Author's note, nothing is ever as it seems. And who said the story was over?
On a bloody battle field in the mountains a silver haired cat demon's claw twitched with a flicker of life, weeks of laying on the ground and living off of whatever happened to crawl by; her silver eyes opened. She was weak, but by going into the near death state she stayed alive, the only problem was who was she and what was she doing by the ruins of an old castle? She stood and looked down at her tattered clothes, she was fithy, hungry, and weak. Not to mention the only thing she did know about herself was that she was a demoness. She staggered through the forest until she came to the first village, there she found and killed a cow for something to eat. Afterwards she made her way to a small stream and cleaned all the dirt off of her until her hair shinned in the sun. /How did I survive something so horrible that it took out a castle?/
She walked over to a stone that had kimono's drying on it and stole one quietly before continuing on her walk, she didn't know where she was going, but somehow showing up naked did not seem to be the way to arrive. Her ears twitched with the noises from the villages nearby and the sounds of the forest. Everything felt odd to her, but not a lot of things can feel right without the memories of your past. At the next village people openly stared, several were afraid, but an old miko named Keade seemed to sense that she meant no harm. She even offered her kindness, "What be ye name, child?"
She tilted her head this way and that way thinking, "I can't remember."
Keade's eyes widened, "Ye have forgotten?"
That's when Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Kagome, Kirara, and Shippou walked into the hut. Inuyasha sniffed and looked at her funny, "You were dead....."
She looked at him with wide eyes as Keade turned to regard him, "Ye know her?"
"She was the one that killed Naraku.....her body was left at his castle when we finally arrived, but we couldn't find the jewel shards. How are you alive?"
"I.....I don't know."
"Don't give me that....Answer me!"
She cringed and Kagome took pity on her, "Inuyasha Be Nice."
"Feh, I'll be nice when she tells me the truth."
She lowered her head and Kagome glared at Inuyasha, "SIT BOY!"
......Inuyasha ate dirt, "What was that for?!"
"Now Apologize!"
"For what?!"
"She's obviously confused about everything and you yelling at her isn't helping! She has no memories Inuyasha......can't you sense that?"
Inuyasha looked up into silver eyes and an image flashed in the cat demon's mind of eyes so similar and yet cold. Those eyes made her so sad that tears blurred her vision and that's when Inuyasha actually sat up and looked at her with concern, "Don't cry, please?"
"Your eyes......your eyes make me sad.......and I don't know why."
Kagome looked at her, "What about them makes you sad?"
"I don't know.......but it hurts.......it hurts here." She put her hand over her heart and squeezed tightly.
Keade hugged her gently, "It's O.K. child, it's O.K. we'll help ye remember.....won't we?"
They all nodded, never realizing that demons could show such strong emotions. "So what do we call you until you remember?"
She looked around at the shadows thinking of a name, "Zetsumei, since that is how you found me before." (author's note: Zetsumei means death.)
A month later
Zetsumei joined the hunt for the shikon shards, or what was left of them, oddly the large shard that Naraku had disappeared when he died. But the thing that made them all wonder the most was when she touched her first shard and it purified. That's when Kagome began wondering if she was really a full demon or a half demon that didn't know what she was truly. "Inuyasha....I've been thinking, does Zetsumei smell like a half demon?"
"Actually no, she smells like a full demon.....a very powerful one too.....but she doesn't act like one....does she?"
Zetsumei was in hearing range and that's when Sango and Miroku saw her ears droop. They looked at each other, wondering what she was hearing that they could not, she stopped and waited until Kagome about walked into her, "Here, I thank you all for your kindness, but I need to go now."
She handed Kagome the jewel shards that she had before turning to leave, "Why are you leaving?"
"You've all been very kind, but nothing is helping me remember......but somewhere deep in my mind, something is telling me that I don't want to remember.....the only problem is, my heart is telling me that I need to remember. I have to find my memories, I know now that I need to and for a month I've tried to believe the lie that I would remember by being with people that never knew me before the battle on the mountain, it's time to admit the truth, at least to myself. Thank you all so much."
In a flash of silver she was gone before anyone could make so much as a sound, the group looked at each other before following slowly in the direction she had gone.
In the Western Lands
Lord Sesshomaru sat at the dinner table with Rin and Jaken his mind still swirling with images of her peaceful face, amongst the blood and mud. Rin didn't even speak, sensing that her Lord was thinking and did not want to be disturbed....Jaken on the other hand wanted to talk to his Lord about where a certain cat demon that he had actually come to like being around had disappeared to. "Um.....My Lord?"
Sesshomaru's head jerked up, "What is it Jaken?!"
"N...nothing."
Silence ensued again, "Jaken get Rin ready, we're traveling somewhere."
"May I ask where my Lord?"
"No, you may not, just do it."
Just because he had become nicer to humans did not mean that he was nicer to demons and it showed in his treatment from everyone from Jaken to the other Demon Lords. Jaken did as ordered and they set out at a slow pace moving through the lands. It was a week later that Sesshomaru caught a semi-familiar scent as well as the scent of his half-brother and that little group he always travels with. Sesshomaru smirked as the thought of tormenting his brother drove some of the darkness from his thoughts. He had Jaken and Rin stay at their camp as he made his way to the Group, it did not take long for Inuyasha to sense his brother. "Sesshomaru, What the HELL do you want?!"
A silent figure in a nearby tree watched, tingles of recognition racing through her veins. "To kill you once and of all Little brother."
Everyone could tell that Sesshomaru had literally been through some form of Hell as his mask of indifference was replaced with one of true malice. The fight started as it always had, but Sesshomaru seemed truly changed by something as he began fighting more like an assassin, with his claws glowing green he went for a death blow, only to have his hand caught by what looked like a silver ghost. His eyes widened as hers looked at him without knowing him, she looked into his eyes and cringed at the coldness, "I know you....." was all she said before the first tear escaped.
Sesshomaru reached for her with his other hand and she jumped back as if he'd meant to kill her, "Koneko?"
"No...no....no......no......NO I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER! IT HURTS!" She clutched her chest desperately, her own claws ripping at her skin as she ran away from him.
"KONEKO WAIT!"
She shook her head and kept running, leaving a confused Sesshomaru and an enlightened Kagome behind.
Words echoed in her mind, trying to force the memories to surface now that he had said her name,
'Eyes deep and dear
I shudder when you're near'
"No no, shut up shut up I don't want to remember!"
'I feel that I might drown
Within their watery depths.'
'Your skin is soft
Beneath my hand
Not dark but fair as porcelain.'"
Yet demanding in a kiss at least within my dreams
Your hands along my skin
Feels like pure bliss, even when they aren't loving.' She fell to her knees next to a river just outside Keade's village, her tears joining the water. 'When I'm with you
My heart races,
My blood heats,' "No more, please no more." Keade heard her cries from the village and began making her way to the river. 'It is for you that my heart beats,
And it shall to my death.'
The tears stopped, but her body still ached with pain, both emotionally and from images of a battle.
'And tonight it shall stop beating, for I know your love cannot be given, think of me when you look at your bottle of emotions. Think of me always when you feel loves pain, My Love always, Koneko. P.S. As one last gift to you, I shall rid you of the thorn in your side, Naraku.'
The memories of the final battle with Naraku, Sesshomaru's name on her lips, and lastly all the times that Sesshomaru had said that he could never love her flooded her mind. With a long scream all of her memories raced back in on her and with them she began running again, she did not want to ever see him again, ever, but where could one hide from a powerful Demon Lord?