InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strange Fate ❯ Discoveries and Near Death Experiences ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and Co.

Strange Fate

Chapter 2

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An irritating buzz filled his ears. Inuyasha twitched the appendages in a futile attempt to chase the annoyance away. Silence occupied the air momentarily, and he slowly started to drift back into a dream until………

Bzzzzzzzzzz

He cracked open an eye, attempting to focus and find the offender who seemed intent on keeping him up. He watched as a fat little honeybee audaciously dive-bombed him once more before making a break for a nearby flower. With a grunt, he stretched, finally managing to get both eyes open.

Inuyasha looked down at Kikyou, who was curled up sleeping comfortably in his lap. He gently moved her, laying her down in the grass before standing and moving towards the rest of the group. Miroku and Sango sat together, speaking quietly to each other. Inuyasha looked around for Kagome and the runt Shippo, but found they were missing.

"Oi! Where's Kagome?" he asked, plopping down on the ground, looking around for that instant ramen that she always made for breakfast. There was none.

Miroku took a drink of tea before clearing his throat and speaking to the grouchy hanyou.

"She has left Inuyasha."

Inuyasha arched an eyebrow. "I gathered that." He said irritably. "Where did she go? And why didn't she cook breakfast before she left?"

Miroku laughed uneasily. "Inuyasha-"

"I'll bet she went to go take another bath." He interrupted, crossing his arms. "Cleaning yourself that much can't be a healthy habit."

Sango narrowed her eyes, standing with her hands on her hips. "She's gone Inuyasha! Probably for good! Why can't you get that through your thick skull?"

Inuyasha looked at Sango, sniffing the air slightly, finally paying attention to his God-given senses. Kagome's scent lingered in the clearing, but scarcely. Actually, it was almost barely discernible; she had been gone for some time. He stood, eyeing up the monk and exterminator with an assessing gaze.

"You know where she went, don't you." Inuyasha said without a doubt.

"No, we don't." Sango said, sitting down with a huff.

"But we do know that she took all of her belongings, Shippo," he paused, looking at Inuyasha pensively. "And the Shikon no Tama."

"WHAT?!?!?"

Inuyasha's voice resounded through the forest, loud enough to wake the dead - which in fact it did.

"What is going on?"

All heads turned to the priestess Kikyou who was making her way towards them. She barely spared Miroku and Sango a glance before she wound her arm through Inuyasha's, looking up at him with a reserved expression.

"Kagome left with the jewel shards." Inuyasha said moodily.

Kikyou's detached gaze fixed on Miroku and Sango. "Well then, we'll just have to hunt her down and take our shards back, now wont we." She said, a menacing tone to her voice that Inuyasha seemed to fail to notice.

Sango and Miroku exchanged glances, knowing that Kikyou meant it when she said hunt. Suddenly, they were afraid for their friend for an entirely different reason than before.

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"I don't understand Okaa-san," Shippo said as they bathed in a secluded hot spring, waiting patiently as Kagome lathered up his mangy hair with some shampoo. "Why did we have to leave Sango and Miroku? Couldn't they have come with us?"

Kagome began rinsing his hair, taking care not to get any suds in his eyes.

"They are safer with Inuyasha, Shippo. Besides," she said with a sigh. "This is something I have to do on my own."

Shippo turned around, looking at Kagome with a grin. "Well at least I don't have to worry about Inuyasha tormenting me anymore."

He splashed around in the water happily. "It's just me and you now, Okaa-san! Our own adventure!"

Kagome smiled, dunking under the water to wash the shampoo out of her own hair before getting out. As she toweled herself off, she noticed Shippo streaking about along the shore, getting dirty again in a matter of moments. Kagome groaned with a smile.

` I guess children will be children no matter what species.` She thought faintly, pulling an outfit out of her book bag.

As Kagome had changed over the years, so had her style of dress. Running around the forests in a little school uniform hadn't been practical for long. Normally she would wear jeans and sweaters in the winter months with a comfortable pair of sneakers.

But being that it was summer, she sported shorts, jean and cloth, with simple tank tops and usually had on a light pair of canvas shoes. Tying her now nearly waist-length ebony hair into a ponytail, she packed up their things, ready to move on.

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Sesshoumaru's gaze traveled slowly across the fields, trying to find any hints of trouble brewing in his lands. The wind picked up slightly, sending an array of scents through his heightened sensory system. All but two he dismissed. The two scents in question were familiar, and were out of place here in the west. Narrowing his eyes he began tracking them, his curiosity aroused.

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Kagome and Shippo had been traveling for a few hours without encountering any jewel shards.

"Jeeze," Shippo said, squinting his eyes against the intense mid-afternoon sun. "I think Inuyasha was bad luck, or good luck or something."

Kagome caught a glimpse of Shippo in her peripheral vision as she walked. He was perched comfortably on her book bag munching on some potato chips, giving her a thoughtful look.

"Why's that?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Because, when we were with him, it's like the youkai never stopped attacking us."

Kagome's lips set in a grim line. "I know what you mean, Shippo."

She did have to admit, it was odd. She couldn't sense any jewel shards, anywhere. She fiddled with the Shikon fragment around her neck, looking at it curiously. It was a little over halfway formed. There was no way Naraku could have almost half the jewel in his possession………could he?

"Ka-Kagome………" Shippo said shakily, snapping her out of her musing.

"Look." He whispered.

Kagome looked up from the Shikon, her breath escaping from her lips involuntarily as she came to a halt, standing motionless like a deer in headlights. No matter how many times she had seen him over the years, the sight of him still took her breath away.

He was tall and lithe, but well muscled, dressed in pristine white attire with bone plated armor. Brightly colored sashes and splatters of red sakura patterns adorned his outfit, while two swords were sheathed at his side in their scabbards. His hair was white like frost or tendrils of mist, and his eyes were like liquid gold.

His skin was smooth and flawless, save for two maroon stripes that adorned each cheekbone, and a navy blue crescent moon on his forehead. He was beautiful and deadly, much like an oleander.

Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands was definitely a force to be reckoned with, something Kagome had learned early on in her travels in this time.

He regarded her coolly, his face revealing none of his thoughts, and his eyes never leaving hers.

"What are you doing in my lands?" he asked in a voice that was like silk-wrapped steel. His gaze flicked around the clearing briefly, as he delicately sniffed the air, searching for a scent. His gaze rested on hers once more, a dark brow arching curiously. "And why are you lacking the company of my imprudent half-brother?"

Kagome could have smacked herself. West. She had been traveling west without realizing it. She mentally cursed. Without warning Shippo began growling from her shoulder, bristling like a freaked out cat.

"Shippo." She warned, her tone causing him to quiet down almost immediately. She set him down on the ground, taking a few steps towards the youkai lord.

She met Sesshoumaru's gaze, her back straight, and her head high. She wouldn't back down from him. No fear.

That would have to be her motto from now on. She didn't have anyone to hide behind anymore, and had the life of her kit to protect.

"I apologize, Sesshoumaru-sama, I didn't realize that I had trespassed in your domain. As for Inuyasha, the reasons we are apart do not concern you." She said, a little shaky for her tastes, but it got her point across none the less.

Sesshoumaru's lip lifted slightly in a silent snarl. Moving as fast as a striking snake, he appeared in front of her, his imposing form looming over Kagome. She looked up at him warily, but was proud of the fact that she held her ground. His hand shot out, wrapping around her throat, constricting her windpipe slightly.

Kagome gagged, glaring daggers at the Western Lord while her fingernails drew blood from his wrists which she had instinctively gripped. Kagome suddenly didn't feel the ground anymore.

Her feet dangled lifelessly above the earth as Sesshoumaru lifted her to his eye level.

"You need to learn respect, wench." He growled, his intense gaze slowly melting away her resolve.

"I give……… respect………to those who………deserve it." Kagome bit out between gasping breaths, struggling to throw that little dig out before he succeeded in causing her to pass out.

"Okaa-san!" Shippo cried, starting towards her.

Kagome's eyes found her son, silently pleading with him not to intervene. The young kitsune knew not to disobey his mother, and looked on helplessly.

Dark spots danced in front of Kagome's eyes as everything slowly started to fade out.

`No………' Kagome thought. `Not like this………I can't die like this.'

"Sesshoumaru-sama?"

Sesshoumaru's grip around Kagome's neck reduced significantly, allowing her finally breathe again. He lowered her down so that her feet were touching the ground, and slowly released his grip, his eyes never leaving hers.

Kagome coughed shortly, looking towards the direction from which the voice had come. When she saw who the owner was, she broke out into a grin.

"Hey you." Kagome said with a laugh, watching as the figure broke out into a run towards her.