Quick disclaimer; I own no rights to the Inuyasha property and receive no monetary gain for the writing of this story.
A/N – Hey! Thanks for checking out my story. I started this story a long time ago and have recently taken the time to make this story much better than it was. It used to run under the title Chronicles of an Assassin: Lonely Demon,but as you can see that has changed. I was much younger when I first wrote this story and now I've come back to make an attempt at an adventure that the original could never have been.
After some much needed constructive criticism, I've completely rehashed the two prologue chapters into a single chapter and wrote them into a much better telling than they originally were. Hopefully this chapter is much better than before.
Without further ado, please enjoy my first story!
Silver Dreams and Flashes of Red
Something Lost
Today is the day! Kagome reminded herself as she walked at an excited pace. She was heading home, her mother having asked her to grab a few herbs and vegetables from the market to eat for dinner tonight. She hadn't thought too much of it, though in hindsight she wasn't ecstatic about running the errand. She promised to let me go with him today as long as I got home before sunset. She took a small detour hoping to escape the noise of busier areas and give herself time to think. A scrapping noise followed by a pop caught her attention but before she could look up all of her senses clouded with white noise. A loud booming horn followed by the sound of something resembling a scream converged as if from nowhere. A crushing impact, a force like an explosion and the feeling of pressure suddenly filled her ears. She could hear nothing but a loud ringing. She looked beyond her own disarray, seeing the field around her was on fire as if hell had suddenly encompassed it. She was having a hard time piecing her mind back together from the shock of the blast, but stood quickly to shake off her confusion.
Where am I?
She left behind the supplies she'd bought for her mother, giving them no second thoughts as she ran from the burning landscape to crest a nearby hill. She could see smoke rising as flames tore at the surrounding area, and as she made it to the top of the hill, she could hardly stifle her own gasp. Is that...a village?
The village was being attacked by an army armed with rifles and cannons who tore out from the forests beyond it. Moving in to assault the helpless people inside as flaming mortars flew in from beyond the faraway treeline, striking at homes that had thus far been unaffected by previous bombardments.
This is horrible, what do I do? What can I do? Kagome being unsure, with gut feeling like she didn't belong. Yet at the same time, she felt a force tugging her to do anything to help. Though she was young, there had to be a way for her to stop the pain being brought upon the innocent people who were now suffering.
She had to help protect the village. It felt as if it were her duty. Steeling herself, she ran until she reached the center of the village, all the way seeing if any were still alive. She found that precious few had remained in their homes during the attack. Nevertheless, she continued to search each hut for survivors. As she did this, her mind began to piece together what was going on; slowly becoming aware of the fact that she was wearing clothes which had seemed strange at first, though she now recognized them as that of a priestess.
Am I a priestess?
She couldn't grasp how she knew what a priestess was, having only vague knowledge of the term. Her mind was still utterly confused by the blast she had received moments ago. What exactly is going on? Pushing her thoughts aside, Kagome continued her desperate search.
"Young girl!" a man's voice called out in her direction.
"Hello?" she yelled back, "Where are you?" she ran toward the sound.
Her vision was beginning to lose out to the blackness of the smoke around her and her lungs burned with each breath. She wouldn't be able to do this much longer, her breathing was becoming greatly hindered from the lack of oxygen. The man had said nothing else, but she could hear a faint coughing and followed it to its source. The man was no longer conscious, having fallen to the smoke inhalation. A little boy, perhaps a few years her junior, sat crying with his head on the man's chest. She couldn't do much to help the man as he was far too heavy for her to carry alone. Taking the young boys hand, she took him low through the smoke, trying to find a place for them to escape without succumbing to the lack of air.
A large shrine appeared just ahead with a long staircase leading up to the entrance. A Torii arch stood proudly in front of the stairs, as if guarding the shrine from intruders.
As the two ran, she realized they were only a few meters from the stairs. A popping noise similar to what she heard before sounded off to her left and fearing the worst, threw herself and the little boy to the ground to await the impact. Instead of another explosion, dozens of bursts of air whizzed over their prone bodies and impacted a nearby hut, shattering part of its wall.
Looking up momentarily in confusion, Kagome saw a contingent of soldiers moving quickly to intercept them. Acting on what she supposed was instinct, she helped the boy to his feet and tried to continue the run toward the stairs.
"First rank, down!" a dark voice shouted, completely unfazed by the apparent miss. A line of men at the front quickly crouched to the ground. "Ready arms!" Each man in the crouched line as well as the men directly behind them poised and aimed their rifles directly at Kagome and the boy. Absolutely certain she did not want to wait around and see what all those rifles could do to them, she held the boy's hand and pressed her short legs to move faster.
"Aim!" Every man had a bead on them, not once flinching as they looked down the sights directly at the two targets.
They were only a few more feet from hopeful salvation.
"Fire!" A volley of explosions rang out and the sound caused her to misstep, falling onto the stairs and freezing in place as she felt the end draw near. Please let this all just be a dream..
The end never came.
Looking up at the sound of the boy's gasp, she saw a tall man in a tasseled robe. He had erected what could only be a barrier which somehow stopped the hail of bullets. She looked up at him hopefully, not sure of his motivations, but happy to be alive nonetheless.
His face was hard, no anger, but powerful; determined. She could tell by the look on his face that he meant business. He must be some kind of priest or something..
He was joined by another, who must have stood a head over him. His hair was a brilliant silver and his armor regal. He had come from behind her and moved beside her savior.
"Mugen," the taller man spoke callously, "Your daughter is in the way. Have her take the boy to the top of the shrine with the others. My emissary Jaken will defend them if any of these vermin try to flank over the mountain."
"Kagome, you heard Sesshoumaru. You must help Kaede erect a barrier to defend our people. Now go, quickly!" the strain in his throat left no room for discussion. She was taken aback by this revelation, confused at the prospect that her savior was now apparently her father. Who the heck are these people and what are they talking about. "Now wait just a minute, I have no idea what either of you are talking about!" she took a breath before continuing,"Just who are you?" The men did not turn to face her, instead focusing on a man that stood before the group of soldiers nearly thirty feet away.
Her savior spoke softly,"Kagome, I do not know what happened to you while you were gone, but I do not have time to explain. Go to Kaede, she will help you remember."
"Okay.." was all she could muster, the sound of his concern deeply touching her.
Once again taking the boy's hand, she ran up the steps. Once at the top she could see many villagers had arrived here. They crowded around an older women and a tiny little man that looked like an imp. Wait, an imp?
"Ah, Kagome!" the older woman said, breaking from the crowd, "Good to see ye have finally made it. We must hurry and erect a barrier as I have taught ye before."
Wha? "I think you must have the wrong Kagome or something, I have no idea what you're talking about." Kagome tried not to be rude, but she was pretty sure she was a little young to be erecting barriers. Not that she had any idea what that meant, these people had to be crazy or something.
"Nay child, ye be the same Kagome. Allow me to get better look at ye." The old woman took Kagome by the chin, looking at her closely before releasing her and staring at her blankly. "Do ye suffer from a loss of memory?"
"I guess so, I don't really know anything that's going on. I was just walking and suddenly I couldn't see or hear anything anymore. I don't know where I am."
"Do ye feel out of place?"
"Not exactly, I guess. I have feelings, and some things are familiar. Like this shrine and my clothes."
The woman looked down at that, thinking deeply for a moment before coming to a conclusion of her own. "It is as I feared then, ye have indeed lost your memory."
Well that's just great. Now what?
"We haven't anymore time to discuss or remedy this. Kagome, ye must search within yourself and find your powers. Ye are a priestess with tremendous spiritual powers. It should not be hard to find."
"How am I supposed to do that?" Kagome was beyond confused. Everything was happening at once and now she had powers?
"Come with me, Kagome. I shall begin to erect the barrier myself. Ye will sit beside me and meditate. Search inside yourself for your own powers, they will help to restore the damage to your mind after ye have found them." Kaede lead Kagome to the edge of the shrine grounds, which happened to over look much of the village. Settling in, Kaede poised herself for a deep meditative state.
Taking her cue, Kagome followed suit. She thought deeply, trying to see if she could 'sense' her powers as the older miko had said she would. She felt nothing and was becoming distressed at the sounds of the battle below. The man, who was apparently her father, was battling hard against the leader of the army. She found it hard to focus when such a display of power was happening just below her. The two had likely been fighting for several minutes now, with neither letting up.
Curiosity began to get the better of her and she began to watch the battle much more closely than she probably should have. The man called Sesshoumaru joined in, with the enemy leader being forced back by what she could only assume was her father's spiritual power.
Still not used to the idea of him being my father...but he is definitely powerful.
The enemy leader was a tall man, only slightly shorter than Sesshomaru, wielding what looked to be a strange katana that held serrations on the back with no hand guard. He wore red clothing with dark armor that looked like that of a samurai. His helmet was large, like a headdress; she noticed a flow of what looked like silver hair falling out from inside the helmet. That looks like the same color as Sesshomaru's hair. She couldn't see his face because it was behind a mask, but she could only wonder if there was some relation here.
Their battle stopped for a moment as they seemed to be conversing. The man had his troops at his back once again. She could make out her father's voice but wasn't sure exactly what it was he said. Then the man started to laugh maniacally, before launching back into the fray. It looked like he had suddenly grown stronger out of nowhere, or perhaps was holding back before because he was now able to easily shuck off Sesshomaru and force Mugen to draw his own sword.
With both Sesshomaru and Mugen fighting at their peak, clashing swords with the man together in a rhythmic assault. It was a wonder the man stood a chance, let alone was able to push them as far as he was. That is, until Kagome felt something suddenly strike her like a wave of ice water. It made her feel terrible, pained and weak. She didn't understand it, it was beyond her limited vocabulary.
Kaede chose then to speak,"That is the power of a demonic aura. The one ye are feeling is Sesshoumaru's. Though I can sense another slowly growing in strength."
A demonic aura? As in like, a demon? It was then she realized that Sesshoumaru fought with an inhuman speed. "Then, Sesshoumaru is a demon?" Kagome asked, though she could already feel the answer. His aura chilled her to the bone. No way a human could make her feel this way just by being nearby. As she began to familiarize herself with his aura, another one began to seep into her conscious. It was the opposite of cold. It burned passionately as if it gained strength in the turmoil. She felt it as a surge of what she would only be able to call evil. Not purely so, but it was not to be trifled with. Taking what Kaede had attempted to teach her, she focused on the aura, searching for its source. It was coming from the man that had lead the army into this village. But that means..
He was no man.
She looked more and more closely at the man, knowing it to be true. He had to be a demon. It seemed to be the only explanation, but on top of that she could almost see demonic energy flowing from the sword he wielded. Could swords be demons too?
Before she could ask her question aloud, the demon lifted his sword high as if to pierce the clouds above.
Without hesitation Sesshomaru took what looked to be a perfect opportunity. Striking vertically with his sword, he called out,"Dragon Strike!" Not sparing a glance, the demon swiped his sword in Sesshomaru's direction, unleashing a ferocious energy shaped like a dragon which careened into Sesshomaru. The attack caught him off guard despite his attempt to evade, changing the course of his own attack and sending him flying back. He landed gracefully, though heavily wounded with hundreds of gashes across his body.
"Do you like my new technique, Sesshomaru?" the demon spoke loud enough for even Kagome to hear. "I call it the Dragon's Revenge. It drags my claws across your entire body, cutting you deeper with each swing. Do you remember me now?"
"Shi No Yume..." Sesshomaru spoke under his breath.
Sesshoumaru attacked again, this time barely dodging as the dragon flew at him. Just getting past it, he engaged the demon once again in sword play, fighting ferociously. Sesshoumaru held the upper hand, until the demon smirked, jumping away as the 'Dragon's Revenge' returned from behind; engulfing Sesshoumaru. Suddenly Sesshoumaru was absorbed into a ball of light which flew off in an instant. She looked to her father, who appeared stunned at Sesshoumaru's disappearance. He vanished with the light. Mugen held his place breathing deeply, likely planning how to end this with the best outcome.
"It would seem Sesshoumaru has fled, this demon is truly formidable." Kaede spoke up ominously.
"So Sesshoumaru ran away?" Kagome was perplexed, "He didn't exactly strike me as a coward, what gives?"
"Likely his instincts kicked in, and he was forced to leave or die. Dogs have a good sense of fight or flight."
Well if Sesshoumaru can't do it, then there's got to be a way for my father to beat that sword. Maybe if I can find my powers that Kaede was talking about, I can help him! Kagome took up her pose of meditation, preparing to locate whatever was hidden away inside her.
A croak of pain barely made it to her ears before she could delve into her subconscious. One second the demon stood in place before his men, the next he was behind Mugen. "Mugen, you disappoint me." Before the man could even turn and face his enemy, Shi No Yume was sticking out of his chest.
Kagome lost herself, something about seeing all this had finally struck something within her.
It was now that she was sure this was all simply a dream. But that couldn't be true...I can't remember what it was but, there's something missing. This thought resonated in her mind for a moment, but was dropped almost immediately. She was lost inside herself, she had to wake up. She was frozen, in time and in space. She felt nothing and couldn't tell if her lungs even held air. All she thought she knew was lost to her now. In an instant it was torn from her grasp. In a flash of red, it was over.
She felt heavy, like there was nothing she could do. She felt, rather than heard, Kaede's voice calling after her. Was she running? She no longer cared. Something was lost in her mind. Something that had driven her forward and given her strength. What was it? It was then she heard a name, "Mugen." She didn't know who said it, but it struck a cord.
Some feeling returned, as she could now feel her feet moving under her. She was moving fast, down a staircase into a burning abyss. How long had she been running down these stairs? She didn't look behind her, she simply let her body go of its own volition. Her mind still shocked. "Father!" She heard someone cry it over and over. It took several moments for her to realize it was her own voice. Her vision no longer blurred, she saw the village burning to the ground. Her village. Soldiers were moving about, taking formations to prepare a final attack on the shrine. Tears came to her eyes as she saw who she was running toward.
Her father lay on the ground twenty feet from her. His body not moving, lain face-down in a pool of blood. It took all she had not to scream. She felt an unknown energy pulse against her own. Looking up, she saw a man wearing dark armor with flowing silver hair. An elaborate helmet and mask covering his features. Shaken from shock, she now recognized him.
He was the one that killed her father. He was not a man, his energy exposed him as a demon. His sword literally oozed blood and demonic energy. It was coursing with malice and evil. She had never felt such a menacing aura before.
Giving the creature no further glance she moved to be next to her father, checking if he still clung to life. He choked when she rolled him on his back, and stared wearily into her eyes as she cried above him. While stray tears fell onto his face, he put his large right hand to her cheek.
"So, you remember me now?"
"I remember everything." she sobbed as his gaze became weaker with each passing moment.
"Yet your powers are locked away, what happened to you?" despite his wound, he spoke steadily.
"I don't know," she choked,"I was caught in some kind of explosion and suddenly I c-couldn't remember anyth-thing." it was all she could get out before more tears were unleashed.
"Kagome, I-I can bring back your power, but you must promise me something. Pro-promise you'll u-use that power wisely, us it to protect those you.." he trailed off, as he felt his time coming. With everything left in him, he transferred his spiritual power into his right hand. Blue light grew brightly from his palm, and Kagome looked at it in wonder as it suddenly became pink. "...love." the light passed into her as his hand fell. He was gone.
"I promise," Kagome held back her tears, solemnly thinking back on his words. Her desperation faded as she felt his energy and love pass through her, she felt the familiar power surge through her. Her own spiritual energy was back. Standing, she focused her power to combine with his. Static electric energy flowed down to her hands and she concentrated everything she had into balls of light at her fingertips.
Moving to face her, the demon had watched her power grow exponentially as it flowed into her hands. He could feel it as it pushed against his demonic energy, and his sword cried out as the purity burned against its blade. He would need to finish this quickly, or he himself might be purified.
"Little girl," he called to her,"Have you not watched your village's decimation? Do you truly believe a young-ling like you could face me? Neither that man before you, nor the demon Sesshomaru could take me on."
"Demon, I am going to purify you and that sword!" she held no hesitation. She was determined to put an end to this. "I won't let you take anything else from me!"
The demon moved like lightning, striking out with his sword vertically. But she hadn't moved. Instead she raised both hands and blocked his attack with her spiritual power. They were at a standstill, pressing into each other in a fight for dominance. Her power outmatched his own, but his strength and stamina were winning out. With a loud grunt he forced her lower, until she sat on one small knee. His men jeered, believing it was over.
"Don't you get it, girl?! I AM Death incarnate! Forged in steel and honed by the blood of my enemies!"
Kagome focused more and more until the balls of energy exploded into a radiating light. Throwing the demon off balance and forcing his sword hand above his head, she put all she had left into a focal point of purifying energy. Putting both hands on his chest she shocked him to the point of nearly killing him with a single blast. He cried out in fear as he felt his being change completely. He was thrown to the ground, landing with a strangled cry of pain. His men ran. Their fear truly realized as he was defeated in a manner that looked effortless to them. The highest of their ranks already calling for a full retreat as horns blew the signal.
Kagome walked slowly toward the fallen demon. Not sure if he was truly defeated as the energy she put into the attack should have destroyed his body. She looked upon him and saw his hair had gone black. His sword was gone, with no trace left behind. His armor burned and left in complete shambles. Only his red suikan was left protecting his chest. She knelt and removed his mask and helm.
"What the-," she was shocked to find the handsome face of a human.
He was unconscious, yet his face did not look as menacing as she had thought it might. It was smooth, with thin lips and a strained brow. He almost looked peaceful. His ears at the sides of his head were small but definitely human.
"I could have sworn I felt his demonic presence," she was utterly confused,"How could this be a human?" this man had held a demonic aura that burned so viciously. How was it possible for him to be so powerful and yet human? She thought back to the sword, which had disappeared, leaving no residual energy behind. Was it the source all along?
She wouldn't have time to find an answer, as the man's eyes flew open and he jumped to his feet quickly. Looking only once in her direction she caught a glimpse of his eyes. A deep gray yet they were clouded, as if unconscious. Without warning he took off, running away from the village in the opposite direction that his men had gone.
She was dumbfounded, unable to chase after him do to her previous exertion. Instead, despite the turmoil of knowing she had ultimately let him live, she began to process how much had to be done to get the village back in order. She couldn't look at her deceased father, the pain was too great. Moving on to the stairs of the shrine, she saw Jaken and Kaede leading a large group of the villagers down to see the destruction.
Despite everything, many of the villagers had survived. Kaede was able to keep the barrier strong without Kagome, and Jaken had fended off any samurai that tried to get in close.
"Kagome, has ye memory returned? I felt ye power as it returned to ye." Kaede spoke softly.
"Yes, Kaede. I remember now, but I wish I didn't.." Kagome pushed back her sob.
"I am so sorry Kagome, his loss is a great one and we all share your burden. Your father will be remembered, Kagome. He was strong, and ye will become even stronger than he, I can feel it."
It would be several weeks before the village could return to normal, and with Kagome training daily to harness her power, she wouldn't spend much time among her people. Kaede did her best to mentor Kagome, hoping to see the carefree girl she once was, but the old priestess knew only time could heal her broken heart.
Kagome's mother tried everything to help her daughter, but it only brought herself grief when she saw the steely look in her eyes. It reminded her of Mugen in his youngest years. She prayed everyday that her daughter would become like him and eventually open back up to the world. She was only fourteen after all and she had many years ahead of her to grow.
But perhaps that was simply a silver dream.
A/N – Thanks for reading! Please forgive me, I should have just made this prologue a single chapter before, but I'm very particular. It took some constructive criticism to finally decide to get around to it. Despite that, the two chapter's have also been changed drastically. I believe its for the better, though not much plot was actually changed. Uhm, I'll also note for anyone currently following the story, I'm once again switching some plot up. For the prologue, Kagome is once again 14. I'm sorry...forgive me. But there's another change, the time skip is no longer 7 years. I've changed it to 4, because it helps keep the beginning grounded. I didn't change the last few paragraphs much, and I actually debated omitting them entirely, but they kind of show that after this big chapter re-write, not much is really going to change for the story.
Big thank you to Ink Outside the Lines, she gave me the aforementioned criticism which I believe changed my story for the better!
Anyway, thanks again for reading! Please review and tell me if you like the re-write!
