I know I left you with a horrible cliffhanger, but here is the next chapter! And I know I tell you this a lot, but I AM sorry for the late update. I just have a lot of examns and papers and school work, and there is always so much work to do! But I write every moment I can, and I'm always thinking about what I'll do with this, where it'll go, how I'll surprise you...I've got lots of ideas.

Oh, this time, no thanks because I have to get back to my homework, but happy Death's day (that is what we celebrate on Mexico, and Happy delayed Halloween!

And...

This story got nominated by The Inuyasha FanGuild for Best Darkfic/Horror and Best Drama for the Third Quarter of 2009, yey!

I'm excited about this, it's such a great honor, and I so never thought I'd be nominated for Best Darkfic/Horror! That is really something unexpected.

Fragments of A Shattered Moon

For We Are Fools

She was dangerously close to telling him all she was. Dangerously close to letting her secret slip out.

And she was dangerously close to not caring about him knowing it all. Dangerously close to needing him to know all there was to her.

She could already see herself be shattered once more.

But one look at him, and she could not pull the strength to walk away.

"I like red on you," her mother tells her as Kagome admires the new shirt she gave her. She has finally finished another year at high school, which is truly an achievement, considering she spent most of the last three years in another era. Gee, she didn't even spend them on a nice beach or something. Chasing after demons, trying not to get killed, and things like that are so not her idea of good vacations. Things that sound like an adventure to others, but are her real life.

A very tiring, stressful, frightening life.

"Mom, red is too…" How can she explain to her mother that red is too bright? That it calls too much attention? That a youkai can spot her from miles away with that color? That she is an even easier prey with it on, and no, she will never be able to wear it?

She has to wear her uniform to school. She never goes out in her own time because…there is no time. All her spare moments are spent trying to find the shards. She sighs as she looks at her mother's expectant face. "I like it," she finally says. "I think it makes me stand out, but I like how it looks on me." And it truly does look good on her. It makes her less pale, giving her an attractive color.

She wishes Inuyasha would see her in it.

"So you'll wear it?"

Kagome laughs and smiles brightly at her mother. "Of course, mom."

Her mother smiles at her in that calm way. Kagome wonders if her mother knows she is lying, but she has become so good at lying to her that she isn't sure.

As much as laughing feels alien sometimes, she has to keep the charade. Her mother would die if she told her of all the dangers she goes through. She can't let her worry that much. Besides, it's been almost three years since the shard hunt started. Anytime now, they'll pick up the last pieces. Destroying Naraku after that shouldn't be that difficult.

Kagome is positive, and a little sad, that her adventures in the Feudal Era won't last much longer. She has no idea what she will do once that is all over. She looks at herself on the mirror, with that pretty red shirt on her, and she tries to remember what a normal life is like.

And finds out it is impossible, so she lets that go and focuses on making her mother feel better.

Ms. Higurashi watches as her daughter stuffs her new shirt into her bag, smiles brightly, and goes to jump into the well.

She is not fooled at all. The shirt will never be used.

And as she waves goodbye from the window, she wonders if this is going to be the last time she sees her daughter.

***

As soon as it comes, it goes.

Her eyes are tightly shut.

If she were to open them, she would see nothing left of the army. No weapons. No bodies. Nothing but trees and rocks.

Like just minutes before arrows weren't headed their way and the army wasn't approaching. Like Kagura and that witch had never been here. As if her powers had never been released.

Everything is so…silent.

And in her arms, secure and alive, and oh thank god, thank god, thank god, there's a solid body.

A solid, breathing, warm, body, and kami, she's finally lost her mind because surely, surely, Sesshoumaru got purified, but her brain refuses to believe it.

"Kagome?"

The firm, arrogant voice speaking her name is also part of her imagination. The demand in the question that is more like an order is so familiar, so something she wants to hear, that she is certain she's finally gone delusional.

Great.

Now she will not only hear all her dead friend's voices in her mind. Sesshoumaru's voice will accompany them.

Just what she needed, an arrogant youkai stuck with the jerk of his brother in her mind.

The Universe can be so cruel.

"Kagome?"

Her eyes snap open, going directly to Sesshoumaru's form. His hair is soft under her hands, silky. It comes to her mind that she always wanted to touch it. It feels softer than she could ever imagine. She watches it, silver hairs falling from her hand. It's enchanting, and when his hand goes to her chin and her eyes lock with his golden ones, she is trapped into their intensity, lost without hope, not understanding why he is alive, beyond relieved that he is, unsure of what the warmth she is feeling means…

This is one of those moments that only happen once in a fool's life.

She is such a fool…

"What are you doing?" His voice takes her out of her dizziness.

"Why are you alive?" No one ever said she was careful around what she said.

He cocks his head to the side. It almost brings a giggle out of her; except she is sure it would turn out hysterical. Her body feels so light, and he is alive…

Alive, alive, alive, and her brain refuses to understand this concept because surely, good things don't happen to her.

"You did something." His face is close to hers, and suddenly she can only look at his lips forming the words. His voice is low, rusty, enveloping her….

Alive…

"My miko powers wouldn't hurt you." Her lips are only inches from his, and her brain seems to thinks this is an important fact.

Emotions are taking control of her body, and the relief she feels is unexplainable, but she just knows, if she lost him, if she killed him…

A girl can only mend herself so many times, and she's already done more than expected…

"You wouldn't let them." Oh, that voice…Her heart is pounding hard in her chest. He is the only important thing right now. He, and his completely alive body, his golden eyes anchored on hers, the feel of his hair on her hands and that slightly arrogant, slightly confused voice trying to figure out why, exactly, he is not dead.

The dizziness she feels at having him so close is something she can't explain.

"I didn't know how to stop them. Idon't know what I did." Last time she checked, even Inuyasha got purified by them.

Inuyasha is dead, though. Sesshoumaru is not. It somehow seems important, but she can't quite put her finger on what it is.

Her arms are still tightly around his form. He is still on the ground, and her body is a bit on top of him, protecting him from the world.

Which is stupid, because what can she do to save him?

Why would he need her to save him?

Yet, she did. She still is willing to free whatever powers she seems to posses just so he can continue existing.

"I am above even the nature of your powers."

The moment is broken, and Kagome finally releases him. Actually, she throws him to the ground. Sesshoumaru was…distracted by the fact that he hadn't been purified and was so close to the miko to do anything to avoid such an action.

It is, in his opinion, the only reason why he got tossed to the ground so…ungracefully.

Whoever heard of Lord Sesshoumaru simply being pushed to the ground?

"You idiot!" she screams as she punches his arm as hard as she can, which turns out badly because her hand hurts and he seems painless. This only succeeds in making her angrier. "Wait until I find one of my arrows, or anything pointy. Just you wait!" she snarls his way. "I'm going to make cheese out of you."

"Cheese?"

"Yes, I'm going to put so many holes in your body you will be like cheese."

"Wouldn't it be faster with knives?"

Kagome stops at a halt in her looking and turns to look at him. "Excuse me?"

"Knives would be better for the purpose of making cheese out of me."

Her mouth hangs open. "Are you actually discussing the best ways to make cheese out of you?"

The look he gives her informs her that he won't repeat himself again.

But…

"Sesshoumaru."

"Yes?"

"Only you discuss that."

He gives her a smug look as she sits next to him. The sky is overwhelming above them, vast and untouchable. Tiredness is starting to get to her, but she has to get this out of her system.

"I thought I had killed you." The misery she feels shows in every word, in every cell of her body.

If she had killed him…

"Don't think so highly of yourself."

She glares once more his way. "I was close to purifying you."

"Your powers didn't even tingle."

"They could have."

"They didn't."

But the fear she felt when she realized it was too late to undo whatever it was she had done, the pure, crude despair she felt when she realized she was going to purify him into nothing…

"Are you going to cry?"

"Yes, you dumbass," she snarls. "I thought you'd die."

"That's a cause of tears?"

She pauses, looks at him as if for the first time, and her glare lessens until it is replaced with an amused smile. "You're right. Please, go die." And she makes a point of putting as much distance as she can from him.

She already knows how much is 'too far' for his like, and won't go beyond that limit.

***

Stupidity has never been a part of his qualities.

He knows exactly how close he came to being purified, but he wasn't.

And if he is something, it is practical.

Her powers just…surrounded him, protected him. Death would have come had it not been for her, not that he will ever admit this to anyone.

Still…

Miko powers are meant to destroy youkai, regardless of the feelings the miko may have for the youkai. Kagome's powers…

Seem to obey only her, only her wishes and desires, because they protected when they should kill, and when has that ever been heard off? Why didn't she ever do this for Inuyasha? It is…satisfying, to have her do something for him, only him, and not the disgrace he had for a half-brother.

Nearly touching death must have affected his mind far more than he figured, because there is no way he just thought that.

Not only did her powers not kill him, they destroyed the enemy. They completely purified the demons and their weapons…and anything that threatened them. Did they catch Kagura and the witch? Hopefully.

"We will need to learn more about them."

"Excuse me?" she exclaims loudly. Why is she always so loud? Doesn't she know she doesn't need to scream for him to hear her?

Maybe he just needs to inform her. His mouth opens to enlighten her of his extraordinary hearing when he sees a knife in her hand, and a very determined look on her face.

Maybe making cheese out of him wasn't a joke after all.

Funny, that she would think she could do such a thing. He is Sesshoumaru Taisho, one of the strongest youkai, if not the strongest, and by the look on her face, she doesn't give a damn. He'll train her on not picking fights she can't possibly win later.

"We'll have to train you to use your powers in that way again."

"Are you crazy?"

"No."

"You didn't have to answer."

"You asked."

She said nothing.

"So...the training…"

"Are you kidding me?"

Silence.

"I'd need youkai to practice, and people to attack me, so I can create the…shield, or whatever it is I did."

More silence.

"You can't bring youkai for me to practice with."

Even more.

"No, we are not using you."

More. Silence affects her in the most entertaining ways.

"Of course, I could try without enemies…"

More of it.

"Ok, it's not a good idea."

"You do realize you are having a conversation with yourself?"

"Of course not. I'm talking to you."

"That would require me talking back."

"..."

"Which I am not doing."

"…"

"And will not do."

"You do realize you are having a conversation with yourself?"

"…"

"…"

"So," Sesshoumaru says after a long pause. Being with her is slowly, or rather quickly, destroying his sanity. "Practice."

"Is there no way around it?"

"No."

"We could do without it."

"Kagome, do not be foolish."

"But…"

"We'll move from here and then begin."

"Have I told you I hate you?"

"No."

"I hate you."

He smirks. Kagome feels like smacking him, but that won't go well. She eyes the knife on her hand before deciding not to pursue that idea.

He is alive when he should, by all rights, be dead. She's not willing to push her luck.

And damn it all, when did she start caring so much about his well being? When did worrying about him become instinct rather than something to be thought of?

***

"Fuck you."

"My, my, that's not a nice thing to say, especially after I saved your life."

Kagura glares at Atsuki. Dying would have been better than owing her life to her. "Idiot."

Atsuki stands. "We should get going." She states simply. There are no traces of weariness on her. If her army was completely destroyed and she survived simply because she recognized the same raw power Mali had, she doesn't show it.

Inside, she is trembling like jelly.

Mali was strong and determined, her powers always under control, and with knowledge of what they could do. And even after years of training, they never came close to what she witnessed today. Miko powers purify. They never protect. That youkai should be dead, just like the rest of her army, just like she should be.

That miko…

"Naraku isn't going to like this."

Kagura's nails pierce her palms. Atsuki watches the blood drip from them.

"This is not…" But what words can they say to describe just how much trouble this will be? How much it endangers everything Naraku has accomplished? "Good."

Atsuki swears one day she'll burst into flames with the looks Kagura gives her.

"We have to report."

"Of course. Shall we begin?"

Both women slowly started making their way back to their master. There is no hurry. The news they carry is bad, terrible, really, and Naraku tended to overreact… Except there was nothing to overreact to.

Mali is somewhere, a powerful miko with every intention of bringing Naraku down. The rebellion is growing stronger, and no matter how many youkai and hanyou they send to destroy them, it's not enough. They have no idea of where they are.

And now Sesshoumaru…

Sesshoumaru and that miko... Kagome, because after this it is essential they remember her name, have formed an alliance.

If any of the groups ever encountered…

Kagura and Atsuki don't hurry back to Naraku.

They already know the pain that awaits them.

The smell of unshed blood and future war burns their nostrils.

Every muscle in their bodies tenses with anticipation.

***

"I thought I said you couldn't bring youkai for me to train with?"

Three days. It's been three days since the attack, three horrible days of training. The stupid silver haired youkai decided looking for the shards could wait until she got a hold of her miko powers and she's been training nonstop.

No hurry to kill Naraku, after all. He's almost immortal, so he won't go dying on them anytime soon.

At least, that´s what Kagome thinks Sesshoumaru meant when she asked, and he simply shrugged.

She even has to wake up before the sun begins to rise. Not even the birds do that.

So now she knows she can make a shield that will purify or rebound any attack coming her way. The shields can grow as big as she wants, but they take too much energy from her. And not only can she purify youkai, anything that's solid seems to now simply disappear if she wants it to. Oh, and she can use her hands to create this…balls or purifying energy, which make her think of all the anime her brother likes to watch. No throwing them, though, she can only keep them in her hand. She guesses her brother would not be impressed because of this, but releases that train of thought. No use in thinking about it, especially when she will most likely never be there to disappoint him.

All in all, her miko powers seem to have gone crazy because they definitely shouldn't be able to do this, and most importantly, they should purify Sesshoumaru.

Which they don't. She actually has to concentrate to hurt him with them.

Go figure.

Sesshoumaru is enjoying this way too much.

He would do great in the military, with all that power and will to torture anyone who has potential.

It's even worse than her first training because she has to spar with him after her miko training. She always ends up on the ground. Maybe she should just learn to use her powers to shield herself from him.

Oh, the picture of Sesshoumaru rebounding from the shield would so make her life…

"You need to train on an enemy."

Kagome sighs. Foolish dreams are not for her.

Some months ago, she would never have agreed to kill just to get a hang on her powers, now…

It is necessary that she master this.

The ability to twist her miko powers so that they can create a shield around her body while destroying the enemy is a weapon they can't not deal with. That said, having this shield also protect Sesshoumaru is indispensable. Ignorance is out of the question. Besides, it's not that difficult. Granted they had a few accidents (lots of screams and purifying, and Sesshoumaru having to intercede so weapons wouldn't go through her body). The ex-Lord is very glad they decided to train before attempting to use the shield on him. It seems Kagome can control it and the miko powers refrain from killing him, but they still burn him, especially when she is upset. Which has been for the last three days. Maybe she has mastered her miko powers and just wants to harm him.

The youkai before them attacks. It tried to run away, but Sesshoumaru brought him back, and now he seems to think his only way out is by fighting. What he doesn't realize is that there is no escaping. He's been sentenced to death from the moment Sesshoumaru found him.

The demon's dagger goes straight for Kagome. She expands her powers.

Not soon enough.

That sharp dagger is going to go though her body…

And the youkai falls dead.

"Uh…"

"Still need more practice?"

Kagome's eyes are on his left arm. He follows her gaze at it.

Oh.

The dagger went straight into Sesshoumaru´s arm, and blood is falling…

Her voice pierces his already beaten ears. "Damn it, why the hell did you do that?"

He says nothing as he pulls the dagger out. No sound at all. Kagome can only see the red, and…

She goes to her backpack, which she will soon have to throw away. The poor thing is falling apart. She throws things out if it, tossing them all around, while Sesshoumaru watches her as his arm bleeds. After nearly two years without going back to the future, she is down to almost nothing. Finally, she finds the bottle she was looking for. As she takes it out, she stops, hesitates, and then pulls some red cloth from her bag.

There is a moment in which Kagome stops, as if trapped between two worlds.

God, she hasn't seen it in such a long while…

Some prevailing part in her rushes the miko back to Sesshoumaru's side.

Slowly, so as not to hurt him more, she takes his shirt off. She gulps when she realizes what she is doing, astounded that he is letting her, stunned by how she could ever forget how muscled and lean and perfect his body is…Such thoughts should never be on her mind, but…

Well, it's not her fault he has such a good body. You would have to be blind not to notice. Oh, how she wishes she was blind!

Will thinking these thoughts of Inuyasha's brother send her to hell?

Would he even care?

Probably not.

"It will heal," he says as her hand traces his arm from the shoulder to where the wound is. She hadn't even realized she had moved.

"Shut up." She glares, forcing her eyes away from his abs and to his face. "Don´t you have any sense at all?"

"It's only a dagger."

Trust Sesshoumaru to think a dagger through his arm is nothing. "Idiot," she says. "Moron." Just to emphasize.

It escapes her that Sesshoumaru has only ever allowed her to talk to him this way. Not even Rin was allowed to, though she never was this impertinent….His arm stings and he pulls it away from her, only she is having none of that.

"Sorry, it'll burn."

"Stating a fact does nothing to make it better"

She rolls her eyes. "It's only alcohol." She ran out of hydrogen peroxide some months ago. She stocks the bottle away and rips the red clothing, wrapping it around his now clean wound.

"It'll close in a few seconds."

She is looking at the ground. "I know."

"Then why?"

"It'll make me feel better."

"Why would I want you to feel better?"

Her eyes pierce him. "I'll train harder," she says, completely avoiding his question.

He doesn't have the capacity to understand how her mind works, so he simply nods his head. He touches the fabric, different from anything he's ever known…

"Don't put yourself in harm's way anymore."

"It's inevitable."

At this pace, he'll get used to her glare.

"Why? Why the hell do people have to get hurt?" she screams. "Even at home…" This time a pained whisper, "Why do people always get hurt?"

It takes him by surprise. She yells at him one minute, only to look after his safety, and then she's back at sadness. For the life of him, Sesshoumaru doesn't have an answer to her questions. Decades of living have not given him the knowledge needed to understand why people get hurt. He only has theories.

"Where are you from?" he asks instead.

"I asked first, so you should answer first."

"Why?"

"It's a rule."

"Who made it?"

She glares once more.

"Where are you from?"

Peace doesn't exist on this world. It never has. Even before Naraku, every village knew to expect death any time, so why doesn't she? What makes her so much more…naïve to the dangers that have always existed?

Kagome laughs, bitter and sad, as she shakes her head. "That's one hell of a story."

"Will you tell me?" Asking for things is something he's not used to. He normally receives whatever he wishes for, regardless of anything and anyone.

With her, nothing goes according to plan.

Kagome turns her back to him. "We should set camp."

"They say before you can feel happiness, you have to feel pain." He supposes he will one day be very happy, considering the amount of pain he has faced. Kagome sends him a nasty look before turning her back to him. "That's why people get hurt." He says, loud enough for her to hear. She stops for a mere second before continuing to walk away.

***

There they are… her dreams.

Shattered.

Broken.

Stepped on.

Destroyed.

There they are… her illusions.

Laughed at.

Twisted.

Ripped into thousands of pieces.

Ignored.

Here she is.

Forgotten.

Left alone.

Abandoned.

Walked all over.

And there he is.

Still strong.

Still powerful.

Still arrogant.

Still the Lord he was born as. Still the youkai he's always been, and she can't help but feel impressed.

She gets it now.

He's lost so much and been through unimaginable things, yet he still manages to look untouched.

Kagome wants so much to be like him. She wants the ability to wake up every morning and be as naïve and innocent as she was the first time she fell through the well. Kagome's eyes inevitably fall on Sesshoumaru. He's looking at the fire he started, calm and collected like always. His face is secured. His eyes shine with the fire. It's unbelievable, how easy it is for her to care for him, how much she does, in such a small amount of time.

If Inuyasha had never crossed her path, would she have fallen for him? Would she have fallen with the cold youkai with eyes like a storm? Would she have loved Sesshoumaru instead of Inuyasha?

Would her love for him be as painful?

She laughs at the thought. No matter how much she cares for him, it's too far away from what she felt for Inuyasha. Even pretending to compare what she felt for Inuyasha to what she feels for Sesshoumaru leaves her mouth tasting dry, like ashes.

The piercing she feels at her heart every time she thinks of Inuyasha refuses to fade. The complete shattering she feels when thinking of losing Sesshoumaru is only there because she doesn't want to be alone.

There is no other reason. She won't let another reason exist. After months of training and living on the edge of dying, it's only natural for her to feel so strongly about Sesshoumaru. It's normal. It is not love. It's not nearly strong enough, not even friendship, and the idea can definitely be laughed at. No way, not in a million years, would she ever fall in love with the white haired youkai.

Sesshoumaru and Kagome? Yeah, might as well ask Naraku to kill himself while they are at it.

Yet caring for him is now something she does without thinking.

When she said they should be teammates, she didn't really mean they should care so much for each other. He pushed her out of harm's way, his life at the line with this action every time, and yet he never stops. She owes him so much…

"Thank you." It comes out of her mouth without her even thinking, and when Sesshoumaru's golden eyes turn to her, she gulps.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid.'

"What for?" Sesshoumaru's voice is bored, but she can hear the edge of interest others would have missed. It's a step closer into their…relationship, whatever weird thing they have going between them.

At least he doesn't ignore her anymore. Definitely an improvement.

"Are you going to answer my question?" Impatience surrounds every word he says.

Kagome opens her mouth just to close it again.

How can she begin to answer his question?

She thinks of a few answers…

´Thank you for bringing me back to life.'

'Thanks for teaching me how to fight.'

'My eternal gratitude to you for showing me how to use my miko powers, even if it was by accident.'

'Bless you for not leaving me alone.'

'Thanks. Just thanks.'

Nothing is enough. He's done so much for her that she has no way to ever thank him enough. He didn't even have a reason to do all these things for her. Being a shard detector is just not enough reason to help her this much.

To take care of her like he does.

If he wasn't Sesshoumaru, she'd say he cared for her as more than mere allies.

When she had nothing left, when her world crumbled around her, when it was all over...

He was there.

He gave her strength to continue, and she doesn't know why he even bothered. She'll probably never know. No words come out of her mouth because they are dry on it, and she can't express herself, and…

"You're welcome," he says, and Kagome nods her head before turning her eyes to the stars above her.

Life is full of many turns…

This is the perfect example of one of those things she never thought would happen.

Because Sesshoumaru understands her even better than Inuyasha, and he knows what she wants to say or express before even she does.

Isn't that beautiful?

She smiles, and for the first time since this craziness started, it's not filled with sadness. It's not haunted. The taste of bitterness is gone. There is no pain.

The red cloth on his arm catches her attention. That is her last connection to her real home. A red cloth is all she has left of the future she was born into.

"Sesshoumaru…"

"Yes?"

But it's not the time.

Just a few more days without him knowing where she's from. Mere hours are all she asks for. Then, after she has her moments in peace, she'll tell him.

The story of the girl from the future who thought she could fix the past.

"Nothing."

There it is! Yey! Oh, the next chapter is already with one of my editors, and I'm already writing chap. 16, so I hope you don't have to wait nearly as long. Bare with me, I have one more month of school before vacations, and then I'm all yours. Oh, and review! Review, review, review! Your reviews make my say, and you do want to make me happy, right? (Imagine puppy eyes)