A/N This is where I combined anotherwork with this andthe novel part of this story begins to come into focus. Some of you might notice that the writing style changes. I noticed that I write differently for my novels than for my fanfics, but I still think all will be well once I change the characters to fit the Inuyasha setting. These chapters are going to be written in Kagome's P.O.V as she goes through these memories. I'm posting this warning now, and when the chapter comes up that this story is about to get significantly darker and there will be a rape scene. Those with weak constitutions should refrain from reading this story. For all others, I wish thee well on your literary journey.
Tigress.
Awaken to Twilight
Chapter 2: Memories
The night had been calm, cool and inviting. It had held no traces of the hell that was to come. We had been traveling for hours, my companions and myself, on alert for a danger we could not see but knew was there.
We made an interesting group the five of us.
There was Inuyasha Tai the now full demon son of the Great Inutashio.
As well as Kikyo, the woman of whom I was reincarnated and was now Inuyasha's mate.
Sesshoumaru Tai the Lord of the Western Lands and Inuyasha's half brother.
Kouga, the only one I remotely trusted in the group, the wolf demon prince of the Wolf Tribes.
And then there was myself, a miko.
I should have seen the ill luck in this, not one of our species got along with the other, and yet here we were traveling together. Too much time has passed for me to remember exactly where it was we were heading, more like than not we were searching for fragments of the Shikon Jewel. Nonetheless, I knew only that it was important and thus we had to get there.
We had been riding for hours, pushing our horses to the brink of exhaustion and yet the sun had set and we had not reached our destination. I had been sent to scout ahead for a place to spend the night.
In the near six years that I had rode with Inuyasha in search of the jewels shards many things have changed. Lord Sesshoumaru gave up his attempts to steal Tetsiega from his brother and has since joined us in our quest. Sango and Miroku were forced to leave when Sango became pregnant with Miroku's child. They left the fate of Miroku and their unborn child in our hands. And I have no intention of failing them.
Kouga too has joined our party, not so much as his usual reason which was to have me as his mate but to honestly help in the fight against Naraku and avenge his clan mates. And myself…that is another story. My powers as a miko have grown and changed, finally settling into their full potency.
One of the more interesting powers I acquired was the art of shapeshifting. And it is one that has become very useful. In time of despair, I have used this gift as a means of escape this world. Even at this moment, I am using it to avoid the others. Or more so, to find us a temporary home.
A foreboding thought clung to my mind as I flew over the vast grasslands in the form of a golden eagle, searching for a place in which for us to lay our heads. I found an abandoned cave not far from a small oasis. Even my eyes could scarce pick it up, it would do.
I returned at a slightly slower speed, checking to see if I had been followed. Habit forced me to do so, and in this case I had been right. There were footsteps in the soil that I could see even from my altitude and know it did not belong to our company. I sent word ahead to Kouga to start hiding our tracks.
I lead them to our surrogate home; and shuddered as I felt the wave of power Kouga released to erect barriers about the place. For a while I perched at the entrance, searching for whatever had been following us. But I could see nothing. Inuyasha 's voice caught me off guard and I jumped at the sound of his voice.
"Come on Kagome. You've done enough for the night, come on over here and rest." He told me, while putting an arm around his beloved Kikyo.
I stared at the both of them for a moment but did not move. I glared at him, then clicked a 'no' with my beak and turned back to the mouth of the cave.
I felt the wind move about me a moment later and realized Kouga had come to sit by my side. Kouga bettered me in height by about three inches; his build was lean yet solid. He had sharp cerulean colored eyes and long jet hair, pulled away from his face in a high ponytail. It made the ivory tone of his skin stand out all the more.
"Talk to me." He said simply. It was his was of saying; tell me what's on your mind.
I sighed through my beak and returned to my human form. I was considered tall for a woman at five feet ten inches tall, but the height felt normal to me. I had pale milky white skin that was complimented by large almond shaped eyes that were a vibrant sapphire. My hair was a glossy black and fell just enough to caress my shoulders. I was built curvy but a definite layer of muscle kept me from being fragile.
"And what pray tell do you want me to say?" I asked him.
"Why you've been so quiet today, why you've not stopped looking over your shoulder, and why you told me to put barriers up?" He replied.
My eyes drifted back momentarily towards the mouth cave before back at him.
"It's a precaution that always should be taken, barriers are necessary. I am always quiet, and I have reason to be wary. Something is out there."
He took my chin between his fingers and turned my face to his, for a moment I froze at the contact, and he noted it but stared deep into my eyes.
"Nothing out there can hurt us, I will not let it."
I shook my head and pulled away from his grasp.
"You should be informed Kouga of the Wolf Tribes, that there are still those who can kill you or any of us. Do not think that you are invincible, or I will show you how wrong you are." I snapped, although more lightly than I meant to.
He chuckled.
"I look forward to it Kagome." He said and planted a gossamer kiss on my cheek. I bit back a growl and he laughed, and then he returned to his seat by the fire.
Kouga knew me well enough to know I do not allow men to touch me, yet he would chose at convenient moments to forget. If I had to remind him again, I would make sure he regretted it. The last creature to forget this had ended up with his arm broken in three places.
Sighing I stared at my company. My eyes drifted fleetingly to the happy couple, and I found it strange looking at Inuyasha.
He was about 6'3" in height, with lightly tanned skin and high cheekbones. He was built lean but I knew muscle lay under the clothes he wore. His eyes when they saw me shifted from brilliant gold to a cautious amber.
There was and always will be a tension between us. Two years ago he had betrayed me for Kikyo, because she had discovered a way to turn him into a full demon. What they both did made me lose any respect I had had left for them. She had found a way to revive Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's father.
Doing so, Inuyasha would drink his father's blood and become a full demon. It had succeeded in that sense, but the newly revived Inutashio demanded a sacrifice of flesh before he would return to the grave. I…was to be that sacrifice of flesh. What he did to me, is why I don't let men touch me.
And to add insult to injury he had left me to die with his dead bitch laughing all the while. It is because of this that even know I am unsure as you why I am here. There was a great deal of mutual hatred between us, and yet he had asked me here under the pretext that I would be handsomely paid.
My gaze drifted then to his only weakness, Kikyo. She was willowy and frail, called beautiful in her life she was a dark shadow of her former self now. She and I had an agreement, she avoid me and I would not have to kill her. I was that strong now where I could fight them both off without being mortally wounded. She distracted me from the thought when she giggled as Inuyasha playfully nipped her ear and I growled.
In my heart of hearts, I hated that Inuyasha as one of the most manipulative, sadistic people I had ever met, had managed to find someone who loved him regardless. While I, who would have given my life for anyone I cared about, was alone. If the word for it is jealously, than I am guilty as charged and do not care.
It baffled me however, that in the presence of his beloved he turned into a cuddling puppy. I guess one could say; she brought out the good in him. Although how it was possible I would never know.
Turning away from them my eyes found Kouga. There are many things I could and should say about him but I will not. I knew that deep down, past his rough around the edges exterior was a noble heart. One I knew also beat for me. I knew he was passing fond of me, one might even say love. But we both knew that it would never happen.
Finally, my eyes fell upon the resting Sesshoumaru. He was slightly taller than Inuyasha; and built similarly, lean but with power hidden beneath. His long silvery white hair framed his face allowing his chiseled cheekbones to show. His eyes were an icy gold, but the instances were we locked eyes were few and far in between. The eldest son of Inutashio was an enigma I had not cared to try to solve.
Sometimes I wondered what he saw when he looked at me. Did he see a miko who was enemy to his people by birthright? Did he see a woman who had no place in this group? Or did he simply see me as the creature who had inadvertently caused the second death of his father.
Inutashio in his past life had only like humans for one reason. That reason was what caused Inuyasha's birth. He thought that once revived he would be able to do the same with me. Instead he had gotten a purified blade lodged in his heart.
Mikos in demonic society are held just slightly over humans, and despised almost as much if not more. This internal hatred of my kind and myself is what forced Inutashio to do the worst thing any man could do to a woman.
I shuddered against the memory and the cold, and when I looked up again I found that Sesshoumaru had awaken and his eyes were fixed on me. Again I saw the quiet calculations that played through his eyes when he saw me.
I did not look away, force of habit and pride kept me from ever turning my gaze downward. And as I expected he looked away first. Sometimes I wondered if it was guilt that kept him from looking at me for long, or if it was simply disgust.
It is strange now that I think on it. Inuyasha thought we would've made a cute couple if the both of us would ever admit it. An ironic smile crossed my features, a fleeting one for a shifted back into an eagle, but one nonetheless. I find it ironic, because how does one make a 'cute couple' with the heir of the man who helped kill your heart.
I glided down into the back of the cave to perch on one of the higher crevices. There I would sleep, out of the reach of any who would seek my company, namely Kouga. With one eye half open I took one final look at my company then drifted into peaceful sleep.
