Disclaimer: Any of the characters depicted here from Inuyasha do not belong to me, they belong to the great Rumiko Takahashi. However, any characters unfamiliar to you belong to me (O.C.'s) When they come into play, I will certainly let you know. This is a slow in coming story while TSTUWB, SOMH and TIHYW are under construction or are being completely unhelpful to my creating. One O.C. is Moshin, however he is not in any of my personal novels as of yet.

Please enjoy.

Chapter one

The wind was bitter and dry, snatching the air right out of those who attempted to march through it. Winter was here in full force and a depression was heading for the city that would quiet the life into silent obscurity that night. It was a somber time, or perhaps it was just a time that matched her mood, but Kagome felt more connection to the world when the days were like this. In the heat and fire of summer, she longed to be away from the passion of it's sun and delve deep into the snowy chasm of winters solitary promise.

She had her hands buried deep in her coat pockets, mouth protected by her scarf as she attempted to breathe through it and the wind. Her satchel was filled with medical books, but nothing compared to the bag she used to carry around. Gods was that thing ever monstrous. How she managed to cram all of the stuff in there, she wasn't sure. Could she even do it again?

Thoughts of the Feudal time period drifted through her mind and she forced them aside as the chill of the world seemed to deepen within herself. She missed them all so much, but especially him... It made her hurt so much inside and when she pictured the pain in her mind, she felt like it was some monster coming from some abyss in an arctic ocean in order to collect her. She hated how much this had changed her, but missing him would not abate.

She opened the door to one of the sandwich shops in town that she visited daily. It was time for a hot cup of tea and a small sandwich. Kagome couldn't afford much, unfortunately, what with being so far from Tokyo now. Nagoya was smaller than Tokyo by some four and a half million people, but it was still overpopulated in her mind. Too many people, not enough trees and land and space.

"Good morning, Kagome." The shop owner smiled as she walked up to the counter. "Your usual, dear?" Kagome nodded, pulling out her wallet. "Ah, no, no. You keep that."

"I have to-" Kagome frowned, not wanting to take this woman's food for free.

"Khanchu opened his eyes last night." The woman went on to quietly say. "You sat with him in the hospital, you took his hand. The doctors said we should let him go, but you did something. You must have prayed to the Gods in a way that we did not, because he began to improve that very night."

"I didn't-"

"You did. Do not lie to this old mother, now go sit and we will bring you something to eat." Kagome stood very still, not sure how to feel. "Do this for us as it is our wish."

Kagome closed her blue eyes and took a deep breath before bowing to the woman. "I would not insult you." Kagome finally agreed. "Thank you."

"My son is alive because of you. Do not thank me for a meal." She said before going to the back with tears in her eyes. Kagome could hear her talking to her husband and so she went to sit. This occurrence reminded her more of her time in the past. Whenever they helped some headmaster or what not, free foods, room and board or what have you were always available. It saddened her, but somehow it also made her feel better at once.

Since moving away from the family shrine, she came here to Nagoya and was able to find and single reputable shrine left. Much of Nagoya had been destroyed in air raids, but there was one shrine that was standing with a true priest caring for it. Kagome had learned fearlessness in the Feudal period and so approached Moshin, telling him of her desire to learn from him and attend medical school. He did not refuse her at first, but she did have to prove herself to him.

Pulling at her spiritual power after so long had been difficult, however, the flare of energy caught his attention and the utter clearness of it convinced him she should train with him. She remained at his shrine free of charge and had learned a great deal about healing, as fighting was not in his nature. In healing, she was able to do things like she had for this family. It is one way she had a little money on the side as she was completely focused on medical school or the shrine and had no time for a job. She had managed to get a prestigious scholarship, though she wasn't sure how it had happened, or else she wouldn't be going to school. Most students had copious amounts of debt from their loans and the likelihood of them paying their loans off in any significant amount of time was highly improbable.

Kagome glanced up as she felt someone approaching and saw Mrs. Taeko with a bowl of soup, a sandwich and tea. Opening her mouth, she was beaten by the owners wife. "You do not eat enough. You are too thin." She set the tray down before Kagome. "Eat. Enjoy." With a bow, Kagome was left to herself and the food before her.

Her life was strange even now, wasn't it? The kindness offered to her made Kagome smile softly, a little warmth managing to abate some of the inner freeze she was feeling. She took a bite of her sandwich and began reading one of her textbooks.

She'd already been through her courses for the day and was now meditating at the shrine, allowing her tumultuous emotions to swell up through her. She saw shadows dance behind her eyes, felt the air changing around her and knew to simply let herself ride on the journey. Whatever would come to her would simply appear and she could not stop what was to be revealed. Meditation always brought some sort of message to her, whether it was about letting something go or bringing something in.

In all the time she had spent at the shrine and working with Moshin, Kagome had become quite practiced at the art of meditation. Even through all of the 'healing therapy', however, she still found that the darkness of loss clouded her spirit now.

It was a good thing she did not carry the Shikon no Tama with her now, or it would have been marred by regret and sorrow. Letting out a deeper breath, Kagome tried to relax further, the shadows darkening behind her eyes even further until suddenly she slipped into complete blackness, the scent of incense dying away to reveal the crispness of snow, savagely overruled by thick smoke. The moon was dark overhead, a new moon, and people were screaming. Kagome couldn't move from her spot, staring up into the clear sky. Her heart was racing and she wanted to help them, but she was trapped. She could neither move forward or back, nor could she turn her head.

She was trapped in this meditation and Kagome felt like her heart was going to explode with the way it was pounding in her chest. Her vision was blurring as the tiny flakes of snow began to fall on her face and her nose burned from the scent of smoke.

She gasped wildly as something tore her from where she was and she fell into a heap upon the warm wood floor, Moshin kneeling before her. His mouth was moving, but she couldn't hear him. All she could hear was screaming.

When it was clear she was locked inside of herself somehow, the priest brought himself into a prayer formation and Kagome could feel his aura reaching out to her. She saw the distinct gold hue slowly rising from himself and wrapping around her. Kagome slowly lost the cries of anguish and the scent of burning wood left her. The cold of the snow seemed to evaporate from inside of her and she started shaking, finally able to close her blue eyes.

At the sound of her whimpers, Moshin very slowly pulled himself out of prayer and focused in on the young woman before him. "Kagome-" He began in a smooth, concerned voice.

"I couldn't save them. I don't know who they were, but I couldn't even move. I think I need to save them." She looked at him wildly. "I have to go back. Gods, what if it was Inuyasha and-"

She had never revealed much of her past to him, only allowed him to inspect her aura; a warriors aura. Inuyasha was an odd name, not one he had heard, but one he had read. However, he would not allow her to delve into something so personal when she was so disheveled. "Higurashi," his voice was soft, yet firm. "You are not there, but here. Focus your energy. Feel the place you are in."

"The time I'm in." Her mind had corrected, but his words had reached her now. She felt of herself, of the world and slowly drew back into this place.

Her eyes grew steadily clearer and Moshin watched approvingly as some of the training her had provided took hold. He could feel her aura rooting itself into the land beneath the shrine. It delved deep, questioning, attaining, reassuring and then something interesting happened. This had occurred one other instance with her when he had woken her from a horrid nightmare. The land answered back in the most ancient of ways, in a deep memory from long ago. It almost felt as if the earth itself remembered her from a time so far previously that he could not fathom.

The world remembered Kagome Higursashi, not her soul. Was she a child displaced from time? Impossible, or so he had believed before, but now that the earth was holding onto her so tight, bathing her in comforting memories, Moshin had to truly consider it. Was it his place to ask, no, but he could wonder to himself, could he not?

Outside of the shrine he sensed the trees recalling being seedlings as her aura had passed by and the steps her feet had taken. He could hear her voice for a moment, sense her woes and realized she was younger then. Yet just as he was beginning to truly connect with the earth and her, he was shut out and it pushed him into the current moment, in Nagoya.

When he looked into Kagome's eyes, they were wistful and knowing far beyond her years. She smiled a little at him and softly said. "It's a long story."

"I would not ask you to tell me, but I would hear it all the same." He replied honestly.

And so Kagome began the tale of her Feudal Fairy tale.

Small beginnings will lead to great adventures, I promise. Thank you for reading.