The Lone Youkai by Spiffiness

The End of a Saga, the Start of a New

Disclaimer: I do not have any rights to Rumiko Takahashi's intellectual property, but am only seeking to have a bit of creative fun with her wonderful world and characters.

Chapter One – The End of a Saga, the Start of a New

Kagome watched, horrified as Kikyo dragged Inuyasha down into the growing darkness with her. "Inuyasha!" The hanyou looked at her sadly once more before he closed his eyes and accepted his fate. "No! Please, you can't do this to him!" she begged Kikyo.

"Go home, girl, you don't belong here! Inuyasha's life belongs to me!" Kikyo replied. Kagome couldn't stop the tears that fell as Inuyasha disappeared into hell.

"NO!" she cried out before collapsing onto the darkened green grass. It wasn't supposed to be this way. They had defeated Naraku and the Shikon no Tama was complete. This was the part where the story goes 'happily ever after,' wasn't it?

Sango and Miroku came to comfort her, but having no words to say, they simply hugged her. "Forget about dog-breath," Kouga added, as he struggled to rise from where he'd fallen in the battle, "He doesn't deserve you, Kagome." Kagome tried to smile.

"Thanks, Kouga." The wolf youkai scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to do next. Everyone turned at the sound of receding footsteps. Sesshoumaru was leaving without a word, heading towards a happy Rin at the edge of the clearing, Jaken following closely behind. Before disappearing into the forest, the lord of the Western Lands stopped and looked directly into her eyes. A moment passed, and then he was gone. "Please, just take me home," Kagome finally said after the youkai lord had left. Her friends helped her up, and together, they began the trek back to Kaede's village.

Kagome sat huddled in a blanket in Kaede's hut, taking comfort in the warmth and the familiar stew. "What are you going to do now, Kagome-sama?" Kaede asked.

"I think I'm just going to return to my own time. Everyone has their own life to return to, including me." She smiled slightly. "At least now I'll be able to concentrate on my school work..." Tears began to build up again at the memory of Inuyasha staring at her as she tried to study.

Sango hugged her tightly. "We'll miss you so much, Kagome-chan. You'll try to visit us, won't you?"

"I'll try," she promised, looking down at the Shikon no Tama hanging from her neck. Sitting by the fire, Shippou seemed about to burst into tears. "I'll try my best, Shippou, don't worry." Kagome smiled at the fox demon before turning to Kaede. "Thank you for everything, Kaede." The elderly priestess nodded. "Thank you, everyone," she shared a look with each of her old companions in turn, "I should be going now."

They all left for the well to see her off. "If you see Kouga-kun, tell him I said sayonara." Sango nodded.

Kagome turned to face the depths of the well. "Don't forget us, alright, Kagome-chan?" Kagome nodded and jumped into the bone-eaters well.

Two months later...

Kagome yawned and stretched as the morning sun poured through the window. Things were finally getting back to normal. She had almost caught up in school, and for over a month and a half she hadn't skipped any classes. She spent more time with her family and modern-day friends, and Hojo-kun was starting to relent on the strange herbal remedies. There weren't any more life-threatening battles, or demons trying to kill her. But most importantly, the pain of loss had dulled a bit. The first few days back had been hard. She'd wanted so badly just to wish Inuyasha back, but she also feared Inuyasha's true feelings towards her. The hanyou had promised Kikyou that he'd go with her to hell. Who was she, Kagome, to interfere with their love for each other?

Today she was going shopping with her friends and she wasn't going to let bad memories interfere with her happiness. Jumping out of bed, she quickly got dressed and ran down to have a bite to eat. "You're cheery today," Souta commented as Kagome skipped down the last couple of steps.

"That's because I'm going SHOPPING!" she exclaimed, with a big grin.

"Kagome, aren't you supposed to be meeting your friends in five minutes?" Her mother asked her.

"Five minutes? No, I'm not meeting them until..." Kagome looked at her watch. "Oh, no! I must have slept in!" She quickly grabbed her brother's rice ball from his plate and ran out the door. "Sorry, Souta!" she called back, "I'll see you guys later!" She flew down the stairs and passed a couple blocks before she rounded a corner and crashed headlong into someone. "Gomen..." Kagome began, as she picked herself up off the concrete. She looked up at the person still standing over her. Considering the speed she was going at, that was quite a feat. Kagome looked up and up and up. My, he was tall. She followed the lines of his long white coat up to his face. The man had long black hair and refined features, and he stared down his nose at her through his dark-tinted sunglasses, sunglasses which had slipped down from the collision, revealing his golden eyes. Kagome gasped. The man pushed the sunglasses back onto the bridge of his nose and brushed by her without a word. "...Sesshoumaru?" she whispered. Even as she said his name, her mind denied it. What were the chances of meeting Inuyasha's brother 500 years into the present? No, must be a trick of the light, she decided. With one last look at the man's retreating form, she sprinted off with renewed vigour now that she was late five minutes more.

Lunch time...

The four friends sat at their usual table at Wacdonald's with their usual stack of burgers. "So, Kagome, how are things between you and Hojo-kun?"

"Err... what do you mean? There isn't really anything going on between us..." Her friends stared at her in surprise. "What?"

"Well, Hojo-kun is so nice and all, we thought that since you aren't with Inuyasha anymore, you'd be getting together with him..." Now it was Kagome's turn to stare in surprise.

"No, no, no. It's true, he's nice enough, but I don't like him in that way," she tried to explain.

"Oh." Her friends shared a look between themselves. "You are over Inuyasha, right?"

"I... I... Yes, I suppose so..." She could stop the pang in her heart. They looked at her determinedly.

"Well, we'll just have to make you sure that you're over him. Let's go hunting!" Kagome sweatdropped.

As soon as they were done with their sandwiches, her friends dragged her along to go look for some boy to drool over. Their first stop was the arcade, which was highly uninspiring. The boys were so engrossed in their games that they never even looked at them. How could I possibly find a replacement for Inuyasha? Kagome thought, Who could possibly be as strong and brave, and come to my rescue when I'm in danger? The next hunting ground was the soccer field, and of course, they bumped into Hojo.

"Higurashi!" Hojo called out.

"Hi, Hojo-kun," Kagome replied a bit sheepishly.

"You're well, I hope? Because otherwise, I have these dried cicadas..."

Kagome interrupted him before he could go any further, "No, no, I'm very well, thanks. I'll be sure to call you if I need them." She forced a laugh.

"Right. Well, I should be getting back to my game. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, sure, Hojo-kun," Kagome was already backing away, "Bye!" Suddenly, she felt very tired. She turned to her friends. "You know what, I think I'm just going to go home. I'm exhausted."

"Wait, we'll walk you home, Kagome-chan," Yuka said.

Kagome nodded. "Okay."

Kagome walked along, lost in thought, as her friends chatted animatedly about who they could set her up with. Inuyasha..., she couldn't help thinking. In her distraction, she almost got ran over by several police cars and an ambulance as she was about to cross the street.

"What's going on?" Yuka asked.

Ayumi exclaimed, "Look, they're heading for Shinra Inc.'s headquarters!"

"Let's go check it out!" Eri started running the direction the vehicles had gone, pulling her friends along with her.

By the time they arrived, a large crowd had already gathered in front of the tall building behind the police tape. "What's going on?" Eri asked someone in the front.

"Looks like some executives got killed," a man replied, "Could be an accident, though I think it's probably murder."

The three friends gasped. Kagome was only half-listening, though. She'd spotted an impeccably clean white coat in the crowd, along with dark glasses and jet black hair. If only she could get a closer look... She strained to see over the crowd. The stranger was watching the scene intently, but expressionlessly. That same cool face... Only the hair colour and the absent face markings were different.

"What is it, Kagome-chan?" Ayumi asked her suddenly, making her jump.

"Oh, it's nothing," she answered with a forced chuckle.

Now Eri was curious. "Do you see someone you know? Or maybe a cute guy?"

"No, really, it's nothing."

"Kagome..." Yuka and Eri stared her down. Ayumi just smiled as usual.

Kagome sighed resignedly. "I think I see Inuyasha's older brother."

Immediately, the three of them all tried to see where she had been looking. "Where is he? I wanna see!"

"No, you guys, please stop! He'll notice!" It was already too late. Several people, including the stranger, had turned to look at them. Kagome could feel her face heat up. The stranger stared directly at her before turning around and walking out of the crowd. Kagome's mind played back that moment from a month ago, when Sesshoumaru had met her eyes before leaving.

"Is that him?" Yuka asked. Kagome didn't reply.

"Wow, he's pretty hot," Eri added.

"What's his name again?" Ayumi queried.

Kagome finally broke her silence. "His name is Sesshoumaru."

Author's note: The chapters will get longer as the story progresses, and won't all take place in modern Tokyo. This story is also posted on fanfiction.net. Please read and review!

Side note: there's a reference to Final Fantasy VII!