Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, this is but a humble fanfic. :)
Chapter 1 - Peace
Cold had consumed her senses. There was not much else to feel, but the cold. Her pain had long ago fled, nothing more than a bitter memory now lost in a world filled with snow. Images of her past sometimes fought their way to the surface... the fleeting image of a beautiful woman with dark hair and pale skin, the forgotten smell of lavender. Other, darker memories rose as well. She pushed them away.
Her kimono was more than ragged. It hung in tattered shreds, failing to conceal the wide purple scars that banded her flesh. She didn't notice. Each snowflake was its own little masterpiece, intricately carved, beautiful beyond compare. There was nothing left to understand... nothing she wanted to understand anyway. All she wanted was the snow, because the snow was sweet oblivion.
Her long copper hair fanned out like bright flames on the snow around her, but it would get buried eventually. Everything would get buried eventually. And then she could sleep. She was so tired.
Her breathing was shallow and slow now. Each exhale took her to a strange sort of limbo, where she felt just about as close to slipping away as she did to taking that next breath. It felt gentle to die there, caressed by snowflakes until the end. She began to let go of her consciousness, or maybe it began to let go of her. She was grateful. Her memories would die with her.
A bright light shattered her haze. Too bright. It drew her attention away from the snow. Her weary eyes closed, attempting to block it out. She had thought she heard a voice, but that must have been untrue. If she refused to acknowledge it, it would become untrue. But this voice would not go away. It slipped into her mind with ease, and her consciousness rose to fight the foreign invader.
"You will not die."
Anger rose in her like bile, but she was incapable of speech.
"You cannot die."
Once again she attempted to talk, but the only thing that resulted was a frightful cough that shook her entire body.
"Rise."
There was nothing but the bright light. She shivered violently as a hand was placed on her brow. It wasn't warm, nor was it cold, but her skin reacted fiercely. Yet just as suddenly as she had felt it, the sensation was gone and she was back to blissful numbness.
"You will rise."
The voice was quite firm this time. And this time there was action. She was quite sure it was not of her own doing, but she rose. The snow shook off of her as she coughed again, this time suspended in midair, toes barely scraping the snow.
"You have not yet fulfilled your purpose."
This time anger fully acknowledged itself, and it became as menacing and beautiful as the cold. A thought registered in her brain. And who are you to say such a thing…Even as a thought it was feeble, and though it was not voiced, could not be voiced, there was a reply.
"I am your father, and I am restoring your health." The voice did not wait for a reaction. "You are no ordinary human. Remember who you are."
Her entire body began to warm, but the warmth was unwelcome, and more shivers followed.
"There can come no ordinary death for you. Do not wish for such a thing. You must complete your purpose. Then, and only then, may you leave this world."
The voice and light vanished, and she fell gently to her feet. She was left painfully conscious. Gone was the numbness, the emptiness. Her memories flooded back, with a tide of emotion that brought her to her knees. She didn't feel the tears when they began, but saw them as they hit the blood soaked snow beneath her. Remember who I am...? She sobbed, "I'm Addin. My mother named me Addin." And with the memory of her mother she pushed angrily to her feet, wiping away her tears with shaky hands. She threw her gaze to the sky, and may have cursed her fate, had she not been jarred back to immediate reality by the sound of footsteps in the snow...