Naraku

Chapter 14:: Ready?

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The day had gone by smoothly and Kagome believed no one noticed a thing. She continued lunch with Hoshimaru and Kaede with ease; they sat comfortably as they normally did. Light chit chat and banter, savoring the delicious meat and fruit Kaede prepared for them, as she always did. Kaede was the village Elder, Miko and best cook around and Kagome was quickly soaking up all the information Kaede would give, which was everything. Considering the possibility that she truly was the incarnation of Kikyo, training had been quite simple. She was no pro, yet, but the great amount of knowledge and strenuous training seemed almost easy. It was as though she had already forgone formal training and she was just dusting off some cobwebs. It quickly dawned on her that Kikyo had undergone this extensive Miko training and that the soul they shared was already acclimated to everything she was doing.

She was lucky in a sense, she had to admit. The dull ache of not seeing your mother, knowing how worried sick she must be. It was all too much sometimes and the sadness would eat away at her heart. But on the other hand, fate bestowed her this magical journey through a time portal to the past. She had to really question the true meaning of why she was sent here. Kagome believed in myths and creatures, she didn't realize they would be actual demons but she grew up in a Shinto Shrine that had been within her family for centuries, passed down from generation to generation. Fate brought her here for a reason and she was determined to find out why and make every moment count.

She was currently in the last bit of studies with Hoshimaru. She had given him a task to write a short story on his most cherished memory. He too was such a quick learner. The boy was down right intelligent and picked up on intuition incredibly quick. He was an excellent child, student and little friend to have and be around. He was writing slowly to make sure everything was perfectly legible, knowing Kagome would make frowny faces on his papers if he began to be sloppy.

Her mind wandered. How could it not? How was she to travel with a man without making it awkward for them both? All because she decided to touch her privates in front of them and he instinctively ate her out because he's a primal being.

Just ignore it on the daily basis and keep it impersonal like I would one of my teachers right? I've already done enough! I need to keep myself under control if I'm going to stay focused and travel with him doing "dangerous things." I need to act normal!

Kagome stared at her hands, they were fidgeting with the extra fabric of her pants. 'Goodness gracious what have I done, uuuuugh!'

"All done!" Hoshimaru set his pencil down and eagerly handed his paper over, breaking the train of though heading down the wrong path.

Kagome grinned widely. He had drawn three sloppy little figures with swords, and one bow and arrow. On the paper Hoshimaru had written a few sentenced paragraph. She smiled at how attentive he was.

I was very young but I still remember a lot of good memories. Do pure blooded humans remember their first memories of being born? I do! I think my favorite memory was being born and being held by my mother for the first time. That is a feeling that I will never forget. I remember the look on her face when I took my first steps and when we began to finally communicate with words. I have many more memories that I cherish and love. I think my most recent favorite memory is of my father. Kagome smiled. He has finally made a friend after all this time. Kagome's smile wavered and her eyes watered. Meeting Kagome has made my father so much happier than he was before. He is not alone anymore. This is my most recent cherished memory.

Kagome looked up and allowed the small pool of tear to drop. Hoshimaru had been smiling ear to ear as she read and know she knew why.

"That was very sweet of you Hoshimaru. And not even that, you did not make one mistake and your handwriting is near perfect. What a fine student you are!"

"Thank you Miss Kagome!" Hoshimaru looked around like he had a question. She put the paper down and waited until he was ready to ask. He looked up steadily and held her gaze with big childlike, golden eyes. "You're going to leave soon though, aren't you?"

Kagome sighed, and released a chuckle. "Nothing gets past you, does it kid?" His high pitch giggle echoed in the quiet room. She placed her hand over his gripped lightly. "Yeah you smart little brat, I think I am... but I'm not going to be gone forever, I'm going to come back, okay?" His smile was tight as he nodded. "And I promise it will be sooner than what he did to me." That cracked his firm smile a little more.

"I promise okay?"

"Okay." He stood to embrace me tightly and let go, "I'm going to surpass you while you're gone, so don't be gone too long, okay?"

"You got it!" He mumbled a few other things and headed home.

I wrote perfect! on his paper and put the study materials away, organized the space and looked around. They didn't really need me to teach them to read and write anymore, everyone in Kaede's home was perfectly fluent in both, they would be able to pass it on.

She left the study room and stepped outside. It was late evening and the sun was already majorly set. She let her aura expand and found him in the same spot she left him earlier that day. She made her way to the training field and spotted him, poised against the base of the tree. One leg up as usual and the other stretched before him. He had her in sight with his glowing red eyes the moment she was in visible distance.

Kagome left some space between them, sitting a few feet difference. He hadn't said a word yet, just eyed her, carefully.

"How long do I have?"

He knew the meaning to her question right away. When were they leaving on their new journey, together. He had never even planned on returning, but that wretched ache that left a burning hole in his chest brought him back as soon as he could. And then seeing her as she bathed, it sucked him in and now he had a traveling companion. But with her sitting there next to him, he had never felt such ease in his life as he did now. He contemplated the when. He could decide tomorrow, but after watching these two nights pass, seeing her with such familiarity with the people he left her with, he decided to wait, for her sake. Her journey was to become something much much more. She did not realize was she was asking of him, but soon she would find out.

"I will let you have a week to say goodbye."

The sparkle in her eye glimmered more than it usually did. 'Thank you." She smiled. "I know you don't like it here, so you don't have to stay this whole week as long as I know you will come back." She giggled. It would also help to perhaps clear her mind of the lust filled fog he produced around her. Like a seeping, poisonous miasma that she wanted to inhale and drown in. A soft tint lined her cheeks. She was staring at her entwined fingers while asking him, and now she crept her gaze up to his awaiting ruby orbs.

He was staring at her with an intensity that didn't penetrate her loins. It made her heart pound in her ears; they became red as her anxiety took over and she breathed like she had forgotten. He was giving her the chills with the cold, hard look.

"This is not to be enjoyed. I am fighting for honor and war. You will be just as I am. Do you understand? I cannot protect you. If I am to be killed, you will be as well. You cannot get in my way. You cannot interfere with things that are above you. Demon life is ruthless. You cannot hesitate."

He was trying to be cold to her, to scare her away from their impending travels to the Western lands. Her face hardened instead and she stood abruptly.

"You told me this nine months ago. You told me couldn't protect me. I know. So I trained everyday, seven days a week, for hours.. everyday to become strong. So I could protect myself! Once I knew I was never going back home, all I had left was to become stronger."

Her smoky gray eyes were dark, she was mad. He smirked, causing her to sneer and snort.

"You can't scare me away... I will follow you endlessly now that I am capable." His smirk did not change, but his eyes did. They darkened again and that thick, miasma began to creep.

"No, no! Stop looking at me like that!"

"Like what?"

She couldn't help the laugh that escaped at his childlike response.

"I am getting out of here while my senses are in tact."

Only to prepare for his constant presence, alone. She turned from him and made her way back to her home. The home she would leave in a week. Her entire life was thrown upside down and this was the only constant she had without a doubt. She had checked the well every morning to see if it would let her pass. It had not, but if she left she would no longer be able to check. Something in her mind and soul told her that if she stayed, the well would never open. The magnetic pull she shared with Naraku was fervid and now stronger than ever. There was no way he was not feeling the same. In the short time he's been back, he has know her location with no effort. Whatever greater force out there connecting them was not letting them escape whatever destiny was out there.

Kagome's right hand softly stroked her chest, over her heart. Even now, walking away from him back to her room, she could feel it tugging her back from where he was lounging. The entirety of the day, the pull was incessant.

So it's a dangerous journey. I could die. I could die. But I can't stay here forever...

She told everyone the news the next day, she was fully prepared for Inuyasha's outrageous and difficult behavior, but he was quiet, completely unnatural. He nodded to her as if he had already known she was leaving. She did promise him one last week of training and the psychotic grin he sprouted did strike a tinge of fear through her. Training was absolutely horrendous up until the day before she left. Inuyasha made sure to take out all his masked frustration out and more, on both her and Hoshimaru, but when Hoshimaru wasn't around, he really unleashed his rage. He didn't hurt her outright, but normally when they sparred, he wouldn't go easy, but he also made training bearable for longevity purposes. Kagome's last week, she had to submit defeat every time for fear that she would actually get hurt if she didn't. It was humiliating, actually, and she completely understood why he was doing it. He was hurt that she was leaving and the only way he knew how to cope was to hurt her in return.

Once it subsided, she picked herself up from the floor and began to put away their sparring tools. He did so as well, silently. She hadn't complained once all week, but when Hoshimaru had left earlier, he said we weren't training. It was the last day and night they would stay in the village.

He was leaving the dojo when she whispered.

"You won't see me again for a while... don't be a jerk tomorrow. I'm already going to miss you too much. Please let my holding memory be fond."

She heard his sigh and he was gone. Kagome held her tears back, determined not to cry. She cried easily and it was a sign of weakness here. But for her, it was a sign of strength. Crying allowed her to let out all emotion in abundance without causing an imbalance in her system. She would only cry in her own personal quarters moving forward.. Her crying in the middle of anywhere was going to be extremely dangerous so there was to be no more public tears.

She mindlessly continued her evening, a quiet evening dinner, a solemn quick bath and a sleepless night.

Kagome's eyes fluttered open, the sun was already much higher in the sky than when she was normally use to. Knowing that she didn't need train today, her body slept in after tossing and turning all night. She gripped the white fur and slipped free from it's warmth after noticing a delicious scent wafting through her room. She dressed and greeted everyone. Kaede was indeed stirring one of her amazing creations. Her stomach grumbled and just then Inuyasha spoke up from his usual spot, with an empty bowl.

"It's about damn time you lazy wench!" She grinned at his crassness. He had barely spoken to her all week. This was good. "Kaede wouldn't let anyone eat until you woke up! Keh!" He grumbled picking up his bowl and pointed a clawed finger at the old woman. "Feed me you old hag, she's awake!" he huffed and puffed his way and placed his bowl down with a light thud. Kagome giggled at the scene. There was no sense of irritation from the older woman, she had been dealing with Inuyasha and his mouth her whole life.

Hoshimaru picked up on her voice and came in from outside, also noticeably hungry from his growling stomach upon entrance. "I almost woke you up myself!"

She chuckled and the lighthearted mood set the tone for the rest of the day. She gardened, picked and trimmed some herbs with Kaede and some of the village children. Inuyasha and Hoshimaru planned a small last hunt, for a while anyways, and that's what Kagome was most excited for.

It had been the perfect day really, and it was even more perfect when the tug in her heart became noticeable. He had return as stated. Sundown had just hit and they were upon the village before the remaining light died. They were about to go inside but Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve and stopped. He turned and glanced at her, brow raised. She held his shirt with white knuckles and propelled herself into his chest embracing him. Her hold was tight, she loosened it to breath and adjust her next. "Thank you." It was a soft whisper

"Feh. Whatever. Don't come running back crying." He stood rigid for a moment longer and she felt his arm return her hug. "Come back in one piece you stupid girl."

She laughed, "Yes sensei!" "I'm not your sensei! I'm not old!" He grumbled and released the hug pulling them both inside.

She was able to sleep like a baby that night.

Morning always came quick when something important was happening. She awoke her normal time, the sign would be shining it's glow on the land in less than ten minutes. The room that was given to her was already spotless clean. She had a few items of travelwear in the backpack she would take, there was nothing else except her weapons. She looked down at the warm white fur, the nights were cold always and she couldn't leave it behind, she folded it the best she could and stuffed it in the pack. She could feel the pulsating tug of the bond and knew that he was waiting for her already.

She exited her room and it seemed as though she was able to sleep peacefully, they had not. Kaede, Inuyasha and Hoshimaru were all already awake, waiting for her.

She locked eyes with everyone and smiled.

"Guys, I am coming back, please don't look at me that, like this is goodbye. It isn't!"

Inuyasha looked away but Hoshimaru practically floated over to her and pulled her into a cracking embrace. She held him for a while before letting go, the tugging was becoming stronger, he must have been impatient waiting this whole week. She had hugged and thanked Inuyasha and Kaede the night before, so she would not force more of her emotion upon them, it could be overwhelming.

It seemed like a wordless thing. Everyone's gaze held some sort of understanding as to why she was leaving. No one was blaming her or mad that she was making her own decisions. As she turned to leave Inuyasha spoke up, his final words to her.

"You'll always have a home here, Kagome."

Kagome smiled, bright and full of tenderness"I love you guys."

She exited with a thumping in her ears and with haste, made her way to the bone eaters well. He was sitting there, the same, one leg up, arm stretched across it and his tresses draped so delicately.

His eyebrow raised at her arrival, and stayed arched as she nonchalantly jumped through the well with no spoken words. He knew this was her last jump for a while. A thrown rope tugged over the wooden ledge as she made her way back up. She humphed as she stood.

"Worth a last try, right?" He did agree, and nodded.

"I'm ready." He stood before she completed speaking.

"I will not travel slowly. How long can you run for?"

"At least four hours in light sprint." she spoke calmly. She knew this was going to be hard. She thought four hours was excellent, and even Inuyasha agreed.

"I guess I can manage that. Alone the travel is six days. With you, I will have to say nine days travel."

She gulped, nine days of terrain travel with a constant sprint of several hours, yeah, no big deal. None at all. She turned and went to walk away but was stopped when she felt him reach for her. He touched something in her bag, she turned and looked at him. He had a complex stare off with the white fur between his fingers. He pulled it from the bag and she lightly panicked. It was his fur after all, but it was her safety blanket, literally. Her eyes almost watered but she immediately shut them off.

"I find it so interesting how you managed to keep this manifested the entirety of my absence." Naraku's voice was low, but his pronunciation was crystal clear.

Kagome was completely confused, and he could read it through her expression. He snapped his fingers and it fizzled into a purple fume and began to dissipate. She gasped and reached out, her hands grasping at the air, disturbing the fumes. "No! What did you do to it?!" the panic set and she looked around for her fur, she stopped panicking for two seconds when she noticed he was smirking at her, almost grinning.

"Where did it go?"

Kagome registered some sort of hand gesture before the white fur pelt was in his grasp again. She breathed a sigh of relief, grabbing it quickly from him and bringing it to her face, she nuzzled it. It was fully recharged with his scent and it was something she was easily able to pick up on.

"It's a part of me. It should've disappeared when I left."

She blushed holding onto the fur for her dear life, it seemed. "I'm pretty sure I was holding onto this like my life depended on it. It.. was my rock. To let me know you were real."

The last words she spoke looking into his endless red eyes.

"Of course I'm real."

This is exactly what she was missing, what she was waiting for.

"Is this a part of your body then?" He shook his head no.

"It is more of an essence of me, like an extension. With no energy it cannot continue it's physical manifestation."

She "Hmmmd' before handing it back to him. "It may be yours, but it's mine. You left it here and I had rightful claim. I will allow you to carry it through travels, but at night I require it." She tried not to laugh at her pretend haughty voice. She was grateful for his sense of humor, that he actually one.

"You dare to order me around do you? Perhaps I will let you freeze at night once we come upon the mountainside." Her mouth opened lightly before she laughed.

"You better not!" She reached for the fur but he was quicker, and it dissipated in a purple plume.

She turned quickly and stuck her tongue out at him, "Lets go."