"Kagome Higurashi. The Shikon Miko. Age eighteen. Born March second. Blood type AB. She disappears from her home and school for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. Returning for short periods, she always restocks an overused, yellow backpack." Sensui read from a black, leather bound book in which Itsuki had gathered their intelligence on new psychics created by the burgeoning tunnel to Demon World.
Resoundingly snapping the book shut, he shook his head before flipping it onto the nearby couch with a nonchalance that absolutely oozed control. "This one isn't to your usual standard, Itsuki. I'd be disappointed if I weren't intrigued. So, tell me, what else do you know of this, Kagome?" The madman's head tilted to the side in a curious pose. "This one doesn't sound much like one of the new psychics from Mushiyori."
A warm and welcoming blue hue alit within and surrounded the bone eater's well, preceding the arrival of its sole traveller, a certain miko known as Kagome. Upon arriving, the young woman let out a relieved sigh before throwing her overladen yellow pack up and out of the crevasse with a monumental effort on her part before she grabbed onto the aging wood of the well and heaved her own body up and out. Once she'd reached the top, she lost her footing, but rotated her body weight in such a way as to force herself toppling onto the roughly hewn earthen floor that surrounded the dry well rather than back down where, undoubtedly, her ankles would have protested an unplanned landing on the bottom of the dry well. She scrambled back to her feet, letting out a huff of annoyance as she brushed the dirt from her already beaten and battered school uniform. She pursed her lips, remembering that she'd need to ask to replace the thinning garments soon. Yet another strain to beg of her single mother. Quickly scooping up her backpack, she resolved to ignore the issue for now and, instead, enjoy some time with her family. Finally, she stepped up the antiquated stairs leading out of the small, tidy building. That is, until a jolt of pain struck the back of her neck, followed by darkness.
Kagome awoke to pain in her neck and shoulders. It ached badly, and she moved to attempt to loosen her muscles with a hand only to discover that they were bound together behind her prone body. This struck her as odd. She didn't feel like she was laying down, but, surely, she must be. Leaving her eyes closed in order to avoid alerting any guard to her consciousness, she experimentally pulled at the hempen bindings, only managing to rub the sensitive skin on her wrists slightly raw with the fibrous material. Panic struck, settling into place in her chest like a brick, making her stomach reel as adrenaline surged through her veins. Now, she was outwardly moving and writhing, finding that even her ankles were bound with the rope. In defeat, she opened her eyes, giving up on attempting to escape her situation for the time being and deciding that assessing the situation at hand would be the best course.
When her eyes opened, the world around her was nothing but a blur of shapes and colors for the briefest of moments, more details arriving as her brain processed the new input in overload mode until she was able to make out even the minutest of details all around her. A gasp left her lips once she realized what she was seeing, taking it all in, in mere seconds. She couldn't decide if she didn't believe or couldn't believe her own eyes as she searched the endless horizon before her. Kagome found herself surrounded by the nothingness of a starry expanse so vast that it seemed to go on forever. Yet, she had been here for some time, breathing safely and easily. Even more importantly, she wasn't weightless like she was taught to expect. She, for lack of a better term, hovered in her space, but, she very clearly felt that a sort of gravity pulled her towards an invisible 'floor'. It almost felt like her own mind chose to believe that there were forces letting her feel a solid mass.
Soon, she managed to wiggle herself into an upright, sitting position, and, easily from there, she stood in the faux gravitation. Turning, she found two massive window like spheres that opened up into what she assumed must be the real world beyond wherever or whatever this place was. She found herself grateful that she hadn't needed to execute any overly acrobatic moves in order to bring herself upright, imagining herself attempting to do one of the arching jumps that Sango had tried to teach her and failing with bound arms sounded painful and downright fruitless. Then again, perhaps, this strange terrain would have allowed her the freedom to choose the platform on which her feet could land. Shrugging, to herself, she supposed that she would never know.
'Walking' towards the strange viewing glasses towards the real world, she struggled to believe that she was not actually moving her legs. She felt so light and airy in this space it felt more like floating rather than anything. Once she had reached the pseudo window, Kagome realized that she wasn't just looking at anything, but she was viewing her own home. Now that she was close enough, she was even able to look down and out at her family sitting around the dinner table. If she'd been able to do so, she would have face palmed. Now that she thought about it, the look of the kitchen area should have been so obvious.
Kagome was certain that she'd arrived in early afternoon at her childhood home, and, now, it was quite clearly evening, given that the other three Higurashi's were sitting and chatting over dinner. Looking down on her family members, Kagome couldn't help but notice that the group looked so obviously happy, and, in that moment, a part of her broke, knowing that, if she never returned from her journey to the past or even this strange ordeal, the household would be fine, even move on, without her. Kagome had always seen herself as an integral part of the Higurashi clan. Now, it seemed like, in her absence, they'd found new roles in order to make up for her absence.
On the other side of the looking glass, the doorbell must have rang. However, she was unable to hear it. Given that she hadn't been able to hear any of the conversation from the other side, this confirmed for her that, wherever this was, either held no sound or could only hear and be heard from within it. The priestess watched with interest as her mother wiped her face and placed her chopsticks on the edge of her plate before excusing herself to check on the door.
Kagome expected to continue watching the table, but, instead, the screen, or whatever, intelligently switched. Instead, showing her a view of the front door. She watched as her mother straightened her clothing, making it presentable before methodically unlocking and opening the front door. Once the portal swung open, the audio suddenly kicked in, and Kagome could now hear the scene that she was viewing. Her shoulders instantly dropped, the tenseness in her muscles loosening near instantly. She hadn't even realized that she'd stiffened up. Her mama gasped as she opened the somewhat creaky wooden door only to find a man with obvious demonic features, unnatural teal hair and golden eyes chief among them. His shoulders hunched over slightly, and, in both hands, he brandished a vase of white roses.
"Oh, my!" Her mother exclaimed, taking in the demon's visage quickly, and discernibly gulping. "Thank you, young man, but, if you don't mind my asking, to what do I owe the visit? You look… very much like a friend of my daughter's."
The demon looked into her mother's eyes, muted expression falling to one of transparent sadness. "Am I to assume, then, that you are the mother of Miss Kagome Higurashi?" He inquired without answering her mother's question. Without a moment's hesitation, her mother answered in the affirmative, a look of dread crossed her face as a hand moved to cover her mouth in horror. She already expected what the demon was about to say. "Ma'am, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm here to inform you that your daughter won't be returning from her special trip this time."
Immediately, tears sprang to life in the Higurashi progenitor's eyes her other hand moved to cover her mouth as a silent shriek was muffled in that same instant. Shimmering trails of tears spilled over her lids, and the liquid smeared the elder woman's makeup. She finally removed her fingers from her lips after a long moment, stuttering along, utterly struggling to find the correct words in her moment of sorrow. "You mean… she- she's, my baby girl. K-kagome's… gone?" Her voice broke on the final word, and her body dangerously wavered in her place, threatening to topple over.
The golden eyes of the demon looked down at the varnished wooden floors and stayed there for almost too long before he nodded a short, jerking nod that did nothing but confirm the grim truth for the now mourning mother. "Unfortunately, yes, she is, ma'am." He looked up, eyes shaking with barely concealed emotion. "But, she… I'm told that the Shikon Miko fell in the final battle against Naraku. Your daughter, she died a hero; she saved the world, Mrs. Higurashi."
Her mama was full on sobbing now, just barely holding back from entirely losing her grip on reality. She quietly thanked the demon for delivering the necessary yet morbid news, closing the door behind her and locking it with a firm click before falling to her knees and letting out a loud, heartbreaking screech of pent up emotion in one single cry. Kagome's chest tightened in that instant, and tears began to stream down her face. At this precise moment, the spherical 'windows' Kagome had just been using to view the outside world snapped shut with such speed that it sent the young priestess reeling backwards in the strange, starry pseudo space.
"No!" Kagome shrieked until her voice box hurt and began to feel scratchy with the effort as emotion began to swell and wretched, offensive salty tears streamed down her cheeks making them red with streaks. "Mom! Don't listen. Don't… He's- he's lying. I'm here. I'm-" Kagome grew quiet as the realization that her mother could not hear her struck, her body stiffening, and an eerie calm fell over her demeanor just as the same demon she'd just seen speaking with her mother appeared before her in the bizarre extradimensional space she'd found herself within. Kagome cleared her strained throat, wincing as she did so. "What did you do?!" She bewailed, her own voice failing her despite her numerous questions and torrent of clashing emotions.
The man remained stoic, simply tilting his head to the side as if he were curious about something. "Hello, Shikon Miko. Do I have your attention?" He inquired softly, not indicating that any harm would befall her, but still oozing the confidence of someone used to the act of killing and the sight of death. "You will listen carefully. Otherwise, I will return to your former residence and demonstrate to you the power of a demon much stronger than that pathetic half breed Naraku.
The ground beneath her shook, drawing the sleeping priestess from her slumber. Stretching and wiping her eyes, she decided that this tremor was the strongest that she'd experienced during her extended stay within the underground tunnel system. She'd been living down here for several weeks, forcefully, ever since the effeminate demon, Itsuki, had tricked her family into believing that she'd died in the feudal era. As it turns out, however, Itsuki was like her- just a pawn in somebody else's chess game. An expendable piece, but Kagome wasn't expendable; she wouldn't let herself be. The real ringleader behind it all was a man known as Black Angel, a certain Shinobu Sensui, whose multiple personalities bespoke of the madness within him. Every conversation she had with the former Spirit Detective, made her question her own morals, even though she knew without a shadow of a doubt that the man was unhinged.
The true lunacy of the man boiled down to his end goal, which he'd told her on one overconfident night towards the beginning of her imprisonment. Sensui explained to her that, during the feudal era, holy people were practically ruling class because there were demons living amongst humans. However, in modern times, there was now a barrier that separated the demons from humans, and Spirit World either trapped or compelled a team of spiritually endowed humans to kill any offending demons who broke the laws of Demon World and ventured into the realms of humans. In her own way, Kagome surmised that this barrier was the catalyst to so few humans having access to Spiritual or Holy energies in this day and age, and, with Spirit World ordering people to actually kill demons on the wrong side of the barrier, she honestly wondered if there was a moral high ground on either side of the argument. Killing to protect and killing to feed. Both could easily be considered noble in their own way, but would she fight against Sensui or would she allow his plan to follow through? Did humans deserve to be saved? She'd seen some atrocities during her lifetime thanks to her time travel, and it became difficult to rectify the kindness of the many versus the horrors the few committed during her time with the sociopath.
What concerned her mind the most now was that her family thought she'd died, and Inuyasha hadn't come searching for her after all this time. She had to assume that the well closed during her lamentable absence. The only other option that came to mind regarded Itsuki, the terrible, threatening demon who'd kidnapped her. He possessed certain powers, including the ability to actually open the portal from Human World to Demon World. Perhaps, his powers sealed the Bone Eater's well. For at least the hundredth time since her internment, she reached for the shards of the Shikon Jewel in the bottle around her neck, assuring herself that they were still safely within her care.
As she tucked the bauble back under the blouse of her school uniform, soft footsteps grew closer from the tunnels deeper within the cave system, drawing her attention from within to without. "Good morning, Shinobu." She greeted stiffly, not really knowing one way or another whether it was day or night outside since she'd been interned underground for so long.
"Greetings, Kagome. Our compatriots tell me that Spirit World has sent their Spirit Detective team to eliminate the threat to human world." He paused for a long moment, waiting to see if she would react. When she refused to even move, he continued speaking, eyes sparkling with the same sinister mirth that she'd grown to expect from the dramatic Sensui. "Game Master will greet them first. If they make it through him, you are to delay them for as long as possible."
Kagome tightly nodded before moving to sit cross legged on the floor in a meditative position. Sensui stared for a moment as if trying to decide whether or not to speak once more. "If you let the group pass without a challenge," He waited for a long, foreboding moment, allowing the reality of his threats to sink in. He looked down to find the miko still seated in her meditative position, looking outwardly unshaken, but the villain knew that she was affected. There was no way she couldn't be. "I assure you that I will order your family's death without a single moment's hesitation. Do you understand?" He waited for a response, but, when he received none, he snorted and shook his head in disdain at the supposedly 'occupied' priestess. With measured steps, the scornful former Spirit Detective walked towards one of the tunnel entrances towards Game Master.
When Game Master's (otherwise known as Mitarai) life was taken, the woman's eyes opened. As a holy person, her energies were very much in tune with those of life and death. Tears dropped unbidden from her eyes, streaking her face briefly before she quickly swept them away, reeling in emotions and removing any possible signs of weakness from her countenance. Kagome had to be sure that her job was done well enough that both herself and her family would be spared by Sensui and his band of psychics. Unsure of exactly what to do besides wait, Kagome moved to the center of the earth and stone antechamber. She concentrated for a moment while she created two lilac hued barriers one surrounding herself and the other protecting the underground structure itself. In short order, a group made their way to the edge of the barrier, just outside of the medium sized chamber she had taken up residence in. Kagome's eyes swept over them at the same time her life energy sought their auras. Among them, she found one full demon, an aura with a strange half and half feel to it and two humans. All of them were male. She fought the urge to shake her head in overt frustration. There were hardly ever spiritually endowed women. She shouldn't be so surprised by that fact any more.
The taller of the two black haired boys with greasy slicked back hair stepped towards the front of the small four man group before inhaling a deep breath and calling loudly through the barrier she'd created to protect the cavern. "If you want to live, drop this shield right now you world destroying bitch!"
"Hey, Urameshi, you can't just threaten a lady like that. Can't you see what she's wearing? She's a priestess. Show some respect! You know as well as I do how rare holy people are anymore." The taller, ganglier redhead chided the other boy.
While the first team member turned to gripe at the second, the other one with long red hair and the vexing energy signature spoke up, his voice calm and collected despite the otherwise tense situation and the bickering of his two other teammates. "So, you are the psychic known as Gatekeeper? Your energy does not meet the same profile as the others' territories.
"I'm a priestess, not a psychic. Nor am I Gatekeeper." Kagome answered shortly, letting loose the smallest trickle of her aura, and letting the pulse move to strengthen the walls of energy she'd created earlier. The two team members with the discernable demonic energy backed away a step in mild trepidation as the pink hue grew noticeably brighter and more powerful.
From his new place, just one cautious step back from his previous location, the final member of the Spirit Detectives spoke. "Woman, you will remove this repulsive defense or else you will fall by my own hand."
Kagome lowered her blue eyed gaze at the the red eyed demon. His gaze was harsh, but, looking deeply within, she could see his resolve. This man never made any promises that he couldn't keep, and, if he promised her death, then, he meant it. What was worse, she could sense he had the power to follow through on the threat. Kagome was playing a part, though, so she openly scoffed. "If you think you can make it through unscathed, please be my guest, demon." The priestess answered with much more confidence than she felt.
A deadly sneer and the guttural grunt of, "Hn," were her only response.
After the two arguing team members finished their debate the small militia formed an impromptu huddle, secretly deliberating about how to overcome their current obstacle. Kagome could hear little of importance regarding their strategy and subtly strengthened her barriers, choosing protection over conserving energy. There was no way around this cavern that didn't cost them precious time that they didn't have, so the only answer that she could clearly see would be for them to break through. When the group finally broke formation, the brash boy with the slicked back hair was holding out his right hand in the shape of a finger gun, and a mass of spirit energy was becoming visible at the tip of his finger at an immensely rapid rate. The priestess fought the fight or flight urge to move, to run away; she knew her role, and, if she failed, Sensui would ensure her family's death in retaliation. So, instead of allowing her instincts to rule, she remained steadfast, drawing upon the life energies around her once more and forcing herself to strengthen the screen of life energy between herself and her pseudo enemies.
When finally the spiritual energy coming from the boy called Urameshi hit critical mass, the gun was fired with the battle cry, "Spirit Gun!"
It was at this moment that Kagome realized just how powerful this single Spirit Detective, Urameshi, was in the grand scheme of things. Hands down, he was the strongest human she'd ever encountered, and, even more importantly, he was as powerful, if not stronger than Naraku. She quickly siphoned more and more holy energy into the exterior barrier, weakening the interior one closest to her in order to lessen the required concentration. Within only seconds of the pressure of the blast beginning, a splitting headache burst into existence, and she gripped her temples in pain, attempting to maintain her composure despite the growing strain on her mental "muscles" so to speak. The attack lasted one agonizingly long minute, and the priestess, unused to fighting alone, struggled to focus nearly the entire time, focusing solely on the fact that she would likely lose her own life as well as losing her family's lives in the process.
The massive ball of crackling spirit energy eventually fizzled out, leaving only a slightly weakened holy shield and a panting Kagome in its wake. Beads of sweat dripped across her brow as she stood proudly in front of the team of Spirit Detectives. She'd never realized her own strength until this moment. Sure, she'd been aware of her abilities for some time, but never had they been tested so completely before. She glowered in the direction of the four boys, tilting her head to the side while sizing up the group further.
"Do you think you'll be leaving so soon?" She taunted with a haughty smirk, a confidence growing within her for the first time since she'd discovered her powers over two and a half years ago.
The tallest redhead took offense to this, and stepped forward daringly, shouting at what she assumed was the top of his lungs. "Hey, Lady! Do you understand that we're trying to stop the end of the world right now? Let us through already and we'll make sure you don't get hurt by the other guys."
Kagome rolled her eyes. As if her problems were that simple any more. Deep in her heart, she already knew that the Bone Eater's Well had closed the portal between times permanently. She'd failed her mission. Her only hope left was that she could protect her family still. She heard his plea to protect humanity, but, right now, all that mattered to her was her own family. She would choose to live with those consequences so long as they were safe. The priestess couldn't bring herself to speak. Replying to the loudmouthed Spirit Detective could only end badly for her. If they knew about her predicament, they would only attempt to help her. She couldn't live with herself, dragging another set of unfortunate misfits into her own problems, just like the feudal era, and she secretly vowed to herself that she wouldn't let that happen this time. The assistance wasn't worth the cost of others' lives.
After the redhead's impassioned speech, there was an eerie silence among the five occupants of the cavern. The human Spirit Detectives shuffled their feet in these quiet moments, but Kagome was so on edge, so tense that she remained unmoving, very much in control of her actions. Her emotions barely held contained under the surface of a stoic visage.
During this silence, an uncomfortable and near-instant nagging headache began at the back of her head. Enough to irritate her, but not enough to break her sole focus on the matter at hand. Kagome was calm enough to keep herself from reacting outwardly to the sudden intruding pain within her mind, but she had never become accustomed to others' intruding minds during her travels in the feudal era. She'd never had the time between their travels to truly learn to master her powers with the aid of Kaede, who'd on multiple occasions offered her assistance in her training, if only Inuyasha would allow the group to remain in Edo for a time. He never did, always insisting that the team remain on the move, searching for new clues to find the jewel shards or even Naraku himself.
"You do not move to fight us. Only delay." A mental voice stated from within. She'd suspected the intrusion upon the sudden appearance of the headache, and now recognized the voice of the shorter demon speaking to her in a strikingly kind voice that would have felt false had he not been able to convey his base feelings to her through the connection along with his words. "Have you been somehow coerced into this situation?"
Kagome refused to respond; her paranoia for the safety of her family was at an all time high, and she couldn't be sure who to trust except for herself during this whole situation. What if she was being watched, and Sensui discovered she'd let the spirit detectives pass without any trouble? What if this demon tipped Sensui off somehow? No, it was better that she remain self reliant through this. Kagome was sick and tired of being the damsel in distress. It was time for her to be the rescuer for once. She would not allow any of the other Higurashi's to be hurt by her own stupid mistakes. And, at the very least, she could make it look like she was complying with the madman's demands for the time being.
The priestess deliberately weakened each shield over the course of about a minute of the tense silence, making sure that the barriers weakened over a period of time drew less attention than instantaneously making the change. This adjustment conserved her energy, and would be expected of an average user of spirit energy. At this point, Kagome sincerely doubted that any of these men had fought somebody with strong holy powers before. It wouldn't surprise her to learn that none them understood that holy power remained at full strength until it was used up in its entirety, including any potential spies that could be watching from the shadows.
Finally deciding to break the silence, the pint-sized black haired demon spoke up. "The woman is hiding something." The proclamation surprised her little, neither did the sneer the demon lowered in her direction.
"Well, what the hell are we supposed to do?" The brash kid named Kuwabara nearly shouted. "We can't just hurt her. She's not even trying to fight us or anything."
A staying hand quickly grabbed the boy's shoulder, stopping him from amping up into a full-on speech. "Leave this fight to someone with a slightly looser moral code, Kuwabara." The other, more elegant redhead admonished, his calm demeanor almost projecting throughout the dank cavern.
"I call dibs." The taller black-haired detective, Urameshi, glowered; she sensed strong feelings of what she thought was excitement rolling off of him in waves, and she fought the urge for her nose to wrinkle in disgust. Kagome did not revel in the fighting of battles. She was a priestess. The reason holy people existed was to heal and protect humans from demons, and, although her powers did have practical applications in battle, especially against demons, she did not care to harm others unless it was absolutely necessary.
However, before Urameshi could really prepare to battle, the short demon stepped before him. "The girl is mine." He stated slowly, his gaze not breaking line of sight with Kagome. "Save your energy for the ensuing battle, detective. I will finish this on my own." With that, the diminutive demon began to unfurl the wraps and wards surrounding a surprisingly powerful left arm. With just the first ward being broken, a dark presence began to emanate throughout the room, increasing as the moments ticked by, and the bandages fell loose to the ground. Normally, when someone wore bandages over a limb into battle, it was to protect themselves from injury, but, with each carefully wound loop of fabric unravelling from the demon's arm, Kagome learned that this bandage protected others' from the demon himself. His aura grew more powerful, emanating more thickly around him almost palpably so, and his comrades collectively stepped behind him, varying degrees of fear, revulsion, and awe resting on each face.
Before the power smallest demon's power had reached critical mass, the elegant redhead nearly shouted, "Are you sure this is our wisest move in the confines of a cavern, Hiei?"
"The woman opposes us." Hiei responded, maintaining concentration on summoning the dark entity from the depths of spirit world while Kagome scrambled to systematically dismantle all the shields she'd created and strengthening the one that only protected herself. "I care not for her reasons, and I see none forthcoming. So, she and her insolence must be removed from our path."
The much noisier redhead, Kuwabara, gasped in almost the same instant that the majority of her barriers came crashing unceremoniously down. "Look guys, the path is clear, let's go." He called, already sprinting furter into the bowels of the cave system past Kagome who stood resolutely before the fire demon whose power still grew exponentially with each passing second before her.
In a panic, Kagome siphoned all but her last spark of life energy into the part of her shield Hiei's attack would hit, hoping beyond hope that it would be enough to protect her from this insurmountably dark entity the fire demon was summoning. Finally, the torrent of energy around the dark haired demon seemed to reach its apex, and he yelled over the din of crackling ki and gusts of uncontrollable, pulsing force. "Dragon… of the Darkness… Flame!"
With that, it was as if a trigger was pulled, and the tattooed dragon unravelled off of the fire demon's arm, expanding to, easily, ten times the size of its original manifestation. The shadowy fiend's body writhed and wound up and down in a kind of roiling slither motion, hurdling forward at breakneck speed directly towards Kagome's shield of holy power. The inky black dragon's presence alone frightened her, gluing her in place, and all she could think of was fear and her imminent death so all consuming was the power that it held over her. When the aberration struck, it entered a sort of feeding frenzy, attempting to consume her, body and soul. As the first strike hit her glowing pink shield, the priestess was jarred from her frozen state, her mind brought back into the moment at hand.
Glancing towards the creator of the hellish beast who stood with an air of mundane stoicism on his face, like the invoking of this infernal beast was just your average Tuesday to him. However, deep beneath the quiet concentration and outwardly murderous demeanor, Kagome could see it. Something deeper. This was still the telepathic apparition that was concerned that she'd somehow been manipulated into working with Sensui. She wasn't certain, but, perhaps, there was more to this man than met the eye.
Kagome quickly jerked her head towards the problem at hand, bringing her mind back towards the precarious situation she was in. Her eyes snapped into focus as the sound of tinkling, the breaking of glass, began to resound throughout the cavern. She squinted her eyes to see that her barrier was beginning to weaken as long, deep fissures began to appear in the protective structure. The end of her power was near. Yet, at the same time, the dragon's terrifying charge was also beginning to slow, a sluggish lethargy seeming to fall over it's movements. On the fly, she reshaped the existing, spherical barrier, which surrounded her into a square wall-like one in front of her rather than around her, precariously repairing the damage that had been done, and hoping it was enough protection to keep her from being consumed whole. Yet, the dragon still, raged on, pushing forward with such force that the energy shield moved backwards until she, too, was forced to step backwards until Kagome's body nearly touched the cold, moist cavern walls.
Once more, the shield began to show signs of weakness as spider web like patterns appeared all over the barely there image of the forcefield. She didn't have many options left. Her remaining life energy was pathetic at best, only just sustaining her life, which she would soon be losing to the summoned behemoth in front of her. Desperate, Kagome drew her bow and crafted an arrow out of the last of her power, carefully taking aim as the rate of cracks and fissures in the shield doubled. The fiery black dragon drew closer, hungry. Waiting.
When the barrier broke with a heartbreaking shattering sound, the bedraggled dragon heavily lumbered forward, almost no energy left to sustain its solitary mission after having to contend with waves of purifying holy energy. Kagome unleashed the arrow, and, with it, the last of her life force. Her body falling limply to the ground with a final, sickening thump. The priestess didn't see the arrow pierce into the dragon's maw as she fell, nor did she see the black haired demon, Hiei's look of shock when the dragon dissipated, leaving her body behind. Unconsumed. Its job incomplete.
"Did you really have to use that move against her, Hiei?" A familiar childlike voice inquired from the shadows beyond the cave Hiei was standing within. Footsteps echoed throughout the empty expanse as the owner of the voice drew closer.
"Hn." The demon responded cooly, shoving his hands casually into his pockets, and beginning to shuffle towards the direction the spirit detective group had taken. "The woman was an obstacle. Regardless of the situation, she needed to be overcome in order to move forward."
The other man stepped into the dim light, shaking his tousled brown locks out of his eyes to reveal a black tattooed word on his forehead. "Jr." it read. "According to the ogres' research, this one was blackmailed into helping Shinobu. Held hostage and forced to do his bidding under threat of death. Sound familiar? Strike any memories about a certain significant someone?"
The demon growled, his aura pulsing dangerously at the assumed threat. "Yukina is to remain out of this, Koenma. She is no longer any of your business."
"Of course." The teen whose lips were fixating on a strange, blue pacifier type object chuckled, holding his hands up in faux surrender. "Go. Meet up with the team, and I'll deal with this."
Needing no further coaxing, Hiei was gone in a flash, his movements so quick that, to the untrained eye, it looked like he disappeared. Koenma sighed, looking at the lifeless body with an emotionless face; however, inside he was anything but emotionless. Turmoil roiled in his stomach, and he felt the loss almost physically even as he pulled a small vial, filled with a smokey, bluish-grey liquid that pulsed with light and power. That same pulsing grew in frequency the closer it grew to corpse, and, with a grim tenseness about his features, he knelt down, uncorking the bottle and closing his eyes as if in prayer. Koenma didn't pray. He didn't need to. He already knew that this would work, and, more importantly, he was the demigod of the god of death. He may not be as mighty and powerful as his father, King Enma, but he did have limited powers over death and crossing over. Moreover, he knew of this woman's history, and she was so much more than she seemed. He idly wondered if and when she would ever grow into that power, but knew that the chances were low. So low, that he couldn't even bring himself to hope any longer.
Koenma tipped the vial over, and the smoke held within escaped in a puff, seeming to enter Kagome's body through her chest, where the power glowed for a moment before dissipating into nothing. The skin of the once pale corpse crew more rosy in hue, and, instead of being cold to the touch, became humanly warm once more. Finally, after several minutes, her breath was restored, and the woman's chest began to move up and down with life. She coughed several times before her eyes finally fluttered open. Her eyes were bloodshot as she coughed, and he could see that each cough brought her great pain. She clutched at her chest, and he could see her confusion and upset as she felt what was no longer there.
She looked around, eyes not seeing for a moment before they finally landed on him, and she shouted in a voice that pierced his ears and made him flinch. "What have you done? Why don't I have a heartbeat?"
Koenma smiled bitterly. Although he knew the answer, Koenma knew he couldn't tell her. She wasn't ready to know what she was. It would break her. "There's no time for explanations, I'm afraid." Kagome's blue eyes met Koenma's caramel brown ones, and she looked at him steadily while she tried to discern whether or not he was being truthful. He jaw eventually set into a defiant grimace, and she was about to tell him off when the demigod spoke again, pointing towards one of the outermost tunnels. "You must leave this cave immediately, or else you will be in grave danger once more."
Kagome suddenly grabbed her head with a gasp of lancing pain. It felt like she was being stabbed as the memories of the moments before her death flooded her mind in a torrent of light, sounds, and vivid, horrifying emotions. Suddenly, she remembered everything that had occured mere minutes before- how she had used the last of her own life energy in order to protect herself, and had consequently died. She looked up at him, eyes widening in realization as tears began to pool in her eyes, threatening to spill over with the physical evidence of her chaotic inner thoughts. She wasn't entirely sure what he had done, but, without whatever it was, she wouldn't even be able to speak. "Y- you… thank you." She muttered, slowly bringing herself onto her own two feet. She looked to him like she would speak again, but, apparently, she thought better of it before turning towards the direction he'd pointed and running without looking back.
The miko didn't know whether to be grateful or afraid, but, whatever she was feeling, she knew that she didn't want to be around for any more excitement. She wanted to be with her family, and, now that she had her freedom, she would be able to see them. Tonight.
AN: Hello everybody. It's been awhile. I started this story last year during NaNoWriMo, and decided that I should finally post it, especially given the 25th anniversary edition of Yu Yu Hakusho being released in Japan recently. This story is a spiritual sequel to Megitsune, although it has no connection to the story besides sharing the same fandoms. I look forward to hearing what you have to say, and, remember, reviews are like energy drinks for writers.
Much Love,
MrsAlderaan