Kagome had taken the chance to once again barricade herself in her room to think. Kagome was falling apart in her depression, something she rarely allowed to consume her. She couldn't believe how much time had passed since she first met the royal family. Closing her eyes while laying on her bed, she drifted into her memories. Something she hadn't done in a long time, and for good reasons. Though, she couldn't find it within herself to care now. Slipping into almost a meditative state, Kagome lost herself to the darkness.

~~~~~ Memories~~~~~

Stormy blue eyes opened to gaze at two smiling faces, one a handsome man and the other a stunning woman. Looking to the man the small child took in his pitch black hair and deep green eyes, full of wonder and love. His tall form was hunched over as his fingers combed through the squirming baby's wavy locks. Taking a look at the woman; dark blue eyes met ice blue ones, framed by flowing midnight blue curls. She was much shorter than the man, but seemed to not care as she cuddled into his side with a content smile.

"She's beautiful, just like her mother." Looking back over the man the small girl child saw him smile lovingly to the woman, which she returned.

"But she has your hair color Ansuto, though her features will change during her first year." She replied.

"I'm sure she will stay as beautiful as you Riana." He said as he picked up their bundle and placed her lightly in his love's arms.

"What should we name her?" Riana asked.

"I will leave that to you my dear; after all it is your custom for the mother to name the child is it not?" Ansuto said referring to his partner's elemental origin. Seeing her nod he sat back and watched his daughter play with her mother's hair, waiting for Riana's decision.

"Kagome. That will be her name." she said after a few minutes of thought. Smiling Ansuto hugged both of his girls close.

"Kagome it is!"

50 years later

Long raven black hair whipped in the wind as their owner ran through the fields in front of her home, the midnight blue highlights glowing from the sunshine. The girl looked to be about 13 years old, though looks were sure deceiving. Her eyes held more knowledge than any other girl her age, making it hard for her to make friends. Coming to a stop in front of her mother, who had stepped outside along with her mate, Kagome smiled as she was encompassed in a loving hug.

"I love you mother!" Kagome said as she was hugged by both of her parents. "And you as well father!"

"We love you too; it is getting late so let us retire." Ansuto said as he walked beside his child. Though her mother still held a youthful beauty, her father looked to be in his 70's. It was to be expected as her father was a human, a human monk. His spiritual powers were well known, though since he had fathered a child he was no longer allowed to wear the proper robes or serve at a shrine. That was fine with him; he loved spending time with his wife and daughter. It was for the best anyway, considering his daughter was considered a "Forbidden Child" he needed to stay close by to protect her. At least until she was old enough to protect herself, he needed to fend off the demons and humans that came wanting to kill her.

"Tomorrow you will begin you're training Kagome." Riana said as she stepped into their home.

"Really? What is first?" the girl started jumping up and down in excitement.

"Meditation, you need to know how to calm yourself before you can control either your water or spiritual powers." Answered Ansuto while he patted his side to invite her to sit, happily she plopped next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. Running his fingers through her hair he watched as Riana went about fixing dinner.

Later that night as Kagome lay sleeping, her parents were wide awake. Sitting next to each other as they watched over their only child, they weren't in very good spirits. Ansuto's arm was wrapped about Riana's shoulders and her head rested on his shoulder. Tears slid down her face as she fought back sobs so as not to wake Kagome.

"How much longer do we have?" Riana asked quietly.

"A few weeks." Nodding her head in understanding she let a few more tears slide. "I don't want them to take her either, but what choice do we have?"

"Couldn't we hide her? Surely between the two of us we could shield her from them long enough."

"I'm afraid not, I was cautioned that if we did then they would kill her and us. No Riana, I'm afraid we have no choice but to hand her over if we want her to live. The best we can do is train her to be able to mentally withstand anything that might come her way." Ansuto said as he rubbed his wife's arm. Both unaware that Kagome over them.

For the next couple of weeks they worked with Kagome and built her mental defenses to be stronger than any being before her, and she would need them. Riana also worked with her on how to control water to shield herself, use as a weapon, or attack an enemy. Ansuto taught her how to channel her spiritual power into any object she chose and how to purify if she had to. All in all, it was a crash course on how to be a warrior. Her parents knew that they had only a short amount of time before she would be removed from their lives, and they wanted her prepared.

The morning a group of armor clad men showed up at their door, was the darkest day of their lives. They had informed Kagome the night before about what was to come. She hadn't believe them at first, but looking at the men on horses she fought back tears. She thought back at what her father had told her.

"Kagome, if we could keep this from happening we would. When you were a babe, my father wished to have you prayed over and we allowed it. What we didn't know was that he was involved in some dark dealings, and the excuse he made was just to get you away from us. He showed you off in town, and there were some men there that took interest in you because of your potential powers. We didn't know this until just a few months ago, when we were approached by their leader. He commanded us to hand you over then, we refused. They were about to take you by force when your mother begged them not to, and surprisingly the leader stopped the attack. He told us that if we did not hand you over by your next birthday then he would kill you, us, and the rest of the local village. That included hiding you, shielding you, or changing your appearance. Kagome, we want you to live. This is why we have been pushing you so hard to train and become stronger. I don't know what they have planned for you, I know it is nothing good, but we wanted you strong enough to handle it. We don't wish for you to die, no matter what happens to us, you fight to live Kagome. Do you understand?" she had sat shaking from the news. She had nodded her head without a word, not knowing what to say. A part of her wanted to feel betrayed, but she knew that her parents were doing what they thought was best. She would go, for her parent's sake she would go.

Unknowingly, her parents had allowed the most ruthless man in the country to take their child prisoner. Naraku had heard of the child's heritage, and he wanted her. Nothing brought him more pleasure than tainting pure things, and Kagome was the most pure creature he had come across. Despite her demon mother, the child had a pure heart and soul and he longed to defile it. The moment she had entered his castle walls he knew, she was like a light in the darkness. 'Not for long' he thought darkly. She was brought straight to him; the two men on either side of her forced her to her knees as Naraku circled her.

"Kagome, is it?" he asked, his deep ominous voice made her cringe.

"Yes sir." She attempted to empty her voice of emotion, though failed under the weight of her fear.

"Well Kagome, this will be your new home. Forget everything before this moment, it is worthless! Here you will reside, and here you will serve." Kagome didn't know what exactly he meant by serve, but she didn't like it. When she didn't react she felt a hand in her hair pulling her head painfully back to gaze into his cold eyes. A smirk adorned his face as she fought not shake in his grasp, she would not show her fear. She may be young, but she wasn't stupid. She knew this man meant her harm, and a lot of it. Carefully slipping into his unguarded mind, like her father had taught her, she saw everything he had planned for her. She shivered involuntarily as the images flooded her mind, scarring her before the events even took place. This man, Naraku, was planning to break her. Break her in every way he could, then he wanted to use her for his evil.

"You've had a long journey my dear; you need rest before we begin. You will become a fighter like no other. First though, I must be assured your loyalty is to me alone." As he spoke he smelt of her hair and licked her neck, Kagome did everything she could not to cringe away or wrinkle her face in disgust. She knew what was coming, and if she was going to survive she was going to have to utilize all the training her parents had given her. If not, he would succeed in breaking her spirit.

That first day and night had been the beginning of her torture. Naraku had made it clear to his guards that he was going to be the first, but once he had his fill of her then they were free to do as they wished. She didn't sleep that night despite of Naraku's words; her body was beaten, whipped, and ravaged until dawn. Only then did they allow her to rest, leaving her in a bloody heap on the stone floor. Kagome closed her eyes and let her mind slip into unconsciousness; she had been dulled to the pain after the third guard had raped her. The last thing she remembered was hearing the door opening, and then it all went dark.

Who knows how many months went by? Naraku would come at dusk every day, though his sick fantasies changed from day to day. Sometimes he would start out as if he was coming home to his willing lover, then others he'd have her chained to the wall before he even got there. No matter his method, Kagome would know he was coming and put up her mental walls to prevent her mind from shattering. Her soul had already broken; she had fought so hard to keep it from happening. But in the end, she had failed. The pureness she had possessed was gone, nothing but a hollow shell remained. One day she felt his aura approaching, this was different. He never came during the day. Kagome was curled up in one of the corners of the room with her head resting on her knees, slightly lifting her eyes when the door opened she gazed blankly at her abuser.

"You are ready." Was all he said before two guards came in and lifted her to her feet. "Your training will begin tomorrow, you will be cleaned and shown to your permanent room." His words did nothing to improve her mood. Smiling he knew his goal had been met, she was broken and completely moldable.

Though her surroundings had changed, didn't mean the rest of it had. Naraku still made nightly visits, but she discovered that the raping slowed to maybe three or four times a week. Even though her will to fight was gone, she still retained some form of herself locked away deep within her mind. She watched herself go through the motions of training to be a fighter, she had discovered that Naraku intended for her to be an assassin for him. He wanted to use her mixed abilities to his advantage; her purification would be beneficial when going against demons while her water abilities worked against humans. Naraku didn't fear her, he knew she wouldn't attack him because he had informed her early on that if she ever did; her parents would be tortured then killed. Over the next several years she trained, meditated, and allowed herself to be molded into the perfect killer. Along the way, she had started to forget about the little piece of herself she had locked away into her subconscious. With it her memories of her parents, and everything that had made her pure. She became Naraku's puppet, his personal play toy. At some point he had made her off limits to his guards, and she belonged solely to him.

Once her training was complete and she had surpassed her mentors, Naraku began to send her out on missions. Steal this artifact or object, murder this upperclassman, destroy this village to prove a point, and kidnap this or that person. She was good, the best anyone had ever heard of. It didn't take long before she had a reputation, though no one knew that it was a woman they feared. None lived to tell who it was that elicited so much fear and caused so much destruction. She had become what she was never meant to be, a monster.

Many decades later.

She had grown into a beautiful woman. Her hair reached her knees in cascading waves of black and blue, her eyes had developed pink specks signifying her spiritual energy along with the greens and blues of her heritage. She had long forgotten where she had come from, or who she had been. Kagome was the epitome of an ice cold killer, and she no longer flinched when her captor was near. She felt nothing, she knew no pain and she feared nothing. Even when Naraku came to her room at night, she would just lay there and not fight. Though the beatings had ended long ago, her body still retained the scars. Long ragged stripes contrasted against the skin tone of her back, claw marks littered her sides, hips, and chest. But her blank eyes showed nothing of her torment, and she just appeared to be in a trance all the time.

She was currently headed to the main room to receive her orders; she had another mission to go on. Upon entering she noticed Naraku was seething about something.

"You sent for me milord?" she said blankly.

"Kagome dear, to the southwest of us lies a village, it houses a relic that I want you to get for me. A scroll of sorts, I also want you to burn the village to the ground before you leave. Let no one survive, understood?" raking his eyes over her form as he spoke he noted how her fighting uniform clung to her curves. It didn't matter how many times he had seen her unclothed; he still lusted for her after so many years. She had been beautiful as a young girl, but now she was a goddess incased in flesh. A gorgeous weapon that was all his!

"Yes sir." With that she turned and left. Gathering her weapons she had an unfamiliar twinge, something didn't seem right with this mission. Shaking her head she pushed the feeling away and departed from the castle.

Slipping from tree to tree Kagome landed on her feet behind some bushes. Scanning the village carefully she saw humans going about their business, completely unaware of the danger. 'Idiots' she thought as she watched them. When a man clad in all black walked into a single hut set away from the rest, she waited until he left again. When he opened the door she caught a glimpse of her target, set upon a make shift alter. Tonight she would strike; jumping back up into the tree she leaned against the trunk and waited for nightfall. Just as she was allowing herself a little rest she heard a voice that shook her being to the core. A woman, short with dark blue hair stood with her back to Kagome talking with another woman. Something felt familiar, something deep within Kagome's chest stirred for the first time in over a hundred years. When the woman turned Kagome saw her eyes, 'Those eyes! I've seen them in my dreams.' Focusing she extended her hearing to catch what the two women were talking about.

"Are you still doing ok? I mean, it's been a long time since he passed." the other woman said.

"I'm doing well, I'm actually thinking about going back to the northern water village. After all, I have nothing keeping me here any longer. Kagome is gone, and Ansuto passed away many years ago. I don't even know why I've stayed as long as I have." Kagome knew that voice as well. She had recurring dreams of that voice singing lullabies to her at night, but this Ansuto person? Who was he? The name rung a bell but where had she heard it before? And did this woman know her, she had said her name.

"I understand why you want to leave. I wasn't even born before your daughter was taken from you and your husband. Do you know whatever happened to her Riana?"

"I have my suspicions, but I dare not think it. I have come to terms that she most likely is dead." Her voiced was nothing but sorrow and depression. It tore at Kagome, a feeling rose up and she wanted nothing more than to rush forward and comfort her. But she stayed, she had a mission to achieve, and the sun was setting into night. She never saw the woman again; she stole the scroll as she had been commanded. Though she had rethought torching the place, however, a demon had made her set it aflame anyway. The sounds of screaming were left behind as she fled, her arm still throbbing from the bastard's arrow.

She returned before dawn and immediately went to the main room to hand over her treasure. Entering the room she met Naraku's fierce gaze, something was different. Setting the scroll in front of him he didn't give it a glance, just remained starring her down. Kagome stood unflinching; he did this when she hadn't done something exactly how he had ordered. She knew she was in trouble, but couldn't care. The entire way back she couldn't get that Riana woman's face out of her mind, her voice still ringing in her ears. It had awoken a part of her long forgotten, and she had remembered who she was. Kagome had managed to unlock her memories while she was traveling back, everything. Her capture, her parents, the torture, every little thing was fresh in her mind once again. Though she had perfected her facial control so she didn't appear any different, but behind blank eyes she was seething.

"You were attacked. How could you let yourself be detected?" his voice was slowly rising in volume. She was going to be punished, it was coming.

"He was undetectable, however, I was still able to get the scroll and lose him in my escape." She said confidently, though it would do no good.

"Indeed, but there must have been a reason you slipped up?" he had stood and was now circling her like he had the first time she had come there. Staring straight ahead Kagome braced for the attack she knew was coming, and she was right. Quicker than she had anticipated he had thrown her against the wall and pinned her there. She didn't flinch, he had slammed her hard enough that she was bleeding from the back of her head but she wouldn't budge. His body was pressed against hers grinding her injured head into the stone wall, his mouth right next to her ear.

"What is it Kagome? What did you see?" Naraku whispered. He had pulled a small blade from his pants and was dragging it along her arm, not hard enough to bring blood but it was leaving long pink lines in its wake.

"Nothing sir, the demon managed to catch me off guard." She had lied; she had never lied to him before. The knife stopped half way up her arm, and he pulled slightly away to look into her eyes. At a glance her gaze was blank like always, but Naraku knew this woman better than anyone and he saw the small spark of life deep within her unusual orbs. 'Damn, I had hoped the wretch had left already' he thought.

"You saw her didn't you? Do you remember anything?" watching her closely he saw the glimmer of hatred pass through the blues, answering his question without her words. "I see, well then, I'll just have to make you forget again." He let her go; she hadn't expected him to release her so soon. She watched him carefully as he walked over to the door; beckoning a guard he ordered his general's presence. 'What is he going to do?' she wondered. She didn't have to wait long before the same man that had taken her from her parents walked into the room.

"Sir?"

"Hiten, go to the village Kagome came from and seek out Riana. When you find her, do as you wish but don't leave her alive!" and with those words Kagome's world shattered. 'No!' she slid down the wall and watched as Hiten grinned maliciously before turning and leaving. She had just regained the memory of her mother, now because she had not followed her orders completely her mother was going to suffer.

Kagome didn't get off easy either, after Hiten had left Naraku had drug Kagome back to her room by her hair. Once in the room he locked the door, ripped the clothes from Kagome's body, and proceeded to whip her with a barbed whip. Before Kagome could have the chance to faint he would stop the beating, carry her into the bathing room, clean her off and then rape her for hours. This continued through the entire night, until Kagome was borderline dead. When Naraku finally left her alone, she had breathed out a ragged breath and drug herself back in to the bathing room. She could barely stand; she was bleeding from her feminine area, her back, legs, arms, and nose. Looking at herself in the mirror and remembering her mother's face, she collapsed again but this time from her sobs. She cried for her stupidity, she had condemned her mother to a horrific death.

Kagome had made a decision; she was not going to cause any more pain in Naraku's name. She was going to escape, and if she couldn't get away then she was going to die trying. Gathering as much of her healing powers as she could without being detected, she healed her minor wounds and managed to clot the severe ones so she wasn't bleeding anymore. She didn't own anything so she didn't have to worry about carrying anything, she just had to wait. She knew the guards routine front and back, she would run during the changing of guards. And like clockwork, there was no one in the halls, and she ran. With her training she was faster than most eyes could follow, so within five minutes she was out of the castle, over the walls, and deep in the forest. Sadly, she had ripped open one of her wounds when she jumped the wall, so now she had to watch out for hungry demons. No matter, she was out of that castle and away from Naraku. And she would gladly be eaten by a low lever demon then go back to that sadistic bastard!

She didn't know how long she had ran, minutes, hours? She didn't know, and she didn't care. Reaching a clearing Kagome fell in utter exhaustion and blood loss. Just before she gave into the darkness, she heard voices nearing but couldn't muster the energy to look up. After that she woke up in a soft bed, with bandages covering her entire body. Her training told her to be alert and to fight, but the soothing voice beside her made her relax.

"Ye have awakened child. Good, I was starting to wonder if ye would." The voice was old but kind. Looking to her side Kagome saw an elderly woman with a white shirt and red pants, a miko. She didn't fear mikos, she was half one after all.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"The western palace, ye were found by the patrol and brought back. Ye were in a horrible condition and we feared ye were too far gone. I am Kaede, what is yours?" She saw the girl stiffen, why she didn't know.

"Kagome." She replied, she didn't know if anyone knew who she was but she hoped that they didn't.

"Kagome, ye rest. Once ye have regained enough strength the Lord and Lady have requested a meeting with ye."

That had started it. Kagome was introduced to Lord Drago, Lady Nanao, and Lady Leigha a few days later. Leigha took to her right away, why, Kagome had not known. She had always elicited fear from anyone, but this small child had hugged her like a sister she had never had. It was the first step in healing her soul, over the coming centuries Kagome had allowed herself to trust the western family and servants. She watched over Lady Leigha as her Lady in Waiting as well as a sister, giving guidance when necessary. Koga's advancements had not been well received at first; Kagome had almost attacked him when he had grabbed her hand to kiss it. Though he had made clear he would not force himself on her, to which she was grateful and began to see him as a dear friend. He never stopped his attempts to woo her, but she took it in stride and lovingly declined every time. She had been worried that Naraku would try looking for her, but she never heard any rumors or news that a tyrant was loose. So, she had settled into her new home and allowed herself a little bit of happiness, regardless of the pain she had caused in the past.

There ya go, have a safe and Merry Christmas! May God Bless!