To say that Kagome was even more confused now then she was when she first awoke in Lord Sesshoumaru's arm would be the understatement of the century. She listened intently as he informed her that the male that she was suppose to trust with her life had actually tried to harm her when they first met, 'What the hell was I thinking? He tried to harm me so I now trust him with my life?'
As she sat there processing what he told her, she looked up and asked, "What do you mean that you did not think my voice or power could extend this far. Did something else happen to me other than loosing my memory when I died?"
Shippo cringed when Kagome mentioned the fact that she died again. "Yes mama, I mean Kagome, even I can sense that you are stronger...it's like you have awaken your full potential, become whole."
Just then Inuyasha exited out of the woods and into the clearing, just in time to hear Shippo. He inhaled her scent and noticed it as well, he suddenly had a bad feeling. 'I pray that I am wrong but I fear I am not. I need to find Kikyo.' However, before he would dwell any more on that thought Sango and Miroku both walked out of the woods with their items and they started to prepare dinner for the group.
Sango asked Sesshoumaru if he would like to eat before she started to cook all of the meat, she knew that demons enjoyed the taste of raw bloody meat. When he nodded his head in acceptance she sliced some of the meat up and put it off to the side for him and started to prepare the rest of the meat to be cooked while she then proceeded to cook some rice for them to eat with the meal.
Once the dinner was finally ready, Miroku helped Sango hand out the plates to everyone. Kagome watched as everyone ate, she poked her food with her chopsticks then looked up once more to Sesshoumaru, watching as he ate his raw meat. She noticed that a little bit of the blood slid from his lips and started to slide down his chin, but before it could escape too far, she saw his tongue slip out and caught the escaping liquid. She looked up to his eyes and he smirked once more when he noticed that he held her attention and Inuyasha was fuming about it.
Kagome blushed as she noticed his smirk, she wasn't sure why she all of a sudden felt this strange feeling in her stomach but she didn't think she wanted it to stop either, however she didn't dare to look back at him and instead opted to eat the food that was given to her.
Miroku nudged Sango when he noticed the smirk on Sesshoumaru's face and that it was directed at a very blushing Kagome. He smirked, 'very interesting!' Sango looked up and smiled until she saw the lecherous look that crossed Miroku's face at the moment. She looked at his plate and saw that he had finished his meal so she decided to do something about his look.
Kagome jumped at the sound of Sango knocking the lecherous monk out with her big stick weapon thing that she carried.
"Don't worry mam...Kagome, this happens all the time. He was probably up to his old bad habits and Sango was putting a stop to it!"
"Shippo, you keep calling me mama but then stopping, why? Did you usually call me mama instead of Kagome?" she didn't know if that was the case but she felt it was, she was also curious as to know why a piece of her hurt every time he corrected himself.
"Yes, I usually call you Mama. I understand if you don't want me to since you don't remember me. I will ju"
"It is fine. I would like for you to treat me normally and call me whatever it is that you usually do, maybe then I will remember everything again." Kagome stated while interrupting the little kitsune, who instantly jumped up and wrapped his little arms around her neck as best as he could.
When Sango finished her meal she asked Inuyasha to help her lay Miroku down on his sleeping mat as she started to collect all of the items used during dinner to go and wash. Kagome quietly asked Sango if she could help, which Sango gladly accepted. While at the stream Kagome looked up to the older woman and shyly asked Sango if she had something that she could wear. "I just feel too exposed in this. I look at you and the others in the group and I can't help but to feel like I should be dressed more like you are verses like this."
"But Kagome that is how you have always dressed. It is the clothing of your time. You actually are more covered up now than you usually are!" Sango smiled.
Kagome looked down at the black cloth that covered her legs, they were comfortable and loose but not quite as baggy as Inuyasha's and Sesshoumaru's were. Then she looked at the dark blue fabric that was on her upper body. It covered her neck and arms but it held holes throughout the rest of it, with a few scratches on her arms too. Her biggest problem with her top covering was the fact that it had a huge hole in the center of her stomach area and it was right below her breast, with the wrong movement the hole would easily go up and expose her.
Sensing that Kagome was still uncomfortable she offered up, "You do have some other shirts in your backpack back at camp if you really just want to change your shirt. I am sure that you have another turtle neck in there similar to what you are wearing, just without the holes!"
The two women giggled about the whole thing and gathered up the items that they had been washing and decided to return to camp. Once there Sango went to the backpack and pulled out this beautiful white with pink pattern shirt. Kagome looked at then to Sango with a confused look which caused Sango to drag Kagome back into the woods and helped her put the new shirt on.
Sesshoumaru looked up as the two females entered the clearing again for the second time and noticed that Kagome now wore a top with a unique cherry blossom design on it. He couldn't help but to think how fitting since she carried the scent of cherry blossoms in my scent. He also noticed as she made her way over to where he had positioned himself for the night and asked if she could sleep near him.
At his nod of acknowledgement she laid out her mat that Sango had given her and proceeded to lay down, with Shippo curling up with her.
All in the clearing noticed this and were surprised, not only that she wanted to be near Sesshoumaru but that she instantly went to sleep in his presence which meant that she really did trust him. Inuyasha noticed it more than anyone and waited for everyone else to go to sleep before he decided to find out what exactly the demon lord wanted with her and his group.
Sensing that everyone was asleep finally Sesshoumaru called out to Inuyasha quiet enough not to wake the humans but loud enough for the half breed to know to get down there immediately.
"I sense that you have questions for this Sesshoumaru little brother."
"Keh, you could say that asshole. What the hell are you doing with Kagome and why the hell did you resurrect her when she died?"
"I'm sorry did you not want me to bring your Miko back to life? I was under the impression that you liked her alive not dead."
"That is not what I meant and you damn well know it too. You revived her, you can only use the sword for someone you care about, you aren't suppose to care for anything I have. Remember, she is a human and humans are beneath you."
"This Sesshoumaru knows exactly who she is and what she is. She is more powerful than you give her credit for, even more so now. The Miko had intrigued this Sesshoumaru." 'Especially now that I know that she is from the future.' he thought while looking in her direction.
Both males noticed that Kagome was tossing and turning on her mat, appearing to be having some sort of a nightmare.
...Kagome's Dream...
Kagome noticed that she was suddenly in a beautiful clearing in the middle of the night with a glowing full moon over head and glistening lavender flowers on the ground. She sensed that she was alone and decided to lay down on the ground and looked up to the beautiful moon while inhaling the scent of lavender.
Suddenly she felt a presence at the edge of the clearing just south of where she was laying. She shot up and spun around just to see a woman dressed in a strange outfit. She wore a white top and red pants under some armor and had a sword in her right hand. Kagome didn't sense any danger from her so she decided to approach her. When they were within arms reach of one another Kagome also noticed that the woman had a mark on her forehead, it was four red lines that formed a four pointed star.
"Greetings Priestess Kagome, my name is Priestess Midoriko. I thank you for freeing my soul and the soul of Magatsuhi from the shikon jewel."
"What is the shikon jewel? Where are we?"
"The shikon jewel was something that I created when I was in a great battle with Magatsuhi many many years ago. We were in a battle to the death and I was starting to loose. In one last attempt to help rid the world of him I absorbed his soul into my body and cast both of our souls out, which created the shikon jewel. You are here for me to tell you our tale and show you what could have happened with you."
Suddenly the clearing disappeared and Kagome, still standing by Midoriko, noticed that before her was this battle about to happen. Midoriko stood against many demons, one should could tell use to be a human man that was now possessed with the souls of demons. The battle raged on for seven days and finally it was down to Magatsuhi and Midoriko.
Kagome looked at Midoriko when the scene before them paused. "You know he was once a human man that loved me, though I had no feelings for him. He became bitter and demon souls sought him and used his bitterness against him. After they entered his body they imprisoned his soul within, he could see what was happening but no longer had control over what he did, thus becoming Magatsuhi. If you notice this is very similar to another priestess that we know."
Upon seeing Kagome was confused again Midoriko continued, "You see there was another Priestess who lived about fifty years ago who is also attached to the shikon jewel. She had found a man injured and burn very badly."
Suddenly the scene started to show what Midoriko had been talking about. Kagome could see another Priestess trying to heal a man that was close to death behind his injuries. He man was becoming more and more obsessed with his healer. Kagome couldn't help but to get this uncomfortable feeling when she saw the way the man would look at the Priestess, it was like she was the one he was looking at. It was no night time and the man, that she now knew was Onigumo, was about to pass away when he was approached by a spider demon, with other demons in the background waiting to pounce. She heard as the spider promised Onigumo that he would be healed and finally be able to be with the Priestess that he was in love with. Kagome yelled that he was being lied to and not to believe the demon but Midoriko informed her calmly that this had already happened and that she could do nothing to change the events. Kagome went back to watching the scene progress and noticed that the demons did the same thing with Onigumo's soul that the last demons did with the other human's soul.
"I don't understand how this has anything to do with me."
"Just watch Priestess Kagome, you will understand. You hold within you the souls of two other Priestesses other then your own soul. You are just as important to all of this as I am and Priestess Kikyo. When Naraku killed Priestess Kikyo, she had ordered that the shikon jewel be burned with her body and that is where you now come in, fifty years after her death."
The scene changed again to showing Naraku staring into a mirror, which held the image of Kagome. She shuddered again as she show the look in his eyes and stated that he would have her since he couldn't have Kikyo anymore. Then the scene fast forward to the battle that she just had with Naraku at the hot spring where she died. When the scene paused she noticed that Midoriko was paused in the same position with Magatsuhi that she was paused with Naraku. The only difference was that Midoriko was missing an arm and stabbed through the shoulder verses Kagome being stabbed through the abdomen. Together both scenes played at the same time with Midoriko talking.
"It was at that point that you and I took different paths. I felt my life passing away and took his soul into my body and cast us both out to create the shikon jewel, you were to do that same when you started to purify Naraku. You and Naraku were to join Magatsuhi and myself in the jewel."
"Why didn't that happen then? I can clearly see that I just purified him yet I am not in the jewel? Lord Sesshoumaru said something about the jewel was now within my body, how can that be?"
"It is simple, Lord Sesshoumaru saved you at the last minute. When you died, your soul and Naraku's soul started to enter the jewel when Lord Sesshoumaru suddenly used his sword and brought you back from death. When he did that it also revived our souls from the jewel so that we could move on. The jewel is nothing but a memory now, it carries only but a memory."
Kagome watched her scene play out as she saw with her own eyes that Sesshoumaru walked towards her dead body and withdrew his sword only to swipe it over her body and she was alive again. Though what really stuck out in her mind was that fact that she heard herself whisper Sesshoumaru's name with such affection behind it.
Midoriko noticed this and smiled, 'Things are different with this Priestess, and the times are better for her than they were for me. May the Gods and Goddesses look down on her with blessings.'
The dream finally started to fade but not before Kagome whispered a name.
...End Dream...
Inuyasha growled and glared a surprised Sesshoumaru. 'This is the second time that the miko has spoken my name that way.'
Kagome awoke at the sound of Inuyasha's growl and she immediately look to Sesshoumaru for comfort. She noticed the hurt in Inuyasha's eyes at that and tried to make herself relax but she couldn't until Sesshoumaru reached out with his aura which instantly calmed her, this only intrigued him more.
...To be continued
So sorry it has taken so long...I am trying to find time to get back with all of my stories...I have some ideas that I was to try with them...I hope you all enjoy and please feel free to R&R if you want.