Blood Stained: Chapter 23: Amber Eyes

Blood Stained

Chapter 23: Amber Eyes

Darkness.

Kagome could feel a sharp pain racing thru her entire body as she slowly opened her eyes, the dark gray black making it hard for her to see. Her cheeks were sticky from the previous tears that she had shed. She held her poor head with both of her hands, it was throbbing painfully while she managed to sit up. As she did that movement something slid from her arm to her shoulder, but she ignored it at the moment.

She let go of her head and pressing her back against a wall, licking her dry lips. At that instant, her memory was nothing but a blur all she could recall was the pink glow that had surrounded her body as she had felt her powers return for the first time in a very long while. Sesshomaru. He had pushed her down the well after kissing her.

Unconsciously she brought her hand to her lips, lingering there and it felt as if her lips were burning. He had not been the beast when he had taken that action, so why had he done it? Before she could go deeper into the question, she remembered him being about to transform. Yes, she couldn't go through the well! It didn't work!

In a panic she rose to her feet, holding onto what she could of the wall that was next to her and inspected her surroundings. She was still in the well. Her heart began to beat extremely fast as she began to look up to answer the fateful question `in which time period was she?' Had it all been for nothing?

Kagome's heart nearly burst from her chest when she saw the familiar wooden ceiling of the little shrine. She was powerless to stop the tears from falling. She was home. Before she knew it Kagome dropped to her knees, digging her fingers into the dirt as the palms of her hands firmly pressed into the ground. She was home.

Kagome felt like she could repeat that to herself over and over and the feeling of joy invading her body would never cease. For the first time in too long, it was tears of happiness that rolled down her cheeks instead of ones of suffering.

She took a few more seconds to breath, letting out the overwhelming emotions she was experiencing before she sat back down onto the dirt floor of the well. Gently, Kagome wiped her tears away with her dirty hands, before looking back up once more. For a second, everything came rushing back to her; the scents, the sights, the memories.

Usually Kagome would climb up without a problem, but with her current condition and inexplicable weakness, she wasn't sure she could manage. Nonetheless, she decided to give it a try, too excited to even begin to think about waiting. She grabbed on and managed to hold on, to her surprise she succeeded into pulling her body up, all the way to the top of the well. A little breathless, she pushed the top part of her body over the edge before resting her feet on the edge, her hands stopping her from slamming against the ground.

It was then as she did this that the necklace, still around her wrist, hit the ground and Kagome's eyes grew wider. Inuyasha's beads. For a second her heart was caught in her throat as she lay on the ground, her eyes never moving away from the necklace. That was what Sesshomaru slid on her arm before he had kissed her. He had kept Inuyasha's necklace.

He had decided to give it to her? Why? Not only did it seem so out of character that he would take it, but also that he would actually think about her. She blinked a few times chasing the tears away before holding on to it tightly with her hand as if she were afraid it would disappear.

Kagome blew her bangs away from the face before getting up. She grunted as she made it onto her two feet before she began to walk in the direction of the door. She was slightly shaking from her nervousness. Although at this moment she was happy and relieved to be back home. She had no idea how she would react once she would see her mother. It had been months since she had seen her family.

Kagome didn't even know how she would begin to explain everything that had happened during that time. Never would she be able to keep all of this a secret, especially considering her current condition. They were bond to notice she was pregnant and Kagome refused to lie to them. Even though she had a feeling her mother would be crushed, Kagome needed them to put this behind her.

As soon as she stepped outside a gentle breeze circled her, causing her to wrap her arms around her body. The night was dark and starless. For the first time in a long time she had no reason to fear it. Night and day didn't have to be differentiated anymore because they were the same. No need to await a change that would not happen, not need to expect someone else once the sun went down.

He was gone and she was home. All that was left was her while he was on the other side of the well, unable to reach her. She breathed out a sigh of relief.

The young miko held her breath as she reached the door of her house. Her heart beating like crazily inside of her chest as her fingers touched the door knob. She tucked Inuyasha's necklace inside of her kimono keeping it close to her. Carefully she put pressure on the knob, before gently turning it and opening the door.

The sight she found in front of her was enough to bring tears to her eyes once more. Her grandfather, brother and mother were all sitting together at the table, smiling and enjoying a meal together. But, quickly their attention was turned towards Kagome, her mother couldn't help but gasp. Mrs. Higurashi stood up, her hand covering her mouth, as she stared at her daughter in shock. She was wearing a kimono, instead of her usual school uniform, her eyes were puffy and red, she was covered in dirt and looked like she could crumble at any second.

Before another thought could cross her mind, Miyu ran towards her daughter, tightly wrapping her arms around her. She didn't know what happened but all she knew was that her daughter needed someone to hold her right now. When Kagome had not come back in a couple of weeks she had not worried at first, since it had happened more than once. Of course, then the weeks had turned into months and she had begun to slightly worry.

She had told herself that perhaps in the heat of the battle Kagome had been unable to come. But now, she knew something else had happened. The pain she could see in her daughter's face had nothing to do with a fight, it was something much deeper. As she tightened the embrace she could not miss the developing bulge of her daughter's stomach.

Her eyes widen in surprise, but she resisted the urge to pull away. Not now; everything in due time. This she knew was not an obvious increase in weight, but from a pregnancy. A million thoughts ran through her mind, but she kept them all for herself.

As Kagome felt her mother's warm embrace she broke down. Slowly, her body became limper as she counted on her mother to hold up her body, as she shattered. Horrendous events that shook the life out of her were expressed through her tears that became sobs. Kagome could feel movement near her which she assumed were her brother and grandfather coming near her.

There was so much to tell them, but no way to begin to tell the tale. Instead of talking she gladly took her mother's shoulder to let the recent events crash upon her, which included Inuyasha's death too, since she had barely any time to mourn. Then it wasn't too long until Kagome felt more people hugging her and her heart began to feel even heavier.

None of them knew what occurred, but they didn't need to know to provide her with support.

It took Kagome another few minutes before she could manage to pull away from them, as she regained some form of composure. She was still sobbing quietly, but the shaking had stopped. Kagome felt her mother wrap her arm around her waist and guided her towards the living room. Miyu knew she'd be much more comfortable there than at the kitchen table.

Kagome followed without a protest, Souta and her grandfather did not follow as they knew this needed to be a moment between Kagome and her mother. A few seconds later both women reached the couch and sat down beside each other. Miyu had her arm around Kagome's shoulder not saying a word. She would wait for her daughter to speak once she was ready.

The silence remained for a few minutes as Kagome was at loss for words. How could she start? What could she possibly say? Nothing that had happened to her could be something she would be able to just blurt out as if it was nothing. Not one detail could be mentioned before the other because it was more important and some parts were more difficult than others.

Kagome sighed before pressing her head against her mother's shoulder, her eyes still watery. She opened her mouth ready to speak, but nothing came out of it. Then, Kagome felt her mother run her fingers through her hair to soothe her. She used to do that when Kagome was nothing but a little girl.

"I don't know how to explain, mama," said Kagome, her voice nearly a whisper, as it was broken from the stress of the crying she had just done.

"However it feels right for you. Only say what you want to say," she said, her voice extremely gentle.

Hearing her mother's voice was the last touch to make her feel at home and Kagome couldn't help but bring herself closer to her. Then, Kagome brought one of her hand to her stomach, resting it upon it. "I'm pregnant," she said, before closing her eyes tightly.

Miyu rested her head upon her daughter's, still remaining silent. Somehow, perhaps it was mother's instinct, but she had a feeling the father was not Inuyasha. So, she decided not to ask the question and let Kagome answer it when she wanted to. Mrs. Higurashi had no intention of pressuring her daughter into telling her something she was not ready to do.

Whenever Kagome would feel at ease to tell her, she would always be there to listen to her and bring her comfort. At the moment, Miyu was containing herself and her emotions, trying to relieve some pain from Kagome. But sometimes, the tears were harder to hold back. This was her baby, her little girl.

For over two months she had worried, trying to tell herself Kagome was there because she was helping people, doing something she wanted to do with a fiery passion. But now, every day for the last three weeks she went pass the well, hoping to see her emerge, but nothing. Every time, every day, every night, there was no one. It was just a well. It made her fear.

Kagome's eyes were still closed as she tried to form the words, but it was hard to say that word, at least it was when she wasn't screaming it at Sesshomaru.

"I-- I was rape." She felt her mother's hold tighten and she managed to find the courage to open her eyes.

"He-- it- was Inuyasha's brother."

This time, Miyu could not hold back, and tears slid down her cheeks as she pressed a soft kiss on the top of Kagome's head. The word was still painfully ringing in her ears and it was impossible to stop herself from bringing Kagome into another embrace. She held her tightly, her hand against the back of her head her tears falling upon Kagome's stained kimono.

It wasn't long before Kagome joined in with her and the tears pouring out once more. Both mother and daughter held on to each other. Kagome was slightly shaking. It took a few minutes before they pulled away from each other slightly and Kagome laid her head on her mother's shoulder, feeling exhausted. Her eyelids were heavy and she closed her eyes, breathing out heavily.

Miyu's lips were glued together as she held in another sob. She couldn't help the feelings that stirred up inside of her. Although she could have never stopped Kagome from going through the well, she herself could not go, Miyu couldn't stop the feeling of guilt from overtaking her. Deep inside, she blamed herself for not being there for her daughter while she suffered alone, by herself. The best she had been able to do was ask Inuyasha to watch over her.

For a second, Inuyasha crossed her mind and she imagined the worst. Although Kagome had came home crying more than once over the hanyou, her heart broken, Miyu could hardly imagine he would let someone do such a thing to Kagome and let them get away with it. Plus from what she had understood Inuyasha and his brother did not share a great relationship, which meant something had to have happened.

Kagome opened her eyes again, as if she had known what her mother was thinking. She pulled out the necklace from her kimono before laying it on her lap. Not a word needed to be said for her mother to understand what had occurred. She only held her tighter. Kagome tighten her hold on Inuyasha's necklace as she bit her bottom lip as sobs still escaped her.

At that moment the world seemed strange, as if she didn't belong there. Perhaps it was because it felt so different from what she had been put through recently. Deep inside she knew that she was home. She wished it all had been a nightmare and that soon enough she'd wake up in her bed and realize none of it ever happened. Of course, it was all wishful thinking.

Once more Kagome's eyes were closed, as the exhaustion seemed to take a hold of her body. The warmth and comfort of her mother's body was only encouraging the feeling even more. She began to breath heavily before laying her head on her mother's lap. It didn't take too long for Kagome to fall into a deep slumber, as her breathing slowed down and the shaking stopped.

Her mother realized Kagome's current state of sleep as she was gently running her thru her daughter's hair. Miyu finally let her last soft sob escape. She took a few minutes and remained in that position with Kagome. Letting some of the pressure fall away at what her daughter had told her. Nothing of what she was feeling now could be compared to what Kagome had gone through, she knew that, but her heart felt empty at this moment.

It was as if everything she could feel had been ripped out. It hurt, and the ache refused to leave.

It was at that moment that Souta peeked inside the room and met his mothers gaze. Once he made sure it was okay, he walked into the room. Stopping in front of his sister, Souta slightly bent down so he was eye level with Kagome. Kagome had always been the person he had looked up to and watched her with admiration every time she ran for another one of her adventure, fighting her way through no matter what.

He had always listened in amazement as she told him her tales, wishing he could be in the same situation as her. Although Souta had seen his sister sad before, he had never seen her look so broken before. Even now as she slept, Kagome didn't look peaceful. He felt a pain inside of him that hadn't been there before.

Miyu carefully moved away from the couch, making sure she wouldn't wake Kagome. She grabbed the necklace which was on her daughter's lap and put it around her arm. Then, she gently slid her arms around her daughters body and proceeded to lift her up. Realizing Kagome was not as light as she used to be and that she herself didn't have the strength she once had before.

Nonetheless, she slowly began to make her way to the stairs with her daughter in her arms. Souta followed close behind just in case. She took her time as she began assending the stairs, making sure she wasn't moving too much since she didn't want to wake her daughter. She finally reached Kagome's bedroom. Gently she laid her down on the bed before casting a glance around. Kagome had been gone for so long and the room was neat and tidy, which felt like it wasn't her room.

Kagome was usually in such a rush that it would look like a tornado had gone through her room every time she came back. Miyu sighed before going towards the drawer where she took out Kagome's pink pajamas that had huge kitten faces on it. She didn't want to let her sleep in her current dirty clothes and she had a feeling Kagome had no desire whatsoever to still wear that kimono.

Mrs. Higurashi could only begin to imagine what sort of memories would be associated with that. Although, she would not throw it out. She would let Kagome make that decision for herself as to what she wanted to do with it. There was one thing Miyu knew her daughter would keep, and it was Inuyasha's necklace. Which she placed down on Kagome's bedside table.

Carefully, she began to undress Kagome, once she was done she folded the kimono before putting it on the ground, right by the bed. It was now even easier to see Kagome's bulging stomach. Miyu found herself holding her breath. Kagome was only 17 years old and was still so young, she had much to look forward too.

Although, ever since she fell down the well her life had been upside down. It had been truly a miracle that she had made it through high school with all the school she had missed. This year was supposed to be her last year, Miyu had a feeling Kagome would not be completing high school this year. Not only was there her pregnancy, but also she doubted Kagome had any desire to go back to school at the moment.

Nonetheless, whatever she decided to do Miyu would be behind her, backing up her every decision. Kagome had a good head on her shoulder and even though it was probably sooner than planned, Kagome would make an excellent mother. She had a very sweet and caring personality and Miyu knew it hadn't been lost through the recent events in her life. Also, Kagome would never be alone, she would make sure to be by her side and help her with any difficulty that would come her way.

Quickly, Miyu finished dressing her, before she covered her with the blanket and tucked her in. She couldn't help but sit on the edge of the bed as she brushed Kagome's bangs out of her eyes, staring at her face. Then, she bent down and pressed a kiss on her heated forehead before quietly getting up.

She stared at her daughter as she walk away, her heart extremely heavy. It was hard to look away as she turned out the light, but she did it, the darkness engulfing the whole room. Usually she would close the door, but not tonight. Just in case something happened, perhaps even a nightmare, Miyu wanted to make sure she would hear Kagome.

Miyu's eyes were bloodshot red as she made her way downstairs. She would perhaps explain things to her father once he would ask, but Souta was another story. She didn't know how much Kagome wanted him to know and she would leave that up to her. She lifted her arm and held it to her shirt as she felt a pain in her chest, as if her heart were being squeezed. She would not be getting any sleep tonight.

-B-

A bright light woke Kagome from her deep slumber. As she blinked a few times, adjusting to the light. At first, a sense of panic took over her and she jumped slightly. Not only didn't she remember falling asleep, but she had also forgotten for a split second where she was. As soon as she took stock of her surroundings and realized it was her own bedroom, Kagome laid her head against her pillow, her heartbeat slowing down.

She was home. She could only be grateful, that at least that part had not been a dream. For a second she thought she had nearly imagined the whole thing, that she was still stuck in the feudal era. Kagome looked down at herself only to notice she was wearing her own clothes, she couldn't help the small smile that crept up on her face.

Kagome didn't want to exit the bed right now, so instead she remained under the blankets for a little while longer. Perhaps she needed to enjoy being in her own house to help the fact that she was safe, settle down. Though it was obvious for the first little while, she would probably be somewhat edgy. Kagome had every intention of burying herself in the darkness of her blankets when her bladder alerted her it needed to be emptied. She sighed heavily before slowly dragging her body out of the bed and headed to the bathroom.

Her eyes were burning slightly, she assumed it was from all the tears shed the previous night. Once she would go downstairs Kagome would have to see her family again and she didn't know what her reaction would be this time. There was still so much, which remained untold and once again, Kagome knew she wanted to empty her heart. She didn't know when, or how. Last night, only bits of information had come out, although most of it had remained unsaid, yet her mother had understood.

As Kagome entered her bathroom she couldn't help but take a look at herself in the mirror. She looked terrible. Her eyes were red and swollen, her hair looked like a bird had made a nest in it and there was a smudge of dirt on her face. As she observed herself closely, something else caught her attention, that left her breathless: the mark on her neck. Just to make sure she had seen right Kagome pulled down on her shirt, exposing her neck even more.

There it was, staring at her, the mating mark. She gulped, before backing away from the mirror, her hand still on the collar of her shirt.

Kagome tried to calm herself, but she couldn't help the small panic that took over. There could be a million reasons why the mark was still there. After all, time traveling was a very complex notion and anything could really be possible. Many times she had come back with scratches and marks, which remained on her no matter which side of the well she was on.

Something that happened, just happened. Maybe a mating mark didn't disappear once it was placed no matter what happened to the mates. Maybe it was just there, but it didn't represent anything anymore.

Before she knew it, Kagome had backed all the way to the cold wall and leaned on it for support. Her heart was beating extremely fast as fear took over. She refused to believe Sesshomaru was still alive in her time period, it was absolutely impossible.

First of all, she stuck by her words that if he knew such a thing would happen, he would have tried to stop her from going, or at least made some sort of contact with her. Second of all, if youkais did still exist, such a detail would be known. There was no way they would hide from humans like this! And honestly, wouldn't she have felt at least one?

She licked her dry lips before slightly nodding her head. Yes, the mating mark only remained probably because it couldn't go away. Desperate for another thought to fill her mind Kagome caste a glance in the direction of the bath tub, before moving away from the wall. A warm normal bath should be exactly what she needed.

She ran the water before beginning to undress herself and it was not too long until she stood naked in the bathroom. She couldn't help but catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her eyes were on the reflection of her stomach. The months were slowly ticking away and all she could do was guess when the baby would be born.

Once the water reached the right level Kagome turned it off before entering the warm water. She submerged herself as much as she could before resting her head against the cold edge sighing. Her stomach was somewhat beginning to stick out of the water, so she rested her hand on it. Now that she was in her own time it might be easier to find out what was wrong with her.

If the sickness came back but there was one problem. Her baby was half youkai and Kagome didn't know if something different would show up if she went to a doctor. The young miko wasn't sure it was a risk she could take. What if a reading came out wrong and all of a sudden she found herself under close inspection?

If she was sick again perhaps the best thing to do was what she did in the feudal era, wait until it passed, since it always seemed to go away after a while. The thought of the feudal era only brought Sesshomaru to her mind. In the possibility, the crazy impossible possibility that she did run into him in her own era, what would she do?

Not only would if feel like there was no way to escape him, but how different would it be to deal with him in her own time? Obviously things were very different in her world and she couldn't even imagine Sesshomaru acting civilized. It seemed to her that no matter where he would be he would do what he needed to, to get his way. She shivered before reminding herself that he was not here.

She remained in the bath for a while longer before exiting it. She wrapped a warm fluffy blue towel around her body and it wasn't too long before she was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking through the window. Inuyasha never used a door he would always burst through her window whenever he arrived in her time.

The thought brought a small smile to her face as she caught a glimpse of his necklace. How had he hated, and despised that thing so badly, often asking her to remove it, which she had never done. Now this necklace was her only object from him to hold onto. A tear rolled down her cheek and Kagome wiped it away quickly.

Kagome was tired of crying she knew it was a necessary step in this recovery process. She also knew the next step coming was probably anger. Once there would be no more tears to shed an emotion of fury would be created inside of her and she would feel hatred. Kagome was already angry but right now, her heart was shattered and it was her main focus.

As she would try to put this behind her she would also try to re-integrate herself into her old life. Obviously it would not be easy but here she had support and a family. She knew her first reflex might be to isolate herself sometimes, but Kagome would do her best to stop herself from doing it. Being alone was not the answer to heal herself.

The young Miko closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. Today had to be a new day. Kagome got up and walked in the direction of her closet only to find herself staring at her old clothes. After spending so much time wearing kimonos these clothes almost looked weird to her. She picked her blue long-sleeve sweater and a pair of black sweatpants.

At the moment she doubted her jeans would fit her and the same applied for her skirt - at least most of them. She would probably need new more ample clothes, but it would wait until later. Kagome was not ready to go outside.

Once she would leave the house she would need to face the outside world and that included her friends too. What would she do if she encountered them? How to explain? There was no way she could, but right now she didn't think she could handle coming up with a lie and acting as if nothing ever happened.

She was not solid enough, nor ready for it. In a way, she was in no rush to exit the house. Kagome had no intention of going back to school for the moment, meaning she had no reason to leave. Also she knew nobody would force her to leave the house if she didn't want to, she could remain safely at home.

Kagome quickly got dressed before beginning to head downstairs where she would have to face her family. She took her time with every step going very slowly that she could hear the wood crack under her feet. Kagome bit her bottom lip as she reached the last step, her heart beating like a drum.

She didn't know if they expected her to be downstairs, but she knew they were there since she could smell the aroma food. Except for that, they were being extremely quiet, more than usual and Kagome wondered if they were keeping it down because they were afraid to wake her up.

As soon as she stepped inside the kitchen they all turned to look at her. Everyone looked a little tense. The worst was her mother, her eyes were an exact mirror of Kagome's, letting her know her mother had spend a hard night. It was also obvious she had not slept but nonetheless, Miyu was smiling at her daughter.

Mrs. Higurashi put down the pan she was holding before walking towards Kagome. Many times during the night she had checked up on her daughter, just to make sure she was still there, safe and asleep. Just as she had expected the night had been difficult and many tears had been shed.

After leaving Kagome's room she had cleaned the whole dining room quite excessively and had not sat down until Souta had left for his bedroom. It was then that she sat down with her father in law and had broken down much like Kagome had. He had sat down and listened to Miyu as she told him the story, or at least the bits she had obtained. His own expression had changed and even he had shed tears as he could only begin to imagine what his granddaughter had gone through because of a wretched youkai.

They had spent a major part of the night awake together as Miyu gained back her composure. At one point during the night her father in law had left and had gone to the shrine where she assumed he would deal with things in his own way. Miyu had remained in the kitchen and had spent the whole night there, holding a full cup of coffee the whole time, but never drinking it. She had sat there and watched the sun rise, her eyes in pain. The only time she left that spot was to check up on Kagome, just in case perhaps she had awoken and was alone in the dark.

Miyu had always remained strong and usually did not show her pain, at least not in front of her kids. Even when her husband died she had been strong, only by herself or perhaps with her husband's father had ever seen her cry. Last night holding her little girl it had been impossible to hold back the tears. The thought of Kagome being violated and mistreated in such a manner made her stomach twist in sickness.

Today though, she wanted to be stronger for Kagome. Obviously she was not going anywhere and remaining in the house today. But, she would not invade her daughter's space. When Kagome would want to be with her and talk to her, she would be there, but until then she would wait.

Silently Kagome took a seat at the table and couldn't help but feel strange to be sitting down at such a small crowded table. She was so used to eating her meals either by herself or with Rin at the never-ending table. It wasn't too long until her mother was by her side and putting down a bowl of miso-shiru. She nodded her head in a sign of thank you, before she began to slowly eat.

Sesshomaru might have professional cooks but nothing could be like her mother's cooking and she had missed it.

At that instant her eyes crossed with her brothers, but quickly he looked away. He couldn't bear to look into his sister's eyes because he couldn't find the right words to share. Unlike what his mother thought he had heard everything. After he went upstairs to his room he had waited a few moments before quietly going to the top of the stairs where he waited. Souta felt bad for eavesdropping on his mother, but he couldn't help his worry towards his sister.

He sat there listening to his mother cry, as she explained to his grandfather what she had understood from her short talk with Kagome and his heart broke. The thoughts and words had kept him up all night. He had tossed around, managing only to get an hour or two of sleep. Kagome was very important to Souta and looked up to her, to think that after everything she still seemed strong… he felt weak. Even now, he couldn't look her in the eyes.

Then the doorbell rang, attracting everyone's attention. Quickly Miyu walked towards the door and opened it, giving whoever was behind the door a decent view into the kitchen.

“I have a delivery for Miyu Higurashi,” said the man, once Mrs. Higurashi had opened the door.

“That's me,” she said before taking the pen and pad he was handing her.

Kagome, who had finished her breakfast got up, ready to put her bowl away and as she did so, her eyes locked with the stranger's eyes. Amber met Grey and before she knew it Kagome had dropped the bowl on the ground shattering it in pieces. The noise caught everyone's attention and they all turned their heads in Kagome's direction.

She mumbled an apology as in shock, she began to bend down to pick up the pieces. Kagome couldn't help herself from looking up at the stranger once more, but this time she found herself staring into brown eyes. She blinked a few times as if she thought this time she wasn't seeing right, but no matter what his eyes remained brown.

Perhaps she was still in shock. Surely Sesshomaru wouldn't show up at her door as a delivery boy and on top of that the man didn't look anything like Sesshomaru. Maybe she was expecting to come out of nowhere so much, that her brain hallucinated the sight of his eyes.

Kagome had most of the pieces in her hands so she threw them in the garbage, which was right near by. Then, she proceeded to exit the room and went upstairs to her room, her mind clouded with memories. Although she had to admit she preferred the sight of amber eyes to red eyes. As she entered her bedroom she sat on the edge of the bed, her door fully open.

Miyu took the package from the man before putting it down on the counter and hurrying up the stairs. Obviously something had scared Kagome and Miyu couldn't help but want to make sure Kagome was okay. When she reached her door she softly knocked, getting Kagome's attention. Kagome scooted aside slightly giving her mother some room on the bed.

Miyu took it as her sign to come in and gently sat down beside her daughter. Miyu did not talk and simply remained beside her daughter, waiting to see if she would say something.

The young miko sighed before looking into her mother's brown eyes. Perhaps it would be easier if her mother knew the whole story from the start. It was then that Kagome began to explain everything that happened since the day Sesshomaru mated and raped her. She told her about the beast and how he was another part of Sesshomaru, the part which apparently was desperately in love with her.

She mentioned Rin the time she spent with her and how Sesshomaru had saved the little girl's life years back. Also, she told her about her sickness and how she worried it might be affecting her child, of course she did not leave out the wretched bracelet. The last part of her story was perhaps the most difficult since it was the most recent events.

Kagome shared with her mother the events that lead to Inuyasha's death, the voyage to Edo and how she thought the well didn't work, but then apparently she had made her way through.

The whole time Miyu stared at her daughter carefully listening and her lips forcefully pressed together. She refused to break down like the previous day, not wanting to interrupt her story. Kagome did shed tears while she told her story, sometimes stopping to regain her composure. The strangest thing was how freeing it felt to finally tell someone everything that occurred. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off her chest and she could breathe easier.

Once Kagome finally finished telling every event she could think of, she breathed in heavily. Then, she cast a glance in her mother's direction, her eyes watery. Gently Miyu wrapped her arms around her, her hand on the back of Kagome's head. Her eyes were closed since it was helping to hold the tears back. She caressed Kagome's hair, trying to soothe her.

Kagome's face was buried in her mother's shoulder as she quietly sobbed away her last tears. From then on she had to move forward. She had no intention of going back through that well. She had no idea what the beast reaction was and she would not take any chances. She was back in her own world five hundred years between her and him.

The nightmare was over, she had woken up.

-B-