Trapping Starlight
Prologue: Potions
It was a quiet night in Feudal Japan.
As silent as fog running over a mountain, it poured into the veins of a fearful target.
"Inuyasha?"
The target whispered, afraid that –quiet as it was- something would jump out and attack it.
There was no answer and the person sat up inside its sleeping bag, panic increasing. "Inuyasha?" Slightly breathless, the figure's eyes darted around to the trees above.
They searched for the familiar red of his Robe of the Fire Rat among the leaves and branches only to notice with a start that he wasn't there.
A feeling of dread washed over it and it rose on shaking legs. Long hair and a petite frame gave the impression of a woman.
"Miko," A voice the opposite of the one she'd been hoping to calm her replied, "You are alone." The deep voice spoke as though commenting on the weather, but an underlying confusion was hidden within.
The one known as 'Miko' swallowed harshly, her eyes whipping around as if to find an escape route. "Where is Rin, Sesshomaru?" She answered quickly yet quietly, hoping not to offend him with the question but curious nonetheless. Despite her time here, she still did not know very much about Inuyasha's older brother.
Sesshomaru's watch was thoughtful as it lay upon her form, his thoughts running along the same track as hers. He had no desire to fight the miko, although he did despise her choice of traveling companion –more specifically that half-brother of his- he had no reason to dislike her. Moreover, she had saved Rin's life twice.
"Rin is resting." He observed as something akin to relief flashed across the woman's face and he found himself just a little pleased.
She cast him a small, uncomfortable smile before clearing her throat and her eyebrows pulled down with worry. "Why are you here My Lord?"
Sesshomaru was weary around the woman and thought about simply replying that it wasn't any of her business –because it wasn't- but chose to instead humor her. "Hn."
A certain clay woman frowned deeply as she observed the interactions between the only two being that stood between her and certain victory.
Kagome Higurashi, a young, inexperienced woman who barely had the right to call herself a miko. Her archery was mediocre at best and her powers, though strong, were untrained and barely of any use.
Lord Sesshomaru, a VERY experienced daiyokai of over 500 years whom hated humans and detested half demons. He was skillful –perhaps even unparalleled- in many arts and had full control of his power.
Her reason for wanting these two out of the picture was simple; she had to ensure that Inuyasha would go to hell with her. Lord Sesshomaru had forewarned that the next time they crossed paths he would destroy her clay body. If the body was broken before Inuyasha agreed to go with her there was no way she could take him with her. And Kagome could be the only person to convince Inuyasha to stay and live.
So with this pain filled goal in mind, she had plotted their downfall and finally, the time had come.
No better time there was as this one, with no one around –Inuyasha being distracted by her scent in the area and the demon slayer and monk at her old village - and the two just standing there, staring at each other.
It was almost as if this was fated to happen.
Her lips pulled into a cruel smile and she began to quietly chant the spell she'd talked an old miko to create for her.
"With a sprinkle of dust
Take them away
Turn back the clock
Or
Freeze in parallel
Forever unable
To get to the ones they love." When the words had been said, she began chanting quietly in a language she didn't understand, words she hadn't been told the meaning of.
But she knew she could trust the miko.
Taking out a small pouch, Kikyo shook the contents – a reddish powder- into her hand and paused in her chanting to blow on it gently.
As if there was a GPS implanted in the small grains they shot toward Kagome and Sesshomaru, who were carrying out a rather awkward conversation, consisting of mostly 'Hn' from one side.
Kagome cleared her throat uncomfortably, honestly not entirely sure why Sesshomaru hadn't left yet. "Um… So… thanks for saving my life when we were fighting Naraku." Out of other conversation topics, she figured she might as well.
Sesshomaru's answer was a quick nod in her direction as he seemed to become disturbed. It was just a faint wrinkle of his brow as his eyes shot to the side. "Hn." He sniffed delicately, frowning as he saw just a faint trace of something moving through the air.
Kagome, meanwhile, was disturbed, looking around for what had made him so on guard. Only a few moments ago he had seemed… almost amused by their 'conversation'.
"Miko we are not alone."
His voice penetrated the quiet that Kagome had before found so eerie. Perhaps she had been right to not just think nothing of it. Her thoughts were slightly dimmed when she smelled something delighting sweet. 'Is that some kind of perfume?'
But with each passing moment, Kagome found herself ceasing to care at all. Whatever it was… it was beautiful.
Dark spots appeared in her vision, but Kagome paid that no mind as her eyes darted around to find the source of the odor. It was almost midnight and she couldn't tell much of a difference anyway.
A certain daiyokai, however, could. Even in the dark, his eyesight had always been impeccable, but now it faded and his ears began to ring, much to his annoyance. The toxic scent was eating away at his senses thanks to his extremely sensitive nose.
"Who's there?" Her voice whispered, almost instinctively her hand reached for her bow. Her took a step back, flinching when a ringing pain suddenly entered her ear and her eyesight cut off entirely.
Unfortunately, Sesshomaru wasn't doing much better than she. His vision was completely gone and his body felt weak; the pain in his ears making him fight off a choked scream.
From behind him, Kagome's body fell to the ground and began glowing the same color red as Kikyo's powder.
The same light appeared around his body, as he too gave in to the powerful magic.
'Will she be alright?'
'Aye, she'll be just fine.'
Two voices were speaking back and forth as Kagome came dizzily back to the world and fought to open her groggy eyes. A few minutes of hearing the two converse back and forth with no luck caused her to give up with a sigh.
'Kagome? Kagome are you awake?'
That voice belonged to the woman who seemed so concerned for her, Kagome registered. Since she'd come to, the banter that had taken place had mostly consisted of her worried comments.
Kagome again tried to open her eyes when she felt a light sensation against her arm, as if the wind had briefly blown against her. "Heidfsnfsdmfd." She mumbled out, her lips not moving as she wanted either.
'Do not worry so Midoriko, she will fully awaken soon. The spell holds strongly to this one.'
'But Sesshomaru woke hours ago.'
Kagome's eyes had finally opened now, her surprise that Sesshomaru had been asleep –something she hadn't considered he might need- giving her muscles more power. She swallowed thickly, clearing her throat, "What happened?" She asked the question she previously hadn't been able to and looked between the two whom stood by her side in a void of white.
The people who stood before her surprised her more than Sesshomaru's apparent sleeping habits and she choked on her own breath as she made contact with a man she could only describe as completely alien. He didn't exactly have a build, looking more like a combination of bright lights that had taken the shape of a man.
And yet, even seeing this she could swear she saw a twinkle in his eyes and a gentle smile sent her way.
"So you are here with us at last young one." His voice, now more clear than ever, was loud as the ring of a church bell, yet quiet as the footsteps of a ninja. Her mind was somewhat unable to understand what was happening as she took him in.
"You should have been awake sooner."
Kagome's eyes shifted to the woman and she couldn't hide her gasp. Before her sat Midoriko, the creator of the jewel, the reason for all her problems… and Kagome's idol. She quickly stood despite the protests her body gave.
"Lady Midoriko!"
The miko seemed baffled by her enthusiasm, but only for a moment. A large smile broke out of her face as she replied back, "It has been many moons since we last saw each other Kagome." Her eyes turns sly and her face grew stern as she raised an eyebrow, "But I trust your memory has not failed you completely?"
Kagome let out an embarrassed cough as the man seemed to chuckle at the woman's playful hint. "H-Hai! Just Midoriko."
A nod of approval was her greatest sign of acknowledgment and out of nowhere, Sesshomaru appeared.
Or perhaps it was them that had intruded on him.
Sitting as though he had been there the whole time, Sesshomaru was the picture of peace as he lay against a tree. They stood in a meadow that was much more serene than the white void they'd lingered in before.
Golden eyes opened to lock onto her almost threateningly and Kagome stared right back as if he wasn't capable of knocking her head off.
Where had the friendliness from earlier gone?
"Hn." He stood from the tree and began making his way toward them, reaching them in less time than was humanly possible. "Now that the miko is among us, speak."
Kagome mentally huffed, 'Someone's grumpy.' Another voice inside her head told her that he'd probably been waiting a while and was out of patience.
"Eru?" Midoriko questioned lightly, turning to him, clearing expecting the task to fall to him.
As if disturbed by this, 'Eru' pointed to himself questioningly, "Me? I thought you were going to…"
Kagome's lips twitched with faint humor, 'This is a facepalm moment if there ever was one…'
Midoriko rubbed her temples, mumbling about not having time to prepare a speech. Collecting herself, Midoriko looked back up and cleared her throat, "You are here for a purpose." She started carefully.
Her arms crossed unintentionally as she began to pace back and forth, "The jewel is complete, Naraku was defeated." She seemed to struggle with what to say while they waited patiently, "And yet your power is needed in another world."
Eru interjected when she spoke these words, "In my world, there is a great evil. It cannot be destroyed by a simple sword or arrow." He added, "A ring must be taken to the place it was forged. That is the only place it can be destroyed."
Kagome's eyes scrunched with thought, "A ring?" Once upon a time this wouldn't bother her much, but she'd learned some on her adventures. With the way both Eru and Midoriko were acting, combined with the horror show that was her hunt for the Shikon Shards, she was certain there was more to this than just some random ring. "What is so special about it?"
"Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie." Eru's voice was soft with the words and he seemed almost sad. "The source of evil in our lands, a man of great darkness, Sauron, created the One Ring for the purpose of controlling the thoughts and actions of those that wore the other rings."
Midoriko cleared her throat, "Sauron connected his soul to the ring when it was created. He cannot be defeated until it is destroyed." Her voice lowered, "But the only way to destroy it is to throw it into the pits of Mount Doom. We need you and Sesshomaru to help guide the Ring-Bearer there."
Eru's gaze was steady upon them, "Without you, my world will be destroyed."
Kagome bit her lip, her eyes peeking to see Sesshomaru's reaction.
Of course if she hadn't turned she'd had seen the same reaction.
"Hn." Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, "You took me from my ward to tell me this?"
"It wasn't us that took you." Midoriko said, shaking her head gravely. "A miko by the name of Kikyo asked that a spell be created to get rid of the two of you. The woman she asked was too pure to doom you to the void that Kikyo requested you be put in. Even under the threat of her life she was brave enough to create a chant in Elvish that would ensure that you be brought to another plane safely."
Her eyes were pitying as she continued, "Regardless of whether or not you choose to accept the quest offered to you, you will go to Middle Earth. You will never be able to return to your home."
"The spell had nothing to do with you." Kagome's voice rose lightly with emotion as images of her loved ones flashed through her mind's eye. More specifically a fox kit who would be left parentless. "But you've managed to interfere and give us this chance. Why can't you just bring us back home instead?!"
Eru laid a hand on her shoulder kindly, "We have limited time to discuss this with you. In fact there is little left of what we had. It was a miracle we were able to intercept you before you got to my world." He sighed lightly, "The spell is too powerful for us to bring you back to your home." He added.
"You can think over what you want to do on your own time." Midoriko said softly, "Right now, we have to prepare you for what is to come." With a nod in Eru's direction she turned and disappeared in a flurry of smoke.
While this happened, Eru began the only part of this conversation he was thus far prepared for. "As you know, the place you will soon be goes by the name of Middle Earth." His hands were placed behind his back to make himself more comfortable, "Within this world there are many species. Elves, Hobbits, Dwarves, Man; Demons are ancient and powerful and full of evil, unlike most of the demons within your own world." His eyes sought out Sesshomaru pointedly.
Kagome was almost too caught up in the 'elf' and 'dwarf' part to notice, 'This world sounds… so different from Earth.'
"There is not a single language on Earth anything close to the languages on Middle Earth." Catching the panicked look in Kagome's eyes he gave her another kind smile, "Do not worry child. When you leave here you will be able to speak what is known as 'Common Tongue' as simply as you do Japanese. As its name implies, most inhabitants will know it."
Kagome nodded uneasily, casting worried eyes on the form of the unaffected daiyokai. Even though he didn't appear to notice her unease, for the first time she was comforted by his stoic presence.
A slight frost in his eyes caused her to believe that perhaps he wasn't as emotionless as she'd once thought.
"I have a gift for you young one." Eru continued and Kagome focused on him once more. He took a step toward her and placed his hands on both sides of her head, "You will be changed into an elf so you can better prepare yourself on this journey." As he spoke a tingling feeling seeped into her bones and her body began to feel lighter.
"And my gift," Kagome's eyes shifted to Midoriko, whom had just reappeared with a familiar longbow in her hands. "You dropped this on the way here." Her voice chimed with amusement when she pulled her other hand from behind her back.
"Kirara!" Kagome's eyes widened as she caught sight of the little two tailed kitten purring within Midoriko's arm.
"I went back to speak with your friends on Earth." Midoriko's face was smiling while she passed both the demon and the bow. "Sango wished for you to have her."
Kagome hugged Kirara to her chest and played with her ears, earning a happy mew from her friend.
"And for you, Lord Sesshomaru…" Midoriko's smile became gentle and she looked behind her with a small wink.
A rustling of clothing was hint enough to the 'gift' located behind Midoriko, but the little girl who zoomed out from behind to hug Sesshomaru's legs made it much more clear. "Lord Sesshomaru!" Her eyes sparkled merrily and Kagome noticed with a start that her ears were pointed now.
"Rin." His voice sounded somewhat odd, as if he wasn't sure whether to be happy or displeased.
Despite herself, Kagome found herself smiling at the picture they made. She tried not to think of her baby being alone and instead be happy for Sesshomaru.
A small voice cleared and Kagome turned around to see said son smiling up at her widely.
Her eyes connected with him and her heart stopped beating momentarily.
"Shippo!"
"Mama!"
If asked what happened after that, neither Midoriko nor Eru could have told whether it was son who glomped mother, or mother who glomped son.
Perhaps it was a mixture of the two.
i luv niki4444
Sometimes, I hate my mind. o_O Whenever I get a good idea, no matter how much I try to fight it, I cannot help but write and write and write and if I try to write anything else it becomes an impossible puzzle and I erase it to go to my recycling bin. D:
So here is the source of my writers block! A Kagome/Legolas fanfiction, fresh out of the oven! I hope you like it and I'll talk to you guys soon! :P Well... when I say talk I mean update. x"D This one is actually going to get an update. *Shocked*