-:- -:- -:-
-:- -:- -:-
-:- -:- -:-
Chapter Two: Departure
Sango was startled out of her attempt at soup making as the door to her hut slammed open. Drenched head to toe in the pouring rain was the one person she had not expected to see ever again.
"Oh Kami…Kagome!" Sango promptly dropped her ladle and ran to her best friend.
"Thought I told you to put a lock on that thing…" Kagome murmured before passing out.
Sango panicked. What was going on? She yelled for Miroku, who was trying to teach their baby the art of meditation in the rain. Of course, he only got the child once Sango had bundled him up in what Kagome had called a parka and a poncho.
Miroku was out back. A child, looking more like a blob eight times bigger, was tucked beside him. Her husband came running, his violet eyes widening to comic proportions as he took in the reappearance of one he had considered beyond their reach.
"Boil water, I'll get some dry cloths." He said in the serious tone he reserved when he was beyond worried. He quickly tucked their son into a warm bed then scrambled to tend to their friend. The couple spent hours watching over her prone and shivering form before Kagome flashed a brilliant white and awoke abruptly.
She was immediately embraced and groped.
Kagome was seated onto a cushion after two smacks and a THUD. Sango tended to her friend while her husband lay unconscious on the ground. "Kagome…what are you doing here? I thought the well would have sealed behind you. At least, that is what you lead us to believe." Sango said, using a warm dry cloth to wipe away the rain water on her friend's face. She took the plushest blanket they had and draped it about Kagome's shoulders. Kagome gave a weak smile and nodded her thanks.
"I never made it home." Kagome replied quietly.
"What?" The cloth all but slipped from Sango's numb fingers. "What happened!"
"I was…forcibly mated to Sesshoumaru before I jumped into the well. It was really stupid of me. I was just sitting at the well, all alone in the night. It was like asking to get attacked." She chuckled mirthlessly. "I guess, I never expected that kind of attack." She raised her hand to calm the former-taijiya as she was about to release an angry tirade. "Before you go on biting his head off, all I can say is that I don't think it was entirely his fault. He never meant for it to happen. I should know, he hates me."
Sango was silent for a moment. "So, all this time, you've still been here? Why didn't you come sooner?"
"I'm leaving Sango. Before, he wouldn't let me leave his palace. But now, he's let me go, and I'm going home. For good this time. I guess, I just wanted to say goodbye. And also…don't…don't tell him about the well. If he ever comes, tell him I've died or something. I doubt he'll ever live long enough to learn the truth. There aren't any youkai in my time. So, if he doesn't learn about the well, I'm sure you'll be fine…"
"Wait, Kagome. Please don't do this. Stay, here, with us. We'll take care of you and protect you if you need it. I swear I won't let him near you." Sango pleaded. She didn't want to lose the one whom she regarded as a sister.
"I can't. You guys deserve your happiness. I won't further endanger you by staying. It was dangerous enough just coming here…I…" Kagome faltered.
"Stay one night." Sango tried again. "Then we'll personally walk you to the well. We'll make sure you get through safely. But please, just stay one night."
"I can't…"
"Kagome-sama, if you please, it has been too long without you. Indulge us?" Miroku asked, a charming smile gracing his lips.
Kagome hesitated. They were slowly wearing down her feeble resistance. The truth was, she dearly missed her friends. "Ok…just one night."
-:- -:- -:-
Regardless of Kagome's weakened state, she refused to rest. Instead, she stayed up all night, just talking or sitting with her friends. She didn't want to waste her one night sleeping if they were going to be the last few hours she spent with her friends, ever.
Strangely enough, though Kagome seemed more tired than they, it was Miroku and Sango who succumbed to sleep, still sitting in the main room with their friend. She stood, retrieving blankets for them, tucking the cloths around their slumbering bodies. She stood a silent watch over them, a small smile playing across her features.
-:- -:- -:-
It was early the next day, before the sun had even risen, when Sango's eyes fluttered open. She sat up, smiling slightly noticing the blanket. Kagome would never change. She would still be kind-hearted, if not strange, girl from the future they had all grown to love. She got up, hoping that Kagome had not left, yet again, without saying goodbye. Her cinnamon eyes scanned their household, seeking her surrogate sister.
She heard a soft murmuring coming from the next room. She got up, folding the blanket in her arms, and walked over to the doorway. Kagome stood, bent over the baby's bed, whispering to her child, as if relaying a great secret.
-:- -:- -:-
"You know, I have a baby too." Kagome grinned at the silent child, who's burgundy eyes stared up at her questioningly. "He's a bit older than you, but so much bigger!" She rubbed the baby's belly teasingly, eliciting a happy gurgle from the child. "That's because he's half a youkai, the son of a demon lord. But," Kagome leaned in over the crib, "I've done a bad thing, you know."
The baby burbled.
"Yes, I've taken something very important from my baby, but I've given his father exactly what he wants. At the same time, I've made it so that he can never hurt my son." She leaned down, almost conspiratorially. "I turned him into a full youkai."
-:- -:- -:-
Sango suppressed a gasp. She wasn't even aware the her dear sister was powerful enough to do such a thing. But why would she do that?
Despite Sango's best attempts to remain unnoticed, Kagome had felt her friend's shocked and surprised aura. She stood slowly and turned, flashing a weak smile. "Good morning, Sango."
"Kagome." Sango whispered. "What did you-"
Kagome cut her off with a small wave of her hand. She walked over, looping an arm around her friend's arm. "It was for the best, Sango. I didn't want to do it, but I don't dare allow that man to hurt my baby like he hurt me." She replied softly. She lead them back to the other room to find Miroku, sitting against the wall, a thoughtful expression on his face. The girls were startled to have found him awake so soon. He hadn't been the earliest riser in their group.
"So, you heard too?" Kagome asked, almost sheepishly
Cool violet eyes turned to study her. "I did, Kagome-sama. I was hoping that you would, perhaps explain to us why you would transform your child into a full youkai." He said slowly.
Kagome cast her eyes downward, her foot moving to scuff the floor in a manner that of a chastised child. She sighed. "I suppose if anyone deserves to hear an explanation, it should be you guys." She plopped herself on the floor, blowing her bangs up as she did so.
Sango sat beside her, holding her hand in a sisterly gesture of support.
Looking up, Kagome seemed to have aged before their very eyes. She suddenly appeared so old and tired. "Se…Sesshoumaru isn't the easiest guy to get along with, but, he's not evil. Far from it, he can be the perfect gentleman when he wants to be." She began, looking thoughtful. "At first, I was scared spitless of him. I mean, he comes out of the blue and…well…mates me…errr…not exactly voluntarily. So, I was understandably upset. But when he awoke in the next morning, he was his calm, cold, detached self. He took me with him, claiming that he would have no mate of his wandering the forests alone at night. I was taken to his home, which was a freaking city in itself. It was huge! I guess being a Taiyoukai has its perks, ne?"
Miroku and Sango nodded mutely. Kagome continued.
"Well, it didn't take me long to find out I was pregnant. I was mortified at first. In my time, being pregnant so young is looked down upon. Then I freaked as I saw how fast my baby was growing. Sesshoumaru explained that since the baby, or 'pup' as he called him, was half youkai, he would develop much faster than a human baby.
During the time of my pregnancy, Sesshoumaru was uncharacteristically kind. I actually had thought that maybe he was warming up to me. I mean, he's not a bad guy. He just has this icy, pointy, meanie exterior that makes it hard for people to like him. I thought it was a defense mechanism because he had probably been scorned in his youth, or something."
Slightly puzzled, but sort of understanding Kagome's strange terminology, the couple nodded again.
"Well, the baby was born a hanyou. I hadn't expected anything else. Surprisingly though, Sesshoumaru seemed to take it in stride. He treated the baby with all the respect and gave him full honors of his heir. I was elated. I had feared that he would be disgusted with a hanyou, but my fears were misplaced."
Kagome sighed once more, the sound heart-wrenching.
"For two-months, all seemed well. I had grown accustomed to the place and Sesshoumaru's strange ways. I was actually happy for a while. Then, Sesshoumaru ordered me out. He said that I was no longer needed in raising the baby, and since he had no further use of me, he was basically kicking me out.
It hurt, thinking that we were finally getting close to one another, accepting one another. I should have known better. I was a ningen, and he was a Taiyoukai. He wouldn't change. I had been nothing but a tool to him in raising our baby. Before that, I had been a mistake. So, I accepted it. But I wasn't going to leave without taking care of my baby first. I wouldn't allow the vulnerable child to grow up with such a heartless beast. So, I took his humanity from him."
At this, a surprised expression crossed Sango's face. "Kagome, how could you separate human from the hanyou?"
Kagome smiled sadly. She brought a hand up to her chest and closed her eyes in concentration. Slowly her hand began to glow. It was faint at first, but gradually gained strength, pulsing to the steady beat of Kagome's heart. She opened her eyes and held the glow out for her friends to see. "This is my humanity. This is the part of me that my son carried. I simply took it back to house within my own body. My baby will grow up a full youkai, an exact copy of his father, and exactly what his father wanted."
"If you could separate human from youkai blood in a hanyou, then why did you not do so with Inuyasha?" Miroku questioned.
Kagome frowned. "Something like this comes with a terrible price. It was something none of us would be willing to pay, especially Inuyasha. He never would have wanted to become full youkai this way." She replied sadly, returning the glow to hold within her body once more.
"Kagome, what is it? What did you do?" Sango questioned, a note of panic in her voice.
"It doesn't matter." She smiled brightly. "I'm so glad to have seen you again. You have no idea how happy you've made me." She hugged her former traveling companions, giving each a tight embrace. "I love you guys so much, and I hope you'll be happy until the end of your days." Kagome spoke earnestly, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Kagome-sama?" The houshi looked up with questioning eyes. In his opinion, the miko was being too abrupt. She was leaving them at that moment. He wouldn't allow it. Kagome was still hurting too much, still raw from the wounds she had just been dealt. She had already suffered so much. "Kagome-sama." He said more resolutely. "It would please us greatly if you stayed a while. I would much prefer to have another lovely lady in the house." He grinned winningly.
Catching on quickly to what Miroku meant, Sango pressed forward as well. "Yes, of course, Kagome. Stay. It would be great to have another pair of hands to help with Seichiro."
"You named him Seichiro? It's a beautiful name." Kagome said softly.
Cinnamon and violet eyes widened. Was it just them, or did Kagome seem to be fading? It wasn't some trick of the light! They could see right through their friend!
"Kagome!" They cried out in panic. "What-?"
A brief smile. "I'll never forget you guys. I'll think about you and love you always. I miss you already." Kagome waved farewell to them, a ghostly hand lingering in the air, then she was gone.
-:- -:- -:-
-:- -:- -:-
-:- -:- -:-