It's changed.
Everything's changed.
At the time, it seemed to take forever for one year to go by. Now, those centuries seem to have been mere seconds in my life. Sometimes I wonder what death would be like. Would it be the same as falling asleep, or would it be painful?
I begin to wonder if it's really worth it.
500 years ago, I was the most feared demon to exist, other than Naraku and my father. Naraku wasn't a demon, though, so therefore, he does not count. A human-turned-hanyou does not gain recognition in my eyes. Most humans never gain true recognition from me, though. Only a few ever have. And from what I knew, they had all died long ago.
All except one.
Rin, the first human to come to my aid, passed away a long time ago. It was hard to see the girl I considered a daughter grow up and away from me, wed to a human, then die of old age.
My half-brother, who died not at Naraku's hands, but of his own volition due to guilt for the dead miko, traveled with the only other humans I truly respected. A demon exterminator; a cursed monk who turned his curse into a weapon; and HER. The reincarnation of the dead miko. I never cared about their names, just whether or not they posed a threat.
The monk could be stopped with poisonous insects, the exterminator couldn't fight without her boomerang. I thought that by destroying the miko's bow, she would be just as defenseless. That was the second mistake I made with her.
The first had been when I had thought her weak and vulnerable, even with her bow. Yet she caused the Tetsusaiga to revert to its rusty katana form. Then she destroyed my armor. After that, I thought I knew the extent of her abilities, only to learn of her near-destruction of Naraku.
I became wary of her, but still not confident enough in her abilities to fear her.
But in the final battle, she was able to fight without her arrows. The human born with the Shikon No Tama had developed powers strong enough to be compared to those of Midoriko herself.
I watched as she dispelled barriers with a touch. As she, in her rage, summoned all the shards to form a perfect sphere in her hands, weakening Naraku and his minions, and use it as a weapon - a catalyst for her own energy.
I respected her. I feared her.
I was saddened when she disappeared, and assumed she had died.
I never expected to see her again, this one human whose name I had cared enough to learn. This "Kagome" simply was gone, her great power lost to the world which needed it.
I mourned her death as much as, if not more than, my half-brother's, whom I had finally, grudgingly, accepted. And respected.
But I never planned to bump into her in this century. In this decade. In this YEAR. And yet, I DID.
Literally.
I ran into her yesterday, although she didn't stay long enough for a conversation. I saw her face, though, and I felt the power emanating from her aura. This was no mere reincarnation, it was the true girl. Had I any doubts, they were removed the moment she looked at me before her trio of friends dragged her away.
I saw recognition in those eyes.
Kagome is alive in the 21st century.
~*~*~*~
I thought I was going to pass out. I'm lucky my friends hurried me away, or else I would have. I'd have ended up unconscious in front of one of the most powerful demons to exist.
It had never occurred to me that with a demon's way of aging, he would survive to this era. I don't know why I never thought this. I mean, Shippou's still alive, wasn't he? He, his mate, and their kits still lived, didn't they? And yet, I never really thought to see him again.
He must have covered his markings up with something, and hidden his tail somehow, but it was him. I could never forget those eyes. Cold, dispassionate, amused, and yet bored. But there was a change in those orbs, though. They now held a tinge of sadness, of loneliness in their golden depths. A loneliness I understood all too well.
I suffered from it every day. Surrounded by my friends, sitting at school with Hojou flirting with me, I was hurting. Or, to be more precise, my heart was hurting.
With the promise of Kikyo's assistance against Naraku, Inuyasha promised to return with her to hell. During our last goodbye, he told me that while he loved me, he also loved the Kikyo he once knew, and the woman he knew she could have been. He said I deserved better than half a heart.
I cried then, holding onto Shippou as Sango came to me and held me, letting me sob into her shoulder. Even Miroku comforted me, keeping one hand on his staff, and placing the other on my shoulder. After Kikyo and Inuyasha disappeared, though, he dropped his walls and embraced Sango and I, effectively squeezing the small kitsune between us.
And then, painfully -emotionally, not physically- I was taken away. They faded from my arms, and I was left holding myself in the front courtyard of my home. Shippou told me centuries later how my disappearance had pained Sango and Miroku as well. My surrogate son had raced to my side almost immediately after I reappeared in my time. He said he had been waiting for me, knowing I would be grieving even more without their comfort.
He and his mate live nearby, still. I visit them as often as possible, and sometimes I get visits from them and their kits.
So why was I so surprised to see those familiar gold eyes? Simple. I never expected that the demon lord who seemed to despise humans would choose to live among them. I guess I thought he would fade away like a memory, like a dream when you wake.
But he is as real now as he was then. The bruise on my shoulder, where he had placed his hand to steady me, proves it. That hand which had tightened upon seeing my face. He knows who I am, I know it. He probably still thinks of me as "Inuyasha's wench". But I'm not. I'm not his "wench". I'm not "Kikyo", either.
I am Kagome.
Only Kagome.
And he is only Sesshoumaru.
Story Notes:
Well, this is my first Sess/Kag to write, although it's not my first alternative pairing. In any case, I hope you like!! And for any OOC-ness on Sess's part, just remember, he's been alone for 500 years!!
Author's Chapter Notes:
I don't make money from this. InuYasha is owned and copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi.