Curiosity Caught the Miko by Stella Mira

Don't Leave Me Alone

Kagome stifled a small sigh. Sesshōmaru had been right in his initial assumptions. Inuyasha seemed completely taken with Kamiko, and their relationship had progressed faster than she would have liked. She eyed the couple in front of her with a troubled expression then buried all disconcerting thoughts deep in her mind. Plastering a warm smile on her face, she addressed the waiting yōkai with a friendly tone.

"You are getting mated soon, right? That's what you wanted to talk to me about?" Kagome broke the ice, cutting right to the chase. Inuyasha would never open the conversation with that line, but she had a feeling Kamiko was of the more opinionated variety. She liked the assertive female from what she'd seen so far and she hoped they could become close friends in time.

"Yeah…we are getting mated," Inuyasha murmured in his rough tone, his cheeks burning with embarrassment, but the miko could discern joy in his low voice.

"Then I guess congratulations are in order. Who would have guessed you would be the one to end up as Kōga-kun's pack mate and not I." Kagome snorted with suppressed laughter in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"I – what!?" Inuyasha's gaze widened after he made the connection.

"Well, you are part of Kōga-kun's pack, aren't you, Kamiko-san?" Kagome asked the dark haired ōkami, still grinning.

"Yeah, Kōga is my alpha. I talked to him about this mating and got his approval, though he was not all that happy about it either." Kamiko laughed, amused, her voice carrying a husky undertone that Kagome envied greatly of the female.

If she wished to be honest, Kamiko was the type of woman who turned men's heads easily – long, chestnut curls, sea blue eyes, dark skinned, tall and lithe muscled. She would be the athletic type in Kagome's time. Her darker tones complimented Inuyasha's fairer colors quite nicely. They made a lovely couple, the miko thought, chuckling when Kamiko pulled on the hanyō's ear after he made a snide remark regarding her alpha.

"Well, it's a nice change to learn how to get along better, Inuyasha. You and Kōga-kun are quite similar in personality – no matter how much you want to deny it." Kagome took her joke even further, having fun in teasing her friend a little.

"If I knew it would mean living with him and seeing his wolf mug every single day, I wouldn't have agreed! Why didn't you tell me, Kamiko!?" Inuyasha whined pathetically with a sullen expression, causing the women to laugh harder at his antics.

"Um, wait…living with him?" Kagome broke out of her laughing fit when his words finally registered in her mind, and Inuyasha assumed a sheepish expression.

Kamiko was the one to clear the miko's confusion. "We are yōkai, Kagome-neesan. I have a pack and I could never really fit in with humans. I think it would be good for Inuyasha, too." Her eyes beseeched Kagome to understand, guessing this would be a huge blow to the miko.

"Neesan?" Kagome stared at her with an incredulous gaze after the wolf's chosen suffix.

The female ōkami smiled warmly at Kagome, taking her hands within her own. "Yeah, that's what my pack members call you. I really hope we'll become sisters in the true meaning of the bond."

"I'm sure we will, Kamiko-san. When will you be leaving?" The miko finally accepted the reality of her situation, choosing not to make things difficult for the couple. She could visit Kōga's tribe anytime she wished, and Inuyasha would surely come to check on her often. There was no reason to panic or throw a childish tantrum over this.

"We'll leave in the morning. The mating ritual is private or I would have invited you. You understand, right, Kagome?" Inuyasha replied instead of his intended mate with a boyish grin.

"Yeah, don't worry about me – I'll be fine. I'm still training under Kaede-baachan and I have started to build a life here. Chizu-chan would like some company soon, too…just so you know." Kagome teased him mercilessly, watching with amusement as his face flamed after her playful comment.

"I haven't forgotten my promise. I'll always protect you. Call for me when you need me, Kagome. Always." Inuyasha engulfed her in an awkward hug, taking in her scent as if trying to engrave it in memory. Kamiko gave the miko a warm hug as well right after him then they left her alone to digest the news.

"Be happy, Inuyasha," Kagome murmured under her breath. Her eyes burned as she watched their retreating backs with a shaking smile.

Sesshōmaru found her in that exact state when he arrived a few hours later. She was still watching toward the direction Inuyasha and Kamiko had left, dried tears staining her cheeks, and looking as if she would break from the evening wind's barest breeze. Kagome didn't even realize she had company until she felt something soft and warm being wrapped around her shoulders. She turned her gaze towards the source of the heat, faintly recognizing the daiyōkai's familiar pelt.

"They have left me behind – all of them. Shippō-chan, Sango-chan, Miroku-san, now even Inuyasha." Her voice trembled on her lips, her heart constricting tightly at the reminder. The daiyōkai remained silent, showing no other sign of acknowledging her monologue – other than the heavy presence of his yōki and the heat of his furs. Renewed tears rained down her face as she recalled all of her losses, then she finally regained a sliver of her usual liveliness.

"I – I'm sorry! I don't know what has gotten into me. You came here to see Chizu-chan, not listen to my pathetic rambling," Kagome sputtered, mortified that she was letting Sesshōmaru of all people witness her at her lowest.

"Chizukirō." Sesshōmaru corrected her with no real vice after he heard her endearment of Rin's son, succeeding in eliciting a sniffled laughter from Kagome.

"Hai, hai, Chizukirō. I'll call him that when he grows up to live up to the name. For now he's my Chizu-chan." A chuckle crawled out her throat and she raised her red-rimmed eyes, expecting to see a familiar scowl on the daiyōkai's face. Surprisingly enough, Sesshōmaru's rigid expression softened imperceptibly. He then turned to walk towards Rin's hut in search of said boy no doubt.

"Sesshōmaru, wait! Your pelt –" Kagome fumbled with the silky furs, embarrassed she had gotten them ruined with her remaining tears.

"I will return after I visit my ward. You may keep them until then."

"Thank you," Kagome whispered low, with gratitude, burying her face deeper in the soft furs.