The Tale of the wandering Miko by Aya

The Journey

A/N: so I was talking to one of my roleplay partner's, the one I usually have roleplay Sesshoumaru for me, and we were talking about the way the show would have gone if Inuyasha hadn't survived all his fights, and this fanfiction came to mind, SO, there it is. This fic will start after Kagome kills Kikyou, so yeah no Kikyou. Here we go! Disclaimer: I do not own or make money from the InuYasha fandom all I do is because of Rumiko Takahashi's brilliance.

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They had been walking for what seemed like years to the young miko and no matter how far they went the yoki she was seeking kept moving further and further away from her heightened senses, making her begin to doubt herself even further. "We'll stop here for the night..." To Kagome her own voice sounded foreign, the tone wasn't as cheerful as it had been before everything had happened, and she had to mentally shake herself, she had to be strong if not for everyone else then for herself as well.

"alright, I'll see if I can find some fire food..." shippo looked up at his adoptive mother, his heart heavy as he moved away.

Taking a deep breathe, Kagome closed her eyes and let her senses flesh out, looking for any yoki nearby that was a threat to her friend who was out and away from her. With her new abilities Kagome found it much easier now to track her friends as well, after losing Miroku Kagome had become more safety concious in their journey.

With no one nearby, Kirara had gone with Shippo, Kagome sat on the ground and put her head into her hands, her mind reeling over the most recent tragedy, at least to her it was one, she had killed a ningen, sure the ningen had been dead already but it hadn't made it any better. Kagome had still felt the subtle change in herself the moment her arrow had pierced through Kikyou, shattering her body and releasing the souls she had consumed to keep moving, as well as the piece of her own that had remained inside of Kikyou. Even now she could feel the difference, not just within herself but with her abilities as well, her reiki was stronger, but that could have been from the need for it to be to keep her friends alive.

InuYasha was gone, he'd died two years before Miroku had, leaving the group reeling, after all if they were all being honest they had expected InuYasha to come through as he always had before, instead the hanyou had been disarmed, and run through many times, all the hits to his vital points. Kagome still remembered the noise she'd made with each hit, her eyes had been locked with his own and she'd seen when the final blow had taken his life, leaving everyone speechless and immobile for a while. Kagome had been the first to recover from her shock and move, but instead of running away she had run towards the battle field, towards the hanyou's lifeless body, and when the youkai had tried to go for her, Kagome had felt a foreign power swell within her, her eyes fairly glowed with her aura as she shot a bolt of pure reiki at the youkai, the concentration so thick that it evaporated the youkai on contact.

With the threat gone, she had been able to mourn and hold InuYasha's lifeless body, her cries similar to those of a dying animal. When the others had finally been able to pull her from him, she'd sat by holding Tetsusaiga, sheathed now for good, in her hands in a grip so tightly that her knuckles had been white. Now she was quiet as she stared at the tree across from her, not watching them bury her first love, and who she thought would be her last. After that had been done the group had moved onwards, not wanting to be near a place of such tragedy anymore. They had managed to keep going for months before Kagome had broken down, the group had done what they could for the young miko, but they understood that they weren't going to do her much good. With a heavy heart they had sent Kagome home to her own time, where her mother had comforted and been there for her daughter. Mrs. Higurasho understood what Kagome was going through, after all she had gone through the samething when her husband had died all those years ago.

When Kagome had felt she was stable enough to go back, she had returned to the Sengoku jidai and her friends. After her return she had sought out a miko to train her in her abilities, never wanting to be unable to protect her friends again. They had given up the search for the shards to allow Kagome this training period, until a year had passed and Kagome had felt they could no longer postpone their journey. They had walked for days, resting every night because they needed it, but would push further every day, they had a lot of time to make-up for after all. It had been two months after they had returned to their journey that the youkai had attacked their group, each fighter had to keep on their toes for there had been so many, too many as it had turned out, Miroku had done what he could but ultimately his kazanna had backfired. Sango had been devistated, but had kept moving forward as she had before when her family had been murdered. The young taijiya had not lasted long though, it had been a month afterwards before they were attacked again, and though Sango had tried she had lost the fight to stay alive after being gravely injured.

Now all that was left of the group was Kagome, Shippo, and Kirara, and it was these three that had come across Kikyou just days earlier. The battle between the miko had been long and hard, more so on Kagome then the other, as Kikyou blamed Kagome, spewing venomous words meant to poison the young girls heart, to cause her to falter, but ultimately it had been Kikyou who had faltered, when she had caught sight of Tetsusaiga she had been distracted long enough for Kagome's arrow to pierce her body, the reiki in it shattering the woman's outter shell, and Kagome had gathered the pieces in a jar, where they sat in her large yellow bag now, as they made their way towards Kaede's village to return them to their original resting place.

Taking a deep breathe Kagome felt Shippo and Kirara returning rapidly, and was surprised when Shippo burst out of the bushes, terror on his small face, causing the reaction of the miko, who grabbed her bow and arrows knocking one quickly towards where the kistune had come from. Though she faltered when the tall figure came into view, and she fet her heart seize at familiar features, they'd finally gotten to who she had wanted.

"Sesshoumaru...."