Disclaimer: Inuyasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Other characters are property of Dark Star.
Rating: PG-13; possible language, just in case
Summary: An elf, captured from overseas, was abused in all ways imaginable. She finds it, now, too hard to bear. She will live on through Kagome…but what problems will it pose to the young girl? Sess/Kag
Genre: Romance/Drama
Dedication: This story, the idea, anyways, is dedicated to all those who supported me…to my cousins and to my brother especially…thank you.
A/N: Wow…support for this story is great! ^_^ I love you guys for it. The summary, I know, needs a little work, and I should probably include some more detail on future events, but for now, until I come up with a better summary, it will remain as it is. I have a pretty good idea of future events, but the current summary seems best to fit it. ^^; It's really too bad that it can't draw that many people to it. Thanks most of all to Lords of the Rings fans! ^_^ I know it brought a lot of you. Elves forever! ^.~ Enjoy!
Guess who we get to finally meet…
M e r g e d S o u l s Chapter Three: Changing
November 2002
Humans have a tendency to fear or speak ill of things they have no knowledge of. Organisms foreign to them are treated with one of two extremes: scorn or fear. It is the truth, is it not?
Witches in the Western world were burned at the gallows, and those who associated with them were tortured to death. Ignorance can be deadly, ne? Perhaps witches really existed, and maybe they did have a hatred for God, but none of us really knows, do we?
Similarly, children who have been cursed, not by their own will, by some supposed 'flaw' at birth are considered 'mistakes' and 'mutants'. In other words, they do not belong of the class called humans by which so many are a part. And usually, at birth, these children are 'disposed of'. For, if the parents had any intellect at all, they would not allow for such a creation to be seen; they would be labeled as 'aliens' among the rest. On the other hand, had they a mind, they would rid themselves of the child for more loving reasons. Who would want their child to go through the pain of life? Of the rejection he deserves not from other children? Humans, indeed, are strange creatures. Most times, they see an individual's unique qualities as flaws, blemishes within their own population's perfection. But then again, perfect, of course, they are not. Not even remotely so.
And so, it was Kagome's fate, the poor little girl, to undergo the rejection of 'imperfection' by human standards…
"Get away!" shouted yet another boy, forcefully tossing a rock towards the trembling girl with black hair.
"What are you? A witch? A demon?"
"No! She's got pointed ears! She's a cat!"
"Maybe she's a fox!"
"A RAT!"
Laughter exploded from the group of assorted children, boy and girl alike. One of the village women quickly shooed the children away from a trembling Kagome. Turning to the girl, she placed her hands on her hips.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded coldly. "You should be at home where things like you belong."
Kagome's eyes widened, shining with unshed tears. Releasing a choked sob, she quickly rose and ran away, stumbling occasionally on the trail to her family hut. Why did everyone have to make fun of her? It wasn't her fault her ears had become pointed! It wasn't her fault her eyes glowed an extremely light color in the sunlight! It wasn't her fault that her eyes had turned a dark green color!!! So why?! Why did they have to reject her like they did?! Life was so unfair to her!
The tears broke away from her green eyes, once brown, as she buried herself in her mother's sympathetic embrace.
"Shhhh," her mother cooed, rocking her sobbing daughter, "it's okay."
"Why do they make fun of me?" the, now, seven-year-old asked.
Lady Higurashi remained silent, unsure of the response that would make sense.
"They don't understand you, Kagome-chan," she said softly, hugging her daughter closer to her. "They reject, sometimes fear, what they don't understand."
"But they've known me for such a long time!" she wailed, clutching her mother's kimono.
"I know, I know. But, you're different now, Kagome, you've changed. But that's not a bad thing," she quickly added. "It makes you special, like every other child out there."
Sniffling, Kagome withdrew herself from her mother. "Really?"
"Yes, Kagome, you're special. You are the one who's best at being you."
Kagome hugged her mother lovingly. "Thank you, okaa-san."
"You're welcome, Kagome-chan," replied her mother. "You can go play in the forest if you want."
Nodding enthusiastically, Kagome kissed her mother quickly on the cheek before nimbly rising and dashing out the door to the vibrancy of the forest. No matter what anyone else said, the forest would never reject her presence. Smiling, the little girl skipped lightheartedly to the sprawl of trees that marked the beginning of the woods.
Flitting through the scattering of towering trees, she made her way to the far edge, where, on that fateful night, she had encountered the beautiful blonde-haired lady exactly one year ago. The place seemed to have a hold on her, for she would return every so often to just sit and think. It was magical, the way birds trilled their alluring lilt, how the sunlight always managed to find a way through the dense canopy of broad leaves, the way the grass was always swaying to the touch of the soft breeze; yes, it was the most magical place Kagome had ever seen.
She came to an abrupt stop as her pointed ears twitched, tuning in to a muffled sound somewhere not far from her special clearing. Deciding to investigate a bit later, after a break, she plopped down onto the ground and leaned back against a large oak. Closing her eyes, she sighed in contentment. Here, there was no one to ever come bother her. No one would laugh at her. Silently, she thanked the Queen in her mind, not knowing where the lady had gone after asking for her help. After all, if it were not for her, Kagome would never have come to this place as often as she did.
* * *
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" cried a frantic Jaken, scrambling through the underbrush of the forest.
The child smirked as he leapt silently from branch to branch, barely grazing the rough bark of towering trees. Jaken was always such a slowpoke. He didn't have much of a sense of smell, either. It was, really, a little hard to believe the creature was a youkai, but both his parents were full demons, so he was, too. A small Sesshoumaru of nine years snorted. Jaken rightfully belonged in a class of amphibians with the frogs, toads, and other strange animals. In times like these, Sesshoumaru wished fervently for his father. Of course, the taiyoukai had other matters to attend to so could not be bothered with the burden of entertaining his only son, and Sesshoumaru fully understood this, as he did many things of the life of youkai royalty. It was not his place to argue important matters.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" his retainer called again.
Glancing below him, Sesshoumaru found the toad to be standing directly under his exact location. The toad's yelling was becoming quite intolerable, he decided. Sesshoumaru bounced lightly on the branch he was standing on, causing a few leaves to float down towards Jaken. The retainer, slow to react, glanced around him before looking skyward, but by that time, mischievous little Sesshoumaru had taken off stealthily through the canopy of freshly scented foliage.
As he weaved through the intertwining branches of the wood, he picked up the sounds of a barely audible sigh. His ears twitched. The sound was entirely feminine, the way it was inhaled deeply and let out in a contented rush. He came to a complete stop and tuned in with his surroundings, evening out his breathing to synchronize with the silent pulse of the forest. Within moments, he could decipher the steady beating of a heart somewhere not far from his own location. Curiosity peaked, he quietly skipped over the high branches, careful not to cause a disturbance in the woodland atmosphere.
* * *
Kagome's sharply pointed ears twitched. Eyes snapping open, she quieted herself as to locate the position from which the noise had come. It seemed like it was a rustle in the leaves, however slight it had been. And judging from the way a breeze had started to form, it was traveling at a fairly fast pace…in her direction. Before she could derive any more, it all stopped abruptly and completely.
The palpitating of the being's heart had silenced significantly. Sesshoumaru could no longer hear the unchanging pulse; maybe they had heard him? Impossible! No beings, youkai or human, can hear better than dog demons! Irritated, he resorted to his olfactory senses.
Snips of sound were coming to her, now. Kagome, confused with all her enhanced hearing, began to fear what was either coming or here. Straining her hearing, she just barely caught the split-second sound of…sniffing? Her head snapped to the exact location of the disturbance and rose quickly, putting the tree between herself and her pursuer.
She moved, he thought smugly. The sudden turn of her head had flung a barely perceptible gust of her scent towards him. The girl smelled strongly of flowers, roses in particular. No creature he had ever come in contact with had reeked of a flower…what was she? Obviously, she was not of this world. She smelled…nice. He mentally berated himself before crouching down on the branch and launching in her direction. Her higher-level hearing could not save her from him, now.
The young Kagome gasped as a blurring white figure just barely passed her. He skidded to a stop and turned to face the trembling, wide-eyed girl.
"Sesshoumaru," he said curtly, extending his arm out to the side as he bowed low. "Your name?"
Kagome's mouth moved, but no sound escaped from her throat. She seemed to have paled considerably since he landed. Taking a step back, she braced her hand against the cool bark of the tree that she had hidden behind. Desperately, she wished she could melt into it or somehow escape this strange, beautiful being. Yes, she admitted with a blush, the boy was beautiful, even moreso than most of the village women. To her surprise, she felt herself falling backwards…through the tree! For a moment, her vision extended to farther parts of the forest: with swaying willows and scurrying swallows. And then, it returned to normal, and the tree was in front of her instead of behind.
Sesshoumaru, had he the un-refinement, would have gaped at the sight he had just witnessed. Did she just fall through the tree?! However, he retained his childishly amused façade and walked around the trunk of the massive tree. Surely enough, the girl was standing right there, looking quite stunned as she clumsily stumbled on the roots. She's cute, he thought randomly. Before given the chance to hit the ground, he reached out and caught her wrist, suspending her in mid-air for a moment before she crashed into him. Though he was slightly embarrassed, he calmly steadied her and stepped back.
"Um…thank you," she said hesitantly, backing away from him once more.
"It's"
"Sesshoumaru-sama!!!" came a shrill call again.
No problem, he mentally finished.
He sighed and turned to leave. "Nice meeting you," he said charmingly.
As he turned to leave, she hesitated for a moment before murmuring, "Kagome."
Sesshoumaru smirked as he ascended to one of the nearby tree branches, making his way towards Jaken. Kagome…a cute name for a cute girl. A genuine smile graced his aristocratic features. Maybe today hadn't been so boring as the rest…
A/N: Tell me what you felt! Was I cruel enough to Kagome in the beginning? Personally, I don't think so, but I liked this chapter the best of the three so far. Thoughts? Opinions? Comments? Questions? Anything at all, don't hesitate to tell me! Harsh critique is appreciated!
Review Responses:
Landlady of the Universe-Yes, AIHSF will be finished, of course. ^_^ All in due time, my dear! But I have to ask, you're going to finish Promises, right? ^.~ Well, anyways, about Erianthe's 'lost love', I don't think you'll find that out until several chapters later. ^^; I guess we'll all see if I have the patience to finish an entire story, to tell the truth, none of them that I recently started really have an end right now. -.-;; We'll just have to see if I can do it!
lady love-All is well, worry not! ^_^ Well, we skipped ahead one year…is that okay? ^_^ Eventually, we'll work up to her teen years, and I think I have something planned for her then. *rubs hands together* The next chapter might actually be entirely Sesshou-stuff. I'm not sure. -.-;;
Pearl-Thanks for the support! ^_^ Hope you like this chapter as well!
Tifa-sama-Sess/Kag will come soon. Don't worry 'bout it, kay? Enjoy the story! I know, the action is slow in coming, but…eventually, it'll be here. Actually, now that I think about it, this story might be unnervingly short. -.-;;
Inu-Baby-Does this explain it a little? Yes, I thought it was great when the guys were tortured, a bit extreme and over-dramatic, tho, if you asked me. =/
Brooke-Thanks for r/r-ing!
(blank)-Really? A great writing style? *looks quizzical* I've read and re-read my chapters, and I gotta say, they're really dumb…I appreciate your compliments, though! ^_^
aoshigal-I really apologize for the three words/two words thing. ^^; I have two copies saved, one is a Word Document and the other is an HTML; I just happened to make the changes for that in the Word document when I uploaded, so, it didn't show up. ^^; I hope you can kinda forget that. ^_^ I'm sorry that you have a hard time seeing Erianthe, but I completely understand. I have a hard time seeing her, too. -.-;;
DemonBlade-Are you so nice to all of the authors you review for? (Thanks!)
Makura Kirei-You have a very interesting pen name. ^_^ Wow, I'm glad you seemed to have labeled my story as 'excellent'! ^_^ Means a lot, but I still have a lot of work to do in the plot! -.-;; I'm not sure what's gonna happen!
firefly of hell-I can imagine. I think difficulties will start to pop up when Kag's in her 20's. I'm not all that sure tho…
Videl-Thanks! Luvya for it!
Fire Mistress-And onward we went! ^-^ Thanks for the review!
sunflowerobi-I take it you're Taiwanese, right? Or something along those lines. No, I'm not a stalker (comin' ta get ya!). I think I figured it from your e-mail address…anyways ^^; thanks for the comments!
Moonlight Song-Well, you seem like a very poetic person (and I don't mean that to be offensive in any way). ^_^ But you said almost, meaning I have some work to do! ^____^ Thanks for the review!
Moonfairy-*pokes* Do you people ever read my pairings? J/K No, as I told another reviewer, it's not Sesshoumaru [her love], but that's a very good guess. ^_^ I love K/S, too! That's why practically all my stories are K/S!!!! .
SB-You sound so enthusiastic. ^_^ For the review, arigatoo!
Nea-Oooooo~ So much pressure! -.-;; Well, thanks for reading, I really appreciate it. Usually, I never read pairings I don't like with a few rare exceptions, but I'm glad you're giving Sess/Kag a try! I really hope you like it! (seems like you did, seeing as you're writing a 'kinda' S/K story…I love it, by the way, and I hope you update soon!)
Ash-chan-Thanks! ^_^ I hope you keep reading!
Dark Magician Girl-No please needed! ^.~ You knew it was comin'! Now, I give it to ya! ^.^
CX-chan-Did I include you…? I think so, but I'm not sure. ^^; Please correct me if I didn't!
Unseen Watcher-Oo~ Scary pen name. *backs away* It is just a pen name, right? *backs away*
Hey, I know Sesshou was a little OOC in this chapter, but that's 'cause he's a kid; it'll all change in time, believe me. ^_^ Perhaps, though, both the kids acted a little above their age. -.-; Oh well! ^_^ Please contact me if you have anything at all you wish to address. ^_^ I'm open to all of you! Thanks for reading!
~*~*~Dark Star~*~*~
P.S. Do you wish for me to continue review responses? I really don't care if I do, or don't, but it might speed up the…I dunno…'process' of chapters coming out. It's all up to you! ^_^ Tell me what you think!