Sliders

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything. Other people with lots of talent and money do. I make no profit from my writing.

A/N: I was in the mood to try and write something that wasn’t tied to my stories and I was scrolling through the “Challenges” section of the Inuyasha site, and I found this little challenge.

(As quoted from Snow_Ahriman) Disclaimer: I do not own any of the anime I meantion in this challenge nor do I make money from it. “A fellow fan fiction writer and myself keep reading fan fictions that had Kagome with many different men. Some with Inu, Sess, Naraku, and other anime’s characters. Here is the challenge. Write a fic where Kagome is traveling through many different worlds. Each one a different anime and each time she has to end up with at one character from that anime. Anime that I would like to see but don’t have to be in the fic are:
YuYu [Hakusho]; Yu-Gi-Oh; Gundam Wing; Fullmetal Alchemist; Fullmetal Panic; Nana; Dragon Ball Z; Zoids; Ranma; RK [I assume this is Rurouni Kenshin]; Eva [Evangelion?]; G Gundam; Digimon (any group of digidestined or all the groups)You may add anime that is not on this list as well. I hope some one picks up on this challenge because I don’t have time to write it myself. The only rule is that you have to have her end up with and have a lemon with at least one person from each of the crossover anime. You can come up with why she is traveling in such a way and who she ends up with doesn’t matter. Gender of her lover doesn’t matter either. Have fun with this.”

Oh, believe me, dear Snow-san. I will. *grins*
I accept thine challenge. :)
I think I’m going to make a full-length fic out of this. Ooooh, INTRIGUED!! *pulls some muses closer-gets busy on the first chapter!*

~*~
And with the magic roll of the dice, our first applicant will be someone from the Rurouni Kenshin universe. Hope you enjoy!

~*~

Sliders
Chapter One
Heart of Sword

It had been a long and tiring battle, and so far, everything was going according to plan, except, that it wasn’t. Kagome was firing off as many arrows as she could, and even more so, she was pulsing with power she had never felt before. It was strange, but not unusual, now that she had all of her soul within her. Moments before, Kikyou, the previous protector of the Shikon no Tama, fell, before the hands of the vile hanyou, Naraku.

Inuyasha had not lasted much longer, having lost his will to fight after losing the one who held his heart almost 100% in the palm of her clay, undead, hand. Kagome had tried and tried to fend off attack after attack, but it was no use. Without the power of Inuyasha’s Tetsuseiga, she and the others were just hoping to survive this encounter. There was no way they could win…and Kagome knew it.

Shippou, who had been left behind with Kaede, was only one of the few who were on the miko’s mind as she continued to fight this losing battle with the hated hanyou. Sango and Miroku were doing their best to cope, but Miroku was slowly falling unconscious, due to all the samyoushou insects that he had drawn in by his voracious wind tunnel. The taijya survivor was doing her best with the help of her fire-neko companion to keep both him, and themselves, alive.

Before long, Kagome was down to one arrow, and she hoped to make it count for something, anything, as she cocked it in her bow. “You’re going to pay for all you have done.” She whispered under her breath, as she pulled it back and made sure that her hand was sure, and steady. She had barely noticed that Sesshoumaru, who also had been fighting with them, to protect his own lands, and reclaim some of his dignity against the vile hanyou, had also reclaimed something else; the Tetsuseiga. Fallen from his younger brother’s hands, it was no longer shielded against being wielded by the older taiyoukai, and he swung it easily, bringing forth a vortex of pure power that had never before been released from it. At that moment, Kagome’s arrow flew true, and her miko powers flared to life, enveloping the swirl of power in a massive amount of her own, which made contact with Naraku.

The blast was so powerful and bright, that it blinded everyone on the battlefield, but it did its job: it completely destroyed Naraku, but it also did something else, something no one expected, something no one had planned on, or thought, could ever happen: and that was create a rift in time and space itself.

Before she could do anything, before Kagome even had a chance to scream, she turned to reach out her hand for something, anything, to grip to in the wake of a fierce wind that was even stronger than Miroku’s wind tunnel. It easily wrapped around her and pulled, dragging her feet off of the ground and into the air, making her fly towards the swirl of pink and blue energies, and the massive white light that even now keep the others from seeing what was happening.

Sesshoumaru forced himself to glimpse into the light as he saw Kagome flying through the air. Reaching a clawed hand forward, he attempted to save her from it, only to fail, as the Tetsuseiga, the sword he worked so hard for, came loose from his grips, and followed after the miko, and as quickly as he had possessed it, it had left him once more, and this time, he wasn’t sure if he would ever get it back.

Kagome reached out her hand towards the taiyoukai lord, but her arms weren’t long enough and she was moving too fast to grab his hand, but something else fell in her hand, that of Inuyasha’s sword. Before she had time to contemplate it any further, she felt a sharp pain at her side, one that knocked her out completely, as she disappeared into the light, and as quickly as it had been created, the vortex of energies, disappeared.

Left in the wake of the destroyed field they had been fighting in, Sesshoumaru, Sango, and Kirara watched as Kagome disappeared in a bright flash of light, leaving each to wonder what in the hell had just happened.

“Kagome…” Sango whispered, before she screamed out, “KAGOME!!”

Naraku was no more, and nothing remained of him, except for ashes and lingering miasmic poison. Miroku, who survived the poisoning that had befallen him, along with Sango, Shippou, and even Rin and Sesshoumaru, searched the area for months after the battle, but there were no traces of Kagome, of the Shikon, of anything that resembled their beloved friend and sister. Inuyasha was put to rest next to Kikyou, but the heroes never knew what had befallen their friend. It was unclear as to what had happened, but their best speculated guesses, were that she had returned home, and was living out the rest of her life in the time that she was supposed to.

They would never know how wrong their speculations really were.

In another world, and another time that wasn’t her own, Kagome fell into a small, profusely bleeding heap onto the forest floor, unconscious.

~*~

Whistling quietly to himself, a man clad in white hakama and a red haori traveled through a still forest. It was oddly unusual for it to be so calm and quiet, but he wasn’t bothered by it. It wasn’t a malicious silence, therefore, he continued walking with an eased mind and a gentle expression on his face. Walking alongside him was his traveling companion for the afternoon, a man in a white haori that wasn’t tied properly, which left thin, white strips of cloth to be revealed that were wrapped around his torso. Adorning the back of his haori was a kanji, that of “bad” and over his shoulder was a sword that looked entirely too large for one single man to carry. He too, remained quiet, as he adjusted his red headband, and glanced around carefully. Something seemed off, but if his friend hadn’t noticed it, then maybe it was just him.

That was, until a woman’s scream broke the still silence.

~*~

Kagome awoke to pain unimaginable in her side, and blood all over her clothes. She didn’t know where she was, but it seemed like the same place she had been fighting Naraku, so she quickly glanced around for any sign of her friends, of the battle, of anything to confirm that this was the place she had been in. She prayed that the wind that picked her up hadn’t taken her far away, but it looked as if she were still in Japan, so finding her way back to Kaede’s village, or the Western Lands didn’t seem like it would be so hard--if only she could stand, and if only she wasn’t still bleeding.

She looked to her side to find that her entire side was torn open, but even now, it seemed to be healing. With one, experimental touch, she found that there was a hole in her flesh, one that was unmistakable. The Shikon had completed itself after she destroyed Naraku, and now, it was resting back in her side, back where it had been before all of her adventures had started. ‘Well…’ she thought, ‘…at least it’s out of Naraku’s hands.’ though that did nothing to ease the pain in her side. Struggling to stand, she leaned heavily against a tree that was nearby, and as she did, she nearly doubled over in pain as she gripped the bark with one hand and placed her other to her mouth. She felt like she was going to be sick, that is, until she noticed that she was surrounded by four guys who looked more than happy to see that she was awake, and more than happy to see how much skin was exposed on her body, covered in blood or not.

“You’re finally awake little girl, we were wondering if you were going to lay there ‘til you died.” One of the men said, one with dark hair and cold, piercing eyes.

“Oh, she’s a fighter, I think we’re going to have a lot of fun with her, won’t we, boss?” another voiced, making Kagome turn her head to see the owner of the voice. This man was even uglier than the last, and his intent was clear, even if she hadn’t noticed how loose he had made his hakama as he stepped towards her.

‘Hakama…still Japan.’ Was Kagome’s fleeting thought before she noticed what one of the other men had in their hands: Inuyasha’s sword.

“Hey, you! Give that back!” she shouted, pushing herself up from the tree as she cautiously reached for the sword, and tried to keep her balance at the same time: something that was proving difficult at the moment. They may have had her surrounded, but she wasn’t going to back down. She had just faced the battle of her life with Naraku, and she wasn’t just going to give up now.

“What? This? What are you going to do with it, Girl? Swords were made for men, not little whores like you. I’ll just be keeping it for now. Besides, Taro and Ushiro were planning on keeping you occupied for a little while. You won’t need any sword for what they have planned for you.” He smirked sardonically at her, and finally Kagome realized just what kind of situation she was in as she felt the first man grab at her school-girl skirt and tugged, ripping the already worn fabric to shreds, and leaving her in her pale pink underwear, underwear, that was also covered in blood from where the Shikon had ripped into her body.

With that action, Kagome didn’t hesitate to open her mouth, and scream.

She shakily moved back from the man who had destroyed her mini-skirt, only to fall on her backside painfully, as a sharp spasm jolted up her side and she saw a few new droplets of blood fly from her body. With another scream, this one of pain, she scrambled to pick up something, anything to use to defend herself. She wasn’t going to allow this to just happen. She would fight to the end if she had to.
Digging her hands into the ground, she picked up handfuls of dirt to throw at her attacker, and she almost smirked in victory as it made contact and he yelled-before he moved back to try and rub his eyes free of the grains of earth that were now in his eyes.

That didn’t stop his companion from coming after her with a little vengeance and an even filthier mind.

Before he lay one hand on her however, a new voice was heard in the forested clearing, one Kagome didn’t recognize. “I would back away from that woman, if I were you, gentleman.” Came the smooth, dark voice of a red-haired man with a cross-shaped scar on his cheek. Kagome looked from him, to the man standing beside him, and she paled, before she struggled to move back further from all of them and stand. She succeeded in backing up to another nearby tree, before she heard the man’s companion speak. “Don’t worry, little missy. We won’t let them hurt you.” His voice was a bit hard, but she couldn’t help but put faith and trust in them.

~*~

Sanosuke and Kenshin had run to the source of not only the first scream, but another one, of pain. That scream had both of their hearts hanging on a thread as they came upon a scene that had their minds racing with growing anger. There was a girl, who looked incredibly injured, but just from the distance that they could see her, they were unsure just where all her injuries lay; at the moment that was only one of the things that had their anger spiking. Surrounding her were four other males, and it was clear to see that they intended on violating her in the most vicious of ways; that was something that neither the hitokiri battousai, nor the fighter-for-hire would stand for.

One kick from Kagome had the man who had lunged for her doubling over in pain as the slight heels of her tan school regulation shoes connected perfectly with the center of his universe, and her two “rescuers” almost had to smirk, before Kenshin drew his blade and raced forward to help dispose of her other attackers.

It was literally seconds before Kagome saw her other two attackers fall to the ground in small heaps, knocked out cold from the blows delivered from the red-haired samurai and his black haired companion. She let out a shaky breath before she shifted to stand once more, only to feel a pair of unfamiliar arms wrap around her. “Uh…wha…?” she spoke unintelligently as she looked up into the eyes of the taller black-haired man. “…I…I’m fine.”

“Sorry, missy, but the blood on your clothing says otherwise. Just what kind of hell did they put you through before we got here?” he asked, his eyes almost boring holes into her own as she took in his intense gaze towards her.

“They…they didn’t do this…” she replied, before she attempted to stand again on her own, something he wasn’t going to allow her to do as he picked her up bridal style. It wasn’t like she could fight against him anyway with the way she was now.

“No? Then what happened to you, miss?” the red-haired samurai asked, and Kagome turned her head while being held in the taller man’s arms to look at him.

“It’s…a really long story.” She replied softly, before looking back up into the taller man’s eyes. “I…should thank you both. You really saved me.”

“It’s no problem...its guys like those that make the rest of us look bad.” Sano smiled lightly before winking to the pretty girl in his arms. She had such a petite frame and her skin was pale, paler than he liked right now, and he knew it was from the blood loss, as was evident by her severely stained clothing. The outfit wasn’t something he had ever seen before in his life, and with one quick glance, he finally realized that she was only clad in some small pink scrap of cloth that barely hid her most private region from prying eyes, and the shirt she wore was torn, dirty, and bloody.

Forcing away a blush, he shook gently out of his outer robe before he wrapped it around her form, something that earned him a grateful smile and stained cheeks from the girl he carried. “S…Sorry!” she replied quickly, thoroughly embarrassed. ‘Oh damn! What a way to meet the locals…I must look like such a whore…’ she thought before she turned her head to the other man who helped in her rescue. He had been rather quiet and she finally spoke up, trying to push away the moment of embarrassment.

“My name is Kagome…what are yours?” she asked, as she tried to relax in the taller man’s arms, which wasn’t hard, considering how tired she was and how weak she felt. With no time to rest between the battle with Naraku and her encounter with some of the “locals” of wherever she was, she was ready to sleep for a few decades.

“I am Kenshin.” The man with the scar on his cheek replied, as he took in her disheveled and weak appearance. It was apparent that she had been through hell before they came upon her.
“And I’m Sanosuke.” The man that was carrying her replied. Faint recognition dawned on her with that first name, ‘Kenshin.’, though she wasn’t sure what it was that his name reminded her of. Blinking slowly, she tried to stay awake, though being held close to Sano’s warm, strong body wasn’t helping her exhausted mind any in her task.

Noticing Kagome’s immanent sleep, Kenshin just smiled softly, before he said in a soothing tone. “You don’t have to worry anymore, Miss Kagome. We’ll take you to the village and get you cleaned up and checked out by a doctor. Nothing more will harm you while we watch over you, that it won’t.”

“Thank you…” she replied before her eyes quickly opened. “Inuyasha’s sword! Where is it, did one of you grab it?” she asked quickly, as she turned her head around to try and spot the one thing that was brought with her through the light.

Kenshin nearly jumped when the girl burst out like that, but he turned his head and picked up the rather old looking sword from the hands of one of the knocked out men. At Kagome’s relaxed gaze he deduced that this was what she was talking about. She reached out her arms for it, and he placed it in her hands, and he was surprised that she pulled the sword close in almost a cuddling motion. What had she been through, and just what made the old sword so special? He had no answers, and he wasn’t bound to get any soon, as just as quickly as she had the sword in her arms, she was fast asleep, her breathing, deep, but slightly shallow as well.

Kenshin and Sano looked to each other with silent questions in their eyes before they made their way onward toward their home village. Answers would come later, for now, she needed to be seen to.

~*~
Hours after they had returned to the dojo, and after a doctor had come to inspect Kagome’s wound, which, surprisingly, was rather shallow by the time it was actually looked at, thanks to her miko powers, she finally awoke, and felt better than she had before when she awoke to the unknown.

She woke up in a room which was rather bare with decorations, save for a few calligraphy writings on the wall and the futon she was resting upon. Blinking a couple of times before she sat up, she noted that her shirt was gone, and in its place was a soft sleeping yukata, and underneath it, were bandages around her waist. With one gentle touch to her side, she felt that the wound was closed now, and she was clean.

“So, you’re finally awake. That’s good to see, that it is.” A familiar voice called out to her before she looked towards it.

“Kenshin…wasn’t it? Where am I?” she asked, looking curious and a little unsure of her surroundings. What had happened after Naraku was defeated? She wasn’t sure, but she was sure he was destroyed, which helped ease her mind slightly.

“You are at a dojo in Edo.” He answered quietly before he sat down beside her futon and placed his hands into his yukata and gave her a glance over. She was a beautiful girl, though, he could tell that without this thorough look-over. She had long, dark hair, and her skin wasn’t as pale as it was. Her eyes were a dark shade of sapphire, that in the dim light, he was almost certain that they were closer to black than anything else right now.

“Edo?” she blinked slowly before she let out a soft relieved sigh. ‘Good, I’m not in a different time era either. Edo is still Edo, it’s not Tokyo yet! I’ll find my way out of here and get back to the others!’ she thought quickly, relaxing more than she had been.

“Yes. Where do you come from?” Kenshin asked, interested in this girl and wondering how far she was away from home.

“Eh..? Oh, I’m from Tok—Edo.” She replied absentmindedly before she asked, “Where is the other guy that was with you? …Sano?”

“He went into town. He often does when darkness falls, that he does. Do you think you could eat something, Miss?” he asked, noting that she was really very calm in the face of strangers, and even more, in face of the guys that were going to take advantage of her. She was abnormally calm, and he was curious as to what else this girl had gone through. Most women he knew would have been freaking out and crying, and yet she wasn’t.

Not to mention, her clothing was very different from anything he had ever seen before in his life, and even more so, the way she spoke and carried herself was different. She had a powerful aura, one that called to his own on a level that he couldn’t see, but it was more than clear that it was there. She almost reminded him a little bit of Kaoru.

With that thought, he looked down and away from her. Kaoru was gone, she was never going to come back. Pushing back the melancholy thoughts that wanted to overwhelm him once more, he looked back to her, awaiting her answer.

“Food? Yes, please!” she replied enthusiastically, before noting a fleeting look of sadness on his face. Did she do something wrong? Moving to stand, Kagome gave him a soft smile. “I can get it. I should move around a bit now.” She grimaced lightly as her skin pulled and stretched to move back in place after the quick healing job it had to do.

“Oh, Miss, you shouldn’t be moving around so much! You lost a lot of blood. By chance, are you anemic? The wound wasn’t life-threatening, but there was lots of blood on your clothing, that there was.” He stood quickly with her, his mind ripped from his thoughts completely and forcefully as she stood up.

“Anemic? No, not that I…” she went to reply before she flushed and looked down to straighten out her yukata. “…maybe a little yeah.” She added, quickly reminded that they knew nothing of the Shikon no Tama, and even less of who she really was and all the things she had gone through. She didn’t want to explain that the Shikon tore a hole in her side as it re-entered her body, or explain where she really was from: Five-hundred years in the future.

“I thought so.” He replied, before giving her a slight smile. “You should rest more, that you should. I shall bring you some rice and vegetables, if that’s okay with you?”

Looking up from her clothes, she caught that soft smile and she couldn’t help but feel that there was something, off, with it. There was a lingering sadness that seemed to be hidden just below the surface, and she couldn’t help but identify with it. She knew when secrets and sadness were being suppressed, hell, most of her journeys with Inuyasha wouldn’t have been complete without her hiding her sadness, and reading through the hanyou’s lies.

“That’s more than fine, thank you. I don’t know where I’d be right now if you and your friend hadn’t been around to help me. I’m really sorry to be a burden to you. If there is anything I can do, or help with, don’t be afraid to ask. Alright?” she spoke softly, her eyes earnest. She didn’t want to be a burden on anyone, and that included the two who had helped save her and helped take care of her. With her own friends and allies, she helped by keeping morale up, and helped by making sure everyone was fed and wounds were taken care of when they were acquired. Though she never felt it was enough, she still did her best and did what she could.

“Don’t worry about it, Miss Kagome. What kind of men would we be if we just let something happen to you?” he smiled a little more to the strange girl. She was kind it seemed, and once more, that aura of hers touched him, as if recognizing something within him that it identified with. What that “something” was though, he had no idea.

She didn’t reply to the rhetorical question, but she did pause and let him leave the room. Letting out a soft breath, she moved to one of the screen doors and opened it, and was surprised to see that it led to the outdoors. It was nearing evening, and she could see the last bits of the sunlight slip between the branches of sakura trees that were in the yard.

Looking back to see that Kenshin was still gone, she moved to take a seat on the floor as she let her legs hang over the side to touch the ground. It was hard to believe that at this same time yesterday, she was still yet without the complete Shikon no Tama, and Naraku was still alive.

Within a few moments, her heart was racing painfully as recognition dawned on her, and she finally remembered everything about the battle. Inuyasha was…gone. He was dead, he wasn’t ever coming back. As quickly as that thought popped up, she remembered something else. Sesshoumaru was alive, he would’ve surely saved his younger brother, half brother though he was? Letting that thought comfort her, even if it was just a little, she managed to not cry, as she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder.

She nearly jumped before she turned and saw Kenshin with a tray of food. Giving the man a sheepish smile, she reached up to take the tray before she sat it beside her.

Kenshin was confused when he saw that Kagome was missing from the room, but that didn’t last too long as he walked out the open door to find her looking out at the sakura trees. The sight truly was a beautiful one, with the orange and red sunset streaks making their way through the trees, and even more, through Kagome’s hair. It seemed to light up the dark, shiny qualities of her hair, while at the same time, it seemed to enhance the power of her aura. With a look, he thought she was close to tears, but they never fell, and as he touched her shoulder, she showed nothing but a smile. What had she been thinking of?

“Are you alright, Miss Kagome?” he asked, as he took a seat beside the girl.

“I’m fine, Kenshin. And please, just call me Kagome. Thank you for all of this.” She smiled softly to him before taking a bite of the rice. All of it tasted good, and her stomach was grateful for the attention finally, and she was glad for the opportunity to not talk. She had too much to try and remember and go over. The first thing, was what was she to do next? She was in Edo, which was fine, but where were the others. She remembered being closer to the Western Lands when they were fighting Naraku. Quietly munching on some of the vegetables, she went over her options. She could just go back to the well, but she wouldn’t, not if she could help it. She had to know if Inuyasha was alright, and Miroku and Sango too. Not to mention she had to give Inuyasha his sword back.

Kenshin watched as the strange girl began to eat and he wondered once more what she was thinking so intently on. The look of concentration on her face was intriguing, and he wondered what secrets she held, and what the reason was for the sadness he had seen before.

After taking another bite of food, Kagome turned her head towards the strange man who had helped her, and she blinked, her eyes widening lightly. ‘Kenshin…Himura? The Hitokiri Battousai? I never realized it before…’ she thought calmly before she froze. ‘…wait…wait!!’ her mind screamed as she dropped her empty bowl down on the ground as she leapt up quickly, her hands shaking. Something was wrong. SERIOUSLY WRONG.

Where was she? What time period was she in? She quickly scrambled to try and remember the time when the man-slayer was alive, according to her history books, but she knew it was way past the time of the Feudal Era, and the time where she was supposed to be, with the rest of her friends. Not five seconds passed before tears were coursing down her face. What in the hell was going on? Where did that white light take her?

Kenshin jumped when she did, his hands reaching for her even before he realized what he was doing. Something was wrong, and at her tears, he could feel his own heart ache. “Kagome? What is the matter? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?” he questioned quickly, his face filling with worry.

“Where am I? What year is this?” she struggled out, her voice cracked with tears. She had to know.

“You’re at Miss Kaoru’s dojo.” He didn’t know why she was asking such a strange question, but he answered it anyway. “This is the year of the Keio.” And at her questioning look he added, “The emperor is Emperor Komei.”

“K…Komei?!” at that her tears ran harder. She was no where near the time period she was supposed to be…either one of them.

“Please, Kagome…what is troubling you?” he asked quickly, as he placed his hands on her shoulders. What was all this about? She looked as if he had just destroyed her entire world with the answers to her questions.

She couldn’t answer. How could she? She was in a time period she was unfamiliar with, she wasn’t sure how in the hell she was going to get back, and she was alone. She almost pulled away from him, before she felt his comforting hands on her shoulders, and she looked up from the ground to his eyes. His eyes were so honest, and sincere. So much worry and pain were there, that she wasn’t sure what to say. How could he care for her so quickly? How could she get back to where she needed to be? How could have everything gone so wrong after they were finally victorious over Naraku?

With these questions and more swirling in her mind, she threw herself into his arms, and wrapped her own tightly around him, banking on him for more comfort than she had the right to ask for, and sobbing out her fear into his yukata. What was she going to do now? She had been confident of her ability to make it back to where she was supposed to be, but now that she found out just exactly where and when she was at, that confidence was gone.

Eyes widening in shock, Kenshin just wrapped his arms around her comfortingly, as he held her close to his form. She was shaking hard with her sobs, and he had still yet to get an answer from her. Just what happened to her, and why was she so distraught now?

He didn’t ask these questions though, he just offered her his comfort as he soothingly rubbed her lower back and whispered that it would be okay, whatever it was. What else could he do? Really, what else did he want to do? He had already come to terms that she had found her way into he consciousness, something that very few other people ever had. He didn’t hold people close, for fear that they would be taken away, such as Kaoru, and Megumi. Pushing those thoughts away, he focused on her right now.

After a few minutes of crying, Kagome got a hold on her emotions and she leaned back to reach up and wipe her eyes. “S…Sorry.” She managed out, as she struggled to compose herself. She was in an era that she was never supposed to be in, and she wasn’t sure if there was a way back for her. Swallowing thickly, she looked to one of the men who had helped save her, and she nearly crumbled again at the look he had on his face. He was curious, and worried, which was touching. He barely knew her other than her name. Pushing away from him lightly she kept her eyes on his. He was the only one who was here right now, and she somehow knew that he was waiting for her answer, for her explanation.

She didn’t know what else to say, so she decided to be blunt. She knew it probably wasn’t the best idea to talk about the past and time traveling, but she had also deduced that this couldn’t get any worse. She was stuck in a time that wasn’t her own and she had no idea if she could get back to the past she was used to, or the future she was born in.

“I’m not from this time period, Kenshin. I come from, well, it’s about 200 years or so in the future.” At his silence, she looked up, expecting any reaction except for what she got.

At her words, he blinked, his confusion evident, but he kept his silence. She could have been lying, but he had a feeling that she wasn’t. Her aura wasn’t deceptive at all. She was being forthright, and if something this impossible were true, he supposed that it would make everything else strange about her make sense. He kept his face void of any emotion other than curiosity, and acceptance. He was sure if he handled this the right way, she would explain things in further detail.

He wasn’t disappointed.

Kagome opened her mouth once more to speak, and she hadn’t stopped until she got to the part of her story where she and her companions defeated Naraku, and she was forced to this time period. By this time, both of them had taken their seats once more, and Kagome had finished what little bit of her food was left on her plate. The sun had set, and a slight chill was settling in over the place where they were.

When she fell silent, Kenshin finally spoke up. “That is one amazing tale, Kagome. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head or something when those men attacked you?” he asked, his tone holding no skepticism, but he was worried that her tale was a little too far fetched to be believed. Demons he could believe, but time traveling?

“I didn’t hit my head at all!” she replied quickly, her voice rising a bit. She prayed he believed her, even a little bit, but his confusion and doubt were written all over his face. “I can prove it…I know all about you Kenshin Himura. We studied you in school.”
That statement had his eyes widening in shock. He never mentioned his last name. What else did she know about him? What was she talking about, studying him? What in the hell was going on? Why would she say such a thing?

“You’re lying, are you not? What could you know about me, having only met me?” he asked, trying to keep his tone normal and his face clear of emotion.

“I know everything that has been written about you. Your nickname is the hitokiri battousai, and you carry a reverse blade sword with you. You were an advocate of the peace once the Meiji Restoration happened, and you often fought using a sword style called the Hiten Mitsurugi. You lived a quiet life in Tokyo, but a lot of times you were traveling, as a ronin. You never married, but you did end up having a child by someone that was unnamed, by the name of Yahiko.” She was surprised to find that after talking, he was crying.

After hearing her words, a couple of tears dropped down his cheeks. Yahiko was still alive, and those “history” books of hers must have gotten something wrong. Yahiko wasn’t his legitimate child, but the young boy was in his care.

“I never get married?” he questioned, before he felt a pair of gentle, soft hands on his cheeks, wiping away his tears. Kagome couldn’t stand to see anyone cry, and to see him cry made her heart ache in ways she never knew it could. Sure, she had hurt over Inuyasha before, had cried in pain and frustration, but she had never liked seeing anyone else cry.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.” She replied softly, as she moved the pads of her thumbs over his tears, wiping them away tenderly. She felt guilty over what she had revealed and to hear the broken words he spoke, had her mind racing to try and cheer him up somehow, and to take away his pain.

“I…loved someone once. Her name was Kaoru. I wanted to marry her, and have children with her. Three years ago, she was taken, along with the woman that Sanosuke loved. They were killed, and left on our doorstep.” He whispered softly, as his eyes locked with hers. Pain unimaginable rested beneath those violet eyes and it was all Kagome could do to not throw him down and hold him tight, to comfort him and take away the pain she saw there, the pain she put there.

“I’m sorry, I…I had no idea. I’m so sorry…” she whispered softly, regret more than clear in her voice, as she kept her eyes on his. She had no idea how to take away his pain. Somehow, right now, her own troubles paled in comparison to the sadness in his eyes, and the tear tracks on his cheeks, and right now, she felt that it was more than her duty to fix this mess she created by her careless words.

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t do it…but…it was a shock to hear that, that…it was. I…always hoped that I would find another woman to love and live happily with, but to hear that I do not, saddens me, that it does.” He replied quietly, his eyes on hers. He had no idea why he hadn’t noticed just how beautiful she was, but it was made clearly obvious when he saw the shimmering pools that were her eyes, and the moonlight that reflected off of them. He was wrong when he thought them to be black, for right now, they were the deepest blue he had ever had the privilege to look upon, and the raw emotions he saw filtering through them, pain, sadness, honesty, and understanding, made him feel like he was even more privileged just to look upon them.

“I didn’t mean to…hurt you. I’m so, so sorry. I shouldn’t have said…anything.” She whispered again, her heart breaking in her chest. Kagome couldn’t believe how stupid she could be on occasion and upon meeting someone who was nice and strong, and certainly the noble sort that she was lucky to find in the Edo Period, she had gone and repaid his kindness with careless words and she had hurt him.

“I will be fine, Kagome. Do not worry about me. Your troubles are far worse than mine, that they are. Please, do not look so sad.” He said softly, still aware of how close she was, and how warm and gentle her hands were upon his cheeks. She hadn’t moved away and hadn’t pulled her hands away from him, which he wasn’t keen on letting her do anyway right now. The connection he felt with her was unlike any other person he had ever felt, and he briefly wondered if this was what it felt like when one met what they called their “soul-mate”.

At that, she could feel a tear slip down her cheeks, one she hastily wiped away as she tried to give him her best smile, one that failed, but hey, she had tried. “Kenshin…” she said his name softly, having no words in her vocabulary that she could use other than “thank you”, for all he had done and was doing for her right now.

“Do not cry, Kagome. I will not abandon you. I will help you find your way, that I will. It is a promise.” He replied softly to her, as he reached up his own hand to rest over hers as it rested on his cheek.

He wouldn’t abandon her? Those words had her heart racing and shattering at the same time. Inuyasha had promised her as well, and his promises were many times empty in the face of Kikyou. Somehow, she knew that he was different. She trusted him. And that was why, when he leaned forward to kiss her softly, she returned it, letting her heart guide her. The past was gone, and all she had was right now, and possibly, this right now was all she would have for the rest of her life. If she had to spend it with Kenshin watching over her, then she supposed it wasn’t that bad of a life after all.

When she looked shocked to him, he almost regretted his words, until he saw the pure hope and longing in her eyes. Something had happened in the past, and she had suffered from someone else’s broken promises, he could see it in her eyes. He wanted her to see that he was different; he’d never break his promise to her. With that firm resolve under his belt, he leaned forward and once his lips touched hers, he knew. Their hearts beat as one, and with nothing but his heart guiding him, he kept the kiss with her, as his hands moved to her sides and he pulled her closer.

Kagome was almost afraid when he pulled her closer, but that fear disappeared and she wrapped her legs around his waist, more than happy to have his comforting arms around her and to feel him so close to her.

His soft, yet strong hands slipped up her arms, and she could feel the goosebumps form on her smooth skin. He could feel how soft and silky her arms were and he briefly wondered if the rest of her felt just as smooth. With that thought fueling his actions, he moved one hand down to slip it underneath the bottom of her yukata and up her leg to her bare hip. Oh yes, he was right. Just as smooth as the rest of her.

With a soft gasp, Kagome couldn’t ignore the feel of his slightly calloused hand on her bare hip. He was adventurous it seemed, but she wasn’t afraid, rather, she was curious, and her actions showed it as she continued the kiss and allowed her hands to slip into his yukata so that she could feel his bare chest.

At the touch of her soft hands on his heated chest, he felt that it was safe to continue what he was doing, and he allowed his hand to rise further up her hip to her side, and he felt the bandages there from earlier, and briefly, he wondered if he should stop, but with Kagome’s wandering hands now reaching further down his torso, stopping wasn’t an option anymore.

Wrapping his arms a little tightly around her, he lifted her up and moved with her through the dojo to his room, and he gently lay her on his futon. She really was a beauty in which the likes of he had never seen before in his lifetime, and he was more than eager to see all that she had to show. The moonlight filtered through an open window to illuminate her hair and pale face, and his breath was almost taken away, before he saw her reach for him, as if silently begging him to return to her. He wasn’t about to disappoint her.

Kagome was swept up in the moment, and in the pure passion that they had found and obviously felt for one another. She was no longer innocent, thanks to an awkward encounter in the Feudal Era with Inuyasha, but that just made her ache more for someone who saw her for her, and not for Kikyou. That memory of her first time would forever be imprinted with the face of her lover, and that woman’s name upon his lips as he made love to her. She forced away the tears as she reached for him, her eyes pleading for him to continue what they had started.

When his hands reached hers, she almost pulled him down but she was stopped when he took one of his hands and undid her yukata, thus exposing her form to him. She was still in her underwear and bra, and the two very enticing pieces of clothing had Kenshin hard without her having to do a thing. He had never seen such clothing before and to know what they hid from view, however barely, turned him on more than anything else ever had before.

Kagome almost blushed at that look before she reached up to undo his own yukata and placed her hands upon his chest, before she reached them up to his cheeks and brought him down for another kiss. She wanted more of this raw passion, and already, she could feel the pooling tremors race down her body to her center.

As he returned her heated kiss, Kenshin moved his hands down to her hips and pushed down on the fabric that covered her most secret place. He felt the dampness of them as he pushed them away and he couldn’t help but smile lightly, more than happy with this turn of events. She was strong, beautiful, and courageous; qualities that he couldn’t ignore or push away so easily.

Kagome gasped when she felt Kenshin’s hand between her legs, and felt one singular digit at her core, teasing the swollen flesh that was poking out. She nearly screamed at that one little touch as a shiver raced up and down her spine.

“Sensitive, are we, Kagome?” he whispered against her lips as he moved them from hers to her neck and then her chest, as he continued his ministrations very lightly to that small bundle of flesh that seemed to have her rocking with each gentle touch. He ignored his throbbing need right now as he tended to her. She was his first and only priority right now, and right now, he was going to see how far he could send her to paradise.

The young miko arched up into his touch as she felt his warm lips over the confines of her bra, and felt warm moisture seep through before she felt him push away her bra and she felt that searing heat over her pert nipple, making her gasp again. “K…Kenshin…” she whispered with a fevered breath, as she clenched her hands into the cloth on the futon, trying to get a hold on her emotions, which were running haywire at the moment.

He smirked into her flesh as he suckled on her nipple, his eyes eager to take in every sound she made, and every expression that crossed her face. He thought that she couldn’t get any more beautiful, but he was wrong as he watched her with her eyes closed tight and her lips parted in baited breath. He moved his kisses to the twin to her right breast and when he felt that he had lavished it with enough attention, he moved his kisses southward, to the bandaged plain of her stomach. Laying only tender kisses on the bandages, he noted that she wasn’t bleeding anymore, something that assured him as he traveled even further south to her unadorned thighs and the source of her immediate distress.

She swallowed thickly as she realized just where he was and she nearly clamped her legs shut. This was embarrassing, but at the same time, so erotic that she wasn’t sure what she’d do if something didn’t happen soon. She had never had a man pleasure her in this way, so she was uneasy, but at the same time, she was burning up and she knew she’d die if she didn’t let this happen and find her release.

Kenshin glanced from her eyes to where his finger had been teasing her swollen bundle of nerves, and he nearly lost it as he nipped lightly at the little flesh ball, and watched her spasm in pleasure. He had to move his hands to keep her legs spread, but she seemed to cooperate more the more demanding he got, as he lapped at her core and lavished his attention on that small sphere that had her body dancing and singing for him. Her pants and soft cries were music to his ears as he enjoyed watching her slowly lose control of herself, and it wasn’t long, nothing but a minute or two, and Kagome arched harshly up from the floor and she screamed his name, the only warning he had before he was rewarded with her honeyed nectar, of which he enjoyed every delicious drop. After swallowing all she had given him and slowly helped her from her high, he reached up and placed his lips on hers, allowing her to taste herself on his lips.

It was all new to her, the taste of her on him, the feeling of reaching the top of that sexual plateau and quickly falling from it in a sea of overwhelming pleasure, but it was something she was eager to get to again, and she made her desire known as she intensified the kiss and reached down a hand between them to touch his swollen and ready member, which was already weeping with evidence of his desire.

“Please, Kenshin…” she whispered softly into his ear as she finally tilted her head to look into his eyes. She had wanted something to help take her mind off of what had gone on in the past 24 hours of her life, and she wanted a way to repay his kindness, and make up for her careless words. This was proving a distraction that was far more than she could have ever expected. It wasn’t meaningless, but full of heart and soul, from both of them.

“As you wish, Kagome.” He whispered back, before he slid forward and guided his member between the weeping folds of her sex. He groaned softly at the feel of her tight warmth around him, a feeling that had gripped him not only in body, but in mind and soul as well. What had this mere slip of a woman done to him in such a short period of time? She had him in the palm of her hand and if she asked anything of him, he wouldn’t hesitate to give it to her if it was within his power.

They didn’t move for a moment as she adjusted to his large length, a difference that she picked up on vaguely in the back of her mind as she compared Inuyasha to Kenshin. Already she felt an endearment to the ronin who helped save her, but it wasn’t just the feelings that were different, it was the gentleness and compassion he showed in just these few moments of time that were stolen from the day, and the comfort they were finding in each others arms. With one thrust from him however, her thoughts scattered to the four corners of her mind and she arched up into him, meeting his thrusts with soft cries and gasps from her mouth in a voice that she didn’t know was her own.

Kenshin would have smiled if he hadn’t been struggling to hold onto his sanity. She had her legs wrapped tightly around his torso and that only allowed him deeper access into her inner cavern and allowed him to feel her walls clamp down around her further than they did before. “Kagome…” he murmured breathlessly as he picked up his pace at her voiced prompting of “faster” and “harder”.

“More…More Kenshin…!” she cried out, as her nails dug deeply into his shoulder blades and she struggled to keep a hold on him even though it felt as if her body were spinning out of control. The steady building of pressure was making her core ache even more than before and her breaths were now coming out in shallow, harsh breaths as he brought her once more to that plateau in her body, one that she was once more ready to fall from.

He didn’t reply to that, afraid that he’d say something that he wouldn’t be able to take back as he slammed harder into her petite frame. For a few moments he wondered if he were hurting her, but that was far from the case as he heard her scream his name and felt her body clamp down around his own, forcing his own orgasm from him as he groaned out loudly and without inhibition, the evidence of his release being sprayed deep into Kagome’s body.

He didn’t move for a few moments before he fell rather unceremoniously to her side, not bothering to pull out of her body as he fought to catch his breath. Kagome was in a hazy fog, one that kept her happy with a blissful smile upon her face. “That was….amazing.” she whispered softly, her voice slightly hoarse from all her screaming and panting of his name.

He didn’t reply, only nodded into her breast as he looked to her eyes. She was so beautiful right now, just after the throws of passion. Her skin was covered in a sheen of sweat, and that wonderful moonlight that had shone on her hair and face before, made her body light up like an angel in the sky. It was a sight that would be impressed in his mind forever.

After a few minutes, he finally moved and pulled from her body’s embrace as he snuggled up next to her. Sleep sounded good right now, and if he were lucky, he hoped that he would have more time to show her that he could love her like she longed for.

Kenshin didn’t notice the white glow of Inuyasha’s sword in the corner of the room, but Kagome did. The ronin warrior wouldn’t have another opportunity with the young time-traveling miko. As Kenshin fell asleep, she looked to the light she had noticed. It was brighter now, and she had no idea why his sword could, or would be, glowing, without being in Inuyasha’s hands. Moving from the futon, she almost smiled at the childish way that he reached for her warmth before he turned over in his sleep and sighed quietly, signaling that he was still asleep.

She was aware of how sweaty and sticky she was, but it couldn’t be helped as she picked up her yukata and her underwear. She didn’t have any other clothes besides what she came with and the top she came with wasn’t salvageable. As she dressed, she saw the light grow brighter and with a little fear, she ran to it to pick it up and ran quietly out of the room and to the backyard where she had seen all those sakura trees.

She didn’t have time to do anything as the sword lifted from the sheath and hovered in front of her. With one glance back to the dojo, she took the sword in her hands and swung down with it. Once more, that rift of white opened up in front of her and once more, the wind picked her up and pulled her within its sparkling depths. Where she was headed, she didn’t know, but she hoped that the man who had just shown her his capacity to love would be okay, and that he would re-write the sad history that she had told him.

She changed history by defeating Naraku.

He could change his history by learning to love again.

With these thoughts in mind, she was completely enveloped in the waves of brilliant, white light, and disappeared, leaving in the wake of thousands of swirling sakura blossoms.

~*~

A/N: DAMN. Long chapter. It has been…AGES, since I wrote a lemon. I hope I didn’t screw it up too horribly bad. >.>;; I’ll take suggestions on Kagome’s next stop, if you have any requests or ideas, feel free to request them. :-)

Please Read and Review!

Kudos!
Sa-chan~~