Under the Butterfly Moon

Chapter Three

"Rin, would you like some tea, or a little something to eat?" Rin looked up, and Kagome was once more a little startled when the face she beheld was that of an eighteen year old teenager and not an eight year old little girl.

"I'd like something to eat, please." Kagome nodded, watching her for a moment more before returning her gaze to the meal she was preparing. I have to keep reminding myself that it's been ten years since I took her through the well, she thought, cutting up the rabbit Inuyasha had brought earlier that morning. She's probably doing the same thing, though; I'm not exactly fifteen anymore either. "Kagome, you haven't told me where I am yet." Kagome looked up at the softly accusing tone of Rin's voice, and she smiled gently, trying not to let it show that she'd been stalling.

"I'll tell you after breakfast, how's that?" Immediately, the young woman frowned, but she nodded, and Kagome breathed out a small sigh of relief, trying not to scowl at the cook pot as she placed the rabbit inside to cook.

I shouldn't be doing this, she realized with a bit of chagrin. She deserves to know... But how do you tell an eighteen year old girl who's known nothing but technology for the last ten years of her life that she's been transported back in time, and that she used to live in the exact same place she was transported to?

Kagome heaved a quiet sigh. This was going to be harder than she thought.

As the food cooked, Kagome idly thought of her own journey back to the Feudal Era. She almost scoffed at the thought of her being back, but, remembering that there was someone else in the room, she held it in, sobering immediately as she thought of what her return might have done to her time. She opened her mouth to ask Rin about the shrine, but closed it again as she realized that mentioning anything now would only make Rin more eager to know where she was and how she'd gotten there. She pursed her lips, a little frustrated.

When she'd felt the pull of the well, as she left the shrine that day, she thought she'd only imagined it, like she had all those times before. She had ignored it, climbing into her car and starting to drive down the street. But she hadn't gotten very far when the scar on her side had begun to throb and pulse, her miko powers fizzing against her fingertips. She'd never had a quickening of her powers in her time before, and, sensing that something was going on, she turned around, practically running to the well without any sort of explanation to her mother as to why she was back.

In the well house, the pull of the magic was almost unbearable, and there had been a fierce tugging at the back of her bellybutton that had caused her to almost wince in pain. She had only made very scarce preparations to leave, kissing her mother and Souta goodbye and briefly explaining the situation before running back to the well house and jumping into the well without a second thought.

The magic had enveloped her in warmth, reminding her of her mother's embrace or a lover's hug, and she had gotten the acute sense that she had been missed.

But what a surprise to find Kaede dead, she thought solemnly, immediately saying a quick prayer for the old woman's soul in the back of her mind. I'll definitely miss her.

"Kagome! Are you done yet?" Kagome rolled her eyes in Rin's direction, and the young woman, used to Inuyasha's brash nature after being around him for a day and a half, giggled.

"Yes Inuyasha, I'm done." The hanyou burst into the hut, only briefly glancing at the two inside before stalking forward and dishing himself a bowl of stew, sitting against his customary wall before beginning to eat. Kagome shook her head at him, then carefully ladled out a bit of the soup for Rin, keeping in mind that the girl, for some reason, hadn't been able to adjust to the idea of fresh food. "Where's Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha shrugged.

"Last I saw him, he was leavin' the village." Kagome nodded, then stood, brushing off her hakama. "Where are you goin'?"

"To go find him. Be good." She knew he opened his mouth to retort, but she left the hut, pinpointing the direction of Sesshomaru's aura before heading out.

---*---

"Sesshomaru? Can I join you?" The miko's voice was soft, calm, and the inu said nothing, although she took his silence as his answer and stepped up beside him, standing quietly. A light breeze blew through the treetops behind them, and Sesshomaru noted with a slight twinge of interest that the priestess smelled quite pleasant for a human. "What am I supposed to tell her?"

"The truth," Sesshomaru answered, wondering why she had asked such a simple question. Almost as if wondering the same thing herself, Kagome shifted on her feet, sighing before turning and walking a few paces away. Sesshomaru heard a rustle of fabric, and he looked, curious, to see that she had seated herself on a stump at the edge of the forest. He shifted, so he could respectfully look her in the eyes while she spoke, and waited.

The little priestess worried her bottom lip, which she did habitually when she was deep in thought, and her brown eyes were contemplative, her posture relaxed. He watched her, noticing, or caring to notice, for the first time that she was not the awkward human girl he had known all those years ago. This Kagome, this woman, was graceful, thoughtful, and did not possess even a shred of the inexperience she had displayed while traveling with his idiotic half-brother.

The two of them sat in silence, Kagome biting her lip in staggered intervals. "I don't know how to explain it," she finally said, her voice softer than it had been earlier. "How am I supposed to tell an eighteen year old girl that she used to live in Feudal Japan and that I took her away from her guardian only to have her end up here again?" The question was rhetorical, and Sesshomaru observed her, smelling her indecision, her discomfort. She looked at him now, bringing her eyes from their previous resting spot over his shoulder. "I don't want to confuse her, or unknowingly hurt her feelings. I don't want her to think that I tore her away from her life here."

"Rin is not as fragile as you seem to think, miko," he said after a while, reading the expression in her eyes, the lines around her mouth, the crease between her eyebrows. Kagome waved his statement away with a delicate hand.

"I know that, but I'm taking into consideration that she was relocated at such a young age... She might not really remember being here, at least not right now, but I know she'll remember her home in my time... I'm a constant face in the midst of her confusion. I - "

"Miko." She fell silent instantly, her face marred by a deep frown. "You are worrying over nothing." She opened her mouth, but he continued, and she closed it again. "The child is not Inuyasha. She will think things through on her own and make her own decision." Kagome, for an instant, looked as though she wanted to complain, but, either thinking better of it or simply accepting his words, decided instead to huff a large sigh.

"This bites," she mumbled, lifting one leg and folding it under the other's thigh before propping her elbow onto her knee and dropping her head into her palm.

"This Sesshomaru was not under the impression that a situation as easily mended as this could 'bite'." For some reason, she smiled.

"It's a figure of speech," she said, her words a little slurred due to the pressure her hand was applying to the corner of her mouth. She raised her head, the smile still in place, then hopped down from her perch, folded her hands into the sleeves of the white haori she wore, and bowed lightly before turning and walking away.

He watched her go, for a moment, her form visible long after the sound of her audible passage had gone. Her smell lingered, too, and he observed again that her scent was quite pleasant. For a human.

---*---

"Quit stallin', Kagome." Kagome sighed.

"I'm not stalling, I'm trying to gather my thoughts." Inuyasha scoffed, standing beside her. He folded his hands into the sleeves of his haori, looking at her with a knowing light in his eyes.

"You're stallin'." She shot him a look from the corner of her eye, biting her lip as she stared towards the village. Through the trees, she could just see the outline of Yasumoto's hut, and she knew that the hut she and Sayuri shared was just down the road from the old man. She bit the inside of her cheek. "Are ya scared?" She frowned at him.

"Of course not. I'm just - "

"Scared. Kagome is scared to talk. Never thought I'd see the day." His voice held a type of mock wonder, and Kagome suddenly wished she hadn't removed those subjugation beads. Inuyasha knew what she was thinking, and he laughed before throwing an arm around her shoulders. "It's okay, 'Gome. Everybody's afraid of somethin'."

Shrugging his arm off, Kagome scowled and set off toward the village, walking through the trees on sure feet and stopping to pick a herb every now and then; at least she could say that she had actually been doing something. Besides stalling, she thought grimly. She could both hear and feel Inuyasha behind her, and she smiled a little to herself at the watchful pulse in his aura; even after all these years, he still seemed adamant about protecting her.

"Inuyasha, has Sayuri sent any messengers yet?"

"Have ya heard about her sending a messenger, woman? Quit askin' stupid questions." Kagome smiled again; same old Inuyasha.

They walked in silence, Kagome's hands full of herbs and medicinal plants by the time they reached the outskirts of the village. She smiled at the children who greeted her, laughing as they climbed and jumped on their hanyou friend, begging that he play with them. Leaving him despite his protests, Kagome walked calmly toward Rin's calm aura, not surprised to find the girl outside with a few more of the village children, who sat in a half circle around her, listening as she told a story.

Slipping past them, Kagome entered the hut and began to sort her findings, keeping her mind calm and her aura extended; she had found that it became a habit to continually check up on Rin, inspecting her aura for any signs of illness or discomfort. There was something about the girl, something her miko energies reacted to. She might even be a miko herself.

Kagome had just began to tie her herbs and medicines into bundles when Rin came inside, calling out her goodbyes to the children as she did so. The two smiled at each other, and Kagome motioned for the younger girl to sit across from her, handing her two plants when she was situated.

"Mint and lemongrass, for you to put in your tea," she explained at the look Rin gave her. "The children really like you." Rin smiled an almost shy smile.

"I think they just like the stories I tell." Kagome chuckled.

"You've always told good stories." Immediately, she recognized her slip, and Rin's curious brown gaze bore into her hidden face. Keeping herself busy to keep Rin from seeing the horrified look plastered onto her features, she gathered some of her powers into herself before pushing them forcefully back out toward Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. She felt them respond with pulses of their own, Inuyasha smug and Sesshomaru indifferent, and relaxed when both of them started back toward the hut.

After a moment, Inuyasha pushed back the bamboo flap covering the door and gave Kagome a smirk. She pursed her lips and handed him a cup of tea, watching him as he sat against the wall, his eyes twinkling with laughter. She answered his mirth with a flip of her finger, the tendril of pure energy sprouting from it flicking against his bare foot. Giggling at his quiet yelp, Kagome resisted the urge to torture him further, opting instead to give Rin a smile, looking up as Sesshomaru entered the hut, saying nothing. He positioned himself just in her line of peripheral vision, and she unconsciously sat up a little straighter.

She took a deep breath, then licked her lips, smiled at Rin again, and began.

---*---
Author's Note
Well there's chapter three. It was a bit short, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway

Innocent Little Flower: I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, and thanks for the review!
Sugar0o: Re-reading that chapter, I agree that Kagome's return was a tad bit confusing. So sorry about that. But hopefully I've answered all your questions with this chapter, and hopefully I'll be able to work the explanations is a bit better next time. Thanks!

And I hope you all enjoyed!
p.s - my muse was beating me all about the neck and shoulders, so I was forced to leave you with a slight cliffhanger... I blame the muse. So should you.