A/N: I know the first chapter of the story started slow, but it had to be that way, in order to restate what happened in the last story and put in what had happened in the three months that had elapsed (in Plot Standard Time, of course) since the end of Heart of a Youkai.

This story will begin to pick up, but I'm sure, you guys can already see the conflict. (And don't forget about that foreshadowing!) This will only intensify as the story goes on, and become more painfully obvious later.

Also, there have been questions as to the reappearance of Kagome's miko powers in the last chapter of HoaY. The reason they reappeared is because her life, along with the life of innocents was in danger. It was VITAL that she had them, or otherwise, they would have all died and Inuyasha would have remained a youkai. (Remember this kiddies, I sense a plot!)

(I got the stuff about Oda Nobunaga from a website that I googled, I don't pretend to be an expert on Japanese history.)

Chapter 2: Memories That Never Fade

Kagome sighed as she looked out the window of her High School, out towards the sprawling, busy city of Tokyo and towards Mount Fuji in the distance. She wasn't looking at anything in particular; her eyes were glazed over in thought as she stared out the wide window, looking into the furthest depths of her mind.

It had been two months since she had turned sixteen, and two months since she had miraculously graduated from her Junior High and preceded to this higher level of education. In earnest, Kagome regarded this new school with the same contempt she had for the last, school feeling deadly boring when compared to all the excitement of the Sengoku Jidai.

Of course, she had stayed in school in these past three months more often than she had before, which was probably the sole reasons he had passed her entrance exams and had been admitted into High School. Catching up on her studies was something she had dearly wanted for a long time, but of course, there were certain sacrifices to be paid for trying to pass in school.

A long breath escaped Kagome's lips as she continued to look out the window, daydreaming, she leaned her head against her fist, the eraser of her pencil digging slightly into her cheek while her hair fell forward to partially cover her face. She glanced away from the classroom, where the history teacher stood at the front, spouting lectures about ages past, while students clothed in their identical uniforms—a blue top much like the middle school one, but a longer (though, not by much) blue skirt to match—scribbled down notes hastily to keep up.

Usually, Kagome tried with all her might to pay attention in class, determined not to let her situation in Middle School happen again so quickly. But she had, reluctantly, given in to boredom, and had to content herself to daydreaming. As she looked out the window, to the city she had lived all her life, that she knew so well, yet now the tall buildings and industry of modern Tokyo seemed unfamiliar to her, and her heart began longing for the rich green fields and peaceful silence she knew lay just beyond the well in her family shrine.

Her heart longed for something else beyond that well also. Inuyasha…

The teacher's voice wavered in and out of her ears as she daydreamed, and she would hear a sentence or two and then fall back into her peaceful stupor. "Oda Nobunaga was the first feudal lord to attempt to unify Japan during the Sengoku Jidai period…"

The Sengoku Jidai…Kagome could see the place in her mind, knowing that all of the buildings and streets of Tokyo would be replaced with endless fields of green grass and tall trees, with rivers flowing through the land to complete the beautiful picture of the peaceful time.

"He was one of the first Samurai leaders to face many battles in his struggle to unite the country, marching bravely off to war to complete his goal…"

In her mind's eye, Kagome could see the battles vividly, with the ringing of the clashing sword, the smell of spilt blood, the shudder in her heart at seeing the destruction that such violence wreaked. But this battle wasn't between normal humans, it was between a reckless, fearsome youkai, who had dared challenged her sole protector.

"He was one who believed that he should untie Japan 'under a single sword'…"

A sword came flickering into Kagome's mind, but it was of an unusual type. Not a typical katana, it was a rather large sword, with unusual fur at the end of it, which had the power to slay a hundred enemies in a single swing. But instead of the sword, she focused more on the person who wielded it…

"And was described as fearless and brave by many…"

That face, which would never fade from her mind, floated up to her once again. Those striking amber eyes were framed by the beautiful wealth of silver hair, his head topped by those incredibly cute dog's ears. His mouth was formed into a smirk, a fang just slightly visible in his grin.

Kagome's eyes softened as she thought, Inuyasha…

She remembered the warmth of his embrace, the safety she felt in his arms. The way his cheek would rest on top of her head, holding her so close to himself that she could hear his heart beat in his chest. She could hear his voice, so gently, softly saying her name…

"Kagome…Kagome Higurashi…"

"Kagome Higurashi!"

That voice snapped her out of her daydream, and she jumped slightly at the interruption, turning towards the front of her class, while all the other classmates stared at her.

Glancing around, she speculated that this was not a good thing. "Um…yes?" she asked, looking towards the front of the room, where her history teacher, a young man whom she knew personally half the female population in the class was in love with, did not look at all pleased.

"Kagome Higurashi," Her teacher repeated in a harsh tone while holding a rather annoyed look in his eyes behind his glasses. "I will need to speak with you after class."

Feeling a blush of embarrassment creep up on her face, Kagome slid down in her desk a bit, ignoring the slight pain as the chair came in contact with her back. "Yes, Mr. Yamaguchi."

Soon enough, the bell sounded, releasing all the other students to the sweet freedom of the end of the school day, While Kagome slowly gathered her books back into her backpack and approached her teacher's desk. All her instincts told her this talk was not a good thing. She noticed that her three friends, Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi were staring at her through the open door. "We'll wait for you, Kagome-chan." they whispered, walking out of sight.

"What is it that you wanted to talk to me about, Mr. Yamaguchi?" Kagome asked, feeling a twinge of nervousness at the process of her performance in school being scrutinized.

Her teacher looked back at her, with a look that showed slight disappointment. Kagome knew that look all too well, remembering a time when her mother looked at her like that…after she had been forced to tell her something in one of the hardest confessions of her life…

Don't think about that! She warned herself.

"Miss Higurashi," he said, his voice showing clearly that he was concerned. "I asked you to talk with me because I am beginning to get concerned about your progress in this class."

Kagome's voice caught in her throat as she repeated, "Con-concerned?"

"Yes," he replied. "I've seen the work you can do when you put your mind to it. Your essays on the Segoku Jidai were wonderful, so incredibly detailed, that you must have put a lot of effort into them."

Kagome couldn't help but feel a small smirk of pride at that, while also feeling embarrassed that she hadn't put much effort into it at all, unless you counted battling youkai in the Sengoku Jidai nearly every day.

He continued, "And then your essay on the Japanese Myth 'The Legend of Inuyasha', that was stunning, though I haven't heard the myth myself. But next time, it would be wise to put more in a source page rather than 'a book in the library'."

That caused Kagome to look down in embarrassment. How she remembered that particular essay, having done it the night before it was due after coming back from a few days in the Sengoku Jidai and being extremely exhausted, she wrote the essay on the first thing she could think of, despite the fact that, to her knowledge, the myth wasn't real.

He sighed like any teacher would at seeing a student troubling them. "I've sent the work that you can do, Miss Higurashi, but now I'm starting to notice a slump in your studies. I know this is partially because of your frequent illnesses—" Kagome tensed up at that. "But I've also noticed that you are prone to daydreaming as well."

Kagome lowered her eyes. "I know, Mr. Yamaguchi, its just…right now, I'm going through a hard time, and its making me less concentrated."

He replied in earnest, "I'm sorry to hear that. I hope whatever it is will clear up soon, but...please try to remain focused in class."

Nodding, Kagome said, "I'll try, Mr. Yamaguchi." and with that, she turned and left the classroom, feeling relief rush over her after surviving that chastisement.

Instantly, her friends swarmed her. "What did he say?" they asked, as they walked out of the school building which became their prison for many hours of the day.

Releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding, Kagome replied, "He told me he wants me to try harder in class."

Blinking, Ayumi said, "Really? I thought you were trying harder. Ever since three months ago and that thing with your boyfriend—" She abruptly stopped when she saw that look on Kagome's face, that tragic glint her eyes would get at any mention of her boyfriend at their sudden "parting of ways".

Yuka covered for her. "You've been doing much better now Kagome, don't worry about it. You're even getting a lot healthier, you've been in school a lot. If you keep it up, you'll have no problems this year, unlike last year."

Looking down, that glint still in her eyes, Kagome had soft memories of missing school for several days…all to go adventuring with a certain hanyou. "Yeah…"

Trying to cheer her up, Eri changed the subject. "Anyway, did you see that Narita from class 3 today? Keiko-chan told me he was gorgeous, but I didn't want to believe it until I saw him!"

The other two girls began squealing and chatting about this certain boy, who had no doubt captured the heart of half the girls in their school already. Kagome didn't join, or listen in to their talk, as they wondered over love and boys and other such things.

When their innocent talks turned to those subjects, Kagome hung back. It didn't feel right to join in and pretend. It would be easy, to lie and at least keep up a façade of giggling at what true love really felt like, but she felt as if she had lied enough in her life already.

There was no blushing on Kagome's part when her friends' talk grew deeper into the subject of intimate love, each of them squealing and their faces flushing red in discomfort at the thoughts of curious teenage girls. She didn't say anything, feeling guilt and embarrassment fill her up, hoping no one caught on to her guilty behavior. She didn't even correct them when she knew they had some of the details wrong, keeping a strict guard to make it seem like she hadn't even been paying attention.

So, this is my life, she mused, her eyes looking up at the clear blue sky above her, dotted with tiny clouds. A life of hiding and lies…like its been since—

An image of him came into her mind, as he held her within his embrace, his amber eyes shining with love as he came closer to her, his lips only an inch away from hers…

Inuyasha…

When they came to her shrine, Kagome waved a small goodbye to her friends, whom were still gossiping and talking. As she walked up the many steps to her home, she felt the familiar sting in her back, knowing all too well the feeling; it had plagued her for the past three months.

Entering the courtyard, Kagome winced as she put a hand to her back, rubbing softly, but knowing the pain would only get worse if she didn't do something about it. She let out a breath she had been holding when she had been trying to dull the ache, taking off her backpack and holding it by the strap in one hand to free some of the tension. Kagome walked into her house with her back arched slightly, reliving some of the sting.

When her mother came out of the kitchen, and saw her, she instantly knew what was wrong. "Kagome, are you all right?" she asked, coming closer to her daughter and taking her yellow backpack from her. Her eyes surveyed her in concern. "Do you need me to get your pain pills for you?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, Mama. I'll be fine. I think a hot bath might help right now…I've been through worse pain before." Kagome didn't want to look in her mother's eyes as she said this, staring at the floor. She knew the look she had, how her mother pitied her for all she had suffered through recently. In truth, the physical pain wasn't too bad, though she felt a small twinge of pain everyday; she didn't need serious help that often. No, the pain that plagued her, that she would never let her mother see, was the pain that she held within her heart.

Without saying another word, Kagome shuffled away from her mother, towards the stairs. She didn't want to worry her mother, so she put on a show of feeling hardly any pain, though getting up the stairs took a bit of an effort, every impact of her foot against the floor sending a jolt up her spine.

Kagome practically collapsed into her bedroom when the door had been shut, gasping in the pain. As she slid to the floor, her knee-length blue skirt pooling slightly around her as she hugged herself across her chest, waiting for the spasms of short, sharp pains in her back to pass.

She felt a warm, soft form nuzzling against her, and turned her head to see her fat cat, Buyo, looking up at her with concerned eyes. A small smile came to Kagome's face as she reached over and gave the cat a small pat on the head, before standing up with a slight difficulty.

Its not going to make it better just sitting here, Kagome decided, grabbing a change of clothes while she marched to the bathroom, the pain lessening at the prospect.

As Kagome turned the faucet on and heard the splash of the filling tub, she stood in front of the slowly fogging mirror, surveying herself. As she looked into the sad eyes of her clone beyond the glass, she turned until her bare back was exposed, the scar that caused her pain in her reflection.

Her breath caught in her throat slightly, as it always did whenever she looked upon this particularly nasty wound. The five jagged claw marks, which started from her left shoulder and proceeded down to her right hip were as pink as ever, seeming to pulse with the pain whenever it came back to haunt her.

Kagome's eyes lowered slightly as she remembered receiving this scar…the one person who swore never to hurt her had been the one to deliver the blow…

It wasn't his fault, she reminded herself, But… She bit her lip. It still hurts that Inuyasha was the one to do it…

Turning back to face the mirror, Kagome sighed. It seemed that her mother made a bigger deal of this scar than she did. She hadn't intended on telling her mother about any of her injuries, but she had collapsed from the pain in her back one day and it had left her with no choice. Kagome never told her how she had received it, but her mother seemed to know already, and to understand why she kept her silence.

With Kagome having to show her the scar on her back, her mother had learned of a few others, including the small ones on her stomach. But, despite all her mother knew, there was one scar Kagome made absolutely sure her mother would never see.

Her eyes drifted up to her reflection in the mirror, and the small, squashed oval shaped scar on her left shoulder.

That scar sent a chill up her spine whenever she thought about it. She hated thinking about that scar, the scar where she had tried to kill herself because she couldn't live knowing she had killed Inuyasha. Kagome squeezed her eyes tight against the flood of painful memories Oh, Inuyasha…

She turned back to the bathtub and turned off the water, dipping a toe in gingerly before sliding down into the warm water. At first, her back protested at being forced to lean against the hard side of the tub, but the pain gradually left her.

A smirk of amusement came on to her face at a thought, My back hurts so much now…almost like a pregnant woman…

The smile of amusement left her face instantly as she remembered that she too, could have been a pregnant woman by now, had luck not been on her side. Kagome clenched her hands together nervously as she remembered her fears of such repercussions from her act with Inuyasha. Though she had been confident that she would not have that fate early on, she had waited worriedly for a month until she was greatly relieved when her period came.

She sank lower into the water, the waterline reaching just below her nose. In addition to everything else, I could have been pregnant. she reminded herself, thankful for that one small blessing. But, in honesty, that had been the least of her worries when she woke up that fateful morning in the clearing to find Inuyasha mysteriously missing.

How come, in that one small night of happiness, it made everything turn out so wrong? Kagome wondered, as she had so many times over the past three months. That was the last time I was ever truly happy, but why does that memory have to be tainted with so many other painful ones?

She knew half of the reason already. Inuyasha... Her beloved hanyou. Before she had learned of the curse, Kagome had really believed that he was her one, true love. The one special love you were supposed to find once in a lifetime. It had certainly seemed like it then. Her life had gone from dreaming and wishful thinking to rainbows and floating among the stars when she learned how he truly felt about her, and that one month they had spent together…Kagome wondered if a smile had ever left her face during that time.

Her heart ached, even now, when she remembered how much she loved him.

But with the curse that had ultimately made them realize it was impossible for them to be together, Kagome began to have her doubts. She still cared for him, she knew she would probably never stop, but she began to wonder if he really was the "one true love" she longed him to be.

Wasn't it supposed to work out that once true love was found, they would whisk you off your feat, and carry you into that happily ever after? Wasn't love supposed to stay strong no matter what? Didn't that mean there would be no tears of sadness or pain in one's heart ever again?

Besides, Kagome thought, standing up and grabbing her towel, I'm a bad girl. Memories of that night with Inuyasha flashed through her mind. People like me aren't supposed to have their happily ever after…Her eyes fell back into that tragic state. I suppose that after we defeat Naraku, Inuyasha and I will go our separate ways, and I'll find someone here who will, at least take me, despite what I have done in the past.

I know, Inuyasha and I…It probably was never meant to be…

Though Kagome knew this was the wise thought, the thought her head was telling her, but her heart couldn't help but wish for it to be different.


A/N: This chapter originally had Inuyasha in it, but I had to cut him out because it was getting to be too long and loosing the main theme.