshoumaru. He is looking for it, so he must want something from it. Besides, she truly is curious. It seems like her time in this era all revolves around that stupid, shiny, pearl.
Naraku wanted it, and that ripped Kikyo and Inuyasha apart, trapping him to a tree for fifty years. Inuyasha wanted it, and that started her crusade to find the lost shards scattered all across Japan. Now, Sesshoumaru wants it, which is the reason why she is currently alive, and she can't help but be curious about his motives for wanting the pearl.
Sesshoumaru merely looks at her with those golden, impossibly cold eyes that seem to have a grip over her that is becoming tighter every time.
She almost doesn't see Inuyasha in them anymore.
He responds with voice covered by coldness and coated with duty. "I will destroy it."
And isn't that a new answer?
She's certainly never gotten it before.
Everyone wants a wish.
She wants a wish.
"Don't you want a wish?"
His eyes are still on her. She is scared of his answer, scared of finding out that he really does want something. "No."
There is no doubt on his voice. Kagome feels calm overcome her. He doesn't want a thing. He's not interested. She doesn't have to worry about him wanting more. She doesn't have to fight with him over the peal in order to ask for something that will make her unhappy.
Everyone always wants more…
"How are you going to destroy it?"
His eyes narrow. He closes them, opens them, and blinks. Kagome sighs.
"You hadn't thought about that, had you?"
Sesshoumaru doesn't let this waiver his determination.
"I'll merely crush it."
And maybe being idiotic and impulsive runs in the Taisho family.
"You can't crush it," she says. What she really means to say is, 'Have you not paid attention? I crushed it and look where that got us.' Except maybe Sesshoumaru just wasn't interested enough to know the details of why the pearl had scattered.
He probably thought it was below him.
If it was that easy to destroy the pearl, she would have been home before the adventure started.
"I suppose you know how?" he asks.
Kagome allows herself to roll her eyes at him. "It did come from my body." Never mind Kikyo had to explain to her how to get rid of it. Sesshoumaru raises an eyebrow in question, but Kagome waves a hand dismissively before he can ask. "You have to ask for a selfless wish. In fact, you have to ask for something you truly don't want. Something that truly won't bring any happiness to you, to make the pearl disappear."
Her eyes search his, and she can see he is starting to see the dilemma that awaits them.
The same question crosses their minds.
"Who thought of such a riddiculous way to get rid of it?" He voices it out. And Kagome lets out a loud laugh that doesn't sound hurtful at all. She laughs and laughs and her eyes sparkle.
She looks happy. He doesn't understand why, but he is sure this is the first time he has heard that laughter since Inuyasha died.
She used to laugh all the time when her group of friends were alive, and to have her laugh now…
It makes him feel…better.
"Sesshoumaru," she suddenly says before he can ponder on his last thought, "I never thought I would say this, but I'm glad you want the pearl." She moves her hand towards him and puts it next to his, barely touching, but Sesshoumaru can feel the contact anyway. "I'm glad it's you I'm helping find the last shard."
He doesn't move his hand away.
***
"Four coming from the left and four from the right. It'll take them about ten minutes to reach us. Do you want to meet them?" Kagome says, sounding bored, though alert. With her miko powers, she can feel them from miles away. Combine that with his sense of smell, and they are a pair no one can surprise.
Most of the times. She still sometimes get distracted, and the most powerful usually hide until they're meters away, which is why Sesshoumaru's nose is so important.
"We'll wait for them here."
Kagome, one hand at her hip and the other one covering a yawn, reaches for her bow. After the enemy is close, she will take the sword. That is, of course, if Sesshoumaru isn't finished with them by then.
"Are we getting better at hiding?" Kagome asks.
"No." He comes closer to her, back to back so they can protect both flanks. He's no idea when having Kagome at his back, when being near her, made him feel better. Kagome leans against him, and her hand touches his lightly to catch his attention. He turns his face, neck stretched so he can see the side of her face.
"Why are we not getting better at hiding?"
Sesshoumaru sighs. He tried not to sigh around her, but she is just too annoying to prevent it. She is a force he can't ignore or stay emotionless towards. Kagome just grins at him, knowing exactly what he is thinking.
"What? Shouldn't you have taught me to hide my powers or something?"
"I did."
"But we are still getting attacked."
"Because you keep using your miko powers."
"So? You use your…uh…demon powers."
Sesshoumaru uses all his self control to not roll his eyes. She makes him act so…ungraceful. "Naraku is not hunting youkai."
"I'm sure if he could he would hunt you down."
"Me using my powers doesn't indicate who I am."
"I know who every youkai is by their youkai powers."
"That's because you are a miko."
"So?"
Do. Not. Roll. Eyes. Or break her neck. "Other youkai can't tell who I am."
"Sure they can. They just don't know you well enough."
"Because they are weaklings."
Kagome does roll her eyes. Sesshoumaru can't see her, but he knows she did it.
"But why do they have to chase after me?"
"Because you are a miko."
"If Naraku finds out I am alive…"
"He will."
"We should try to prevent that for happening."
"It is inevitable."
"But we have to find the last shard before he kills me!"
Sesshoumaru tries to ignore the fury those words bring him. He can feel the anger invade his senses, willing him to rip something, anything, apart.
He doesn't like the feelings Kagome's death bring to him, which is weird, considering he didn't feel half this bad when he killed her.
For the thousandth, he thinks he shouldn't have brought her back to life. She is just too much trouble, too many emotions, too much her.
He is beginning to understand why his half brother couldn't detach himself from her, even with the first miko around. He loathes the comparison. He is not his half brother. Kagome is not beautiful or overly intelligent or anything that makes her especial.
Sesshoumaru will not let her die.
"He can try."
Kagome is still leaning on him. "Ugh, he is such a nuisance."
"Don't be scared," Sesshoumaru says, not even sure why.
Kagome snorts. "I'm not."
Sesshoumaru lets an almost grin touch his face and mockery his voice. "Of course not."
Kagome blinks before grinning herself. "It's your fault they can feel us."
He gives a step forward, making Kagome fall on her backside. She glares at him from the ground. He looks at her as innocently as he is capable of, which is not much.
"How is it my fault?"
"You should have taught me to hide my miko powers."
"I did."
"Well…" Kagome says, almost as if reprimanding him, "You obviously didn't do that good of a job."
Sesshoumaru is going to kill her, regardless of what he promised.
"Kagome…" he says the name like it's a curse. "I'm not a miko to teach you those things. You are the miko." However, his words go unnoticed.
Kagome is no longer paying attention. She is at her feet, standing back to back with him again. Her eyes are on the horizon, waiting for their attackers.
"Something is wrong…" she finally says. "It doesn't feel…right."
Sesshoumaru sniffs, stiffens…
Kagome gasps as they get closer. "Is that…?"
She should have been dead, Sesshoumaru thinks.
She should be dead and in the ground rotting. She should definitely not be approaching them and about to attack. Naraku killed her himself. Sesshoumaru almost felt sorry when she died. She should not exist…
"Oh god…" Kagome says at his side. "It's…"
"Kagura," he finishes, snarling the name out.
He supposes Naraku would eventually find out about them. But he can feel Kagome's uncertainty, and for a reason that upsets him.
He doesn't like being upset.
He's going to send Kagura back to her grave.
***
Yes, people, I know, you hate me because I take so long to update, but hey, on the bright side, you already know I'm not leaving this story unfinished, because I never do.
Unless I die.
But I'm more than certain that won't happen any time soon.
So, go, review, and oh, they're starting to think of each other, and Kagome is not crying every single sentence, and oh my, we have some action coming in the next chapters. This story is moving, and I have so many plans for it!
You won't know what hit, you, so go, review, review!
