This isn't possible. She's standing here in front of me, after 5 years... Kagome looked up and smiled, her nude body now completely devoid of scars. She looks like a porcelain doll. "Sesshomaru." her smile got even wider as tears streamed down her face. Sesshomaru pulled away. "You are not Kagome."
The smile instantly faded from her face and her eyes grew dark. "How did you know?" He shook his head. "Kagome would be angry if she had been waiting this long, she's always been impatient. She doesn't cry either. Never has...never will." "Hmmmmm, do you not wish for me to assume this form then?" she asked. "No, I don't." "Then, how about this one?" she purred as her body transformed, Kagome's features disappearing. Short, red hair replaced the black and her skin became tanner. Her eyes now gleamed a mischievous green and a smile spread across her face. "Better?" "No. Who are you?" he asked emotionlessly, the excitement of possibly seeing Kagome once again quickly receding. "Hmmm, you've never heard of me? This is saddening, for both of us." she said, turning around. "I demand to know who you are!" he shouted, losing his patience. "Temper, temper, Lord Sesshomaru." she giggled. "Show me your true form." She stopped instantly once more, looking at him from over her shoulder. "I have only revealed myself to one person. One person whose intentions were pure, who did not wish to seek me out for another tale to tell their friends or to take me back and sell as a slave. One person..." she tightly hugged herself as her voice faded off. Then she smiled sadly. "One person who saw me for me immediately. Whose story was even more sad than mine, yet reached out to me anyway. A story of loss, gain, and loss once more. Yes, one person. One person who also reached through the darkness into your heart as well." Their gazes met once more as Sesshomaru whispered, "Kagome." The woman nodded. "You are the Lost Lady." Once more she nodded. "This forest is full of restless spirits whose lives were taken unexpectedly, whose love was taken or forbidden, like mine. When someone enters my forest, they become angry of the dark intentions people who travel here have. These restless souls are able to look into the heart of travelers and figure out their intentions, as well as their worst fears. If deemed unworthy of visiting me, which most are, the spirits take the form of their worst fears in order to frighten them away." "How was I able to make it through?" Sesshomaru asked. "You are a strange case, Lord Sesshomaru. You had no intentions whatsoever. None to harm, nor to gain. I asked the spirits to allow you passage because I could feel it, the similarity between yours and Kagome's souls. I wanted to meet you, to see why Kagome had come for a black rose. And I see it now." she smiled once more. "Yours is a truly sad story." Sesshomaru nodded and turned to leave. "Lord Sesshomaru. Think for a moment before you return to your palace. You may not have a chance like this again." he turned, confused as to what she was saying. "I did say restless souls that had love taken from them resided here, didn't I? You'd be foolish if you didn't realize just how much she cared for you." Sesshomaru's eyes widened as his gaze shifted to the ground. "Lord Sesshomaru, I'll make you a deal. You drop your mask, and I'll drop mine. Show you my true form. Share with me your true feelings for Kagome, I wish to know what love feels like once more. Mine is gone..." Sesshomaru thought for a moment and then nodded. He sat down on the ground and crossed his legs, the tattered remains of his kimono blowing gently in the wind.
"I had met her on a boring day, during my boring childhood. A complete normal day that changed my life forever. There she was, bleeding, right in front of my eyes, yet she wasn't asking for help or pleading for death. She was willing to accept any fate handed to her with poise, and that piqued my interests. We had grown close extremely fast, yet she still seemed distant, though I couldn't tell why. But upon reaching Lord Ikkoku's castle, I was told that she had been faking the whole time. That she had never truly cared for me. But she saved my life. And as she lay dying in my arms she assured me that she never truly wanted to hurt me. She handed me the black rose and..." "You didn't believe that, did you?" she asked quietly. Her attention was completely turned towards Seshomaru's confession. Sesshomaru was quiet. "I don't know..." The Lost Lady shot up from her seat in front of Sesshomaru and balled her fists by her sides. "Why would she have come here if she hadn't wanted to get the rose, so she could possibly return to your side?! Are you a fool? Kagome couldn't possibly tell you all of this, sharing feelings was hard for her! You noticed that, didn't you? Didn't you-" "Even though I had doubts, I still loved her. And I still do, even now..." he faded off. The Lost Lady stood there silently as her arms relaxed back down to her sides. She smiled softly. "Lord Sesshomaru, I have one more proposition for you." He slowly looked up again at her understanding expression. "I am a keeper of lost souls, though I am one myself. I can not just give spirits back to the physical world. However, maybe I could, just this once.." Sesshomaru stood up quickly. "But that would mean..." "Her physical body still resides here, healed by her twin. Yet her soul dwells in my forest. Find her soul and bring it here," she gestured to the glowing orb she herself at come from. "and she will be returned to you. That's the best I can do." Sesshomaru nodded as she started walking away. "Wait," he called. "what about your end of the deal?" She smirked at him. Then, she was changing. Her body, manner, and expression rapidly changing between male and female, happy and sad. "I am the embodiment of those who have come and gone through this forest. That is all you need to know." Kagome's face flashed through the montage of faces before the Lost Lady disappeared in a flash of light.
Just wait a little longer, Kagome. I will find you. And this time, I'm not letting you go.