She's exhausted. Looking around, she sees her friends picking themselves up off the ground, checking each other's injuries, and, most importantly, smiling. They've done it. He's dead, the jewel is whole. Now, Kagome just has to make the wish. Her eyes find his, as he makes his way towards where she's kneeling in the center of the battlefield. The smile she gives him is loaded, for all that she's happy that it's over, she knows the chances of her staying with him, with them all, are slim to none. She's known this all along, and she's told him, but he didn't and doesn't care. He mated her knowing he might have to wait alone for 500 years, knowing that he may not even survive to that time. A choked sob escapes her just as he reaches her, his knees hitting the ground next to her as he tugs her to him, enveloping her in his arms.
"You are mine, no matter what. This mark," he says, nuzzling the blue crescent moon on her shoulder, matched by the small pink sun on his own, before pressing a kiss to it, "this makes you mine. I will find you, worry not." He pulls back to look at her again, smoothing away a lock of hair from her face. The others begin to surround the pair, both eager and wary of what's to come.
"Kagome, no matter what, we love you." Sango says, voice wavering. Then, hands are on her, each reaching out to offer their support, knowing words can't make it better if it goes how they're all sure it will. Kagome looks at each one. InuYasha, Shippo, Miroku, Kouga, Ginta, Hakkaku, even Jaken, Ah-Un and Rin off to the side. And then, Sesshoumaru.
"I will find you." Sesshoumaru repeats to her, arms tightening ever so slightly as he dips his head once more to the crook of her neck.
Closing her eyes, Kagome memorizes the feel of his arms around her, his scent surrounding her, the feel of his youki entwining with her reiki. Taking a deep breath, she makes the wish, and then lets out a sob as she feels him disappearing from her. When she opens her eyes, she's alone, in her bedroom.
~~~~~
"Kagome! It's time to go!"
The girl groans as she stands from her bed, making her way to her door, towards her mother. It's been a month since she was deposited back into the modern era. It's the modern era, sure, but it's not her home. This isn't the world she left behind. In this world, Kagome never travelled to the past, youkai were never extinct or hidden. Instead, they live in peace with humans. In this world, Kagome went to school and was top of her class, graduated a year early, and got into Tokyo University where she studies history. The last six years of her life aren't what she remembers, and yet, she does. Memories of two lives pile on top of each other, making her feel crazy.
Today is her graduation day, and she couldn't care less. She looks at herself in her mirror, at the simple royal blue dress she's wearing, the colour matching her small "tattoo", as her mother calls it. Gently, she runs a finger over it, smiling even as her eyes threaten to fill again. She can't feel him like she should, and she isn't sure what to do or think about it. She's been trying to find him, he knows his name, and where he's from, but it seems that if he's still alive, or if he even lived at all in this world, that he's hidden himself.
"Kagome! We're going to be late!" her mother calls up again, spurring the girl to leave her room, to leave the thoughts of him behind, at least for now.
~~~~~
A year. Kagome stares at the calendar on her desk, valiantly fighting down the urge to cry as grief washes over her in a nearly overwhelming wave. Her hand automatically finds her mark, the tiny scars from his teeth surrounding the moon. Quickly, she gathers her things to leave, preparing excuses when her boss steps into her small office.
"Oh, are you leaving, Ms. Higurashi?" the stout woman asks, her eyes concerned.
"Yeah, I was feeling off when I got up and now I'm really not feeling well, so I'm going to head home, Mrs. Nakamura."
"Ah, that's a shame. I was going to introduce you to one of our youkai benefactors today." Kagome's eyes widen a fraction as she frantically flares out her reiki to bump against any and all youkai in the building, knowing it's unlikely but unable to prevent herself from hoping. Upon finding no one familiar, she closes her eyes as she swallows thickly, now actually feeling slightly sick. "They wanted to meet you as you put together the new youkai history exhibit. If you're sure though, I'll give them your apologies and have them return another day."
Kagome offers Mrs. Nakamura a small smile, fighting back a new wave of tears as the woman reminds the girl of Kaede in her quiet and gentle care. "I'm sure. I'm going to take the next two days off, if that's okay. Just to give myself time to get over whatever I've got." Kagome winces slightly at the lie, knowing it will take the rest of her life to get over losing her mate.
"Of course, dear. Please, get well soon." the woman tells her, giving her arm a small squeeze before leaving Kagome to collect herself enough to leave the building with dignity. She'll be a mess as soon as she gets home, but until then…
~~~~~
A sharp twinge in her shoulder wakes her. Glancing at her clock, she sees the bright red letters reading 03:27 AM. Hissing quietly to herself, she sits up and spreads her reiki out, checking that everyone is safe in the house. Something woke her up for a reason, after all. She easily finds her family all sleeping in their rooms, but she also feels two others in the house. Human, she guesses by the lack of power in their aura.
Slowly, she gets out of bed and reaches for the tanto she keeps in her nightstand. After the wish, she'd wanted something physical to tie her to Sesshoumaru, and as he'd taught her to wield the blade, she bought herself a good quality one.
Slipping past her door and down the hallway, she hovers at the top of the stairs, listening to the intruders whisper to themselves. Sneaking down the steps carefully, avoiding the ones that squeak, she circles around to hide behind the closed door to the kitchen, where the intruders were currently arguing with each other.
"I told you, there's nothing here. It's a shrine, the goods aren't going to be in the caretaker's house." a deeper voice grouches.
"But they might've had something worth taking." the second man retorts, his voice higher pitched than the other.
"Idiot. Let's just go out to the actual shrine and see what's out there."
"I don't think so, boys." Kagome says as she slides the door open. "I'd leave if I were you." She summons her reiki around her, making her body glow pink, the hand with her tanto loose at her side as she waits to see what they'll do. She knows her reiki can't really hurt them, but she can defend herself and push them out of the house with it.
"What the fuck?! Who are you?!" shouts the taller of the two, with the higher voice. The other one readies a knife, badly, in one of his hands. Kagome almost laughs at how clearly untrained he is with his weapon, hearing Sesshoumaru's baritone comments in her head.
"I'm the Shikon Miko, and you are trespassing. Now, leave. Before I make you."
"As if you could, little girl. Reiki can't hurt humans, bitch." the shorter one sneers.
"You're right, it can't. At least, not in the traditional sense. I can, however, make it throw you." Kagome then demonstrates, throwing a barrier and letting it toss them back into the wall behind them. "As I said, leave."
The taller man scrambles to his feet and flees the house through the back door, the shorter man following shortly after. Kagome leisurely walks out behind them, to ensure they did in fact leave. She follows the men out to the front of the house, towards the shrine steps when suddenly she freezes, her eyes going wide. Flaring her aura wildly, she frantically searches, gasping as she feels the tears welling in her eyes. She felt it, she knows she did. It was there, it was-
A sharp pain slides into her side, drawing her eyes down to see a knife sticking out from her. Looking up, the shorter man is sneering again in his assumed victory. "Told you bitch, reiki doesn't hurt humans. Making it go all wild doesn't scare me."
A sudden roar makes him jump as he spins on the spot. Before them is a tall youkai, his youki whipping wildly around him, lifting his silver hair and making his suit billow. Kagome smiles as her knees hit the ground. Grunting lightly, she tugs the knife out, letting her reiki do its job without her attention. She's too enthralled by the scene in front of her.
He's beautiful, as he always was, even as enraged and confused as she can see he is. Her reiki is swirling with his youki, greeting it, coaxing it to wrap around hers. She dares to hope that he's real, that he remembers, that he still loves her.
The two humans are nearly pissing themselves at the show of power from the miko and daiyoukai, knowing what it means when auras dance with each other like theirs are.
"Fuck, we're sorry, if we'd known she was protected by the West, we wouldn't have hit the Shrine. Please forgive us." the short one nearly yells, desperate to escape now, as he and his buddy scramble down the steps, taking full advantage of the pair's distraction.
Sesshoumaru ignores them, his eyes instead pinned to her shoulder, bare from the tank top she's wearing. Kagome pushes her reiki against his youki more, watching his eyes as they swirl with confusion. Then, they meet her gaze, and her breath hitches as he's suddenly directly in front of her, crouched down to be eye level with her.
"Kagome. Where have you been?" he asks quietly before he grabs and kisses her.
~~~~~
A/N: This was based on a part of a dream I had. I may or may not make a part 2 to this, but for now, this was a good ending point for the short story. -thanks Monomyth for beta'ing and checking my writing, as well as encouraging me to write it, and thanks Mythicmagica for helping with the summary.