chapter 15 of One More Chance (or OMC, lol).

Disclaimer: I don't even pretend to own Inuyasha. I do, however, own Kiseki.

Chapter 15: The Bones of a Miko

Sesshomaru left the urufu den and flew in the direction of Inuyasha's forest. I told Kagome that I would inform my half-brother of her whereabouts so that he would not come searching for her, and I will keep my word, no matter how annoying he is. I hope he has at least learned how to wield that blade of his. Sesshomaru looked around, noticing that he was nearing the outskirts of the forested area. It would take him hours yet until he reached the village where Inuyasha had been staying of late. He took the time to contemlate his reaction to the human miko. She is intriguing, but that I already knew. Why do I tolerate, even seek, her presence though? I had no intention of even letting her know that I was near, and I ended up taking her to m castle and spending a whole night searching for a way to save her kit! I performed the binding ceremony for youkai mothers to kits for her! What was I thinking? And I made all of these promises to her... why? This is not like me.

Sesshomaru thought about it all the way to Inuyasha's village, but he could come up with no satisfactory answer to his questions. He finally gave up on it as impossible and got ready to meet his brother.

Immediately, Sesshomaru knew that something was wrong in the village. Humans were strange, but they did not usually run to and fro in the forest as these ones seemed to be doing. And there seemed to be a lot of commotion coming from the area of the village that smelled of death. From that direction came also the smell of his brother.

When Sesshomaru landed in the villages cemetary he saw that there was a large hole where a grave should have been. The feeling in the air made him think of desecration of holy ground, a feeling that he had rarely felt, and did not enjoy in the least.

His brother was there with a kitsune kit that looked much like Kiseki and an elderly miko. They were all staring at the hole. They were so absorbed, in fact, that they didn't even notice his presence.

Inuyasha was the first to notice Sesshomaru's arrival. A twitch of the nose and a glance to the right, and Inuyasha jumped into action, drawing the Tetsusaiga. Sesshomaru watched with idle fascination as Inuyasha took up a fighting stance. "It would seem that the miko taught you something of the sword Inuyasha. Perhaps another time I will test your knowledge. For now, I have a message for you."

Inuyasha lowered the Tetsusaiga the tiniest bit. "What do you want, Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru sighed. "As I said, I wish to give you a message. It is from the miko, Kagome."

Inuyasha snarled at him. "What have you done with Kagome?" The Tetsusaiga was raised once again.

"I have simply helped her with the problem she had with that kit of her's. I offered her my assistance and she accepted. Within my library there was a book that explained that kiitsune kits can be nursed by urufu surigate mothers. So I took her to the prince of the East, Kouga, and his pack. One of the female urufu has agreed to nurse the kit until she is ready to be weaned in three weeks. Until that time, Kagome will be staying in Kouga's den to care for her kit." Sesshomaru glanced at the kitsune kit that was almost dancing on the spot in his excitement.

Inuyasha also noticed the movements. "Shippo, stay still." Inuyasha glared at Sesshomaru. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Sesshomaru wanted to roll his eyes at his brother. "Why would I lie about such things? If I had her and wanted something for her, I would ask for that thing. If I had her and wanted to keep her, I would not tell you anything. If I did not have her at all, what do I gain from this lie?"

Inuyasha thought about it for a second. "I guess you're right... this just doesn't seem like you though Sesshomaru. Are you sick?"

Sesshomaru was tempted to kill Inuyasha right there, but he knew that that would solve nothing. "I have delivered my message. I will leave you now."

"Hey! Wait! Kagome can't be gone for that long! She needs to help me find the Shikon no Kakera!" Inuyasha chased after Sesshomaru as he flew into the West.

Sesshomaru looked over his shoulder at Inuyasha. "She will return when the kit is weaned."

Then Sesshomaru sped off toward his castle, leaving Inuyasha gaping in his wake.

Kagome looked around the cavern. She had only been here for a couple of hours, but it felt like forever. One of the younger urufu females named Getsumei had taken her on a tour, but Kagome was sure that she would get lost if she tried to go anywhere without a guide.

She would be staying in one of the empty caverns near Sutaa and her mate, Banshou. Kiseki would stay in the cavern with Kagome, but Sutaa would come if Kiseki cried for very long. In fact, this was the cavern that Sutaa and Banshou had expected to put their pups in when they were born, but a disease had gone through the pack, killing all four of their newborn pups not even a week before.

Kagome looked at the tiny kit in her arms and thought of what Sutaa must be going through right now. Kiseki had quickly become the world to Kagome, she couldn't imagine life without her daughter. To lose four children Kiseki's age would be devistating. Yet Sutaa seemed content.

Kagome had asked her how she could be so happy in light of the circumstances when she had gone to get Kiseki. Sutaa told her that she was happy to be able to save another's kit because she knew what it was to lose children. She also said that she was sure her children were happy and playing in the afterlife.

Kagome held Kiseki, realizing that she was suddenly very tired. She walked over to the pallet that was in the corner and lay down with her sleeping kit. She lay there for a while, going over everything that had happened in the last few days. She tried to compare what had happened this time with finding Shippo with last time, but she found that her memories of the last time were hazy and fading quickly. Other memories were also fading. She couldn't remember anything from before finding Shippo now. Everything was starting to get confusing for Kagome. It made sense though, she wouldn't need the other memories one day, so why be confused with two sets of memories? But that meant that things she had done last time that she hadn't done this time were now lost to her.

It's a good thing I wrote that journal at the beginning of all this, or else I wouldn't be able to fix things that I haven't done yet! Kagome's eyes started to droop. But right now... I think I just want to sleep...

Inuyasha sat at the edge of the hole that had been Kikyo's grave. Kikyo. Are you actually going to come back? Can we get it right this time? I never betrayed you, and I know now that you never betrayed me. I'm so sorry that I ever doubted you. But... to have you back, do I have to lose Kagome? I... I don't know if I want that either...

Kaede watched Inuyasha struggle with himself. She knew that his feelings for Kikyo had been deep, as her sister's had been for him. He had been sitting by that hole ever since Sesshomaru left. It was getting dark, but she didn't think that he noticed. "Inuyasha..."

He turned to look at her and she saw the turmoil in his eyes. She hadn't realized just how disturbed he was by the whole thing until that moment. To be given a second chance with the one you love. One that you thought you would never see again. What a gift that would be, and what a curse. To have gotten your life back together, only to be confronted by that almost forgotten love.

"Inuyasha. She is gone. My sister, Kikyo, went to her grave and has been reborn, she is no longer here. She cannot be brought back. Anything that this witch brings back will be only a puppet, a shadow of my sister. It would be better, far better, for her bones to be returned to the grave." Kaede could see that her words had gotten through to him. He looked like he had been dealt a hard blow, but his eyes looked less haunted now.

"You're right. Kikyo is gone, and her bones need to be properly laid to rest. i'm going to get them back from this Urasue!" Inuyasha got up, looking like he was going to leave at that very moment.

Kaede just looked at him. "Inuyasha, sleep here this night, then start fresh in the morning. It is a long way to Urasue's mountain, and I intend to go with you. We will leave at first light." Inuyasha looked like he was going to protest for a second, but he noticed the steel in Kaede's eye and he gave in.

They both went to sleep, thinking of what they might find when they arrived at Urasue's mountain.

Okay, well that's it for now! Review! Review! Review! Onegai...? Well, here's the Reviewer response:

Reviewer Response

Cold-night09: you were my only reviewer on last chapter... sniffle. oh well, I'm glad that Sesshy is climbing the ladder of your favourites! Thank you for the compliment! You're an awesome writer yourself! I just finished "Growing Up", it was soooooo good! And Kiseki will grow up before your very eyes... although it's going to take a while... what have I gotten myself into?

Until next chapter! Ja!

Until next chapter! Ja! Bottom of Form