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Chapter 3: The Mysterious ChildHe opened the door and stepped on fresh grass and stared into the setting sun, 'Kagome…why you? Of all the mortals in this planet…why you?'
The sun slowly began to set as Inuyasha and the gang sat down on the green grass to watch it sink into a green sea of grass in the distance. Sango smiled happily as she leaned against Miroku when he wrapped his arms around her waist.
The sun set was revealing to be a very romantic setting for the four traveling jewel hunters. Kagome looked over at Sango and smiled for them; she was happy that Sango and Miroku were finally together. Kagome looked on towards the sky, which was now painted a brilliant orange and yellow with a light set of pink and indigo thrown into the back ground, and thought about the recent events in her life.
Inuyasha sat next to Kagome and looked at the sun set for a small second before his eyes wondered to Kagome. For a short moment, Inuyasha could have sworn that he saw Kikyo sitting in Kagome's place, but the similarities between the two women in his life disappeared to simply reveal Kagome. He looked away from Kagome and back to the sun set as he resided into his own thoughts.
He loved Kagome that he knew for certain, but in which way he was not completely sure. After three years… he still could not figure it out. Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at Sango and Miroku and inwardly smiled at them. Kagome had been right about the two of them loving each other; Kagome had been right about a lot of things.
Inuyasha did not know what he would ever do without Kagome by his side. Too many people had been lost because of him, Kikyo, his mother, and his father…he would not let Kagome suffer their same fate. Besides Miroku and Sango, Kagome was all he had. He blinked quickly as he felt something shift beside him and he suddenly felt a little cold.
Inuyasha looked over at his side and noticed that Kagome was no longer sitting down next to him. She was now standing up beside him and smiling lightly. Inuyasha smiled back a little, "What's up? Where'd Sango and Miroku run off to?"
Kagome looked over at a small campfire in a clearing; "They went to sleep. The two of us lost track of time. We started to watch the sun set together but somehow we ended up day dreaming or thinking about something. The sun is gone; the moon replaced it," Kagome looked from Inuyasha to the shining stars distantly.
Inuyasha stared into Kagome's eyes as he put his hand on her shoulder; "Do ya want to talk for a while?"
"Heh? Err…why? Is there something wrong, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha shook his head slowly, "Nah, I just thought that you would want to talk for a bit. You've been acting weird lately, Kagome."
Kagome smiled, "You were worried about me?"
"Eehh… " Inuyasha blushed slightly and turned away from Kagome, "I'm always worried about you, Kagome. I don't want to loose you."
Kagome's smile grew, "I will never leave you alone, Inuyasha. I am really okay though, nothing is wrong with me, honestly."
Inuyasha sighed in reply and turned around to start walking back to the camp Sango and Miroku had made. "Well then, if you're fine then we better go and get some sleep. We didn't cover as much ground as I wanted us to today. We need to make up for it tomorrow."
Kagome nodded, "Okay," she answered as she followed Inuyasha to their camp to at least try to get some sleep for tomorrow. Kagome somehow knew that she would not be relieved of the constant dreams and nightmares that came every night the moment that she closed her greenish- brown orbs.
The great Taiyoukai of the West stared at the half- full moon that hovered just outside his enormous garden that looked more like a small forest. The mystic light of the moon bathed the different plants and flowers with a strange aura of peace as they swayed side to side with the constant light breeze.
Sesshoumaru had come outside to clear his mind of all the thoughts that were running wild. He sat down on a rich black bench next to a small lake and stared into the motionless water.
He blinked when he saw an image of a young girl appear in the water. He turned around to face the girl but he was surprised when there was no one there. When looked back at the lake, the young girl's face was still there staring back at him. 'What in the seven hells? Why can I only see the girl's reflection?'
The young girl had large, brilliant amber eyes that shone brightly. She had a round face and looked to be no more than six or seven years old. Her hair was ebony black with silver highlights. Sesshoumaru raised and eyebrow when the girl giggled. He was slightly stunned when the girl emerged from the water to stand in front of him. It was strange, she emerged from the water but she was not wet. She continued to smile and giggle as she looked up at Sesshoumaru.
"What are you? You are not human…but you are not entirely a demon, are you?" Sesshoumaru could not explain why but he did not feel threatened by the strange girl before him. The young girl propped her head to the side at his question, " I am no human. I am a demon though." The girl smiled after she answered his question and giggled some more as she twirled and walked around Sesshoumaru on a playful matter.
She seemed to be happy to see Sesshoumaru but Sesshoumaru could not remember ever meeting this girl before in his life. 'So she is a demon, but where did she come from? And why is it that I have this strange feeling of recognition when I look at her?' Sesshoumaru watched her with much interest for a few moments before he spoke to her again.
"Who are you?" he asked in his monotone voice.
At his question, the girl sat down in front of his feet and played with the grass, "Hmmm? I cannot say. Well, more like I am forbidden to say. It could jeopardize the future." She ripped more grass from the ground.
'So then…she is from the future? How ridiculous! She is clearly lying. Hmmm…but then again, the miko is also from the future.'
Sesshoumaru thought for a moment, "Why are you here?"
The girl smiled at him; "I am here… to help you. If you do not do something to stop that prophesy from coming true…then I will never come to exist."
'I was correct. She is from the future.' "So you do not exist in this world yet, do you?"
She shook her head, "Nuh-uh. Not yet. Well, not for a long while, actually. You can say that mom's future husband is very…stubborn. It actually took quite a while for the two of them to get together."
Sesshoumaru fell silent as he stared at the girl again. His eyes narrowed as he replayed her giggles and laughter, as well as her voice, in his head. The way the young girl spoke reminded him of the way…Kagome spoke. 'So then this…this is…'
With the emotion of surprise and recognition slipping through the Taiyoukai's façade, the girl smiled and nodded, "Hey, you figured it out! I did not expect anything less from the great Sesshoumaru though."
"You mean that the miko, Kagome, is your…mother?"
"Mmm-hmm!" The girl smiled up at Sesshoumaru with fondness and…some other emotion that Sesshoumaru could not put his finger on.
Sesshoumaru looked at the girl cautiously, that look on her face was the same look that Rin would give him right before she would hug him, this girl was not going to hug him…was she? Sesshoumaru decided to try and avoid the hug, "Then who is your father?"
The girl looked up at him for a moment as she stood up from the ground, "I cannot tell you. I am sorry."
Sesshoumaru decided to test her on her word, "Is your father Inuyasha?"
"I cannot tell you, Sesshoumaru." The girl did not look upset; it was more like she had expected him to ask her about her father. It was hard for her not to just blurt out warnings and tell him about his future. He did mean a lot to her after all…
Sesshoumaru was slightly pleased, the girl had a strong sense of honor. When she said something, she meant it; the girl would not lie. He could tell she was strong despite her young age, how she could be so strong and so gentle at the same time was puzzling. "You tell no lies do you?"
"Of course I do not. My mother says that lies are bad because they get you into a lot of trouble. She made me promise not to lie just because I could."
"…Why are you here with me instead of with her?"
"…I… thought you should know a little more about this situation. You seemed to be beating your head against those books for an answer or a way to stop that prophecy-"
Sesshoumaru interrupted her in mid-sentence, "What makes you think that I want to stop that prophecy from coming to be?"
"Do you even believe what you just said, Sesshoumaru? You have the power to change it; you just have to want to change it. I would not have bothered to come to help you with this if I did not believe that you could help my mother get through the hell she is going to be put through. You can help her survive through that hell and help place her back on her destiny."
Sesshoumaru felt tempted to reach out to the girl as she began to fade away, but he remained standing still as he watched her disappear into thin air. A light breeze swayed his hair over his shoulder and he turned to stare at the calm surface of the water again.
Sesshoumaru opened his eyes slowly to see the rich black bench in front of him. He was sitting on the grass and leaning against a large tree. Sesshoumaru did not remember falling asleep nor sitting down on the grass. He stood up off of the ground and turned his head towards the small lake to look at the water.
'It was merely a dream. The girl… why did she seem so real? Why do I have this strange feeling that I know her? Almost as if…as if she was a part of that I helped make?' Sesshoumaru turned his head to look up at the half- full moon and then walked back inside his castle for the rest of the night.
Kagome gazed at the half full moon intently as she swayed her feet in the water while the peaceful sound of the waterfall filled her ears. Everything was silent and calm, nothing but the sound of the waterfall and the small crickets chirping loudly could be heard. She was peaceful, she had not been given the joy of experiencing that feeling of peacefulness all month long and she was extremely grateful to be able to feel like that in her time of need.
Kagome had no clue as to why she felt so peaceful, but at the moment, she could care less. She wanted to enjoy the peace that she had been temporarily granted to her this night for as long as she was able to. She did her best to push all the thoughts and concerns in her mind away and just enjoy the silence.
She looked down at her side to stare at the grass that slightly tickled the palm of her right hand but smiled happily when hey eyes found a beautiful blood red rose half hidden in the tall grass. She carefully plucked the rose from its place in the grass and brought it to her nose to inhale its delicate fragrance.
'I wish that every day that I spend here in the Feudal Era would all e as peaceful as it is here, without the worries of restoring the Shikon no Tama to its original form and destroying Naraku. I just want to live out a peaceful life. Well, I guess that will never happen though, now will it?'
Kagome twirled the rose's stem in between her thumb and index finger slowly as she gazed at the rich texture of the rose's color. "I have never seen a rose so red before," she said as she brought it a little closer to examine it a little more thoroughly.
"It is beautiful, is it not?" asked a cheerful and young voice.
"Yes, it is very lovely. I have never had the pleasure of seeing such a red rose," she replied as she turned around slowly to stare at a young girl with ebony hair and silver highlights. The young girl was a beauty, "Ummm…who are you?"
"Oh, me?" the girl looked a little surprised that Kagome did not recognize her, but then she smiled as she reminded her self that Kagome really does not now her yet. "I am just someone…who wishes to lend her assistance and advice to help you with your fragile situation."
Kagome propped her head to the side slightly, "My…fragile situation? I am sorry, but…what are you talking about?" Kagome pretended not to know of the situation the girl spoke of.
'Okay…how does she know that I have a problem? Who is this girl? And…what is this weird feeling I have when I look into her eyes?'
The girl sighed, 'It is just like Mother to pretend that nothing is wrong with her. Guess she is the same way no matter what era she happens to be in. I wonder if I am going to just like her when I get older?'
The young girl looked at Kagome a little serious as she spoke. "You are frustrated all the time, you have dreams and horrible nightmares every night, and you have this strange feeling that something big in your life is going to happen, but you have no idea what it could possibly be. Is it not all true?"
Kagome looked at her quizzically as she rose to her feet and slowly walked over to the young girl and knelt down so that she was eye level with her. Kagome stared at her for a long moment before she nodded her head, "Yeah... that is true. How did you know that?"
The girl smiled in triumph as she smiled at Kagome and then shook her head, "I am unable to tell you I know all of this Lady Kagome…but I can help you get through everything that you will have to confront sooner or later."
Kagome inwardly sighed at the girl's answer. She understood that the girl had her secrets and would no be able some of her answers, but it was still a little weird to hear a young girl like her … talk the way she did. Sometimes she answered her questions, but other times it seems that she would just say something else to confuse her.
'She seems highly educated and even talked a little like…nah! There's no way that a sweet soul like hers could have any connection with him.'
Kagome smiled and gazed into the girl's eyes, "You have very gorgeous eyes, you know? They are amber colored, sorta like Inuyasha's, but…they are a little different."
The girl smiled, pleased that Kagome had noticed the difference between her eyes and Inuyasha's. "Of course they are different. They are different than his because they…"
The girl stopped talking and shook her head slightly, "That is beside the point. You need to be strong, Kagome, you need to be brave and confront your nightmares and obstacles with courage and confidence. I know that you have already been through a lot Kagome, and you do not wish to go through a power increase again…but in the near future…you will need to."
"Are you telling me that things are just going to get a lot worse from now on?" Kagome looked deeper into the girl's amber colored eyes with a serious expression on her face.
The young girl paused for a few seconds before she answered Kagome's question, "…Yes," she said as she nodded her head. "However, all will turn out right in the end if you want it to Lady Kagome, you will always be in command of your won destiny. Nothing is set in stone. Everything can change in a mere moment. You just have to want to change it."
"…You sound like you are from the future. Do you know what is going to happen to me? What will happen?"
The girl shook her head, "No. In my time, I do know what happened to you and all of the people that you care about, but in this era…I cannot tell you what will truly happen. I do know that the events that will take place will change your life forever, Kagome."
"So then…what should I do?"
"Just be on your guard. That is the only thing that you can do." The young girl faded away slowly and Kagome found herself reaching to hold her.
"Please wait, do not go yet." As Kagome's hand touched the girl's disappearing arm, the girl reappeared before her.
The young girl looked down at Kagome with surprise; "H-how did you do that?"
Kagome looked at her own hand and then at the girl. "I-I do not know." After a long silence Kagome decided to speak again, "Listen, why do I feel like I know you?"
"Because you do know me, Lady Kagome. I will eventually be a part of your future. If you want me to be that is."
"Of course I want you to be a part of my future. You mean you will become one of my friends in the future?"
The girl inwardly frowned; she could not tell Kagome that she was her future daughter. She desperately wanted to though. "Something like that. I am sorry, but I must go. I have stayed far longer than I should have."
"Wait, can I at least have your name?"
The girl hesitated for a moment before she answered. "Luna, my name is Luna."
"Luna…it was a pleasure talking with you, Luna."
Luna gave Kagome a big smile; "It was a pleasure seeing you again too, Lady Kagome. I have to leave now, I have stayed longer than I should have." Luna walked over to Kagome and placed a small kiss on the left side of her cheek.
Kagome smiled at Luna and nodded, "'Kay, see you when I see you then…Luna."