Prologue
Cold Chill
Darkness enveloped the lands, the stars being consumed, the moon
vanishing, even as the sun set farther into the distance to bring warmth
to the other side of the earth. A cold chill overcame every being that
moved, every life form that breathed in that utter darkness.
No one was spared the cold reality, no one was overlooked.
It was as if death itself had gripped each person, each creature, and
locked them in its grasp.
Fires were lit for warmth, but an icy wind easily took out each
individual light, taking with it every last spark of hope that may still
be left in the eyes of those condemned to the frozen, barren reminder of
fatality.
A tall man walked, seemingly unaffected by the overwhelming chill that
reached to him.
"My lord...I cannot...keep...up..." a croaky voice said from behind him.
The tall man paid no heed to the voice that seemed as if it were falling
into the distance and forever abandoning him. He did not care if the
voice forever disappeared, he waited for no one.
A small whimper of silence broke the silence that filled his mind, the
quiet that rang in his ears. He looked over his shoulder and froze.
A small dark-haired girl sat huddled on the ground. Her entire small
figure was being overcome with violent shivers and shudders. Her lips
were tinged blue, as were her fingers. Her eyes were half closed, the
spark in them fading quickly.
A sound of fear erupted from his throat as he turned to her and kneeled
at her side. He put a hand to her face, the touch gentle, to find how
cold her cheeks were. He picked her up and pulled her to him, panic
overcoming him as he realized how cold it was for a human. And she
wasn't even wearing any warm clothes. He wrapped his tail around her in
an effort to keep her warm, and pulled her into the shelter of his large
frame.
The breeze picked up, a ghostly sound following it. The wind began to
beat at his still form, and being still, the cold began to get to even
him.
The girl in his arms became less and less aware of what was happening,
her body failing to continue its attempt to keep her warm.
"Sess...shou...m..." Silence followed.
The man looked down to find her eyes closed, her breath coming short and
rare.
Terror picked up in him, "Stay with me, Rin. Do not leave me all alone."
He said, a catch in his voice, desperation plain to even the deafest
human ear. "Do not leave me."
A small group sat huddled together around the remains of their fire.
No one really knew what was happening, least of all a dark-haired girl in
strange clothing. She simply watched as the others began to shiver,
unable to aid them in any way. She had already handed out blankets, but
the heavy material didn't seem to help at all.
"I don't understand, what is wrong?" she asked, worry evident in her
voice.
"D-don't you f-feel it?" a dark-haired woman asked. She was shivering
despite the fact that a dark-haired man had wrapped his arms around her
in an effort to help her.
"Feel what?" she asked, confused at the reaction of everyone else in the
group.
"It's f-f-freezing!" The woman shouted, her voice hoarse, a shiver
echoing through it.
The girl knew it to be so, but wasn't really affected. She attempted to
spark the fire once more, though the matches she lit all seemed to be
bright and warm, the wood she attempted to light never heated up, never
caught fire.
She burned her fingers three times in attempting to do so, and she used
every last match that she had left. She found tears falling down her
cheeks at her inability to help her friends. She looked up and found, to
her horror, that the dark-haired couple lay there together, motionless.
"Sango? Miroku?" she whispered their names in fear. She feared that
they would never wake from the death-like sleep that seemed to have
overcome the both of them.
She turned to the littlest in the group. He too was frozen. He too was
motionless. Gently, she placed him with the other two in hopes that that
might help all, or any of them, get warm.
She turned to see the strongest, and most stubborn, of their group.
"Kagome..." escaped his lips.
Kagome stood in fear as she saw him. His hair was somewhere between the
silver yokai and the black human form. His eyes were a mix of yellow and
black, a tint of red in their depths.
"It is not a full moon, you are not supposed to be in human form...you are
yokai tonight," she said, her hand at her mouth, the hot tears streaming
down her cheeks. She didn't know what to do, didn't know if she could do
anything at all.
His eyes dimmed and his breathing slowed.
"Inu-yasha..." Kagome said, going to his side, fear in her big brown eyes.
She reached to take his hand, but at the moment they were to touch, hers
simply went right through, their skin never meeting.
Stark terror filled her as she continued to try to touch him, and she
continued to fail.
"Kagome..." he repeated, finding it hard to keep his eyes open, the bitter
wind stinging them.
She put her hand to his cheek in an effort to comfort him, though she
could not touch him.
"Be safe...Kagome..." he muttered simply, placing his hand to her cheek,
though he could not touch her either.
"I will, I promise, Inu-yasha." She said, her voice filled with earnest.
His eyes closed, his hand fell.
Kagome was left alone.
Cold Chill
Darkness enveloped the lands, the stars being consumed, the moon
vanishing, even as the sun set farther into the distance to bring warmth
to the other side of the earth. A cold chill overcame every being that
moved, every life form that breathed in that utter darkness.
No one was spared the cold reality, no one was overlooked.
It was as if death itself had gripped each person, each creature, and
locked them in its grasp.
Fires were lit for warmth, but an icy wind easily took out each
individual light, taking with it every last spark of hope that may still
be left in the eyes of those condemned to the frozen, barren reminder of
fatality.
A tall man walked, seemingly unaffected by the overwhelming chill that
reached to him.
"My lord...I cannot...keep...up..." a croaky voice said from behind him.
The tall man paid no heed to the voice that seemed as if it were falling
into the distance and forever abandoning him. He did not care if the
voice forever disappeared, he waited for no one.
A small whimper of silence broke the silence that filled his mind, the
quiet that rang in his ears. He looked over his shoulder and froze.
A small dark-haired girl sat huddled on the ground. Her entire small
figure was being overcome with violent shivers and shudders. Her lips
were tinged blue, as were her fingers. Her eyes were half closed, the
spark in them fading quickly.
A sound of fear erupted from his throat as he turned to her and kneeled
at her side. He put a hand to her face, the touch gentle, to find how
cold her cheeks were. He picked her up and pulled her to him, panic
overcoming him as he realized how cold it was for a human. And she
wasn't even wearing any warm clothes. He wrapped his tail around her in
an effort to keep her warm, and pulled her into the shelter of his large
frame.
The breeze picked up, a ghostly sound following it. The wind began to
beat at his still form, and being still, the cold began to get to even
him.
The girl in his arms became less and less aware of what was happening,
her body failing to continue its attempt to keep her warm.
"Sess...shou...m..." Silence followed.
The man looked down to find her eyes closed, her breath coming short and
rare.
Terror picked up in him, "Stay with me, Rin. Do not leave me all alone."
He said, a catch in his voice, desperation plain to even the deafest
human ear. "Do not leave me."
A small group sat huddled together around the remains of their fire.
No one really knew what was happening, least of all a dark-haired girl in
strange clothing. She simply watched as the others began to shiver,
unable to aid them in any way. She had already handed out blankets, but
the heavy material didn't seem to help at all.
"I don't understand, what is wrong?" she asked, worry evident in her
voice.
"D-don't you f-feel it?" a dark-haired woman asked. She was shivering
despite the fact that a dark-haired man had wrapped his arms around her
in an effort to help her.
"Feel what?" she asked, confused at the reaction of everyone else in the
group.
"It's f-f-freezing!" The woman shouted, her voice hoarse, a shiver
echoing through it.
The girl knew it to be so, but wasn't really affected. She attempted to
spark the fire once more, though the matches she lit all seemed to be
bright and warm, the wood she attempted to light never heated up, never
caught fire.
She burned her fingers three times in attempting to do so, and she used
every last match that she had left. She found tears falling down her
cheeks at her inability to help her friends. She looked up and found, to
her horror, that the dark-haired couple lay there together, motionless.
"Sango? Miroku?" she whispered their names in fear. She feared that
they would never wake from the death-like sleep that seemed to have
overcome the both of them.
She turned to the littlest in the group. He too was frozen. He too was
motionless. Gently, she placed him with the other two in hopes that that
might help all, or any of them, get warm.
She turned to see the strongest, and most stubborn, of their group.
"Kagome..." escaped his lips.
Kagome stood in fear as she saw him. His hair was somewhere between the
silver yokai and the black human form. His eyes were a mix of yellow and
black, a tint of red in their depths.
"It is not a full moon, you are not supposed to be in human form...you are
yokai tonight," she said, her hand at her mouth, the hot tears streaming
down her cheeks. She didn't know what to do, didn't know if she could do
anything at all.
His eyes dimmed and his breathing slowed.
"Inu-yasha..." Kagome said, going to his side, fear in her big brown eyes.
She reached to take his hand, but at the moment they were to touch, hers
simply went right through, their skin never meeting.
Stark terror filled her as she continued to try to touch him, and she
continued to fail.
"Kagome..." he repeated, finding it hard to keep his eyes open, the bitter
wind stinging them.
She put her hand to his cheek in an effort to comfort him, though she
could not touch him.
"Be safe...Kagome..." he muttered simply, placing his hand to her cheek,
though he could not touch her either.
"I will, I promise, Inu-yasha." She said, her voice filled with earnest.
His eyes closed, his hand fell.
Kagome was left alone.
