Chapter One
Thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers!
Sisana: Thank you for finding time to review for me, it means so much that you still watch my stuff.
lil-kag0m3: I'm sorry it took me over two weeks to update, but I've had a bunch of stuff to catch up on for school, and with Christmas coming, finals are right around the corner, but after that, I hope things will slow down enough to give me LOTS of writing time. I'm glad you like Kagome and Koga, and I am honored to know that I am on your alert list. Bows Thank you for taking the time to read and review my fic.
Inuyashbich: Thank you for the review, I hope you enjoy this new chapter.
Youkai99Angel: Thank you, I'm glad to have been able to come up with something original. Hope to hear from you after this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own and of the Inu Co, but I do own Mayoka, who appears later in this chapter.
Kagome's eyes opened slowly. It was cold already; she would need to get out her blanket. Her chocolate orbs disappeared again as she sighed. The sun hadn't come up yet, but the horizon was slowly lightening. The Miko wasn't ready to rise just yet.
A large, rough tongue ran across her cheek seconds later. She batted the youkai's muzzle away. "Come on, Hokori, it's not even sunrise yet!" The Miko smiled and flipped onto her side, facing away from the Neko's head. He didn't give up, nudging her back moments later. The woman laughed and sat up. "Alright, alright, I'm awake for good." She rubbed his head affectionately. Hokori closed his blue orbs and purred in pleasure.
"Breakfast?" Kagome asked a few minutes later. The Neko nodded, rising to his feet. The Miko turned to the dead fire and suddenly froze. The memories of the night before snapped to the front of her mind. "Koga…" she breathed. Hokori stopped his walk to look at his master. His eyes seemed to ask "What?" The woman snapped out of her trance and turned to the youkai. "We don't have time, we've got to move, Hokori." She got to her feet, grabbing her bow and quiver of arrows as she ran at the Neko.
"We've got to head north, now." The Miko jumped onto his back. He roared before jumping into the air, ice crystals flaring around his feet to keep him in the sky. Kagome stared straight ahead as her stomach tied in knots, trying to kill all of the butterflies living there. What if I do find him? Her eyes closed, and a vision on her last encounter with him came into view.
"Inu-Yasha!" She screamed as he again jumped at the large youkai in front of him. The hanyou was already badly wounded, with blood dying his haori and hakama a deeper red. The priestess winced as Inu-Yasha was thrown to the ground again.
"I'll kill you!" He yelled, attacking the youkai again. A laugh that was mixed with a growl came from the youkai as its jaws closed around Inu-Yasha's transformed Tetsusaiga. The hanyou's golden eyes widened in surprise and then fear as the Fang began to crack. "No…" The blade shattered, sending thousands of crystals into the air. The hanyou slowly began to fall backward, his eyes flashing red as he fell.
"INU-YASHA!" Kagome screamed, running forward to catch the fallen boy. She fell to her knees at his side, unsure of what state she would find the hanyou in. "Inu-Yasha, can you hear me?" She stroked his bangs off of his forehead. "Oh Inu-Yasha…"
The priestess gasped as an extremely long clawed had grabbed her wrist. "Inu—Inu-Yasha?" She stammered. His eyes snapped open, blood red eyes with aqua pupils staring back at her. His breath was hot as her pulled her closer to his face. She winced as his claws bit into her wrist. His growls shook her; his eyes melting her.
It was a stand off.
"Inu-Yasha…?" She breathed again. His eyes snapped back into focus. He gave and unnatural battle cry as he flipped her over so that her back was against the ground with him over her. He pulled his left arm back, his claws flashing. Kagome shrieked as pain ripped through her stomach and chest. Her tear-filled eyes slowly opened.
He knelt over her now. His left hand covered in blood. Her blood she realized in horror. He snarled again as he flexed his arm, ready to finish his attack. She closed her eyes again, waiting.
"KAGOME!" Another male voice shouted. Her eyes blinked open again as the weight of the hanyou was torn off her.
"Kagome, are you alright?" Sango asked, dropping to the younger girl's side. The Taijiya's eyes narrowed as she saw the four large gashes running across her best friend's body. Kagome smiled around her grimace.
"That bad, hu?" The priestess turned her head away. "Don't let him get away, Sango. Pleas bring him back…"
The memory faded then. Kagome had fainted, the later workings of that day lost to her. The Miko sighed slowly as she raised her left wrist to her face. The scar was still there; five circles, from the hanyou's deadly claws. The Miko wrapped her arms around Hokori's neck as she rested her cheek against his fur.
Sango and Miroku had been too worried about her to go after Inu-Yasha as he ran off. Kagome remembered waking up two days later, calling for the hanyou. The Taijiya was the only one left in the hut at the time; it hadn't taken much to get away, Sango had felt bad for her friend. Kagome guessed the older girl had figured she wouldn't make it far.
She was wrong.
Kagome had grabbed her bow and arrows, ignoring her pain, as she made her way out of the village and into the forest. There the priestess had met up with Kuroro, receiving Hokori as a gift. The Neko had taken to the injured girl immediately, helping her get away. The priestess went after Inu-Yasha, never looking back, promising not to return until she had found the hanyou.
"Are you alright Hokori?" Kagome asked. The Neko turned his head slightly to look up at the woman. He growled lightly. "Good," she sighed, sitting up again. Her mind wandered to Kikyo, as she knew Inu-Yasha's so often used to. What had happened to the older Miko? Was she really dead? She wouldn't have let Inu-Yasha get away… Kagome set her jaw defiantly. I can't think like that now, I'll bring him back. "Come on, Hokori, let's hurry." Kagome said, fisting her hands into the thick fur of the Neko's neck. He roared as the crystals around his paws grew, and he ran through the air quicker.
((Across A Land))
The Taijiya sighed as the Houshi came back to her side. Her hand tightened on her large bone boomerang as they continued to walk. "How can she keep going, alone?" Sango asked. Miroku shook his head slowly, sadly.
"She is more determined than ever, Lady Sango." He replied. She sighed again as she lowered her head.
"It's all my fault, all of it."
"Now, now, nothing is your fault." He placed a hand on her shoulder. Her teeth grinded together before she threw herself into the man's chest. He was surprised at her sudden action, but soon wrapped his arms around her. "Sango…"
"I let her go, I didn't stop her." The Taijiya sobbed into his robes. He rubbed her back lightly, shushing her softly.
"Kagome made her own choice, Sango." He tried to comfort her. The woman pulled away then, wiping her eyes.
"You're right, Miroku, and now we must make our own." Her eyes danced with unshed tears, as she stared into the grey eyes of the man.
"What are you saying Sango?" His eyes were filled with question.
"It's been three years; Kagome probably isn't even the same girl that left us to find Inu-Yasha." Her voice was harsh, but Miroku could tell she was fighting back tears.
"So you want to stop looking?" He asked softly.
"I need to move on, Kohaku is dead, and Kagome, Inu-Yasha, and Shippo have left. It is time for me to return home; time to rebuild the Taijiya village." She smiled slightly as her thin fingers stroked his cheek. "I'm sorry, Miroku, but I'm tired, tired of hurting."
He rested his hand over hers, gently stopping her motion. "As am I, dear Sango." He took a silent breath before he leaned forward, capturing her lips in a soft, warm kiss. At first she stiffened, but there was no alternative motive behind this kiss, and soon she relaxed into his touch.
Four years. He had waited four long years to be able to kiss her beautiful lips, and now he pulled away. "If you would allow me, my dear Sango, I would like to accompany you back to your village." He whispered.
She just stared at him for a second, unblinking. "Um, sure, if you'd like." She finally replied, coming out of her trance. He smiled.
"I'd like that very much." They smiled at each other until Kirara purred softly, rubbing against both of their shoulders with her large head. Sango turned to the youkai.
"Let's go then." She whispered. The Houshi nodded as he helped the woman onto her companion's back, before getting on behind her. "Come on, Kirara, it's time to go home." The Taijiya said as the Neko jumped into the sky.
((Across A Land))
Mayoka leaned down again to pick some more flowers. Her mother would be so happy to see all of the beautiful colors. The little girl straightened up as the wind picked up suddenly. Her chocolate hair stung her face and eyes as it whipped around in the wind. Her eyes widened, ignoring her pain, as a dark figure suddenly appeared standing on the hill in the distance.
She watched in a mix of terror and wonder as the new arrival lifted their hand, bringing darkness over the land. Lightning and thunder accented the silhouette as it suddenly began to move. Deadly long claws flashed in the lightning, as bloody red rubies locked with her own coal black orbs.
Mayoka's hand dropped the flowers back to the ground. An ear shattering scream echoed through the hills as the intruder reached her.
((Across A Land))
Hokori's ears twitched as Kagome's head turned to her right. "You heard that?" The Miko whispered. The Neko nodded slightly. "Come on, I sense death." She added almost silently. Hokori growled lightly, turning to follow the scent to the ground.
This was not the first time the Miko had followed a trail of death. It seemed every time she got a lead, he would have destroyed a path through the area. Many times as she buried the bodies and said prayers for their souls, she would wish to just move on, instead of letting him get a greater head start.
Hokori lightly landed in the middle of a burned out village. The Miko's hands clenched into fists in the youkai's fur in anger as her head lowered to chest. Her teeth grinded together as she screwed her eyes closed. "Damn it!" She yelled suddenly, her face rising up to the heavens. Her head slowly lowered again. He destroyed another village…
It was another second before the Miko relaxed slightly and got off the Neko's back. Her chocolate orbs scanned the wreckage slowly. I'd better get started on burying the dead then… She walked forward, Hokori following. Kagome stopped and lightly smiled at her companion. "Take a rest, go get some food, as soon as I'm done here, we'll be moving on." The woman pushed her way into the closest hut.
Kagome stood just inside the door. She listened as Hokori walked off, before starting to pull the family out of the hut. The blood was fresh; he had to of been here not long ago. As the Miko moved to the next hut, someone grabbed her ankle.
"Help—me." The man's rough voice called out. The Miko instantly dropped to her knees at the villager's side. She quickly looked over the wounds leaking blood. She applied pressure to the main gash across his chest.
There's no way he'll survive much longer. Kagome thought. She didn't allow her knowledge to show on her face.
"It was a youkai…" The villager stammered. "A youkai from hell…" His eyes unfocused, seeming to return to the scene. "It brought darkness and death…" The man's breath was becoming ragged. "It killed them all…they're all dead…" His heart stopped as the breath left his body forever.
Kagome slowly moved her bloody hands from the man's chest. It killed her to hear those things about her beloved hanyou; her beloved Inu-Yasha. "Rest in peace." She whispered.
Hokori returned suddenly, flying in from the air. "What is it?" The Miko asked, whirling to her friend. He wouldn't have flown the short distance unless there was a reason. He motioned with his head for her to follow. She did so without hesitation, the two sprinting out of the village, and toward a field filled with flowers.