Curiosity Caught the Miko by Stella Mira

I Am Free

Kagome had been captivated by the blinding flames of the coming sunset, her gaze shadowed and transfixed on the setting sky. Her mind had been devoid of all thought. Empty. Her tears had dried long ago and with them her soul as it seemed. Inuyasha and Kamiko had departed a week ago to join Kōga's pack on the mountain he claimed as his home. Kagome had sent them off with a smile and a promise to come visit soon. It was always the same motif as her friends left her one by one. She would wave at them with feigned joy until they disappeared from her sight and she could finally allow her façade to die away.

She recalled the day when she had parted with her fox kit. Shippō had proclaimed himself mature enough to enroll in the kitsune school and study yōjutsu with his kind. A year had passed since then and her only comfort had been his periodic letters. Once a month she would receive word of his well being, sometimes even proof of his accomplishments as the letter would transform into a gift for her.

Where are you now, Shippō-chan? Why won't you visit me once in a while? Kagome desperately wished to catch even a glimpse of his auburn locks.

"Miko." A familiar baritone broke her out of her solitariness. Kagome turned to greet the owner of the deep voice, a practiced smile forming on her face out of habit.

"Konbanwa, Sesshōmaru. Are you coming or leaving?" Kagome hadn't even felt his yōki arriving. She had been out of sorts lately, so he could have come without her knowledge.

"Why do you smile, miko? Is it a ningen habit to feign emotion?" The daiyōkai raised a brow, not one to beat around the bush when something seemed odd to him.

"You can sense how I feel?" Kagome all but blurted, taken aback by his perceptiveness.

"I can tell your mood does not befit your expression – that is all." Sesshōmaru gave a slight nod, surprising her by taking a seat near her.

"I don't think it applies only to humans. We all have things we wish to hide. I feign cheerfulness even though I feel sadness and you – I can never tell what you are thinking. Are you happy, Sesshōmaru? Sad? Angry? Bored? Why do you bother with me?" Kagome pelted him with a barrage of hushed questions, her low voice tinged with sorrow. If he could already discern her mood then there was no need to pretend with him.

"You belong to this one's pack," Sesshōmaru replied solemnly as if this would magically solve all of her queries.

Kagome attempted to make sense of his words. "You think I am your responsibility then?" She could never understand pack mentality. Inuyasha had tried to explain the mechanics behind it once or twice, but she had never paid much attention as she was human.

Sesshōmaru gave a subtle nod, not bothering to explain himself with words. She shook her head at his unchanging attitude, a genuine smile curving the corners of her lips. His silent presence was reassuring in its calm ambience if she wished to be honest.

She smiled ruefully. "I miss my friends…" If he wished to know how she felt, she would tell him. Kagome had a feeling the daiyōkai could discern truth from lie anyway. It was a moot point to even try to lie in this case.

"Where is your pack, miko?"

"Shippō-chan left to study kitsune yōjutsu, Sango-chan and Miroku-san went to rebuild the taijiya village, and Inuyasha joined Kōga's pack after he mated Kamiko. I chose to stay here because I can't really fit in their lives anymore." Kagome merely relayed the events, her tone clipped, then a thought struck her.

"Enough about me… Where do you live, Sesshōmaru?" She needed a distraction from her lonesome existence and she really didn't want the daiyōkai to think of her as a nagging fool.

Sesshōmaru stayed quiet, almost too quiet, gazing at the dark sky. The wind shifted through his silver locks, blowing them away softly.

"Nowhere."

The lovely sight he presented entranced Kagome for a few moments before his words finally registered in her mind.

"Nowhere?" Shock pierced through her haze. It couldn't be that the Lord of the West was…homeless, could it? Kagome stifled a laugh at the ridiculous thought.

"I go wherever I please," Sesshōmaru clarified for her benefit, standing to leave.

Kagome exhaled a breath wistfully. "It must feel nice to be free of everything."

"Are you not the same, miko?" Sesshōmaru more stated than asked, stopping a few feet away, his head turned to the side. She found herself drowning in liquid gold, the intensity of his gaze rendering her speechless for a few seconds.

"I guess I am?" She was breathless, chest falling and rising. Kagome realized that she had no real ties to anyone or anything now.

"Then you can go wherever you please as well." Sesshōmaru spared her one last glance then took to the skies.

Kagome stood there, her feet planted to the earth and her eyes following after him until he disappeared from her sight. His words took root within her mind, awakening her fully to reality. He was right; she could go anywhere she wanted. She was a skilled miko and her services would always be wanted by any village. Her mind made up, she returned to Kaede's hut to inform her mentor of her newly made decision. She would travel the lands, helping people in need on her journeys. Perhaps then she could finally find a purpose in her life instead of lamenting the past on each passing day.