Japan has been at war for centuries. The dictator Naraku has been trying to take over the western lands from Sesshomaru ever since he killed the western lord's mate 500 years ago in the feudal era. Now in present day Japan, Kagome is being targeted by Narakus' gangs for her strange miko abilities and must resort to asking for the protection of a very heartless Daiyoukai in order to stay alive and discover the meaning of an old story her mother told her as a child. But will she develop hopeless feelings for a cold hearted man or can she get him to stop living in the past, and bring him to the present to stop war that's plagued demons and humans alike for centuries?
(A/N: hey this is my very first fanfiction! Yay! All criticism is welcome. I'm unsure as to what the rating should be (mostly because I only know what two of the rating symbols stand for… ) If I make any mistakes or spelling errors for what people are called (i.e. Miko, Youkai etc.) please tell me right away! Thanks and enjoy the story!)
"A very long time ago, a queen ruled over the great and powerful Western lands; from the flat plains and dangerous mountains to the scorching deserts and rolling seas. As queen it was her job to protect all living creatures on her lands from foreign invaders, human and demon alike. Because her role demanded so much power she asked for help from one of her most trusted and valiant of all generals, an Inu-Daiyoukai from the house of Taishou. She asked him to aid her in the duties of protecting her kingdom, as a lord of the Western lands, from the attacks coming from the Northern king. He bravely agreed. For years they fought alongside each other, taking down rouge demons and possessed humans. It wasn't long after, that they fell in love and mated. Many thought it was insane for a powerful demon like the Taishou lord to mate with a human, even if that human was the Queen, but what very few knew, is that the Queen was the last dragon demon, blessed by the gods. And because she was the last, Kami gifted her with the Shikon No Tama, the Jewel of Four Souls. She was warned that a great evil will attempt to take this wondrous gift from her and that she should protect it with her life, for if it got into the wrong hands it could destroy the world.
In her final days, the Taishou lord was away on a sudden treaty business with the Southern King. That was when the Northern King attacked. Soldiers fought to their very last breath, trying to save their queen. But after days of fighting, the king had forced his way through to the Queen. She was devastated. Her loyal soldiers had fought a losing battle while she had spent the last few days going through intense pain hiding the jewel inside her body and seeking out her private priestess to make sure the jewel would go on with her to her next life. She was exhausted and she knew she would die. But she would never give him the satisfaction of seeing her give up. So she fought.
It was short a short battle.
The king had her impaled on a wall, the moment her mate stormed in. He beheaded her the moment the lord saw her. The king disappeared the moment her lover charged in a blind rage. The king was gone in search of a way to refind the jewel, when the Inu-Daiyoukai heard a voice around him saying, "The Dragon Queen shall be reborn anew. And when the time comes she shall reclaim her kingdom and rid this world of its greatest evil-"
"Mom," I scolded from outside the door. "Do you really think you should be telling a little kid that story?" I asked referring to my 8-year old little brother, who was currently gazing at my mother with a mixture of horror and awe. "I realize that its bedtime but isn't he a little old to be getting a story to fall asleep to?"
My mother, slightly wrinkled around the eyes with age, rose from Souta's bed and followed me out into the hall, closing the door, and said, "Nonsense! You were told stories till you were-," she paused to think.
A moment passed.
And then another passed.
"Seriously?! You can't remember? What else did you forget?" I yelled.
She, easily replied, while laughing, "I'm just kidding, Kagome! Wow, you're always so serious. And yes, I do remember when I stopped telling you the story. If you remembered I only told just the one story. And I only stopped telling it to you because you started telling it to me… when you were 3!" she exclaimed, smiling.
I gave her a look that plainly said I didn't believe her. "You do realize how ludicrous that sounds. I mean a 3 year old girl reciting a short story from memory and not miss a single word… yeah if that's not as crazy as the lady who believes it, and then I don't know what crazy is," I snapped.
"Kagome," my mom sighed. "Why don't you go cool off, okay? How about shooting some arrows? That always calms you down," she said with a small smile.
"Sorry," I let out a deep sigh, "I've just been moody lately, maybe a few shots will calm me down." I grabbed my jacket, bow, and quiver, and went to the small target range I made outside to help with my miko training.
Ever since I was young I'd always shown an unnaturally high amount of reiki. The only problem with this is that it always built up to the point of exploding. My mother was always proud I had so much potential, but discouraged me from using them in public, because there was always the chance of them getting out of control and purifying many of the youkai and hanyou that were around me at the time. (A/N: demons don't hide from society in this)
As I made my way to the targets, I turned on the lights over the targets. As I noticed the slight warmth to the air, I stripped my jacket and repositioned my quiver. Taking my stance beneath the moon, I took aim, and released the arrow.
Scrape
The arrow didn't even hit the target, but a rock at least two feet from the target.
"DAMN IT!" I yelled, surprising myself at how loud my voice was.
My frustration built up as I thought of my mother, for this was her idea. I grumbled to myself as I went and retrieved the stray arrow. I went back to my original position and cocked an arrow. Taking and holding a deep breath, I gazed upward staring at the crescent moon. After a moment of staring, my unreasoned anger and frustration left and I was left feeling calm and slightly light headed. I looked back at the target and released my breath, taking another breath I let my reiki flow into the arrow and fired.
Whoosh…Thunk
A bright flash of pink light momentarily blinded me as the weapon struck the target. After regaining my vision, I saw that I had hit the bull's eye but at the same time burned away most of the target. As I looked at the damage, I let out a heavy sigh. I set my bow down and made my way to the target. I easily picked up the charred remains and brought them over to the small adjacent shed by the shooting area. I opened the door and tossed the ruined target inside and grabbed a thicker, heavier one instead.
While dragging it, I failed to notice several presences surrounding me. When I finally positioned my next "victim", I swung around to get my bow, but smacked straight into a very hard chest. Jerking back, I looked up to see who I'd run into when something grabbed me from behind me. I tried to swing loose but whoever grabbed me, moved fast because they had already wrapped something around my wrists. Quickly, I tried to purify whoever was holding onto me, but was met with the smell of burning rope that came with a wave of dizziness and was forced down to my knees.
A dark chuckle reverberated around me as the world started swaying. "Nice try," the voice said. "That rope there is draining your reiki. Don't worry its' not permanent, only a precaution. Jakotsu!"
The sound of feet pounding on the ground was painfully loud in my dazed state. I must have been pretty drained because I couldn't tell if this "Jakotsu" person was male or female.
"Yes Sir?" the strangely feminine voice said.
"Burn it down," the person, who was clearly the leader, said evilly. With these words my heart started beating into overtime. What's happening? What are they burning?
"S-s-stop… W-what are y-you d-doing?" I stuttered, trying to raise myself from my position on the ground. I succeeded in raising myself a foot or two off the ground when I was shoved back down again. Breathing hard and sweating heavily, I at least looked up at my captors.
On had a four pointed, purple star on his forehead and long, braided, black hair. The other had dark brown hair piled onto of their head. Both were carrying swords, one significantly larger than the other. The one with the bigger sword looked at me with cruel amusement in his eyes, while the weird woman looking man was gaping in awe as if I was a brand new toy they could play with.
"She's still conscious?" asked the one referred to as Jakotsu. "How long has she had the demon rope on her?"
The leader seemed to ponder this for a moment, and then said, "at least six minutes now. All the other mikos were out after the first minute. Hmm, I guess we got a lucky break with this one. Naraku will be pleased we could find a decently powerful miko out here," he laughed.
I growled low in my throat, gaining their attention. With more force, I said, "What are you doing to my home!?" flaring my reiki to high amounts, not caring that it would just make me weaker. I started too pulled against my binds and radiate more reiki from hands. The two standing over me didn't look worried about me escaping but were uncomfortable with the amount of reiki exposure in front of them.
The leader trying to gain control of the situation again, leaned down in my face and said with cruelty, "My men are going to burn down your house with your family inside of it. And seeing as your still conscious, you'll get front row seats." he finished grabbing my arm and dragging me up.
I was too stunned with his answer to realize I was now in front of what was the entrance of my house but now a column of fire. I snapped out of it when I heard the first screams. I surged forward but was dragged back when the leader grabbed the rope on my wrists and yanked me back.
"MOM!" I screamed fighting to break free of the rope. "SOUTA!"
With adrenaline pounding through my veins I turned my body around and faced the surprised face of my captor, and with as much force as I could muster rammed my head with his face. A satisfying crunch sounded beneath my forehead. He released me as he fell, and I immediately backed up and ran to the house. Jakotsu didn't even bother looking at me as I ran into the flames, but rushed to his fallen comrade's side, who was clutching his nose, trying to stop the blood from rushing down his face.
As I ran, my hands somehow escaped the rope binding them behind me. When I finally got in the house, I started to yell my families' names. I got a response from upstairs. I rushed upstairs, inhaling smoke on the way, when I found my mother huddling with Souta on the opposite side of the room. When she saw me she burst into tears and hugged me. Seeing as how there were bad guys out front we opted for a different exit. Crossing the room I threw open the window and told them I could lower them down but they'd have to drop the rest of the way. My mom had a fit, but I forced her out the window. By the time she was out, black smoke started to seep through the door. I grabbed Souta and hugged him close, whispering, "Take good care of mom, okay." I pulled away and saw tears running down his face.
There was a violent shaking and a loud creaking happening with the floor. Rushing, I grabbed Soutas hand and shoved him through the window and slowly lowered him down to my mother below. Just as I was about to raise myself out the window, the floor collapsed beneath me and I fell to the first floor on top of broken, wooden beams and flaming furniture. After inhaling a lot of smoke, I slowly raised myself up only to collapse again due to a sharp pain in my side. Looking down, I saw a large piece of wood sticking from my side.
"Shit," I muttered. I ripped a piece of my shirt off and wrapped it around the wood. Hands shaking, I pulled it out, screaming out in pain.
I tore more of my shirt and covered the wound. Shaking, breathing hard, choking on smoke, and sweltering in the fire, I rose from the ground and limped to the front door, knowing what was out there, but not caring.
As I neared the exit, I heard loud noises coming from out front that sounded like fighting. When I finally made it outside, I saw three strangers chasing away the people who tried to kill my family away with what looked like a sword, a giant tooth, and a jingly staff. I made it a good six feet from the crumbling house before collapsing in the dirt.
At the sound of something hitting the dirt, the three strangers turned and rushed over to me. One had kind of long black hair pulled back into a pony tail, and the other two had long silver hair, but one of them had slightly longer hair and jagged purple marks on his cheekbones, with a crescent moon on his forehead.
As my eyesight started to darken around the edges, I looked at the one who was clearly a youkai. Something deep within me awoke when I looked up at him. The moon on his forehead calming me instantly, somehow knowing I was safe with this man.
Just before I passed out I whispered, "I am back, Sesshomaru."
Then the world went black.