Morning came with its tie-dyed colors streaking the sky. Navy blues
and wild orange melded together and instead of clashing, they seemed perfect together. Complete opposites are somehow
better than any other combinations.
Kagome yawned sleepily. She didn't remember
making her way back to the sleeping bag last night, but there she was, Shippo curled against her side like a fuzzy pet.
He felt her wake up and yawned too, stretching like a little dog. "G'morning." He mumbled lazily.
"Good morning, Shippo." She said cheerfully, sitting up and looking around the camp. Inuyasha was gone, most likely
out hunting. He always did that before dawn, because each morning, he had a fresh rabbit, bird, or other meat there
to be cooked. Sometimes he would only bring back half of the carcass, and she sincerely wondered if he was eating part
of it raw. "He is half youkai after all." She reminded herself.
"I'm hungry,
Kagome." Shippo complained, rubbing sleep-filled eyes to wake up.
"I have a
granola bar in my backpack if you go get washed up." She told him. He yelped excitedly. Sugar of any kind
was a special treat for him since there wasn't much of it in the feudal era. Kagome didn't think it was a good idea
to feed him M&M's at this time in the morning, so an Apple & Cinnamon Granola Bar was going to have to do.
After bouncing on Sango's and Miroku's sleeping forms, he bounced off toward the stream they'd camped by the previous night.
"Wow, doesn't Inuyasha usually wake us up before now?" Sango muttered sleepily. "It's after sunrise."
'That is odd. He's usually back by now' Kagome thought, feeling a little concerned. "I'm sure he'll come
back soon. He probably is just having some trouble finding anything to bring back."
Miroku and Sango seemed satisfied with the answer, but Kagome wasn't. Inuyasha had been acting very strange recently.
He'd just been sad, sort of, and not quite as mean to her recently. Kagome glanced up, seeing Miroku and Sango sneak
off toward the woods. "Humph" Kagome grunted irritably. They'd certainly been friendlier with one another
over the past few days. "But then they don't have to be afraid anymore. . ." she thought sadly.
Naraku, the possessor of nearly fifty jewel shards, was finally dead. Completely destroyed when Kagome had used some
sort of attack of pure white light. It had killed all the demons in the area, including all of Naraku's evil little
kids. Kagome couldn't remember any of it. In fact, she couldn't remember anything from the past week. Inuyasha
had not really talked to her. In fact, no one had. They had all moved on as though it had never happened, searching
for the rest of the jewel shards. Her bottle was crammed full of them now. There couldn't be many left now.
Kagome shook her head. She didn't know what would happen now. Defeating Naraku, that had been the glue between
them. Now what would hold them together? There was nothing left, not really. Friendship only held people
together, and in all reality, a true friend would not ask Miroku and Sango to give up their plans and their happiness so they
could continue on some insane search.
Kagome made a decision, a snap decision, and
ran off after Sango and Miroku. This was the right decision, she knew. Kagome moved quickly, and quietly like
Inuyasha had taught her to. Soon, she heard hushed voices and laughter coming from in the brush. Kagome parted
leaves and peered through curiously. Where were they?
The sight that lay before
her shocked her, no doubt, but it didn't really surprise her. Miroku and Sango were kissing, and both of them seemed
to have discarded a good bit of their clothes. Kagome darted back from the bush and walked back toward camp, then paused
for several seconds. "Sango! Miroku!" she called, alerting them to her presence. "Where are you guys?"
she yelled.
"Oh crap!" she heard Sango say in a hushed voice, followed by giggling.
Miroku said a similar exclamation, but with stronger language.
"Sango!
Miroku!" she called again, charging through the bushes this time, hoping they'd managed to collect themselves in time.
Sango and Miroku sat far apart, trying to look innocent, and Kagome stifled a grin that threatened to spread across her face.
"Hey guys, we really need to talk." She said, remembering her serious thought that she had sought them out with.
"Uh. . .okay. . ." Sango said, standing up and walking over to Miroku, and flopping down beside him.
"What's going on Kagome?" Miroku asked warily. Kagome could be scary when she was mad, and he hoped she wasn't
mad at him.
"First of all. . .I know!" she informed them.
Sango turned bright pink, and Miroku seemed to pale noticeably, "A - about what, Kagome?" Sango asked shakily.
Kagome glared at them, "I'm sixteen now guys. I've been fighting demons for a year now, and nothing fools me anymore.
You think you two are keeping a secret here? Please!" she scolded.
Miroku
clapped his hands together sharply, "Kagome, I - " he began, but stopped when Kagome held up her hand silencing him.
"Listen guys. It's fine, but you have to do something for me." She said
sadly.
Sango nodded, "You're our friend, Kagome. What ever you need."
Kagome smiled again, "I need you to be happy." She looked across the forest, half expecting to see Inuyasha come striding
toward her. "I want you two to go to Kaede's village." She told them pointedly.
"Sure. . ." Miroku said warily. "What do you want?"
"No, you don't get it.
I want you two to go live there. I want you to go start a family, and give up this search." She told them.
"Kagome! We're in this together. We're friends. We entered in this thing together, and we'll end this thing
together." Sango insisted defiantly.
"No." Kagome argued, "We did not
enter this together." She told them pointedly. "We entered defeating Naraku together, and that's done." Sango
didn't argue, and Miroku just glared at them. "You said you give me whatever I needed." Kagome reminded them.
Miroku looked at her angrily, for the first time he ever had, "Then I break my word. I cannot abandon you or Inuyasha,
Kagome. I'm a man, you don't need to worry about my safety. And Sango, she's killed more demons that you'll ever
know."
Kagome shook her head and laughed, "I'm not asking you for your safety or strength
Miroku. I'm asking you because this is what I want for you. But I'm not done." She said, hoping they'd listen.
"I want you to take Shippo." She said.
Sango blinked at her in surprise, "Shippo?"
Kagome nodded, "He's so little and he's already seen so much death and blood. He may be a kitsune, but he's also a little
boy, and he needs a normal childhood." They didn't answer, "If something happens to me, I want to know that he'll be
safe."
"What about Inuyasha? Are you going to banish him to the village too?"
Sango attacked angrily. "Are you going to tell him you can do it on your own?" she said glaring at Kagome, "What
about him? Why won't he care for Shippo."
Kagome smiled sadly, "You know as
well as I do that if I die, Inuyasha would already be dead."
Miroku sighed, "Kagome,
as your friend, I should force you to allow me to stay. But I can't, not knowing what it's like."
Miroku laughed bitterly, "Being terrified for those you love. Being worried every second that you won't be there in
time to save them. Worrying that it might be your own power that does them in."
Sango stared at him in surprise. "You actually worried about that? I mean, Miroku, that's just crazy."
"I don't care if it is crazy." Kagome told her. "You have to do this for me, guys. Please. Inuyasha
and I started this journey together, just the two of us, and we'll finish it together, just the two of us."
Sango sighed, and looked over at Miroku. She could see the battle raging in those dark eyes. She knew that he
felt the same way she did, however, she also knew that what Kagome asked wasn't that much. Kagome asked that she go
and live a happy, safe life. She asked that Sango have what her heart desired. It felt so right. "Kagome,
are you sure?"
Kagome nodded, a single tear sliding down her face. "Yes."
It was decided then. They would go home and wait for the jewel seekers to return, and Kagome and Inuyasha, they would
continue the journey just as it had started. She turned and made her way into the underbrush, pausing just before she
disappeared out of sight. "Oh, and Miroku?"
"Yes, Kagome?" he asked, staring
at her intensely.
"Just thought you might like to know that your robe's on backwards."
And disappeared from their sight.
