Wounded
Dark clouds covered the blue sky as the funeral party left the shrine. They all walked out single file, wearing black and carrying burning essence. Sobs could be heard coming from the people. When they had all vanished down the stairs to the shrine, only one remained. A dark figure stood in front of the newly made grave. The marker said, "Mina Higarashi." The dark figure held a bouquet of cherry blossoms. He leaned forward and set them in front of the grave. He then looked at the other grave markers. This was the Higarashi family burial site. He saw his grandfathers, his fathers and now his mothers. He also saw an invisible marker, one that couldn't be seen by the human eye. It was the grave marker of his sister. He and his mother had placed flowers around the base of the God Tree when she left. They knew she was dead. He then looked back to the grave before him. He was the last Higarashi. It was then he was joined briefly by his fiancé. When she left him he began to cry silently to himself.
He heard the gate to the burial site open. Some one stepped in. From what he could hear, the person was a woman. She was wearing a long dress. He could tell she was wearing high boots and was walking over to join him. The woman stopped behind him and just stood. Not daring to face this woman, he faced forward, not turning once. They stood in silence for quite some time until the woman spoke. She had a deep, cold and raspy voice.
"I am sorry for your loss."
"It wasn't your fault. She was ill."
"You have no more relatives?"
"No, my father died when I was young. My grandfather died a few years ago and my sister vanished."
"I am sorry for you losses."
"How do you know my mother?"
"I actually know some one who knew her."
"If I may ask, who?"
"Kagome."
"That's impossible, she's been missing for four years."
"I know."
"You knew her when she was still in school?"
"No."
"When?"
"In feudal Japan."
"You're a demon?"
"No."
"Then what are you?"
"I'm Kagome."
He turned to face the woman when she spoke. His eyes widened in shock. It was Kagome. She stood there, dressed in a black, Gothic Lolita dress. Her white skin whiter than when he remembered. Her hair falling straight down to her ankles. Her split bangs hanging down to her stomach. Her black eyes revealing nothing to him. Her face was cold. Her lips were black. Her eyes were outlined in black and under the eye was a flame like Celtic design. She had two necklaces on, one with a crimson sphere and one with a black one. Her arms were covered with fishnet and her fingers were bound by black claws. A bite mark was upon the bridge of her next and shoulder but he would ask about it later. Upon her forehead was a dark blue crescent moon. He couldn't believe it was her.
"Kagome?"
"Yes Sota, it's me."
"I can't believe it! Where have you been?"
"With my husband and family."
"How did you get here? The well exploded."
"I waited out time."
"You waited over five hundred years! How is that possible?"
"I'm a demon Sota, I live longer than you humans do."
"I forgot about that."
"Thankfully the future has changed. Demons and humans live together in semi harmony."
"Yeah. Where do you live now Kagome? Why haven't you come by before?"
"I live in the Western Palace and I never had time to come or I would have."
"You live in the palace!"
"Yes, after all, my husband is the lord."
"I'm happy for you Kagome. I'm sure mom would have been too, if she were still here."
"Yes I know. I miss her."
"So do I."
They stood in silence, side by side, staring at their mothers' grave. A cold breeze flew passed them as the clouds began to roar. They turned to depart from the grave when the rain began to fall. They walked in silence. Sota walked Kagome to the stairs. When they reached them, he saw a tall man standing at the bottom, staring at Kagome. He had knee length, silver hair. He had two magenta strips on each side of his face and a dark blue crescent moon upon his forehead. He had bright gold eyes. He wore a Gothic Lolita suit. A fluffy boa was draped over his right shoulder. He held his hand out, waiting for Kagome to join him.
"Is he?"
"Yes, that is my husband. I must go now Sota."
"Will I see you again Kagome?"
"I'm afraid I must say goodbye."
"Goodbye Kagome."
Kagome smiled as she lifted the front of her dress and ran down the stairs to her husband. She grasped his outstretched hand as they both began to walk away. Just as Sota was ready to go inside, he saw Kagome and her husband fade away with the rain. A puzzled look covered his face as he ran inside the shrine house and ran to his computer. He searched the web for hours until he came upon the profile of the current lord, Taisho Takena.
The photo that was with it matched the man he saw Kagome with perfectly except he only had one strip instead of two. He then clicked for profiles of Lord Taisho's parents. It was then he saw a name he recognized. Karappo. He clicked for the profile and found a photo of his sister. Kagome and Lady Karappo were the same person. He searched the profile for about an hour until he came upon something interesting. It had a birth date and a marriage date, but what shocked him was that it had a death date. The date was over a hundred years old. It said that her husband, Lord SesshoMaru, had also died on that same day. He merely smiled and went to bed, praying for Kagome and SesshoMaru's souls.
100 Years Before
Karappo had lied. She wasn't ok. Her past and pain haunted and consumed her to the point of insanity. She had lost consciousness of herself. This loss of sanity also affected the demons soul within her. This loss of total conscious awareness released the dormant power within her. Hurricane winds surrounded her as she sat on her knees, her tilted all the way back. Her eyes were completely black and her mouth was wide open to scream but no noise came out. She sat there unaware of what was happening to her and the ones she loved.
Every one stood out side the hurricane wind barrier Karappo had surrounded herself with. Shippo and Rin held Kitsuneko and Yumiko to them, trying to calm them down. Taisho and Toshio stood together, tears streaming down their faces. SesshoMaru stood before all of them, facing the barrier and Karappo. No emotion was upon his face. They watched as the barrier got bigger. Tears began to fall down SesshoMaru's face. He knew what was happening and he knew what he had to do. He took a step closer to the barrier. He then turned to every one. With tears falling freely from his eyes he shouted.
"Run if you value your lives! Run!"
Understanding what SesshoMaru was about to do, Shippo picked Rin up and began to run for higher ground. He was followed by Yumiko, Kitsuneko, Taisho and Toshio. SesshoMaru said a silent goodbye to them as he turned and started forcing himself through the wind. As he walked, he removed Tensiega and Tokijin from his side and threw them to the ground. He continued until he reached Karappo at the eye of her power storm. He grabbed the Sacred Jewel and the Witches Orb from her neck and threw them into the wind. He then grabbed her around her waist and held her close to him. He placed his head next to her ear and whispered his final words to her.
"Karappo! I know you are still in there. I know you can hear me. I know what's going to happen to you. I didn't want you to die alone. I promised I would stand by your side forever, and death is part of forever! I love you Karappo! I would gladly die beside you even if it was by your own hand! I love you so much! I wanted you to know that!"
SesshoMaru placed a kiss upon Karappo's open lips and felt them close to kiss him back. As they shared the kiss, her body began to vibrate and with one last breath from both of them, her dormant power exploded like an atomic bomb. There was a loud explosion and a mushroom cloud. Their body's torn apart in the blast. Black smoke filled the area to cover what had happened to them.
When the smoke cleared, Shippo, Rin, Yumiko, Kitsuneko, Taisho and Toshio walked back to the site. The ground was turned grey and ashes filled the air. They searched for any trace of Karappo and SesshoMaru but found none. Then, Taisho found Tensiega and Tokijin buried in ash. Toshio found the purified Sacred Jewel and the Witches Orb. As Yumiko searched, she found a black rose lying on the ground. It appeared to be bleeding. She picked it up and tasted the crimson liquid that flowed from its stem. It was blood. She carried the rose with her back to the palace where they placed the items in a special trunk. The rose was placed in fountain made especially for it. Taisho was crowned the new Lord of the West. He ruled the land just as his father did before him. But everyday, he, Toshio and Yumiko would look to the Black Rose fountain, the rose still bleeding, and think what their parents sacrifice. And everyday, Karappo and SesshoMaru would smile down from heaven upon their children, proud of what they had become.
The End