There was promise in her gaze, the emotions churning like a maelstrom in her blue eyes as she met his. "I promise you, should any harm befall Shippo due to your meddling there will be no forgiveness for you in my heart."

"So you've said." He muttered sourly. "You would give your life for a demon?"

"Yes a thousand times yes." Not once did she look away from him, and being a spirit without the need to blink made the stared down disconcerting to say the least.

Tilting his head Shinobu consented for the moment. "So you've explained your death, now explain your being bound here."

She rolled her shoulders into a relaxed slouch once more looking like the kindly spirit she usually did. "After my death I spent forty years interacting with Sango and Miroku, watching them grow old with their plethora of children. Shippo too would visit, though as time wore on the time between visits lengthened from days then to weeks, to months, and finally to years as he tried to remain amongst humans, constantly dodging men from Spirit World as King Enma had decreed shortly after my death demons unfit to mingle amongst mortals. And so sixty years after my death I had no one."

"So what all of your demon friends simply abandoned you?"

"They all had their own lives to try and reconcile." She closed her eyes and gave into thought. "InuYasha attempted to live out a normal life with Kikyou, at least for a time until her clay body could no longer sustain her. Sesshomaru had to see to Rin, knowing it was only a matter of time before King Enma had him corralled with the rest of the demons behind the barrier. Kirara remained by Sango's side until she past after that I am unsure." She shook her head, coming out of thought.

Rin? Sango? Kirara? Definitely not names Kagome has ever mentioned.

"But none of this really answers your question though."

"No it does not, quite the opposite in fact."

Casting him a weary grin she continued. "One hundred years after my death, and the erecting of the barrier I was virtually all alone. Not one of my friends remained; my thoughts quickly became my only company. Until one day I met a man, actually he reminded me a bit of you. Demons had for the most part faded into myths; bit of executive meddling by the Gods I'm sure. However there were still a superstitious few who believed, this man was one such person. I can only assume he had encountered or witnessed a demon in some sort of terrible act for he feared and hated demons, and had the power to do something about it." She sighed and looked away. "To make a long story short, this man was the last in a long line of holy men and he sought my destruction for, in his mind, my blasphemes thoughts and views on demons. In the end I was the stronger one. And in a final attempt he used his own soul and bound me to this clearing, so that I could not roam and spread my lies."

"And so here you are four hundred years later."

"Indeed."

Shinobu found his heart twisting in pain at the thought of his Kagome spending four centuries in solitude with nothing but her thoughts for company.

But what can I do?

Could I live with her hating me if something were to happen to the kit?

Warmth turned to cold?

I find myself for the first time in a long time… unsure.


I've gone through and fixed a few grammatical (probably missed more than I fixed lol) and spelling errors deebeth89 pointed out to me.

Also I want to thank everyone who is reading/favorite/watching/reviewing this story you guys rock!