Summary: (Au) Condemned to the place his family had been slaughtered. He'd made peace that he would one day die here. A fate he thought was well deserved. But fate had other plans for him. Enter a Miko intent on being too kind. He was a child in her eyes, who would use her for his own gain. The others saw him for what he really was and tried to warn her, but Kagome had plans of her own.
Chapter 1: Mikos from different sides of the same coin
I inhaled the fresh air deeply basking in the warm sun. I turned my head to the left. Watching the village children frolic in the field of flowers. I always did this. Watch over the village. From the moment my father passed away. I felt a strong urge to protect my people. A fox demon was rare in these times. We were a dying breed. I couldn't afford to lose another one of us. My eyes darted over to my mother. She sat under her favorite tree as she always did, her emeralds eyes glued to the pages of my father's favorite book. Her wild hair that favored fire danced in the wind. As a smile graced her lips. I watched her from my spot on the roof of the hut. A small smile formed on my lips; something I rarely did. She looked up, locking eyes with mine. They were empty.. void of any emotion. My smile soon faded. I sat up straightening my back. This was wrong... this didn't feel right. None of it... because all of these people were dead. My heart thudded in my chest as it picked up the pace. My breathing quickened. I shook my head, blinking whilst rubbing my eyes. My vision blurred between this lie and reality. The happy scenery and the half-burnt down hut I sat in. I pounded my fist against my head, willing myself to see it. To stop running from it. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, forcing myself to see the truth. I took shallow breaths looking around me. Clenching my jaw at the sight of the damp rotting wood. Trying to get a grip on reality as the memories flooded my mind. The moon seeped in through the holes in the roof. I looked down at my hands, small and childlike. I sighed, looking at the rest of my small body. How long had it been... since my village was slaughtered and I was reduced to this disgusting form. Ten? Fifteen years? I couldn't tell anymore. I stood on my feet, making my way out of the hut. I could smell it before it began. Moments later the downpour came. I didn't care. Not about the rain, not about being stuck in this childlike form. Failure and loss... that's what haunted me. It gripped my heart. The screams, the fire... my mother's blood on my hands. I relived it endlessly. That was my curse. Condemned to be stuck in the body of a child. Trapped where my family and friends were slaughtered.
I could remember it as though it was yesterday.
She came in the night. The witch was responsible for all of this. Her hair was the color of snow. Cloaked in dark attire, a snake wrapped around her shoulders. At first glance, she seemed to be an elderly woman and nothing more. Any demon who paid close enough attention could smell it. She was a miko corrupted by darkness. Nonetheless, it did not matter. We did not allow outsiders into our village. She would not be an exception, but what we didn't know is that telling her that had sealed our fates. I smelled the blood before I heard my mother's scream ringing in my ears. I watched the blood spray from her body. At that moment I could have sworn my heart stopped. Time had slowed down as the event unfolded before me. I ran towards her, catching her before her body hit the ground. I tried so hard to find the words, but there were none. She gave me one last smile before the light left her eyes. I could feel her body go limp in my arms. Her eyes lidded, mouth agape, body lifeless. I wanted to scream, cry, or do anything, but I was stuck there at that moment. Sitting in the dirt with the corpse who was once my mother. I held her close to me, desperately hoping to hear a faint heartbeat, but there was nothing. A gaping hole sat where her heat used to be. It was foolish to hold onto something as useless as hope at a time like this. I managed to pry myself away from her. I stood on my feet, watching my village... my home being burnt to the ground. That woman stood at the center of it all. The dead bodies of my friends lay at her feet scattered across the ground. Men, women... children. She didn't care that she caused such bloodshed... she reveled in it. She stood there basking in the blood, a new woman. Her skin looked soft to the touch. No longer rough and aged. A wicked smile sat up her lips her slate eyes colored eyes held no emotion. I lunged at her. Or I thought I had. My body would not move, I wasn't in control. I watched her saunter over to me. stopping an inch away from me. Taking my chin in her hand.
"Now what to do with you?" she purred.
I snarled at her. "I will rip your throat out with my bare hands!"
She laughed. "Stupid boy. You are at my mercy. I could kill you if I wanted to."
"So then do it! What are you waiting for?"
She snatched her hand away. "Feisty for one so young, but a beautiful specimen you are," she said running her fingers along the veins on my arms.
"I supposed I could kill you, but that would be too easy. I want you to suffer," she said whispering the last part.
"Suffer?" I whispered. "You just slaughtered everyone I have ever known and loved!"
I wanted to cry, to scream for all that I had lost. But not in front of her. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction.
She tapped her chin. "That may be true, but that is not true suffering. Trapping you here with them..." Her smile grew. "Now that, would give me true satisfaction."
"You are a wretched woman!"
She shrugged. "Should not have turned me away. I would have gladly only stolen two or three women to steal essence from and went on my way. But you so rudely rejected me." She said pouting." So they had to pay the consequences."
"I will deliver you to the gates of hell myself, and watch you burn." I seethed.
She smiled at me. "I know just the thing."
She disappeared for some time... I couldn't keep track of how long. My mind was reeling. I was still trying to process everything that had just happened. It didn't help that my mother's dead body sat inches behind me. I could feel the bile rising in my throat. I fought to keep it down. I fought to move my body, but to no avail... what had she done to me? Just how powerful was she? She returned moments later.
"One last thing before I leave you." she'd said.
She grabbed my wrist. Placing her palm over my wrist. Closing her eyes, she began to chant. I hissed at the burning sensation I felt. I peered down at my arm once she'd removed her hands, staring at the Kanji. The witch had burned a sutra into my arm.
"What is this!? What curse have you placed on me!?"
She simply smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. She stood there watching me... what was this for? What was supposed to happen? Moments later, my questions were answered. An intense burning began where she'd burnt the sutra into my skin. It spread up my arms, down my legs, and up my spine. A hot white sensation took over me. I could barely breathe. My body shook violently, as I dropped to the floor. All I could do was endure the pain.
She watched me writhing in pain with a smile on her lips. "You will be stuck here forever... stuck in this form forever. A miko has trapped you here and only a Miko can set you free. Don't count on that. A miko is a rare thing to come by these days. As for this?" She touched my arm. Will be with you forever." She whispered in my ear.
Her words stung almost as much as the pain I felt in my heart. It seems as though it lasted for a lifetime. I could not handle it. I could feel myself slipping... fading away. My eyelids became heavier with each passing second. Until they were fully shut. The last thing I remember was a necklace with a dark glow...
I stared at the sutra on my small forearm. Clenching my jaw at the sight of it. The witch had placed sutras at the perimeters of the village, trapping me here. I had to bury every single last one of them. I had to live here as their bodies rotted in the ground. I couldn't even bring my mother and lay her to rest at her favorite reading spot. I couldn't protect them. I balled my hands into fists. What kind of son was I? What kind of man was I? I was going to die here. It made sense. It was a fitting fate for me. I should have died all those years ago along with my family. It was pitiful to live the way I have lived. Catching whatever wandered into the village, drinking rainwater to survive. I was alone here, destined to die alone. All because of that woman. I walked the perimeters of the village. As I have always done. Day after day, year after year. I heard a twig snap. I stopped abruptly. My head whipped around in the direction where the sound had come from. It was a raven-haired woman, dress very peculiar... her skirt a bit too short. She had these piercing blue eyes. She pushed herself off of the tree she rested on, slowly coming closer to me, trying not to frighten me it seemed. I scoffed inwardly. As if a human woman could cause me harm, even in this form. I may have been small, but my power remained the same. She stooped down, getting at eye level.
She ruffled my hair. "Hey buddy, what are you doing out here all by yourself?"
Before I could answer her, something caught my attention. A necklace hung around the woman's neck. It was similar to the one that hung around that witch's neck. Except this was shined with purity. I looked up at her face. Just how was this woman connected to that monster?
