InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Much Needed Healing ❯ A Miko Found ( Chapter 3 )

She had left her apartment after she had finished the bottle that she had kept there, and headed directly for the bar. Already feeling the buzz, she walked through the door and was greeted by one of the guys who spent almost as much time there as she did.

“Hey there Kagome! Back again?”

He was teasing, but she wasn't in the mood for it. Everyone knew about her love affair with the bottle, and she really didn't need to hear any shit about it.

“Don't be a smart-ass Mike, you know I'm here every night.” she shot back at the man. Barely sparing him a glance, she went up to the bar and took a seat on her stool. Maybe it was time to start thinking about finding another place to drink. Guys like Mike were starting to give her a hard time, despite the fact that she had taken most of them home with her on at least one occasion. Not to mention the fact that she had her own seat.

But then the bartender had sent her a vodka and soda without her even having to ask, and she knew that she would keep coming here for at least a little while longer. If nothing else, they had good service, and the employees didn't bother you with too many questions or give you any crap about cut-offs. Kagome hated having someone tell her she'd had enough. She knew what they didn't; there wasn't enough liquor in the world to ever satisfy her need. She stared into her glass before downing the entire thing in one swallow. Looking up, she saw that the bartender was already pushing another glass in her direction. Good service indeed.

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How could it be? How could that same woman be here, 500 years after the time he had known her? And why had she not noticed his presence? Of course, the bar was dark and smoky, and he was a small distance way from her position at the bar, but the miko that he had once known would have sensed the aura of a powerful youkai from miles away. Yet here she was, paying him no attention, when they were separated by a distance of mere feet. It was ridiculous.

Obviously, it was past the time for him to retire from drinking. It was more than apparent that he had somehow surpassed his limit. It seemed unusual since as a youkai he normally had quite a high tolerance for mind altering substances and he was nowhere near the amount typically required to cause hallucinations of this sort.

There was no way that this woman was Inuyasha's wench.

Yet instead of standing up and leaving the bar like his mind was telling him to do, he remained seated, watching her down drink after drink with a practiced ease. After six drinks in thirty minutes he realized that she wasn't here for a good time. This woman was combatively drinking. There was a battle being waged here, but he could not understand it.

What Sesshomaru did understand however, was that this woman was well versed in the art of intoxication. Perhaps she was, like so many before her, a constant drunk. If that was indeed the case, then it could be surmised that she was already far gone from sobriety when she first entered this place, and that could be why she had not noticed him.

“Why don't you have a steady man yet hun?” The bartender asked the woman as he poured her another glass, this one straight and on the rocks. “A pretty thing like you doesn't need to be picking up losers in a place like this on a nightly basis. You should find yourself someone special.”

He heard the soft sigh before she answered. “I had a guy once. It didn't work out.” That was all the information she offered.

“He left you then?”

“No. He made me leave. He was rude, uncouth and obstinate. But he saved my life and I love him.” Sesshomaru watched her from the corner of his eyes as she waved a hand at the barkeep. “Anyway, it was a long time ago.”

Once again, she stopped speaking. She raised the glass to her lips and downed the drink in one swallow. The woman set the glass on the bar and the man wandered away to get her a refill. “Couldn't have been that long ago; you're still young.” He told her from over his shoulder.

Sesshomaru watched the woman stare blankly at the man and lower her eyes. It was then that his sensitive ears caught what the bartender did not. “Yeah, 500 years isn't so long.” she whispered vengefully under her breath.

For the second time that night, his breath caught. This was her. Somehow, this human woman had survived over the centuries. She was older, but only by a few years. Where the ningen that had traveled with the hanyou was an adolescent, this was most definitely a woman. She had soft curves that had not been so pronounced when last he had laid eyes on her and her hair was longer. But what made her so unfamiliar were not the physical signs of age, but rather something in her eyes. Where the bright spark of life had once shone with a blinding brilliance, her blue eyes were now cold. Still and deep as the ocean, there seemed to be no joy in them any longer.

Sesshomaru understood. She was broken. Her spirit had left her and now she was only an empty husk. He had seen things like this happen to many before her, humans and demons, it mattered not. Any creature could fall prey to sadness. But he was curious as to what had happened to her to cause someone who was once so vivacious to crumble away. Was it the same thing that had happened to make her vanish in the blink of an eye so many centuries ago?

He signaled the barman over and instructed him that he would be picking up the woman's tab. He received an inquisitive look from the man, but then with only a shrug of his shoulders, the man wandered off once again to attend to his other patrons.

Sesshomaru returned his attentions to the woman who was his brother's miko, and yet was not. She was gone. Whipping his head to the side he saw her walk into the bathroom. Standing swiftly, he followed her and stood beside the door, confident that when she emerged, he would confront her about all the questions that were currently plaguing him.

But then he had heard the one thing that could have stopped him from following through. So soft that no human ears would ever recognize the sound, he discerned quiet sobs.

He would later blame his actions on the liquor, but without a thought, he grabbed the door handle and flung the door open wide to reveal Kagome curled into a ball in the corner, crying. Stepping gracefully into the bathroom, he looked down upon this once powerful and now simply shattered creature. She was so far gone that she had yet to notice that she was no longer safely secluded. He had no idea why, but he was angry and sad at the same time. It was uncomfortable and disconcerting. He hated the feeling.

“Stand up woman. This is unbecoming of someone such as you.”

Kagome brought her head up, her eyes searching out the familiar voice that had just sounded out a command at her. She had every intention of telling this man exactly where he could cram it when she caught sight of thick white hair. Trying desperately to focus, her glazed blue eyes locked onto narrowed amber ones.

“Sesshomaru?” she finally managed to slur out.