Hateshiganai Kyuuka Koigokoro
By: TheDisasterousChibi
Chapter One: Meeting, Morals and Monsters
It was a beautiful day like all the others in this land, the sun was rising and with its light warmed the earth and awoke the flowers who opened there petals to greet the morning in hopes of being caressed by the glowing warmth of the day.
The Miko, Kagome, had awoken to greet the morning and to cleanse herself from all worldly attachments through the bathing ritual as she had done every morning, since she was but a child. All miko's went through this ritual everyday, Kagome thought this was to be a private moment between herself and nature so she shunned the public ritual baths that the other mikos would partake in.
Today was another average day for the young Head Miko in training, many saw her wish to spend her life in prayer and chastity a waste of such a pretty face. Orphaned at the age of seven Kagome had been sent to the convent as no relative could afford to take her in.
Knowing nothing but life in a shrine greatly influence the young woman's choice of becoming a priestess. Caring, selfless, loving, and accepting Kagome was a favorite among the woman of the village and also a prime candidate for the spot of High Priestess.
Early morning, with its simplicity and tranquility; as the world had yet to awake, was Kagome's favorite time of day, it gave her time to bask in the sun, appreciate nature, and it gave her the solitude and privacy-a rare thing when on lives with twenty other women.
Walking in the woods Kagome followed a familiar path, a path so voyaged, that flora no longer had the ability to grow on, it was a narrow uneven line of dirt, rich with its dark color-it smelled of rain and something that was distinctly earth. The damp earth glistened with the morning dew, the petals of flowers sparkled with their liquid diamonds.
Listing to the birds singing there melodious songs, the small pitter patter of the small animals climbing trees, collecting for the winter that was to come, even though it was summer. The smell of grass was thick in the air, inhaling deeply Kagome noted that she could also smell the lake water up ahead. Nature had diverted her train of though from her cleansing bath to the wonder of life all around her.
Seeing the rushing blue water of the lake Kagome was, no matter how many times she had seen it, struck by the seen of serenity and peace that was the clearing. Encased by sentinel trees and bushes the lakes water was so clear that the fine light colored sand at the bottom was visible even when Kagome bent down to test the waters temperature.
The cool silky touch of the water was a relief from the hot sun beating on her with clothed back, though it was early it promised to be an incredibly unforgiving scorcher of a day.
Letting her senses search out the area, connecting her to all the nature surrounding her Kagome did not detected any threat near, none but the animals where awake at this time.
Reassuring herself that nothing could surprise her, Kagome began to remove her white haori and the blue hakama, her version of the miko uniform.
Her wrappings she did not remove just yet, sinking into the refreshing lake water Kagome leaned her back against a bolder and rested; enjoying the quiet while it lasted. Today was the Festival of Love, miko's, who could not participate in the events where expected to be present, as body guards if you will against youkai.
The Festival of Love was held each summer, in this festival a man would present a woman with a gift, something she could wear, of courtship if his intensions were noble and his plan marriage. Kagome, loved the decorations; loud and colorful and clothing that women would deem this day worthy enough to wear-the best they had.
Dancing and food also accompanied the festival, special treats such as flavored shaved ice, sweet cakes, and many other wonderful treats were made available for all people. On this day no one paid for food, generosity was said to improve one's chance at a good harmonious marriage.
So preoccupied, was Kagome, with her musings and the feel of the water that she had not noticed the powerful and bestial youkai aura that had approached the lake at such a speed that the braches of trees quaked at its velocity -nor the smell of blood
Survive
Regroup
Revenge
The only thoughts occupying the youkai's pain engulfed mind. The pain had brought out his primal side, his survival instincts, his baser half-the beast.
Trees blended together in his sight as he pushed his beaten and bloody body past its limit and beyond. The youkai who had ambushed him were giving chase, though their speed could not match his, even when he was injured. Normally the panther clan were taken care of easily enough individually, but as a unit they were quite dangerous especially now that it was so close to mating season. Many youkai became stronger at this time do to the beasts influence as it remained just under the surface, the price for power how ever was the lost of their more rational mind.
Many youkai died when they transformed into there full youkai form because the beast did not know the meaning of surrender and fought until the end; which ever end that may be.
He, the new Lord of the Western land, was called Sesshoumaru and despite the excruciating pain, if the look of his injuries were anything to go by, his patrician face remained emotionless.
' lose them'
Thought the Inu Tai Youkai as he continued to race along the forest floor. Catching the sent of water to his left the inu made a sharp turn, skidding and stirring up the dirt and grass of the forest floor, made his way to the sent.
'Lose…scent…in…water'
Running in such an bad condition had left Sesshoumaru no choice but to allow his beast to gain more and more control as his energy was drained. Bursting through the foliage the youkai jumped into the lake in hopes of washing the blood off of himself as fast as possible. The beast had so much control over the usually observant and controlled inu youkai that he failed to notice a small detail; the lake was occupied at the moment.
Mentally cursing in a way unbefitting of a miko, Kagome scolded herself for once again not bringing her bow with her. Without her bow, her primary weapon, Kagome was virtually defenseless for the proximity that would be required for her holy powers to be beneficial in hand to hand was well near suicidal.
Chastising her self once again, Kagome evaluated her situation. She was naked, except for her binding and underclothes, weaponless, and impossibly out numbered.
'All I need is some rain and thunder for the day to be perfect' sarcastically thought Kagome.
Cerulean eyes took in the form of the youkai's in her presence. There where five panther youkai, dark skinned, haired and eyed, the hunting clan was composed of all males. Each were hissing and snarling at the youkai that had just moments ago nearly given Kagome a heart attack when had busted from behind the buses.
The male in the lake was covered in blood, the water only served to spread it until it seemed his skin was crimson. His hair, also stained red by blood held twigs and dirty; signs of a struggle. His clothes which may once have been white were stained pink and red by the same substance that coated the rest of his body.
Obviously the blood covered youkai had been attacked by the hunting pack for some reason, he probably thought that the water would wash away the scent of his blood; it may have but the panthers caught up with him within a minute of his arrival at the lake.
'What should I do help the injured one and try to take out only the panthers or take them all out?'
Eyes rapidly shifted from the injured youkai to the hunting party, with her mind made up Kagome went about in carrying out her decision; help the injured one.
Moving quickly before she had time to talk herself out of her decision Kagome now stood in front of the injured youkai in a protective stance. Had she not taken a vow upon becoming a miko that she would help the weak and defend the helpless. Perhaps the elders had not meant help youkai, but who to help had never been specified in her vows.
For the first time Sesshoumaru took notice of the creature that had occupied the lake before his arrival. Long wet black hair fell in waves down a sun kissed back, full hips and long legs that were hidden by the water were the only features he could see since her back was turned to him, noting her stance the inu let out a low threatening growl
'Bitch…need…learn…place' was the beast controlled thought of the Tai youkai.
Hearing the youkai growling behind her made Kagome rethink her idea for a moment.
'May be, she thought he wasn't so defenseless'
Not daring to look back Kagome grounded her self as best she could in the lakes bottom and clasped her hand in a prayer position.
Closing her eyes Kagome began to chant " purotekuto, junsei, sa-kuru," a blue light encased the young miko's hands her soft chant never rose in volume but as her energy gathered the glow grew in brilliance and intensity.
"Unless you want to be nothing but a pile of ash I suggest you stand behind me" Kagome did not turn her head but knew the youkai had followed her order when she felt his body heat on her back.
Even with her protective shield in place Kagome did not stop chanting, the more she chanted the more energy the barrier between her and the panther demons would have.
The panthers were not simple minded, even in there animal form, they circled the barrier, occasionally testing it for a weakness, which resulted in smoking paws and small yelps of pain. Seeing that the barrier had no weakness the panthers, in sleek and graceful strides, regrouped at the front of the barrier, to face the miko.
The air grew even thicker as the lead panther began to gather energy for something unknown to Kagome, yoki clashed with holy power even in the air, as if both could not exits together even in this form.
A blinding glow of purple light was all Kagome saw of the panther, but as the glow faded it was not the sleek animal that greeted her sight but rather a handsome man who looked no older then the youkai Kagome had pressed on her back.
Narrowing her eyes in in an attempt to concentrate, which was surprisingly difficult with the hard chest and labored breathing of a seven foot youkai at your back, not to mention the smell of blood that was all but consuming her surrounding area, Kagome kept her eyes on the black haired youkai in front of her?
'If I don't get rid of these guys soon then the white youkai will not survive and all this energy and effort will all be in vain'
"Miko, do you know who you protect inside your holy cocoon?" the honey coated tenor of the panther youkai sounded like a mothers lullaby, it carried comfort and security, but Kagome knew its promise of safety was all a ruse.
"No and I don't particularly care, now please leave this place before I call all the mikos at the temple to come to my aid. I don't wish any harm upon any of you" Kagome tried to reason with the youkai before her.
What she got for her efforts were raspy growls that sounded a lot like laughter. That and a devilish smirk from the leader of the Panthers.
"Now, now Miko, we don't want to involve any of your sisters in this now do we. What would they say if they found you, in cohorts with a youkai, partially naked." as if to emphasize his statement the youkai gave Kagome's body a long once over.
'I hadn't thought of that before'
"Just who are you?" questioned Kagome, hoping to buy time to arrange her thoughts.
With a mocking bow and the sweep of an arm the youkai introduced himself. "I am Kiten Suterusu, of the Southern Queens guard. And you Miko, just who might you be?"
"I'm Higurashi Kagome, Head Priestess Of The Shikon Temple." mustering as much confidence and authority as she could into that little white lie Kagome kept her gaze looked to the captivating eyes of Suterusu.
"Oh Head Priestess of the Shikon Temple, then your sisters will be greatly shamed to have such a disgraceful leader." despite his mocking tone Kagome saw Suterusu stiffen when he hear which temple she was from.
Kagome knew she would have a lot to explain but her sisters would not deny her aid for the mere fact she was in a youkai's presence. They did, after all, except Inuyasha's presence. That and being a candidate for Head Priestess had its perks.
Kagome began to smile and opened her mouth to retort when the sound of water splashing, and the sudden lack of heat at her back, was noticed. She turned her head back to see that the white youkai had collapsed onto his knees, his breathing was erratic. His once white haori was now scarlet.
"It seems your friend is not doing so well miko. Now I will tell you this once more, put down your barrier and let us have him or you will face a fate worse then his." Suterusu demanded.
'I have no choice. Kami-sama please let this be the right path.'
Kagome closed her eyes and set her hands in a prayer position, she focused and gathered her holy powers, making a pillar of light, a pink so light it was almost white. The pillar of light was a signal to all Mikos around that one of their own was in danger and was requesting aid. By the color of her aura the Mikos of the Temple would know it was she who was calling.
"Girl you have just made an enemy in the Queen of the Southern Lands. Your bravery was foolish. I can promise that we will meet again." with a last green eyed glare Suterusu and his panther pack were gone as quickly as they came.
Kagome couldn't help but notice that Suterusu's last glare was not one of complete anger, but one of pity and sorrow as well.
The sound of running footsteps brought Kagome back from her musings of the last green eyed stare of the Kiten Suterusu.
"Kagome-san" came the chorused calling of her sisters. They were near soon they would arrive at the clearing that she called her own.
Calling her power back Kagome let the barrier dissolve, with the last bit of power retreating into her being she heaved a long sigh. Another splash reminded Kagome of the reason she had erected the barrier in the first place.
The white youkai had lost conscious, he laid with in the cool waters grasp, silver hair moved in a halo around his face, with was still distorted by pain. The water around him began to turn pink from the blood in his clothing and the wound on his chest. His hair had also begun to gain a pink tint, Kagome began to panic.
A chest wound she could handle just fine, but a head wound was much more difficult, she didn't know what damage it could have done to his mind, especially since his inner beast seemed to be in control, if the ruby red eyes she had seen where anything to go by.
Kagome knelt by the silver haired youkai and lifted his head as gently and slowly as she could out of the water and cradle it on her bent legs. It was not the most comfortable of positions but she could stand the cramping until her sisters arrived to help her carry him.
'Carry him where? Youkai can't pass through the barrier that surrounds the Temple unless he's very powerful or allowed to.'
Seeing as the white youkai was unconscious it didn't matter how powerful he was if he couldn't concentrate his power. So that left only one option; she had to convince the Miko Council to let him into the safety of the barrier.
It wasn't going to be easy.
"Kagome-sama we're here, what's the trouble." running in her direction was Tategami Kashikoi, a miko in training who had much more experience then Kagome, but not enough raw power to be a match. She was the Head Healer of the Temple.
Her light brown pony tail trailed behind her as she ran to reach Kagome, her childhood friend, her green specked hazel eyes showed concern for her friend as well as surprise at the youkai currently in said friends lap. The other Mikos followed close behind
"Kashikoi-chan help me with him, he's to heavy for me to support alone." to prove her point Kagome grabbed the white youkai from under his arms and tried to hall him out of the water.
She Failed.
Miserably.
With a resounding splash Kagome ended up with her butt in the water and the back of a youkai's head nestled deeply between her thighs, soft hair tickling and a caressing the soft peach colored skin there.
Not Comfortable for a Miko.
At the light giggle Kashikoi let out Kagome blushed cheery red.
"This isn't funny he's badly hurt Kashi-chan, we need to get him to the Temple."
All around Kagome there where surprised gasps. Like she knew there would be, but what could she do? She hadn't done all that just to let the white youkai die here. No creature of Kami's would die under her watch unless absolutely unavoidable.
"Okay Kagome-sama" Kashikoi was surprised but knew that Kagome would not relent she had seen that look in her eyes before. It was the same one she had when she had rescued the orphaned fox kit Shippo from the Thunder Brothers.
Several other Mikos of all shapes, colors and sizes came to help the Head Miko candidate lift the absurdly heavy white youkai. They each, some gently and some with disgust, lifted a limb and helped carry the youkai back to the temple.
It wasn't a long walk normally, but carrying a youkai that seemed to weigh a ton did nothing but hinder the mikos on their journey. What a sight it must have made, five Mikos, each at an arm and leg while Kagome supported his head.
Rather comical if one could ignore the amount of blood the youkai was shedding.
Despite their heavy load the Mikos reached the Temple in record time, the stone steps of the Temple where a dark gray, the red gates stood tall in case of a human attack. The holy barrier enclosed the Shikon Temple in a massive pink globe.
Kagome knelt in front of the barrier and bowed so that her forehead touched the dirt road that lead to the Temple steps. She rose after paying her deepest respect to the Temple barrier erected so long ago by the founding Head Priestess Midoriko.
The barrier that protected the temple and that could be expanded to protect all of the Western Lands was powered by the Shikon No Tama and the power of the Head Priestess, Priestess Mame as it was at this time, that wielded it. It recognized all of the candidates for Head Priestess and obeyed their commands until a definitive one was chosen.
Then it would obey none but her.
"I, Kagome Higurashi, one of the chosen, wish to allow safe passed of this youkai into the Shikon Temple."
For a moment nothing happened, the barrier stood unwavering, impenetrable, and then it began to slowly fade creating an arc way for the Mikos to carry in the youkai, which they quickly did and began to head to the infirmary.
Giving the barrier a deep bow Kagome raced up the steps to report to the council what she had done. Our poor heroine did not know the havoc and chaos her white youkai was about to unleash on the medical wing.
Vocabulary:
purotekuto: protect
Junsei: pure
sa-kuru: circle
Suterusu: Stealth
Kiten: Clever
Kashikoi: Wise
Tategami: Lioness
Mame: Devoted
A/N: Hello readers, thanks for tunning in to H.K.K for your entertaingment. Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Remember the two R's of fanfiction: Reand AND Review