CHAPTER TWO
Asuka
Thick inky blackness swirled around her. The void screamingly loud for all its empty silence. Kagome found herself standing and sitting and floating and falling all at the same time. Direction was meaningless. Her mind began to panic and she screamed into the nothingness, pleading for someone to hear her, to find her, to pull her back into the light. Who was she calling for? Who was supposed to find her? The memory flitted at the edge of her mind eluding her grasp. She wrestled with her thoughts, straining to call the memory forward. He was there just beyond her reach, a blurred image of a man she knew well. 'His name.' She clutched at the image in her head, trying to remember. "Inu-" Her voice trembled in uncertainty and a pain shot through her as if her very soul were being cleaved in two. 'His name.' The empty darkness surrounding her seemed to grow darker and loneliness began to creep into her heart as the single point of light in the nothingness began to fade. Desperately she clawed at any details she could of the memory. A spring night. An old tree. Bright light. Slowly the memory became clear "The night we first met …"
Just like that the void receded, drawing itself into the sky where it became filled with stars. She sat under the branches of an old dogwood tree watching the stars through the branches that slowly shed their white petals in the breeze like snowfall around her. Idly she ran her fingers through the soft grass, scooping up a handful of the petals and letting them drift away again. A few of them caught fire in tiny bursts of bright lilac colored flame and faded into smoke as the breeze carried them away. "Sister," Kagome looked up at the male fox demon that approached; his amber golden fur shining bright like fire in the night.
"Let me be, Yaketsuku." Kagome whispered in a voice that didn't belong to her. "I'm hurting no one out here."
"Come, let us return to the palace. You have a visitor."
"I won't." She turned her attention back to the falling petals. "Send them away."
"He claims he knows how to help you learn to control your power." The grief she had pushed to the edge of her mind began to creep in close again. Thoughts of faces that had promised the same flitted through her mind and she hung her head in shame.
"I don't want to cause anymore pain." She said finally, pushing herself from the ground. "I'll go. I'll meet this person, but this must end somewhere. Promise me, if it happens again, there will not be another." The two walked in silence down a narrow woodland path that led them back to the palace nestled in the valley between two mountains. A guard bowed low to them as they passed through the gate.
"A welcome return, Lady Asuka." He said mechanically. Nearby two young female fox demons whispered between themselves, giving sideways glances at the brother and sister. Kagome forced a hard smile knowing she was only welcome in the sense that her brother was head of their tribe. She followed him to the banquet hall where a few of the Nogitsune servants were hastily clearing the last of the dishes while avoiding the lone guest at the table. She gasped audibly, quickly covering her mouth in embarrassment at the involuntary reaction. Of the four Zenko tribes, she had never so much as seen a member of the Kuroko tribe from a distance; a good thing as far as the other three tribes were concerned. She knew almost as little about them; recalling only a vague memory of her father once mentioning he'd met one hiding in a human village as a warrior protecting its people from dangerous demons.
The stranger stood as they approached, giving only a cursory nod of acknowledgment to them. The male fox demon was a figure of night. If not for his fairer skin he could fade easily into the darkness. His hair was cut short, windswept, and impossibly black; like the fur of his large fox-like ears and the five long bushy tails that trailed behind him. Light seemed to be drawn into him like a blackhole; never to escape again. The few minimal plates of armor over his clothing told the tale of a warrior, their once polished metal held deep scratches and chips as if they were badges of honor commemorating the battles he'd seen.
The large room, usually warm and lively, was filled with an icy, foreboding aura and a strong urge to duck and hide behind her brother crept over her in the presence of the Kuroko man. Yaketsuku however, seemed to have similar thoughts. "My dear sister, Asuka." He said, giving her a small nudge forward.
To her shock, the stranger gave her respectful bow. "The rumors are true then. A shame the envoys sent to the other tribes by your brother never sought our help," He glanced at Yaketsuku, eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly. "Those losses could have been avoidable." She swallowed hard, a tinge of dread rising in her as she wondered if he would decide that she was too dangerous. "I can help you learn to master your power." As if answering her thoughts, the dark void-like shape created by his tails shifted slightly and with it the heavy aura that surrounded him seemed to lift a little.
"Y-you aren't here to -" She let out the breath she hadn't realized that she had been holding as she stumbled over her thoughts.
He ignored her stammering and gaping, continuing as if he hadn't noticed at all. "I'll give you time to think about it. Tomorrow, at dusk, find me where the river forks, north of the palace." Without further discussion the stranger turned and showed himself from the palace. The Nogitsune servants scrambled out of his path, some going as far as to duck behind larger objects.
"No." Yaketsuku said simply, beginning to pace the dining hall once he was certain that the stranger was gone. "I can't allow you to go, something about that man," He shook his head. "I don't feel right about it."
"I thought you wanted me to learn to control my power." In her frustration and mixed emotions a burst of lilac colored foxfire erupted at her feet that she hastily attempted to stamp out, only for her foot to phase through the illusion of flames.
"I don't trust his intentions. We will keep trying." She thought she could feel the waves of agitation rolling from her brother as he paced the room rambling to himself as he planned and barked orders at the Nogitsune. Kagome looked down, kicking at the faux flame, concentrating hard on it; willing the illusion away. It flickered for a moment, shrinking and fading as if to disappear before glowing bright, manifesting as a real flame and singeing the hem of her kimono. Fists clenched in determination, she smothered the flame under her foot with a hard stomp before it could spread.
"Asuka? Asuka!" Yaketsuku called after her as she took off through the palace toward the northern gate only stopping when her path was blocked by a guard.
"Can't let you pass Lady Asuka, Lord Yaketsuku sent word to keep the gates closed."
"Please," She begged. "You can tell him I manifested a monster and slipped past you, or trapped you in an illusion, anything. I just need to speak to that Kuroko again."
The guard gave her a hard look before stepping aside with a deep sigh. "He went north along the river. You might catch up if you're quick." With nothing to slow her down further she ran full tilt in the direction of the river. It wasn't too far and gave her a clear path to follow in the dim light of the moon. As she ran along the river bank she began to stumble over the slick rocks, one of her geta losing purchase on a particularly slippery stone she found herself falling into the rushing current. Having never learned to swim, she thrashed against the raging water that threatened to sweep her away, trying to keep her head above the surface and choking on mouthfuls of water. Her lungs burned between the need for air and the icy liquid flooding them. The edges of her vision began to darken. She reached out, clawing for anything solid until finally her hands caught something and she held on tight; her fingers tangling in what felt like wet fur. She coughed and sputtered, her lungs rejecting the water as she gasped for air.
When her feet hit solid ground, the rest of her went too. She lay, curled up in the soft grass hugging her arms to her chest taking deep breaths. Never had she appreciated such a basic function before now. When she had mostly recovered, she pushed herself up to look at her savior. A massive fox with impossibly black fur shook itself, spraying droplets of water everywhere before shifting into a more human-like form. "You okay?" He asked, wringing water from his robes and tails.
She nodded, squeezing the water from her own hair. "Thank you."
He reached out a hand to help her up. "Come on, I'll walk with you back to your palace, so you don't end up back in there again."
"N-No!" She said much louder than intended. He looked taken aback by her outburst. "I came out here to find you. You said you can help me."
"Yeah," He offered his hand again. A bemused smile lighting his face. She took it, letting him pull her to her feet. "You didn't have to throw yourself in a river though. Why didn't you change your form? Makes swimming a lot easier."
She wrung the sleeves of her kimono, partially to dry them some but mostly in embarrassment. "I… Don't know how." She admitted. "I don't think I can." She kept her eyes to the ground, busying herself with squeezing the water from the ends of her four tails.Her own people feared the abilities she possessed, yet she couldn't do basic fox magic
Gently he brushed the damp hair from her eyes and lifted her chin. He studied her for a moment, Indigo eyes catching hers, drowning her again as he searched for something. For a moment he seemed familiar as if they had met once before a long time ago. A memory flitted just beyond her reach in the back of her mind, vague and hazy. Her brow furrowed as she struggled to call it forward, the more she grasped at the memory the farther from her reach it became. He shook his head, tearing his eyes from hers and releasing her. "You're not how I expected you to be." He told her.
"Is that why you're offering to help me? Earlier, in the palace, I thought you had come to kill me. It would probably be easier." His eyes narrowed slightly at her suggestion. "Even my brother was frightened of you, he didn't want me to come here. But when you said you could help … and this whole time … We've only just met, I don't even know your name but I feel like I can trust you."
A gentle smile softened the sharper features of his face. "Kuragari."
A/N:
Just to clear up any confusion, some of the chapters will involve Kagome living through the memories of Asuka while Asuka is borrowing Kagome's body and others will be in present time with Asuka in control of Kagome's body. If this gets too confusing let me know.
I had a lot of trouble with the end of this chapter and rewrote it several times. This is one of the better versions, but it's still not quite where I want it to be but I didn't want to reveal everything in the second chapter.
As always thank you so much for taking the time to read. If you have any thoughts or suggestions please leave a review, I read them all and would love to hear from you.
OC Glossary: ( will be updating with only information revealed as the story progresses)
Asuka (of the Dream) - A Zenko fox demon of the Kinko tribe. Approximately 700 years old in present (feudal era) time. Her spirit was separated from her body by an unknown attacker and has now taken over Kagome's body in order to find a way to get her own back. In the attack that separated her spirit and body, she also lost her unborn child and lover. Along with basic fox magic, she has the ability to manipulate and manifest dreams. She was not always able to control her power resulting in tragedies. Her brother is Yaketsuku.
Yaketsuku (of Fortune) - A Zenko fox demon of the Kinko tribe. He is equal in age to his sister Asuka. He is head of the Kinko tribe. He sent out messengers to other Zenko tribes trying to find anyone who could help his sister learn to control her powers.
Kuragari (of the Night) - A Zenko fox demon of the Kuroko tribe. He is apparently 100 years older than Asuka. Because of rumors about his tribe, he is not well trusted and even feared by other tribes. After many had tried and failed he offered to teach Asuka how to control her powers.