A/N: I apologize for my long absence. I'm back now with a new chapter and hopefully I can update more often from here. A reminder: Though we started at Episode 32, from that point on this is my own original story only loosely based on the canon storytelling. So, where Kagura and Kanna would have already existed, I have decided for now they will be kept out of the story unless I deem their "birth" necessary. I'm also omitting the character Koga, seeing as Kagome and InuYasha are sort of 'absent', and can't interact with him , he has little purpose here. If people truly do miss these characters, let me know, and perhaps i can squeeze a cameo in. But for now, I have chosen to cut out their storylines because this is a Narkik story and not a retelling of the whole of InuYasha, though we love it! I'm so sorry if this is sad to hear! Just read and find out for yourself what I decided should happen!
~x•X•x~
A large roaring bonfire, giving off black smoke with bright embers laced throughout its billowing filth crackles at the center of a ruined village. The broken boards from huts are intermingled with the limbs of the dead villagers, which snap and pops as the skin crackles, and melted fat seeps out and stokes the fire even furthermore. What appears to be a rogue group of bandits, mixed with demons is sat there, eating. The bandit leader takes a leg of meat from the pile, and tears a strip of blackened flesh right from it with his teeth. Chuckling as he chews through the gristle, the surrounding onis and corrupt men share in the feast, making unsettling crunches into the flesh and bone of their victims barbecued in the remnants of their village. A small mewling sound can be heard from within a burlap sack, where something is shivering so violently with hunger, the bag can be seen shaking.
"Shut up!" One of the onis grunts, and beats the bag with his kanabo stick, making the small creature inside make pained grunts as it's mercilessly beaten within an inch of death.
"Tenderizing' the meat, Gurtham?" One of the human men snickers, watching the oni beat it, licking his lips.
"All the more mushy to eat," He grunted back, then picked up the sack with his long horns, shook it around, then dropped the small thing back onto the ground. The other hulking oni growled, and grabbed for it, and for a moment, the two grappled, growling, tangling violently with sharp horns, rolling across the blood sodden ground; fighting over the little struggling thing in the sack. All the bandits and lesser demons laughed, until the leader stood up and shouted, waving the human leg he had been gnawing on that was now chewed down to the bone.
"Enough! Gurtham, Ognard, let the skinny little bitch go!" He growled, hitting one of them over the back with the leg, as the poor victim in the sack began screaming out in pain, being pulled back and forth viciously until her poor limbs were surely stretching.
"We're to bring her to Master Naraku! Surely the Lord of the castle will appreciate us feeding him such a delicious meal, and virgin meat is even better!" The cannibal bandit shouted, and the two onis dropped the girl in the sack, not caring as she made another pained yelp as she dropped.
"... That may be true, but now the little bitch is all bruised up, Boss. P'raps he wouldn't want er' anymore once we've all had her..." Ognard growled, bowing his head submissively as he made a rattling growl deep in his barrel shaped, red chest.
"Don't touch her, got that? Or else, he'll have both your heads!" Yakatsue retorted back, then turned and returned to gnawing on his meal.
The onis grumbled, sitting their hulking forms back down as they stared down at the bandit troupe, veiny yellow eyes wandering as they perused which of their fellow men would taste best.
"If you're that hungry, go on and fetch some live meat, why don't you?" Yakatsue relented, and the two beasts nodded eagerly.
"Yes, Boss," Gurtham obliged, and the two walked off, chortling and snickering eagerly as they did.
" 'Live meat', he says, why don't we eat him whole and leave nothing but the feet?" Ognard rasped, and the other agreed, as they walked through the tall grass, and came to a deep crack in the earth, where a purple luminescence was radiating, lighting up their bulbous eyes. The large lump of veiny flesh throbbed, and tempted them with it's helplessness; a juicy looking lump of flesh, fresh for the taking. The onis licked their fat lips, and hopped down fearlessly into the abyss, landing on either side of the thing.
"What is it, you thinks?" Gurtham questioned, and the other poked at it with his sword.
"Methinks it looks delicious, it's a type of cocoon where inside a treat hides!" Ognard said giddily, wagging his steer-like brush ended tail, and began slicing open the purple wrapping, revealing pale flesh. Then, as he went to poke at the being, an arm shot out, and grasped the sword, pulling hard on it.
"A hand!" The oni gasped, and struggled against its strength, it pulled itself out of it's flesh cocoon, and stole the sword away from Ognard, and slayed him with a deadly slash across his third eye. The beast shrieked, clawing at his face as he was rendered sightless. Gurtham growled, and charged for it, but the man knocked his kanabo away, and stabbed him through the heart. Dead, the oni slumped from the blade, and the man was revealed to the moonlight.
The naked man stepped fully out of the flesh encasement, and lifted a head of long, shaggy black hair, then began walking towards the large fire, a spider mark clearly burned into the skin of his back.
"Say, boss, what village should be hit next?" The grovelling, ugly little green man besides him asks as he nibbles on the finger he's holding, and Yakutsue chuckles, tossing the stripped limb into the fire.
"Some place with lots of women, and sake!" He growls enthusiastically, and all the others laugh. A rustling in the grass is heard, and they pause laughing to listen.
"Shh, what's that?" One demon hisses, and a man answers, standing up bravely, and strolling over to the source of the sound.
"Say, Gurtham! We ate the little bitch you wanted!" He teased, then there was a flash of some dark tendrils reaching out, and sharp vines protruded out of his back, as he was slowly lifted.
The bandit spit up blood from his lips as he gurgled, then screamed as his face was carefully peeled away with the sharp pincers that had grabbed him.
"A face! I need a face!" The faceless man cried out, then dropped him, dangling the face on his claw as the others receded back inside him, looking at it inquisitively.
"Is this a nice face?" He questioned, then snapped back with irritation as the leader Yakatsu caught his attention, the others yelling, swinging their blades at him. The faceless man twisted around quickly, and began attacking them with incredible speed, blood splashing up into the air, as a frightened face peered out of the burlap sack, and the girl quivered.
Bodies dropped all around the man creature, and then there was a terrible peeling sound, as the tiny child held her dirty hands over her mouth, and receded back deeper into the bag, making herself as silent as possible while the faceless man removed the faces of the bandits one, by one…
~x•X•x~
It was early dawn by the time she had reached her destination. Kikyo landed aways from the temple grounds, and hid behind a tree, watching the mikos and priests as they did their individual duties. Looking down at herself, she realized her clothes were tattered and covered in dirt, and stripped them away, coming up silently behind a shrine maiden, and quickly breaking her neck.
The girl dropped, and Kikyo paused, staring down at her a moment, licking her lips. She wasn't sure why she felt so hungry for human meat, but she almost couldn't refuse it.
No, Kikyo! Don't eat her! Please! Kagome cried desperately, and Kikyo paused, realizing what she had been thinking about doing, she shook her head.
"I wasn't planning to!" She scoffed back, she most certainly wouldn't go so far as to eat the corpse to defy her, she may have been influenced by some malignant forces in the jewel, but she wasn't a cannibal.
The bare skinned demon priestess knelt down, and removed the other's garments carefully, before slinking off towards the back of the shrine, finding the hot springs high up in the mountains it was built against. Kikyo eagerly got in, leaving the stolen robes on the bank. She slipped her porcelain white curves into the water, long legs receding as she hissed with pleasure.
It was a welcome relief to at last bathe, and so Kikyo contented herself by combing her fingers through her wet hair as she rested; feeling relaxed by the steam, the heat working out the tension in her back where her wings and tail were curled inwards, the fragment of the sacred jewel at the center of her breasts, still shining a dull purple laced with smoky rings of black. Kikyo hummed to herself, her eyes closed as she rubbed her face clean, then leaned back into the water and relaxed.
She did not think much on how she'd killed the shrine priestess on her way in, but the annoyance Kagome was inside her, screaming at her angrily as she tried to relax.
How could you? That girl was just like you! You're evil, Kikyo!
Kikyo laughed, and twirled a long strand of black hair around her fingers.
"Silly girl, you think I care?" She purred, and crossed her legs in the water, her shiny black toenails peeking out of the water as she preened, her lavender and crimson pinprick irises lowered as she fretted over her sharp, red fingernails.
"I cannot believe my eyes, if they weren't attached to my head I would say I had gone blind," A smug voice laced with sweetness suddenly chimed in, making Kikyo perk up suddenly, huffing that someone had interrupted her preening.
"Yes, that's you, it would have to be you, Kikyo? Is that you I'm seeing?" The other girl asked, and Kikyo quickly turned her head, her tongue flicking back into her mouth from where she had been polishing her nails with it.
The other person interrupting her bathing seemed vaguely familiar, as Kikyo eyed her, and growled softly, her demonic nature truly exposed. The woman approached, dropping her purple and black robes to reveal a young, lithe body, her chest concealed by long locks of hair as she made her way down the steps, and into the heated water. Her thick, slightly frizzy black hair surrounded a small heart shaped face, accented by a gold seashell hair pin in the middle. Thin brows arched over bright lavender eye makeup on her blue eyes, and bright red painted lips, as she eyed Kikyo's appearance just as curiously.
"Tsubaki, I presume...?" Kikyo said slowly, stiffening her back in the water as the other got in.
"Hehe, so you do remember me! Though, I bet you're jealous I look so pretty, and you don't! Shouldn't you be an old woman by now? It seems instead, you've taken on the look of an ugly demon." Tsubaki giggled, fluffing her hair, and cradling the white snake nestled around her shoulders as she settled in, careful not to get it in the water.
"Did you in fact die a violent death at the hands of the man who loved you...?" Tsubaki purred, and Kikyo narrowed her eyes at her.
"Yes, but not because of your little curse. I find it hard to forget the Priestess who attempted to curse me 50 years ago, Tsubaki...But, I flung it back at you, and your curse was rendered useless on me, when it was your own shikigami biting you!" Kikyo snapped back, a red youki surrounding her, emanating from where the incomplete jewel was tainted by the red shard that Naraku had given her.
Tsubaki chuckled bitterly, green scales showing around one of her eyes, as she petted the shikigami she had made her pet. "Yes, unfortunately, you were able to evade my curse, but it seems your terrible destiny was still enough to kill you, and for that I am glad; despite the fact that I have been forced to hide my disfigured face with this piece of the jewel shard." She said, huffing as the burn mark faded with a purple light from her forehead.
"Oh, that tiny little fragment?" Kikyo snickered, and placed one hand on her sternum. Tsubaki's eyes travelled down her chest, widening once she saw the jewel there, and turning green with envy.
"That there, between your flat little breasts is mine! It was supposed to have been entrusted to me! Give it to me, Kikyo!" Tsubaki shouted, and Kikyo stood quickly, covering her well filled out chest with one arm, as Kagome scoffed from inside her.
Flat?! Our chest isn't flat!
"Be quiet, girl!" Kikyo hissed, and Tsubaki took it that she was addressing her, standing up as well.
"I won't be silent, I'll take that jewel from you, just as you stole my youth!" Tsubaki cried out, and Kikyo narrowed her eyes, seeing the jewel shard that was in her forehead.
Tsubaki sensed this, and the snake around her shoulders lashed out at Kikyo, aiming for her eye, but she was quick to bat it away, sending it back towards Tsubaki, who backpedaled in the water, fear clear in her eyes as Kikyo advanced on her, and thrust her up against the rock wall by her neck, holding her there tightly; but not enough to kill her just yet.
"Enough! Tsubaki, back then, you and I were the most powerful priestesses in this land. Tell me, is there a way to separate a soul that has been joined with my own? When I was revived by the demon Urasue, she took the soul from my reincarnation, and used it to revive me, but now that I've eliminated my reincarnation, her spirit has returned to my own, and she won't leave my body now. What do you know?" Kikyo demanded, and Tsubaki struggled against her hand, wriggling as her hair flashed from grey to black.
"I- can tell you I've delved into the occult, and that- I know of the demon Urasue, and perhaps I could help you- but first, let go of my neck!" Tsubaki choked, grabbing at Kikyo's hand with both of hers, and struggling in the water.
Kikyo reached over, and slowly began pulling the jewel shard from Tsubaki's forehead, making her scream.
"Yes! I can separate your soul from hers!" She screamed, and Kikyo let go of the shard, dropping her in the water.
"Good. Show me, then." Kikyo said calmly, and stepped out of the water, her demon features receding, before putting on the traditional priestess garments.
"You really are a tricky one, Kikyo." Tsubaki coughed, and pulled her robes around her body, which seemed like it was sagging slightly before she quickly tied her robe together, and walked towards the temple.
~x•X•x~
They were nearing closer and closer to the black storm clouds, now after the third day of tracking Naraku, Shippo stopped to fetch water from a nearby river. He happily pranced down the path, his fluffy tail wagging as he approached the shore.
"I wonder what type of fish Lord Sesshomaru likes?" He asked himself, sniffing, then making a questioning sound. "Hmm? That's odd. I smell.. blood?" Shippo said, then froze up; his tail puffing. The stream was red with tendrils of blood, and it was coming from upstream.
"Human blood. This water's no good." Jaken added, coming up behind him. Shippo turned tensely, already frightened.
"Something's up there, Jaken." He shivered, and the imp huffed at him, seemingly frustrated.
"Everywhere you turn you see something frightening! Toughen up, fox child! Walk up there, and fetch your breakfast!" He snapped, and Shippo nodded obediently, then scurried up the hill, sniffing all the while.
Jaken began to follow, just to see exactly what this scary thing was, so he could make fun of Shippo for being scared, when he heard a soft step behind him. Jaken turned and saw Sesshomaru, and immediately grovelled at his feet before he could even speak.
"Oh, M'lord, it was terrible! That poor, useless little brat was gobbled right up! See the blood in the stream? I thought it best not to go after him!" Jaken babbled, then was kicked away by a quick black boot. Sesshomaru ignored Jaken, and lept upstream, to where he suddenly heard Shippo screaming.
"Help!" He cried out, and the daiyoukai and a shaken Jaken appeared from the bushes, a lump on his head. Shippo was picked up, and shook by the man who looked at the dead Yakatsue holding him; inspecting Shippo's features, then deciding the little demon's face was too small, he held up a knife as if to gut him. The man had found some nice armour to wear, and had been trying on faces when Shippo came upon him, and saw him washing the bloody faces of the bandits in the water.
"Unhand him," Sesshomaru warned, stepping forth. Shippo yelled out, "Fox fire!" and blasted the man in the face, making him drop the little fox demon, and send him running back behind Sesshomaru's leg, where he hid. The man placed both hands on his damaged face, and began to sob, feeling the resonating sting where the fire had hurt him temporarily. He pulled his face off, revealing a blank slate where only the planes of a face remained.
"What the- This man has no face, M'lord! Be he like Mu-on'na, the nothing woman we used before to imitate InuYasha's mother?" Jaken said suspiciously, and Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes on the man, considering this; but this seemingly human man was thick with the scent of Naraku, and did not appear to be a demon.
"Who are you?" Sesshomaru said, flexing his claws, and holding his hand steady before the man in warning. He lowered his hands, still sobbing, and began to tell them how he came into being.
"I am nothing, yes... I have little memory of who I used to be, what was my name? I was asleep for so long in the darkness, until I heard his voice. Kikyo.." He cried, feeling his face, and dropping to his knees.
"That scent…Does he not smell the same as that despicable Naraku, M'lord?"
"Where is your master?" Sesshomaru questioned hastily, ignoring the incessant sobbing. The man paused, lifting his head, and slowly stood.
"I take orders from no-one. I just kill everyone I hate, and burn them!"
Sesshomaru huffed, "Then I have no qualms with you, unless you seek your death."
"That face... your face, it's beautiful... Yes, I must have it! Kikyo will only love me if I can make myself handsome!" The faceless man suddenly shouted, and hurried towards Sesshomaru; the great dog demon's golden eyes widening just slightly as the nothing man jumped for him, with a knife drawn to slice off his face, but he was quickly stopped from ever attacking, when Jaken used his Staff of Two heads, and a massive flame encased him, rendering him into a blackened and burnt form within seconds.
The old man's laugh at last stopped the flame, and Jaken pulled back his staff.
"That takes care of him! Nobody tries to steal my Lord Sesshomaru's beautiful face, and gets away with it!" He yelled out defiantly, then stabbed at the burnt body on the ground with his staff.
"That's enough, Jaken. Let's keep moving." Sesshomaru said, and Shippo agreed, ready to be far away from the burned corpse.
~x•X•x~
Murmurs and whispers followed Kikyo and the dark priestess as they entered Tsubaki's sanctuary, the soft mutters that she heard were of her dark aura, and the demonic youki she emanated, though she had the appearance of any other shrine maiden.
"Come this way, Kikyo. I believe we should do this in private." She said, and led her down a dark staircase, into a basement beneath the temple. Candle sconces lit the corridor, as Kikyo followed Tsubaki, she noticed the way she appeared even more haggard and greyed in the dark, as they came down to a large room filled with an assortment of potion bottles, and Tsubaki gestured to a table. Notches were cut out of the sides for her wrists, and ankles to restrain her, she gathered from a short examination.
"Don't be afraid, now lie down and I will find the correct tincture." Tsubaki said, and Kikyo shrugged, having no fear of the other priestess. She knew that she would be able to handle herself if Tsubaki tried anything amiss. Kikyo lied down, and slipped her limbs into the openings.
Tsubaki found a tall black bottle on the shelf, and blew some dust off of it. Kikyo watched from the corner of her eye as the other priestess prepared for the ritual, lighting a few candles, and a brass incense burner, which she swung from a chain as she began chanting; making an invocation to summon a demon from the netherworld. Kikyo's eyes widened slightly, not expecting Tsubaki to be capable of wielding such a dark power. She poured an amber liquid from the bottle, and it puddled on the floor, parting the thick clouds of smoke rolling across the floor boards.
"Yuki Onna! Come to receive the soul that was stolen!" Tsubaki shouted, and Kikyo stiffened, feeling a cold wind suddenly blowing in from the rattling floor boards, as Tsubaki grinned down at Kikyo, and waved the incense burner, the smoke curling out, and choking her, Kikyo coughed, her eyes growing watery from the heavily fragranced air.
"You shouldn't summon the tortured soul of Yuki Onna! She will claim more than just Kagome's soul, she desires a maiden's soul that will revive her murdered spirit!" Kikyo shouted, struggling against her restraints as Tsubaki continued the incantation, and snow began whirling up from the cracks in the floor. The snow woman was summoned from the deepest, coldest level of hell.
A blood curdling scream was followed by a tortured moan as she arose, gales of bitter winter wind whipping out from her tattered, bloody white robes. Tangled black hair clung around her frozen, frostbitten black skin, as she tossed her head back and moaned, dragging her long black nails across an icicle encrusted face where her endless streams of tears had frozen solid. Kikyo gasped as she screamed once again, shaking the walls as she revealed her slit open throat, where sharp teeth glistened.
"TSUBAKI! We shall both be devoured! The Onna is vengeful! You must release me!"
"Hyuuuuu…. Hyuuuhuhuhuhu…dororo" Yuki Onna moaned in a haunting tone, and Tsubaki flung the incense smoke at her, making her spirit notice it's surroundings, sniffing hungrily, she lowered her head, and slowly calmed herself, the bitter winds slowing to snowflakes circling her, as her long black hair fell, and dragged on the floorboards as she walked, becoming deceptively beautiful, as she eyed Kikyo with her pale blue eyes, surrounded by redness. She made a low whining from her throat, reaching out with her black fingers, clawing at Kikyo's robes.
"Soul…" The demon hissed, eying the way that Kikyo's soul was now slowly emerging, white orbs floating out of her, as she gasped, and felt her body weakening.
"Onna, you may only take part of her soul! That is what I am ordering you here to do! Do not defy me! I will send you back to hell for all eternity!" Tsubaki shouted angrily, and Yuki Onna chattered at her, then growled, her voice guttural as she grew angry once again.
"dorodoro… Hungry. I have come to claim what must belong to me… Give it to mee… " She hissed, and made another achingly long howl that shook the bowels of the temple.
"Hyuuuuu..huhuh.." Her guttural voice rattled, once beautiful as she sang her tormented pleas, begging for her hurt soul to return. She turned her eyes down onto Kikyo, and stared, tears falling as her head tilted, and she pursed her black lips.
"We are but the same… murdered by the man we loved… Kikyo… Return to the netherworld and follow in my hidden path. They cannot find us there." She whispered through her tiny bow shaped lips, appearing innocent as she offered her palm to her, and Kikyo tossed her head back and forth, clenching her fists, and bringing out her demon youki.
Yuki Onna chattered, scattering back quickly, her hair rose up threateningly around her, as her eyes widened, and her hidden maw began to open once again, grinning hungrily.
"Return there… Go back to the depths you once knew, or stay hidden in the snow… Yuki Onna…" Kikyo grunted, feeling her soul being tugged, malignancies and all. Tsubaki cackled with her success as Kikyo appeared to be weakening, playing tug of war with the demon, and the last remaining bit of soul left in her body.
The soulless Kikyo slumped down onto the table, and Yuki Onna chattered gleefully, surrounded by orbs of light that she was reaching out to and admiring in her palms.
"Your work here is done, Yuki Onna. I have given you Kikyo's soul, and that's all I can part with. Now, leave this mortal plane!" Tsubaki shouted, and swung the smoke at her, making her hiss as it stung her skin and eyes, and she clawed at them, and began to sob mournfully.
"You have given me both a soul, and a worthy gift! The youki of a demoness priestess, something I have never come across in all my time devouring souls!" Yuki Onna cackled, and sucked in all the souls, and even the orbs of red youki, her eyes widening as she swallowed them. Tsubaki gasped, stumbling backward as Yuki Onna screeched with delight; and snow rushed up from around her in a tornado, the spirit orbs lashing around her angrily, as she felt the new soul within her taking hold.
She placed both hands on her face, her hair flying upwards as Kikyo found her spirit trapped inside Yuki Onna, and her eyes flew open, her demon power new emerged with the ice demon, a great, fluctuating youki surged out around her, as she turned her face quickly, and honed in on Tsubaki.
"She was the one who cursed us! Tsubaki, why have you plagued us! Give us back the life we have lost!" The both of them hissed, and Tsubaki dropped her incense burner, instead gesturing to attack with her white Shikigami snake.
"Don't blame me for your own misfortune! I have lost my life too, when you cursed me, you made it so that no man would ever love me!" She cried out angrily, and sent her Shikigami straight towards them.
Then, just as Kikyo and Yuki Onna were about to be attacked, Kikyo's inert body sat up, and at that moment it had the appearance of Kagome, more than Kikyo.
Suddenly, a voice erupted from Kikyo, her brown eyes lacking pupils.
"Tsubaki! Leave Kikyo and Yuki Onna be, you are the most cruel of all!" Kagome shouted, and thrust her arms out, making Tsubaki tense suddenly, as her Shikigami was thrown back violently, and attacked her, Kagome turning her head to avoid seeing the blood splatter.
"Girl... Child…" A disembodied voice hissed, and Kagome turned to look towards it. Kikyo and Yuki Onna came forth, and hissed, fully merged now, the ice demon stalked forward, ready to at last slay the girl that had stopped them from having their revenge.
"Insolent child… You defy me...? I wished to rid my body of you, but now you have stolen it back from me… give it back!" Kikyo growled, and lashed out with her claws, but Kagome was able to avoid them, once Kikyo just nearly scratched her face, she sobbed out a wretched cry.
"It's ok. You can both be free now." Kagome said, smiling as the claws just barely touched her face, her eyes closing, small tears falling down as the creature shivered with her words.
"Yuki Onna. You should rest. Whatever cruel act was done to you in the past is over now. I promise. If you let go of your resentment, you'll be much happier. You should listen too, Kikyo. If you go back to Naraku, you and him can at last stop hiding. You should tell him how it makes you feel when he hurts you. Maybe one day, he can come to understand that his bitterness is only going to push the both of you apart. If you and he could make your peace, we could all be freed of this terrible tragedy." Kagome said softly, and the clawed hand released it's tension, slowly going back down, as the demoness lowered her face, and the hair covered her conflicted expression. A soft wind blowed, and a resonating sobbing could be heard that shook the walls of the temple, as Kagome looked on with encouragement, Kikyo's visage looking pure and innocent as she smiled, and offered her hands out to the other one, coming closer, and slowly embracing her.
"I'm so sorry, Kagome…I cannot go back to the way things once were. I am so full of hatred…" A muffled voice said, and made a choked sob and Kagome looked, puzzled as if to whether this was Kikyo, or Yuki Onna talking.
"I wish to rest at last, but only if he were to go to hell with me. I don't want to die all alone again…" The pale woman, concealed by lengths of sleek black hair said, as she clutched Kagome's back tightly.
"You won't be all alone, Yuki Onna. If you can forgive him, you can go on to Nirvana, where you may be at peace forever. You will never be alone again. I forgive you." Kagome said, and there was an ethereal sigh, as the coldness began to break, and instead, there was a bright, fluttering light flickering all around them, orbs twinkling and chiming as they began to rise from the woman.
Kagome looked back, and saw the sweet face of the snow woman now back to her human form, as she smiled warmly back at her, and thanked her.
"I think I'm ready to go to sleep, now. Thank you, kind priestess. I shall be immorally grateful to you." She whispered, then the light surrounded her, and she slowly dissipated, and Kagome was left holding a creature that was made of red light, the sacred jewel fragment in it's chest still glowing, as the purple illumination mixed with black made reflects across Kikyo's face that was possessed by Kagome.
"I need a mortal body, you cannot take my life from me. You already stole InuYasha from me, and softened his heart in my stead. Now this is my turn, I deserve to die in the arms of a man who loves me, and you shall go back to rest within me." Kikyo said bitterly, and before Kagome could speak, she was pulled back into the creature, and Kikyo returned to herself.
She looked to the mangled remnants of Tsubaki on the floor, and scoffed, turning away disdainfully. Kikyo had come with revenge in her heart, and left with a small piece of forgiveness.
~x•X•x~