To Which Future Do You Return, Kagome?
By. Tate Icasa
Part Three
Bottom of the Well
"Yes." Sesshomaru said.
"So, why'd you, the great Lord Sesshomaru, agree to meet with Kikyo?" she asked. "I can't believe that you'd give in to a mere human."
Kagome shuddered at his piercing amber gaze. "Mere human that she may have been, I find it. . . unwise, the anger the spirits of the dead."
Kagome winced. Seshomaru knew perfectly well that most of Kikyo's spirit remained inside her!
"So, now what?" She asked, still slightly shocked.
"Jaken has prepared a room for you. You will be locked in for three day. Jaken will bring you food and drink. At the end of three days, you will be let out of the room and accompany me to Bone Eaters Well, where we will meet your frineds. Then we will go meet Kikyo."
Kagome opened her mouth to protest.
"That is what you will do, or I will kill you and you can meet Kikyo that way."
Kagome frowned, but didn't protest.
"Jaken." Sesshomaru said. "Come."
The toad creature hurried into the room, bowing. "Yes, my lord?"
"Jaken, escort the girl to the room prepared for her."
"The girl?" Kagome repeated angrily, the strain of everything that had happened to her over the last two hours clouding her judgement. "The girl? I have a name, and its Kagome! Kagome!"
"M-my lord," Jaken sputtered. "Surely you aren't going to just let her say such things to her! Let me hit her with the staff, my lord, just once!"
Sesshomaru sighed. "Very well." he said, handing the staff to Jaken.
Jaken took it happily. (We all know that if Sesshomaru is letting Jaken have his own way, there's something wrong with his way, ne?)
"Just try it, toad." Kagome said, glowering.
Jaken went to hit her with the staff, but her foot connected with his stomach first, knocking the staff from his hands. She picked it up instantly and batted him against a wall. Then she used it to lift him into the air and pin him to the wall by the neck. He struggled, but that didn't help much. "Lord Sesshomaru!" he wailed.
Sesshomaru regarded the two lesser beings steadily. "Kagome." he said, his hand on one of his sword hilts.
Kagome tossed the staff to the ground next the Sesshomaru, and poor Jaken fell straight to the ground.
Sesshomaru bent and retrieved the staff. "Jaken, I believe that I will be holding onto the staff for a while."
"But, my lord!" Jaken began, and stopped short, realizing that he was still standing between his cold master and that angry human girl. "Yes, my lord!" he gulped, bowing.
"Now, escort the Lady Kagome to her room."
"The Lady Kagome." Kagome repeated. "I think I like the sound of that."
"Come, Lady Kagome." Jaken said, spitting the word like a curse.
She glowered at him and he eeped and hurried to lead her to the room.
It was actually a nice room. There was a real bed, and a window, looking out onto a garden.
She sighed.
True to his word, food and drink were delivered by Jaken, who appeared to still hold a grudge against her for nearly killing him. She had tried to befriend the poor little toad on her second day, but the result had been. . .less that hopeful. In fact, it had ended with his threating to poison her if she said another word to him. (Of course, it was just his luck that Sesshomaru was standing right behind him as he said this. grins.)
On the third day, Sesshomaru came to get her. Jaken stayed behind at the castle while they traveled to the Bone Eaters Well.
They traveled in silence until they were nearly at the well.
Kagome surprised herself, even, by asking, "What happened to Inuyasha's bones? I know demon bones don't deteriorate like human bones do, but he was only a han'yo, so did they deteriorate or what?"
"I had them removed." he replied.
She waited for him to explain, and when he didn't she asked, "Why?"
"I did not believe it would be a good first sight for you when you arrived. You might not have come willingly."
"So where are they?" she asked curiously.
"In your closet."
She shuddered. I really shouldn't have asked that!
They traveled the rest of the way in silence, and were still silent when Sango, Miroku, and Shippo appeared in the bottom of the well.
"Damn!" she heard Mirok say, probably noticing that they couldn't get out. Then she heard a loud Slap! and Shippo calling Miroku an idiot. Typical.
"Hey!" Shippo said suddenly. "I can see the sky. I thought Kagome said the well was in building in her time!"
Why didn't I notice that when I first came through?
"First, we have to get out of here." Said Sango. "Then worry about why the well isn't inside a building."
Kagome peered down the well.
"Kagome-san!" Shippo yelled happily, looking up.
She grinned. "Hey, Shippo-chan."
"Where'd the sudden -chan come from?" he asked.
"Why, from the same place as that sudden -san." She called down.
Shippo grinned. "Can you get us out of here?"
"If you promise to ask questiong first and attack later."
"What does that mean?" Miroku asked.
"I believe she means do not attack me until you know why I am here." Sesshomaru said, just loudly enough for them all the hear.
"Was that Sesshomaru's voice I just heard?" Miroku asked.
"Yes." Sesshomaru answered.
"Why are you hanging around him?" Shippo asked, wrinkling his nose.
She smiled. "Because Inuyasha's dead, and you weren't here yet, and Kikyo wants to see us all."
"Kikyo!" Miroku exclaimed. "Why would she want to see us?"
"Well," Kagome said, "It has something to do with Naraku, and the nearly complete Shikon no Tama he has."
"Ok, we aren't going to attack." Shippo cut in. "Can you get us out of here?"
"Oh, sure." Kagome said sheepishly, lower the rope into the well.
Sesshomaru stood as the three climbed out of the well. He turned and began to walk. Kagome stared at his incredulously.
"You could wait five minutes for us to exchange proper greetings!" She called after him. He didn't turn back, or even look back, but he stopped.
Sango was the first to embrace her.
"Hey." she whispered. "Why're you crying?"
Kagome wiped a tear away." I wasn't sure if I was ever going to see you again. Any of you." She pulled away from Sango and looked warily at Miroku. "Is it safe for me to hug you?"
He held up his right hand. "I swear on my honor as a monk that I won't try anything."
Kagome grinned. "What honor?" she teased, embracing him.
"Exactly." he said, grinning. Slap! Bonk!
Kagome grinned at Sango, who still held the boomerang over the groggy monks head. Miroku sighed.
Shippo jummped up into Kagome's arms.
"Kagome!" he said happily.
"Shippo-chan." she said fondly. He hurriedly climbed onto her shoulder and rubbed his soft head against her cheek.
"If you are done greeting each other?" Sesshomaru suggested.
"Spoil sport." She muttered.
He began to walk again.
Kagome, Sango, and Miroku had to run to catch up to him, Shippo riding on Kagome's shoulder.
"Where are we going, anyway?" Kagome asked.
"To the God-Tree." Sesshomaru said, never even blinking.
"Why didn't you bring Jaken along?" She asked curiously. Surely it wasn't out of regard for the toad's safety!
"As amusing as it is to watch you beat my servant, Kikyo requested that he be excluded."
"So that's why you sent him away before!"
"Perhaps you should finish your interrogation of me, and begin your explaination to your friends." he suggested.
She grinned sheepishly and began to explain everything that had happed over the last few days.
They stopped walking when they stood beneath the God-Tree.
Kagome hurriedly finished her explaination and fell silent.
"I don't like this place." Shippo complained. "I can't transform!"
"I can't sense the Jewel Shards any more." Kagome said.
Miroku removed the prayer bead from around his hand. Nothing happened. He frowned and looked around. "How about you, Sesshomaru? Do your powers work?"
"That is no concern of yours."
/ That means no. / said a voice in thier heads. / This was the strongest warding spell I could find. It should block any and all magic. /
"Did everyone hear that?" Shippo asked anxiously.
They all nodded slowly.
"Kikyo? Where are you?"
/ That is unimportant. What is important is that you all make the right choices from now on. /
Kagome gasped. "You spoke to me once before!" She exclaimed. "In the well when I first arrived!"