Hi! I´m so sorry for not posting earlier... I´ve never intended to take such a long pause from this fic. I had a lot going on with my personal life, but now I´m here again! I hope you all forgive me.

Disclaimer: just the plot belongs to me.

-x-

Chapter 3

It has been a month, or more (he couldn't really say), since Naraku stepped inside the protected place they lived in. Sesshoumaru walked through the village, more like the edge of the barrier around it, to be more precise, every single day. After that event he had this itching feeling on his skin, something was definitely different and he didn't know if it was for a good or a bad end. A sigh came out as he finally finished going all the way around the barrier, his eyes now landing in a particular house at the middle of the village. He knew the occupants of said place very well, as he knew the first couple to live in there – as all their son's and daughter's. They were such an active duo that even himself missed them from time to time.

After a long pause he brought his right hand to his throat, thinking for a moment if he should go see the doctor in that house or not – in the end the answer was the same as always: he wouldn't go. The reason was simple: they never had managed to help him, and without contact with the exterior world (if there was one) they'd never be able to. A noise came from where he was walking from, and a roll of his eyes – what he only did because no one could see the act – ended his peaceful time as Kagome appeared with Shippou. Those two seemed to follow him whenever he went these days, but he wouldn't deal with them today. Summoning his cloud, he just floated away, nearly not hearing what the girl said – of course he had a good hearing and that said it all.

"And there he goes again… he's ignoring me since that day." Kagome said while sitting on the ground in defeat. Shippou looked over to where the dai-youkai went.

"Well, he can hold a grudge, I know that as a fact. But he'll forgive you, he knew you were just worried." He said while patting her head.

The fox youkai really liked the girl, as if he knew her for a long time ago; he couldn't really place this feeling thought. It could be a mother and son relationship, or even best friends; what mattered was that he wanted her to be happy, even if she would only be so if the inu dai-youkai were a little more favorable towards her.

"But he acts so cold towards me… he never, ever, show any kind of emotion." She said pouting, and before Shippou could say something she went on. "And don't come with your 'he doesn't show it to me either' because we both know its bullshit."

Well, he couldn't deny it. After all those years and getting to know Sesshoumaru better, he could read under the nuances of his eyes, rarely smiles, and even soft furrowing eyebrows. The daiyokai had a complex, yet simple, kind of personality that once you figured how that worked out, his emotions were clear as a day. Shippou sighed and sat down besides Kagome, hugging her.

"Don't be upset. I've known him for ages, since I was a kid. And I can assure you that I never, ever, saw the way he looks at you to anyone before. When you were born, he didn't care at first, but it was when he heard which name they choose to you, he went as fast as he could to meet you." Kagome looked at the soft eyes Shippou was giving her.

She remembers that day as if it was yesterday. There she was, in her five years old glory, playing outside her hut, feet digging into the dirty; she was having the time of her life, that's for sure. Her little kimono was as dirty as her foot, but she didn't care at all; all the little kid wanted was to dig herself even deeper (as for why, she can't remember). But it was when she was so focused on how much deep her foot could go that she saw two pair of black boots in front of her. Looking up she saw the most handsome man she would get to know, his golden orbs (that matched perfectly with his silver long hair) looking at her with surprise for a few seconds, only to be replaced by some feeling she couldn't understand at the time (one that she still can't figure it out); and just like that he vanished.

She only got to know who he was a few days later, and could only talk to him years later, when he couldn't just avoid her anymore by ignoring her; she would just push harder to get some kind of response.

"I don't know…" She sighed. "There's also something off with what Naraku said that day, after he saw me." Kagome looked down; eyebrows frowned as she recalled what the youkai said. Shippou seemed to ponder that too as he did find it quite strange for their enemy to, somehow, know her. Or… had hear of her.

The fox could sense that something was off that day as, for an instance, Sesshoumaru seemed to let Naraku hit him. He couldn't know for sure, as the youki was particularly strong in that attack and even he being able to withstand a good amount of it without being affected, he couldn't go further than a few steps into the poisoned air. And then, the next thing they see is blood and more blood as Sesshoumaru teared apart – brutally he must say – whatever Naraku sent to hurt him. And the spider youkai was surely vivid after seeing Kagome.

"I am also still trying to figure that out. It just doesn't make sense… what did he point to anyway? I mean, he said that if Sesshoumaru had you in here, then he shouldn't get tricked by whatever he used against him. It just doesn't add up." Shippou said while rubbing his head.

They would continue their talk if it wasn't for the ground shaking for a moment. It was so suddenly that it could be mistaken for a powerful attack at the barrier, but as they saw Sesshoumaru stopped midair, they knew it was something else entirely. They both got up, and watched the inu youkai descend from the sky; it was when both decided to go to him.

Sesshoumaru didn't know what to do; for a change. He took a step forward and could sense a trembling sensation inside his body, right before the ground shook once more; it couldn't be related to himself, could it? But again, this whole barrier seemed to be part of himself; it wouldn't be that surprising to be truthful. With resolve he decided to see if this theory was right; as he took another step, a new shook came together. This time stronger, as well as his trembling sensation on his own body; he even felt physical pressure on his ribs, what made he put one hand on his chest.

Something was off.

Sesshoumaru.

The well's voice enchanted his ears, and he looked over to its place. He was now in the middle of the village, the well too far away for him to hear it so clearly; and yet here he was. That only confirmed his suspicions that something was wrong. But before he could go on in that thought, the ground shook with an abrupt force, making him kneel in pain. His breath got harder and harder as he could hear the people of the village afraid of what was happening; they were also worried about him as they could see he was clearly in pain. It didn't take much longer for Shippou and Kagome get near him, and the ground shook once more.

His pain worsened, his claws started to grasp his kimono as if that could ease it, the well's voice echoing strongly at every second, the ground shooting a dozen times more, the people screaming… it was just too much. Sesshoumaru decided to cover his ears, letting go of his hold on his clothes, in an attempt to shut down the whole world around him; but it didn't work. He could still hear and feel everything, and when he though it could only get worse…

It stopped.

Silence flew to his ears, senses and body. Out of nowhere he couldn't really even acknowledge the people of the village, neither the yokais, or even the damned well. But, opening his eyes, he could see one thing: the sacred tree was glowing.

Glowing with the same pink energy as that day.

Glowing with her pink energy.

But Sesshoumaru was dumbfounded as it disappeared as soon as he saw it. Did he even see it right? He was starting to hear and feel things all over again, but he couldn't know if his eyes tricked him or if this was something else.

Or even if that was her.

Or if, somehow, Naraku was behind it.

"Sesshoumaru!" It was Shippou's voice that brought his eyes back at the people around him. The inu youkai noticed that the humans took a few steps away so that the youkais could help him.

It was a rational decision, he wasn't human so his "problem" should be handled by his kind, although he was the only one who was different enough to notice a fading glowing tree in the woods. But when was the last time anyone took notice of a pink energy aside from himself?

"He doesn't have a fever." Mujina, a tanuki youkai said taking her hand off his forehead. "Are you feeling any kind of pain, my lord?" She was worried, he could see that much. Not to mention that the woman used his former title that should have been lost in the past, before this reign of isolation.

He denied while shacking his head side to side, before getting up and looking where the sacred tree was. He was bothered by that energy, what if it was her? What if it was Naraku? What if that means everyone was in danger?

"You should go get some rest." Said Shippou, replacing Mujina as he took notice of Sesshoumaru's distracted attention. "Go home." Golden orbs went to the young youkai, and before any kind of answer could be provided, they heard a yell coming from the woods.

It was agonizing to say the last; it was as if the owner of the voice was suffering an immense amount of pain, it was guttural even. The youkais took motion in a blink; they could not be strong enough to fight outside the barrier, but inside was another matter. Any youkai that was corrupted would be instantly purified as soon as they stepped inside the sacred air of their dome, as the same thing happened to Naraku (although way slower than it should've been); and their scream was very much alike the one they were hearing right now.

The group dashed upwards, and soon enough they were at the well's place. It was still a clearing, so it provided the perfect view of the sacred woods. Sesshoumaru's sense were amplified, he knew that whatever was happening was related to what just happened to him and the sacred tree; but he surely wasn't prepared to see what came outside the woods.

The youkais were dumbfounded when a girl came, jogging, from the deepness of the forest, as if the suffering yell wasn't even there. At first, she didn't notice the group staring at her, instead she just turned her back to them and skillfully put her bow and arrow in place for a shoot, and waited.

Before anyone could move a muscle, the source of the noise came to view. It was a female centipede youkai, but at this point its skin was all burned out due the purification process; but it didn't seem to slow her down.

"You! It's burning! What have you done?!" It cried out loud in front of the girl, that didn't even flinch. Her long hair was as steady as her aiming, and as the youkai charged forward, she let her arrow free.

It surprised everyone to see a glowing energy around it, which purified the rest of the youkai as soon as it touched her dark aura. With a sigh of relief, the girl finally turned and walked into the direction of the crowd – that was now bigger as a few humans joined the youkais. She wore a miko kimono, the characteristic red pants and white top were complete with her bow and arrow quiver at her back; they could swear they had seen her somewhere, with her long dark hair, but they didn't know from where. Her brown eyes scanned the faces in front of her, as if trying to find someone familiar; and she did find it. She found him.

Just that not in the way she, or him, hopped for. He didn't know when he moved, what mattered was that as soon as he acknowledged who she was, Sesshoumaru acted. The inu youkai wouldn't be tricked again, as he charged right in for her throat, a grasp so firm around her neck that he could feel her pulsing heart under his palm and claws. The impact of his movement made both fall down, the woman's back hitting the wood of the well, a painful moan made itself known; eyes glowing red and shifting mouth were enough for her to realize that she was in trouble.

But why?

"Se…sesshoumaru…" She managed to say with the little air that came into her lungs. "S-Stop… it's me…" Her voice was nothing more than a whisper, but for a few youkais it was enough to be heard. Her trembling hands went to the arm that was responsible for holding her in place, she didn't want to use her power on him, but she was struggling to get free from his firm grasp.

Sesshoumaru didn't know what to do; if he went ahead and killed her before knowing if she was the true one, they would lose this war; and he would blame himself for the act altogether. If he did nothing, and she turned out to be a fake, everyone would know his weakness, and that could also mean that they lose. The despair at her now pale face and the actions of her hands made him get closer; the scent would have to suffice for now. Putting his nose at the base of her neck he took a deep breath, and then another and another; it was as if he was intoxicated by it and his hold started to loosen. She gasped for air, now feeling her sore back ache but, more importantly, Sesshoumaru was still sniffing her.

When he finally got away, she noticed that his eyes were still red, but his mouth was back to normal; she felt relief.

"Why… we're not enemies anymore, so why?" She asked softly while looking into his eyes. He didn't answer; it was when she noticed the scar on his neck.

One thing that made itself clear was that that scar came from a deep wound, and it made her wonder how he was still alive, because it was a fact that he should've lost much blood from this. It started on his right chin and went down all his throat, ending somewhere in his hidden chest inside the kimono. He noticed the worried look she was giving him, as her dark brown eyes analyzed his scar and felt a little bit of comfort on it; she was as worried as he remembered her to be, she cared, she was the annoying miko from the past, the one who vanished right in front of his eyes while he failed as a protector.

She was real.

Kagome was real.

And she was finally back.

-x-

So, Kagome is back and things are going to start! See you in the next chapter!