InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Midwinter Dream ❯ Her Solitude ( Chapter 1 )

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

::NOTICE:: This story is a sequel. Its predecessor is called Spring Fever. If you don't mind being a tad confused, then by all means continue reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Inuyasha series, as it is Â© to Rumiko Takahashi, and her original characters are hers as well. If I did own all of that, you'd know.

A/N: Part two! So to speak. I wasn't expecting this story to take so long, but what can I say... Well, my previous readers are not here to read an Author's Note, so on with the plot!

Chapter 1

Her Solitude

“Kagome!” the motherly voice echoed across the stone courtyard of the shrine. The glimmering setting sun bathed the ancient stones in a warm light and made the small snow mounds look foreign to the area.

Taking a slow inhale, Kagome carefully gathered her energy back to herself and exhaled a small cloud of steam. Training was now easier since she was able to fully purify the demonic essence in her shoulder three years ago. Now she continued her training in private determination. She would go through the well again some day, whether it wanted her to or not.

“Coming!” she yelled, uncrossing her legs and hopping off the short stone wall a certain demon used to favor. It really was a good spot.

She and her family had been living very well for the last few years, considering Bashamon was so considerate as to apologize for ruining the shrine grounds with unfathomably sized diamonds. Kagome's grandfather still kept most of them hidden for any sort of emergency, but the money they received from the three they sold was enough to send all of them through a comfortable life and into retirement, and because of that Sota was determined to get top grades so he could study abroad for college.

College...

Kagome didn't continue her schooling after graduating. She had finished high school a year ago, and while her friends went off to continue their studies and excel in careers Kagome stayed home. Not only was she attempting to make the well function again, but she was trying to lead a life which didn't revolve around school or the feudal era. She decided that after this year, if her efforts and struggles happened to be for naught, then college it would be.

She really hoped to see everyone again though... She never got to say goodbye.

“Honey, eat the asparagus, it's good for you.”

“Mama, you know I hate this stuff,” Kagome replied, watching as the nigh melted stick of green filth slowly crept from between her chopsticks and splattered back onto the plate, small pieces fraying away like wet hair. Nasty stuff, nothing made it taste good. It looked funny too...

“I know, but would you please eat some more vegetables for your lessons tomorrow?” her mom prompted sweetly. Sweetness should have been entitled a sin if given in excess. She really was a great mother, but sometimes love could go more than a long way.

“Mama, I'm twenty. I know what's good for me and what's not, and I've been taking kendo for a really long time now. If anything this stuff will make me sick as a dog.”

Dogs... Ugh... Stupid men.

Her mother offered a smile, the one she wore when she knew she was being beaten in an argument. Just watch, now the slight guilt trip will come...

“I just worry with how you spar with that boy after classes. You come home with bruises sometimes, and I don't want my little girl going into that unprepared.”

“His name's Keiji, mama,” Kagome informed. “And the demons four years ago were worse for your even littler girl, trust me.”

The 'even littler' version of herself would have probably been affronted at saying such a thing...

“Bruises?” Sota asked. His voice had changed so much over the years. “You're giving them back, right?”

“Ample,” Kagome replied.

“That's no way for a man to treat a lady!” Grandpa yelled, completely affronted with this topic.

'Even lords give ladies bruises...' Kagome thought to herself, pinching her chopsticks a tad more tightly than need be. That asshole... She should be grateful that he was finally gone...

Yes. Grateful. He was so utterly annoying, and when stoic bastard'ism combined with mindless arousal capabilities that made for a mess.

“I have to go do stretches,” Kagome excused herself, taking her plate and forcing the horrid vegetables down her throat on the way to the kitchen. She nearly gagged as a piece stuck out of her mouth, rinsing her plate in hot water and putting it in the soapy half of the sink. Swallowing the wretched stuff she grabbed two reused bottles of water, downed a separate glass of water, and headed for her room.

Locking the door behind herself, so as to not be disturbed, Kagome glanced in the corner to see the ancient sword and mysterious bow propped up there. The bow was black, and she found it lying in the courtyard the day after Bashamon's attack.

Oh well. That was a long time ago anyway. She barely remembered

After ten minutes she changed into the royal blue haori and black hakama she once used for martial arts and grabbed her shinai and threw it out the window with her backpack.

“Off to exercise outside?” Sota asked, studying for another straight A in math.

“Yep! You know what to do.”

“Be silent,” he replied, pencil twirling between his fingers. “Got it. Dish him a good one, sis.”

She smiled. Her brother was pretty cool. Sneaking out the door she went outside her window and retrieved the bamboo sword, which she tucked it through an exposed hakama strap, and backpack and went to meet Keiji.

“Bruises?”

“Apologize for them and I'll give you more,” Kagome threatened, tossing him the second water bottle from her backpack. It was probably midnight now and they were both beat.

“Sure you will,” he replied. “So, how many minutes do you need?”

“Quit acting tough,” she replied. She had met Keiji in her first year of high school in the archery club. They'd been rivals ever since, which they both enjoyed because Kagome proved to be a worthy sparing partner over the years. He wore a matching black outfit, as they had also been in the same martial arts class. Now swords were their thing, which was good because Kagome felt like she was continuing what she started so long ago.

“I don't need to act to be tough,” he replied with a smirk. Ugh... He was giving her that look again... “So, Kagome, I was think-”

“You don't think.”

He stopped at her interruption. “Do too.”

“Do not,” she replied. “You were going to ask a question you already knew the answer to.”

He sighed. “Come on. Taking you to dinner can't be that agonizing of an ice breaker.”

Kagome internally rolled her eyes. She didn't want to date him, and he knew it. Still, he was as persistent as Hojo had been. He and Yuka were quite the couple now. “It can be if you don't come out unscathed.”

He laughed. “I have yet to see you kick my ass.”

Within four minutes Kagome had kicked his ass.

“See?” she asked, her sword tip at his torso. “Now imagine how pretty a fancy restaurant around us would be right now.”

“You're playing hard to get,” he laughed, arms moving quickly to shift his weight. Kagome easily jumped over his attempt to trip her and clobbered the top of his head before running off. Running was a big part of their free-style sparing, right up there with bruises. The one reason she hated running more than bruises though was his being faster.

She ducked under his attempt to strike her outside of her right arm, leaped backwards from a crouch, and stuck his stomach with her white leather tipped sword when he turned to counter.

“Too slow,” she informed, inviting him to sit with her by taking his feet from under him with the move he tried earlier.

“Yeah, well, you train more,” he countered, smiling nonetheless. “How come you're so much better?”

Her spirits fell slightly. “I have an ass other than yours to kick.”

“I'm sure you'd succeed,” he replied. “Is he in the upcoming tournament?”

She shook her head, feeling a bead of sweat dislodge from the peach fuzz of her forehead and trickle. She caught it with a sleeve. “He's good enough to not worry about tournaments.”

Keiji quirked an eyebrow at her. “Oh really?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “He's foreign too, so no asking for an address.”

“Damn,” he giggled. “And here I thought I'd be free of sparing with you.”

She laughed, which confused him. If only he knew this jackass, then he'd know that even together neither of them stood much of a chance. Unless she involved some of her powers, then she would say she had a very decent chance at payback.

Payback... She daydreamed about it daily. Even now as she moved various objects across her desk with her spiritual powers she thought of how Sesshomaru had ruined her dating life without ever even trying.

“Jerk,” she muttered, sending the pencil rocketing off the edge of the desk, behind herself, then back on it. She was still fascinated with her ability to move things like this. She decided that even Sesshomaru didn't have this much control over objects he focused on, or else he would have used that ability in battle.

Returning the pencil to its holder, Kagome sighed and stared at the bottle of soapy water. Deciding that staring wasn't enough, she got onto her bed and got into the position she saw Miroku in on some mornings. Legs crossed upside down, which she got use to after the first year, she turned the backs of her hands onto her knees and took in a breath.

Still, no matter how much she meditated, whenever she tried to capture a bubble with her powers it either imploded or exploded.

She glared at the specks of soap which rained down onto the carpet. They represented her consistent lack of control.

“HAH!!”

Kagome blocked the attack of her sparing buddy for the day more than easily, and the girl went stumbling and ripped off her mask.

“Sensei!” the brat yelled, jabbing a finger at Kagome. “She's cheating!!”

...

It's fairly hard to cheat in a fight... Oh well. The child's plan backfired anyway when the Sensei had Kagome demonstrate her 'cheat' in front of the rest of the class. It ended in giggles and a disappointed brat.

“Alright,” Sensei wrapped it up. “Kagome, partner with Keiji for the rest of the day. And try to stick to the rules, you two.”

Even through the two masks, Kagome knew Keiji was smiling happily. He loved sparing with her, whereas she preferred sparing with the Sensei to test her individual methods against hard-trained routine. She lost every time thus far, despite how that jerk had told her to just learn the basics first.

“So, feeling hungry?” Keiji asked when he faced her.

“Not really,” she replied, squatting into the formal beginning position. She hated the routines. “I don't think about my stomach every minute.”

“Apparently,” he replied, lifting himself in time with her from the pose. They matched swords, right feet out.

Once the Sensei told them to begin the rules went sailing merrily out of the window.

“Told you she cheats...” the brat commented as she watched Kagome and Keiji try desperately to land the first flesh blow of several parried. Sensei simply crossed his arms and waited for them to finish, and noticing as much was what got Kagome's shoulder cracked down on.

“Son of a-!” she whimpered, clasping it and kneeling down. Keiji laughed, so she double-handed lifted her sword between his legs and floored him.

“Alright, alright!” Sensei yelled, clapping his hands. “Keep it clean, you two.”

“I was planning on kids, you know,” Keiji commented, sitting on the sidelines with her as class continued to its finish.

“I was planning on being able to lift a sword, you know,” she retorted, icing her shoulder. Men...

“Think you can lift some chopsticks?” he asked, icing his groin. Didn't that hurt??

“Up your nose, yes,” she retorted, smiling though. His persistence was heartwarming, but he needed to find another girl to torment.

“Good enough,” he replied. “Let's go eat something.”

Lunches she didn't mind eating with guys. He treated, as per usual, and she discovered the voracious appetite she had worked up that day. She didn't have breakfast yet, so food was a blessing.

“Storing for the winter?” he asked jokingly. They had a very dry sense of humor with one another.

“Guaranteeing my being able to smack your shoulder first next time,” she replied before stuffing a few more french fries into her mouth. She then proceeded to give herself a brain freeze with the slushie and bickered about it from behind her hands. She laughed at herself with him on that note.

“So, are we meeting up again tonight?” he asked as he walked her home, matching her stride so their sword ends didn't collide.

“Not tonight,” she replied. “I have things to do.”

“Anything I can help with?”

“... You could be a target!” she offered cheerily as they reached the foot of the stairs to the shrine.

“Depending on what's being thrown at me, I'd consider it,” he replied in a cheesy manner. He really did try, but despite his efforts she still put a finger to his descending lips.

“Not today?” he asked, backing off. He was used to this.

She shook her head and gave him a friendly hug instead. “You're hopeless...”

“I'll get you one of these days,” he jested, returning the quick embrace. She highly doubted it though. Only one person had ever stolen a kiss from her. The first time she was in a lustful daze, the second time she was half asleep...

“I may move away before that happens,” she replied, punching his sternum as she usually did before heading up the steps. 'Move away' was her secret code for 'go back in time like some character out of a fantasy novel and never come back if that well had anything to say about it.'

“I'll see you tomorrow, then!”

She waved goodbye without looking. He apparently liked girls who were hard to get...

And so she found herself in a good meditation session when Sota opened her bedroom door without knocking.

“Hey sis, got a pencil?” She absentmindedly waved one at him, and he grabbed it out of the air. “You know I hate it when you do that...”

“It wasn't an arrow,” she retorted. “And learn to knock.”

He leaned in the door frame, writing in an answer before making a reply. “You need a boyfriend to get rid of that attitude of yours...”

“It's because of a guy that I have it,” she bit back. “Now leave before I pump you full of pencil lead.”

He laughed, which was the final step needed to completely dislodge her from her meditative state, and he fended off the slipper she threw at him with the door. She got up and locked it. She really didn't like being in such an emotional rut and letting it shine gloriously onto others, but having a demon lodged in your head for four years and show up in your dreams all that time to steal kisses and nibble your neck... No, she wasn't happy. She was going back in time to give him the choice of permanent mental residence or a prompt evacuation.

She sighed, got into position again, and when she was just starting to slip into another blessed state of mindlessness something kicked her senses right in the head.

“Kagome?” her mom asked, surprised to see her daughter rushing down the stairs so quickly in her socks that she nearly decapitated herself on the railing. How that was possible, she didn't know, but considering it was herself it was indeed possible.

She heard heated conversation follow Kagome out of the house as she ran for the Bone Eater's Well, and when she slammed open the ancient doors and rushed down the steps, she was certain of it.

“... Kagome??” her mom asked again, having just caught up only to have her charging back for the house.

“I gotta pack!!” she cheered, almost skipping if doing so wouldn't waste time. It could close at any second, and she needed to grab some things.

She really did feel horrible for leaving so suddenly, but her family accepted it. They knew she would want to leave promptly once the well opened again.

“Here you go dear,” her mom said while packing a week's supply of individually wrapped beef jerky into the front of her backpack. “Are you sure you want to go in the winter?”

“Of course!” Kagome replied, trying to hoist the bag onto her shoulders. After loosening the straps it was accomplished. “The village is right next to the well, I'll be fine! I'm not camping or anything.”

“You look silly...” Sota commented as Kagome pulled the somewhat long sleeves through the backpack straps. She wore more clothes underneath the outfit, mostly to keep warm, and so she was bulging in places with her fat yellow backpack on, her bow and a quiver, the real sword Sesshomaru had retrieved for her from the shrine at her hip and a smile on her face.

“Cram it,” she replied, giving him the embrace of death. “... I'll be back for your graduation, alright?”

“Think you'll make it?” Sota asked.

“Of course I will!” she scoffed. “What kind of a sister would miss out on gathering your finished homework and spraying it like confetti over your head?”

He smiled. “I'll miss you too. Take care.”

“Are you sure you don't want these sutras??” Grandpa asked, holding out a stack of paper as thick as a wrist.

“Pretty sure,” she replied, bending down and giving him a hug. Her mom packed something else in her bag, probably bandages, and when she finished Kagome turned and hugged her as well.

“I love you sweetie,” she sighed, her voice shaky with held back tears. After four years it must have been hard to see Kagome disappear again so suddenly. “Be happy.”

... Happy? “I will be,” Kagome guaranteed with a smile. They walked her outside to the well, and after another round of hugs they decided to see her off. She hated those, but wiping the tears from her eyes she gave them as cheery a smile as she could and hopped off the lip for the bottom before she could begin hoping to any deity ever to exist that it worked.

She landed in four feet of snow. Face first.

“Ah!” she yelled, shocked and suddenly cold. Well, expecting to be cold. She quickly stood and looked around. She was in a clearing, and there was the tree!! But... Where was the well? Oh, screw the well, she was BACK!! She was there! Ok, kami, she was crying like an idiot!

Then the snow started to melt down her chest and around her ankles.

“AAAAH!!” she cried, repeatedly, as she went running for the village. Despite the pain and shock of that her senses picked up a somewhat weak demon in the proximity, but it quickly left when she arrived. That was odd... Oh well, her feet were freezing off, back to leaping like a gazelle.

“Kaede!!” Kagome cried happily upon entering the small house she was still so familiar with. No one was there though. “... I'd feel sorry for anyone giving birth in this weather,” she commented to the silence, looking around. “Kaede? Kaede-baa-chan? Are you here??”

She searched for the old face she hadn't seen for so long, and would have been afraid of her having passed away if not for the far too familiar herbal bags stashed away in a room to dry. Then again, such things were in practice for mikos...

“Inuyasha!” she yelled out the door flap. “Miroku! Sango! Shippo!!”

There was silence, and small white flakes began cascading from the sky. She let the door fall heavily shut

Oh well, she had time. The place was warm and stacked wood promised more heat, so Kagome piled some onto the dimming coals and stared as the new logs were licked black before catching flame. It was interesting to watch a fire when you knew the snow was falling right outside...

There was a wild clatter and Kagome startled awake. Ceramic pieces rolled and spun while green water splashed and spread, but that wasn't interesting.

“Oh, child!” Kaede cried faintly, holding a hand over her heart as a warm smile lifted her heavy cheeks. “You're back!”

She smiled, standing and hugging her grandmother figure in life. “I'm back!”

A/N: So, I'm wondering how many people are continuing with the story! :D Aside from that, I was really shocked to start writing in Kagome's point of view! You know how a characters' mindset can just infest your own and make things easy for you to write? Sesshomaru never really did that for me, now Kagome's POV seems easy!! Yes, a female mind is what I understand!

Anyway, because of that I may be updating more frequently now! I'm not sure though, it all depends on the muse. And my ability to sleep, it's five a.m. already... XP

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this! Reviews please!