Fated Coincidences by skyleopardess

A Destined Meeting

Fated Coincidences

Chapter 1: A Destined Meeting

Water rippled down her slender shoulders and smooth back. The droplets that lingered on her hair glistened in the morning sunrise. It was a daily ritual for Kagome, who purified herself under the waterfall every morning before she began her duties as a miko. The water from the fall rushed over the cliff and down towards Kagome, who was standing under it, letting the cool crisp water cleanse her. She lifted her hair up to catch the water, letting the water rinse it of its collected dirt from the previous day.

From far away, it looked as if she glowed. The water splashed around her, forming a semi-transparent cloud of mist about her body. This image, where she looked positively radiant, was the epitome of holiness of all the miko that existed in the era. Anyone who as much as took a glance at the current spectacle would be awed by her pure beauty.

Unbeknownst to Kagome as she cleansed herself, she had a spectator in the trees not far away from the waterfall. The thick shrubbery and tree branches blocked her line of view to where he sits. It is because of this that he is able to watch her every morning exuding her endless radiance as she purified her body. Sesshoumaru himself did not understand why he watched this simple human girl daily without fail. For the great Inuyoukai, he should have no interest in mortals who lived such short and petty lives. However, he could not bring himself to tear his eyes away from Kagome, much less stop coming each morning to watch her.

Perhaps his being there was to find out what made this girl so special, that it catches his attention even more than the most beautiful female youkai. His eyes followed her as she waded through the pool of water to dry land, where she hung her hakama. Kagome gently dried herself and ceremoniously put on the hakama. She looked at the sky to the sun and calculated that she still had some time before she was needed back at the village. She took a deep breath to breathe in the cool morning air and then started to sing.

Sesshoumaru's sensitive ears quickly picked up the beautiful melody that resonated from her lips. She sang unintelligible words but he did not care. The melody itself filled his head with its sweet notes. It has been a long time since he had listened to a tune that gave him such a sense of peacefulness. He sat on the branch quietly to enjoy until the very last note. All too soon, Kagome stopped singing, noting that it was time to return to the village. A little disappointed, but realizing the danger of his being there, Sesshoumaru stood up soundlessly and left the forest.

"Ah, Kagome-chan, you're back!"

"Good morning, Sango-chan. It really is a nice day today. How about we spar a little after breakfast?" Though it may not look like it, Kagome was quite skilled in fighting. Being a miko only requires a girl to be pure and to go through training until she has developed her powers. Kagome not only developed her powers three times as fast as normal miko did, she also rivals many warriors in combat. Sango was Kagome's childhood friend since they were little and belongs to the powerful family of youkai taijiya. Sango, too, was as powerful as the men in the village so it was only natural that she was Kagome's sparring partner.

Kagome and Sango walked side by side to where the villagers all gather to eat their day's first meal together. It looked like the start of another peaceful day. The sky was a light pastel blue with tints of orange and violet streaking where the light of the early sun hit the clouds.

"Sango-chan, what do you think of the youkai problem lately? It has been quiet," Kagome said as they lined up to get their meal.

"Yeah, there hasn't been much movement from them in the past few days; I was surprised too. Usually, we get at least two or three attacks in a week yet there hasn't been any these past 2 weeks," Sango knit her eyebrows in confusion. "I wonder if there is anything going on that could've caused that."

"So you noticed, too. I have been feeling a lot less jyaki in this area also. Perhaps a stronger youkai is controlling them. I think we should investigate this today. I have a feeling that something is going wrong," said Kagome worriedly.

"Haha," Sango giggled as she listened to a very serious Kagome. "I think you're thinking too much into this. With your miko powers, our entire village is protected from youkai. Even Lord Naraku commended you for saving so many people last time! You worry too much, Kagome-chan. You're going to have wrinkles soon if you don't stop worrying so much!"

"I hope that you're right," whispered Kagome as they continued their meal.

"Kagome-sama..." came a soft voice from behind.

Kagome turned around to the owner of the voice. "Ah, Obaa-sama, how are you feeling? Have you been taking your medicine every night?"

"Yes, yes," the elder woman said as she smiled up at Kagome. "I have been feeling much better. Look, I'm walking around, aren't I? I take a walk every morning before breakfast and every evening before dinner. It's all thanks to your medicine. I felt better after taking it only once."

Kagome smiled and ushered the woman back to her meal. "And, not to mention your medicinal skills and healing power. Even if we were attacked by youkai, we don't have to worry because you'll always be able to heal us!" Sango said and rolled her eyes playfully as she thought, "Kagome is just thinking too much. There has never been a youkai that was able to even put a scratch on her."

Staring emptily and pushing the food on her plate around mindlessly, Kagome went deep in thought. "It will be nice if it stayed this way. But lately, the way that the forests are so quiet bothers me. I feel like something bad is about to happen but I can't put my finger on what this could mean. It would be a relief if it were only my imagination." Kagome prayed. It has been hard to protect the village from youkai. Kagome has been able to keep everything under control with the help of Sango and her family. Otherwise, even with Kagome's enormous powers, she would have a hard time keeping all the villagers alive and well.

As if in response to her silent thoughts, the earth shook. A large crashing noise was heard and everyone's attention was directed to the nearby forest. Several trees came crashing down as swords clanged. Worried murmurs among the villagers raised the tension even more. Kagome hurriedly put down her bowl and chopsticks and ran to her hut. She equipped herself with her bow and quiver of arrows and ran towards the forest. She was almost out of the village when she saw Sango in her fighting gear running along with Kirara.

"Let's go, Kagome-chan. This will take the place of our morning training!" Smiled Sango as if she were going out to play.

"No, Sango!" Kagome said seriously. "I will go alone."

"But why?! It's better if there were two of us," protested a surprised Sango.

"I sense two very strong youkai. You should stay here and protect the villagers just in case it's a trap in attempt to misdirect our attention. They are fighting each other so I will be fine on my own. I'm only going to see what is going on; I won't fight unless I have to." Kagome quickened her steps and ran into the forest before Sango could protest again. Once her decision was made, there is no one who could convince Kagome otherwise. And Kagome's selfless personality always puts the villagers' safety over her own. Sango sighed as she watched Kagome's disappearing form.

Kagome ran swiftly through the forest towards the place where the two youkai fought. As she got closer, she had a better idea about the level of each. One was a hanyou and the other was a full youkai but both belonged to the powerful Inuyoukai family. Kagome's chest tightened as she got nearer; there was a lot of killing intent permeating the air. "What in the world is going on?"

Slowing down as she got to the edge of the forest, Kagome hid herself behind some trees to first survey the situation. In a large clearing between two hills, two silver-haired youkai stood not far from each other, fangs and claws bearing at each other. Both were too busy glaring at each other to notice Kagome's presence. The hanyou in red crouched low, licking his blood-stained fingers. Kagome noticed that the blood was his own since his opponent remained without a scratch. Something was funny about the hanyou. Though he was definitely hanyou, he also smelled like a full youkai. "How can this be? Hanyou can never become full youkai without the Shikon no Tama. And he hasn't attained the Shikon because I have it." Kagome touched the jewel around her neck out of habit to make sure it was still there.

The wild recklessness sent from the hanyou's eyes scared Kagome. His pupils were tinted red and he growled as he prepared for his next attack. Kagome glanced at his opponent and was taken aback to see how calm the youkai was in this perilous situation. However, something else about this tall youkai intrigued her.

Suddenly, sword and claws clashed against each other and the sound rang in Kagome's ears as she snapped her eyes away from the youkai's face. The hanyou had attacked, using only his claws, but was easily blocked by the youkai's sword. The sword resonated, as if recognizing a threat to its owner. As it pulsated, waves of energy pushed the hanyou back, as well as cutting up his hand. The hanyou looked displeased but retreated a few feet away.

"Inuyasha, do not think that you can win against Toukijin, even in your excited youkai state." The tall youkai said as he lowered his sword.

"Toukijin?! Isn't that the famed evil sword of Sesshoumaru, the great Inuyoukai who rules over the Western Realms? What is he doing here?" Kagome thought as her chest tightened. This was bad news; she didn't think that youkai from the West had made their moves. Up until now, she had only heard of the youkai from the East attacking villages nearby. Kagome panicked a little at the thought of this and, without realizing it, stepped backward.

To youkai ears, even the faintest sounds could be heard. Kagome must have broken a twig when she took a step back. The hanyou turned his head sharply towards the source of the sound and spotted Kagome half hidden behind a tree. His lips curled up to a smirk as if a beast had just spotted his next big prey. Kagome's breathing almost stopped as she watched a red blur disappear from where the hanyou was last standing and reappeared within inches of her.

If it were a normal person, he would have been paralyzed with fear and panic. But with years of battle experience, Kagome calmly jumped back to put distance between her and her enemy, just as she has done in countless other similar situations. The hanyou growled dangerously and waved his arms and sharp claws in an attempt cut Kagome. Taking a deep breath and gathering some energy to her right hand, Kagome blasted some purifying energy at the hanyou. Using that distraction, she quickly put some distance between them. This was more than enough time for her to effortlessly pull out an arrow and aim it at the approaching youkai.

The string of the bow vibrated as the arrow swiftly left and headed towards the left arm of Kagome's target. Mid-air, the arrow glowed as Kagome's aura surrounded the arrow. It didn't hit Inuyasha squarely on the arm but that wasn't Kagome's intention in the first place. The arrow skimmed his skin only slightly and left a nasty burn. It was as if Kagome was sending out a warning to the youkai, telling him not to approach any further. Inuyasha growled and lifted his right hand to touch the wound. It must have stung but his face didn't show it. He did not heed Kagome's warning and once again charged at her. Kagome was alarmed but was ready to defend. She shot out another arrow and was confident that this would stop his movements. However, the angered hanyou used his hand to slap it away. At this point, Kagome had no time to shoot another arrow or gather energy to erect a shield.

All this while, Sesshoumaru watched on with both curiosity and concern. He had only seen the miko in her peaceful state and never in battle. Although he had heard the rumors that she was as a brilliant warrior as she just demonstrated she was, his heart tugged every time she was in apparent danger. He did not move from where he was standing to help her, for he wanted to see her strength. This was until Inuyasha had managed to corner her. Without giving it a second thought, his body moved to in front of hers and took the blow that was meant for her. Kagome's eyes widened as she saw a blur of white and silver and heard claws meet flesh. And then, it was red everywhere.