Summary: She met him due to her cousin. That Russian figure skater who is almost ten years older than her. Kagome is now eighteen, and she is still reeling from the past three years spent time hopping. She really didn't need all of this on top of that, but it looks like she got it anyway.

Pairing: Viktor/Kagome.

Disclaimer: I do not own either series. Each belongs to their rightful owners.

Chapter Four

She ended up sleeping in for a few more hours. This time she was woken up by a series of quick and quiet knocks on her door. Kagome sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. As she sat up, Makkachin followed suit, picking his head up as his tail wagged.

"Kagome? Are you feeling alright?" Hiroko's gentle voice came from the other side of the door, and before long it opened up a crack. Hiroko peeked in, not used to the young girl getting up so late. "It's almost noon already, dear."

"I-I'm fine," Kagome managed to force out. The moment the fog of sleep faded from her mind, the event from earlier this morning returned full force to her, and she downcast her gaze at her lap as she gritted her teeth. From the auras she could sense around the building, she could tell that neither Viktor or Yuri were back yet, and that put her at peace some. Kagome threw the covers off of her, and Makkachin hopped onto the floor of her room. "I… I think I'm gonna go for a walk," she said after a minute.

Fresh air sounded perfect to her right about now.

"That sounds like a great idea," Hiroko responded, smiling her way. A moment later, her door was closed, once again leaving Kagome on her own.

Well, almost.

Her gaze landed on Makkachin, sitting on the floor beside her and looking up at her, his tail wagging. Kagome smiled and patted his head as she walked past him and to her closet. She pulled a simple long-sleeved, light blue shirt and a pair of light gray jeans out. As she changed into them, precise blue eyes scanned over all the little and large scars that dragged across her skin. There were plenty of small and inconspicuous scars, but they paled in comparison to the larger ones that decorated her body. The starburst shaped mark on her hip automatically caught her attention, and she dragged a finger over it delicately. As she did, her attention landed on the large and slightly jagged line that ran over her flat stomach.

There were more larger marks on her skin, but it seemed like those two always caught her attention the most. The mark from the start of her trips, and the mark from the end.

She didn't like them. Not just for the memories they brought back, but also because of just how much they stood out. She really couldn't bear the idea of anyone seeing them, because questions would follow.

"It's like they get worse and worse each time I see them…" she muttered softly. "They really look bad." In the lighting of her room, the two marks looked much worse than she'd ever seen them. "They're all you can see when you look at me," she added sadly. Really- if someone ever saw them, she knew it'd be hard to make them stop staring at the glaring scars. She never thought she had a perfect body before, but she had at least thought it was alright, but now… Now it was the exact opposite. These things would never fade away, and she hated the thought of that.

Gently, she rested a hand over the large, jagged scar across her stomach, flinching out of reflex as the memory of obtaining it flashed rapidly through her mind. Her heart rate sped up in a haze of panic before she returned to reality, reminding herself that she was home again. She was back in her rightful time, and she never had to endure another battle against Naraku ever again.

She prided herself on being brave, on being resilient and tough after what she'd been through, but not even she could deny the lasting effects that the memory of Naraku left on her. She would always fear him for the things he had done and she would always harbor disdain for all his horrible actions. For all the people he had hurt and for all the damages he had caused.

Nightmares weren't common for her, not anymore. She learned how to use her dream space with much more purpose, a parting technique Kaede had taught her. She'd take advantage of it to train and hone her senses and abilities as often as she could until she needed a break. The occasional nightmare, all tethered to Naraku's cruelty, would sometimes rise up during her rest, and it always led to a rude awakening. Thankfully, she hadn't suffered through one since she left the shrine, but she was still hesitant and a touch terrified at the possibility.

The sound of something thumping along the floor behind her pulled her from her thoughts and musings, and she opened her eyes as the sound became all she could hear. For a moment, she was worried it might be someone coming to check on her, and she hurried to fix her shirt properly. However, a few seconds after doing so, she instantly realized what the noise had been, and a soft sigh of relief fell from her lips.

Kagome glanced back at her mirror, her eyes settling on Makkachin's reflection in the glass. She tugged her shirt the rest of the way down, covering the scars she'd previously been distracted by. She turned to the dog and approached him, letting her fingers scratch behind one of his ears. She crouched to be on his level, and a small smile appeared on her face as she craned her head to the side.

"At least you can keep all this a secret," she mused quietly. Makkachin looked up at her and cocked his head to the side as she spoke. A second later, he barked. Her smile spread a bit wider, and she slowly rose back to her full height. She began to head to her door, Makkachin padding along behind her.

When was the last time she was able to take some time and actually enjoy herself? It all felt like so long ago. Out window shopping and taking in the fresh air, Kagome felt at peace. She'd been gone for an hour already, and she was still full of pep and energy. However, an aura she'd be able to recognize anywhere caused her to freeze dead in her tracks. A chill raced up her spine and she turned, blue catching molten gold.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me," she muttered dryly at the sight of Sesshoumaru in all his stoic glory. "Am I just gonna be dealing with demons for the rest of my life or something?" she asked, and he smirked in response.

"Well, as a miko, the answer is a resounding yes," he responded. She stuck her tongue out before giggling.

Near the end of her time spent in the past, they warmed up to each other to at least be amiable to each other. She knew that he mostly did so just to rile up Inuyasha, and she did the same- sick and tired of him acting so arrogant. It was odd calling him a friend, but he was… in his own way.

"Oh! Look who finally grew a sense of humor!" she exclaimed. "About time. Only took, what? Five hundred years?"

"... something like that," he muttered, and she barked out a laugh. "Why are you so far from your territory?"

Kagome deadpanned at the way he said that. "Is that your way of wondering why I'm not at the shrine?" she asked, and he nodded. "I'm taking some time away," she said, and he arched a brow in intrigue. "I'm staying with my cousin and his parents." A small smile appeared on her face as she continued. "Y'know, when you're busy fighting for your life, it's really hard to find the time to see family you don't live with."

He nodded and she eyed him, suspicious.

"Wait… why are you here?" she questioned. He glanced away silently. "D-Did you come find me?"

"I refuse to answer such ridiculous assumptions."

Kagome merely arched a brow. "Uh-huh."

He wasn't fooling anyone, least of all her.

"Anyway, since you so totally obviously didn't seek me out on purpose," she commented, feeling the annoyance that flooded his aura, and she smiled. "Let's do some catching up, then?" she suggested.

"Fine," he responded, and Kagome's smile brightened considerably.

"Great!"

000

They spent most of the day catching up, her mood improved considerably from how she'd been earlier that day. To her, there was something so nice about being able to talk to one of her allies in a peaceful setting. There was no worry of impending doom or danger. She could just be herself and enjoy her time without any fear.

It was definitely a huge comfort!

She led him to the building, turning not long after arriving and smiling up at him. "Anyway, this is where I'm staying," she said. "Just in case you ever don't want to seek me out," she taunted.

Sesshoumaru glanced away, annoyance evident. "You're not going to let that one go,
I see."

Kagome rolled her eyes and spun around. "Oh, never. Not a chance in hell," she said.

"Kagome?"

Kagome glanced to the side, her eyes landing on Yuri standing next to Viktor. It seemed they got back not long ago, too. She offered him a smile and waved. "Oh, hey." She saw the way her cousin glanced at the tall figure behind her.

"Uh… w-who's that?" he asked, and Kagome cocked her head to the side when she picked up on his nervous tone. She glanced back at Sesshoumaru and quickly realized the cause.

Just because she was used to his stoic, nerve-wracking stare, didn't mean everyone else was. Sesshoumaru was a lot of things, and intimidating was definitely one of them!

Kagome smiled and waved a hand, her other patting Sesshouamru's arm fearlessly. "Oh, him?" she hummed. "He's a friend! Don't worry," she said. "He's harmless enough."

"I'll be leaving now," he said, and Kagome glanced at him.

"Eh? You sure?" she asked. When he continued on his way with a nod, she sighed and shrugged. "Fine, fine," she said, "see you around then."

After he left, Yuri finally approached her, looking at the path her friend had gone. A second later he glanced at her. "H-How did you meet him?"

At once her expression dipped blank as a dozen memories came flooding back. Yuri noticed, and he was about to ask what's wrong, only for her to shake her head and nervously laugh.

"L-Let's not worry about that," she said finally. "How does anyone meet their friends, really?" she added with another nervous giggle.

Definitely not how she made most of her friends, that was for sure, but no one needed to know that!

One of these days she was gonna figure out how to tell him and his parents the truth, but that day clearly wasn't today. Yuri gave up and smiled, reaching out to pat the top of her head gently.

"As long as you didn't meet him through a gang, it's all fine," he said.

It was later that night, and Kagome went to sit outside for a while. It was quiet and a nice, peasant breeze made for a comfortable evening. She sat looking up at the stars and the moon. She was so distracted that she didn't hear the door open, nor did she notice when someone came to a halt behind her.

"A lovely night, isn't it?"

Kagome jumped at the voice, and she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes landing on Viktor as he stood behind her. "I-I…" she stammered for a second before she nodded slowly. "Y-Yeah," she said, "it is."

"Would you be against some company?" he asked, and she couldn't find it in her to reject it.

"I don't see why not," she said after a moment. He acted after she said those words, sinking down on the blanket she sat on. "What brings you outside?" she asked.

"Couldn't sleep," he said, looking at her with a smile. "Were you the same?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, not really," she said. She was tired, and she felt her exhaustion steadily winning. "I should head to bed, but the sky is so clear tonight," she said as she looked back up at the star-filled sky. "It seems rare to see the stars with so much clarity," she added with a light laugh.

She definitely missed the sky from the past. If nothing else, she missed that.

Viktor hummed and looked up, following her gaze with his own. "Quite pretty," he said with a smile, and she nodded.

"It is," she said. "Even back home at the shrine, I don't think I've ever seen them this clearly."

It made her feel at ease beside him, despite all the things that had transpired since she'd met him. He didn't seem to be there to tease her, too, so that definitely helped, too. She closed her eyes and sighed softly. She pulled her knees up to her chest and folded her arms on them, leaning her head in her arms.

Sleep was steadily winning her over, she knew, but she couldn't be bothered to get up. She didn't expect to fall asleep, telling herself over and over again that she'd get up before then, but as her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, she found herself losing that inner battle. Her weight tipped to the side as she fell asleep, accidentally leaning against the man beside her.

Viktor looked at her upon feeling the bit of weight fall to rest against his arm. All words died before he could say them when he realized she'd fallen asleep.

It was cute.

He stayed where he was, letting her use his shoulder as a pillow. She'd likely draw away the moment she realized, but for now he'd savor it.

She was innocent, and painfully so, but it was adorable. Yuri cared so much for her, so it was in his best interest if she was fond of him too. She was definitely important to the other man, and she calmed him and his nerves so easily.

Her being around was crucial.

C.R: This is the first chapter that was majorly different from the original and I'm so happy to finally have it done. I put it on hold for a while as I figured out where I wanted to take it, so sorry for how long it took!

Viktor and Kagome will gradually become friends and then beyond. It just might take her some time to warm up to Viktor.

Sesshoumaru showed up in this chapter. Him and Kagome have a good bond, and there might be some slight SessKag shipping here and there? Watch out Viktor, you're not the only man with pretty hair in Kagome's life. Sesshoumaru is definitely unapproachable to like 99% of people, let's face it. So Yuri seeing his sweet cousin with him is certainly startling.

Anyway, that's it for now! Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed! Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry.

Please remember to Review&Favorite&Follow, thank you!

Bye for now~