I just noticed how short these chapters are. I've already got up to chapter 8, but after chapter 6 you might notice them take on a bit more length. Sorry about that!

Chapter 2: Memories and Surprises

By Leoncia (AisuKaze)

Kagome leaned against the truck of the Sacred Tree, her legs dangling off the great roots that peaked above the surface of the earth. She was currently wondering just what had made her want to find the Demon Lord. After a couple of hours she came to a conclusion: Sesshoumaru had a knack for finding InuYasha, no matter where the half-demon was at. She was sure he could find his half-brother now.

But another question plagued her. "Why would he want to?"

She, nor had any of the others, hadn't seen Sesshoumaru in months. Since the fight that lead Sesshoumaru to acquire his own sword, Bakusaiga, as well as the return of his left arm, Kagome had felt he had no more business with her little group until the final fight would be upon them.

The next question was: How would she find him? She didn't have the demonic senses that InuYasha had. Of course, Shippou did, but she was leaving him with Kaede for his own safety. Kagome was sure when the fox demon found out he would throw a fit, but she didn't care. She was going on her own.

Kagome sighed and thunked her head against the rough bark of the tree. To try and ease some of the pain she was feeling at the moment, Kagome brought forth happier memories to her mind.

She remembered Sango's laughter; Miroku's twinkling eyes and groping hands; InuYasha's rough nature and his face in the dirt; Shippou's tricks, and Kirara's happy mews.

She basically thought about everything that had happened over the course of the last six years. She somehow managed to graduate high school and intended to leave college for a later date. Her friends had grown in distance from her, and she couldn't blame them. Hojo had moved on, though only after a warning from InuYasha. Her trait of wearing her famous white and green school uniform had been abandoned by the first year. Her naïve mind had thought it was A-Okay to waltz around wearing that. As she grew older, and encountered a lot of trouble over the blasted thing, she started really coming to terms with what men were thinking.

It had taken InuYasha and Koga both almost killing a man for groping her as the group passed a band of traveling merchants. Koga had been traveling with them for some time for reasons of his own, until he was called back to his pack. InuYasha and he were fighting constantly and the grope came at the worst possible time.

They could almost stand it when Miroku would grope her. After all, he meant no harm and they realized it was a habit of his—one Sango continued to try and beat out of him. But a man they didn't know, and clearly had different intentions on his mind? One they could feel lust pouring from the man's body? They didn't stand for that in the slightest.

Sooner after Kagome had adopted a more conservative style and she was now wearing the clothes made to fit into this time era. She asked her mother to make her a priestess outfit that wouldn't make her a literal copy of Kikyou. Her mother was ecstatic at this, happy her daughter was maturing and growing out of the need to wear her uniform where ever she went.

Over time her mother had produced numerous priestess outfits for her daughter, each different from the last. The one she was currently wearing had deep green hakamas and a white haori. The stitching of the haori was the same deep green as her hakamas. Her mother had added flair with embroidery on the left sleeve of the haori in the shape of purplish-black flowers—Nightshade, her mother had called them. She wondered why her mother would put such a thing on her haori, but she didn't outright question it.

On top of all this, Kagome had also started taking lessons in combat some time ago, with Sango as her teacher. Sango was more amazing with the katana than Kagome could imagine, having thought her boomerang—Hiraikotsu –was the only weapon she was used to.

While Kagome was happy that InuYasha and the rest were willing to protect her, she felt the need to be able to do something more than fire purification arrows. She needed a way to protect her, and Shippou, from harm should a demon, or something else, broke through the line of defense that protected her.

What surprised Kagome the most though was when Miroku had begun teaching her how to use a staff, or another polearm should Kagome choose to wield one. He had told her it was because her natural stance she always had dropped into seemed more fit for a polearm than anything else. She had taken to it faster than she had with Sango teaching her the katana.

Kagome stopped her train of thought and chuckled, "Now if I could only find a decent spear to use, that would be just great, thanks." She cradled her head in her hands. What was she thinking? She didn't even have a katana, or hoped to find a decent one that lived up to InuYasha and Sango's approval. A spear was out of the question.

"Kagome?"

She looked up at the sound of her name to see Shippou walking towards her. The little kit had grown since she first met him. He now resembled a thirteen or fourteen year old human child, but Kagome had a feeling he was far older than that. He had grown from the size of a three year old, to someone ten years older than that in the span of four years.

She offered him a strained smile as she slid down the roots of the Sacred Tree. He stopped just short of the tree and looked at her, "Are you going home to prepare?"

Kagome nodded, "Soon, I will be. I want to talk to you first." She closed the distance between them and pulled the young demon to her, wrapping her arms around him in a fierce hug.

Not shocked by the action, Shippou returned her hug while speaking into her shoulder, "If this is about me staying behind you can forget it." Even though his voice was muffled, Kagome could hear the determination in his voice.

She sighed and laid her head on his, "Hearing how you just said that, I will forget it. You'll end up following me anyway, huh?"

"Damn right…" He was interrupted, "Language. InuYasha's rubbing off on your attitude way too much." Kagome scolded him.

She gave him another squeeze and let go. "I'll leave now, be back by tonight and we will leave in the morning. How's that sound?"

Shippou nodded and walked with her towards the well. As she climbed up on the lip his hand shot out to grab the fabric of her sleeve. A bit shocked, he let go as fast as he had grabbed it. He realized then that he was afraid Kagome would disappear like the rest of them had.

She gave him one last smile and fell into the well. Blue light wafted out of the shaft of the well, letting him know she didn't just smack into the bottom and break a bone or something.

Shippou gazed at the well for a moment before deciding to try it out for himself. He was a demon, what could it hurt? He wouldn't break anything from the fall. He swiftly hopped up onto the lip of the well and, as if he was just taking a stroll, stepped off into the inky blackness.

He landed with the grace expected of his kind and was surprised at the disappointment he felt with the lack of the blue light. He sighed and moved to jump from the well, his body crouching close to the ground as he prepared to jump.

Small white balls of light began to drift around him and he could feel the magic in the air. He sucked in a breath as the light began to move faster and faster until finally it released into the blinding blue he was familiar with whenever Kagome or InuYasha passed through.

"It worked!" he exclaimed before he was whisked away.

He felt himself drifting and the excited, nervous feeling he had when he was falling swelled within his stomach. The well walls were gone, replaced by a blue darkness with the same white lights as before racing past him. When his feet touched solid ground again, he heard a surprised gasp, that sounded an awful lot like his name, come from above him.

He looked up to find Kagome staring in shock at him. He quickly hopped from the well and landed behind Kagome, waiting for her to turn to face him.

And she did, her mouth moving as if she was a fish out of water.

"I know, right?" he said jokingly as he held his arms out, letting her see that he was fine and dandy.

"HOW? I thought only InuYasha and I could travel through the well!" she trotted to him and touched his face lightly with her hands.

"Don't ask me. I just got curious and wanted to try it. It didn't seem like it would take, until these… lights started coming from the bottom of the well."

Kagome nodded and placed a hand over her chest, trying to calm her heart down. Shippou grabbed her hand and began tugging her towards the door.

"This is going to be interesting…" she thought as he flung the doors to the well house open.