FEW! Heres the next chapter~!

Because...It's a village...?

I was fairly sure it's been a week...or two...I'm not really sure, but I know it's been more then a week, since I've woken up in that field with youkai-san stalking me every step of the way.

Whats that you say? Shouldn't I have found a village or at least people by now?

Yeah, well, I found a village some time ago.

A village that was burned to the ground and had slaughtered body's everywhere. Was it a youkai? Nope. By what I could tell- with the distinct lack of youkai anywhere and that this was fairly recent- it was bandits. I was was horrified and shocked by what I found as I had walked through the village. My companion- who refuses to let me see him- stayed in the forest, he said he had no interest nor care about the slaughtered villagers. So, I had gone in alone, and the sight...

Was not as disturbing as I thought. I had not really felt anything. That thought had made me pause in my walking, because I felt that my lack of concern or care should be worrying, especially for a miko. But then, I remembered something.

I had done far worse then what the bandits had when I was younger. The bandits only cut their heads off, or sliced through their guts, and I knew what had befallen some of the naked women I saw. But, again, I've done worse in general. Most of their deaths were clean and swift, they didn't suffer too much.

Me, I had practically tortured the people who laid their eye's- or god forbid hands- onto my younger siblings. I had broken arm's that wandered too close to my mother, I had damaged internal functions of teenagers who disrespected and taunted my grandfather. I had also mentally scarred a few women in the park who dared to shun and scorn my family because my mother was a widow and raising us on her own, who talked about how disgraceful she was.

One of them had, unfortunately, died unexpectedly.

I had taken the time to at least bury them, it was the least I could do and not let their corpse get eaten by crows, or demons. It took two day's to complete, I had to pause in my work sometimes whenever I came across a child's body, then there was also the fact that the village itself had me shocked. These were old style houses that are no longer in use in japan, at least in Tokyo or near it, not for a while. Then there was the fact that I could see Mt. Fuji in the same direction that I usually see it from my home.

I was in Japan.

Just not in my time period. The youkai was at least considerate enough to tell me the date. The fucking Feudal era of all time periods?

Really?

Well, after I was done with giving them all a prayer, I continued on my way to find a different village. I had no idea how I was suppose to get home, and I guess that realization brought me into a depression. I was aware that he was watching, I didn't really care. I would never see my family again.

Never hear grandfathers tell us a story about every little thing we had. Or hear mothers voice, trying to wake me up to get to school or go to grandfathers lessons. Souta's insistence on me playing soccer with him, or getting him a toy he saw on tv, or begging me to show him my naginata. Kagome telling me about what she's done in school, or her newest crush was, or asking me about how she looked. I'll even miss her complaining about her homework and tests.

It wasn't until early yesterday that I decided to not wallow in grief, I was going to try and find a way back home.

I couldn't bare the thought of some unruly disgusting boy tainting my sweet sister, or some bitch of a girl wrapping Souta around her disgusting finger. Or worst yet, a man trying to take advantage of mother and grandfather, to try and grab the shrine or the clan fortune for themselves!

Sadly, I had to first find a place to stay until I have some sort of clue as to how to get back to my time period. I know there's a way, if I ended up here then surely there's a way back.

Which, had brought me to today.

It was currently night, and I had set up camp in a small clearing with a fire a few feet away from myself. Youkai-san was lounging in a few tree's from the one I was laying under. Well, at least he hadn't left. But that just brought up questions, why in the world was he even following me? He doesn't seem to care for humans.

I mean, he kinda stated that when we reached that village and all...

Sooo...Yeah? Why is he following me?

He must be bored. I concluded because face it, a demon who's lived kami knows how long? Yeah, I would probably be bored enough to stalk a human as well.

"youkai-san," I called out as I watched the flames, I felt his eyes on me. "should you not be home right now? With your clan? Or family?"

Silence, before he spoke. "I could say the same about you, onna."

He avoided the question. I noted with an eye roll. "Heh, I would be glad to be back home to be with my clan," I stated as I smiled slightly at the memory of Kagome and Souta smiling at me. "But, it seems that I will not be able to." I muttered, but I'm sure he heard me. "That is, unless of course, you know of a way to travel through time?" I asked a little hopeful, if anyone knew of such a means to get home then a demons who's lived for hundreds of years should, shouldn't they?

"Hn."

Was that a yes or a no? I thought in amusement, it was kinda hard getting this demon to talk, let alone hold up a conversation when all his answers comes in 'hm's, 'hn's, and 'Onna' in varying degrees of annoyance of boredom.

"..." I glanced over to the tree he sat in, "Tell me, youkai-san, why you don't show yourself to me?" Because he has been adamant in only allowing me colorful glimpses of himself. "Are you grotesque? Disfigured?" No answer but I felt his annoyance flare up in his youkai, "No? Are you ashamed, then, of having eye's laid on you? Maybe you're shy?" I scoffed, "What am I saying? You sound fairly confident to be shy of all things."

"Onna, I should warn you to stop meddling in things that do not concern you." he warned in that smooth silky voice. I raised a brow in his direction, only seeing his amber eyes reflecting the fires light.

"I should think it does since you, for reason's that eludes me, seem to be following me." I pointed out, only to see his eyes narrow in warning. He avoided the question again. Maybe he just doesn't think it's worth the effort to show himself to me?...But it takes a lot more effort for him to stay hidden from my sight...I think.

"I am merely seeing how long you will survive." he stated with a small growl in his voice, "It is obvious you do not know how to fend for yourself seeing as you barely caught fish to eat. It is a wonder that you survived the ogre."

….

….

"Does that mean that you saw me in my undergarments and practically nude?" I asked in shock, also kinda surprised that he watched that whole thing.

Embarrassment you say? Why in the world would I be embarrassed by my body? Sure, I may have a few scars littering my body, and sure I may have more muscle on me then an average fifteen year old girl should, thus not having a smooth flat stomach that most males are attracted to. But I'm proud of how my body looks.

And I'm fairly certain that the long lived youkai I am currently talking to has seen naked woman before, and he's obviously not attracted to me, so no worry's.

He didn't bother to answer me anymore that night. No matter, I won't push.

I can wait.

-Skipuuu~!-

It was the next day when we- or more over 'I' I guess- found a village. One that was intact, it was small but it was better then nothing. It was hidden in the forest, and near where the river flows, the first thing I noticed about the place was that there was a shrine on a highly elevated hill near the edge of the village boarder, that was snuggled by trees, looking over the rest of the village. It seemed to be a farming village, enough of the trees were cut down and removed to allow a fair amount of room for fields along with areas for livestock to roam. Tilting my head I looked up to the tree that my companion was in. "I assume that you will not come into the village with me then?" I stated more then asked.

"Hn."

with a shrug I started to walk into the village, as I did I noticed that there were smaller amounts of youkai in the forest, they seemed to be fixed onto the village. As I arrived at the edge of the village, I noticed a couple of talismans on a few of the trees, weak spiritual power radiated off of them. Hn? They seem to be connected... I observed, seeing a faint shimmer in the air. I tilted my head in curiosity as I saw that they did in fact connect to one another. The whole thing seem to create a dome around the village, A barrier perhaps? I thought, then shrugged and walked past it and straight into the village itself. I glanced from the corner of my eyes at the villagers who had stopped what they were doing when they saw me, whispering and staring at my naginata and clothing. I hummed in thought as I saw a child look in wonder as he stared at me.

It wasn't until an elderly man walked up to me did everyone completely stopped what they were doing and started to slightly crowed around me. The old man was slightly hunched over, a wooden cane in hand, he seemed a bit older then my grandfather. He wore a plain blue kimono, his hair was grey and the top of his head was balding, what hair he had left was pulled into a small pony tail at the base of his neck. His eyes looked like dots, but I think it only looked like that because he was squinting.

"Hello, my lady miko, what brings you to our humble village?" the elder man said, a bit of a wheeze in his breath. The villagers seemed to have taken a step closer at this, probably wondering the same thing.

"Hn, well, I have been a bit lost as of late and was looking for a village to see if I could gain directions back to my family..." I drawled as I looked at each villager before looking back at the man. I'm assuming he is the leader of this village. "But, it has come to my attention that I may never get back to my family, for I did wake up in the forest when I was suppose to have been with grandfather." I stated, a bit of a lie. "I had hoped to find a village day's ago that I could stay in for a bit until I figured out what to do." I said with a small shrug.

The villagers started to whisper again before the man talked. "How unfortunate, my condolences lady miko." he said with a small bow, to which I quirked a brow at. "Ah, forgive me, I have not introduced myself, I am Kensuke, the leader of this small village."

Ah, I was right then. I thought as I bowed my head to him. "Hello, I am Kaname." I introduced myself, I stared at kensuke as he seemed to hesitate in what he wanted to say next. After a few moments of him not saying anything, I tilted my head to the side. "Yes? Do you have something to say, Kensuke-san?" I asked.

"Well...I do, It is that, we would be happy to accommodate you here in the village, but we have a problem."

"And what is that?"

"There has been a demon that has been plaguing the village's in the area for the past few months, my lady." he said as his eye's went to the floor, at this the villagers seemed to have wilted and seemed very depressed. "It comes every few moons and terrorizes us, eating the woman and children of the village. Our last miko had tried to stop the beast, but she was defeated and devoured before our very eyes." He said regretfully, this statement had some of the remaining women in tears. They must have been very close to their last miko. I noted before humming as I looked back at him. "I fear, that if the ogre is not slain then we will all perish by the next moon cycle. The other villages have already fallen to the beast, some eaten to the last child, while others abandoned from fear."

"Then why do you not abandon this place as well?" I questioned curiously. He seemed to have deflated at that, he seemed very pained at the thought of leaving. Was it because his ancestors reside here? I wondered.

"We cannot abandon our home, where would we go? The nearest village that still has life is a months walk from here, and even if we did try then it would be for not. The forest is thick, once it protected us from bandits because of the demons residing in it, and the demons had never bothered us for long because of our last miko's protective barrier that surrounded the village. Sadly, the barrier was weakened by the ogre, letting the demons into the village. The forest is no longer safe for us."

I furrowed my brows at this, how sad. I thought as I looked towards the forest surrounding the village. The forest that protected them will also be their demise. Pity.

…..

….

….Wait a minute...'Ogre'? I thought. No, it's just a coincidence. What are the chances of it being the same one I fought a few weeks ago? "Excuse me kensuke, but this ogre, did it have blue-green skin, black claws, red eyes, and wearing a tiger loincloth?" I questioned to which he nodded. I stared at him for a moment. Huh, I accidentally saved a village from extinction. I thought, it seems that the chances of that were very high. "I see, well then it seems to have to worry no more for I have already slain that ogre some time past." I stated.

The gasps that answered me were all I had as a warning before they started to cheer and thank me profoundly. Dear, even the children ran out form behind their mothers and ran at me, hugging my legs and crying in relief, or staring in awe at me.

This was uncomfortable.

Celebrating.

They were celebrating that the demon is gone. Sake was going around, children playing games and happily eating the sweets made by some of the older generation, the women were dancing with their loved ones. They pt tables and lanterns out, food that could be spared- because of the decrees of population they had more food then usual- along with some meat that should be considered a luxury. They should really preserve what little food they have left. I was at a table with kensuke and some of the men who were curious on how I beat the youkai. Some of the women left a little earlier then the rest, when I inquired as to why the elder told me that they had volunteered to clean out and refurbish a room from the temple. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to sleep in the temple of the old miko, but I was assured that it was the least they could do.

So, with a shrug of my shoulders I thanked him and retired to the shrine. Once I got there I was surprised on how small it was, not that it wasn't big or anything, just...it was smaller then my family's shrine. Actually it seems about the same size. I noted while walking along the outside towards where I suspected my room would be, I only found it when I heard the chattering of women setting it up for me.

"Huh? Ame-nee-chan, whats this?" a five year old Kagome asked, her small ponytail fluttering lightly in the wind. Her eye's peered down at the silver ring with words carved around it. Adjusting her pale blue summer dress as she shifted in the grass.

"It's a ring." Kaname answered with a giggle, she grinned at the pout she received. "It's a ring, that I made you. Grandfather and father were teaching me incantation's today, so I thought I would carve one of them into a ring and give it to you, for protection." She explained, her hair in a bun, and a bow set to the side. She was taking a break from training, and seeing as their birthday was in a few day's, she decided to just give Kagome her present early. "It's so that you will always have a piece of me with you, no matter where you go."

Kagome looked back down at the ring her dear older sister gave her, she smiled widely while putting it on her thumb. She frowned when the ring was too big to fit on any of her fingers, this just made Kaname laugh.

"Here, just go ask mother for a piece of string or something, then you can wear it around your neck until it fits on your finger." Kaname giggled.

"Ame-kun!" a male voice called as the door to the backyard opened. Kagome jumped up from her spot and launched herself at the males leg, wrapping her arms around it and giggled. "Ah! Kagome, what are you doing?" he said amused, leaning down and patting her head. "nani? What has my little princess in a good mood?"

"She got her present early, Fa-"

"-ther..." I mumbled, my eyes drifting open to see an unfamiliar ceiling above me. "...Eh?" I blinked a few times, then it came back to me. "Oh...The shrine..." I mumbled, then looked towards the rice doors, blinking when I saw that it was opened. I don't remember opening that. I then slowly got up, stretching as I did, because sleeping in a futon is so much more nicer then on the ground in the woods. I paused at the familiar youkai that seemed close, it seemed to be coming from outside of my room. Wondering what he was doing so near a human village, I crawled towards the door, opening it wider and looking up at the tree he seemed to have settled into. Glowing amber eye's were very noticeable compared to the dark night. Even if there's a full moon.

"Oh, youkai-san, I'm surprised that you willingly came into a human village." I stated. I then tilted my head to the side, letting my long hair somewhat cover my face and some of my body. I saw his eyes flicker over my person before meeting my gaze. "Hm? What is it?"

"Have you no shame?" he questioned, and little scorn could be heard from his voice, probably from my lack of clothing since I was sleeping in just my underwear.

"Of my body? No." I answered with a small shrug, deciding to lean against the door frame, arms crossed and looking in his general area. He just seemed to glare at me. Hn, don't see why he's annoyed and frustrated. I thought, I just chalked it off as a moral thing that was common in this time period. (Well, and modern as well, but I never really followed those either.) Then it was silent, seeing as I really didn't have much to say, and he didn't seem to care since his eyes moved towards the moon. It was fairly comfortable silence, just the sounds of insects and the few wild life that were near the river, along with the rustles of the trees. "Tell me, youkai-san," he didn't look away from the moon, but I knew he was listening. "What is your name?"

He glanced at me for a moment before going back. "Why."

"Because, I doubt you want to be referred as 'youkai-san' forever. I know that I do not want to be call 'Onna' any longer." I reasoned, looking up at the stars and recognizing a few constellations. I was pretty sure that I saw the big dipper...Or was it the little one? "Higurashi, Kaname." I said. He stared at me this time, "My name."

…

…

"Sesshomaru." he grunted before going back to staring at the night sky. I felt my mouth quirk into a small smile.

I only intended to stay in that village for a few day's, a week at most, and I was surprised that Lord Sesshomaru (He had informed me that he ruled the western part of japan) had decided to stay as well. He mostly only visits in the afternoon when I'm tending the temple garden or fixing up the temple itself, or at night, always when it is just the two of us and he sits in the same tree. He once asked me if I was planning to leave anytime soon, if I was going to stay in this village. At first, I had said 'No', that I would leave in a few moons and was only fixing the temple up for their next miko, and I had asked why he seemed to have brought it up.

He answered with: 'Because you seemed to not have noticed that you have been here more then a few moon's already'...

And he was right, I was staying far beyond what I had decided, and I should probably leave before I got too comfortable. Afterall, I was on a mission to figure out a way home. Back to my mother, grandfather, and my adorable otouto and imouto. My mind was set that I would leave at sunset the net day, giving me time to get what I needed to travel...

But...

Demons that were strong enough to pass the damaged barrier had come and terrorized the village one morning. I could hear the screaming of the women as these specific demons targeted children, I was practicing my archery at the time, grandfather had taken the time to train me in the art, and I didn't want to give it up since it's one of the only things I have left from my family.

A young man had ran up to the temple yard, heaving and looking terrified. He had been frantic and begged me for help. I didn't waste much time as I gathered up all the arrows I could and ran towards the front of the temple. Once I saw a little girl, a girl that was souta's age, being chased by what seemed like a spider demon I quickly drew my bow and took aim. There was no way I would have been fast enough to get to her on time with my naginata, so I embedded my arrow with some of my power to make my shot more accurate, and aim for the body. I was a lousy shot with the bow, so aiming for the head and or heart was out of the question, and I would more likely miss then hit anything. Just as he lunged at her I let go, the boy next to me was in awe when he saw the arrow light up and hit the target. I didn't bother with watching the demon disappear, I loaded up the next one, aim, and fired.

Once the demons were eradicated, I decided to go and see if anyone was harmed. There were a few medical herbs left in the temple garden, and I read about how they were used in this era at some point on break from masters training.

After that, I decided to fix the barrier with replacing the talisman with my own, embedding it with my stronger miko energy, creating a more stable barrier that will obliterate any demon that could not handle my power once they touch it. Lord Sesshomaru was annoyed with it tho, he could have broken it, but then I would have had to fix it and he would just break it again. I had to create a special talisman just for him to enter and exit the village as he wished.

Then the women had asked me to teach them on how to apply the medical herbs to wounds, and had requested me to look over some of the sick, or help them wash.

The men had asked me to help with some hunts, to protect them from some of the stronger demons they couldn't handle.

To help with the food.

Birthing.

Marriage.

Festivals.

Demons.

Blessings.

Exorcisms.

Purification's.

Etc.

Day's. Week's. Month's.

They had passed without my notice, and I became comfortable with my surroundings, the villagers loved me and I loved them. Lord Sesshomaru had continued his visits, but not once have I been able see what he looks like. He does not talk much, but it's fine, because he let's me talk and he listens. I mostly talk about my family, and sometimes he would question me on certain things, like what a 'car' was and the purpose of it, or a 'plane'. He seemed to not have believed me when I told him how humans have gone to space, he accuse me of lying and scoffed: 'As if mere mortals could do such a thing.'

Thankfully that did not put him off of conversation's and visits.

He had occasionally mentioned an imp- Jaken I believe- that travels with him, along with a two headed dragon that he himself had raised since it was a hatchling, and how much the imp seems to irritate him. But he did admit to finding amusement in tormenting the poor thing. I asked why he never brings Jaken or the dragon with him for a visit.

All I received for my troubles was a deadpan and the cold shoulder for an hour or two, before he asked me a question concerning what I was currently planting in my herb garden.

Next I knew, two years had past since I had woken up in that crater.