Sanctuary
Author's Note: Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed that last chapter! I was just looking back on how to end the story and I realized that what I had said earlier about Sanctuary being longer than ChibiMamoru… I was wrong. So wrong, in fact Sanctuary is about either 6 or 7 chapters from the Epilogue… I had so much fun writing it I didn't realize it…
Disclaimer's Note: Hello! You are a Go-Getter! So go get yourself a life and stop trying to find excuses to sue me because I have put a disclaimer on the first chapters…which I hope is enough…
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Kagome felt a strong breeze waking her up, she opened her eyes and found herself in the midst of a large open field with tall grass surrounding her. She became worried as soon as she remembered what had happened just a few hours before she became unconscious. She checked herself and found that she wore tight black shirt, and loose but comfortable pants. Over her shirt, she had a strange armor on, it fit her like a glove. She looked at her hands and they were still stripped, and she had a small flash of the ceremony.
'Wasn't I with Shippou? In the gardens…at the castle?' she asked herself.
"Yes, you were"
She turned around and found a tall woman more than a few years older than her. She had long black hair and wore an armor above her red and white miko garb. Her soft brown eyes told Kagome of the woman's past experiences and somehow she felt… connected to her.
"Where am I?" Kagome asked.
The woman smiled and opened her arms widely. " This is the dreamscape. Your mental sanctuary…".
Kagome looked around and found nothing but plains and a light outline of mountains in the horizon. This 'mental sanctuary' did not feel much like a sanctuary but like… a desert.
" Well, right now if may feel a bit barren, but as soon as you get connected with yourself… you'll see things bloom…" the woman said. She looked at Kagome who slowly stepped away from her. " I see I may have to convince you… You know how people are when they are in what you call 'insane asylum'?"
Kagome nodded. "They seem so out of it… either they are scared of something or they think everything is a wonderful fairy-tale…" she began not noticing that the woman had mentioned something of the future, something that none in Shengoku Jirai would know of.
The woman nodded and smiled once more. " Whenever you need a break from reality, your mental sanctuary provides you with an escape. You always get the best escapes… unless you're running away from something deep, then your sanctuary turns more like hell…"
Her voice dawdled and she shook herself out of her reverie. "But enough of that subject… this," she said looking around her. "…is yours"
" Why am I here now? And… who are you?" Kagome asked, finally realizing she had no idea who the woman was.
"I am Midoriko… and I am here to train you," she said.
Kagome looked on with confusion clear in her face. " Midoriko… as in the one who created the Shikon?"
The woman nodded. " Hai… anyway, back to you," she said changing the subject. " You my child are an untrained miko. You know how dangerous that is? I am here to train your mental stability so that you can concentrate better in battles… this will help later."
Kagome nodded. " Wait… why are you here if …"
" My essence, my soul is the Shikon, once you piece it back together, it will need a strong guardian to keep it safe," she said. " I am forever cursed to fight on with that youkai… but you will help me so that nothing bad shall happen."
Nodding, Kagome silenced herself and sat down as Midoriko showed her what she may be able to accomplish once she perfected her skill.
'At least I won't ever be helpless'
" You never were…"
'How can she do that?'
"In dreamscape, there is no such thing as a thought… that would be like thinking in a dream… you don't do that… ever… its not possible" Midoriko said flatly. " Now, first we teach you how to meditate."
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InuYasha could not believe what he was hearing. Kikyou had told him to sleep but he was fully conscious. It seemed Kikyou had not anticipated that at all. With hatred and betrayal burning inside him, he tried to escape from her grasp, but it was too painful to try to beat her spell.
He heard Kikyou and Naraku's moans as he tried in vain to get up.
Finally, he relaxed and sighed inwardly. Suddenly, he thought of the Tetsusaiga. It would be strong enough to beat any spell, not made by a miko or a houshi…
InuYasha growled and he heard Kikyou and Naraku stop. There was an eerie silence between the two.
" Is he conscious?" InuYasha heard Naraku ask.
"I do not believe so… he should be sound asleep," replied a high-pitched feminine voice.
InuYasha never thought of Kikyou's voice sounding so painful before. 'Maybe that was because I was blind before?'
"Well, let's continue shall we?"
InuYasha tried to drown their voices by remembering one of Kagome's songs. He had not remembered the tune nor the meaning of the foreign song, but it drowns out most everything when she sang it.
' I wonder what she's doing now?'
He began to wonder how she was faring with the wolf-prince. He had not realized it yet, but Kagome was the only thing at that moment that kept him sane.
' I am so sorry… Kagome… if you come back…I will make it up to you… I will…' he thought sadly as he
recalled the new beads on his neck. 'I don't know how just yet… but I will think of something'
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SesshouMaru had no idea when he had fallen asleep, but he found himself in his dreamscape. It was nothing like the dream he had when he was near Kagome, but he was in his castle. In the one place not even the servants knew of. There were so many secret passages that most of his time, when he was a child, was spent figuring out where they led.
And right then, he was at the passage leading to the balcony that overlooked the east, where he would always be found sitting there waiting for the sun to rise.
But he was surprised to find a neko hanyou standing there by the edge facing him. Her long red hair was tied up in a high ponytail that reached the back of her knees. Her neko-like ears were on top of her head, much like InuYasha's. She was a fairly short youkai for her age, but tall enough that she could see eye to eye with SesshouMaru in her tippy-toes.
" Hello, SesshouMaru-sama!"
" Mariko! What are you doing here?" he asked.
The neko twirled her thin furry tail and smiled. " Can't a friend even say hi?" she asked.
" Not if its you, Mariko…" SesshouMaru chuckled. " Last time you did this, you wanted to know whether InuYasha hated pig food…"
Mariko grabbed her stomach and tried to contain her laughter. " Oh… and… haha… yeah! I remember! I dumped a whole bunch of slop on his bed… and haha…"
Finally, after a few minutes her laughter died down and she wiped away the tears that formed at the corner of her eyes.
"So, what is it this time?" SesshouMaru asked. He had treated Mariko like a little sister since her parents were his parent's loyal advisors, until the war, which then they had to retreat and he never saw her again. He never saw Mariko as just a hanyou, he treated her like family.
" Well," she said her violet eyes sad and downcast. " I…I have nowhere to go…"
SesshouMaru was alarmed by her last comment. " What do you mean?"
" Mama passed away yesterday and papa… he just could not take it," she said. " He knew that ningens didn't live for very long and she was cheating death by using these shards."
SesshouMaru saw two pieces of the shards. 'Those are the ones my baka half brother and Kagome are collecting…'
" Your Otousan must have loved her very much," SesshouMaru said.
Mariko nodded. " As did I… but he didn't have to leave me too…"
SesshouMaru hugged her and patted her head. " Don't worry imouto, you can stay in my home… I shall be returning today so I believe I shall be there for your arrival."
Mariko nodded. " Does InuYasha still live with you?" she asked.
" No" SesshouMaru said coldly, telling Mariko in one word not to continue any further.
" So who is she?"
SesshouMaru looked at her once more. Mariko had a sly grin on her face.
" She?" he asked.
" You know… the girl who finally melted that big block of ice around your heart… you never used to let me into your sanctuary so easily," she said. " I had not even lifted a finger to get in here."
SesshouMaru stared out in the sky and a picture of Kagome asleep was painted in it.
" Oooh, she's pretty," Mariko said twirling a strand of her hair. " What's her name?"
Sighing, SesshouMaru willed the picture to disappear. " Kagome"
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InuYasha felt himself lighten and his eyes opened. There before him was a wet, smiling Kikyou. He had to act as if nothing had happened. She had gone through everything to try and cleanse Naraku's scent from her body, but InuYasha could smell it like a hungry dog can smell bacon.
" Where's Naraku?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
Kikyou's smile faltered, but if InuYasha had not been youkai, he would not have noticed.
" Oh, he's gone." She said " There's a shard somewhere up north… we have to go."
InuYasha looked at his companion. 'When did you change?' he asked himself.
Looking at Kikyou now, all he saw was a desperate shell who would do most anything to get what she wanted.
'To think of it… she never once cared what happened to me…' he thought. 'All those years I thought she loved me for me…'
Tears burning his eyes as he walked, he clenched his fists and waited for Kikyou to catch up. There was no way in hell he would carry her.
'I won't stoop to carrying whores' he thought bitterly.
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SesshouMaru opened his eyes and took a deep breath. He looked around and felt empty, as if something should be there with him.
'Kagome'
He eyed the doorway towards his left and considered whether or not he should go in. Finally, he just stood up and opened the door. As he passed through, he saw a small lump underneath the covers. He saw the even up and down motion of her breathing as he neared.
He pulled up a chair and sat down next to her sleeping form. There, he watched her as she slept, the emptiness temporarily filled. He was surprised to see the kit missing and decided to see where he had gotten himself to. He looked at the peaceful expression on Kagome's face and stroked her cheek.
'My Kagome…'
Finally, he placed a light kiss on her forehead and stiffened as he felt her stir.
"Shippou?" she asked groggily.
" Go back to sleep, its still too early," SesshouMaru whispered.
Kagome nodded and turned over. After a few seconds, SesshouMaru left in search for her kit.
He neared the gardens and saw an inu-kitsune in its true form curled on its side. It had red fur and light blue strips on his paws and on his face. Leaning beside its stomach, was a black haired girl who looked as if she had been out all night.
'Rin' SesshouMaru carried the little girl and nudged the kitsune. He opened his eyes and shook himself until he was fully awake.
With a 'poof' the pup was nowhere to be seen, and in its place was a inu-kitsune child.
" Ohayo SesshouMaru-sama!" he said cheerfully.
SesshouMaru only nodded. " Your mother is asleep. I suggest you tend to her before she gets worried."
Shippou nodded and bounced off, leaving SesshouMaru and Rin in the gardens.
Rin stirred in SesshouMaru's arms and he scowled as his sensitive ears heard the few words that came from her mouth.
" I wish I was you, Shippou… then I would have a mommy"
He smelled something salty coming from her and realized that she was crying. Looking up, he found Kagome's window and flew up towards it. He climbed through and found Shippou already asleep in her arms. He placed Rin on her other side as well and kissed Kagome's forehead as he whispered in her ear.
"I will have you as a mate, you can count on that"
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Author's Note: Like it? I said I would not put any lemons and I didn't… it was just implied and stuff… hey some people do worse okay! But anywayz… I hope u liked it… pretty short compared to the others…
