InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Visions ❯ The Diary ( Chapter 5 )

(A/N: Yes, it’s been a while. Yes, a lot of you are probably mad, and yes, a lot may have lost interest in this story. However, a lot of you may be new to it, enjoy it, and can only accept that I will not let 3+ months go by without updating again. All I can say is that life sucks sometimes. However, I do have to acknowledge that without my beta, Wiccan, this story wouldn’t even continue to be online. I would have given up on this story a while ago if it wasn’t for her commenting that so many other people needed to find out what happens next, including her. So, Wiccan, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Enjoy)

Visions
Chapter Five
The Diary

Kagome didn’t realize how erotic it was to feel someone breathing down the back of her neck. Hell, she hadn’t even known she could use the word ‘erotic’ and have it apply to something in her life. However, having six feet and four inches of warm, solid, virile, male TaiYoukai fitting her into the cradle of his body, and having his hot breath stir the little hairs at the nape of her neck, was making her pretty damn squirmy.

She hadn’t even known she could be squirmy, let alone have this driving urge to turn around in his arms and run her teeth over the muscles on his chest that she didn’t have a chance to explore as much as she wanted to yesterday morning. She was not a prude; she knew about the physical act of sex and its supposed appeal, even if she’d never participated in the actual event. A sex education class in high school, a hasty and stuttering explanation by her mother when she was fourteen and started her monthlies, and even reading one or two cheesy romance novels had taught her all she needed to know about sex. She had always wondered, though, in an absentminded sort of way, what it would feel like to have a man inside her. However, her life was not a normal life; all of those wonderings had been pushed aside by murder, torture, and blood.

As she had grown more into adulthood, she had quite simply come to the conclusion that she was not a sexual being. She did not inspire lust in anyone, thanks to the fact that her lifestyle of capturing vicious murderers and being killed - figuratively, of course - in her visions was not a real turn on. Nor was lust inspired in her. She had just resigned herself to never feeling the steamy passion and burning desire that had been described so painstakingly in those old romance novels, and moved on with her chaotic, abnormal life.

But now, every inhale and exhale from the demon behind her made her uncomfortably aware that, yes, these feelings existed within her, and yes, she could feel them with a vengeance. And now it had her fidgeting. Worse yet, when the clawed hands wrapped firmly around her waist tightened unconsciously to keep her still, all she could think of was that if he just moved those dangerous fingertips just a little lower, just a few inches…

Oh, God, she thought, as she bit back a whimper. She was going to self-combust.

She froze when his hands tightened again, drawing her back more firmly against his warm body and heard, or rather felt, a growl rumbling in his chest. Dear Lord, that just turned her on more! She stayed completely still, thinking that she had woken him up, but a very faint moan reached her ears. She stopped breathing when she felt a part of him begin to harden and lengthen against her rear, then her breath whooshed back out with realization.

That damn connection was sending her arousal to him, and now he was being turned on by her thoughts in his sleep.

That’s it, she thought as her face reddened with mortification. She had to get away from him before her curiosity got the better of her. Preferably before she reached back to explore the very prominent and well-endowed piece of flesh she knew she’d find between his thighs. In addition, the thought that she knew that it would cause him to be putty in her hands almost caused her to melt.

She moved to get up, but found herself pressed more tightly against him. “Stay,” he rumbled in a voice that she knew suggested he wasn’t awake. She retuned against to her place against him, feeling the quick tension that had gathered in him dissolve, and smiled a bit to herself. She was still hot and bothered but, while he may not like her or want her around when he was awake, at least she knew his subconscious wanted her.

Now it was up to her to decide if she wanted to make him want her beyond that. Thinking of the possibilities, she fell into a peaceful slumber.



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It fascinated him to no end that he’d had another restful night wrapped up around her. He didn’t want to feel at peace around her, damn it, he wanted to find her revolting like most other females of his acquaintance. But, no, he had to wake up with her smelling fucking delicious and so hard it hurt. Without saying a word, he got up and walked forcefully out of the room. He did not storm out; that it was beneath him. He was just getting his point across.

Right.

But when the door shut behind him with a distinctive and damning slam, and the surprisingly arousing sound of her low laughter followed behind him, he scowled. Damn female.

He was getting fed up with this damn connection. The idea that he had no control over this situation was starting to make him feel caged in. It was not a feeling he relished and it was high time he decided to do something about it.

He needed to get away from her for a day. Just one day without her and then he would see if this connection was really unbreakable.

His plan formed, he set out to inform his team of what to do in his absence.



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She was going to kill him when he got back. Already her miko powers were tingling in anticipation, waiting for just one chance to rip into her arrogant, stubborn, ‘Mr. Thinks-He-Knows-It-All-Friggin’-Bloody-Chosen-One.’

Sh e had felt it the minute she left the building, a gut-wrenching, blinding sense of panic that he was gone forever filled her in nano-seconds, taking her breath away. She had hopped up out of the bed and ran to the breakroom, where the others were gathering for breakfast.

“Where is he?” she demanded, trying to stop her heart from beating out of her chest. She knew what a sight she must have been, standing there wild eyed and hair flying every direction, but at that moment she just didn’t care.

It was Sango who answered, keeping her voice hesitant. “He took the list that we have gathered of all of the soul-sucking demons in this area. I assume that he is going to check them out. He said that he wouldn’t be back until nightfall.”

“Nightfall,” Kagome repeated dumbly, and then let out a string of curses at which even the unflappable Miroku lifted his eyebrows. No doubt he hadn’t thought she even knew those words. When she paused to suck in a breath, it hit her.

He had left her alone.

The rest of the team watched in horrified fascination as the fight seemed to just droop out of her, leaving her looking much like a lost waif. Although her conscious told her that he had just left for the day, something completely normal, her heart was screaming that he was proving to himself that he could live without her around. What was to stop him from not coming back?

Silently, she turned and went back to her room, her head spinning with thoughts and her heart aching. By the time noon had came around, her sorrow and loneliness had slowly been taken over by anger. How dare he leave her, knowing what it would do to her? Kaede had told him that it would be uncomfortable not to be around each other.

Well, she hoped he was happy making her pretty damn uncomfortable, because it had felt like she couldn’t breathe around the lump in her throat for half of the day. Let him make the stupid little point she knew he was trying to prove to himself; she didn’t want anything to do with a selfish bastard like him. She didn’t ask that he be her Chosen One! She was stuck in it just as much as he was and, if he thought it was all up to him to make the decision to try to make their situation work, he was in for a rude surprise. She had felt the pangs of frustration and unwanted longing coming from him as well, all day, so she knew she wasn’t the only one affected.

Stupid males and their stupid pig-headedness.

She was not there so that he could experiment on his retarded emotions that he tried to pretend he didn’t have. She didn’t want to be in this stupid situation, having these stupid visions about this stupid killer, having to stay in this stupid building that was making everyone crazy to be confined in, dealing with the stupid emotions that she had to feel all because he was her stupid Chosen One.

Right then, she made a decision. She would stay in the city until the case was over, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to stay around him a moment longer than she had to. Even though her heart protested that, when all she really wanted to do right this minute was just see him, she convinced her brain that she wanted to pulverize him. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her whimpering at the door, waiting for him to come back.

If he wanted her, really wanted her, then he would have to find her.

She was so sick of people who didn’t want her.

Smiling grimly, she began to pack.



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Failure left a bitter taste in his mouth.

For months he had prowled this pitiful city looking for the one worthy enough to bring him redemption. Night after night, his anger grew until he could barely see because of it, yet his efforts still produced nothing.

Once again, he cursed the ones that had put him in this position. If it weren’t for their ignorance and stupidity, he wouldn’t be here.

Even the blood wasn’t enough to satisfy him. His companion, maybe, but never him. Each soul he had taken had given him strength, but not enough. It was never enough.

So he would kill until he found enough.

And then take his vengeance.



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“Where is she?”

The deep voice startled Sango, all the more dangerous for the soft-spoken way it was said, but she managed to keep a straight face. She turned toward Sesshoumaru while Inuyasha and Miroku looked on in avid interest.

“Sesshoumaru-sama. Did you find anything of interest from the demons you met with today?”

Amber eyes hardened in an icy glare that set her danger senses tingling. He was not a very happy TaiYoukai right now.

“They were all dead, old, feeble, or inept. Where is she?”

“Who?”

Those intimidating eyes narrowed on her more, and even Inuyasha drew in a sharp breath in warning.

“Oh, Kagome? She’s gone.”

“I can see that. Where did she go?”

“Do you really care?” Sango shot back, and prayed they wouldn’t be her last words. Sesshoumaru looked in no mood to play games. He actually looked haggard, a look she would have never associated with him; also a bit resigned. Once she got past the death glare, she realized that he looked just as bad as Kagome did before she announced that she was going to stay in the hotel she had resided in before she met them and that, if Sesshoumaru asked for her, he could just find her on his own. Since Sango had grown really fond of the little miko and increasingly frustrated at her dense boss, she was in complete agreement.

Sesshoumaru took a step forward, but she held her ground. His youki was grating on her, which meant that he was really hostile, because she didn’t have any spiritual powers to sense them.

“She’s at the hotel a few blocks away,” Miroku said calmly. “Perhaps you could go and make sure she’s safe and secure?”

The words were barely out of the monk’s mouth before Sesshoumaru was back out the door. He watched in mild amusement as Sango rounded on him as soon as the door shut.

“Miroku! Why did you give away her position?”

“My dear Sango, can’t you see?”

She sullenly pouted, trying to fight the blush that was rising in her cheeks at the use of “my dear.” “See what? He deserves to suffer a little for what he’s been doing to her.”

“Oh, but he has. Didn’t you see him?”

“I’ve never really seen Sesshoumaru like that,” Inuyasha said, his voice a bit dumbfounded.

“They need each other,” Miroku said matter of factly. “And I think that his absence from her today has started to prove that to him. He hasn’t quite accepted it yet, but I’m sure Kagome will make him come around in no time. I saw no need to make them both suffer any longer. The sooner they are in each others company, the better for all of us.”

“I still say you let him get off easy.”

“On the contrary. He still has to deal with Kagome.”



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She shouldn’t have been surprised that he found her so quickly. It was the thought that ran through her mind first as she could sense the irate TaiYoukai close in on her location. He would be walking through the door any minute. She clasped her trembling hands together as she faced the door to give herself a false sense of security.

Of course, he was one of the most skilled, if not the most skilled demon in the world, so tracking her should have been a piece of cake. Or else someone had sold her out.

She couldn’t help but laugh a little. The traitors.

All humor left her face however, when the door to her room opened silently and, just as soundlessly, closed behind Sesshoumaru. Her gaze traveled over his feet, up his legs and torso, putting off looking at his face for as long as she could.

It didn’t help. A tiny helpless sound escaped her as she made contact with his eyes, and the full impact of everything she was feeling, as well as what he was feeling, crashed down around her.

He had left her, damn it, yet it felt like a part of her had come home when she drank in his features, which had become so beloved to her in such an absurd amount of time. Her agony at being left alone, her loneliness, her fury, and her thrill at seeing him once more, standing no more than five feet in front of her, overwhelmed her already frayed senses, but that wasn’t what scared her.

Oh no, it was his emotions that scared her the most. His face was completely impassive. It could have been made from stone, in fact, but it was his eyes that told her everything. His rage was at the forefront, followed by a weariness that she didn’t want to try to explain, then a quieting in his soul as soon as she was in his sight.

A strange stillness enveloped her as he took a step towards her, then another. She wanted to run. She wanted to stay. But, for the life of her, she couldn’t do anything as he finally came to a stop no more than a few inches from her. All the while, his tawny eyes were locked on her, and now she could feel heat coming off him in waves; could feel his anger more palpably up close. She could sense he was about to move and closed her eyes, expecting to feel his razor-sharp claws ripping into her flesh for disobeying him, for not staying where he had placed her. Her breath froze in her lungs.

Then softly, so softly, she felt the smoothness of his cheek graze hers, rubbing in a disarmingly affectionate gesture. She let her breath out on a faint half-sob and opened her eyes. He drew back slightly, but still close enough that she could feel his breath against her face. It was not anger she saw in his eyes now, though. This was something hotter, more powerful, and it set off a yearning in her body that almost had her swaying towards him. Gathering her wits, she resisted.

“Why are you here?” she asked, her voice surprising her in its steadiness. That quickly, his eyes hardened and went cold again. He took a few steps back, as if he couldn’t be near her in that moment.

He began pacing the tiny room in front of her while she just watched him. She could sense the turbulent emotions coming from him and the way he moved reminded her of a big game hunter who missed out on a kill. But she also knew that he rarely, if ever, gave into restless, unnecessary movements. It looked like he was gearing himself for a fight.

She straightened her shoulders. Good. She was ready to give him one.

All the while, the connection between them seemed to throb with all of the feelings coursing through it. Anger, lust, hope, frustration, helplessness. What emotions belonged to who, neither of them knew. Suddenly, he whirled around and pointed a tapered, clawed finger at her.

“You left,” he accused.

“You left first,” she returned evenly, trying not to let him see how much he had hurt her. His jaw clenched, but she wasn’t finished. “And I hope you found the answer you were looking for, because I’m sick of your self-righteous bullshit. You don’t want me? Fine! I’ll stay away from you until the case is solved, then you’ll never see me again.”

His eyes flashed at her and he took a quick step forward. Then he stopped and let out a low, mirthless laugh. “Not want you? I couldn’t breathe for half of the day for wanting you.”
The simple way he said it made her heart clench. “You don’t want to want me,” she countered. “There’s a difference.”

His eyes grew shuttered and his face transformed into something mysterious. “Perhaps.”

This time it was she who laughed. “Perhaps? There’s no perhaps about it, Sesshoumaru. You had a choice; to accept me or deny me. You made that choice today when you left.” She was fighting hard not to let tears enter her voice. “So, now I’ll make it easy for you. You go back to headquarters, and I’ll stay here. You can have your life back.”

She turned away, but he grabbed her arm in a move she couldn’t see and whirled her around to face him, his eyes fierce. “Are you that willing to go back to insanity?”

She wrenched her arm away from him, unable to handle his touch. “It’s better than being in a one-sided relationship for the rest of my life,” she said quietly, and he could hear the truth in her voice.

She heard him sigh softly and watched warily as he walked to the bed and sat on the edge, his hands hanging between his knees as he focused on her. The silence stretched on until she had to fight the urge to fidget. “What are you still doing here?” she asked, trying to keep the nerves from her voice. “You don’t have to stay around me anymore. You can go.”

“No, I don’t think I will,” he said, his eyebrows furrowed together in a contemplative mask. A smile almost twitched on his lips at the look on her face. She really was quite cute when she was befuddled, and something inside had sighed in recognition when he was in her presence once more. She turned him on, twisted him up, and made him more comfortable - and uncomfortable - than anyone else. He found himself speaking before he could really stop himself. “I didn’t ask for this situation; I was resentful of the fact that my choices were being taken away from me. I wanted to choose my own mate, if there was such a woman out there, not have one fall easily into my lap. The connection was suspicious to me, especially the way it made me feel. My control was slowly being eaten away.”

“And that scared you,” she said as a statement. She had unconsciously taken a step closer to him once he started speaking, willing to let him get it out.

“Made me wary,” he countered. “I left this morning to test myself and my control. I didn’t take into account how you would feel about it, or how much it would affect me. If you felt half of what I went through today, I apologize.” His gaze locked on hers and she nodded slightly, her throat tight. She was faintly surprised that he was revealing this much of himself - she could tell he was too. But she wasn’t about to stop him.

He looked away again. “When I was very young, I ran wild. I fought as much as I could to gain experience and power. I found pleasure in any female I found attractive.” Kagome made an indistinct noise in the back of her throat, much like an angry growl, and he found his lips twitching again. His little miko could feel jealousy.

“I eventually learned that the truly powerful could tame their emotions and lock them away.” He paused, slanted a glance at her, then added wickedly, “And that my passion should remain only for my future mate.” She made a slight choking noise and he was pleased. Her temperature went up, his following easily along. This time, instead of resenting it, he let himself relish it.

Then you came and tore every ideal out of my head, turning my world upside down. I act in ways that I don’t normally act, and feeling things that I don’t want to feel because they are so powerful.” His head dropped down a little in a sign of exhaustion. “I don’t know how this will work out, and I should warn you right now to not expect any feelings of love, because I don’t believe I can give them.”

“Fair enough,” she murmured, knowing that he was wrong but, as long as he was willing to give her a chance… “Are you looking for a partnership, then?”

“I don’t know,” he said again, closing his eyes as if the words pained him. “All I know is that, if I have to go through another day like today, I’ll kill something.”

Her heart broke a little for him, but she couldn’t help but be amused by that statement. He was so unused to emotions that he didn’t even know how to express what he wanted. She would have been surprised at the thoughts running through his head. He had come to a conclusion that day... he never denied himself what he wanted and he went after it with all the grace of a methodical hunter. And he realized that he wanted her. To his mind, that was all that mattered. This gave him back a measure of control. If he couldn’t control fate, he could at least control their present circumstances. Once he got past all of his hang-ups, he realized the benefits to having her around, seeing if she was compatible as a mate.

That was why his youki agreed wholeheartedly when she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his head. His mouth was conveniently located at her breasts, and he took advantage, grabbing her in his arms and nuzzling. He could feel her heartbeat pounding frantically, as if she was unsure of her welcome, so he made a low sound of approval, one he knew he would never be able to make in public, and sighed.

Kagome wondered if he realized how desperately he was holding onto her, as if he couldn’t stand an inch of their skin not touching. She had gone to him out of instinct, knowing that he had practically bared his soul to her, and wanting to comfort. A split second later she realized her mistake. His warm breath touched her chest through her thin shirt and she held back a shudder. In response, he rubbed his cheek against her and almost had her knees buckling.

“Sesshoumaru?” she asked in a voice she barely recognized.

“Hmm?” Although he made a noise in response, he took advantage of the opportunity to inhale deeply, and he almost groaned. Having her so close to him, knowing that she wasn’t going to move away, that at least some of their problems were solved, wasn’t making him inclined to move anytime soon. Instead, he wanted to lick every inch of skin that was in reach of his mouth, then reach inside her shirt and cup her softness to see if they fit as perfectly as he thought they would in his hands.

The erection he’d been sporting ever since he smelled her outside the hotel room, which never seemed to go away whenever he was in her presence, throbbed impatiently, making him aware that it had been a long, long time since he’d allowed himself release within a female. Or been anywhere close to intimate with a female for that matter. It was the one thing he had missed once he had made the decision to not allow himself to feel unnecessary emotion - the feel of a female. Inuyoukai, although circumspect in their partners, were naturally affectionate creatures, and he had several centuries of pent-up lust stored inside him. He wondered idly if Kagome would be able to handle all of him, now that he had decided to at least try to make this situation work.

“Sesshoumaru?” Kagome tried again but, as she looked down at his silver head, she realized he didn’t have any intention of moving anytime soon. She wanted to bury her fingers in his hair, but instead gave the strands a sharp tug. His eyes narrowed on her as he looked up and moved back minutely… not enough to give her the type of peace of mind she needed right now. He looked like his toy had just been taken away, and the thought almost made her smile.

“What?” he asked, as he sensed her nervousness.

“I… ah, I’m really glad you decided to try to work this out with me, but I…”

“You?” he prompted.

“Look, it’s just weird going from one extreme to the other. This morning, you didn’t want to touch me, and now… Well, now it feels like you’re going to eat me up.”

He almost grinned at that innocent phrase from her. Eat her, indeed.

“It’s just strange to me, okay? I’ve never really, well, done anything with a guy - don’t you dare smile now, you big jerk, I’m trying to get out something important here!” She waited until the small, pleased smirk left his face before she continued, “Like I was saying, I don’t have any experience, and I don’t know what you are going to expect from me. I know the bond will help me out there, but I don’t want to just jump in the sheets with you, you know? Can’t we… I don’t know... get to know each other better first? Before we do anything life changing?”

His eyes narrowed on her once more; he could smell her apprehension. She was truly nervous about asking him to wait. As he thought about her request, he didn’t find it unreasonable. If he waited this long for her, he could wait a little bit more. But not too long. He wanted her more than he could ever remember wanting anything. If she wanted to be more comfortable with him first, so be it. It would give him more time to court her properly, though he still wasn’t sure where this all would lead.
“Whatever you need,” he answered her, and wondered if he would be able to keep himself from jumping on her in the meantime.

He could feel a distinct sense of relief emanating from her, as well as contentment when he gathered her loosely in his arms again, just cradling her for the moment.

Kagome was still reeling from all of the events that occurred within the last ten minutes. She had gone from a nuisance to a necessity to him, and she couldn’t deny that it felt wonderful. Especially now, when he was holding her so tenderly, something she was starting to believe he didn’t have in him. She was glad she had been wrong about that part.

She finally buried her fingers in his hair as she had been longing to do, and relished in the pure silk she found there. He seemed to relax even more, and let his cheek rest against her breasts again. While the feeling of lust still pulsed between them, it was a moment of contentment and companionship. Slowly, she ran her fingers over his scalp, scratching lightly in a caress that almost had him shuddering against her. He was more than willing to wait for her if she would just keep touching him like that. The feeling was alien to him, something he hadn’t really felt before, even with previous lovers.

Her fingers wandered over the tips of his ears and a bolt of lust shot through him so clearly that, this time, he did shudder. He had to physically restrain his body from grabbing her and throwing her on the bed, a loss of control that brought him back to his senses. He had just given her his word that he wouldn’t claim her until she was ready.

He was so wrapped up in her that he didn’t realize that he used the word “claim,” something only used when a demon was going to take a permanent mate.

Feeling that surge of lust through their connection, Kagome took her fingers off his ears and fought to stand up straight. She backed up slowly, noticing how his glittering eyes followed her, focused on her. Then he blinked, and the look was gone. His control was back.

“It’s been a long day,” he said, standing up, towering over her. “Why don’t you get some sleep?”

“Are you going to be with me?” she asked before she could stop herself. Seeing his raised eyebrow, she explained with embarrassment, “I just don’t think I’ll be able to sleep without you here, or at least close to me, and…”

“I’ll be here. Go change into your sleeping clothes.”

Hurriedly gathering a pair of sweats and a tank top, she hustled into the bathroom to change, excited and at peace all at once. He was willing to meet her halfway… now all she had to do was make sure he wanted to meet her all the way. Forever.



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When she stepped out of the bathroom, she saw that he had taken off his shoes and socks, laying them neatly to the side. His shirt was still on, but unbuttoned, and the sleeves were rolled up. He saw her standing nervously in the doorway of the bathroom, looking so young and innocent he had to check his body’s reaction to her before he could lift out a hand to her and say, “Come.”

Smiling shyly, she placed her hand in his and watched as he swept aside the bedcovers so she could get in. He followed her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her, spooning her and covering her with as much of his body as he could. He buried his face in the place where her neck and shoulder met, and she felt, more than heard, him sigh. Tentatively, she placed her hands over his and relaxed, the worry and tension of the day draining away as his body heat warmed her.

She fell asleep to the cadence of his soft breathing and his hard chest moving subtly against her back.



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The next morning dawned clear and bright, and there was a notable lifting of tension at headquarters when Kagome and Sesshoumaru walked in.

“Welcome back, Kagome,” Sango said warmly, giving a cursory glance at Sesshoumaru. Miroku noticed this and smiled a bit before walking forward to give Kagome a hug. Sesshoumaru, however, steered her clear of the monk’s arms at the last moment and placed her in a chair. “Eat,” he said softly, but there was a steely note to his voice.

Satisfied when Kagome picked up an apple, he turned to Shippo. “Where are Inuyasha and Kouga?”

“They’re out following a lead they got earlier this morning,” the fox demon replied. “They said they would be back later this afternoon.”

“They’re actually working together?” Kagome asked, a doubtful note in her voice.

“They figured that, Sesshoumaru would either show up in a really bad mood, or a really good mood,” Shippo said innocently, buttering up a piece of toast. “They said they really didn’t want to be here either way.”

Kagome choked a little bit, but Sesshoumaru could feel her amusement through their bond when he saw her blank expression.

“Oh! Kagome, before I forget, a package came for you this morning. It was shipped overnight, so I thought it was important.” Shippo handed her a brown package, and Kagome recognized her mentor’s spidery writing.

“It’s from Kaede,” she said, and tore open the wrapping. A leather-bound sheaf of papers appeared, the leather soft, supple, and very old by the looks of it. She handed it to Sesshoumaru to examine while she picked up the letter that fell out with it.

“Dear Kagome,” she read aloud. “Enclosed you will find an artifact which I believe you and Sesshoumaru will find very useful in answering your questions about the bond you have with each other. It comes from a very reliable source…” she trailed off and went pale.

“What?” Sesshoumaru asked immediately, coming to her side.

“It’s the diary of the previous miko who found her Chosen One,” she whispered, her voice shaking only slightly. “The only miko who survived the curse.”