Author's Notes: I am completely amazed by the response to this story. In two days this story got more hits than all five of my other stories combined. I will be continuing this story, I guess. I don't know when any more will be posted; it's been a month since I wrote what I have and I need to re-familiarize myself with what I've written :D If you want to be notified when the next chapter is up, drop me your email address.
I don't own any of these characters except Tsuki.
Kagome's Gone
by Maia Serrelinda
Chapter 3
Kagome looked about her as she followed the youkai down another, longer hallway. She followed as the other woman slid the screen across the doorway and walked into a large, light-filled room. There was a large, comfortable-looking futon in the middle of the room and a small screen that looked like it led to another room. Kagome looked at the other woman curiously as she walked over to the second screen and slid it aside as well. She stopped in the doorway before Kagome could see what was behind it.
"This is your room, miko. There is a bathing chamber here," she indicated the second, smaller room, "and clothing will brought to you. I will leave you now. Know that I will know if you try to leave. Your mate will arrive shortly, I imagine." She turned to leave the room.
"Dammit! I said we're not mated!" Kagome glared at the youkai, not even noticing the inadvertentl profanity in her ire.
Tsuki laughed and shook her head slightly. "I forget that you humans do not possess youkai senses. You may not be mated yet, but the hanyou has definitely claimed you. Surely I cannot be the first youkai to refer to you as his mate."
Kagome blushed as the import of what the youkai was saying sunk into her mind. "Claimed me?" she asked, almost to herself.
Tsuki smiled almost sympathetically. "Has no one told you yet? Obviously not. Very well - he has marked you with his scent. It means that though he has not made you his mate yet, he declares openly that he intends to mate you. This claim is evident to all youkai. I assure you, he will be coming for you. It is too bad for you that he wil be killed by me. I think that under other circumstances we might have been friends, miko."
Kagome's thoughts reeled as the youkai's words. "Why would you tell me this? This can't be right - he loves another. I've.....I've seen them together."
"I would not be so sure where his affections lie. Youkai mate for life, Kagome. The claim is not to be taken lightly."
"I know you said earlier that I did not need to know your name. You asked my name in order to show me hospitality. I would know my host's name."
Tsuki smiled to herself. "I am called Tsuki." This one would be no wilting, delicate flower! She almost - almost - wished she could see the pups this miko and her hanyou would have created together. She shook herself mentally - this was about vengeance! She whirled and quickly left the room, sliding the screen closed behind her with more force than was absolutely necessary.
Kagome sighed. She had so much information in her mind all clamoring to be heard. She shook the stray thoughts from her head and walked to the bathing chamber. Maybe a bath would help.
She walked through the doorway and her jaw dropped. Tsuki hadn't been kidding! This room looked like it had its own hot spring! She moved closer to investigate. On closer inspection, she could tell that it was probably a natural spring that had been diverted. She looked around and saw that there was a comfortable looking bench and a spot to wash in, complete with a drain set into the floor. She went back into the bedroom, undressed, and returned to the bathing chamber, sliding the screen closed behind her.
She moved to the washing area. She saw that fragranced soaps had been set out for her use. She cleaned herself and washed her hair. Clean now, she stepped into the shallow hot spring. Large flat stones had been set at the bottom of the pool, and Kagome chose one and sat down to relax. She noticed that small bottles were resting near the edge of the water and curious, she picked one up. Removing the stopper, the scent of night jasmine reached her. Smiling, she tried the other bottles. Sandalwood, vanilla, and tea rose. Deciding on the sandalwood, she poured a small amount into the water and sat back to relax and think as the calming scent swirled in the warm steam.
First, how was she going to get out of here? She believed Tsuki when she said that she would know if Kagome tried to leave. Kagome's miko powers were untrained, though strong, and even she could tell that Tsuki had strong magical power of her own. She doubted very much that she would be able to escape on her own. She would have to wait for Inuyasha to notice she was missing.
Inuyasha. She sighed as she finally allowed the thoughts of him that had been swirling around her mind to flow freely. Tsuki had said that Inuyasha had claimed her. What did that mean? She knew what it meant to other youkai....did Inuyasha mean it? Was it possible that he didn't even know what he had done? It wasn't like he had had a lot of mentoring when he was growing up, and she was pretty sure Sesshoumaru hadn't exactly been a good role model.
Her thoughts were a tangle of happiness, slight confusion, and even doubt. Of course she was happy that Inuyasha had claimed her for his own. She just wasn't sure of his motives. She firmly pushed her own happiness down, hoping that if it turned out to be something that Inuyasha had done without noticing, at least it wouldn't hurt so much when he realized it and turned to Kikyou. Her joy overrode the other feelings, though, and she spent the rest of her bath thinking of the hanyou she had fallen hopelessly in love with.
Kagome's skin began to wrinkle in the warm, fragrant water. She sighed and stepped out of the spring. Picking up a towel hanging over a rack, she was surprised at its relative softness and dried herself, wrapping it around her. Seeing a smaller towel nearby, she picked it up also and dried her hair as much as she could. Wrapping her hair in the smaller towel, she stepped out of the bathing chamber into the bedroom.
She saw something laying on the futon and walked over to investigate. It turned out to be a cream colored sleeping kimono. Dropping the towel into a small basket, she donned the robe and walked over to a small table set near the window. The table had a small wooden comb on top of it as well as a few other items, such as a decorative hair clip.
Kagome unwrapped her hair from its turban and tossed the smaller towel into the basket to join the first towerl. She picked up the comb and began to run it through her damp hair. Pulling the comb with long, slow strokes, she gazed out over the small courtyard at the setting sun. There were mountains in the distance and a few small stands of trees. Far to the east she could see the small tendrils of smoke that told her that a village was nearby, though she doubted she could have reached it without being caught.
Unraveling the last few tangles from her glossy blue-black mane, she quickly plaited it into a loose braid, securing the end with a small ribbon she had found on the table. The night began to deepen and, exhausted from the day's events, Kagome blew out the several small torches in various locations in the room and sank down onto the soft futon, pulling the quilted blanket over her shoulders and snuggling down into the thick pad. Her eyes drifted closed until her thich black lashes rested on her cheeks. She let out a small sigh and dropped off into a deep slumber.
******
The sun rose, waking Inuyasha from his light, watchful doze. A small shaft of sunlight slipped through the the crack between the door covering and the frame of the small hut, illuminating the remains of last night's fire. He slowly shook the slight stiffness from his limbs and stood silently, not wanting to wake his companions. He pushed the reed curtain aside and slipped out, bounding away on silent feet towards the small stream nearby. He usually preferred to bathe alone, and since Ka - since his friends did not rise as early as he usually did, this time in the early morning was the perfect opportunity.
He sped towards the stream in a blur of red and silver. Arriving at the stream, he stripped off his clothing quickly and plunged into the stream, knowing it would be cold. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not quite as cold as he had expected. He washed his hair, combing it with his claws, then his body. He emerged from the stream and dressed quickly in his hakama and kimono, leaving the fire-rat haori on a sunny rock for now. He sat on another rock to allow his long silver hair to dry somewhat. Normally he didn't always bother to let it dry, but they didn't really have anything urgent to do today, so he could afford the extra time.
He watched as the forest awoke slowly, the sounds of the animals increasing in quantity as the sun rose higher. Noticing the lush growth of herbs on the forest's floor, he remembered the time he and Kagome had walked that very same path to the well, before he'd crushed her to him in a tight embrace, then yanked the Shikon shards from her neck and shoved her down the well, blocking it so she couldn't return. Of course, she'd found a way to come back, surprising him not by her return but by the fierceness of her embrace. He had suspected that she cared for him but it was at that point he'd known it. He had to admit to himself that he'd been impressed but not particularly surprised that she had found a way back even though he'd jammed a huge tree into the well to prevent her from returning.
She'd stood at his side through the entire ordeal. She had cared for him and bound his many injuries. She comforted him after Kikyou's death just before the climactic battle with Naraku. She fought fearlessly at his side during that same battle, using her arrows to protect their friends as they fought desperately to keep Naraku at bay. She'd protected him as much as she could when he had been injured, and then - incredibly, astoundingly, turning her rage and grief at his horrible injuries to focus on Naraku, pouring more power than he had even suspected she had into one last desperate arrow. He remembered the way even Sesshoumaru watched in awe as she screamed at Naraku as she loosed her arrow, the blast purifying him instantly. He snickered to himself, remembering the insults she'd hurled at Naraku. It was one of his favorite things about her - she didn't take crap from anyone. She would talk trash to anyone, regardless of their position or power. She'd called Sesshoumaru an idiot and stood up to him several times. Miroku had told him how, when they and Shippou had been captured by Toukajin and shrunk down to a fraction of their normal size, she had still given the much larger sennin a tongue-lashing. Naraku was no different, and in the end she'd been the one to destroy him.
He pondered their future, not for the first time since Naraku's defeat. They had completed the jewel and Kagome was purifying it. It was being kept in Kaede's village, hidden from youkai senses by Kaede's and Kagome's power, with the help of Miroku's houriki. He had long since claimed her, though when he had done it initially it had been for her safety. He couldn't protect her as well if she'd been unmarked, not to mention it had been what had finally gotten that simpy wolf off his back.
The idea occurred to him that he missed her. He thought briefly about going to see her in her time, but he knew she was intent on performing well on this exam. He resolved to pick her up after her exam, and he was determined not to drag her back. It was time to either follow up on his claiming of her or let the matter drop. It wasn't like she would never return; after all, Kaede was training Kagome to use her miko powers. He hoped she felt for him the same way he felt for her; it would make the discussion much easier.
Running a clawed hand through his hair, he was satisfied that it had dried sufficiently. He picked up his haori and put it on as he walked back to the hut. He could hear the talking of his friends so didn't take any particular care to be quiet. Entering the hut, his eye caught something pale blue sitting in the corner. Bending over the item, he saw it was Kagome's math book. Scooping it up, he decided to bring to Kagome in case she needed.
Stopping briefly to tell Sango what he planned to do, he bounded off towards the well. He picked up Kagome's scent, though oddly, it seemed to be more recent than he would have thought.
He dropped through the well and emerged in Kagome's time. He sniffed the air to see if she was at home and immediately grew concerned, as her scent indicated she hadn't been here very recently, either. He launched himself up to the roof near her window and peered inside. She wasn't there and her bed was neatly made if a little rumpled. That was when he saw it.
Her yellow backpack was on the desk, and some books had been pulled out and were laying on the desk. This meant she obviously wasn't at school. He already knew no one else was present at her family's home. He thought about it for a minute, then remembered how he'd had the feeling Kagome had been on his side of the well more recently than he'd thought. He slid open her window and dropped her math book on her desk before he sped off to return through the well.
******
A shaft of sunlight woke Kagome as it moved slowly over her hair and lit her face aglow. She stretched sleepily and tried to remember where she was. The answer came to her and she leapt out of bed. Determined to get some answers, she unbraided her hair and washed quickly. She left the small bathing chamber and found more clothing laid on the futon, which was now neatly made. She sorted through the small pile of clothing, putting on the ivory colored under kimono and then stopping to inspect the yukata that had been left for her to wear. She heaved a mental sigh of relief that it was a yukata and not the more formal kimono, because she knew she didn't have a hope of tying an obi without help. The yukata was made from what looked to be a fine linen. It was a light sea green color, with small white flowers dotting the fabric. She put it on and quickly tied it with the darker green silk sash.
The scent of food reached her and she made her way to the dining room Tsuki had showed her last night.
******
Inuyasha's heartbeat accelerated and he could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He quickly found the spot where Kagome's scent seemed to be the freshest and began to follow it. He could catch it only faintly now, as if...she'd been flying? But...Kagome couldn't fly....therefore she must have been taken? His nose wrinkled in thought. If that was the case, why didn't he pick up anyone else's scent? At least he was fairly certain it wasn't that Kouga who had taken her this time.
He put the thoughts away as he leapt gracefully through the thick forest. He had the thought that maybe he should have told Sango and Miroku where he was headed....on second thought, they really hadn't had much time together since Naraku's defeat, and since they would be married soon he imagined that the couple would be grateful for the time together, since they were still putting on the "don't touch me" act. He guessed Sango had fairly firm ideas on propriety. He resolved to leave them alone.
