CHAPTER 23: Reunion

Dusk was kissing the horizon as a solitary soul made its way through a blessedly familiar forest. For a fortnight she had traveled and travailed to make her way back to what she considered her home. The gentle breeze blew through the tattered remains of her priestess attire and swept back her sweat matted loosened locks of hair. A walking stick that was practically on the verge of breaking was the only thing holding her gait steady as she made her way towards the small village of Edo.

'I'm almost there...I can feel it. I know these trees; I know this is the way. Kami's above, please, please let me make it alive...' Kikyo thought to herself as she struggled through the tall grass of Inuyasha's forest. It took every mercy from the Kami's for her to have made it this far, and it would be a shame for those blessings to have run out before she even made it to her destination.

The trip down the mountain had been arduous. She was painfully reminded of what it meant to be alive, and it made the journey so much more perilous. Any accident could have been easily fatal now that she had a pumping heart and a set of working lungs. The meager bits of berries and mushrooms that she found were nourishment, but did nothing to rid her of her incessant and gnawing hunger. She found a few rabbits on the way down but was unsuccessful in making them her dinner. Thought she was brought back with the same strong body she had at her death, there was no fuel for it to run on and left her lacking along with being powerless made her that much weaker. She was smart enough to remember that she had only a few arrows, and it would be foolish to waste them on uncertain shots. What she assumed would be mere hours descending the mountain became days, and were it not for the melting snow that created small creeks she would have died of thirst.

She found a shred of luck at the base of the mountain and spotted an injured fawn with an arrow still wedged in its hind leg. Kikyo's adrenaline shot to the surface and using the small reserve of energy she had took aim and shot. Her mark held true and that night she was able to eat meat for the first time in 50 years. Using vines, twigs, and dried out fawn hide the former priestess created a makeshift traveling pouch and stored all that she couldn't eat inside of it along with berries she had found along the way. When she miraculously made it off of the mountain a whole new kind of trouble awaited her. There were no roads that would lead her to her home, so she had to brave the vast forests of Nippon. She tried to stick to the small creek that had been her water source down the mountain and was once more blessed to find that it seemed to flow in the direction of Edo.

She realized soon enough thought that food was even harder to come by as she traveled and was only able to catch a rabbit. If that wasn't unfortunate enough, she had encountered bandits and barely managed to escape their clutches at the cost of a broken bow and all of her supplies. So close she was to falling victim to those honor-less rapists but she fought valiantly against her captors and ran away. Luck had blessed her with her life that night even if it meant that her only weapon was now destroyed and she had nothing but the shredded clothes upon her body. Kikyo truly understood what it meant to be a normal woman now, and the curse that was placed upon her. She was defenseless, weak and wretched. She was also probably barren, and knew no trades aside from what she knew as a priestess. She prayed to every Kami she knew of that she wouldn't run into any demons on the way. She wouldn't be so lucky if one found her. The rest of her journey was filled with anxiety, hunger, and trepidation, but finally she was somewhere that she recognized intimately.

The thick foliage of trees finally broke ahead of her and she nearly cried in relief when she crested the hill that looked over the quaint village of Edo. Everything looked the same, but it was as if she was seeing it for the first time. The blood orange sky was a beautiful backdrop casting a soft glow to the straw covered little huts, but only one had really called out to her. Eyes brimming with tears she thanked the Kami for their mercies and took her first step down the hill. Suddenly her sight began to blur and she realized belatedly that it had nothing to do with her tears. Her head felt light and her body felt heavy, a combination she knew meant she would not be conscious for much longer. The last thing she'd recall from this moment is the faint sound of her name called in the distance and two large golden eyes staring down at her.

Kagome sighed as she sat atop of Inuyasha's back while he ran like the devil was on his tail. All the jostling was making her queasy. He was serious about reaching Edo within the day and thankfully they were almost there. Shippo who was running alongside them gave her a sympathetic smile knowing that she wasn't in the most comfortable position on this hellish run. She gave a small reassuring smile back to her now grown demon son. Looking above the trees she saw on one side Kirara with Sango and Miroku on her back and across from them AhUn being ridden by Rin and Jaken. Sesshomaru was basically a blimp on her radar way ahead of them all. He had said before taking off that it would be disgraceful for him to travel at their "pathetically slow" pace which of course had Inuyasha all revved up. Every now and again she heard him cursing his 'half-brother' under his breath and she couldn't help but chuckle every time.

Suddenly Kagome felt herself jerk forward hard enough to knock the air from her lungs. Before she could even think to question Inuyasha's sudden stop she was taking off again and would've fell off of her perch if it weren't for years of practiced grip. She started to feel Inuyasha's aura fluctuate crazily and wondered what was going on. Her attention was grabbed by Shippo as he once again ran beside them and this time there was a question in his gaze. With a shake of her head she confirmed that she had no idea what just happened. Closing her eyes she concentrated on their surroundings to see what was amiss. A frustrated grunt left her as she couldn't sense any kind of spiritual energy nearby aside from their groups.

'Then again maybe I'm thinking about this wrong…'

It just struck her that were only three things that's ever gotten him to be this focused…Naraku; which she knew it wasn't cause she would have definitely sensed him, jewel shards; which she knew were nowhere near them, or Kikyo. Searching for the fragment of her soul that animated the undead priestess, her brows furrowed deeply inward as she realized that it was almost completely encompassed by disparity and malevolence. Now, she's used this pseudo-connection with Kikyo before in the past, and although she's never felt rainbows and sunshine in her soul, she sure never encountered this level of hate. Even then the hate that she harbored was only superficial, beneath it was a level of hurt, sadness, and pain. She attributed that to her circumstances and the history that was shared between herself and Inuyasha, and ultimately it's what had humanized the undead priestess to Kagome.

Yeah, she had definitely felt for her plight then. Even after she couldn't hold a real grudge against her, but after this whole damn episode she couldn't say that she still had endless compassion for her. Regardless, the way that her soul felt so smothered with darkness really concerned her, and was probably what Inuyasha was reacting to. The confusing part of this scenario was that she was definitely close enough to the other piece of her soul to feel Kikyo's spiritual pressure but she was not able to pick up one shred of her reiki.

'What the hell is going on? Why can't I sense her aura? Maybe something really bad happened…' Kagome thought to herself.

Just as she finished that last thought they came to another sudden stop and all of them were struck by the sight that met them.

About 20 feet away stood a woman on the top of the small hill that stood over Edo. Her clothes were in utter disrepair, and even completely missing in some areas. Her hair was matted and filthy, skin covered in dirt and grime. Her eyes were full of unshed tears as she leaned heavily on a large almost broken stick, probably because she had no strength left to move judging by the way she was struggling to breathe. Though she looked like death warmed over, there was no possibility of mistaking just who it was standing on that hill.

Kikyo.

The moment of shock was short-lived for Kagome because though it was a shocking thing to behold, she knew that Kikyo had to be in pain. She might not feel close to the golem but she couldn't just sit idly by and let someone suffer. It just wasn't in her personality. Only as soon as she started walking towards her, Kikyo's eyes rolled back and her knees buckled.

"KIKYO!" Inuyasha shouted seconds before he ran to her side, catching her just as she was about to hit the ground.

A deep sigh escaped Miroku as he poked at the dying flames inside of Kaede's hut. Putting down the poker he rubbed at the bridge of his nose attempting to ease the migraine he had. It had been a bustle of activity and confusion as soon as they encountered Kikyo upon the hill. Inuyasha took off with her directly to Kaede's hut and shortly thereafter lost himself to a panic attack. It was most unexpected and even with he and Shippo attempting to calm him, it ultimately took two 'sits' and a blow from Lord Sesshomaru to put him out. He was now resting with an ofuda to ensure that he wouldn't go berserk once he awoke.

Kagome was currently in the privacy of the back room with Kaede looking in on both Sango's and Kikyo's health. It was also strange because of their little priestess' urgency to care for Kikyo even after everything that's happened. Smiling wryly to himself he supposed he forgot to take into account her personality. She'd never allow someone to suffer if she could do something to help. Shippo had left the hut just a few moments ago to see Rin off. Both she and Lord Sesshomaru were leaving and he wasn't sure if they'd be back. He'd have to ask the Shippo when he came back.

A weak groan caught his attention and he looked over at the unconscious Inuyasha. Sighing once more he leaned back against the wall of the hut and wondered how Sango was doing. Now that they were back in the village he could get their nuptials blessed by Lady Kaede making them official. She might even be carrying his future progeny…the thought filled him with a kind of joy he's never felt before.

'Calm down Miroku 'ol boy. Even if she isn't, we would just have to keep trying after all. Children are a miracle from the Kami, and the making of them is not that bad either.' The monk thought to himself with a lecherous grin. Keeping his mind distracted by these chains of thought he missed the return of their kitsune companion and the exasperated expression across his face. The pervert would never change.

A/N: IIIIIII'mmmmm BAAAAAACK!