InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Remnants of the Spider ❯ Promise ( Chapter 45 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Lady Sianna 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 11.11.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 290 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 11.11.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 290 | Status: Work In Progress
Remnants of the Spider
Promise __________________________________________________________________ ___
Her eyes wide as the ground fell away beneath her feet, the miko instinctively reached out, her grasping fingers finding purchase on the upper portion of Sesshoumaru’s armor. Frowning, her breath was stolen by the rapid surge of air that whipped by her causing errant strands of black and silver hair to dance across her cheek before they were pushed aside by the wind.
“I wish you’d warn me when you’re going to do that!” the miko chided disapprovingly as she glared up at him.
The daiyoukai said nothing, simply stared off into space as if she had not spoken at all.
Kagome’s frown deepened, but instead of annoyance, it was now edged with concern. There was a certain unease in the demon lord’s expression, a faint… furrow to his brow. What was wrong with him today? She would have thought that he’d be….
Oh, right…
Kagome flushed and looked away, attempting to hide her face from him in spite of how close they stood. Maybe he was um… frustrated… because of what happened yesterday, or rather what didn‘t happen. The miko bit her lip. She didn’t want him to be in a bad mood as (among other things) it would make the long day of traveling that much more unpleasant, but she couldn’t even begin to think of what to say to make him feel better. Not that she was courageous enough to say such a thing in the first place, but she couldn’t even promise that they would… finish what HE’D started anytime soon, or ever!
Sure she had let herself get caught up in the moment then, but thinking rationally about it now, it was probably a good thing the others showed up when they did. Had they not been disturbed at that moment, she and Sesshoumaru would have crossed a line she was not sure she was ready to cross.
The miko stole a glance at him attempting to hide her gaze beneath a canopy of thick, dark lashes. He looked so… cold, so detached and even though his arm was wrapped securely around her waist, he seemed impossibly far away.
To her surprise, Kagome realized she hadn’t seen him look like that in a long time. It brought back memories of the first time she ever saw him, the time he looked directly at her and sprayed deadly, corrosive poison right in her face before callously turning away. She would have died had she not been holding the Tetsuaiga and he would never have thought anything of it.
Suddenly, irrationally, the young priestess was feeling moderately peeved and even though they were perilously high in the air, she attempted to pull away from his grasp before she could think better of it. Fortunately for her, he did not allow it and the mounting displeasure she was feeling toward him melted ever so slightly at the realization at what he had just prevented. Her lips twisted wryly not only at her own momentary thoughtlessness but also her helplessness to remove the thin blanket of tension that surrounded them, Kagome resigned herself to the long, unpleasant flight.
“Why were you with Inuyasha last night?” the daiyoukai asked suddenly.
Startled back into the present, Kagome looked up at him only to see that he was staring straight ahead. If she had not heard his voice so clearly, she would have been sure he had not spoken at all.
“What?” she asked in spite of the fact that she had already heard him. When he did not deign to repeat himself she asked, “You… you were awake?”
Still he said nothing, and the miko soon found herself feeling uneasy. “I…” she began haltingly, “I needed him to… to help me with something.” she finally said uncomfortably.
“Hn.” he returned quietly, the ambiguous response nearly lost in the rapid winds. “And I suppose there was a reason your request could not be made of this Sesshoumaru?”
Her lips parted to respond but her brain had no immediate answer. Finally she sighed and told him, “It wasn’t a big deal really. I just… I guess I just asked Inuyasha out of habit. We traveled together for a long time and it just… didn’t occur to me to ask you.”
Sesshoumaru considered this. Her explanation was perfectly reasonable, yet he was still left with a puzzling sense of discontent.
“Are you… are you mad at me?” he heard her ask cautiously.
The daiyoukai exhaled softly. The idea that the miko might have held greater trust in the hanyou than in himself had not sat well with him, but according to her explanation, it did not seem that this was necessarily the case. Still, he was finding himself only partially appeased.
“No.” he finally answered her question. “I am not angry.”
He could hear the smile in her voice when she answered. “I’m glad.”
Feeling both relieved and apprehensive at the same time, Kagome turned away from him to look at the path ahead. A part of her felt as if she had just relieved a bit of the potentially detrimental tension that had so happily nestled itself between them, but she also still knew that there could be more… issues to come. She still had not spoken to him about what had happened between them yesterday and now she was almost afraid to do so.
Maybe she didn’t really need to bring it up. She had never been in that kind of situation before, so for all she knew, what happened was completely normal, all things considered. After all, she had been the one who, in a moment of characteristic thoughtlessness, had hugged him while they were both practically naked!
Grimacing slightly to herself, the miko barely repressed the urge to fidget. Maybe he thought she was coming on to him! Her eyes widened at the thought. ‘Dear Kami!’ she thought anxiously. ‘I hadn’t even thought of that!’
“What are you thinking of?”
Yipping skittishly in response to his unexpected question, she attempted to cover her less than dignified reaction with a series of light coughs. “Um…” she began uncertainly. It actually took her a moment to recall what he’d said and when she finally did, she briefly considered not answering.
“I was… I was thinking about what happened yesterday. You know… after we found the key.”
There was a long pause and then, “What of it?”
She frowned up at him. “You don’t think that was… unusual?”
“Perhaps.” he answered cryptically. Then he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. “Do you regret our actions?”
“N-no.” she answered honestly, “But…”
“Yes…?” he asked when it seemed that she would say nothing further.
He heard her swallow. “But I don’t think…” she looked away from him and he could tell she was uncomfortable. “I don’t think we should… do that again.” she was silent for a moment before continuing, “We’re supposed to be friends and I don’t want to mess that up you know.”
The demon lord raised a brow. “Am I to understand that you believe a higher level of intimacy between us would be detrimental to our friendship?”
“Well… yeah. Friends don’t do stuff like that.” she said with a heavy blush. “It would change everything.”
“And you do not welcome this change?”
She gasped at this. “It’s not… it’s not that. It’s just…” she trailed off.
“Just?” he prodded after a moment.
Frowning thoughtfully, she looked up at him again. “Wait, are you saying that you would? …Welcome that kind of change?”
“I believe you already know the answer to that.” he said before turning away again to watch their path.
“I just feel a little… confused. I mean, I-I just…” she trailed off.
‘I don’t know what I should do.’ the miko thought distantly, her eyes taking on a far away look. Her initial knowledge of the demon lord was that he didn’t even like humans. Though he seemed to care for Rin’s safety and well being, and he endured the friendship she so audaciously foisted upon him, the initial impression she had of cold, black-hearted assassin was something she could not fully separate from him.
On the other hand, Sesshoumaru was more than easy on the eyes. He was strong beyond imagining, intelligent, brave in a surprisingly good listener. He was strangely intriguing, gave helpful advice and when it came right down to it… she liked him. In spite of how mean and arrogant he could be sometimes, he really wasn’t such a bad person. It was almost too much to hope for that he could really have feelings for her.
“Did I frighten you?” he spoke up before she could continue with whatever she was going to say.
She bit her lip. “A little.” she admitted truthfully, “But not in a bad way.” she added with a renewed blush.
“Hn.” he exhaled quietly. He seemed distant in thought for several moments before asking, “Do you remember the promise we exchanged before we set out on this journey?”
“Promise?” she echoed thoughtfully. She considered his words for a long time before memory wove its delicate tendrils through her mind. Suddenly, she could see a dark night accented by thin wisps of moonlight seeping through the trees. She was sitting on the ground and cradling an injured hand against her chest.
Then Sesshoumaru was there.
He had kissed her and she had run away from him. In her flight she’d tripped over a rock, injured her hand and was attempting to assess the damage in the dim silvery light when the demon lord came and kneeled before her. They spoke softly to one another beneath the canopy of stars, each slightly confused by the gradual changes of their feelings toward the other.
Finally, Sesshoumaru had told her: “I do not know what the future will bring… However, If you promise not to fight against it, then neither will I.”
“I’ll do my best.” She had said.
And then the image was gone leaving the miko’s unfocused eyes to take in what they could of the blurring green of the forest below and the dappled blue and white of the sky around them. She had nearly forgotten about that, she realized with a light gasp. It had seemed so significant at the time, but with everything that had happened since, it apparently had managed to slip her mind.
“I remember…” she said almost so quietly he didn‘t hear. She was still staring straight ahead, her lips slightly parted as she appeared to think something over. After a moment she gave herself a light shake before turning to look up at him. “I do remember, but…”
She faltered when he turned to look at her and spoke in a voice that was somehow soft and firm at the same time.
“So you understand then?”
She could not read his expression, but beneath his vague words she understood what he was really saying. Perhaps, she decided mutedly, he was as uncertain about the future, their future just as she was. But like her, he was just as bound to that promise as she. “Yes,” she breathed, and he could see the beginnings of realization in her eyes. “I-I think I do.” __________________________________________________________________ ______
It was a long, LONG day…
Traveling expansive distances was a tedious affair in and of itself, but doing so by air, while having the advantage of being much swifter than doing so on foot, it turned out had the distinct disadvantage of robbing one of much needed shade. And, it had been a warm day.
‘Funny how I never really consider these things until its too late.’ Kagome thought humorlessly as she wrung the cool stream water from her hair. ‘Not that I was actually given a choice as to my traveling arrangements.’
After her earlier discussion with Sesshoumaru, the pair had settled into, if not a comfortable silence, then a mutual one that was neither pleasant nor tense. Their journey into the north was not progressing as quickly as the one they had made to the west, a situation which was likely due to the fact that, for this first day at least, they took more frequent breaks.
With the increasing warmth of the weather, it was necessary to stop and refill water bottles almost every time they passed a clean supply. Glancing over her shoulder and repressing a shiver, the miko noticed that the sun was just beginning to set. The travelers had decided to stop for the day in spite of the fact that there was still a bit of daylight remaining. For her part, Kagome was not complaining as the need to remove the light layer of sweat that clung to the skin beneath her clothing was insistently asserting itself.
The miko made an unhappy face to herself. She hoped she hadn’t offended the demon lord with her scent, though if she had he was apparently too polite to say so. If she ever had one complaint about inu youkai, it was that they had a way of making one hyperaware of any and all scents they might be giving off. It was different with Inuyasha, if only because they had traveled together for so long and he never complained about her scent even on the rare occasions when she was forced to go days without bathing.
Sango, who had reluctantly left her a few moments ago to return to camp, had said that she needn’t be so self-conscious about such things. While inu youkai were more sensitive to odors of the any human, it will likely take more than a few hours worth of perspiration to offend one who was clearly attracted to her. The miko had ignored that last part but not without succumbing to a light blush.
After a few more moments of persistent scrubbing, (for her own comfort of course) Kagome finally decided to get out of the water. She hastily dried her skin with a clean, but heavily worn towel before donning a pair of loose fitting shorts and a baggy T-shirt. Her miko attire would hopefully be dry by morning, as she had sacrificed some of her diminishing supply of soap to wash it. She wrung as much of the excess water from her clothing as she could before folding them over her arm and collecting her bag.
By the time she returned to camp Inuyasha and Miroku had already procured several small to medium sized fish from some place or another while Sango was rooting through her traveling pack for a bag of rice.
She dropped her yellow pack near her sleeping bag before hanging her clothes to dry over a low branch of the tree in which Inuyasha had perched himself. Glancing around the campsite, the miko noted for the first time how quiet it was. It was… odd.
Near the fire, Miroku and Sango were chatting softly to one another, while Sesshoumaru rested casually at the base of Inuyasha’s chosen tree. While nothing seemed out of place she couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
“Not that I’m complaining,” the miko began almost warily, “but has anyone noticed that we haven’t been attacked by any rogue demons at any point during this journey?”
“Yes.” Miroku spoke up. “In fact I’ve hardly sensed any malevolent demonic auras since we started out.”
“Keh,” Inuyasha spoke up from high above them, “it’s probably because the Shikon jewel is gone. No one’s looking for it anymore and we don’t have any shards to steal. Besides,” he added with an unconcerned shrug, “We can easily handle anything that’d be stupid enough to want to pick fight.”
He was probably right, Kagome realized that she attempted to relax and appreciate the rare reprieve; but something at the back of her mind kept prodding at her. It just seemed like everything was moving along too smoothly, dark cave and horrific bat demons not withstanding.
She wondered if someone else was really after the keys and if so, would they eventually run across them. Whatever the case, she was starting to get the feeling that something wasn’t quite right about this whole thing.
“You worry needlessly.” she heard Sesshoumaru speak up. She glanced back to look at him only to see that he was staring off into the distance. “The hanyou is right.” he added before she could respond.
Harrumphing quietly, Inuyasha chose to ignore his sibling’s discourteous reference to himself in favor of appreciating the fact that the elder inu agreed with him for a change.
“Hmm…” Kagome murmured thoughtfully. “I guess you guys are right.”
Not even Naraku had been bold enough to try and take them all on at once, and with the increase in her own spiritual powers, she had little to fear even if she somehow managed to get separated from the others.
Turning her head to the sky as the scent of roasting fish filled her nose, Kagome stared at the moon allowing its soft rays to bathe her form in its light. __________________________________________________________________ ______
Many miles away from where the travelers had settled down for the evening, another miko gazed upon the moon.
She sat quietly in an expansive courtyard completely unconcerned over the eyes that watched her from several yards away.
“She is still mourning.” Mai spoke up sagely, her eyes shining with sympathetic melancholy.
“I know.” said Akira, “But how long will she continue this way? It is… difficult to see her like this.” she added as she and her companion looked down upon their mistress with worry.
“Who can say?” Mai answered after a light sigh. “But it is said that time heals all wounds. I suppose for now, we must resigned ourselves to simply wait.”
In spite of the warmth of the night, the young priestess had swaddled herself in a luxurious white pelt. Her eyes staring sightlessly into the sky, the priestess fisted her fingers in the fur as silent tears slipped down her pale cheeks.
“I have not forgotten you my love. I could never forget you.” she whispered fiercely to the man she could still see so clearly, but who was no longer there.
“I hope you can forgive me for failing you when you needed me most.” she swallowed past the lump in her throat.
“Soon, very soon, you shall know the depth of my love for you.” __________________________________________________________________ ______
Promise __________________________________________________________________ ___
Her eyes wide as the ground fell away beneath her feet, the miko instinctively reached out, her grasping fingers finding purchase on the upper portion of Sesshoumaru’s armor. Frowning, her breath was stolen by the rapid surge of air that whipped by her causing errant strands of black and silver hair to dance across her cheek before they were pushed aside by the wind.
“I wish you’d warn me when you’re going to do that!” the miko chided disapprovingly as she glared up at him.
The daiyoukai said nothing, simply stared off into space as if she had not spoken at all.
Kagome’s frown deepened, but instead of annoyance, it was now edged with concern. There was a certain unease in the demon lord’s expression, a faint… furrow to his brow. What was wrong with him today? She would have thought that he’d be….
Oh, right…
Kagome flushed and looked away, attempting to hide her face from him in spite of how close they stood. Maybe he was um… frustrated… because of what happened yesterday, or rather what didn‘t happen. The miko bit her lip. She didn’t want him to be in a bad mood as (among other things) it would make the long day of traveling that much more unpleasant, but she couldn’t even begin to think of what to say to make him feel better. Not that she was courageous enough to say such a thing in the first place, but she couldn’t even promise that they would… finish what HE’D started anytime soon, or ever!
Sure she had let herself get caught up in the moment then, but thinking rationally about it now, it was probably a good thing the others showed up when they did. Had they not been disturbed at that moment, she and Sesshoumaru would have crossed a line she was not sure she was ready to cross.
The miko stole a glance at him attempting to hide her gaze beneath a canopy of thick, dark lashes. He looked so… cold, so detached and even though his arm was wrapped securely around her waist, he seemed impossibly far away.
To her surprise, Kagome realized she hadn’t seen him look like that in a long time. It brought back memories of the first time she ever saw him, the time he looked directly at her and sprayed deadly, corrosive poison right in her face before callously turning away. She would have died had she not been holding the Tetsuaiga and he would never have thought anything of it.
Suddenly, irrationally, the young priestess was feeling moderately peeved and even though they were perilously high in the air, she attempted to pull away from his grasp before she could think better of it. Fortunately for her, he did not allow it and the mounting displeasure she was feeling toward him melted ever so slightly at the realization at what he had just prevented. Her lips twisted wryly not only at her own momentary thoughtlessness but also her helplessness to remove the thin blanket of tension that surrounded them, Kagome resigned herself to the long, unpleasant flight.
“Why were you with Inuyasha last night?” the daiyoukai asked suddenly.
Startled back into the present, Kagome looked up at him only to see that he was staring straight ahead. If she had not heard his voice so clearly, she would have been sure he had not spoken at all.
“What?” she asked in spite of the fact that she had already heard him. When he did not deign to repeat himself she asked, “You… you were awake?”
Still he said nothing, and the miko soon found herself feeling uneasy. “I…” she began haltingly, “I needed him to… to help me with something.” she finally said uncomfortably.
“Hn.” he returned quietly, the ambiguous response nearly lost in the rapid winds. “And I suppose there was a reason your request could not be made of this Sesshoumaru?”
Her lips parted to respond but her brain had no immediate answer. Finally she sighed and told him, “It wasn’t a big deal really. I just… I guess I just asked Inuyasha out of habit. We traveled together for a long time and it just… didn’t occur to me to ask you.”
Sesshoumaru considered this. Her explanation was perfectly reasonable, yet he was still left with a puzzling sense of discontent.
“Are you… are you mad at me?” he heard her ask cautiously.
The daiyoukai exhaled softly. The idea that the miko might have held greater trust in the hanyou than in himself had not sat well with him, but according to her explanation, it did not seem that this was necessarily the case. Still, he was finding himself only partially appeased.
“No.” he finally answered her question. “I am not angry.”
He could hear the smile in her voice when she answered. “I’m glad.”
Feeling both relieved and apprehensive at the same time, Kagome turned away from him to look at the path ahead. A part of her felt as if she had just relieved a bit of the potentially detrimental tension that had so happily nestled itself between them, but she also still knew that there could be more… issues to come. She still had not spoken to him about what had happened between them yesterday and now she was almost afraid to do so.
Maybe she didn’t really need to bring it up. She had never been in that kind of situation before, so for all she knew, what happened was completely normal, all things considered. After all, she had been the one who, in a moment of characteristic thoughtlessness, had hugged him while they were both practically naked!
Grimacing slightly to herself, the miko barely repressed the urge to fidget. Maybe he thought she was coming on to him! Her eyes widened at the thought. ‘Dear Kami!’ she thought anxiously. ‘I hadn’t even thought of that!’
“What are you thinking of?”
Yipping skittishly in response to his unexpected question, she attempted to cover her less than dignified reaction with a series of light coughs. “Um…” she began uncertainly. It actually took her a moment to recall what he’d said and when she finally did, she briefly considered not answering.
“I was… I was thinking about what happened yesterday. You know… after we found the key.”
There was a long pause and then, “What of it?”
She frowned up at him. “You don’t think that was… unusual?”
“Perhaps.” he answered cryptically. Then he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. “Do you regret our actions?”
“N-no.” she answered honestly, “But…”
“Yes…?” he asked when it seemed that she would say nothing further.
He heard her swallow. “But I don’t think…” she looked away from him and he could tell she was uncomfortable. “I don’t think we should… do that again.” she was silent for a moment before continuing, “We’re supposed to be friends and I don’t want to mess that up you know.”
The demon lord raised a brow. “Am I to understand that you believe a higher level of intimacy between us would be detrimental to our friendship?”
“Well… yeah. Friends don’t do stuff like that.” she said with a heavy blush. “It would change everything.”
“And you do not welcome this change?”
She gasped at this. “It’s not… it’s not that. It’s just…” she trailed off.
“Just?” he prodded after a moment.
Frowning thoughtfully, she looked up at him again. “Wait, are you saying that you would? …Welcome that kind of change?”
“I believe you already know the answer to that.” he said before turning away again to watch their path.
“I just feel a little… confused. I mean, I-I just…” she trailed off.
‘I don’t know what I should do.’ the miko thought distantly, her eyes taking on a far away look. Her initial knowledge of the demon lord was that he didn’t even like humans. Though he seemed to care for Rin’s safety and well being, and he endured the friendship she so audaciously foisted upon him, the initial impression she had of cold, black-hearted assassin was something she could not fully separate from him.
On the other hand, Sesshoumaru was more than easy on the eyes. He was strong beyond imagining, intelligent, brave in a surprisingly good listener. He was strangely intriguing, gave helpful advice and when it came right down to it… she liked him. In spite of how mean and arrogant he could be sometimes, he really wasn’t such a bad person. It was almost too much to hope for that he could really have feelings for her.
“Did I frighten you?” he spoke up before she could continue with whatever she was going to say.
She bit her lip. “A little.” she admitted truthfully, “But not in a bad way.” she added with a renewed blush.
“Hn.” he exhaled quietly. He seemed distant in thought for several moments before asking, “Do you remember the promise we exchanged before we set out on this journey?”
“Promise?” she echoed thoughtfully. She considered his words for a long time before memory wove its delicate tendrils through her mind. Suddenly, she could see a dark night accented by thin wisps of moonlight seeping through the trees. She was sitting on the ground and cradling an injured hand against her chest.
Then Sesshoumaru was there.
He had kissed her and she had run away from him. In her flight she’d tripped over a rock, injured her hand and was attempting to assess the damage in the dim silvery light when the demon lord came and kneeled before her. They spoke softly to one another beneath the canopy of stars, each slightly confused by the gradual changes of their feelings toward the other.
Finally, Sesshoumaru had told her: “I do not know what the future will bring… However, If you promise not to fight against it, then neither will I.”
“I’ll do my best.” She had said.
And then the image was gone leaving the miko’s unfocused eyes to take in what they could of the blurring green of the forest below and the dappled blue and white of the sky around them. She had nearly forgotten about that, she realized with a light gasp. It had seemed so significant at the time, but with everything that had happened since, it apparently had managed to slip her mind.
“I remember…” she said almost so quietly he didn‘t hear. She was still staring straight ahead, her lips slightly parted as she appeared to think something over. After a moment she gave herself a light shake before turning to look up at him. “I do remember, but…”
She faltered when he turned to look at her and spoke in a voice that was somehow soft and firm at the same time.
“So you understand then?”
She could not read his expression, but beneath his vague words she understood what he was really saying. Perhaps, she decided mutedly, he was as uncertain about the future, their future just as she was. But like her, he was just as bound to that promise as she. “Yes,” she breathed, and he could see the beginnings of realization in her eyes. “I-I think I do.” __________________________________________________________________ ______
It was a long, LONG day…
Traveling expansive distances was a tedious affair in and of itself, but doing so by air, while having the advantage of being much swifter than doing so on foot, it turned out had the distinct disadvantage of robbing one of much needed shade. And, it had been a warm day.
‘Funny how I never really consider these things until its too late.’ Kagome thought humorlessly as she wrung the cool stream water from her hair. ‘Not that I was actually given a choice as to my traveling arrangements.’
After her earlier discussion with Sesshoumaru, the pair had settled into, if not a comfortable silence, then a mutual one that was neither pleasant nor tense. Their journey into the north was not progressing as quickly as the one they had made to the west, a situation which was likely due to the fact that, for this first day at least, they took more frequent breaks.
With the increasing warmth of the weather, it was necessary to stop and refill water bottles almost every time they passed a clean supply. Glancing over her shoulder and repressing a shiver, the miko noticed that the sun was just beginning to set. The travelers had decided to stop for the day in spite of the fact that there was still a bit of daylight remaining. For her part, Kagome was not complaining as the need to remove the light layer of sweat that clung to the skin beneath her clothing was insistently asserting itself.
The miko made an unhappy face to herself. She hoped she hadn’t offended the demon lord with her scent, though if she had he was apparently too polite to say so. If she ever had one complaint about inu youkai, it was that they had a way of making one hyperaware of any and all scents they might be giving off. It was different with Inuyasha, if only because they had traveled together for so long and he never complained about her scent even on the rare occasions when she was forced to go days without bathing.
Sango, who had reluctantly left her a few moments ago to return to camp, had said that she needn’t be so self-conscious about such things. While inu youkai were more sensitive to odors of the any human, it will likely take more than a few hours worth of perspiration to offend one who was clearly attracted to her. The miko had ignored that last part but not without succumbing to a light blush.
After a few more moments of persistent scrubbing, (for her own comfort of course) Kagome finally decided to get out of the water. She hastily dried her skin with a clean, but heavily worn towel before donning a pair of loose fitting shorts and a baggy T-shirt. Her miko attire would hopefully be dry by morning, as she had sacrificed some of her diminishing supply of soap to wash it. She wrung as much of the excess water from her clothing as she could before folding them over her arm and collecting her bag.
By the time she returned to camp Inuyasha and Miroku had already procured several small to medium sized fish from some place or another while Sango was rooting through her traveling pack for a bag of rice.
She dropped her yellow pack near her sleeping bag before hanging her clothes to dry over a low branch of the tree in which Inuyasha had perched himself. Glancing around the campsite, the miko noted for the first time how quiet it was. It was… odd.
Near the fire, Miroku and Sango were chatting softly to one another, while Sesshoumaru rested casually at the base of Inuyasha’s chosen tree. While nothing seemed out of place she couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
“Not that I’m complaining,” the miko began almost warily, “but has anyone noticed that we haven’t been attacked by any rogue demons at any point during this journey?”
“Yes.” Miroku spoke up. “In fact I’ve hardly sensed any malevolent demonic auras since we started out.”
“Keh,” Inuyasha spoke up from high above them, “it’s probably because the Shikon jewel is gone. No one’s looking for it anymore and we don’t have any shards to steal. Besides,” he added with an unconcerned shrug, “We can easily handle anything that’d be stupid enough to want to pick fight.”
He was probably right, Kagome realized that she attempted to relax and appreciate the rare reprieve; but something at the back of her mind kept prodding at her. It just seemed like everything was moving along too smoothly, dark cave and horrific bat demons not withstanding.
She wondered if someone else was really after the keys and if so, would they eventually run across them. Whatever the case, she was starting to get the feeling that something wasn’t quite right about this whole thing.
“You worry needlessly.” she heard Sesshoumaru speak up. She glanced back to look at him only to see that he was staring off into the distance. “The hanyou is right.” he added before she could respond.
Harrumphing quietly, Inuyasha chose to ignore his sibling’s discourteous reference to himself in favor of appreciating the fact that the elder inu agreed with him for a change.
“Hmm…” Kagome murmured thoughtfully. “I guess you guys are right.”
Not even Naraku had been bold enough to try and take them all on at once, and with the increase in her own spiritual powers, she had little to fear even if she somehow managed to get separated from the others.
Turning her head to the sky as the scent of roasting fish filled her nose, Kagome stared at the moon allowing its soft rays to bathe her form in its light. __________________________________________________________________ ______
Many miles away from where the travelers had settled down for the evening, another miko gazed upon the moon.
She sat quietly in an expansive courtyard completely unconcerned over the eyes that watched her from several yards away.
“She is still mourning.” Mai spoke up sagely, her eyes shining with sympathetic melancholy.
“I know.” said Akira, “But how long will she continue this way? It is… difficult to see her like this.” she added as she and her companion looked down upon their mistress with worry.
“Who can say?” Mai answered after a light sigh. “But it is said that time heals all wounds. I suppose for now, we must resigned ourselves to simply wait.”
In spite of the warmth of the night, the young priestess had swaddled herself in a luxurious white pelt. Her eyes staring sightlessly into the sky, the priestess fisted her fingers in the fur as silent tears slipped down her pale cheeks.
“I have not forgotten you my love. I could never forget you.” she whispered fiercely to the man she could still see so clearly, but who was no longer there.
“I hope you can forgive me for failing you when you needed me most.” she swallowed past the lump in her throat.
“Soon, very soon, you shall know the depth of my love for you.” __________________________________________________________________ ______