You have Returned to me

‘Thought’
“Speaking”
(Actions/sounds)
Italics - flashbacks
Italic & bold - writings
Baka - Stupid/Fool
Nani – What
Saya - sheath
Jii-chan – Grandpa
Osuwari - Sit
Onna - Women
Ningen - human
Youkai - Demon
Youki - Demon Energy or Aura
InuYoukai - Dog Demon
Kami - God(s)
Koishii – Beloved
Shinidamachu –dead soul insects, known as Soul Collectors
*~~~~* - Switching POV between first and third or switching topic.


Chapter 3
Unexpected Ally



Looking up from the bottom of the well Kagome smiled when she saw the blue sky. "No matter how many times I have made this trip I still will never be totally used to it." she said out loud to herself before she reached for a vine to climb out Climbing up the side of the well with great trouble she could not help the thought that crossed her mind, 'I really need to bring a ladder so I don't have to struggle all the time.' she thought with a sigh as she reached the top of the well and tossed her bag over the top.

Heaving herself over the lip of the well she sat for a moment to take a breath of fresh air. With a smile she picked up her bag and started her walk to the village. She was half expecting Inuyasha to be waiting for her but he was not. 'I wonder where Inuyasha is?' she thought while extending her senses to try and locate him, but she could not.

Walking upon the hill overlooking the village she saw an orange fluff ball blur running straight at her. She braced herself for the impact and opened her arms for him. "Shippo!" she said happily while cuddling him to her chest.

"Momma!" Shippo cried happily, "I missed you momma!" he said from his perch within her arms.

She smiled at her kit, "I have missed you too Shippo!" she said while ruffling his hair. "Where is Inuyasha he wasn't by the well?" she asked her son while placing him on the ground to find some candy in her bag. She saw the smile turn into a frown and she knew where he was now.

"Inu no baka is not here, he left to see Kikyo when she sent her Shinidamachu to get him, and of course he went running." Shippo told her trying to gauge her reaction to this news. He knew it would upset her but he could not lie to his mother, it was a form of betrayal and he would never betray his mother's trust for anyone especially for Inuyasha.

Taking a deep calming breath she tried to stay the tears that would usually follow such news, but for some odd reason there weren't any tears not even the stinging sensation that would come first. Deciding to think on it later she pushed it to the back of her mind and offered a bright smile to Shippo. "That's ok Shippo, thanks for telling me." she replied while handing him a chocolate coated pokey.

Picking Shippo back up and placing him on her shoulder she continued her walk down the hill towards Kaede's hut.

Pushing the shoji aside she walked into the hut, the first person she saw was Sango then Miroku sitting beside the fire pit. "Hey Sango! Hey Miroku!" Kagome said happily with a wave of her hand.

Sango looked up to her sister, "Kagome how was your visit home? It is your birthday today right?" Sango asked taking in Kagome's appearance. Then she had noticed the strange looking katana adorning her waist. That is interesting looking." she said pointing to the silver sword.

Kagome's eyes followed her finger to her waist "Oh, my Jii-chan gave it to me for a birthday gift. It is beautiful do you want to see it?" she asked Sango while bringing her hand to unsheathe her sword.

Sango nodded her head, "Yes." watching the silver blade come into view.

"Here ya go." Kagome said while handing the sword, hilt first to Sango.

Sango accepted the sword and made a face, "Kagome how could you use this it is so heavy!" Sango exclaimed as she lifted the sword a bit because it felt like it weighed a ton.

Kagome furrowed her brows, "What do mean heavy? I did not find it heavy at all, actually I found it quite light!" Kagome said while watching Sango struggle to lift the blade.

Sango turned to Miroku, "Houshi, hold this." she said while handing the katana to Miroku hilt first.

Miroku took the sword with an amused light in his eye; he found it funny a little sword like that was too heavy for the big tough Taijiya to hold, he would have laughed if he did not fear getting hit by her Hiraikotsu. His amused gaze was suddenly cut off as he too found the blade quite heavy.

Sango watched Miroku then crossed her arms over her chest, "Well is it heavy to you too or not?" she asked impatiently.

Clearing his throat he answered, "Yes my darling Sango it does appear to be too heavy for handling with ease." Turning to Kagome he asked "You said your Jii-chan gave this to you as a gift?"

"Yes he said he does not know where it came from." she stated before she brought her index finger to her chin in a thoughtful pose. "But he did mention something about when he received it he knew it was mine, or something like that." She stated looking at Miroku then to her sword "When I held it the first time it did seem like it was mine, like I had been missing it my whole life. Strange ne?" she queried cocking her head to the side in a confused manner as Miroku handed her katana back to her.

"Didn't So'unga come from your family shrine as well? Isn't that how it came to be back here?" asked the thoughtful houshi as he watched Kagome shake her head vigorously.

"Yes it did come from my family's shrine. My Jii-chan said our ancestors found the sword at the bottom of the well 200 years ago and we had been taking care of it ever since, at least until the saya's binding broke. Why?" she asked while re-sheathing her katana, already kind of knowing the answer but she wanted to be sure.

"Don't you find it strange that all these weird swords just show up in your time at your shrine?" he asked looking at Kagome.

"Well not really, I mean if the sword lasts through out the sands of time of course it would show up in my era. What worries me though is where Inuyasha's or Sesshomaru's swords be in my time, could they be on display in a museum or maybe someone's personal collection. Things like that anger me! Someone has the swords of the inu brothers in their collection but no one knows the sacrifices or battles they waged with the swords. They are just another lost legend in my time; did I ever tell you the stories of the Shikon from my time? No one knows the names of the brave people who risked their lives daily to collect and protect the jewel shards. Sometimes I feel like writing a journal to pass the information to the future so the sacrifices made by you guys will always remembered." she finished with a huff when she saw the amused gaze of Miroku looking at her so she stuck her tongue out at him.



*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*



The sky danced with colors as the sun set in the west, the birds and animals all were silenced due to the coming of night. Night was a dangerous time, dangers hidden in every shadow just waiting to catch its next meal. None of this mattered to the girl now taking a stroll through the forest, it wasn't a stroll per say it was more like a search for a missing hanyou with dog ears. He still had not shown up in the village since she returned and she was a little worried as to the reason. She will never feel comfortable with him going to Kikyo; because she would forever worry about whether or not today was the day she decided she no longer wished to wait to drag him to hell with her.

With her katana at her hip, her bow in her hand and her quiver over her shoulder she walked as silently as she could through the dense forest hoping to see find Inuyasha. With her senses at full alert she picked up a tingle of youki, concentrating on the youki to see if she recognized it. "There you are!" she whispered to herself as she headed in the direction of Inuyasha's youki she had sensed. As she moved closer voices could be heard. Normally she would feel hurt that once again he just forgot about her to see Kikyo but for some reason she was not, she did not know why or how it happened but she was okay with it.



*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*



"Inuyasha the final battle grows near, you must protect my reincarnation. The complete jewel cannot fall into his hands and neither can my reincarnation. When Naraku attacked me he told me that he wished to take the girl, he has learned that in order to unlock the jewel's true potential he would need the girl. That cannot be allowed to happen!" she said the last part with conviction while she looked at the boy she had grown to love in her lifetime. Yes she may have disliked her reincarnation due to jealousy but she will not allow that to cloud her judgment, and as much as she loathed admitting it, Kagome was needed. She had to put her personal vendettas behind {for the moment} for the greater good.

"Kikyo what about you, I promised to protect you. I will not allow Naraku to kill you again!" he spat the name of his greatest enemy with as much anger and disgust as he could.

Kikyo's eyes softened as she looked in her hanyou eyes. "Did you not also promise to protect her as well Inuyasha?" she asked with a raised brow just daring him to lie to her face. She watched as his ears pinned to his head like a guilty puppy.

"Yes I did, but I will not let anything happen to you either. I love you Kikyo." He whispered the last part like he was afraid to say it.

"You do not love me Inuyasha; you cannot love two onna at the same time. It is not love it is lust, you lust for me and my reincarnation." She said in a tone that would suggest she was speaking to a child.

"No! I do Love you Kikyo!" he said sweeping her into his arms in a tight embrace.

Kikyo had tried to dislodge him from her person; she was never one to like contact even when she was alive. It was embarrassment she felt in life and now in death it was… uncomfortable. "Inuyasha release me. " she said softly while pushing at his chest lightly.

He released her and took the look of a puppy denied a bone, his ears pinned to his head, his eyes cast down to the ground. "I will do as you ask, I will protect her." he stated before saying his goodbyes to her then walking back toward the village.

That was when he noticed Kagome's scent.



*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*



Kagome watched the interaction of the two and heard the words they spoke softly. When she heard his declaration of love to Kikyo she expected to feel pain in her heart but she did not, she only shrugged it off. When she heard Naraku wanted her, a shiver of disgust went down her spin and she could feel the bile rise in her throat. He was a horrible being, handsome or not he was despicable. She watched as Inuyasha agreed to protect her 'Bastard, acting like it was something so horrible!' she thought as she fisted her hands at her side.

"Kagome I know you're there come out." Inuyasha said from the other side of the tree she was standing.

Narrowing her eyes she walked out "I was not hiding! I came out looking for you because you were not at the village when I arrived and I was worried. When I found you talking I did not want to interrupt so I stood here until you were done." She told her through clenched teeth "And what is the big deal with acting like protecting me is so horrible!" she asked outraged while staring down at Inuyasha.

He did not say anything just kept walking back to the village with her following. Really what was he suppose to say? Anything he would say would get him sat so he wisely decided to keep his mouth shut.

Arriving back at the hut Kagome and Inuyasha sit around the fire pit with the rest of their companions. Kagome turned to Inuyasha. 'I hate this, he is probably going to get a fat head from this.' (Sigh) she thought before she spoke, "Inuyasha my Jii-chan gave me a katana to defend myself with and I was kind of hoping I could ask you to train me."

Turning toward Kagome with a funny smile and a gleam in his eye Inuyasha said, "You want me to teach you how to use a sword?" he asked while watching her nod her head "okay I guess, it will be easier to protect you if you weren't so helpless in battle." he said to her not really meaning the insult he just said to her.

Her eye twitched at the insult. "Excuse me?" she demanded as she stood and towered over his sitting form.

Looking up at the enraged Kagome, Inuyasha realized his mistake. "Keh! All I am saying is you would not be so useless in battle if you learnt to wield a sword." he replied before he could actually think about the words that came out of his mouth.

Face red with anger she took a calming breath. "Inuyasha." she purred sweetly and Inuyasha knew what was coming so he quickly tried to get out before she said the word.

Racing out the door as fast as he could a loud yell met his ear and he went crashing down to the ground.

"OSUWARI!" Kagome screamed toward the retreating hanyou, almost immediately after she spoke a loud THUD could be heard. A satisfied smile graced Kagome's features when she heard the telltale sound of the hanyou eating dirt. 'What a stress reliever!' she thought as she sat back down with her friends.



*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*



Two days passed with no troubles, they had departed the village the morning after Kagome's return and were now traveling west on a rumor that was heard at a village they had passed through. The group was on edge, they knew that being in the western lands equaled trouble for their little group. 'Hopefully not until after we find this jewel shard.' Kagome thought from her position on Inuyasha's back.

The Sun had started to set which signaled the need to find a place to camp for the night. Inuyasha found a small clearing with a hot spring nearby so they set up camp there. Usually he would work tooth and nail to keep going but given the situation he figured it would be best to setup camp early so they could be rested if trouble came tomorrow.

Inuyasha knew that it was only a matter of time before his brother showed up demanding Tessaiga as he always did when they met him. 'Well not always, recently he has not fought for the sword.' he pondered while finding a nice branch to rest on so he could keep watch.

Once the girls had made it back from the springs they set up the sleeping bags Kagome had given them all awhile back. It was not much later that Inuyasha jumped down from his tree and drew Tessaiga. That was a 'no word needed' action to get ready for trouble so as if on cue as soon as his sword was transformed Miroku grabbed his staff, Sango her Hiraikotsu, Kerira transformed into battle form and Kagome grabbed her bow and readied an arrow.

"Sesshomaru!" was the one word warning he sent to his group, and it was more then enough. The group's grip on their weapons tightened and readied for the Western Lord to make his appearance.

As if on cue Sesshomaru walked out of the treeline followed by a two headed dragon with a small girl asleep on it's back, Jaken was no where in sight.



*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*



Walking through a slightly worn trail Sesshomaru stopped, tilted his head higher and scented the air. 'I smell the hanyou, they are not that far from here… how convenient.' he thought while he began walking again in the direction of his half brother.

Looking up at the sleeping Rin, Jaken sighed, 'Will we be stopping soon?' he thought as he looked at his master. 'He does not look like he is ready to stop anytime soon.' He walked faster to catch up with his Lord. "Lord Sesshomaru! Forgive this lowly servant but where are we going?" Jaken asked while looking up at the stoic face of his master.

Glancing out the corner of his eye he answered after a long pause, "I smell Inuyasha." he replied not missing a step.

Jaken looked to his lord. "Should I take Ah-Un and Rin?" he asked not knowing why he did not ask that already.

"No." was his one word reply that should have alerted his retainer that he did not wish to explain himself but did Jaken listen? No.

"Surely Milord you don't want Rin there while you battle your brother, she could be in danger." He replied still not understanding that if he did not want to get hurt then he would do well to shut the hell up.

"Do you mean to say that I am incapable of protecting Rin from Inuyasha?" he asked looking at his retainer dangerously.

"N-no Mi-milord I- I just thought." before he could continue he was airborne courtesy of Sesshomaru's boot, flying high in the air.

It did not take long to come upon the makeshift camp they set up for the night. He was also not disappointed when he saw his brother and his pack battleready, but alas a battle was not what he was there for. He heard Inuyasha speak his name and he watched the group's reaction to the news, he was amused.

"You can put the sword down hanyou I am not here to figh.t" he stated coolly his baritone voice washed across the clearing and the group tensed. 'Really do they listen?' he thought as he watched them tense at the sound of his voice.



*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*



"What do you want Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha yelled from across the clearing at his half brother.

"This Sesshomaru will not repeat himself hanyou. I have come to form an alliance of sorts to defeat Naraku. His vile existence has lasted far too long on this plain, I know your group encounters him the most because of his infatuation with the jewel." He said while glancing to Kagome as he said the last part. "It would be prudent if we joined forces to get this finished as quickly as possible. Obviously you cannot do it on your own." he stated matter-of-factly.

Inuyasha looked about ready to pop. There was a vein pulsing in the center of his forehead, seeing this the group took a collective step away from the fuming hanyou. "You think I will let you join our group?" he said with a mixture of disbelieve and ire. Oh how he hated his brother's better then thou attitude.

Raising a brow that clearly stated 'obviously' Sesshomaru watched as his brother took a step toward him ready to attack. Before he could get any further the houshi stopped him by placing his staff across his chest.

Inuyasha looked at Miroku all the while thinking 'what the hell do you think you are doing?'

The houshi stepped forward, "Maybe it would be best to listen to him Inuyasha, he does have a point. And given the fact we had found out about Naraku, an extra able body to battle may be best." Miroku stated reminding Inuyasha that Naraku does wish to take Kagome.

The irate hanyou paused and looked to the onna in question and seeming to weigh his options "No. I can protect her just fine without his help." Inuyasha stated in a tone that said he would not be changing his mind. Too bad for him because Kagome had already made up his mind for him.

Stepping forward Kagome turned to Inuyasha, "He joins." she stated in a-you-have-no-choice-Inuyasha tone.

Inuyasha whirled around at her "What! I don't think so!" Inuyasha said not really caring if she sat him or not. Hell be damned if he ever let his brother join them.

"He will Inuyasha, It is not your neck on the block if Naraku gets what he wants. It's mine. At least now when you sneak off to see Kikyo there would be no chance of Naraku kidnapping me. That is of course if he agrees to the terms of joining the group." She said while turning to Sesshomaru to speak to him.

"Naraku has found out that in order to get to the full power of the jewel he needs me to unlock it. I have a certain… connection to the jewel." Kagome informed him.

That little tidbit caught his attention and now he was thoroughly intrigued. "If making sure he does not kidnap you impedes his plans then that is what this Sesshomaru will do." He stated coolly while observing the girl's dress. He had seen her indecent clothing before on other occasions but there was something new, now adorning her hip was a katana… a very familiar looking katana. He could not get a good look at it from where he was but he saw the pink and while wrappings around the silver hilt.

Smiling Kagome turns to Inuyasha, "See it would be better this way!" she replied a bit too chipper for Inuyasha's taste.

Stepping towards the group he walked toward Kagome to get a better look at her sword, and to ask a few questions. "Miko." he stated as he watched her jump slightly in response then turning to face him.

"Yes Sesshomaru-sama?" she asked while looking the youkai in the eye.

"You spoke of a connection to the jewel. How are you connected?" he asked while glancing at her sword.

"Um, I was born with it." she took a slight pause "That is how it came back; I didn't know it was inside of me until the centipede youkai ripped it out." She replied as she noticed his attention was no longer on her but her sword. Seeing this she unconsciously brought her hand to the hilt of the sword effectively bring his attention back to her eyes.

"Miko that sword, where did you get it?" he asked while signaling to the katana at her hip.

"It was a gift, why?" she asked curiously. 'Maybe he had seen this sword before. If he did maybe he could tell me about it.' She thought before she asked "Would you like to see it? I don't know much about it just that it is a female's sword." She said while unsheathing the katana.

Watching her unsheath the sword he got a better look at it. He allowed himself to take the sword from her willing hands to examine it closer, 'No jewels, it's not the same sword.' he thought as he weighed the katana in his hand. 'Strange it is heavy.' he thought as he handed the katana back to Kagome.

Accepting the katana back, "Did you ever see this kind of sword before?" she asked while looking in his eyes, she could have sworn that she saw something there but it was gone before she could discern it.

"No." was his one word response, he did not see any sword like the one she had, the one he had seen was different...


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Also it is a bit longer then i thought it would be so it took longer to get out then planned but hey that means more for you to read :)