HS: Just a little heads up but this week I'm going to be incredibly busy once again with final papers and exams due so I probably won't get a chance to update again till Sunday or next week. I'll admit that this chapter isn't my best work so far in this fic so hopefully everyone can forgive me Also a lot of reviews asked if Zero and Kagome were going to make up and (please don't kill me) I'm sad to say that this probably won't be happening till the end of this fic or the sequel. I just can't see him forgiving her since it's part of his nature to hold grudges for a really...really long time.
Thank you's to all who reviewed: homicidalPEACH, kakashixangela, Serenity digo19, iheartanime43, ShadowLover18, and Shiori Yume.
Kage Otome: Ah you always bring up good points in your questions. Zero isn't bound to Yuki in the same way Kagome is to Kaname. His bindings have more to do with the fact that he loves her. However her blood and later occurences that cannot be said yet will ultimately bind him to her through that connection. The Gate Keeper is acting as Kagome's spy since she was asked by Juuri and Haruka to watch over Kaname as well. Your guesses on her holy powers are good observations and they've given me some ideas to work off of but you'll learn later on as the chapters progress everything, but they were pretty close. As for your last question this chapter and the next two will adress it so till then. And thank you as always.
Chapter Six: Chaos of the Arctic Heart
I think I know enough of hateTo say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
-Robert Frost "Fire and Ice"
The air was peaceful as she sat besides the Goshinboku. The warm rays from the sun enveloped her body in a blanket of warmth as she listened to Shippou chase a butterfly with Rin. The others were relaxing besides her and even Sesshomaru had joined the party. Chuckling she watched them all with half lidded eyes, the lazy day making her feel lethargic.
Suddenly the sky grew dark. Screams tore through the air as she sprang to her feet. A dark chuckle mixed with the screams as she looked around the clearing trying to find her friends and son. "You cannot save them miko. You are powerless." Screaming her rage she reached behind her to grab an arrow only to find that her bow and arrows were missing. Screaming louder she charged into the black mist before her only to find...
~*~
Kagome shot up in bed with a scream lodged in her throat. The sheets were twisted around her body and she was covered in a cold sweat. Panting lightly she ran a hand through her knotted hair. "A dream, it was only a dream," she whispered to herself. Blinking she looked towards her window seeing that it was only early morning. The sun was just making its way up in the sky as it bathed Cross Academy in a soft glow of light oranges and pinks. Knowing that she wasn't going to get back to sleep anytime soon she untangled herself from her sheets and went to get dressed.
After the incident with Zero she had found herself isolated from him. He didn't want anything to do with her anymore and she had found that even Yuki sometimes couldn't meet her eyes anymore. It seemed that both weren't ready to accept who she was and it saddened her. Despite that Yuki was slowly beginning to open up to her again. Ever since the sealing ceremony she had found that her little sister seemed to have a great fascination with her powers.
Flashback
Kagome stood besides the Headmaster as Yuki and Zero entered the office. In her hands rested the delicate bracelet that she would give to Yuki so she could control Zero should he try to attack her again.
"You called us Headmaster?" Yuki asked, her eyes refusing to linger on Kagome's form for too long.
Seeing his daughter's reaction Cross smiled sadly and nodded. "Well actually it was Kagome that wanted to see you two." At that little piece of information Zero glared at the pair and frowned. "I'm leaving then," he said as he turned around.
"Zero this is for your own good." she said, as she tossed the bracelet to Yuki who caught it.
"What do you know vampire?"
"A lot more than you do brat now come here."
Against his will Zero found himself turning to face Kagome. He hated her for having the ability to turn him back since she refused to use it. He hated it even more that he knew she was right. There were a lot of things he was learning he didn't know and the only stopping him from falling into a deeper depression was his anger and disgust at her and Kaname.
"Now Yuki I want you to put that bracelet on and Zero I need you to prick your finger."
Yuki did as she was told but Zero hesitated, that is until Headmaster Cross told him to do it as well. Once they had both done what she said Kagome moved from her position to stand besides her siblings. Reaching for Zero's hand she smeared his blood on the bracelet and watched in satisfaction as it was absorbed into the center piece giving the rose a beautiful crimson sheen. Nodding she then reached up and touched the bracelet to the tattoo on Zero's neck.
Suddenly sparks flew from the contact and what looked like black daggers materialized to pin Zero to the floor. Seeing their shocked expressions she stepped back to explain. "This is a twist from the subjugation spells that mikos used to subdue demons. The bracelet acts as the controller to keep Zero in check. All you need to do Yuki is touch the bracelet to his tattoo and the same thing will happen...it seems that Ryuuzaki stole more from me than I'd care to admit." And with a small nod in the Headmaster's direction she walked out of the room.
End Flashback
Since that time Yuki had started acting more familiarly with her again. She could still see a little distance in her eyes but for the most part everything felt the same again. Realizing that she had finished preparing for the day Kagome decided to check in on Yuki. Her sister's room was a bit further down the hall since she shared a room with Wakaba Sayori. Making her way slowly down the halls she stopped before her sister's room. Opening the door softly she peeked inside. Yuki was sleeping peacefully and so was Yori. Smiling at the pair she shut the door once more and left. She would have entered but her boots would have made a sound when she walked in.
Knowing Zero was a much lighter sleeper she didn't bother to visit him. Instead she went out of the dorms to go and visit the Gate Keeper. The last time she had talked with him had been at the start of high school when the trio had first started. It was also the time when he had reported to her on the Ruka incident. Shaking the thought from her mind, uncomfortable with the prickling emotions the memory brought up she made her way to the guard house.
Kagome liked the old man who could cheer her up with his crazy stories that reminded her of Totousai, and right now she needed a little cheering up.
~*~
Later on that same day as Kagome entered her room to take a nap before the next class she found the Gate Keeper inside. His crazed appearance was different now since he appeared before her in his demon form. He looked harmless, a bent old man who had his hands behind his back, almost like a kind grandfather. He even had the graying hair of a human elder and simple robes of white. His head was down but you could see the wrinkles on his face. It was when he raised his head to meet her eyes, that's when one could notice the inhuman features. The wrinkled skin was actually a mottled gray color and it was rough, like his skin was covered in scales. His eyes shifted between colors rapidly like he couldn't make up his mind on what he wanted them to be, and they were slitted like a reptile's.
Yuuto, as she called him, rarely appeared before her in this form so she was instantly on high alert.
"What's wrong?"
"Yuki has just entered the Night Dorms alone...and Aidou's the only one awake right now."
Groaning she slapped a hand to her forehead. "Tell me this isn't happening. She honestly can't be that careless...oh wait what am I saying it's Yuki."
Dropping her bag onto the floor she grabbed one of Yuuto's hands and smiled sheepishly at him. "I'm sorry to ask this of you but could you by any chance get us there quickly?"
The old youkai chuckled. "Of course. Hold on tight." Before she could even blink a portal opened up beneath their feet and the pair was sucked in. One of the perks to being an old lizard youkai was that his abilities were much more advanced. Lizard youkai already had the innate ability to blend in with their surroundings and appear invisible, much like their human animal counterparts. However Yuuto had learned that if one were to imprint strongly enough on a place they could leave part of their essence behind and if the need arose they could return their instantly. It was a much more advanced form of blending in with the surroundings since he left a piece of himself at the place he imprinted. It wasn't a skill he used lightly for it had dire consequences. Should he ever lose that piece of himself he could ultimately die, which was why he never imprinted much anymore. In fact he had done the trick a long time ago and hadn't been careful to conceal his essence and that's when Kagome had found him as he was on the verge of death.
They soon found themselves within the guard house where Yuuto had imprinted and Kagome thanked him before quickly making her way up to the Night Dorms.
"Good luck Kagome chan." he whispered to her retreating figure.
~*~
Kagome burst into the entrance of the Dorms to see Aidou approaching Yuki, his ice coating the railing of the stairs and encasing Yuki's foot. The sight sent a rush of adrenaline and anger through her system as she shouted at the noble vampire. "AIDOU LEAVE HER ALONE!"
Her sudden appearance caused both to turn and stare at her in shock.
Yuki almost sank to her knees in relief when she saw Kagome. For a second she thought that Aidou was really going to do something to her. However when she heard him laughing she turned to look at him. He had an amused expression on his face but his eyes were so cold it scared her.
"Kagome chan, what a pleasant surprise. Care to join the party?"
"Let her go Aidou, I'm warning you."
In the blink of an eye she found a pair of hands curved around her throat as he leaned over her shoulder to glance at her. "Oooh I'm so scared. What are you going to do to me Kagome? Or rather what can you do when you're stuck." Without any warning he encased her in ice and stood back to admire his handiwork. He had been planning on doing the same to Yuki so he could take her to Kaname but now he had two gifts for him. He had noticed that Kaname seemed to like the two girls since he treated them a bit differently. His actions towards Kagome weren't as noticeable but there were times when Aidou had noticed him glancing at the girl. Honestly he didn't understand what they were to the pure blood but he wanted to find out.
"Now where were we Yuki?" he asked, as he made his way back.
Half way down the aisle he heard a cracking from behind him and turned his head. The ice surrounding Kagome was cracking and within a few seconds he saw her break free. There was a large portion of ice surrounding her legs but she stepped out of the casing to face him, the rest of it had seemingly evaporated into thin air.
"As refreshing as that was I'd prefer it if you didn't try that again." Her voice was hard as she met his startled eyes. He turned to fully face her now as he tried to figure out how she broke out of his ice. It was nearly impossible for anyone to do that besides Kaname.
"How did you break free?"
"Well you see-" and before both of their eyes Kagome slipped off the ring and shifted into her true appearance.
"Kagome you're a-"
"A vampire? That's right Aidou, but enough about that. You were bullying my precious Yuki and I think you need to pay."
With a malicious smile Kagome lifted her right hand and with a flick of her wrist she sent the very same ice that surrounded her body back at the stunned vampire.
"This isn't possible. You can't have..."
"Well you'd better start believing Aidou, and you better back off of Yuki or I'll introduce you to your own personal hell."
He couldn't understand what was going on as he formed a shield around himself using his ice. He felt the impact from her attack but stood his ground. Without so much as a flick of his hand he dropped the shield causing all the ice to evaporate. It shouldn't be possible for her to be a Level B with the same attack as him. Each family and person in such families had their own unique attack, it was a rule that existed with the bloodlines...unless she was related to him but that was impossible!
"How is it possible that you can control ice Kagome?"
"Oh that's not the only thing I have Aidou," she said. Before his eyes she created a pink whip to form out of thin air that coiled around her righ arm. When she flicked her wrist again to send the whip flying at him he thought he could deflect it with his ice.
Big mistake.
The pink whip sliced through the ice and wrapped around his neck and he let out a muffled scream as the pure energy burned his skin. When he looked at Kagome he saw that her blue eyes were cold, cold as ice. She didn't look like she was going to stop as she pulled the whip back causing him to fall to his knees. In fact she looked like a murderer in that second as she slowly approached him. With her free hand she caused a barrier of her ice to form around his body encasing him in his element. He tried to break free of the prison but found that his powers were sealed off.
"I wouldn't try to do anything. You're not nearly powerful enough to break free from that prison," Kagome said, as she disintegrated her energy whip ((A/N: lol sound familiar XD )). A pink glow surrounded her hand as she approached him and he felt pure fear for the first time in a long time.
"Enough," a commanding voice said from the top of the stairs.
The three, Yuki having been forgotten in the short lived fight, turned to look as Kaname descended the stairs. He checked Yuki first to make sure that she was okay before he approached Kagome and Aidou. "Let him go," he said. Kagome was about to protest but at his look she clenched her teeth and removed the ice barrier from around him. Kaname trusted Aidou and she knew that she wouldn't get away from it if she hurt him further.
As Aidou collapsed to the floor massaging his throat Kaname stopped in front of Kagome. He raised his hand and she flinched thinking he was about to strike her. Instead she felt him caressing her cheek where a shard of ice had cut her skin. "I had planned to do this sooner but it looks like the time has come."
"Kaname-sama, who is she?" Aidou asked as he came to stand besides her to look at Kaname. The blonde vampire was met with a strike across his face as the enraged pureblood turned to glare at him. "Did I ask for this?" he said, in a deceptively calm tone.
"No," the other mumbled, "but what is she to you?"
"Kagome is someone important to me," he said. Kaname lifted his hand as he ran his fingers through her hair. "That is all you need to know."
"But how can she control ice? That's my power, and you know that only members of the same family can use the same technique."
"I can answer that Aidou," she said, removing Kaname's hand from her hair. As she moved closer to Aidou she glanced at Yuki to see her cautiously approaching the trio. With a subtle shake of her head she pleaded with her eyes for the girl to stay where she was. "You see after I was bit by Juuri and Haruka I found out that I had the unique ability to absorb attacks and make them my own." With a twist of her hands she created a sword of ice that she pointed at his throat. "And it just so happens that these attacks also take on my signature energy...the ability to purify a vampire."
"How is that-"
"It seems we'll continue this later. It's getting late and Kiryuu has come to pick Yuki up," Kaname said, as the doors to the Dorms were thrown open. In the light from the afternoon sun they could all see Zero standing at the entrance. His glare was menacing and it took a strong dose of composure for Kagome not to flinch when he glared at her.
"Yuki remember you are my precious girl. I cannot keep my composure when I know she has been pierced by someone else."
At his words Kagome felt a jolt of pain lance through her heart. Averting her eyes from the tender scene she instead chose to keep her focus on Aidou who was also watching the scene. She couldn't understand why she felt pain at that moment, all she knew is that she didn't like it one bit. Unconsciously she was pressing the tip of the ice sword into his throat. Only when the scent of blood hit her nose did she stop her actions.
"Kagome aren't you going to come with us?" Yuki asked, now standing by Zero's side.
Glancing at the two she shook her head. "No, you go Yuki. I'll see you later," she said with a light smile. In reality she was thinking that she no longer belonged there besides them. She was switching between her forms too often now and it was getting harder and harder to pretend like she was the same girl she had been all those years ago.
Now as she watched them leave, Zero's glare still piercing her she fought the urge to run. What she wanted to run from though remained a mystery to her. As the doors closed she found the room enveloped once more in a stifling darkness.
"Will you stop poking me with that thing, I don't know if you noticed but that does hurt."
Ignoring him she turned to face Kaname. "Are you honestly going to let him remember this?"
"No...do what you must, but come to my rooms later."
With that same malicious grin from earlier she turned back to Aidou. "Looks like this is the end then. Good night Aidou." Throwing the sword up into the air she watched as it formed a pillar of ice that surrounded the male's form. She could perfectly see his shocked expression and the way his hand was raised as if to attack her. Stepping forward she sliced her finger on one of the element's sharper points. Instantly the clear ice pulsed with a crimson sheen as she began to erase his memories. He would have to find out at the same time as the others what she was.
Once the process was complete she broke down the pillar and caught his falling body with a slight grunt. Laying him down on a nearby couch she went to Kaname's room. "What is it that you want now?"
"I have a job for you..."
HS: I feel like this is probably my least favorite chapter and it's rather sloppily put together. Blah I'll edit this later. Well I hope someone enjoyed this chapter despite my fail attempt at explaining her powers fully. Aidou found out her identity...and then forgot it, lol poor, poor Idol XD Well here's another preview for everyone and I'll see you in the next chapter. Toodles~
Chapter Seven Preview:
"Kagome wait!" Yuki shouted at her retreating figure.
She stopped and turned around to face Yuki, her eyes a sharp contrast to the white mask she wore. Ichijou and Shiki had left a little before her so she wasn't worried about them overhearing the conversation.
"Why are you here? What's going on?"
"I'm sorry Yuki..."
"There's so much that I don't know...can't you explain anything?"
With a sad smile Kagome shook her head. Returning to her sister's side she bent forward to kiss her forehead. "Stay just how you are Yuki...a child who wants to become an adult too quickly will learn the consequences of their actions all too soon."
"What kind of consequences?"
"There's no turning back Yuki...that's all you need to know." And using the pollen of a special seed given to her by a dear friend she put Yuki to sleep. "Besides once you become an adult I won't be there anymore."
