Chapter 21 – Nowhere to Run

The rays of dawn brought him from his sated slumber with a smile as the memory of her tickled his mind. He blindly reached out to his side, intending to recapture her, but met only air. Amber eyes flared open in shock then worry, as he stood hurriedly and scanned the area for her, tugging on his hakama. Worry melted into anguish as he noticed that she was gone, along with every trace of her; she had left deliberately. Then he caught it as he began to pull on his haori. The scent of tears. She had cried into his haori. Cursing he tossed the haori aside, desperately trying to quell the rising panic and anger within. She had left him. He had mated her, but she left him! He had made her cry again. She… left….HIM!

The anguished howl erupted before he could think to contain it, lashing out at the nearest tree without mercy. She was supposed to stay! They had told him that she loved him! But he was just a dirty hanyou. She couldn't love him. Another tree fell victim to his raging sorrow. He had tainted another miko. Would her eyes fill with disgust now? The images of last night tortured him, her acceptance teasing against the reality of her departure.

"Kagome!" He screamed in heartbreak, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Exhausted, he dropped to his knees, head tossed back as he silently asked the sky: Why?

By the time he returned to camp he was drained mentally and emotionally. He refused to let them see his pain and buried it beneath his usual mask of indifference. By now the anguish had faded and anger took dominance. He felt used. She had gotten what she wanted and then took off. Somewhere a small voice protested that she had slept by his side all night because his haori, although vacant, had been warm. He squashed the voice. She had wanted him. He didn't have keen smell for nothing.

As he stormed back into camp, fully intending to make her life as miserable as he felt, he was brought up short by the lack of her very presence. The damn bouzo was staring at him, and then hastily looked around. Keh, you see she's gone too, don't you? And now you'll blame me. But when the reprimand wasn't issued he began pacing, trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle into order. A hard task when you don't know what the puzzle is supposed to look like.

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Miroku smiled down at the woman currently sleeping in his arms. They had retreated to camp when they had found their companions locked in an intimate embrace. Or rather Kagome had been pinned and at the hanyou's mercy. Before they had reached camp though, he had pulled Sango in for a few stolen kisses. Thankfully she was the more levelheaded of them because he had not wanted to stop at mere kisses, and would have continued if she had not called a stop. He loved her dearly and when she reiterated that she wasn't going to go further until their wedding night, he happily agreed. Sango, to him, was worth waiting for.

The rustling of the underbrush tore his gaze from his beloved as he tensed up. He wasn't sensing anything amiss until Inuyasha burst into the clearing looking fit to kill, his hoari clutched in one hand as he looked about the camp. Whatever the hanyou was searching for, he wasn't finding it and it only darkened the scowl on his face. Miroku gulped, wondering what could have caused… Kagome! Where was Kagome? No wonder Inuyasha was pissed. If things progressed further than Miroku had seen… and if Kagome was now missing…

She must have slipped away from Inuyasha willingly or else said hanyou would be yelling at them to get up. And that worried Miroku the most. He, like the rest of the group (minus Inuyasha), knew of Kagome's love for Inuyasha. It was what kept the girl coming back, despite all the troubles and arguments being here cost her. But for her to leave him of her own free will after what he thought had actually happened…. Something wasn't right.

As gently as possible, Miroku shook Sango awake, motioning for her to keep quiet as he regarded the now pacing hanyou. Agitation was clearly written on their friend's face, but when he took a longer look he noticed something else – misery. Ah, so the hanyou was not as uncaring as he pretended to be. Miroku, at least, had figured out long ago that Inuyasha might have deeper feelings for Kagome than the hanyou was willing to admit, especially with Kikyou still roaming about.

Now, Miroku was, by no means, an idiot, so when the thought of the undead miko crossed his mind, it triggered the memory of his conversation with Kagome about souls and past lives. He could put two and two together; he thought back then that Kagome's questions had something to do with Kikyou. Miroku began to feel a stirring of unease, a discomfort bordering on panic. He had thought at the time that Kagome had sought his counsel, that her questions might have had something to do with Kikyou. But what possible reason could Kagome have for her sudden interest in the one person that was preventing Inuyasha from being free?

"Did you see her?"

The nearly inaudible question drove Miroku out of his troubled thoughts with an incoherent, "Huh?"

Inuyasha sighed, slipping on his haori. "She came through here. Did you see her?"

They shook their heads. "We were sleeping."

"Keh." He sniffed again, this time locating her pack next to Hiraikotsu, along with her katana. Frowning, he stalked over to the bag and snatched the folded paper lying on the pack. He could read, but he usually kept quiet about it, preferring to use the assumption of his illiteracy to his advantage. But the note wasn't for him, it was addressed to Sango and that only served to irritate and depress him further. She had stopped long enough to write a note to Sango, but didn't bother with one for him? Was he really that worthless in her eyes?

Muttering to himself, he dropped the note in Sango's lap, waiting impatiently for the woman to read it. What he really wanted was to track down Kagome, but he held back, telling himself that she obviously didn't want him anymore and had probably never done so, or she would have stayed with him after what they shared last night. Or if she had to leave, she would have left the letter for him, not Sango. Or, damn it all, she should have woken him even if it was something she considered unimportant.

Sango picked up the letter, confused, and opened it slowly. The note was neither long nor detailed, but it did scare Sango into full awareness.

What better gift for you than a sword, ne? Take care of it for me. There's a box of pocky left for Shippou and new colors. There should be enough medicine for Miroku to last until you get back to Kaede's. I'm sorry I didn't have anything for Kirara.

She jumped to her feet, startling the males as she raced for Kagome's pack. "Please don't be here, please don't be here," she chanted repeatedly, confusing the men as she dug frantically through Kagome's pack. She choked on a sob as she retrieved the one thing she prayed wouldn't be in the pack. "No."

She rose to her feet and stomped over to Inuyasha, grabbing his hand and thrusting the item into it. "Start talking, Inuyasha. She never, never leaves that behind, but she made me promise to give it to you if she couldn't say goodbye herself."

Inuyasha stared blankly at the plain silver band in his palm, confused as to what was going on. "What is it?"

"The ring her mother gave her father when they married. She told me it was all she had left of him. That and the promise that she would give it to her husband when she married."

"But she wanted you to give it to me?" He was confused now. She left him alone, but she wanted to give him a gift? An old memory poked at him. Something to do with rings and marriage.

Without warning Inuyasha found his head the recipient of Miroku's staff. "Are you truly that dense, Inuyasha?"

Without warning Miroku found himself dangling by the neck and staring into the visage of a snarling and distraught hanyou.

"Dense? DENSE! How the FUCK am I dense? She mated with me last night and took off this morning without a word or note or anything that said it meant something to her, but now you tell me she left a token of her family for me? Where am I dense in this?"

"Something happened and Kagome is gone because of it." Miroku choked out.

"I didn't hurt her!" He growled in automatic self-defense. The panic he had thought quenched was swiftly rising to engulf him again. The rings… the rings meant mates in Kagome's time. He dropped the bouzo in shock, although the anger was still there as he continued to growl. He remembered watching Kagome's mother finger a similar ring last year. When he had asked about it she said that she couldn't take it off because she still loved her husband even though he had died long ago. Miroku's voice cut through his thoughts.

"We didn't say you did," Miroku replied calmly, for once abstaining from making his usual lecherous remarks as he rubbed his neck. At least not verbally. Well, he didn't make them aloud, at least.

"But something made her decide to leave," Sango commented, regarding the ring still in Inuyasha's hand briefly before assessing for herself that Miroku was not permanently harmed. No matter how irate the hanyou got, Sango knew that Inuyasha would never really hurt any of them, but it didn't stop the instinct to reassure for herself that they were in one piece. "For good."

Inuyasha fisted his hand around the ring, although he didn't spare Sango as a target for his anger as he growled at her too. "I don't know…" he trailed off, the growl dying in his throat as he decided that he should probably tell them about Kagome's visitor. "There was this woman…"

A gasp had him near snarling, "Not like that! Kagome was looking into some mirror and the woman was guarding her. Bitch wouldn't let me near Kagome." He hurriedly spit out. The information wasn't enough, he knew, but it prevented them from really yelling at him.

Miroku frowned, "Who was she?"

"I don't know! Kagome didn't tell me anything. Neither did the woman. Just some shit about me not helping because it's not my soul and that whatever Kagome is up to might cost her something." He sighed, running a tired hand through his hair distractedly. "She smelled like Sesshoumaru."

They jerked as if they'd been slapped, both wearing equal looks of shock and disbelief.

"What would Sesshoumaru want with Kagome?"

"The woman looked confused when I mentioned him, like she didn't know who I was talking about."

"Very odd," Miroku mumbled, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he tried to put all the pieces together.

First, his conversation with Kagome about reincarnation and destiny, then Kagome's aloofness towards Inuyasha, and now the ring. Miroku discarded the information about the Taiyoukai for now. If Kagome were truly in danger from him they would find out soon enough. Kagome, according to Sango, always kept her father's ring with her, swearing Sango to deliver it should she never return… He frowned. This was not good at all. If his suspicions were correct, they needed to find, and stop, Kagome immediately. Whatever Kagome was involved in, the outcome meant she was not coming back.

"Inuyasha, we need to find Kagome."

"No, we don't. She can fucking stay gone, bouzo." He emphasized his point by taking out the nearest tree. The anger was returning, but it wasn't pushing the panic aside. Part of him desperately wanted to follow her and demand an explanation, while the other part was already admitting defeat and resigned to losing her. Tears threatened again, but he'd be damned if he let anyone see them.

Miroku gave a half-hearted swipe of his staff towards Inuyasha with a sharp, "Now!"

This time Miroku found himself thrown across the camp and saved from an impending meeting with a large tree by Kirara. His chest throbbed from where the hanyou had hit him, but he could tell that Inuyasha pulled the punch or else there was the likelihood that he would be dead. He made no effort to get up though, knowing he had crossed the line when he attempted to hit Inuyasha a second time. Things went deeper than he suspected and his suspicions were confirmed when he caught sight of Inuyasha wiping his face with the sleeve of his hoari before turning away from the group.

"Houshi-sama!" Sango was by his side, worrying over him as she mumbling something about idiots provoking hanyou.

"I think Kagome intends to leave," he wheezed, watching Inuyasha. "Permanently." The hanyou tensed but showed no other signs of having heard him. Before he could clarify his assumption, their attention was drawn to the eerie shimmer of shinidama-chuu gliding through the forest. Miroku was puzzled when Inuyasha jerked as if hit and looked guilty. Which was odd since he was only guilty looking when he returned from visiting Kikyou, never before.

Sango hoisted him onto Kirara along with Shippou, calling out, "Do what you want Inuyasha, but I'm not going to let my friend leave without a good reason why!"

Miroku smirked. Smart girl.

Whether it was the sight of Kikyou's 'eels' or the mention of Kagome leaving, Miroku didn't care since it spurred Inuyasha into chasing after them. Meanwhile he was tormented by one of Kagome's statements.

I would do anything to make all of you happy.

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The area was about as silent as a grave, which for this woman, was the ideal spot to meet with her reincarnation. She had wondered why Kagome had sounded so urgent in the early morning hours before dawn, but refused to ponder the question when she was just as willing to meet. Over the past several days she had been trying to look for a true motive behind the girl's offer. The natural assumption was that Kagome was merely the bait to lure her out, but she immediately discarded that idea. From the few times they'd met, Kikyou knew Kagome to be too kind to knowingly allow harm to befall her.

Kagome had shown her that when she had saved Kikyou twice; first in the miko eating cave and then from Naraku's miasma. And now, Kagome wanted to save her again, only this time for good. She sat quietly in the low boughs of a tree, watching her shinidama-chuu glide among them. She had sent one out to lead Kagome to her when the girl insisted on meeting with her immediately and away from her companions. Something was amiss, but Kikyou was not about to question the favorable turn of events.

Just as she was beginning to think Kagome had been bluffing, the girl ran into the large clearing, panting heavily from what must have been an exhausting run. Kikyou took a moment to ponder the girl's disheveled appearance and fluctuating aura. Allowing the girl time to catch her breath, Kikyou sent out a questing finger of power, testing the girl's increased aura. Just as she brushed against it, she found herself mentally slapped and physically cringed, withdrawing the power. Kagome's head jerked up to glare at Kikyou for a brief moment, and then the anger was quickly replaced with sorrow.

Kikyou frowned as she slipped from the tree branch to the ground. There was the sense of urgency in the girl, as if she needed to get this over with quickly. Had she somehow garnered disfavor with the Keijigakari as well? The feeling of unease increased when Kagome looked back over her shoulder as though ensuring she had not been followed.

"What has caused you such agitation?"

Kagome turned back towards Kikyou, a small frown on her lips. "Let's just do this, alright?"

When Kikyou made no further commentary or movement, Kagome took that as agreement and pulled out the old key.

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The air was stirring; a silent signal that something was going to occur, something…cataclysmic. He immediately turned off the path, following the dead scent on the wind. Today… today he would have his answers.

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Unable to keep up with the grueling pace the hanyou set, Miroku had resorted to riding with Sango. They had immediately returned to the clearing Kagome had been last seen in. Under other circumstances he might have made a comment about the blush on Inuyasha's cheeks when the hanyou sniffed out Kagome's scent. Within seconds they were racing out of the clearing and through the forest, heading deeper and deeper with only Inuyasha's nose to guide them. The shinidama-chuu had eluded them when they had tried to follow it, which only increased everyone's worry and resolve to locate their friend.

No words were spoken among the group, each having their own set of worries about Kagome, none of which anyone cared to voice aloud. The sun was reaching its peak when Inuyasha and Shippou declared that Kagome's scent had gotten stronger, meaning they were getting close. The air had begun to stir, bringing with it a sense of foreboding that did not sit well with Miroku. It wasn't a sense of evil so much as the sense that something tremendous was beginning. Something he knew they needed to stop.

They hit upon the large clearing just in time to hear Kagome call out for someone as she tossed a small object to Kikyou. Eerily, the wind died, leaving an ominous silence, as a void, much like the one Miroku had seen Inuyasha fall from, opened up between the two women. From the emptiness a tall woman materialized and stepped out, the void closing behind her as she looked around.

The woman was taller than any of them with a willowy frame, pointed ears and an aura of tempered power that, all combined, vaguely reminded him of Sesshoumaru. Her dark hair fell in waves to her knees, with the exception of a few braids here and there. The simple black kimono she wore was lightly decorated with entwined swirls of white and pale blue, the blue collar of the kosode peeking out. Some sort of clear ball dangled from a silver chain at her waist, but all of that wasn't nearly so shocking as the large black wings emerging from her back.

A rustling of leaves prevented anyone from asking the obvious questions as all but the strange woman turned to stare in shock at the arrival of the last person they would have expected. All heads then swiveled to the woman as she addressed the newcomer.

"Sesshoumaru."

A/N:

Mega props to my awesome friend, Barachan22. She's been my sounding board when my muse decides to take an extended leave of absence without a forwarding address. LOL. Thanks girl!

Apologies for taking so long to update. My beta and I are about to seriously harm her server, but luckily we've found an alternative. Also I had a really hard time working this chapter and had to do several rewrites.

If you've noticed the constant shift in Tenmei's appearance, it's supposed to be that way. For someone who can literally walk the timeline, wearing the same face/body would eventually make people speculate.

And… I'm rewriting the entire story. Some chapters are getting new info, others are just getting minor adjustments. If you'd like to be notified of new chapters and/or revisions, email me at Ladyblade (at) msn (dot) com.

I have several other stories in the works. "Come What May" is next on the list as well as a new AU I've been thinking about.

And as always I love getting reviews They're inspiring.

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