Summary: Her time spent in the past had changed her- she's stronger, yet that kindness in her never changed. The last thing Kagome expected upon returning back to the modern era was to be invited to participate in an event called the Dark Tournament, yet she accepts Sesshoumaru's offer regardless of other plans. How was she to expect that she'd cross paths with her cousin while there?
Pairing: Kur/Kag ; [Slight] SessKag.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho, nor any musical lines, quotes and such. Each belongs to their respective owners.
Prologue
A gentle breeze swept through the courtyard and swayed throughout the Goshinboku tree. Hearing a few chirping birds, Kagome glanced up from the book she had resting on her crossed legs in order to gaze up at the tree she rested peacefully against. A mild smile was present on her face for a moment as she listened to the gentle songs the birds sang.
It felt odd, to say the least. To have this sort of peace hovering around her. While not unwelcome, it certainly felt unusual after the past year she's had. At the thought, her expression shifted into a more somber one, and she downcast her gaze back to the book she'd been reading up until that moment. Her fingers thumbed at the pages, gently leafing through them in an almost absent-minded manner. A second later, she pushed the book away and set it on the ground beside her, picking up the broom she had been using earlier.
After the well had sealed up, and her adventures of running around the past with a rag-tag group of friends on the verge of always dying had come to their final end, she was having issues going back to her usual life from before. Surely it didn't help that she now lived by her lonesome at the big, spacey shrine. Sure, it was soothing, but it also seemed so empty.
She'd been back for a mere four months so far, and it already felt like an eternity to her. School was the same, but that was about it. Those four months of silence and lonesome emotions had passed by blissfully slow for her, tick-tocking away on an invisible clock that rang out loudly in her head seemingly every other hour. Serving as a purpose to remind her that she had no company other than herself there.
She had been sweeping the concrete of the shrine, the place that was her childhood home, when a familiar face came into her vision. She had all but dropped the broom and sprinted to the goofy and lovable ginger-haired boy. He met her with a large, strong hug as he crushed her against his chest protectively.
"Kazuma," Kagome whispered as she held her younger cousin tight against her, unable to fight the strong prick and sting of hot liquid building up behind her lower lid. She could feel as he tightened his hold on her, as if he knew she was resting on the verge of crying, as he gave a laugh in an attempt to make her giggle along with him. It worked, and he tugged away from her as he heard her bell-like laugh ring out joyfully around them.
"I'm sorry it's been so long since I came to visit, Kagome," he said. "You've gotta know that I've been planning to for months now, but…" he paused and looked down. "Things have just been so insane lately, like you wouldn't believe."
Kagome met his apologetic expression with a soft smile as she reached her hands up to cup the sides of his face. "You don't need to apologize to me, Kazuma," she said. "You have school, and your own life to live. I can't really expect a visit every week like I used to."
"But you deserve to spend time with somebody more than a couple times a year," he responded quietly, looking down in guilt when he realized just how long it'd been.
"It's fine," she hummed softly, pressing her hands against his cheeks and squeezing them with a giggle. Once his attention went back to her face, she let her hands fall finally. "It's peaceful here, and that helps a lot," she reassured him.
His brown eyes met guarded blue before he downcasted his gaze to the concrete ground. "Look," he began, and Kagome could sense one of his worried speeches coming on. "I know every time I ask, I get the same answer from you, but are you okay?" he asked. "Ever since a year or so ago, you've changed way too much. You're no longer the Kagome that raised hell with my sister, but…" he met her eyes once more before sighing loudly. He raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Ah… you know I'm no good with all this mushy crap," he said after a second. "I just want to know why you're so different."
Kagome was silent for a good while as his words sank in. The answer was complicated, not that he was expecting a simple one for any reason. After a few seconds, she felt her lips tilt upwards in a tiny smile. "Your sentiments are sweet but unneeded, Kazuma," she assured softly. She crossed her arms and sighed. "People change, and it's inevitable. I've changed, but it's not for anything bad," she said then. "Some things are just out of our control."
He seemed to take her explanation well enough, and he backed off the subject. "If you got some time, how about we go get some lunch and catch up, huh?" he asked. "I'll buy!"
Kagome rolled her eyes and nodded. "Alright. Let me change and we'll go." With those words, Kagome turned on her heel and made her way to the large shrine house. She made it a few steps before he ran ahead of her, and it made her laugh loudly as she chased after him.
She made it through the door, listening to his boisterous cries and laughs of, "I win!" and laughed along with him as she told him to wait in the den of the house while she bounded upstairs.
They had spent the entire day catching up while sitting in a local fast-food restaurant. He told her in great detail about how Yusuke was doing, and Kagome found herself glad that the two had become close friends as opposed to being rivals as they were once upon a time. He told her about two new friends, a man by the name of Kurama and another by the name of Hiei. He seemed to consider the second as more of a pain than a friend, though. As they were making their way back to the shrine, he took to telling her about his sister and how she was doing before turning to talk about a young girl by the name of Yukina. The way he spoke of her made her believe that he truly found her to be nothing less than perfect.
Their day together wound down to an end, and Kagome eventually waved her cousin away before it got too late. He turned back at the bottom of the steps before shouting out a promise he'd come by again sooner and stay a bit longer. Kagome flashed him a smile, even though he couldn't see it from this distance, and threw her arm up in a goofy wave.
"You better, you fool!" She shouted back and heard his booming laugh as she made her way back to her home.
She was rather lucky, she didn't have to worry about the volume as much anymore. A few months before the well sealed up completely, her mother had left the shrine in her name and took her brother to live in England in hopes of a better job position.
She hummed under her breath as she made her way inside the shrine, turning to lock the door securely behind her. She flicked the lights on and sat down at the kitchen table, hearing nothing but calming silence spreading out around her. Kagome slid her eyes closed and leaned forward, resting her head against the hardwood table before her. She stayed like that for a good while, letting time tick by slowly until she lost track of it. When she brought herself back to reality, Kagome sat up and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
Midnight had come and gone, and it was now nearing two in the morning.
Kagome sighed and got up, about to make her way upstairs to take a bath, until a presence outside her door caught her attention. She paused in her walking and traced over the aura it leaked until she was sure they weren't a threat. It was familiar to her, so she made her way to the door and unlatched the lock so she could open it.
Once the door had been opened and moved out of the way, Kagome's eyes instantly met a striking pair of molten gold. She gasped, almost shocked by the appearance of the silver-haired demon, but smiled two seconds after.
"Sesshoumaru…" she whispered, knowing that he could hear no matter how quietly she spoke to him. He nodded to her in response and pushed her out of the way so he could have the room to enter through the doorway.
"I have a request for you, Miko." He commented after several minutes of silence. His deeper voice tore the remnants of silence to shreds. His words caught her attention, and Kagome made her way into the kitchen. He followed a few paces behind and leaned against the counter as he watched her make tea for the two of them.
"What is this favor?" Kagome finally asked him once she had turned back to face him, waiting patiently for the tea kettle to heat up.
"If I were to ask you to fight by my side, and by the side of three others, would you?"
"That depends on what kind of fight." She responded and watched as a smirk tilted on his lips. "And who those three others are."
"There is this tournament that I have been requested to participate in, and, as annoying as it is, it would appear that I have no way to get myself out of it."
"Surprising." Kagome gave a humorless chuckle, "Something you can't smooth talk yourself out of… that's scary." The tea kettle gave a loud whistle, and Kagome turned her attention to it, pouring the steaming water into two cups and preparing the tea for the two of them. She handed him his cup and sat down at the table. He soon followed suit and balanced his chin on the back of his hand. Their eyes met and silence built up around them once more.
"Would you be willing to fight by my side, Miko?" He asked her once more.
"I've done it before, and probably against worse possible opponents in the not-so-distant, but distant past." Kagome responded with a shrug, sipping lightly on her tea, "I don't see why this tournament would change up my allegiance and abilities."
"Very well." He nodded at this and stood up, "We will discuss this more in the morning. I'd rather you be somewhat rested before I try to explain to you. You'd forget come morning if you were to be told as you are now."
Kagome rolled her eyes at his weak-hearted insult to her. He could have, and has, said worse to her. She stood up and set their dishes into the sink, making a mark in her mind to do them come tomorrow, before heading upstairs.
If she knew the silver-haired dog demon as well as she did, and she did, then he would take up a position outside for the night in the Goshinboku branches. It was one small way that he was like Inuyasha.
With a small shake of her head, Kagome made her way upstairs.
When the sun rose the next morning, slim and bold rays tinted with hues of yellow and peach shone through the opening of her floral printed curtains. Kagome gave a grunt of distaste at being woken so soon after she had fallen asleep and merely turned her back to the source of light.
She stayed like that for a long while, unable to let herself fall back under sleep's lovely spell. Her eyes bore into the striped wall her bed rested against, counting the amount of blue and the number of white stripes. Her mind became plagued with bittersweet thoughts as she replayed the events of her dreams over time and time again in her mind. It was always the same, never-ending, and stuck on a loop.
She blinked away the memories of red-stained figures and slowly lifted herself in an upwards position, bending her arms back behind her to give herself support. The clock on her wall caught her eye, and Kagome sat and watched as the hands continued to move forward. For a moment, she felt the same as she did when she was fifteen. Those feelings soon faded away when her eyes graced the sight of an out-of-date calendar thrown haphazardly onto the floor behind her door.
Kagome sighed as she shook her head, throwing her legs out from under the covers, as she stood up. She tugged her shorts down a bit and fixed her shirt before leaving her room. She didn't bother with tending to the mess that was her hair, the dark locks falling in tangled curls and sticking up a bit in the back. On silent feet, she made her way down the stairs. The sight of Sesshoumaru drinking a cup of coffee at her kitchen table greeted her.
She paid him no mind, ignoring him even when he quirked an eyebrow at her appearance, as she went to the fridge. Kagome tugged the door open and dug around in the contents until she finally grasped a carton of orange juice. Not bothering to get a glass from the cabinet right beside her, Kagome hopped up on the counter and took a swig right out of the carton.
"Morning," she finally greeted the silver-haired demon smirking at her.
"Aren't you a classy one?" He stood from the table and put his now empty mug into the sink.
"What's it matter to you?" Kagome snorted and took another drink of her juice. "There isn't anyone else who lives here, so if I want to drink out of the carton, I will." She watched as he shook his head, his smirk widening before it vanished. Her mind went back to the conversation they had last night and she nodded in his direction. "Oh yeah, what were you going on about last night? That tournament, or whatever it was?"
Sesshoumaru came to lean against the counter she resided on, taking the place right next to her. He gave a sigh, it being a sound of irritation at recalling the tournament. "It will take place in a month's time, I believe. If you agree to help, then I will not need to find a suitable fifth fighter. As it stands, you were my last choice."
"Glad to see you hold me in high regard," Kagome commented sarcastically and placed her near-empty carton of juice down on the counter.
"It isn't that," Sesshoumaru glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Instead, it is because you are human. I'd rather not bring a human to a tournament filled with demon competitors and audience members. Let's not forget the Shikon Jewel embedded within your heart. It is dangerous to have you in an arena where someone else cannot come to your side if you are in a life-compromising position." He crossed his arms and turned his head to face her completely. "I am well aware you are a capable fighter, and a strong opponent, but you would already have votes pitted against you for who you are and your kind."
Kagome shrugged at this and sighed, "I can see your point, I suppose."
"But there is one reason why you were even on my list of suitable allies for this, and that is because you are a miko." Sesshoumaru pushed himself away from the counter and made his way outside, motioning for Kagome to follow him. "Even though you can wear yourself out and deplete your spiritual energy if you rely on it too much, your abilities of purification and healing are useful. We have a month's time to train you in hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting. I'd prefer to get started as soon as you are ready."
Kagome came to a pause in her walking and looked at him in disbelief. "You haven't even told me who the other three people on the team are. Will they even be okay having a miko fight with them?"
"They are people familiar with you, so they do not mind it too much."
"Who?"
"It doesn't amount to importance right now," he responded, not even bothering to look at her. "You will know by the time the tournament starts."
Kagome fixed a glare dead center in his back as she bit her tongue to keep from speaking. It would seem that the conversationalist Sesshoumaru had receded back inside the quiet and discreet Sesshoumaru… joy. She sighed and shook her head.
"Let me change and I'll be ready to start."
"Good," was the only response she got as she made her way to her room.
Fifteen minutes passed before Kagome returned back outside. Her previously messy hair had been pulled back in a long braid that now fell down her back to her waistline. She had changed out of her sleeping clothes and into a pair of indigo-colored hakama and a white haori. On her feet were a pair of ice-white satin slippers. She had neglected the idea of retrieving her bow from the top shelf of her closet, seeing as though it would do no good in hand-to-hand and sword training.
She wasn't completely new to the concept of sword fighting, nor was she new to hand-to-hand. Both had been something semi-taught to her during her trips to the other side of the well. Sango had taken it upon her to help her friend become more skilled than just being capable of using a bow and her spiritual powers.
Kagome shook her head before making her way over to Sesshoumaru. She stilled herself when he turned to face her.
"You are much quieter than you used to be," he observed.
"Getting rid of the loafers helped." Kagome shrugged and looked down at her feet. The shoes she now primarily wore were easier to be quiet in, and were a bit easier to move around comfortably in.
"Are you ready?"
Kagome looked up just in time to catch the sheathed sword he tossed her way. She ran her hand up the length of it before removing it from its sheath, setting the covering out of the way. After a second, she nodded. "I suppose I am."
Auroua-chan: IY and YYH crossovers will always have a special place in my heart. Two of my all-time favorite animes.
The pairing might be Kagome and Kurama, but there will be slight SessKag.
This is a revamped version of an older story I did before.
Anyway, that's it for now. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed. Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry.
Please remember to Review&Favorite&Follow, thank you!
Bye for now~