Only Your Smile

A/N: I’m so sorry everyone who reads my other fics. I haven’t had time to write lately, and even if I did, right now writer’s block seems to have hit me fast and hard. *sigh* Well, hopefully getting this
out of my system will get me back in the writing scheme of things, ne? This was going to be a one-shot…Hiei/Kagome, but, again, it’s expanded beyond my expectations. *sigh* Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don’t own anything.


Only Your Smile
Chapter 1: Stories Told

Kagome hit the back of the solid stone cell with a soft ‘oomph’. She knew she had some bad bruises, and her body ached like nothing before she had ever experienced, but she was alive, and nothing SEEMED broken…she could only hope she could find a way out of this god forsaken place before the demons who threw her in here in the first place came back.

She growled softly to herself, rubbing the back of her arm that hit the wall first. “Bastards!” she felt she had to shout out, “Let me out of here!”

Of course, they ignored her.

‘Baka youkai…what did I ever do to them?!’ she shouted mentally, her eyes narrowing. “Makai my ass…how was I supposed to know that the well fucked up somehow?!” she shouted to herself harshly.

The jewel was completed, back in her body, but she wanted to go back…just one more time. ‘Yeah right, Kagome. You’re always telling yourself just one more time…this time it landed you in huge trouble…’ she berated herself as she took in her surroundings quickly.

She felt a demon aura, but a very weak one in the cell with her, and she instantly got on the defensive.

The soft voice that reached her though eased her stance. “I won’t hurt you…who are you?” she asked, before coming into the very weak light, getting Kagome’s attention again. The girl was very pretty, but she looked weary, and blood caked her arm.

“Kagome…my name is Kagome…who are you?” she asked, taking a step closer to the girl, who stepped back slightly.

“Yukina…are you here to hurt me?” she asked, a slight fear in her voice. She could feel the miko power from the girl and didn’t want to think that she was here to purify her.

“Huh? Why would I hurt you?” Kagome asked, confused, and forgetting all about her miko abilities for the moment.

“You are a miko…I have demon blood within me…” she said softly, taking another step backwards.

“Yukina…I wouldn’t think of hurting you. Don’t worry. I’m not the conventional miko—as many people have reminded me over the centuries…” Kagome added as an afterthought as she smiled a bit bitterly to herself.

“Why are you in here?” she asked the cerulean haired girl, taking a seat on the stone bench and raising her knee to her chest.

“They kidnapped me from the temple where I’m staying…they attempt to draw my brother into battle with them.” She said softly, taking a seat next to the miko.
“Will he come for you? Your brother?” Kagome couldn’t help but ask, taking in her rather sad expression.

“Of course…but he doesn’t know that I know he is my brother…he hasn’t told me…but I know…” she said softly, a soft smile reaching her face.

“That must be hard on you…and him.” The miko said softly, her mind recalling the rather broken relationship of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. Both, in the end, had reconciled their differences to help bring the bastard Naraku down, and that alliance proved most valuable.

“Hm.” She nodded, and Kagome sighed before shaking her head. “How did you come to be here, Kagome?” the little koorime asked, her eyes catching on the blue sapphires of the miko.

“Its…kind of unbelievable…and the story would take ages to explain.” She replied, looking up to the ceiling, her eyes becoming wistful.

“I think we will be here for quite some time…why don’t you tell me?” she said in a soft, comforting voice. Kagome smiled at the girl and nodded before saying, “But first, let me heal that cut on your arm…I sense it’s still bleeding.”

Kagome rolled up the sleeves of the girl’s beautiful blue kimono and inspected the damage. It was a rather deep cut, but nothing really life-threatening. She placed her hands over the wound and felt her healing energy flow gently to her hands and into the body of the koorime. Instantly, the flesh reappeared and the blood stopped flowing, leaving her arm without a scar.

“You’re very good at healing…I only wish I could have healed myself…” Yukina said, smiling sadly.

“Eh, it’s a drawback to being able to help others.” Kagome shrugged, smiling gently. “You can’t use your healing properties on yourself.”

“So…what was that you were saying when you came in here…about a well back-firing?” Yukina asked softly, looking back to Kagome with a perplexed look on her face.

“That…my friend, is part of a very long story…one I have been living for almost 7 years. Perhaps you would like to hear the tale?” she asked, in a mysterious voice, keeping her tone light as her eyes shimmered with the past pulling forth in her memories.

“Yes, please, Kagome-chan. I would like to very much.” Yukina said, a small smile forming on her face. Her heart felt lighter with this girl near her. She was extremely nice for a miko, and she was friendly, and didn’t condemn her for being a demon.

“Okay, well…where to begin…” Kagome placed a finger to her chin and smiled fondly, thinking of when she first went into the well.

“I guess I should start off by telling you where I live. I live at a temple as well, or, actually, a shrine if you want to get technical. And on the shrine property there is a tree that we call the Goshinboku. I guess that tree and the well that also is on our property is where my story begins…oh yeah, and about five-hundred and fifty years ago.” She said, as Yukina’s eyes widened.

“That long ago?” she asked and the raven haired girl nodded in response.

“Yup…but that’s the easy part. Maybe I better start back in the beginning. Back to the Sengoku Jidai, where the whole thing started…with a priestess named Kikyou…an Inu-hanyou named Inuyasha, and an injured human named Onigumo…” Kagome said, her voice gentling, as she relived her past. It hurt a lot after she came out of the well, but now…now she was working on getting past the pain. The way things had ended up with her first love, and her adopted child…she sighed, before continuing, and Yukina stayed silent, taking in the strange girl’s story, and she didn’t have to be a slight empath to read that the story this girl told was complete truth…no lies or deception came from her.

“…in the end…we made alliances with Kouga’s wolf tribe, Sesshoumaru and his army, and many other freelance demons and humans to take down Naraku. The battle was tough, everyone was tired, and many of us..." she paused, tears threatening to spill over, that she pushed back; she had cried too many times over the battle...the losses..., "...many of us…demon and human alike, died before his hands…but…in the end…I was the one to kill him…I purified him into a huge pile of ash, and truth be told, I was really, really sad that it was me to take him out.” Kagome finished, wiping away a tear that had fallen, getting the koorime's attention.

"Kagome?" she asked quietly, looking to the forlorn expression on the miko's face. Instead of asking further about the sad look on her face, she decided to ask the question on the forefront of her mind.

"…why? He was an evil demon, who hurt many people…why would you be sad?” Yukina asked, trying to get the girl's mind off of her sad thoughts.

“Why?" she blinks, looking to Yukina before taking a soft breath; she forgot that the young koorime wasn't around in that time, and didn't know anything of Naraku's evils. "Because…there were others so much more deserving of revenge on that bastard…Sango lost her entire village to him…Inuyasha lost fifty years of his life and the one person he loved the most…Miroku lost his father and grandfather before him because of the curse…everyone lost a lot more to that evil hanyou than I ever did…It felt wrong to take away their chance at revenge. Even though I know that..." she pauses, before continuing, "...we probably would have only died at his hands, I still feel guilty that I was the only one to really exact any revenge.” She said softly, her heart aching again at the thought of Inuyasha.

Silence filled the air around them for a moment, and the only sound they could hear was the dripping of a pipe somewhere in the immediate area.

“What happened….after the battle?” Yukina dared to ask, getting wrapped up in the miko’s extraordinary tale but still wondering what had brought tears to the girls eyes.

“Well, I had the jewel in it’s complete form, and it was purified, so it was out of evil hands and complete for me to keep watch over again. Inuyasha…we buried him next to Kikyou's ashes...once she was returned to the earth. I got my lost piece of soul back and I wished for everyone to have peace for as long as they lived…they deserved that much at least, after spending so much of their lives going after Naraku.” Kagome stilled as she thought of the hanyou who still held her heart, even after so many years. She breathed softly, containing her emotions again. Thinking of him wasn’t going to bring him back to life...

Yukina felt the depression coming from Kagome, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You just wanted to see him happy…didn’t you?” she asked, and the miko’s blue eyes met with the koorime’s. 'They spent so much time and effort to see that jewel complete, and in the end, the one who had lost so much, ended up losing his life. She loved him...with all of her heart...'

“Yeah…I did. Even if it wasn’t with me, I still wanted to see him happy. But..." she slowly wipes a tear away that had fallen, sniffling only long enough to shake the tears away and say with a stronger voice, "... I was glad that…everyone seemed to get what they wanted in the end…Sango ended up marrying Miroku…I healed back Sesshoumaru’s lost arm, and Rin was granted his lifespan…Kouga and Ayame ended up mating…and while I couldn't revive Shippou's parents, he is like my own son and he lives with me now…is seems like...everyone got what they wanted…everyone ended up happy…” she said softly, a forlorn look on her face as she looked to the ceiling again. 'Everyone...except me...' she thought sadly, before looking back to Yukina.

“Thank you for telling me your story, Kagome-chan.” the ice maiden said, smiling gently and squeezing her shoulder a bit.

“I’m kind of surprised you didn’t call me weak or condemn me like most of the other demon’s I met have. The first thing they focus on is the fact that I loved a hanyou…you can’t imagine how much people look down upon hanyou demons. Well…maybe you can…” she said softly, before a somewhat broken voice added, “Just as much as forbidden children are looked down upon…”

Kagome processed the information as she wracked her brain, trying to remember what Sango said about forbidden children.

“That’s when a child is born of opposing elemental demons, isn’t it?” she asked questioningly, as she recalled the conversation.

“Yes…fire and ice…to be more specific…” she said softly, her face taking the look of one that was lost, and very, very alone.

“Well that’s just stupid in my opinion!” Kagome all but shouted out, her overzealous nature overtaking her as her voice echoed in the dungeon.

“Huh?!” Yukina replied quickly, her eyes going wide.

“That’s right, stupid! I don’t get how some people can be so…well…stupid! It shouldn’t matter what your lineage is, just as long as you treat people how you’d like to be treated! Call me old-fashioned…wait…scratch that…cause that’s one of the things that pissed me off the most about the Sengoku Jidai was that everyone looked down upon Inuyasha because he was hanyou…but he was a really good person…err…demon. He was really loyal, and though he had a hard time with emotions, he was a really good friend…” her voice softened as she said, “…I never understood people condemning him without even knowing him.”

Yukina stared at her with a new-found respect in her eyes. “You are really something, Kagome-chan.” She said, earning a look from Kagome.

“You do not judge…that is rare coming from a miko…especially when you are supposed to kill all demons, no matter what.” She elaborated, and Kagome couldn’t help but blush.

“But…it just comes natural to me…I got judged too, when people found out that I traveled with a hanyou…but I didn’t care. He’s my friend, I love him, and I would never leave him because of what others thought of us. It was one of the problems with his and Kikyou’s love, I think…the complications of the relationship, I suppose.” She sighed before saying, “But…I guess that…I just never realized how much I was different from the others in that era…I never understood the others fear of demons…yeah, some of them were really bad, and we killed them, but others…like Sesshoumaru…oh yeah, he was a cold-hearted jerk at times, but he had a good heart…Kouga…he was more like a lamb than a wolf, such a sweetheart, if a little overbearing at times…” Kagome huffed silently, recalling his many claims to her person.

“…it was just something I never worried about, I guess. I befriended many demons in the past, and they all helped get rid of the evil Naraku in the end.” She smiled before standing and stretching before sitting back down.

“Hey, when we get out of here, can we meet again? You’re the first person that I’ve really talked to since I came back for good...” Kagome asked, smiling hopefully to the ice apparition.

“Sure…I would like that very much. But, you never finished your tale…how did you end up to be in here with me?” she asked, taking in her surroundings again.

“Oh that, well, I have the completed Shikon and it’s inside my body again, but dormant. I tried to go back into the well, you know, to see my friends again, but something went wrong, and I ended up here. Wherever HERE is…” she added as an after thought.

“You’re in the Makai. This is the demon realm.” She informed her new friend, happy to be able to give her some information as to her whereabouts.

“Huh? Explain this to me…” she asked, looking at the koorime and frowning.

“Well…many years ago, the earth was split into three realms, the Ningenkai or Human Realm, the Reikai, or Spirit Realm, and the Makai, or Demon Realm. We’re in the Demon Realm, and of course, all the humans are in the Ningenkai, and the Reikai is where all the departed souls go.” Yukina explained patiently, nodding.

“Wow…didn’t expect that to happen…So…do you know WHERE in the demon realm we are?” she asked, looking to the cerulean haired girl again.

“I don’t know…they knocked me out when they kidnapped me…I really hope Genkai-baba is alright…” she added, her gentle face in a frown.

“Genkai?” Kagome asked. The longer they talked, the more they weren’t occupied with their surroundings, and that suited Kagome just fine.

“Yes. She is my caretaker…well, she owns the temple where I’m staying at. I help her care for it, and she allows me to train and study there. She is very nice, and she also trains Yusuke and Kazuma in fighting and using spirit energy.” She informed the girl, smiling at the thought of the Reikai Tantei.

“Does she work with Miko energy?” Kagome asked on impulse. Though the miko had control over some of her power, there was ALWAYS room for improvement.

“I don’t know, Kagome-chan…you must ask her yourself when we get back. I’m sure she would help you if you wanted help training.” She said, smiling at the way the miko girl’s eyes lit up at the mention of training.

“Cool…Oh! So what are your friends like? You mentioned others that train with Genkai, what are they like?” Kagome asked, a small light igniting itself within her. She hadn’t talked this much with someone in forever. ‘I get along better with demons than humans…’ Kagome thought, grinning mentally.

“Well, Yusuke-kun is very loud, but he is really strong too. He and Genkai argue a lot, but that’s because they care about each other so much…Kazuma-kun is a real gentleman and he has many codes and morals that I sometimes don’t understand all that much, but I like him just the same.” She smiled, and Kagome was sure she saw a blush on the koorime’s face, and grinned.

“You sound like you are a bit in love with this Kazuma person…eh, Yukina?” she grinned and the ice apparition blushed further.

“Aw…you are really cute when you blush! So…does he have feelings for you?” she asked, leaning closer to the girl.

“Uhm…Kazuma-kun…likes me very much…he saved me before…from demons…” she said, her blush disappearing as the bad recollections were brought forth.

“Oh…sorry, Yukina. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.” Kagome said, placing a gentle hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it…I just don’t like thinking of that Toguro person and that evil man Tarukane…” she said, giving the miko a sad smile.

“What happened…if you don’t mind me asking…” the girl asked in a soft voice.

“Ice apparitions have a special ability. When we cry, our tears turn into precious gems…he was forcing me to cry so he could sell the gems for his own greedy gain. He was a real evil man, and I was in his prison until Yusuke, Kazuma, and Hiei came to rescue me. That was one of the best days of my life, although I left shortly afterwards…I couldn’t stay away from them…I figured out the truth that day, although no one said anything…that Hiei was my brother. That was something that made me very happy…to know that my twin didn’t die…that he was very much alive…” the smile that rested on the koorime’s face was nothing short of beauty as she thought back on that fateful day.

Kagome grinned in spite of herself. Seeing the girl beside her happy made her feel not so bad for bringing up the topic in the first place.

“Sounds like you really love your brother. What’s he like?” Kagome found herself asking, leaning back against the cold stone wall of her dungeon prison as she thought of her own little brother.

“He is very quiet…but he is extremely strong. I was worried when I first saw him, he seemed…alone. Very much alone…but when I saw him, he was with Yusuke and Kazuma-kun. Then I saw him with Kurama, and he seemed…happy? I guess he was alone for a long time, he doesn’t like new people much, and he’s really isolated, but he’s really nice…if you get to know him…” she somewhat shouted out the last part, before quieting again.

“I’m sure he is, Yukina. So…when do you think we’ll be getting out of this hellhole?” Kagome switched topics as she narrowed her eyes at the door in silent frustration.

“Whenever Hiei and the others get here. I really hope their okay…” she replied, worry seeping into her voice.

Kagome instinctively placed a hand back on her shoulder and said, “I’m sure they’re just fine. From what you’ve told me, they’re strong, and certainly a force to be reckoned with. We’ll just wait patiently and before long, we should be back where we belong.” She said with confidence. Honestly, she was pretty calm inside, but she didn’t know why. Maybe it was just the closeness of a demon who kind of understood her, or just being able to tell someone else her story, but whatever the reason, she was somewhat glad that the well had decided to screw up, otherwise she would have never gotten to meet the ice apparition next to her.

Suddenly, there were shouts and bangs coming from the hallway, which made both girls jump in fright. Without warning, Kagome scooped up the koorime and placed her on her lap.

“Don’t worry, Yukina…I won’t let them hurt you anymore…I will protect you from them.” Kagome said before a strong barrier went around them, shielding them from the danger that was on the other side of the door. She couldn’t help but place her arms around the miko girl’s neck, holding on for dear life. The girl was strong, and she was very glad that she had met her and became her friend.

A few more minutes of loud banging and clashing were heard before the door was busted open with a huge flash of blue light.

“Yukina?! You in there!?” a familiar voice called out, earning a soft sob from the ice apparition.

“Yusuke-kun!” she shouted, and Kagome visibly relaxed. The black haired spirit detective walked in through the smoke and had a fingertip still glowing with unleashed spirit energy. He pointed it at Kagome before Yukina shouted out, “No!”

He looked to her before another voice chimed in, “Yukina my sweet! I hope you aren’t injured at all!”

Kagome cocked an eyebrow before a tall boy with Elvis style orange hair came in to the dungeon, a tough look on his face.
“Kagome…you can let down your barrier…it’s okay.” Yukina said, smiling. The pink shield dropped and the miko stood and unintentionally held the cerulean haired girl close.

“Kagome…this is Yusuke-kun…and this is Kazuma-kun. Yusuke, Kazuma, this is Kagome. She was protecting me before you came here.” The gentle demon girl said, smiling to her new friend.

“The name’s Yusuke. Yusuke Urameshi. Now let’s get the hell out of here!” the spirit detective said, shaking his head as Kuwabara took Yukina’s hand and kissed it quickly.

“Do that once more, idiot, and I will cut off your lips.” A menacing voice broke through the noise, making Kagome instinctively want to put up another barrier.

“Hiei!” Yukina shouted out before hugging him tightly. Kagome smiled, and remembered that he didn’t know that she knew the truth, and promised to keep it a secret that she knew as well.

“Hey…there’s one more girl here than we were supposed to get.” Kuwabara said, earning a look from his friends and Kagome.

“The name’s Kagome. Kagome Higurashi. And I didn’t expect to get caught up by demons, it just happened. Now if you’ll excuse me, paybacks are a bitch, and I have some demon ass I want to purify.” She said, anger getting the best of her. They all looked to her, and her eyes flashed in anger, a pink tint coming to them.

“Kagome-chan?” Yukina’s soft voice broke through the cloud of ire that had taken over her senses.

“Don’t worry, Yukina. I just want to get some sweet revenge on the bastards that put us in here.” She grinned and earned herself one in return from the girl.

Without another word, she marched forward, her energy gathering in her hands as a miko bow and arrows were formed. The boys watched with amazement as she went ahead of them and up the dungeon steps.

“Hurry up, guys!” she shouted back down to them, into which they scrambled up behind her.

Just as Kagome reached the top step a demon with sickly green skin came after her, and he wasn’t the only one. “What the hell are these things?!” she shouted out quickly, before pressing out a barrier to purify a line of them, that was quickly replaced.

“It’s the veggieheads again, Urameshi!” Kuwabara said, before a spirit shotgun was released by said person.

“Nice technique!” Kagome said, while he replied, “Not bad yourself, girl!”

They quickly took out a few hundred of them, and even Yukina got some payback in with her ice freezing the veggie-heads before one of the others would dispose of them.

They got out of the lower level of the place they were at, and were met at the large double doors by a group of spider demons who reminded Kagome a little too much of Naraku. Not wasting any time, she drew a spirit arrow and fired, turning one of the spider demons into ash.

Taking her cue, Yusuke let forth a spirit shotgun, eliminating a few more of the hairy pests.

“You’ve got good aim, girl!” Kuwabara shouted, his eyes slightly wide with surprise.

“Why thank you!” Kagome shouted back before dispatching another spider with her arrows. Hiei watched her with wary eyes, but at Yukina’s look, he calmed. Respect and admiration were in the little koorime’s eyes and those eyes were directed at the strange miko.

Suddenly, a huge swarm of the spiders came out at once, and they threatened to overrun the spirit detectives, Yukina, and Kagome. She pressed out a barrier just in time to stave off a good number of them, but now they were all surrounded, and with her focusing her power on the shield, she couldn’t attack anymore.

“We have to get the hell out of here, guys!” she shouted, before gritting her teeth as the demons ran into her barrier, making it shake with the impact as they were quickly purified.

“Got a plan?” Yusuke shouted back before relief crossed his eyes. Kagome looked up just as all of the demons were pushed back by a large number of…plants?

She kept staring before a new person revealed himself to her. He was exceptionally handsome, and she was first focused on his hair, then his deep green eyes, but before she got too lost, she took the time to lower her shield as Yusuke shouted, “Bout time, Kurama! Man we were almost spider food!”

The one called Kurama just shrugged and then looked straight to Kagome. Hiei had had enough. There was no time for this—and his growl was heard loud and clear. “Let’s get out of here. I’ve had enough for one day…” Kagome said, before walking forward.

Kurama led the way and soon they were running as fast as they could. Hiei carried Yukina, and even Yusuke and Kuwabara were exceptionally fast. She hadn’t seen anyone who could run as fast as her in a long while. It was refreshing.

Before she knew it, they had stopped, and Yusuke began talking on a little thing that looked like a compact mirror. Raising an inquisitive eyebrow, her eyes narrowed as he said, “Botan…we got someone else with us too…I thought you said it was only Yukina who was kidnapped?!” He sounded pissed, and frankly, Kagome could care less what the hell happened next, as long as she could get to go home, and hopefully see Yukina again.

“What?! There was no one else…I guess it doesn’t matter. Just get them both back in the Ningenkai. Koenma wants to speak with you all anyway.” She heard a female voice reply.

“Fine.” Yusuke snapped the compact shut and then looked to Kagome.

“We’re taking you back. I don’t know how you ended up in the Makai, and I don’t want to know. Just as long as you don’t try to come back, things will be a lot easier on us.” He said, his voice slightly hard.

“What do you think I did? You think I take pleasure trips to this…Makai…when I feel a whim? I may be a miko, but I’m not retarded! I didn’t mean to end up in this place, surrounded by demons! I was just trying to go back to the past and see my friends, but could I even do that? Noooo….the stupid well had to get shitty with me and send me here of all places.” Kagome muttered and raised her hands in the air.

“Whatever…just tell me how to get out of here. There’s still some creepy demon presences and they aren’t coming from you guys.” Kagome said, shuddering slightly, and true to her word, Hiei and Kurama felt the stirrings of demon energies as well.

Everyone else stared at her with open mouths, all except Yukina, and she instantly caught her mistake.

“You’re joking, right? There’s no way you can go to the past…right?” Yusuke asked, while Hiei and Kurama gave her strong, albeit very confused, stares.

“You know what…it doesn’t matter…let’s just get out of here, I can tell you all later when I’m not busy being chased by demons.” She said matter-of-factly as she rolled her eyes and managed to catch Yukina’s, which were shinning happily.

“You’re right, let’s get out of here.” The koorime said, as she took a stand next to the strange miko girl, and they were instantly greeted by a hyper Botan, and her cheery “Hello!”

Kagome just shook her head. She had seen stranger things than a girl on an oar pop out of thin air. She couldn’t think of any at the moment, but she shrugged it off. As long as they could go home now, she didn’t much care if elephants started to fly in the sky.

A portal was formed and they all stepped through, and Kagome was relieved to find herself back in Tokyo.

~*~

A/N: Enough for this first chapter. I’ll update soon!
This one is helping me get past my writers block--^^;
Please R/R!