Twisted Accusations

Chapter Five

Kagome tried to make herself at home, the best she could. It was hard when there wasn't really any privacy to be had. They had given her a room alone but someone was always knocking on the door. There was over a dozen houshi in the small temple, all eager to speak to her. The head of the temple, was a younger man, her guess late thirties.

She'd spent the last week spending time with him, talking about herself. Alot of things were left out, like where she was originally from. They seemed to take their religion very seriously at the temple. The jewel was still very well known by those of the cloth. So was the name's of Midoriko, Kikyou and herself, Kagome. Nothing but the best treatment for her it would seem. It came with a price, she was hounded with questions.

How to heal better, about herbs, youkai of the old days, or how best to get rid of an evil spirit. Everynight she went to bed with a headache from all the tension. They meant well and were merely curious about things, she couldn't fault them. When they found out that she only had the one traditional miko outfit, some were ordered for her. Not that she didn't mind the extra clothes, the thought of being stuck in that outfit made her want to scream. She'd made her bed seemed she'd have to lie in it.

Sometime alone was needed if she were to go the next week without choking someone. She snuck out of the temple, a walk would do nice. Maybe a few days to herself, not like it would happen. A couple hours was the most she'd be likely to get. Better than nothing she supposed.

The weather was pleasant as she walked outside into the fresh morning air. The streets were already busy, people running around to start their day. People nodded and greeted her in respect, word already spreading about her. Atleast they weren't running from her in horror. She wanted to get out of town, enjoy a peaceful day out in the open.

Her walk took her an hour out of town, she found a small pond a good ways off the road. It was mostly surrounded by trees, giving it a secluded look. The sight was beautiful, her breath caught at the picture it made. Cherry blossoms were falling off the trees, coating the ground. Her eyes scanned the area when she felt another presence.

On the other side of the pond a man sat near one of the trees. He looked to be deep in meditation, unaware of her presence. Not wanting to disturb him she stopped her staring and continued walking. A bird flew overhead as she approached the tree it had been lounging in.

Her feet came to a halt when she heard a soft meow, not far from her. She shielded her eyes from the sun, trying to find the source. A small grey kitten was up in a tree, looking down at the ground. "Here kitty kitty." She walked under it, trying to get it to jump. It tilted it's head, like to ask her if she was nutts.

"Damn, you're stuck." Kagome looked at the few branchs there was to climb on. She'd probably kill herself trying to get up there but she couldn't leave the poor thing. Her bow and quiver were placed on the ground, she eyed the first branch.

"Wait, I'll get it."

The voice caused her to turn her head, the man had gotten up and walked over. He was looking up at the kitten shaking his head. She took the time to study him as he began climbing, he looked familiar. He was extremely tall and well built. Her eyes roamed over his body; broad shoulders, long legs, thick thighs, and what a tush!

'Stop that!' Kagome lifted her eyes, not wanting to be caught staring at his rather nice attributes. She studied his face, very handsome. It was nice to see a man that wasn't sporting long hair. That left her to imagine him with it long. Her mouth dropped, no way! Her mind began to turn, her memory kicking in. She'd been informed the war had been over for almost fourteen years. So it was safe to say it had been that long since the man had stabbed her and left her for dead. It would have put him around his thirties if he were still alive.

She studied the lines of his face, he looked the right age too. Was it possible that he was the one? How was she going to bring herself to stab him after watching him rescue a kitten? Wait hadn't there been initials on that blade. If he stuck around long enough and revealed his name then she'd know for sure. Her mind screamed it was definitely him, older but still the same man.

Aoshi couldn't believe he was up in a damn tree trying to fetch a kitten. He'd been trying to meditate needing some time alone when he'd seen her show up. His eyes had closed when he saw her glancing in his direction. He didn't want her to catch him staring but she'd continued walking. It became apparent she was about to climb up the tree. He wasn't particularly fond of cats but didn't want to see her fall and get hurt.

He was standing on the branch closest to the animal, it began to hiss when he tried to reach for it. It was barely out of his grasp, he thought of jumping and knocking it down. The way she was watching him said she wouldn't care for that method. He'd have to grab the furball by hand to get it down. He jumped up and grabbed the branch, pulling it down towards him.

The kitten began to growl at the movement, he heard the hiss before he felt the sharp pain. The little shit attacked his hand, he grabbed it by the scruff of the neck. It went wild in his hand trying to get loose. A minute and several scratchs later he got back to the ground. "Here take this thing."

Kagome reached out, grabbing the frightened animal. "You poor thing, it's okay." She placed it on the ground, letting it go. It ran off leaving them alone. "Thanks, would have hated to leave him up there." She saw him looking at the scratchs on his hand. "Did he get you? Let me see please, don't worry I won't bite you."

She held her breath as he studied her face. Would he recognize her? It had been a long time since that had happened for him. Not to mention he only got a good look at her face for a minute at the most. She'd been no one important and he had believed her dead so he wouldn't have thought on it. The hand came towards her, the breath was released in relief.

It only took a slight touch for the scratchs to heal, leaving him to wonder if they'd really been there. She had the hand in hers, staring at them. There was a good chance these hands had tried to kill her. They would have killed her if she'd been an average person. "There, better than new."

He felt the shiver run down his spine as her soft hand slid over his. The simple touch was causing his body to stir. A warm sensation filled him, she was staring down. What was she looking for? A blush crept up her face as she released him. His eyes looked at the palm, the scratchs were gone. "How?"

"Oh, I'm a miko, I can heal a little bit. Thanks for getting the kitten down, was very nice of you." Kagome was begining to get nervous the longer he stared. Was he trying to place where he'd seen her before?

"I've seen you before," He saw her face fall. "In town about a week ago, you were walking."

"Oh, I just got here not long ago." She tried not to fidget, let him think that's where he'd seen her before. "I didn't mean to disturb your meditaion, I'll let you get back to it." The longer she stood in front of him the better his memory might become. She didn't want to see what new blades he'd acquired since then.

"I was almost done anyways, it's not a problem. Where are you staying in town?" The strange clothes had been explained to him finally. She was a holy woman, which meant off limits. Still didn't mean he couldn't get to know her. For some reason he wanted to, she had caught his eye.

"The temple for now, I need to be heading back actually. It was nice meeting you..." She paused not sure if she wanted the confirmation or not. "Sorry, I don't know your name."

"Shinomori Aoshi, and yours?" He bowed to her, missing the look of horror that crossed her face.

She pulled herself together before he noticed. "Higurashi Kagome, pleased to meet you, Shinomori..."

He interrupted her, "Just Aoshi, no need for anything else."

"Very well, then please call me Kagome. Perhaps we'll meet again," She smiled hoping that wasn't the case. Being stabbed again wasn't on her top list of things to do. Even if he didn't seem to recognize her now, he might in the future.

"I'm sure we will, have a pleasant day." The girl nodded and began to walk away from him. She seemed to be somewhat in a hurry to get away. Maybe she had felt the attraction as well. He watched her walk, eyeing the sway of her hips. Once he turned back around he noticed two things; she'd forgotten her bow and the kitten was sitting a few feet from him staring.


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