Road To End by Fiona

Road to Eton

Disclaimer: InuYasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

*****

Road to Eton

*****

Kagome let her mind wander as she walked toward a neighboring village ten miles from Edo. She would have taken her horse but she had loaned him to one of her village's farmers after his ox went lame. She did not mind the walk the sky was a dismal gray that promised rain in the evening, but for now it seemed content to wait and the distance was nothing for her young body.

'I'm not all that young anymore though, am I?'  She pulled her egg shell blue shall more tightly around her shoulders.

Eight years had passed since the final battle against Naraku. When he had met his demise, so had the Shikon no Tama, vanishing from the world leaving her trapped five hundred years from home. The well was simply gone as though it had never existed. It still ached almost unbearably knowing that at sixteen she had become a girl lost to time and an orphan all in one day. Time as it was wont to do would go on though. Miroku and Sango married and immediately began to procreate after. Kagome gave a slightly derisive snort.

'Six, they are working on child number six.'

Kaede had passed a little over a year after Naraku, leaving Kagome to learn the hard way what it would take to keep a village alive and healthy.

'Ha! Healthy, right, and I'm walking to Eton for fun!' She thought ruefully as she hopped past a puddle in the middle of the road, determined to keep her leather boots as dry as possible.

Eton had been hit hard by the last winter, many of their elders and children had passed due to what she suspected was influenza. Kagome had done all she could for them, but there was only so much scant herbs and solemn prays could do. That didn't stop her though from making the trips there whenever she could to check on them. She was thankful that it was finally late into spring and that summer was right around the corner. The warm weather would help them heal, both the sick and the sick at heart.

She must not have been doing too bad of a job as the Miko of  Edo though, because within the last seven years it had grown considerably. She could not take all of the credit for the prosperity of her home; however. She suspected much of it had to do with Sesshomaru. As Lord of the lands he was the one to dictate where his trade routes were to be and Kagome found it to be too much of a coincident that one of those routes just so happened to be right through Edo. She also suspected Inu-Yasha wanting to insure her success, had just as much to do with that decision as Sesshomaru himself.

It had been five years since he had left the lands entirely. He stayed just long enough for Kagome to get comfortable in her new life and then had announced his need to leave. Kagome found she could not blame him for wanting to start over.

'After having his fate dictated for over 50 years by a bobble no bigger than a brussel sprout he has every right to search for some kind of happiness.'

A small smile turned the corners of her mouth as she remembered that day.

Standing at the edge of the village looking out towards the dark open road with the sun beginning to rise at his back Inu-Yasha could feel Kagome approaching him, her aura running along his own in a soothing manner as they buffed and swirled around each other. He did not turn as she came to stand beside him, as much as he knew he wanted to leave, he was not yet ready to say good-bye. They stood both looking down the road, words were not needed they would have just muddled the moment and left them both dissatisfied, they both knew that.

Kagome felt Inu-Yasha slid his warm hand into her own, lacing their fingers together.

"Will you still be here when I come back?" He asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't know." Kagome replied, almost a soft sigh.

The silence stretched between as the sky before them became lighter. They watched it become a brilliant display of pale gold and orange before Kagome spoke again, voice lighter almost laughing this time.

"I can promise, I will not be where you cannot find me."  

"Keh"

Inu-Yasha turned to her then, shimmering gold met equally sparkling blue and as the tears slipped silently down his slightly flushed cheeks he gave her hand a gentle squeeze before taking his own back as he began walking down the road. Kagome watched his back become smaller with each step, her heart pounding in her ears, something snapped in her mind and before she even knew what she was doing she was shouting his name and running down the road. 

"Inu-Yasha!"

He turned at the sound of her voice calling him, watching as Kagome stumbled and almost fell in her haste to reach him. Catching her as she launched herself into his arms he immediately buried his nose in the crook of her neck and greedily inhaled her scent. Wind and wildflowers. He soaked in the warmth of her body against his committing the moment to memory for the rest of his life. They had both walked away with bittersweet smiles after that, knowing that the choices they were making were the right ones.

Kagome was abruptly brought back the the present by a sudden gust of wind that tore across the open plain. Clutching at her shall as it attempted to flee the sinister wind and shielding her eyes from the dust that flew up from the road she wondered who had enraged the Kami. Just as quickly as the wind had come it was gone leaving the land eerily quiet. Seemingly void of all life except her own. Warning bells started going off in her head and her hand slipped to the dagger hidden in the waist of her dark blue hakama.

'Wrong. Something is very, very wrong.'

Heart beginning to race Kagome quickly took in her surroundings seeing the stone marker of Eton on the side of the road she realized she only had a mile left to go. Her sense of foreboding only became more prominent as a large flock of ravens came screaming out of the trees to her left. Body knowing what her mind didn't she ran toward Eton.

*****

A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read I can only I hope you might be tempted to review as well! :3