Motoko Aoyama: NEW STORY! I'm so happy! This will be a Sesshoumaru/Kikyou fic that spins off episode 114 when Sesshoumaru and company meets Jakotsu and Suikotsu on that bridge. There will be quite a lot of references to the events that occur in the anime, so beware of spoilers, but then again, this is a fanfic, so don't tell me what is supposed to happen, because I'll be changing some things to suit my purposes. Lastly, if you hate this pairing or either of these main characters, especially Kikyou because I have noticed many people hate her for quite bizarre reasons, please be so kind as to click the back button and LEAVE MY STORY ALONE! Lastly, flashbacks are in italics.

Pairings: Sess/Kik (slight Inu/Kik at the beginning), minor Inu/Kag, Mir/San

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, the character or the story, and so don't sue me!

Fukai Mori

Prologue

The full moon hung onto the dark skies above the foothills of Mount Hakurei, its calm light shining upon the gently swaying canopies. A hazy firelight sparkled amidst those fields, casting an orange, red glow on the ground nearby where a toad youkai and a young child sat munching on a cooked hare. Sitting under a maple a short distance away from the campfire was an Inu taiyoukai, his elaborate armor gleaming in the starlight. His long, silvery hair cascaded down his elegant kimono with blue sakura patterns woven on the smooth, white fabric. The shadows of fluttering leaves flickered on the taiyoukai's fair countenance with two magenta stripes running down both cheeks, and a prussian blue crescent moon printed on his forehead. Beneath his red eyelids was a pair of cold, deadly golden eyes, only barely open as they gazed at his single hand held out before him. On his palm lay a frayed, white ribbon, worn out from the many seasons that had passed. He laid one last glance at the ribbon before he clasped it firmly in his hand once more, shifting his gaze towards the swirling night sky as he leaned onto the rough bark of the ancient tree.

Fifty years had passed...

Since he had left his heart...

In the depths of the

Deep

Deep

Forest...

Before the grass had grown so tall, the forests so thick, the fields so white with the patches of daisies, there was a time when the taiyoukai had loved and hated, had felt happiness and sorrow. The powerful Lord of the West had fought a dangerous battle with a formidable foe, which had left him seriously injured despite his claim to victory. Blood dripping down his stained kimono, eyes burning with pain from venomous shouki, the taiyoukai stumbled in the depths of the forests, finding a place where he could rest peacefully away from his numerous enemies. His strength wasted away as he treaded onwards, finally rendering him unconscious as he fell to the ground, darkness taking over his world.

How much time had passed, he did not know. His head was faint, his fatigue impaired his sense of smell; his body so weak that he could not even lift a finger. He tried to open his eyelids, but even the slightest motion caused his eyes to water. All he could do was to lie back as he heard footsteps on the ground.

" You've awaken, youkai."

The taiyoukai turned his head towards the source of the voice, hearing the footsteps come closer and closer towards him. He tried to raise his claw to kill the incoming human, but his claw twitched stubbornly, disobeying his command.

" You can't kill me, not in this condition," the person spoke once more. By now, the taiyoukai recognized that it belonged to a young woman.

The woman came towards the taiyoukai with a basket of herbs in her hand. She got to work on mashing the herbs and applying them onto the taiyoukai's wounds. When she was about to touch his injured eyes, he growled in anger.

" Go away, pathetic human."

" If I don't tend to your eyes, you'll lose your vision," the woman said, slightly concerned.

" Unlike humans, I can take care of myself and heal my own wounds," the taiyoukai replied, annoyed.

" I'm a miko. I know how to heal your wounds, you don't," the woman answered sternly.

The taiyoukai was beyond furious, yet his exhaustion kept him from being able to do anything. He just lay there, letting the miko place a soothing poultice on his eyelids before wrapping a long cloth around the wound. Never had he felt the smooth hands of a human woman caress his skin, and to his surprise, the feeling wasn't as gruesome as he had imagined.

" By the way, you don't just go by youkai, right? Although you're a youkai, you should at least have a name," the miko said after the wounds were all bandaged. The taiyoukai felt too proud to give his name to a lowly human, but he didn't wish the miko to continue calling him a youkai, as that would tie him to other inferior members of their race.

" Sesshoumaru," he answered in an arrogant tone.

There was a long silence as the miko took out a wooden container that she had also brought along with her. She opened the container in which a bowl of black liquid laid waiting, steam escaping off its surface to indicate its heat. The miko scooped a bit of it out with a spoon and delivered it to Sesshoumaru, who reluctantly sipped on it, his taste buds unable to detect the bitterness due to his weakness.

" Aren't you going to ask for my name?" the miko asked in a more cheerful tone. The taiyoukai turned indifferently towards her, thinking that the miko must be out of her mind.

" I, Sesshoumaru, have no interest in the names of measly humans like you."

" I see," the miko answered, picking up the things she had brought before getting up to leave.

" Don't move from this spot, it'll interfere with your recovery," the miko said, leaving the taiyoukai to rest under the moonlight.

Sesshoumaru felt much better the next morning, finally able to move from his resting spot. Trying to get away from the area before the miko came to change his bandages that day, he stumbled forward into the unknown distance, only to be repelled by a strong barrier.

" I guess I have no choice but to pin you down!" the miko yelled, shooting several arrows towards the taiyoukai. He was still too tired to dodge, letting the arrows pierce through his kimono, the force throwing him on the ground once more to which he got pinned. Sesshoumaru struggled, but a great aura from the arrows threw him down once more.

" Stop moving, it's no use. You are probably hungry, so I brought you some food," the miko spoke, taking out a bowl of porridge.

" I don't eat human food," Sesshoumaru snarled.

" Now you will," the miko answered bluntly, using one hand to force open his mouth, another to feed the porridge to him. Knowing that he could not put up such a struggle without looking very idiotic, all Sesshoumaru could do was to willingly finish the food.

The sun rose and fell, day and night rotated many times in a never-ending cycle. Each day, the miko would come and tend to Sesshoumaru's wounds, then feed him some food before she left. Sesshoumaru had soon gotten used to her company, and found time without her more and more unbearable although he dared not mention it, or rather he still didn't dare to ask for the miko's name, not wishing to expose his interest in her. The days came and went swiftly, and soon Sesshoumaru was about to completely recover. All he could hope for was to see the miko's countenance with his own eyes.

On one such day, the miko cleansed off the old poultices, and without putting on any new herbs, she removed the ribbon tying her hair to wrap it around the taiyoukai's eyes.

" Your eyes have pretty much recovered, but they are still very sensitive, so hopefully the ribbon will block out some of the sunlight," the miko explained as she took her leave.

" You'll return tomorrow right? Not as if I care..." Sesshoumaru asked as the miko cut him off.

" I have to come back to pick up that ribbon anyway right, since you said you hated human things," the miko said with a smile before she disappeared into the woods.

Fifty long years had passed...

But the miko never returned...

To the place where the taiyoukai had left his heart behind...

Sesshoumaru stared off towards the fields where Jaken and Rin were chasing each other around under the moonlight. He shifted his gaze towards Mount Hakurei in the distance where thick mist clouded over the tops of the ancient woods, so thick, so deep that it covered the ground in an endless blanket of green.

" Deep, like the forest from fifty years ago," Sesshoumaru whispered, the breeze carrying his words far, far away into the distance.

Motoko Aoyama: Okay, that was the prologue, and it didn't really go into the main plot yet, but it will get there in the first real chapter. Sesshoumaru seemed a bit...weak in the prologue, but that is only because he was badly injured, so in the latter chapters, he will be much like how he is portrayed in the anime, at least I hope so. Please be so kind as to leave a review behind, be it constructive criticism, a question, or a note saying you've read this. As long as it is not a flame, I'll accept it. Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it!