InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ An Intentional Solitude ❯ Questions ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Author's Note: Sorry it took a couple days to update, I get writer's block....alot.....ok well anyways, 3rd chapter!

Disclaimer: *tear*

Kagome decided this was enough. She shoved the blankets off of her and grabbed her hakama. It had been hours and she still hadn’t had any sleep. In the dark morning hours she gathered her things together and dug out her old backpack. It had been years since she’d last used it, but luckily it was still in somewhat good condition. As she held it up to examine for holes, various memories flashed before her eyes. Riding her bike with it attached to the back, giving Shippo treats from her time, Inuyasha digging through the massive thing for Ramen. Kagome sighed ‘Inuyasha…I still miss you.” She shook her head, ‘No, I can’t dwell on that, I’m living in the now, not with Inuyasha but with..” She paused,

“His brother?” she said out loud to herself. If someone had told her five years ago that she’d be journeying side-by-side with the great demon lord, she’d have laughed herself to death. ‘Honestly, what am I thinking?’ Kagome sighed and continued to pack things into her bag. An extra set of clothing, sutras, herbs, food, etc. She closed the top of the backpack, lifted it over her shoulder, and grabbed her bow and arrows. ‘Wow, this is a lot lighter since I don’t have all those textbooks to carry around.’ She pushed the door screen open and stepped out into the darkness. The crisp morning fog felt nice on her face and Kagome breathed in the air as she started the trek towards the place Sesshoumaru told her to meet him. She figured she could arrive there and maybe, just maybe, catch some sleep. As long as she was there on time she didn’t have to worry about being mauled to bits. As soon as she arrived she set her things down and lay back against a tree. ‘Well, my mat was certainly better than this, and I couldn’t even sleep there! How am I supposed to get some rest like this?!’ Her complaints of the situation were drowned out by her recollection of why she couldn’t sleep. She sighed, ‘How is this possible? Why does he remember me?’ Kagome through her hands up into the air, “And himof all people!” Kagome groaned in frustration and shut her eyes. She leaned her head back against the tree. ‘I seriously need to get some shut-eye otherwise I’m gonna be one cranky miko. Heaven knows how well Sesshoumaru’s going like that!’ She silenced her thoughts, listened to the crickets in the trees, and finally the darkness took her.

The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, casting it’s dim light across the landscape. He didn’t need the light to see, but it helped as he retraced his steps to the specified location. It was quiet, the only thing he could hear was a far off bird chirping. The timid scent of lilies and sakura blossoms tickled the demon’s nose. There was something else in the scent, but he could quite place it. ’What a pleasant fragrance...’ he mused to himself. As soon as the sleeping miko came into view, and he crinkled his nose, ’So it is the scent of that miko, her ningen odor was almost completely drowned out by the floral aroma.’ He meant to approach the girl and wake her, but something stopped him. He paused at the sight of her sleeping form. The early morning light hit her in such a way that made her seem to glow. She was propped against a tree with both legs bent up to her chest. Her hair had grown tremendously since they had last met, and she hadn’t tied it up yet. It spilled over her shoulders and out around her. Her lips were slightly parted and her breathing was slow and calm. At that moment, she looked as if she were a heavenly being from the sky. The youkai would have stayed standing agape at the bewitching sight, but he swiftly reprimanded himself for gawking at a ningen woman and broke the halcyon.

“Miko.” He waited a moment, and when the priestess did not stir, he moved a bit closer and raised his voice, “Miko.” he repeated. He sighed in frustration as she once again did nothing. He finally approached the girl and stood directly in front of her. He nudged her with his foot, “Miko!” The girl groaned and brought her hand to her face. ‘Finally.’ the demon lord thought to himself.

Kagome had been brought back to the world of the living very confused and very, very tired. ’Why does my back hurt so much? Why am I sitting? Who just kicked me?’ Slowly she opened her eyes and gasped at the sight of an angelic figure standing tall in front of her. Then her eyes focused. The image of a seemingly annoyed taiyoukai formed and Kagome‘s fear quickly rose.

“Eek!” Kagome shielded her head with her hands, but when the memories of the day before flooded back into her head, she lowered her arms. She quickly rose to her feet and wiped the dirt off her hakama, “Gomen Sesshoumaru, I didn’t mean for you to catch me sleeping!”

“It matters not.” Sesshoumaru looked over towards the horizon “It would be best to travel a good distance before the day gets too hot.” With that he turned and started walking away.

“Hey wait!” Kagome swiftly gathered her things and slung it all over her shoulders. She jogged after Sesshoumaru while simultaneously putting her hair up. She caught up with Sesshoumaru and looked around, “Where’s Rin?”

”Jaken took her back.”

”Took her back? Why’d you bring her in the first place if you were just going to send her away?” Kagome was very disappointed; she was hoping to have at least one suitable companion on this trip. She was pretty sure Sesshoumaru wasn’t much of a talker, and she concluded that this was going to be a long journey.

”She was getting restless being confined to the palace, so she came for the first part of this journey.” He paused a moment, “The second half will be much too dangerous for her.”

“And you’re expecting me to waltz right into these fatal situations?!” Kagome piped up. Sesshoumaru slowed his walking pace, but kept looking forward.

“You are a powerful miko are you not?”

“That’s not the point!” Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrow and glanced towards the curious girl, ’What is the “point” then?’ he thought. “The point is that I plan on living past twenty with all working appendages!” Sesshoumaru returned to looking straight forward and his expression was as stoic as ever. Kagome glanced at him, ’What’s his problem?’ and then suddenly her memories rushed back and she glanced his left arm, or, lack of it. “Oh.” was all she could say, ’I figured it would have grown back or something, it’s hard to tell with his baggy kimono sleeves anyways!’ She yelled to her brain. ’Note to self, do not mention “missing appendages” in front of Sesshoumaru…ok? We all cool here? Mmkay.’ Kagome paused a moment, frowned, and then decided having conversations inside her head was definitely not normal. She decided to distract herself with something, anything.

“What I meant was, exactly how dangerous is this cave thing and why are you even asking for a human‘s help anyways? I thought you were above asking for our aid.” Kagome didn’t mean to sound mocking, it just came out that way. ‘Argh! Stupid mouth!’ Kagome scowled to herself “What I meant was it just doesn’t seem like something a youkai lord would do!” She laughed wearily, ‘Please don’t kill me!’

“Wench if your just going to take back your words, do not say them at all!” Sesshoumaru snapped, “Think before you speak!” He was silent for a moment, and then answered Kagome’s questions, “The youkai that are released are weak, you should have no problem with them. However this Sesshoumaru does not know of the one that is releasing them. They have masked their identity so there is little information on what they are or their strength.” He paused again and seemed to muse to himself, “And, as has been explained before, I am asking for a ningen’s help because no demon can approach the cave.” Kagome thought for a moment, before another question popped into her mind,

“Why me? I am definitely not the most powerful miko out there, you know. How do you know I‘ll be strong enough to pull it off?” Sesshoumaru pondered this for a while before replying,

“Exactly how many mikos do you know of that will come to the aid of a youkai?” Sesshoumaru had a slightly amused look on his face as Kagome searched her thoughts for anyone who might fit that description.

“Heh, guess I’m the only one.” Kagome scratched her head, ‘I guess I am an oddball.’

“And, this Sesshoumaru does not know if you will be strong enough.” The demon quickly added. Kagome was about to protest but then realized she brought it upon herself. She contented herself by quietly walking alongside Sesshoumaru and looking at the various scenery.

Three hours of silent trekking had Kagome absolutely bored out of her mind. The sun was beating against her back, and she was clumsily hopping in the shadow of every tree that cast it’s shadow on the road. Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow at her odd behavior, ’Shouldn’t she be used to the summer sun by now?’ She looked over at him and he quickly averted his gaze back to the road. Kagome was getting frustrated, ’Must he walk so fast? It’s times like these I wish I had my bike.’ Kagome frowned as her suppressed memories of traveling with Inuyasha surfaced. ’Why am I remembering all these things now, after not thinking of them for so long?’ She looked back at Sesshoumaru, ’It’s his fault…’ She pondered a moment, thinking of reasons why it was his fault for her grievances. She looked him up and down and scowled, ’His hair, yes, it’s his fault for having stupid silver hair!’ She frowned again, ’That’s dumb…’ then she sighed, ’But still...it’s so much like his, how could I not be reminded of Inuyasha?’ Once again she turned her head in Sesshoumaru’s direction, his actions since they had met the day before, sparked her curiosity. ‘Why me?’ She knew the answer, or, at least what he had told her. But she had the feeling that he was here for different reasons. ‘Why would he come to the only miko who would help youkai, if he was only going to threaten me into going with him anyways? Any other miko would have complied if her villagers’ lives were at stake.’ Kagome gave him a suspicious look, or at least tried to, ‘Think like the movies, be cool…’ She narrowed her eyes and scowled. Sesshoumaru returned her glance with an annoyed “humph”

“Miko…how many times are you going to look over my person? You look like a fool.” Kagome immediately blushed and looked away. She was grateful, however, for the break in the silence they’d been in for the past few hours.

“I was…umm…your answer to my question…it’s…oh never mind.” Kagome looked down at her feet, “Oh!” Her sudden outburst startled the youkai’s ears, but he showed no signs of discomfort, and continued ponder her ambiguous reply, ‘The answer to her question?’

“I need to fill my water jug! Is there a stream nearby?” Her shrill voice broke him away from his thoughts. He tilted his head to the right of him, indicating which direction to go. Kagome smiled cheerfully and dashed past him,

“I’ll only be a moment!” He watched her canter off into the trees. Her hips swaying gently with every step. He wondered why they seemed to be the only thing that seemed to move gracefully when she walked. ‘She really has matured physically since our last meeting.’ Quickly he broke away from these thoughts. ‘It matters not what she looks like.’ He was content with that final thought and decided to focus on the task that lay ahead, ‘This is going to be difficult, very difficult…’