"There is no such thing as a pure wish," she sighed, "Only a life of pain and suffering..."
Her voice, solemn and sad, rang in the hollow ears of the survivors.
"Peace in this world means chaos in another," She said, "So choose, warriors, will you protect another world in exchange for your happiness?"
"Oh-Lady Midrioko, no, Lady Fate, I would rather die than to relive what I went through," a girl adorned with a tattered skin tight body suit cried, "It has been four years with my hands stained with innocent blood and the death of my loved ones. Please lay me to rest in the heavens."
"Sango!" A choked sob rang out from a raven-haired girl, "Oh my god, Sango, no..."
"Kagome, I cannot do this anymore. My spirit and heart are too weak to go on. I long for all this to end. Goodbye, Sister," She turned her brown eyes towards everyone else, "Thank you all."
The blood from her wounds slowly started flowing again, combining with the black crimson lake that pooled on the ground. The raven-haired girl gripped her hands tightly and rocked back and forth. The others stared upon them with sympathy.
"Your desire shall be granted," The glowing figure gestured to the now dead woman, "Does anyone else wish to be laid in peace?"
The godly figure stared at a man tattoed with a star on his forehead. He gripped his blood splattered weapon tightly and stepped forward, his thickly corded braid swaying in the wind.
"I have no one left, but I am selfish," He kept his emotions in check, "I want to live. It has been... our goal to live as brothers. But now I am the only one left, but I still wish to live even if it is only I."
She nodded in understanding.
"End my misery- I've done my duty to the Shikon no Tama and protected this world from Naraku. I'm bound no longer to protect another," the raven-haired girl suddenly burst out crying, "My family is dead, and I have no one else to love and cherish. I-"
"Miko Kagome Higurashi, you poor, poor child. I truly pity you. You will and are forever bound to time," Lady Fate said, "You have no other choice. Unless the Shikon no Tama truly disappears, then you have to endure the pain and suffering time will inflict on you."
The raven-haired girl nodded brokenly, the once stubborn fire in her eyes gone.
"To keep peace in this world, you must defeat the evil in the other. I wish you the best of luck warriors, as you will all die as heroes today and live on as legends."
"Die?" A demon turned his sharp maroon eyes to her, "Explain, Lady Fate."
"Lord Sesshomaru," She turned towards the other figures, "Miko Kagome Higurashi. Merchant Bankotsu. You will all disappear from Feudal Japan today and reappear in a few years, born anew and memories wiped clean until you meet each other. Your mission to rid the world of evil."
The demon snarled, his silver hair whipping from his face, "Lady Fate, I do not wish to be included in this... Ridiculousness."
"You have no choice, demon," Lady Fate sighed, "It is death or this."
The once prideful demon quieted down, too tired to fight, but was bound to the mission by his need to survive.
"Goodluck."
Kagome screamed.
"Honey," Black hair entered her view, "Are you okay?"
"M-Mom," Fat tears rolled down the young girl's cheeks.
"Kagome, sweetie, you're okay," A black-haired woman patted her hands on the girl's head.
"M-mom." The little girl cried, clutching a dog plushie, "T-They were hurt again, a-and-"
Fat drops rolling down her chubby cheeks. The woman hugged her daughter in sympathy and combed through the girl's soft, raven hair with her slender fingers. The young girl's breathing came out in gasps and she tried to talk.
"Shh," The woman soothed, "They don't exist. You're okay."
"B-But they're so real," The girl hiccuped, "I-I don't remember their names, but I-I felt like I w-was there. T-They were my friends. And-"
Her voice became too muffled to hear and the woman pulled her daughter in closer, "Sweetie, nothing is going to hurt you."
"No!" The girl pulled back, "It's not me I-I'm worried about, i-it's them!"
"Shhh... They'll be okay."
Her daughter suddenly stilled in her arms and shifted. Her watery, exotic blue eyes fixated on her mother. The woman had chills run down her back, and goosebumps lined themselves up on her thin arms.
"I feel so, so empty."
Bankotsu woke up in a river of sweat. His fingers scratched at the invisible hands choking his throat.
"No..."
There was a gaping, empty hole in his heart and missing pieces in his brain. He wanted to claw his eyes out, but even if he did, he knew that he would keep reliving those scenes. Those bloody, bloody scenes.
God, whenever he closed his eyes, he could see the broken body of a black haired girl, covered in dark red human blood. He could see the limbless form of a once majestic silver haired man, bleeding out in the cold rain.
He knew that he had to find something-something-anything before it was too late.
The cold rain splattered softly against his body, reminding him of the splatters of warm blood.
The boy shifted his stoic gaze at the wall.
It was the same dream that plagued his nights. The screaming, the crying, the begging, the laughing. He couldn't get it out of his mind. The intense blue eyes surrounded by coal colored eyelashes. The tattoo of a star, imprinted on tan skin.
Not ten minutes after he had awoken, a small pop echoed throughout the room.
"Master, why is you up? You is supposed to be sleeping," A small voice croaked out.
The voice came from a creature, barely half the size of his height. It had large, floppy ears and doelike green eyes shining with adoration. It was clothed in tattered fabric- rags. The boy tilted his head slightly with a frown.
"Just nightmares, Teekey."
"Young Master should know that Teekey has to report you to her other Masters. Your parents is very worried about you, Young Master."
The boy inhaled sharply and exhaled, "Teekey, this Sesshomaru wishes to relieve himself in the lavatory. Please do not worry about me."
"Whatever Master wishes are Teekey's commands. Teekey will check back on you in an hour."
With another crack, the creature disappeared from his room. The boy slowly rose from his plush bed and walked stiffly to his bathroom. His white silk robes did nothing to shield him from the chilly temperatures of his room, but he paid no attention to his own shivering.
For some reason, he had no trouble seeing in the dark. Something about being blessed and his pureblood family heritage, his parents' doctors had said, to have the ability to see in the dark and the ability to hear conversations a mile away. It didn't help that he had strange, maroon cheek markings.
They said it was because his father came from the prestigious Salazar Slytherin bloodline and his mother was a descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw.
And for some reason, he knew that these traits didn't come from being in a royal bloodline.
Golden eyes stared at him, rimmed with red and swimming with unshed tears.
The feeling of hopelessness clawed at his heart.