Chapter 2

Two Years Later

Kagome pulled on her boots as she headed out to her first day at the Academy. When she'd dressed that morning she'd made sure to cover almost every scar. A grey turtle neck t-shirt, a pleated skirt, knee high socks, ¾ length jacket, fingerless elbow length gloves, and bandages to her knees, so that only her face and knees were showing. On her way she passed Asuma without a single word passing between them. The weight of the silence pressed on her but she needed him to be safe, he had people cared about him and needed him.

She entered the Academy compound with a flood of parents and students. Mothers pulled their children back and whispered cursed to each other. To the left side of the courtyard there was another boy sitting on the swing alone, it appeared they were shunning him too. With her powers she could see the spirit of a man with his hand resting on the boy's shoulder protectively. The spirit met her eyes with a caring gaze that reminded her of the great leaders she had met on her previous journey. A small amount of curiosity bubbled up within her. Why was the boy all alone and who was the spirit behind him? She decided that it was better for her to go into the classroom rather than stand outside with others that hated her. The room was empty so she found a seat in the back in the shadows and waited. A few minutes later a stream of students came in behind Iruka, the chunnin in charge of her class.

"Welcome, students, today you start your journeys to becoming ninjas. Let's begin with…." She tuned him out and just stared out the window at a nearby tree branch. A spider was building its web where the branch and trunk came together. Images of her past, the spider mark on Kagura's back, the same mark in blood by her door, and the scars on her back where Naraku had carved the word on her. She turned her mind back to Iruka trying to push those thoughts from her mind. "Class dismissed."

Kagome took the books that had been handed out at some point and headed to the library. The best part about the library on the Academy grounds was that the only people who came around the Library were ninjas who normally kept to themselves. She returned her last book and found a scroll on midrange taijutsu. After checking it out she went to her secret place in the woods, an abandoned shrine that had been left in disrepair. No one came around that area of the woods anymore. The first thing she went through were the ninjutsu she'd been working on for a week and then when she knew she couldn't do more safely she moved on to the taijutsu scroll. Once she was thoroughly tired she sat down and moved on to her actual homework from Iruka. It was all first days stuff. She lied about half of it. Before she left to return home she visited the small memorial she'd created in the back of the shrine with drawings she'd done of her friends and the last pictures she had of her surrogate family.

On her way home she passed by one of her classmates, Sasuke, and his father working on a jutsu. At first there was a warm tugging at her heart and then she watched his father walk away when he couldn't complete it. An unknown yet familiar emotion threatened to spill over. She turned and walked to her home quickly. Only when the door was closed behind her did she let herself remember. She had never been good enough for him. It was always Kikyo this or Kikyo that. Had he ever seen her as more than just a copy of the original? Right before she went to bed she looked out at the new moon and it brought fresh emotion to her eyes. Inuyasha was human on the night of the new moon and it always made him worse. But she had loved him. Loved his human side, his demon side, she loved him for everything he was. That was the long time ago, though, and there was no Inuyasha anymore.

Thinking about caring for people no matter who they were, she couldn't help but think of Asuma. No matter what she said to him or how she acted toward him he was always kind to her. Whenever he caught her out after dark he would lecturer her and insist on walking her home. It made her want to laugh. She remembered when he caught her last week and forced her to find yet another route home.

"Kagome!" someone called sternly.

She turned to see Asuma running after her. "What?" she asked curtly suppressing the need to roll her eyes at him.

"What have I told you about being out after dark? It-"

"Isn't safe for a girl my age to wonder out alone, I know. The dark can't harm anyone, I've seen worse any way." She said walking away.

"Look, Kagome, I'm just worried about you. You've changed and I'm worried that you're holding because you're scared of something but you can trust us, trust me. This village is your home now, Kagome. Let us help you, let us take care of you." Asuma pleaded. "We can protect you."

"No you can't, you can't protect me, and you can't 'save' me. So just go because I can't help you either. Just leave me alone." The decrescendo in her voice gave away exactly how she felt as she started to run. He could have caught up with her if he had wanted but her words shocked him. What did she think was going to happen? More importantly, the thought crossed his mind that it might have something to do with the murder of her adoptive family.

Looking up at the moon still she wondered what he was doing right now. He had been kind enough to try to take care of her. That was the reason she couldn't let him get to close, she couldn't watch him die too. She curled herself into a ball and tried to force herself into a deep sleep. Nightmares took her the moment her eyes closed. Blood was everywhere, dripping from the walls and in deep pools. The scene was almost too familiar and then she recognized it. A scream ripped itself from her throat. Kasumi, Fumio, and baby Ai's bodies were scattered across the floor. Her last family, the last people she'd let in, were dead because she'd let them in. She fell to her knees, not caring about the blood that splashed up on to her, and sobbed.

"See what you've done now, little miko, you've killed them?" a deep voice asked behind her. "They could have lived happily but then you came into their lives. And while they were being killed," the scene changed, "you were out being a foolish child." Fresh tears fell down her cheeks as she watched herself laughing and talking with Asuma and then hearing the screams in the background. "You didn't even try to protect them, instead you left them to die."

Kagome felt as he ran a claw down her arm not breaking the skin then in a flash he flicked his arm back and slashed down my back. Her mouth opened in a silent scream. The act angered the man. He reeated the act over and over till she was moments from bleeding to death. How many times had this actually happened? How many times had he brought her this close to death? He laughed and left her there, near death and surrounded by the empty, soulless bodies of those she loved. This was the best torture he'd ever have. He knew her heart well and he knew that in this place he could use it against her.

"You will pay for this, Naraku." She whispered brokenly.

"There is the strength I remember. Keep it. I want to see it fade from your eyes when I finally get my victory." He rubbed her cheek gently before leaving.

"Naraku!" she yelled as she tried to push herself up.

She awoke tangled in her sheets hours before dawn. Between her sweat and her tears her sheets were soaked. There would be no more sleep she decided so she got up and showered hoping to wash away the smell of sweat. After her shower she stared at the mirror tracing each of the scars she could see with her eyes. Pain still radiated from each of them even though she had not received a new one in two years. She brushed the tangles out of her mop of inky black hair before getting dressed and leaving for the day. By the time she was on the main road through the forest the sun was just coming up.

The light didn't reach the back of the shrine but she lit her candles and prayed anyway. "Please forgive me. I will avenge you I swear. I just need more time to prepare myself and get stronger. I need to be stronger so that I have the strength to kill him with my own two hands."

Three Years Later

Kagome entered the Academy passing the chaos of her classmates to get to her seat in the back. The girls in her class were fighting over who got to sit next to Sasuke Uchiha, he last of his clan, and the most popular boy in class. Her heart ached for him. His family had been killed a year ago. Naruto, the other villager outcast, jumed in front of Sasuke and glared. It actually made her smile until she saw the guy behind Naruto start to move. Just as the blonde started she threw her book between them. The girls screamed and the boys looked in her direction.

"Can I have my book back? Please?" she asked.

Sasuke picked it up and threw it back to her. Iruka came in with a list of their new teams which automatically silenced the room. Every once in a while Sasuke would look over at the mystery that always sat in the back. When she had asked for her book back was the first time anyone had heard her speak. She is just like me, she has nothing left. Is that why she never speaks? Who is Kagome Higurashi? He thought as Iruka named each of the teams and their jounin leader.

"Team 7, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzimaki, and Kagome Higurashi…."