Some believed that crickets were good luck, an indisputable sign that the days to come would be merrier than the last. Her grandmother had taught her this the very first time her 3-year-old innocent self became conscious of the curious little insects around their garden. Tonight, it was that precise childish belief that brought a small smile to Kagome's face when the sound of their singing reached her ears. One would be surprised how believable such a myth seemed when the situation proved dire enough. A small sigh unconsciously escaped her lips when their owner parted them in wonder, her eyes lingering on her surroundings.
It was still so very dark outside, but despite having walked barefooted a long way, her legs did not give any signs of protest, nor did her slender body quiver too visibly from the cool night air whipping against her through her soft nightgown. Instead, she enjoyed the surprisingly peaceful scenery; they were soundlessly passing through a quiet village surrounded by mountain forests. Closing her eyes to take a deep inhale, she could feel the pleasant sensation of her lungs filling with fresh air. When was the last time her lungs got a treat of such pure oxygen?
Weary cerulean orbs latched their suspicious gaze onto the back of the 'man' walking in front of her. Half an hour ago, his appearance had wreaked havoc inside her already weakened mind, for she was sure that this being in front of her had every intention to hurt her. As minutes passed by, she had been proven thoroughly wrong. General Masato, as she had come to learn his name due to several of the other unnamed men addressing him, had not done a single thing to harm her. All with the exception of the stinging insult he had blatantly thrown at her during the first moments of their encounter.
'Human filth.' His words had seemed so venomous, so full of hate and loathing that her mind still hurt at recalling them. Without a doubt, this was the first time someone spoke to Kagome as if she had done them injustice, as if she was guilty of the most hideous of crimes. It was truly the first time she was treated with harshness she only believed felons worthy of. It made her wonder what exactly these beings believed her guilty of. Had she truly done something wrong? Was that why she was being kidnapped by these soldiers? Or maybe she was being confused with someone else? And yet, the few words that the general had spoken to her later on lacked the fiendish tone that so cruelly etched itself inside her brain. She did not know what to believe of this 'man'.
Her tender hand came to rest upon her chest. At least her racing heart had somewhat calmed down, for it had taken everything her fragile mind had to latch onto the small string keeping her binded to sanity, before she succumbed to the turbulent pits of her mind. No one could possibly blame her. So many things had happened in such a short span of time.
With an inaudible gulp, her darkened irises took in for the countless time the appearance of her captors. The more she analyzed every aspect of their being, of their clothing –or rather, of their armor-, of their behavior, the more she found truth in the general's words. 'You have traveled through time, priestess.' She shook her head. Of course she would deny it, any rational person would. Such things weren't possible. Even the most gifted of scientists has yet to discover the secret of time travel, so how could she possibly believe that a man –most specifically her uncle- knew of this and sent her to a time where apparitional beings took her hostage? It wasn't possible!
And yet, here she was, and given said circumstances, her rational side advised to quickly come to terms with how things were. In the end, her main goal was to return from where she had come from, without further worsening her current predicament. Easier said than done. However, for this simple, yet incredibly hard plan to be put in motion, she did what most people did in her situation, with no regards to the fact that the soldiers escorting her must have already dealt with this kind of thing numerous times before during their warrior lives and would not be fooled by the petty charade a scared little girl would pull off.
Still, it was the best course of action for her to take, all things considered, so Kagome quickened her footsteps until she fell in pace beside the intimidating general.
Masato watched her curiously. How fitting that a human who had no knowledge of demons would scream less than those of this time who saw them daily. Without a doubt, he was well aware of what the girl was trying to do. He would say 'ingenious' had this not been the aforementioned strategy the more 'intelligent' lot of the prisoners took. He was well acquainted with how a captive would try to escape and –as was expected- the girl chose to play obedient. He would let her. The journey would prove much more bearable this way. She managed to keep the trembling of her body to a very low degree, he would commend her effort for that. If truth be told, he had not expected this human girl to be so deadly frightened by his appearance. Perhaps he had forgotten in those moments that this was the first time she laid eyes on a representative of the superior species walking the Earth. Bearing that in mind, he could overlook her loud reaction. His crimson orbs swiftly took in the peculiar, yet undeniably familiar physical appearance of the girl. She was a petite one even among humans, he could tell. Her facial features were pleasant enough. Granted, they were not as striking as those of her ancestor, but still fetching for a human. Of course, what had truly caught his attention were her eyes that at this very moment were trying to face him, but whenever they met his scrutinizing gaze, they would look away in fright. Even among demons, blue-colored eyes were rare. For a human of her lineage to have them, that was even more of a rarity. An oddity, really.
"Speak, girl."
He would permit her to speak. After all, he could see how she tried to form words but was most likely terrified of angering him should she speak without permission. How perceptive of her. He would indulge her this once, if only for a little amusement. What could this human girl possibly have to say to him?
"Thank you."
His inquiring eyes turned to her then, but his expression gave no other indication that he had not expected her to say those words. Gratitude? Was that was this human was trying to convey to him? He must have heard wrong.
"For letting me walk, I mean," she explained, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly upward with self pride at not stuttering as she so feared she would.
Ah, yes. He had let her walk. He had thought that request of hers to be an odd one, as most prisoners, human or not, would not desire to walk in such a situation. It was mainly because asking to walk when your enemies desire to keep you hostage may come as a challenge toward them. It was similar to sending them an indirect message of your intention to flee or defeat them. Many a captors would easily lose their temper and decapitate their reckless prisoners for daring insinuate something like this, Masato himself having done that to many prisoners of war, for he could clearly see in their eyes that they believed themselves far superior to him and his subordinates. He despised groundless arrogance just as much as he despised evident weakness. But Masato was not the Commander in chief of the Western army for nothing. He had studied the girl the moment her request had reached his keen pointed ears. Her aura was calm, her fear still tangible, but there was no trace of malice or mischief to taint her pure presence. It was in that moment that he actually took the time to notice the fluctuation of the girl's feelings. She could not mask her aura as skilled priests could, so she was even easier to read than an opened book. He was surprised, to say the least. The more his own demonic aura came in contact with her pure one, the more of her he could sense. It was as if with every single spark of energy that undoubtedly went unnoticed by her untrained body, she would convey her most inner musings to him. And Masato was truly surprised by the stormy sensations he could feel coming from the small woman who at that time was still perched up upon his shoulder. Her aura was as pure as that of a child. Warm, untouched, untainted, tender. It almost seemed to make her glow. How unusual. How tempting.
At first, he had intended to deny the girl the right to walk on her own, even considering striking her for good measure. Her kind was always too stubborn for his liking. But the more her aura touched his, the more he could feel such ill-willed thoughts leave him. And so, he had let her down, unbound her hands, and walked in front of her, his subordinates forming a circle around her to block all escape routes should his decision to let her walk backfire.
Seeing that he wasn't about to respond to her words, Kagome focused on the road ahead of them. Really, she was grateful. At this point she was grateful for every little thing that she was allowed to do. She would not lose hope, it really wasn't in her nature. If there was one thing Kagome would not change about herself, it would be this: the fact that she was able to quickly find something good and hopeful in order to strive for something better. She had her grandmother to thank for that.
She had given her current predicament much, much thought, and after thorough consideration, she had come to the following conclusions: she was not going insane, thank Kami for that. From what she could gather, these strange apparitions were somehow responsible for what she had experienced up until now –if the fact that their presence reminded her so well of the presence that had haunted her during the ceremony was any indication; she was far away from home –believing in time travel proved difficult even with all the evidence her surroundings provided her with, so she resorted to just think of this as being somewhere far away from home; she needed to find out what they wanted from her –obviously someone believed that she was useful for something, otherwise she would've not been kidnapped- so if she found out what they wanted, she could try and give them that as fast as possible and maybe then she could leave; these beings hated her –for whatever reason, they loathed her for belonging to the human species. This somehow brought about the very thing she had wanted to ask this general ever since he had let her walk.
"...what are you?"
Her soft voice came out barely above a whisper, and Masato could tell that she was getting ready to repeat her question, for she undoubtedly believed he had not heard her. He cut her off before she could do so, the girl would soon learn how superior their senses were compared to those of a mere human.
"Demons."
Kagome stared at him. Had she heard right?
"No, that's not possible..."
Masato was amused indeed. He had yet to meet someone who would deny the existence of creatures such as he.
"Are you not a priestess?"
Kagome nodded with uncertainty. "I am, but-"
"Then have you not been taught of your sworn enemies?"
"Demons do not exist!"
Masato regarded her coldly, his amusement gone. Oblivious to their existence or not, the girl would not be allowed to further insult them with her delusional denial. He could also sense how his soldiers' auras were reacting in kind, not at all pleased with the girl's words.
Kagome fought off goose-bumps, her hands coming up to rub her cold arms. She could feel harsh chills coursing rapidly through her body, her steps not as steady anymore as her fear grew in proportion. For some reason, her heart sped up as once again she felt herself surrounded by the presence of danger.
The general had immediately noticed the harsh tensing of the priestess's body. He was well aware that priests could sense the rise in demonic auras, but this girl had only become a priestess a little over an hour ago. Her body's response was too accurate for someone as inexperienced as her. Still, there was no other explanation for it.
"You feel it, don't you?" his rough tone demanded. "Our auras, our murderous intent, you can feel them. Make no mistake, human, you have no privileges among us."
How she would've retorted to his remark! Oh, how she would've let him know just what she believed of their treatment of her! She might've even said something too, had it not been for how her body seemed to lock her anger deep within her and not let it out. She still felt a nagging feeling that something wasn't right! The murderous intent the general spoke of seemed to decrease once he reprimanded her, the guards pleased that the prisoner had been shown her place, but the danger continued to linger far more noticeably than before. Her body continued to quiver, and her fear refused to disappear. Her body's reaction was keeping her from verbally lashing out to express her disapproval regarding the General's behavior. Frankly speaking, it was a good thing too. Kagome did not know it yet and that was understandable, really. Her state of mind was weak, and even though she had come to a definite resolve regarding her situation, her mind was still under great emotional strain. She couldn't exactly grasp the gravity of her predicament. Not entirely at least. But even though she did not know it yet, further angering a high-leveled demon such as the one walking next to her wasn't a wise move. More importantly, however, was the fact that with each step she took, her apprehension grew. Something was terribly wrong! It was as if her instincts were screaming at her to beware, to take cover, to watch out!
Blinking rapidly, Kagome let her eyes slightly glance behind her, forcing herself not to sob at the appearance of the soldiers. They had a humanoid appearance, yes, but they had more than a few animalistic traits about them. Still, the feeling of impending danger grew to a worrying degree, until she was certain of one thing.
Fighting against her thoughts of how risky her action was, for her fear now bordered terror, she could not help her hands reaching out to tightly clutch onto the much larger, metal-covered arm of the general.
"We're in danger..."
Her frightened whisper had Masato snap his irritated gaze toward the young child who so helplessly grabbed onto his arm, holding it so tight as if it actually offered her a strange sort of protection.
"Nonsense. There are no enemies around," was his prompt answer. The area they were passing through had been thoroughly inspected beforehand. No enemies were anywhere near their location. Also, his keen senses did not detect any foreign aura. He had no idea what trick the girl was trying to pull off, but he was done indulging her.
"Someone wants to kill us, don't you see?! I can feelit!" Kagome desperately pleaded. Bile started forming within her at how sick and tangible the killing intent felt to her now. It was just like during the ceremony! She could feel it coming! She knew better than to ignore this feeling!
"Cease your-"
"Behind you!" Kagome screamed.
It was worse than during the ceremony. This time the presence was too close, and too strong. It allowed her to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from, even though the presence did not take the form of a dark shadow.
The sharp noise of metal hitting metal had her head snap behind her.
The sight horrified her. Her frozen mind managed to conjure the fact that the general had immediately reacted to her words and managed to block the sword hit that would have most likely gravely injured him, if not actually kill him. Instead, the general's own sword pierced the abdomen of his unexpected opponent, leaving both her and the others to stare in shock. The one who had initiated the attack was none other than the soldier walking right behind Kagome. Masato swiftly moved, executing a series of precise blows, and efficiently knocking away the sword from the soldier's hand, thus removing his own weapon from the demon's flesh with a harsh tearing sound. The other warriors were speechless at what had happened, moving to quickly immobilize their defeated comrade. He was not dead, they knew, but seeing as the general wasted no time in pressing the well-known pressure points to have him unconscious for the rest of the journey, they knew what awaited their fallen fighter. Judging by the wound their general gave him, he would survive until they reached the castle. Just enough until he would be interrogated. If he would not die during said interrogation, then he would most likely be executed once it ended.
"Scout the area," Masato ordered. He needed to make sure there truly was no one in sight. Whatever had made this happen, it seemed the enemy had somehow managed to slip through his defenses. It gave him a clue as to whom might be able to carry out such a feat, yet he would refrain from making groundless assumptions. His lord needed to be notified immediately of this recent turn of events.
With high jumps, each one in a different direction, the remaining soldiers quickly moved to carry out their superior's command.
Masato turned to face the shocked priestess.
"What else do you sense, girl?"
There was no logical explanation for her abnormal spiritual awareness, but now Masato needed to make sure.
"Nothing. It's gone," Kagome said with a slight nod.
Her knees gave in under her, letting her slowly fall to the ground, her bare legs resting onto the soft grass. She really needed to catch her breath. For some reason, she felt devoid of her usual energy, and too weak to stand up straight.
This was proof enough for Masato. Of course such a thing would wear her off, her body was still unaccustomed to the strain using such an extent of spiritual awareness required. It appeared she would not be able to walk after all.
"How did you manage to foretell the attack?"
His question had Kagome stare at him strangely. Wasn't he the one who had a more extensive knowledge of priests? Surely he could understand what had happened much better than she could. Kami knew she honestly had no idea what really occurred back there.
"I don't know..."
The general narrowed his eyes, despite having not detected any lies in her tone.
"What had you scream so suddenly that danger was upon us?" He tried again in an attempt to give her a clue as to what she might be searching for to give a more proper answer.
Kagome was deep in thought. What, indeed.
"I felt the...murderous intent coming from all of you," she began with marked uncertainty. "Once you've let me know I'm worthless, it died down a bit. But not completely...I could feel a different kind of killing intent coming. When it kept growing I could tell it was behind us."
Although she truly owed him nothing, Kagome felt like smacking herself. Really? Really?! Even she couldn't make anything of that poor excuse of an explanation. Maybe she wasn't so sane after all. Still, it was the best that she could give.
The angry glare she had so shamelessly thrown at him when she uttered the word 'worthless' did not go unnoticed by the piercing eyes of the commander, yet her explanation had more than confirmed his suspicions, and so he left the girl to her thoughts. The young female was more valuable than they previously believed. At this rate, the war would end in their favor.
"You truly are her descendant," the general's low voice penetrated her thoughts.
Confused azure eyes turned to regard his daunting face. Here, from her position on the ground, this demon seemed so much more imposing, so much more authoritative, and oh, so much dourer, that her initial fear of him was renewed. The more she looked at him, and the more used she got used to his overwhelming presence, the more fearful and uncertain she got of her future here. Escaping from such creatures…it seemed so very unattainable.
"Priestess Kikyo?" Kagome softly implied. It wasn't hard making the connection. "You know of her?"
"Of course," the general's voice turned grim. "She only died several months ago."
"Is this the girl?" a most irritating squeaky voice demanded. The night had barely begun and yet the garrison that the Western Lord dispatched in the morning already returned, having successfully managed to retrieve their futuristic prisoner. This, however, did not sit well with the imp that moments ago, instead of properly commending the safe return of the soldiers, only paid attention to the much-too-young slumbering female on the back of his master's two-headed dragon, Ah Un.
They were at the grand front gates of the castle walls, and Masato and his soldiers all but ignored the rash inquiry of the toad imp and hastily made the necessary preparations to enter the imperial grounds. They could not afford to keep the priestess outside the castle's barrier a moment longer.
Upon the firm nudging that the general gave their goldenly embroidered reins, the dragon paced in front of the large garrison so that it could first encounter the demonically enchanted walls that served as pillars for the fortified barrier. Being Lord Sesshomaru's personal 'steed', the two-headed creature carried his master's royal pendant that served as way of communication between him and the Western Lord. Once the crescent pendant glowed an eerie green, and the unmistakable sinister aura of their supreme ruler hurriedly leaked through it and surrounded both the dragon and the unconscious captive, the barrier allowed them to enter.
The general and his subordinates acted in kind, flaring their auras for the barrier to recognize their respective signatures. As expected, they could all pass the large gates, the ancient brick structure of the thick walls still standing as firmly and as proudly as the day they were first built.
"Now wait just a moment, general!" screeched the green imp following behind them.
"Counselor Jaken, I must report to my lord immediately. Please announce my arrival."
Masato had no time for more protocol. Things had not gone precisely according to plan, his report demanded the immediate attention of the Western ruler.
"Lord Sesshomaru has awakened the moment you summoned his dragon, general," informed Jaken. "Milord's chamberlain will announce you."
"Very well."
"General Masato!"
The blue-skinned general turned to face the soldier who called for him, and once he gave him a nod to signal that he was allowed to speak, the soldier continued.
"What should we do with the prisoner?"
Masato was not sure. Of course, his lord made preparations for the girl's arrival but he was certain her chambers were not yet ready. Not entirely at least. The room she would be staying in needed a powerful seal to keep her spiritual powers at bay, and once he let his senses reach out, Masato could easily tell that the seer they had asked to do the job was still within the castle grounds. No doubt, the girl's chambers were not ready yet.
"Give her to me," he finally said.
Nodding, the soldier moved toward the dragon and easily lifted up the young female, before placing her into the arms of his superior. Then, with a short bow, followed by his fellow comrades, they all left for their homes. If they were lucky, with the girl's arrival, their lord would not request they train so diligently. They were already strong enough and rumored to be the best fighters among all the surrounding lands. However, they doubted such a thing would happen, both because of their lord's ambitious nature and because of their own demon pride. So in the end, their main reason for heading home so quickly was to catch a few more hours of rest before their morning training requested their early presence.
The sound of heavy footsteps disturbed the eerie silence as dark boots stealthily trudged upon the refined marble floor of the corridor which held the imperial sleeping chambers. There was no one inside the grand study, so Masato figured that his lord had yet to leave his personal quarters. Passing by many doors that displayed an elegant reddish brown coated by a golden luster, it was the grand pair of white oak doors that imposingly stood out in the center of the hall. The tiger demon that served as the lord's chamberlain bowed to the general and moved to announce his arrival, but right before he could do so, the heavy doors opened.
"Lord Sesshomaru," Masato greeted with a most respectful bow.
Clad in a black sleeping yukata, Sesshomaru gave a light nod of acknowledgement to his commander in chief before dismissing his chamberlain for the night. Although many weeks have passed since the last time he had allowed his body and mind to rest, he would not be sleeping tonight. Granted, since things were taking all the right turns and were still so very beneficial to him, sleep seemed but a meaningless bother in the face of all this.
After sparing an impassive glance at the small figure lying so innocently in his subject's arms, the Western lord silently turned around, heading straight for his personal library, the general following closely behind. Privacy, above all else, was of great value, and the disclosure of military and political affairs to maids and castle servants was something to be avoided. These sort of matters were his own. And so, aside from his bedchambers, the library was the most secluded area in the West wing of the castle.
Wordlessly following the much larger form of his silver-haired ruler, Masato's crimson eyes casted their gaze upon the sleeping girl, noting with approval how her slumber was still as deep as it had been for the past few hours. She never even stirred or made a sound. It strangely reminded him of a small pup who despite fervent protests went to sleep immediately once he closed his eyes. In essence, that was all this human was to them, age-wise. A pup, not even over two decades, whereas their own years reached over quite a few centuries. Such irony that creatures such as they deemed useful the power of a young being such as her.
Sensing the approach of the dog demon's unmistakable aura, the demons guarding the imperial library skillfully lit the two torches placed on either side of the beautifully-crafted doors, thus illuminating the otherwise obscure corridor. With a reverential bending of their upper bodies, they opened the doors for their master and his faithful general, closing them swiftly afterward.
Once they stepped inside the spacious room designed to house the exquisite collection of ancient scrolls and parchments, the silent stride of the youkai lord continued until he reached the large window that overlooked the training grounds of his armies. Swiftly, the precise gaze of his golden hues penetrated the darkness surrounding his lands, but the tall dog demon made no move to sit on the chair his subjects were used to see him sit in whenever he retreated to his library. Lethally clawed fingers moved to grasp the leathery hilt of one of the two swords tied securely at his waist in a practiced, and now fairly natural, gesture of a stance that easily allowed him to switch between battle and diplomacy.
"A sleeping spell?" his low voice inquired. Albeit monotone, his voice underlined severity. Masato had learned this within his first years of serving the feared Western lord.
"I thought it appropriate that the girl not exhaust herself further until we reached the barrier, my lord."
At that, Sesshomaru slightly turned his head, thus allowing his now harsh irises to lock with those of his general in silent warning. The girl was not supposed to exhaust herself in any way. No doubt that her usefulness went as far as her physical condition allowed. His displeasure turned threatening as the hand that he had rested upon the hilt of his sword easily let go to loosely hang at his side.
"The girl overused her spiritual powers. She would've been in no condition to continue traveling,"
"You have summoned Ah Un, along with the second garrison I've prepared in case of an emergency."
Yes, of course, the summoning of reinforcements needed to be thoroughly explained, so Masato moved to place the girl upon the large cushions right beside the massive wooden desk. Despite it being a place reserved for honored guests and this being a daring move on his part, his master made no move to stop him.
"We've been attacked, my lord," the general commenced once he took the customary stance before his ruler. "You have foreseen well the possibility of an ambush. However, it did not come as one would've expected."
The slight narrow of Sesshomaru's glowing aureate orbs had Masato carefully consider his next words. Despite having been in the military service of the Western demon lord for many centuries, one never actually got accustomed to how dangerously easy the dog demon's aura switched from cold and ominous to homicidal.
"One of our soldiers has been possessed and tried to attack. Although we have dealt with enemy possessions before, this one was more refined. Instead of possessing him completely from the very beginning, the soldier acted normally all throughout the journey until something triggered his possession."
There was no doubt. For decades now, such things have occurred within the Western lands. It started at the border with the Northern lands, but all too soon the attacks gradually spread out. It was no secret that the Western lands were the most prosperous of all and have always been the center of all major economical activities. The great dog demon that had ruled these lands over 800 years ago, Inutaisho, often waged war against the neighboring lands to avoid the loss of such blessed grounds, and time and again the Western armies defeated their fierce enemies. The hostilities never stopped however, peace treaties were only as meaningful as a paper signed by a thief who promised not to steal but inevitably ended up stealing once more. The analogy was very accurate, since it was just that precise thing that the neighboring lands were doing. However, unlike his kind-hearted father, who sought peace and was easily persuaded to end a war, Sesshomaru, the eldest son of the great dog demon, was not like his father. Not in the very least. Although his physical appearance strikingly resembled that of his father, having even managed to surpass him in terms of good looks, the young dog demon was not to be mistaken with his late sire. Flawless pale skin, honey-colored eyes and long silver hair aside, in terms of personality, Sesshomaru was the opposite of his lord father. His reputation was deeply ingrained in the minds of all those who've had the misfortune of daring to oppose him. In the perception of the young Western lord, governing lands required not only strength, stealth, cunningness, intelligence. It also excluded things as mercy, kindness, benevolence. Sesshomaru's judgments were just, precise, and calculated, but at the same time unforgiving, merciless, ruthless. There was no hesitation, no regret in his decisions. They were absolute. He was what they would call a supreme ruler. He had no doubt that the neighboring countries have been trying to tempt him into starting a war precisely because they believed him a replica of the great dog demon, someone who would only chase them away and then offer peace. What fools they were. Only months ago did he slaughter the Northern Lands' lord, but they refused to retreat as a tactful fighter would. Instead, they kept tempting him with petty attacks. But they need not tempt Sesshomaru. Even had they not done anything, he would've waged war against them to conquer their lands. All he needed was a motive, and they were all but offering it on a silver platter. How convenient. Soon, what he had most desired would finally be in his grasp: supreme conquest.
"How many casualties?" the lord inquired once more.
"None, my lord. The priestess was the one who stopped the attack."
And Sesshomaru turned then to fully face his general. Entertaining what Masato said was proving to be a hard task, seeing as the girl's lack of training would certainly prevent such a thing from happening. However, he had already been aware that the human female had a much more impressive extrasensory perception than they've predicted. He motioned for the general to continue.
"From what I've been able to tell, the girl could sense a foreign aura within the soldier's natural one. Once she's alerted me of the impending attack, I have immobilized the soldier and had him sent to the dungeons. He is ready for interrogation."
Masato had done well, Sesshomaru concluded. Needless to say, in such situations, reinforcements were most needed. The enemy must have not been far away if such a possession had been carried out. It did not take a fairly intelligent creature to realize that the target had not been the general, but the girl all along. That being said, there was now no mistake, their adversaries were aware of the priestess' arrival. It was good that the girl was now within the safety of the Western barrier. Here, they would never reach her.
"General?" a soft voice interrupted the two demons, causing them both to turn their heads toward the now half conscious female.
She had barely opened her eyes, her mind still clouded and vision unfocused. She could not exactly recall the last thing that had happened, but whatever it was, she saw no use in pondering about it. Her body felt so relaxed, resting on such soft and comfortable material, that sleep begged for her to return. However, she would not be allowed that. Her awakening could not come at a better time, Sesshomaru surmised.
"Leave us," the dog youkai lord said.
With a nod, the general easily stood up and exited the room, leaving his master to deal with the confused human girl. It was time that their plans of conquest finally be put into motion.
Kagome's eyes snapped open at hearing the sudden order that an unknown male voice had issued. In the daze induced by her recently-disturbed slumber, her eyes landed on a figure not very far away from her. Tall. Dark. Unmoving. She blinked, attempting to once again disperse the mist clouding her vision. As expected, it seemed to work, and the more she blinked, the clearer her sight became. It was unfortunate that along with that, her body seemed to grow stiffer and stiffer, her senses slowly coming back to her, along with her abnormal sensitivity to paranormal. The things she was sensing coming from this person seemed to draw out all else. Never had she felt such an enormous mass of menacing sensations. His presence was overwhelming, it overpowered her body, her mind, making her tremble with the pressure.
His golden eyes observed her movements with great attention, noting how easily she had picked up on the spike in his aura, how even within the confines of her spell-induced sleep his superior presence had awoken her, frightened her. Such great spiritual awareness even at such an untrained level. Quite the promising priestess the girl proved to be. He would make good use of her.
And finally, her vision cleared completely, her stormy blue eyes gluing their apprehensive gaze onto the face of the stranger that had startled her so. And her orbs widened then, her lips parting with an uncontained gasp of surprise. Perhaps she was still dreaming. Or perhaps she was imagining things. Whatever it was –as doubtful as she was that her poor mind could even conjure up such an angelic being- Kagome stared at the man whose appearance had left her breathless. Such beautiful pale skin he had, such well defined masculine lips. The strong and elegant jaw line pleasantly outlined his face, his nose was proud and harmoniously sculpted, and his eyes were shaped to perfection. But most of all, those hues of molten gold, so emotionless and stern, continued to watch her with evident scrutiny. Oh, she did know she was staring and had been doing so for more than too long, but she still could not help herself. Try as she might, but she could not recall a single one of the futuristic celebrities to hold such unnatural appeal. And unnatural it truly was, for as her eyes continued to roam over the stunning facial features of her unnamed captor, she realized just how much far from human he truly was; twin magenta stripes adorned the sides of his face, and upon his forehead rested an indigo crescent moon that all the more complimented the glow of his alabaster skin. And in a most unexpectedly pleasing chromatic contrast came his beautiful silky silver hair, the long tresses cascading down his back, making it hard for her to see just how long they truly were. The man before her- no, demon before her, was breathtaking.
Kagome slowly pushed herself up, her body trembling a little from having not moved for quite some time. Still, once she steadied herself in an upright position, she was proud that her knees did not weaken to force her onto the ground once more. Her previous position made her feel too helpless, and even though her standing up did not necessarily improve her situation, it more or less helped her hold her ground better. Handsome or not, Kagome furiously fought back the reddening of her cheeks. It wasn't just embarrassing, she knew. It was hardly appropriate as well, for this demon…she had a bad feeling about him. And the more she thought about him, the more dreadful her predicament seemed.
Sesshomaru regarded the girl coldly, having expected her confusion. He had taken immediate notice of how her eyes moved their appreciative stare upon his being, and he had let her. As repugnant as having a human ogle him was, in the end the girl needed to remember the face of her master. His enemies have more than just offered him a motive to start a war, they've triggered the girl's defensive spiritual instincts. By having her force herself to pinpoint the source of one's aura, her powers have been completely unlocked. Her potential was now ripe and ready to be molded to serve him well. Her training would begin immediately. With that in mind, Sesshomaru walked behind his desk, his eyes silently searching for a particular scroll he had placed only days ago upon the bookshelves resting on the wall.
Kagome watched him wearily. It wasn't like her to keep silent for so long, and Kami knew she wouldn't be able to much longer. In fact, she would've demanded right away to know what she was doing here if it were not for the fact that, like before, she had the nagging feeling that she was missing something. Her mind frantically searched for what was troubling her, and it doing so she also tried to recall everything that had happened before her sudden slip into unconsciousness. She didn't like being kept in the dark, so she tried with marked determination to make sense of it all. Then, it suddenly clicked. 'You belong to Lord Sesshomaru now.' The words echoed loudly within her mind, and along with them, Kagome recalled vividly how she had asked the crimson-eyed commander just who that person was. The more she thought about the description General Masato gave of his ruler within the first few minutes of her kidnapping, the more certain she became of who the demon in front of her was. After all, the general's descriptive words perfectly matched.
"Lord Sesshomaru."
The dog demon raised his eyes to look at her then, his gaze, unreadable at first, sharpening with the narrowing of his eyes.
'So I was right,' Kagome thought. The look he was giving her made her shift uncomfortably. Then, at seeing that he merely returned to investigate what he had previously been looking at, Kagome could feel the all too familiar annoyance rise within her. He had barely even acknowledged her! "Why am I here?"
If he heard her, he definitely did not show it. Instead, his indifference left her to deal with a never before fought inner battle. Her body and mind were still very receptive to the forbidding sensations his mere presence emanated, having her clutch tightly the sides of her nightgown, but she would not be deterred. She refused to let this fear of a stranger keep her in the dark when it certainly involved her well-being.
"Just who the hell are you?!"
He moved then, and she gasped as suddenly, he disappeared from his previous spot. Her body shivered as tremors tingled through her entire being, and moments later she felt the firm shape of a hand trace her back, using her spine as way to reach the back of her neck.
"Can you not tell?" his deep voice resonated right behind her, having her heart race much faster than it already was.
Kagome shut her eyes closed, attempting to block out the cold sensations her body was registering from his touch. She truly did not wish for this to happen again, but just like many times during this cursed night, her fear bordered dangerous levels. Was he playing games with her? His words…they actually made It sound like she was somehow supposed to know, and Kagome would've laughed had her situation not been so disturbingly wrong. His presence enveloped her, threatened her, forcing her body to tingle with each chill that ran down her spine at his cold caress, leaving her mind in desperate search for an answer.
And then, realization came to her! The tingling, the cold caresses, his threatening presence! Her horrible night had commenced with those precise things! From the moment she had accepted to partake into the dreaded ceremony, these were the things that had haunted her, terrorized her! And the more he stood behind her, tracing her back, breathing on her neck, the more the feeling of déjà-vu intensified, his predator-like vibes having her body quiver with panic.
"It was you…" came her soft whisper, her mind unconsciously begging for her to be wrong.
Yes, indeed it had been him. Unbeknownst to the girl, he had been watching her long before the ceremony. However, she had been a great disappointment in her days before her priestess initiation a few hours ago. She had truly seemed to lack any sort of spiritual power, which was fairly unusual for someone of her lineage. It almost led him to believe that he had been wrong and had made a poor decision in choosing to supervise her. Moreover, the girl had been always foolishly oblivious to the spectral beings around her, leaving both him and his sword smith to wonder if she was truly the descendant of the Great Priestess. Tonight, however, things took a most desired turn. The girl was more than he bargained for. Triumph was within his grasp.
"…Why am I here?" Kagome questioned in a surprisingly stronger tone of voice, though her fear still remained present.
"You are where you are needed, priestess."
His response was short, the depth of his tone making her dread him even more. She truly, truly, couldn't understand. Needed? What for? Why her? There were so many questions she wanted to ask, so many things that were still unknown to her but the hurricane of emotions ravaging her tender soul made her close her mouth and remain silent. Frustration, fear, panic, anger, uncertainty…they were all battling within her, leaving her vulnerable to the words her captor spoke.
And that was precisely what he was aiming for. Her resolve needed to be weakened so her mind would be more receptive to what she would soon learn of her future here. Of course, if he deemed it necessary, force would be used for her to carry out her tasks. However, it was not out of compassion that Sesshomaru wanted to avoid that. Quite the contrary, really. It was a well known fact that demons loathed humans. It was an even better known fact that out of all the ruling lords, Sesshomaru despised humans the most. So no, he did not avoid physical punishment in this girl's case because of some strange sort of compassion. If anything, it would only take very small mistakes on her part to urge him to punish her. Her kind never learned, Sesshomaru knew. But they did provide some amusement when beaten, he admitted that. Still, even if he did punish her, he would always have to be careful not to injure her too badly. Humans were such feeble creatures, females even more so. And as he gazed upon the petite woman-child before him, he had no doubt that she did not possess great endurance for pain. He needed her at top condition. And so, in the end it would all prove to be quite troublesome. But his words have served their purpose, his vague answer and a further spike in his aura already working to weaken her state of mind. It was time.
Kagome started at the demon lord's peculiar actions, and watched him with confusion as, after he had moved from behind her to retrieve a certain something from the bookshelves that have held his attention moments ago, he finally turned around to place upon his desk an old-looking scroll. With a slight incline of his head, he motioned for her to approach. She didn't want to. She really didn't. But, apparently, her body knew better than to anger a demon that, even when not furious, managed to frighten her so. And so, with uncertain small steps, she approached the large wooden furniture and after locking her unsure gaze with his emotionless one, she carefully reached out and grabbed the scroll.
It was nothing special. The worn-out exterior betrayed nothing of its contents and had she not known whom it belonged to, Kagome would've assumed this to be one of her late grandfather's scrolls. But, alas, it was not, so with trembling fingers, she slowly unrolled it and without further delay, her eyes began to read the faded kanji:
"…and so, every 500 years, a great priestess would arise.
And in her days, no other being shall wield the same power as her.
She would be gifted.
She would be strong.
She would dominate her kin, but be dominated in return, for her power is not given for her alone to use.
Her goal would be simple, and unchangeable.
She would fight, but she would serve.
She would kill, but she would heal.
For as long as her duty lasts, she would not rest."
Kagome stared unblinkingly at the words before her.
What was this?
A riddle?
Her arms lowered themselves, but her head remained titled downward, the sound of the slight roll of the scroll's parchment distantly registering inside her mind. Kagome was beyond confused. Her mind was in complete disarray and the more it stayed that way, the more it brought about denial. And who could blame her? These words…they were not meant for her. They really weren't. Priestess? She was no priestess. Gifted? She had wished all her life to possess some sort of gift. But she didn't; she couldn't draw, she couldn't sing, she wasn't good at sports. Strong? She had always believed she was strong-willed, but tonight she seriously doubted that. And fight? Kill?
Reaching out, her small hands attempted to gently place the ancient scroll upon the polished surface of the desk, but her arms were not as steady as she believed them to be, so when the trembling of her fingers increased with the innocent action, the object that had brought her such distress slipped from between her tender digits and landed upon the desk with a small clatter. Even though it was merely a light sound, in Kagome's ears it rung so loudly as if it were the sort of sound meant to bring her out of her tempestuous inner musings. And Kagome knew that was precisely what she needed to do. As fearful as she felt now, she couldn't stay like that all night. She needed answers. So she turned then to face the demon that had trained his penetrating stare onto her body, making her feel as if she was completely unshielded, unprotected, vulnerable before him. And she was. But Kagome would not let that stop her any longer.
"What is this?" Her voice was distant, as were her eyes. She was 100% sure that any moment now this demon would let her know that it had all been just a very, very bad joke. That it had all been meant to scare her, for she knew that people were amused by the way she behaved when she was thoroughly scared. And Kagome was positive that she had never been so frightened and confused in all her life, so she would commend him for this incredible feat.
"Your future, miko," he replied nonchalantly.
Really, his mordant humor was very high class, she would acknowledge that. If only she knew that the Western lord's black humor only revealed itself on the battlefield, she would've not made such a terrible assumption on her part.
"You bastard! This isn't funny!" she yelled.
But her body trembled noticeably then, and she suddenly found the air too heavy to breath. She had believed his presence to be overwhelming before, but now, it almost seemed as if he somehow intensified it twice as much, leaving her to pant harshly and her eyes to water. Cursed be her weak body!
Sesshomaru would not allow her this. He had been aware of the girl's feisty nature and loud mouth from the first day he had appointed his sword smith to supervise her prowess, and had decided she would be shown her place thoroughly when he finally deemed her worthy to become a tool in his plans. After all, there were so many ways he could go about taming her, and that particular train of thought almost made his lips upturn in a dark smirk. For now however, such methods would be put aside, as the girl needed to be lucid in order to grasp the information he would let her in on. For now, the increase in his aura would be her only warning.
"I despise having to repeat myself," she heard his wickedly smooth voice speak, "so listen well."
Once her widened cerulean hues raised to meet his intense gaze, Sesshomaru let his aura somewhat recede, so the quivering of her body would not keep her from giving him her undivided attention.
"Your ancestors have failed in fulfilling their duty, but you will not. From this moment, miko, your power belongs to me."
Kagome couldn't believe it! Was he out of his mind?
"Listen, pal, I belong to no one!" she indignantly bellowed, her fury anew. "And that," she continued while pointing at the scroll, "those words scribbled on that shabby parchment, are they supposed to mean anything to me?!"
The girl had no idea how much she was trying his patience. Her loud voice and shameless behavior, it had all irked him from the very beginning. The air was getting thicker, he knew, both with his morbidly growing ire, and with her foolishly blatant ignorance. Amusing how when her anger got the best of her, she lost focus of how truly appalling her situation truly was. However, no matter how tempting it was to spike his aura to a greater extent than before, he did not. Instead, his provoked eyes slowly trailed onto the scroll and then back up at her.
His persistent gesture had Kagome catch on to his subtle hint, so her eyes again moved toward the ancient writing. The way she had let the scroll fall onto the desk, its exterior was now facing her entirely and she could clearly read the larger kanji that said 'Nakamura'. Her heart seemed to stop then. Was that old piece of…garbage of a scroll actually referring to her? Really?
"I'm no priestess," she breathed. "That's not talking about me!"
"But it is," Sesshomaru calmly informed. "Five hundred years ago, the Great Priestess died before my father could make good use of her power. Similarly, the Edo Priestess Kikyo has died before I could possess her talents. But you, miko of the future, you will not be so lucky."
Lucky? She was lucky if she died? Just what the hell was going on? Her fair-skinned complexion that so enthrallingly displayed a rosy reddening of her cheeks slowly lost its fuchsia coloring, the blood having drained from her face, leaving her as pale as in the face of death. She was not hearing this! None of it!
"You sick bastard! Just what-"
Too late did she notice that his tall figure flickered away from sight, and now, only a moment later, he was directly in front of her, staring down at her with narrowed eyes. And no sooner than this did she yelp with pain at suddenly feeling her upper body tightly constricted by a burning string. Looking down, her eyes widening with horrified realization, Kagome recognized a glowing green whip wrapped painfully around her arms and torso. Panting harshly, her panicked eyes slowly traced the string to the clawed hand in front of her, the string seeming to somehow protrude from the tips of the demon's index and middle finger.
"The limits of my mercy have been reached, girl," his harsh tone cut through her very being.
And soon, green mist seeped out from the glowing whip, enveloping her in its suffocating toxic vapours. She still had so many things to say! So many things to ask! She didn't want it to end here! But her rebelling mind could not stop her body from responding to the toxins it had unwillingly inhaled. The pain seemed to decrease, and along with it so did the clarity of her vision. Within the now foggy confines of her mind, she recognized these symptoms. She would again be unconscious. Or maybe even dead. But what had truly terrified her was that before her sight completely darkened, she could've sworn Lord Sesshomaru's eyes tinted red.
Drip drip…
Kagome could hear it…had been hearing it for a while…something dripping in the distance…somewhere above her…but for the life of her, she could not open her eyes. No, she didn't want to. She did not want to see. She had a rough idea of how long she had been awake, and that was perhaps for over ten minutes. But she still didn't want to see. She was afraid. She was trembling. It was enough that her body was immobilized completely –the sound of heavy chains moving along with her restricted limbs was a good indication of that- and she was forced to rest on her side. It was enough that she felt cold, pressed against the cool damp ground for who-knows-how-long. And it was certainly enough that the shrilling sound of tortured screams would repeatedly echo loudly until it reached her location. She didn't want to see.
"I see you are awake," a voice she knew all too well suddenly spoke when the sound of screeching metal doors disturbed her turbulent musings.
'General Masato.'
She opened her eyes then, her blurred vision registering the pair of dark boots standing directly in front of her. Funny, she did not even hear him move this close.
"This is not where you shall be residing," his rough voice informed. Masato knew all too well what the girl would be thinking by now, so he saw no point in having her agitate herself by thinking unrealistic things. It was his understanding that dungeons held an especially terrifying image of torture, darkness, chains, deprivation and a lifetime of misery in modern imaginations, which was not very far from the truth –with a few differences, of course. Still, the girl need not fret over these aspects. Not for now at least. In the end, her stay at the Western castle would all depend on her.
"I'm not?" Kagome asked hopefully, attempting to stand, but the chains held her securely to the ground.
The general regarded her impassively. Her chambers were finally ready, but as it took a couple more hours for the imperial seer to finish placing the sealing spell upon them, the girl needed to be kept safe, and most importantly, away from prying eyes. For now, her existence was to be kept a secret even from the rest of the castle servants. However, that would've been impossible to do, with the girl's untamed spiritual aura fluctuating so dangerously after her encounter with the Western lord. So the dog youkai demanded she be placed in the underground cell complex that had originally formed part of the castle keep and was basically the last defensive part of the castle. Undoubtedly, it was the ideal place to hide her in: limited access, the walls were twice as thick, the chains enchanted as to subdue the most gruesome of demonic auras. Only high class criminals were being held here. No one would suspect an innocent miko from 500 years into the future to be among them. Yes, the chains did no good in subduing her spiritual powers, but they still held heavy traces of the demonic auras they've tamed over the past few centuries, so at least the pressure they would apply upon her aura would keep her motionless. After all, she did not have the power to discern between live and dead auras yet.
"Follow me," he sternly intoned, turning his back to her.
Kagome wanted to protest, since her body was restricted, but as she unconsciously raised herself up with the gesture, she noticed how the heavy metallic bindings have unlocked from around her middle, ankles and wrists. How that happened, she honesty did not know, nor did she really care. If anything, it felt refreshing to have control over your limbs.
Walking slowly at first so as to not further the effects of the needle-like sensations piercing her body from having not moved for a long time, her little feet insecurely carried her toward the stoic blue-skinned commander who had stopped to allow her enough time to accustom her body to the movement.
Wordlessly, Masato once again paced in front of her, having but spared her a mere disinterested glance. The girl was a mess. The light material covering her small body was dirty and torn both from the journey, and from his lord's whip, her hair was disheveled and some tresses clung to the side of her sweat-covered skin, and her face was dirtied, also carrying the mark of fresh tears. Not to mention her pallid coloring, distressed stare, quivering limbs, swollen lips from having been bitten countless times since her arrival in this era. She truly was no Grand Priestess material at the moment. However, her appearance fitted the environment and served a well planned-ahead purpose. This way no one would question her presence. The way she looked now, she could easily pass as someone who's done a crime and was simply receiving a well-deserved punishment. As they passed through various narrow dungeon corridors darkened by soot, the general took notice of how the young female's body seemed to flinch every time one of the prisoners would scream in agony. This experience would do her good. At the very least, it would serve as reminder of what awaited her should she fail her duty to his master. After all, Lord Sesshomaru was not exactly known for his leniency. Another scream erupted, and the girl walked closer to him, evidently afraid. Masato paid her no mind, instead letting his thoughts drift elsewhere. He did not worry of the demons imprisoned within these foreboding underground walls of finding out the girl was a miko, for all of their chains were enchanted and their auras suppressed. They would be able to sense nothing, so the girl's spiritual heritage would certainly not be given away. He had to admit, however, that he was curious. Curious as to how she would evolve, as to how she would go about fulfilling the tasks his lord had assigned to her. After all, it was proven to be a tricky matter even for the Edo Priestess. He was curious if the futuristic girl was any match for her deceased ancestor.
Kagome's arms raised to embrace her frozen torso as they did numerous times since this night had begun. It was not just because her body felt cold, but her mind was still in such disarray. She had stopped wondering whether she should ask where she was being taken to. She already knew she wouldn't get much of an answer. And even if she did, she would have a hard time focusing on that, since again her attention and senses were drawn to her surroundings and had her shiver. As her desperate orbs clung onto the back of the demon general, her eyes had been caught by what lay on the walls that surrounded them. She could feel herself biting her lip again, but she could not stop the distressed gesture. For as she gazed upon the dark brick structure, she could fearfully distinguish wraith-like shadows moving at the same pace with them. They had a grotesque outline, and even though she could distinguish their jaws, she did not see them move. But she did hear their voices. They were screaming, much as the prisoners hidden from her view did, only these shadows…their screams were faded, as if coming from a distance, from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. It terrified her. So she did the only thing that she could do.
For the second time that night, Masato threw an irritated glance at the human female as she once again clutched with an impressive vice-like grip onto his forearm.
"They're following us…"
Now, despite having witnessed her enhanced spiritual awareness, Masato knew that there was absolutely no possibility of another enemy attack to occur within the Western Barrier, least of all within the fortified walls of the dungeons. So that only left…
"They're dead."
"What?" she quickly whispered with agitation.
"The auras you're sensing down here. They belong to demons that have died. If they were strong, their auras would impregnate themselves onto these walls and call out to those who hear them. You cannot discern the living from the dead yet."
His ambiguous explanation seemed to make sense to Kagome.
"So you can sense them too?"
She couldn't help but ask. After all, it was proving once again that she was not losing her mind, and at this point, such encouragement was very welcomed.
"If I choose to."
"So…does that mean I'll be able to block them out somehow too?"
She knew she was getting hopeful, but it didn't hurt to try and be a little optimistic about something at least.
"It takes practice."
So she could! This was probably the first set of some kind of good news during this horrible, horrible night!
"And if-"
"We're here," Masato gladly interrupted.
Kagome stopped at his announcement, her widened hues taking in the large metallic doors in front of them and the large sutra placed above them, the kanji written upon it spelling 'BIND'. No, she had hoped for something better! She really, really tried not to be unreasonable in her situation because –of course- she knew she couldn't exactly hope for anything extraordinarily good, but why the hell go through all the trouble of moving her from a dungeon cell only to place her in another one?!
Disregarding her troubled appearance, Masato opened the heavy doors, his keen ears unfortunately having to endure the same screeching noise the metallic doors of her previous cell made. Seeing as the girl remained rooted to her spot, he easily dragged her inside, even though she had not protested as much as he had expected her to. She only seemed…shocked.
And shocked she was, for Kagome had not been expecting this. Really, she hadn't. The cell was damp, dark and empty –much like her previous one- save for a small futon and a low wooden table upon which rested the objects that have shocked her the most. The tall candles placed upon the table were not what caught her attention. It was the three aristocratic swords lying next to each other that had truly sparked her interest. As was her -more or less bad- habit, Kagome completely ignored the presence of the imposing crimson-eyed commander who had even opened his mouth to speak, and instead walked over to the plain wooden table to better gaze upon the large artistically-decorated swords. The small neat kanji carved into their dark sheathes spelled their respective names…or the name of their owners, Kagome did not exactly know. That is what she knew from her late grandfather. But she read them nonetheless.
'Tenseiga' said the first, and Kagome couldn't help but mutter its literal meaning, "Heavenly Rebirth Fang."
'Tessaiga' said the second, and she again muttered, "Iron-Smashing Fang."
'So'unga' said the third. "Amassing Cloud Fang."
The swords were exquisite. How her grandfather would've killed to be in their possession!
Masato was visibly amused by the girl's curiosity, and had let her gaze upon the objects that would soon test her true potential. Once he figured she had had enough time to inspect them, he had decided to speak what he had intended to tell her from the very beginning.
"Tenseiga, forged from the fang of Lord Sesshomaru's terrible father. It has a special property: it cannot harm any living beings, which is ironic for a sword. However its power lies in the fact that it can bring the recently dead back to life as well as healing the wounded. It allows a powerful wielder to see and slay the beings from the underworld, as well as bringing up to 100 beings back to life in one swing.
Tessaiga, again forged from the fang of the great dog demon. It is the opposite of Tenseiga. Out of the two, Tessaiga is "the sword of destruction", while Tenseiga is "the sword of life." In its 'docile' form, the sword looks like a regular, and rather battered, katana. When wielded properly, it transforms into a larger weapon. The Tessaiga will only transform if the user cares for humans and has youki. This means that you humans can never wield it because you do not possess youki. The Tessaiga has the power to slay 100 demons in one swing, it also has the ability to absorb the technique or skill of a strong youkai that is defeated with the sword.
So'unga, "the sword of hell or of world conquest", can summon 100 dead souls in one swing. Unlike the Tessaiga or Tenseiga, it was not created from the great dog demon's fang. Also, unlike the other two, Sō'unga contains the spirit of an ancient evil dragon from the depths of hell. When held by a human, Sō'unga takes control of them, and they will kill everything they possibly can, but when held by a yōukai, then Sō'unga will try to persuade them to do its bidding."
Kagome stared wide-eyed at the swords while listening to their respective descriptions. These katanas, they couldn't possibly do all that! Even though her head seemed to burst with the amount of information she had received, almost too science-fiction-like information, she felt like she was truly going insane. If, by any meager chance, these swords were truly as powerful as the commander claimed they were –which she sort of began to assume was true, judging from dead serious look the general was giving her- she felt her head spin. Really, if these weapons held so much power, she definitely didn't want anything to do with them, or be in the same room with them for that matter. The first sword seemed too good to be true, and the other two seemed unbelievably macabre.
"Can you tell what flaws lie within each sword, miko?" Masato's stern tone had her eyes train onto his shadowed body.
"Flaws?"
"Tenseiga cannot injure or kill. Tessaiga can only be activated if the wielder cares for humans. And Lastly, So'unga has a mind of its own and always searches for a better host," the general provided once again.
The girl continued to gaze at him unblinkingly, as if she truly did not know what he was trying to say. But Masato knew from the look in her ever-so-expressive cerulean eyes that she would soon conclude what all of this information had to do with her presence within these walls. After all, she was averagely smart, human-wise speaking, of course. And, as expected, he had been right, for only moments later, her stormy orbs widened considerably with horror as she pointed at the swords and then back at herself.
"You mean…you want me to…am I supposed to…"
"Yes, priestess, your job is to rid the swords of their flaws."
…:::About this chapter:::…
I'd like to explain a few things about this chapter before any questions are asked. It is about the live and dead demonic auras I've mentioned. I haven't exactly come up with this on my own. If you recall the series a bit, after the forging of Tokijin, the sword still carried the aura of the demon it had been forged from, so basically that is a good example of a dead demon's aura still existing, still leaving a trace behind. I could also give the example of So'unga, but many would not take it into very much consideration since it's not really mentioned in the original series and manga.