Yipyipyip! New chappie right herr, right herr!
I feel like I haven't updated this story in a while, so here it is!
I also started an AU chapter story. Check it out! It's "Hakidonmuya – Time of the Waiting Moon." Please R&R… I haven't had any reviews on that one yet. *insert sad face here*
As always, please review this chapter too… you'll totally make my life, pinky promise :D
It is easy to be brave from a distance. –Omaha proverb
DISCLAIMER: I totally own Sesshoumaru now. I know, you're wondering how I did it. Weeeelllllll, last night I went to sleep and a little while later he appeared and said he was mine. Strange, huh? Even weirder is that he was gone when I woke up…
But seriously I still don't. GAH!
....
I'm scared.
Not wanting to dwell on the thought, Kagome jumped into action. The task set to her by Sesshoumaru wouldn't be easy. First of all, she had no idea where his damned palace was.
I'm assuming somewhere… westward?
Second in her mind was the fact that she couldn't bring Sango and Miroku. They would never understand if she told them she was leaving so Sesshoumaru could teach her to kill things.
Oh, well. There's nothing that can be done.
She knew that Sesshoumaru wouldn't help her if she didn't follow his instructions to the letter.
Knowing her time was short, Kagome moved toward the camp as quickly as possible. Ducking under the brush, weaving between the trees, she tried to channel a little bit of Sesshoumaru's grace and speed.
Yeah. Right.
Once she reached the outskirts of the camp, she burst into a nervous sweat. If something went wrong now, she wouldn't get another chance.
The miko moved silently into the camp. She rolled up her sleeping bag and stuffed it into her yellow monster of a backpack. The miko grabbed her bow and quiver and prepared to make good her escape. She hesitated before she followed through.
I should leave something. They'll be worried.
She slipped the bag from her shoulder's trying not t make any noise. She reached into the back and pulled out an extra bottle of the shampoo she knew was Sango's favorite. Kagome placed it on a rock near the center of the camp where she knew it would not be missed.
The screams of her guilty conscience a bit quieter now, Kagome once again thought to leave the camp. Glancing to the right where she could see Sango curled up with Kirara and Miroku about five feet farther away, she stopped in her tracks. The taijiya slept soundly and the houshi was snoring as he dreamt of all the women that could bear his children. But one of them did not sleep.
Kirara followed Kagome with her eyes as she made to leave their campsite. She did nothing, just watching with sadness in her eyes. Kagome could almost hear her thoughts.
So you're leaving us, too?
At the same time, the miko felt an aura of old wisdom about the fire neko. She seemed to know that Kagome wouldn't leave without a good reason.
Or maybe she was making it up to make herself feel better. Either way, she had to go.
Seeing that Kirara would do nothing to stop her, Kagome gave the cat a sad smile and left just as she had a bit earlier. She could see a slight lightening in the eastern sky. The miko was well aware of the fact that she had little time before the trio at the camp would wake and notice her absence.
Booking it toward the west, away from the sunlight, the miko began to feel the first threads of fear tightening around her heart.
What if I'm caught? What if I get lost?
What If I fail Inuyasha?
Trying to distract herself, the distraught miko turned her thoughts to Shippou. She hadn't thought much of the kit since they had left him at Kaede's. They had all felt that with their numbers depleted, it was best to leave the little kitsune behind.
She couldn't help but feel unworthy of the kit's love. She had left him and not spared a single thought for him over the course of several weeks.
Realizing that this line of thinking was getting her nowhere but depressed, she put it out of her mind, deciding instead to focus on the task ahead of her.
She moved as quickly as her legs could take her, she maneuvered her way through the forest as their group had so many times before.
Except this time, she was alone.
Stupid Kagome! SHUT UP! Just get all this over with and get back to everyone. It'll all be perfectly fine!
Her strange mixture of berating and false optimism seemed to help a bit. She came upon the main road and took the western route.
A couple of hours after the sun had completely risen, she decided it would be best to travel alongside the path, hidden by the undergrowth of the forest. The miko hoped that she wouldn't be visible from oh, say, the back of a flying fire cat?
The miko trekked on, lost in her thoughts.
I have to do this. I have to kill Naraku.
The image of Inuyasha, broken and dying, flashed in front of her mind's eye. The colors were as vivid as they had been that day and she could still smell the death that had filled the clearing. It smelled of rust and salt. It smelled of Inuyasha's blood.
The mental image was so horrendous, she had to stop and regain her breath. She held back her tears though, knowing they would get her nowhere.
Be strong. For Inuyasha.
And it occurred to her again just how much she despised, how much she loathed Naraku. The miko would stop at nothing to wipe that scum from the face of the earth. She would enjoy every moment that brought her closer to killing him.
The depth of her hatred scared even her. When she realized that she was actually picturing the spray of the dark hanyou's blood flying through the air, and reveling in it, she couldn't help but think that she had let it get a bit out of hand.
No. It's fine. It will be easier this way. He'll be easier to kill if I hate him.
She was torn from her frightening reverie by a sudden nudge at the edge of her reiki. Driven by pure instinct, she whipped out her bow, knocking an arrow in one smooth motion.
She sighted down the length of the arrow, seeing for the first time the youkai that had brushed her awareness.
The giant lizard was hideous. Its sickening green scales had a harsh gleam to them that seemed sinister in the bright sunlight. The thing had deep, soulless black eyes that contained no emotion, only a yellow slitted pupil. It was only about her height, but it radiated an evil aura that was so large it was suffocating.
It lunged for her throat and, without even thinking, the miko released her arrow. It buried itself deep in the demon's eye socket before causing it to dissolve into a small pile of grey ash.
The miko lowered her bow and just stared at the remains of her foe for a second. Sure, she had killed demons before, but this time she was alone and she hadn't needed anyone. She didn't even call for help.
The priestess couldn't help but feel a little bit of warmth in her stomach. She was proud of what she had done.
...
Uh-oh! What has become of our dear little Kagome?
Please don't forget to review!
~Siki
