Snow White Queen
By Rayven Darkheart
Author's Note: For those that are fans of my other stories, don't worry, I'm not abandoning anything. It seems my writer's block has cleared up long enough for me to start this.
Prologue
"Kagome! You can't seriously be considering going back, can you?" Golden eyes met chocolate ones. Inuyasha stared at the woman he loved. She was thinking of going back to her own world. The shikon no tama had been pieced back together and Naraku defeated. "I'm not begging."
Kagome sat on the edge of the well, the only way to get back home. Her fingers slid over the smooth wood as she tried to find anything but Inuyasha to look at. "I have to go back. My mother and brother need me. My grandfather needs me. My job here is done." Her eyes slashed toward Inuyasha's forest. "Besides, you have Kikyou to keep you company."
Dog ears became plastered against silver hair. "Is that what this is all about? Kikyou? My God, Sesshoumaru was right about you; you are a stupid wench. Nothing more than that."
Tears sprang to Kagome's eyes, but before she could say a word, she heard a sinister feminine voice. "I'm glad to hear you feel that way Inuyasha. I'll take care of the problem for you." The couple turned to see Kikyou with her bow drawn.
Inuyasha didn't even have a chance to react. Kikyou released the arrow quickly and he could do no other than watch as the arrow struck Kagome. "No. Kagome, no," whispered the silver-haired hanyou. He tried to move forward to help, but something held him back. He couldn't move. "Kikyou! I'll kill you, bitch!"
A soft chuckle was his only response from the dead priestess.
Kagome sobbed quietly, staring into Inuyasha's eyes. The shikon no tama hanging around her neck gave a gentle cracking sound as most of it fell from the front of her to the ground. Only a single piece still clung to the leather thong. "Inu…yasha…" Before their very eyes the shikon no tama exploded up into the air and broke into hundreds of pieces, shooting off in different directions.
Kagome reached up and touched the arrow sticking in her chest. She gave her love one last glance before she fell backward into the well. Inuyasha moved forward and tried to grab her before she fell, but couldn't reach her.
The last thing he saw of the love of his life was her body as it disappeared into the familiar purple haze that was her way home.
Inuyasha felt a small poke against his shoulder and looked back to see Shippou standing behind him. "What do you want, rat boy?" His eyes seemed to look past the kitsune, something that had been a common occurrence for the past twenty years, ever since she disappeared from his life.
Smiling sadly, deciding not to give Inuyasha's rudeness much thought. "You really should consider coming with us, Inuyasha. I know things have been tough for you, but we've made very little headway in finding the shikon fragments. If only…"
A hard look replaced the far away one that always seemed to light Inuyasha's eyes. "Yeah well, she's not here! You keep saying it, as if that will bring her back, but we know it won't, don't we Shippou." Golden orbs surveyed the fields around them. Something was happening and it was big.
Chocolate eyes watched closely. The clash of swords rang out loudly in the air, disturbingly soothing considering what was to come. Kagome couldn't hold the chuckle as her younger brother, Souta, was thrown back to the ground, tripped by a well placed appendage and a hard hit to the sternum. "Akina, be careful. Your uncle Souta isn't as young as he once was."
Golden eyes met Kagome's chocolate gaze. "Sorry Mother, I sometimes forget my own strength." The girl reached a hand down to her felled uncle and helped him. He smiled at her in return and patted her on the back gently, murmuring his approval of her technique.
Kagome watched her nineteen year old daughter and smiled. "You're much better with your katana than I was with a bow at your age. Are you sure you want to do this?" She couldn't help but let the worry creep into her voice. Suddenly, she realized just what she had put her mother through all those years.
Akina only nodded and sheathed her katana carefully. "You said it yourself, Mother. Things can be changed if I go, and I think it's meant to be. Why else would the well start working after all these years?" She strolled over and gave her mother a gentle hug. "You know me, I'll stay safe."
Kagome growled playfully at her daughter and ruffled her long hair. "Yeah, I do know you. That's why I worry. You're a lot like him, you know." Akina only nodded. "Just be cautious. Things are a lot different there than they are here." Kagome eyed the girl's clothing suspiciously.
Akina grinned. "What's wrong, don't like the outfit?" She struck an exaggerated pose so Kagome could continue to have something to narrow her eyes at. "So it's not a kimono, but I can't possibly fight in all of that extra cloth should I need to."
Souta cleared his throat, reminding the two women of his presence. "You know, Kagome, what's she's wearing is a lot better than the school uniform you used to traipse around in." He smiled cheekily at his sister and wrapped a supportive arm around his niece's shoulders. "She'll be fine. She knows what she's doing and she's got a little extra on her side. We both know that."
Sighing deeply, she mumbled, "Fine, you two win. I just hope you packed warmer clothes than that." The girl nodded her head in the affirmative. "All right, you better get going. It'll be getting dark soon, and I don't want you traveling the forest alone. You know where to go from the well. Ask for Kaede or Miroku. I'm sure if nothing else, they can tell you where to look."
Akina hugged each one of them as they started to walk toward the shrine. "Don't worry so much, Mother. You'll get wrinkles." She gave them each one last hug before she dropped her pack down the well and then climbed out of sight.
Her vision was suddenly filled with light that reminded her of the piece of jewel she kept on the leather thong around her neck. Almost as soon as it appeared, it disappeared, leaving her in the bottom of a well much like the one she had just climbed through, but newer.
She strained her ears to see if she could hear any threats before she began her ascent. Before she could even reach the halfway point, she froze. In the not so far distance, she heard a loud male voice screaming, "Yeah well, she's not here! You keep saying it, as if that will bring her back, but we know it won't, don't we Shippou."