Disclaimer: I still don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own the characters in this fic!!

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Everybody listen! I have decided what kind of fic this will be. It's gonna be a INU/KAG story!! Don't fret Sess-fans, I promise I will write a Sess/Kag story after I have finished this one!! And...ehm... Sango, Miroku and Shippou aren't going to appear in this story, because I can't find a fitting role for them here, hope you don't mind ^-^.

Katherine/Megan Jones:
I hope you still want to read my story, even if it's not a Kik/Inu fic ^-^.

Sabishii Onna no ko:
Thanks for reading my story and reviewing it ^-^. I have to admit that I hated Kikyou when I first saw her in the original series, but my views have changed gradually, so I have decided not to represent Kikyou as an evil person.
Don't worry, I will finish this story no matter what!

vegito044: Hahaha, thanks for reviewing, can't wait for Inuyasha? Don't worry, he and Sesshoumaru will appear very very soon. In fact... *Kittymui quickly covered her mouth* no no no you should read this chapter find out yourself ^-^.

Italic: thoughts
-- --: locations
' ': spoken words
~*~*~*~*~: time gap



THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN

-by Kittymui-

The other world...

Uhn... Kagome slowly opened her eyes. W-where am I...?
Then she remembered what had happened. Kikyou onee-sama...
A tear rolled down her cheek, then she remembered what Kikyou said before she vanished. 'Be strong...' Kagome quickly wiped her tears and looked up. Don't worry onee-sama, I won't cry anymore.

When Kagome tried to stand up, she suddenly felt a stabbing pain coming from her ankle and quickly grabbed a wall for support. Itai... Kagome looked at her ankle I must have sprained it during the fall.

~*~*~*~ After a while ~*~*~*~

Kagome finally managed to reach the top of the well and slowly climbed out of it and sat down, leaning against the well.
Pfew, it took me ages to climb out with this pain. She rubbed her ankle and looked around. Kagome jumped up of surprise but the pain of her ankle caused her to fall back on her behind. Oh my god!! This isn't the shrine!! W-where the hell am I?
The well where Kagome climbed out of, stood in the center of an open grass area which was surrounded by a forest.

Then Kagome noticed something strange. The grass... and trees... are...are dead?! She looked up at the sky. Are those clouds always that thick? If so, I guess that explains the dead trees and plants.

I guess staying here isn't solving anything.
Kagome looked around. Is that... a castle? Kagome looked at a castle-like building, which stood on a high mountain. Since there wasn't anything else in the vicinity, Kagome decided to make her way to this castle.

~*~*~*~ Some time later ~*~*~*~

A couple of hours had passed. Kagome became exhausted of walking with a sprained ankle and sat down on a rotten tree trunk.

Everything here is dead. How am I supposed to survive in this world? She thought while staring at a dead flower, lying on the dead grass. She mindlessly picked it up and held it in front of her. This must have been a very beautiful flower. After holding it for a while, she threw it away and stood up. When she was planning to walk away, she suddenly realized something and rushed back to the place where she threw the flower.
Her eyes widened as she saw the beautiful and colorful flower that one shared the same color as the dead grass where it laid on.

I must be dreaming... this can't be happening!! Kagome looked at her hands. Looks pretty normal to me. And she walked to the dead tree trunk and put her hands on it. Whoa!!! Kagome's mind shouted when she saw a little green sprout growing on the gray trunk. I'm not dreaming, this is really happening! She stood up and quickly searched for plants that would grow edible things. After searching a while, she finally found something that looked like a tomato plant but a more dead version. She put her hands on the dirt around the plant and within seconds the plant was miraculously revived and growing delicious fruits on its branches. After growing about eight pieces, Kagome finally lifted her hands and started to pick the fruits.
She ate a couple of pieces and kept the rest for later. (AN: for your information, Kagome is still wearing her miko clothes)

Kagome made herself a bag with blades of grass that she had revived, that way, she could bring along berries and fruits and eat them during her travel.

~*~*~*~ A couple of weeks later ~*~*~*~

Kagome had continued her travel like that about a month now. Her face and clothes were covered with dirt and bruises were everywhere on her body.

As the castle was coming closer, the dead forest started to look more like a swamp and jungle. But the worst thing was, her ankle wasn't getting any better. It's probably more seriously sprained than I thought. Kagome sat down again. I'll just rest for a while. Kagome wiped the sweat drops on her forehead. How long has it been that I've taken a shower? She wondered while stroking her hair.

Suddenly she heard rustling of leaves. Kagome stood up and looked around. What was that? Youkai? Beast? I haven't seen one since I came here...

Then, suddenly two big youkai's jumped out of the bushes. 'How long has it been that we've tasted human flesh, aniki?' the one asked the other. 'A looooong time now.' the other answered with water coming from its mouth.
Kagome's eyes widened. T-they're...C-chimeras!?! But they don't exist...they're not real...
[AN: Don't know what Chimera's look like or what they are? Don't worry, I will explain it in the next chapter ^-^]
Kagome quickly ran the other way, only to be halted be one of the chimeras, which jumped into the air and landed in front of her.

Dareka...tasukete... Kagome begged with despair and she knelt down. She closed her eyes as the youkai started to dash towards her.

When nothing came, Kagome opened one eye to see what was keeping them from putting their claws into her. Kagome opened both her eyes in a flash when she saw someone standing between her and the Chimera's, with his back facing her. From examining the form of the body, Kagome knew this person was a male.
He has long silver-white colored hair and he was wearing a white and wide kimono with long sleeves and he also wore armor over his kimono. (AN: Reaaally hard to describe... why don't you just look at the images of Sesshoumaru in the series ^-^!) But the most eye-catching thing was the fluffy white tail that hung over his right shoulder.

[AN: Since this story isn't related to the storyline of the original series, Sesshoumaru still has two arms ^-^!!]

Who is he? Is he saving me? But why... he's also a youkai... Kagome wondered as she continued to stare at this youkai.

'Out of my way, Sesshoumaru! We have found it first!' one of the Chimeras yelled. 'It has been ages since we had set out fangs in human flesh, so back off!!'
So his name is Sesshoumaru... Kagome thought and winced at the loud voice of the Chimera youkai.

Sesshoumaru noticed the wincing of the human girl at the corner of his eye and turned his attention back to the two Chimeras. 'Unfortunately, you've found her at the wrong place. This girl is now standing on my domain; in other words, this girl is now my property. So if you low-lives want to live, leave now or I might change my mind of being merciful.' Sesshoumaru said with a calm voice.
'Not fair! You know we both are no match for you...' the younger Chimera pouted. But since they didn't want to die today, they both flew away obediently.

After that, Sesshoumaru turned around and walked towards Kagome. On his forehead there is a crescent moon mark, and covering each cheek near his ears are two parallel sets of dark marks.
Wow... he's really handsome...b-but... is he going to kill me now? Kagome thought when Sesshoumaru stopped in front of her, looking down at her. Noticing her don't-eat-me-look, he spoke. 'Do not compare me with those human eating low-lives, girl.' Kagome slightly nodded. 'Since you're my property now, I won't let you die in someone else's claws than mind, understood?' Kagome nodded again. I guess this is his way of telling me that I'm under his protection from now on. Kagome thought in herself.

Kagome was surprised that he suddenly offered her his hand. 'Can you stand?' She nodded, took his hand and stood up. She winced at the pain of her ankle. 'Are you hurt?' He asked nonchalantly. Kagome pointed at her sprained ankle. 'I understand.' Without saying anything else he made a sound of a whistle.

Suddenly a huge white dragon descended from the sky and landed near Sesshoumaru and Kagome. 'Come.' Sesshoumaru offered Kagome his hand once again. Ehh?! A dragon!?! I'm going to ride a dragon!?! She gave Sesshoumaru a very puzzled look as she took his hand for support.

Kagome looked up at the huge dragon. How am I supposed to climb on this huge creature...it's... whoa!! Before she knew, Sesshoumaru was already carrying her. With her in his arms, he jumped on the back of the dragon.

He gently set her down and gave the dragon a sign that they could depart. And the dragon spread his wings.
Not used to riding dragons, Kagome lost her balance when the dragon took off and she quickly grabbed onto something. When she regained her balance, she suddenly realized what she was holding onto. She had grabbed the kimono of Sesshoumaru!! Kagome slowly looked up only to look straight into his eyes, which looked quite annoyed. She quickly let go of his kimono.
The dragon suddenly took a deep dive in order to dodge a huge bird and Kagome lost her balance again and again, she grabbed Sesshoumaru's kimono in order not to fall.

Not wanting to see his annoyed face again, she slowly released her grip. Suddenly, she felt that something was holding her waist and pushing her slighly closer to Sesshoumaru's chest. Kagome looked up. He's preventing me from losing balance again. Kagome slightly blushed at the idea that his arm was still resting on her waist and her hands still resting on his chest. From a third person's view, it looks as if Sesshoumaru was holding her near to protect her from incoming danger.
Kagome looked up and though Sesshoumaru wasn't looking her way, she gave him a gentle smile.

But Sesshoumaru could see it without looking at her directly. She smells quite nice for a human, who hasn't washed for days; she smells like flowers and waterfalls. He looked at her while she wasn't looking at him. I wonder what kind of face will be hiding beneath all that dirt. He quickly shook his head at this thought and turned his attention to the horizon again. Must be ugly, like all other humans. He thought again and laughed at himself for even thinking that she might be beautiful after a bath.

With that thought, he silently continued watching the castle in the distance as they flew closer to it. Little did he notice the girl, who had fallen asleep and leaned her head onto his chest...


Next chapter: A castle and a gift

Vocabulary:
Itai...: Ouch...
Youkai: Demon
Dareka...tasukete...: Somebody... save/help me...
Aniki: Refers to an older brother

~Kittymui~