This week's theme: Life
Minimum 700 words: Words used 1 387
Thanks to Reannaleco for betaing
Collecting a Soul
Kagome sighed. It had been two years since she had chosen to stay in the feudal era. Inuyasha had been overjoyed and asked if she would mate with him. However, the look in his eyes told her he wasn’t seeing her… Kikyou still lingered in his thoughts. Not one to want to be seen as another, she declined. That had been some time ago and she was now over her mixed feelings for Inuyasha. She spent her first year improving her miko abilities with Kaede, before moving to the location of the slayer’s village with Sango and Miroku. Sango wanted to rebuild the area and would need a miko in the vicinity. Recruits had come to help and be trained by the strict exterminator. Over all, things had been going well. Inuyasha was still immature, but Kagome forgave him and after a few months of moping had come to his senses. They no longer travelled like they use to so the hanyou was constantly running off, not liking to be cooped up in one place for too long.
Reflecting on her life thus far, she believed she had accomplished more than she ever dreamed. Lives had been saved because of her. Nearby villages flourished under her teachings. Every day she grew more powerful, her reiki increasing to new heights. Youkai searched her out. Some to make an attempt on her life. Others to ask for her hand, for her name had obtained the highest respects in the youkai courts. But Kagome couldn’t see herself marrying, or mating, anyone yet. She was too young.
That was probably her only regret.
“Kagome, how are you feeling?” Sango whispered, kneeling beside the futon.
“Better. I think I should get up; there’s so much to do before winter.” Kagome began to sit up. Her strength wavered, and her entire body shook with the effort until a hand pushed her shoulder to signal her to remain still. “Sango please, I just feel so useless.”
“Until you get better you should just rest.”
Kagome didn’t have the heart to tell her friends that she didn’t think she would get better. A small cough had turned into full fledged hacking. Her lungs ached and her throat stung. Each morning she woke up later and later, feeling more tired than before she had gone to sleep in the first place. Most of the hours were blending together and Kagome no longer knew how long it had been since she had collapsed in the forest.
“Kagome, just get some sleep,” the monk entered with an armful of firewood. “You would tell us the same thing.”
Unable to resist the thought of sleep, she drifted off. A child’s voice was barely audible as she fell deeper and deeper into the familiar realm of dreams. All senses became dull as her unconsciousness took over her and the vivid images of strange ideas broke into a teasing dance in her mind.
“Kagome where have you landed yourself this time,” she mumbled to herself, standing on the floor of a large underground lake.
A large fish came and took her hand, “Come… he is waiting for you.”
“Who?” the miko asked confused.
“No one,” the fish mumbled and let go of Kagome’s hand.
Suddenly she was no longer in the water but falling from the sky. Her hands reached above her head as she tried to reach for a cloud, vaguely remembering that someone she knew could fly on one. Looking down, she noticed the ground closing in when out of the blue sky, a white form jumped and caught her. The arms of her saviour tightened around her waist before landing at the edge of a cliff.
“Who are you?” she asked when the form didn’t allow her to turn around.
“You appear to be in deep contemplation,” the male whispered.
I know those words, she thought abruptly, trying to remember who had uttered the words to her.
Hands on the small of her back pushed her forward and the miko found herself falling once again. She turned her head to look over her shoulder, only to find that the mysterious being was no longer loitering on the rocky edge. A soft material caught her fall. Kagome sat up and observed her surroundings.
“Kagome, dear are you okay? You collapsed on this pile of hats and fell asleep.” Her mother helped pull her daughter up.
“What are you doing here? I left you behind to start my new life,” she angrily shouted, pulling away from the protective hold.
“Kagome you’re dying there. Come back home.”
“I can’t…” a tug interrupted her though.
The miko looked down. Her adopted son had pulled a cowboy hat onto his head and tugged on her white sleeve.
“How do I look okaa-san?”
“Me too,” Rin picked up a pink version of the same western style hat.
“You both look adorable,” Kagome flashed a smile, “But what are you doing here?”
“You have to wake up,” they both whispered to her.
Shadows of black engulfed her form, her vision going blurry as she floated in the darkness. Everything seemed so distant, too far to cling and hold onto something as she drifted.
“Help!” she cried, her mind filling with fear as the black grew darker. “Please someone help!”
Her head moved from side to side in search for something, someone, that she could reach for. A light in the distance reached her gaze. Her hand reached out for it hoping it would draw closer to her finger tips.
As she neared the light her chest grew lighter, her soul deprive of all guilt, worries, and sorrows. Just before she was swallowed by the light her form was yanked away. Her eyes widened and Kagome let her thoughts roam over what was happening. Though the darkness was no longer overcoming her, the bright white light of purity was denying her.
Kagome opened her eyes, winching as the sunlight hit the sensitive irises. “What’s going on?” she asked, when she noticed four pairs of eyes watching over her.
Rin and Shippo lunged for her, dog piling her into a hug. They ignored Sango and Miroku’s protest for them to be careful of her. Only then did she realize she didn’t feel the heaviness of her chest or any of the symptoms that she had felt earlier.
xXx
Three days of rest later and she was feeling much better. Sango and Miroku explained everything that had happened during her two days of unconsciousness, after the two children had fallen asleep. When the sun set that day, Rin and Shippo were escorted to bed. When their light breathing filled the hut, Kagome slipped away. Her blue eyes scanned the area and she flared her aura. A tingling sensation from the east gave her the direction to take.
In a small clearing Kagome stumbled across Ah-Un and Jaken. A frown set across her face when she didn’t see the being she wanted. But a flash of white in the corner of her eyes caught her attention and she turned to head past the trees.
Following a deer path, the miko continued to push through the forest. She was stopped only when the inu she searched for blocked her path. Kagome knelt down and bowed her head.
“Sesshomaru…-sama. I owe you my life. Thank you. If there is anything I could ever do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Hn.”
Kagome remembered Sango’s words.
“Kagome you’ve been sleeping for two days, not a couple of hours. You died Kagome. Rin rushed to Sesshomaru and begged that he bring you back. Apparently he was unable to deny her because he came and used Tenseiga. After we confirmed your heartbeat he headed back into the forest.”
“I should return to Rin and Shippo,” she stated after a while.
“Miko,” the inu spoke out as Kagome rose.
“Yes?”
“This Sesshomaru will make a request.” When silence permeated the area, Kagome feared she’d have to guess what it was the inu lord wanted. “You will travel with this Sesshomaru’s pack. Three sunrises from now, this Sesshomaru will wait on the outskirts of the village.”
Her dismissal was in form of his disappearance, leaving her no chance to argue. Not that she felt the need, to since he had given her another chance at life.
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Ja ne
Angelic Memories
© 2009
edited 2010