It was all too much for me to take. In such a short space of time, my entire world had been flipped upside down. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore, and time didn't waste a second on me. It just kept moving, throwing everything at me as if to say I was worthless, that my time was up. But, my time wasn't up, it was my mother's that was...
The day I spoke to Sango, the night I spoke to Inuyasha, was the last night I would ever hear my mother's voice. It was the last time I would see her smile...
Kagome...
I hated my name at that moment. All I could see was the blood spelling out my name. My mother's blood staining her back and my memory forevermore...
'You'll know soon enough,' they had said. Yet, I had begged to know right then. And her death was the key to getting all of my questions answered. What a horrid prices to pay for sheer curiousity.
Now they answer me.
A war. A war of what?
Of vampires and werewolves.
What was I to be so important?
I'd tip the scale.
How? How could I make a difference?
I was a nobody!
A nobody...
Kagome, called my name, etched in her back, in her blood.
I was nobody but a killer.
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Wicked Sins
By Sakura-chan88
Promise of a Pure Soul
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"Tip the scale?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"You remember when you and your dad were bitten?" Sango asked gently, seeming to know it was a touchy issue. I apprecaited her sensitivity. My mind was fragile and I feared the sudden vertigo setting in was a sign that I was swooning on the edge of sanity and the ominous abyss of madness.
My head was swimming with flashbacks. I saw it so clearly, the night of the attack. I understood everything that was happening- what was attacking us, what was happening to my father...
But I didn't know why I was unaffected and, though the question plagued my mind, I pushed myself to answer the woman, willing the images away.
"Yes. He died that night," I mumbled, looking back to where my mother's body had been. Both of my parents were gone from my life...
The trio looked at each other briefly before Inuyasha cleared his throat. "Not exactly... He turned."
I blinked, then looked to the floor. "Of course... I forgot."
'How stupid of me,' I thought, mentally berating myself. I had always known... But, to me, the man I once called father was, in fact, dead. After all, a creature of the night such as he was could not be part of the waking world.
"You knew?" Miroku gawked. "How?"
"I... I just do, somehow. I feel it, I guess you could say," I mumbled, unable to explain any better.
Sango nodded. "Well, he's the leader of the Vampire's Northern Clan. Miroku and I... We're his servants."
I moved to sit on the stairs, knowing the conversation was only going to get more shocking. "Leader of the Northern Clan..?"
"Yeah."
"And that's why you are watching over me- because of him?"
"Yes, Kagome."
"And you?" I asked, looking to the half-werewolf with questioning eyes.
"I work under my half-brother, Sesshomaru of the Werewolves' Western Clan," Inuyasha spat.
His voice was laced with hatred. I wondered why, but at the moment it was irrelevent. Instead, I opted for the more important question on my mind. "Why does he want to protect me?"
"We can't exactly let the vampires get their hands on you, now can we?" he snarled.
I sighed. "Why? I don't understand why I'm so vital."
Miroku stepped foreward to explain. "You have a special type of soul, Kagome. The purest."
"Your soul cannot be corrupted- but it can be used," Sango mumbled. "It's the key to unlocking a barrier that has been shielding a very... powerful artifact- the Shikon Jewel. If either side gets their hands on it, it will be the end to their curse."
"Well, that doesn't sound bad," I piped, confused. "If they lift the curse-"
"It will kill the other side- completely wipe them out."
My eyes widened as I looked up at Inuyasha. His jaw was taunt, almost as if he were grinding his teeth. The small, triangular ears atop his head flickered in irritation. He clearly did not like the subject of the conversation.
"What?" I whispered, my breath taken by the look in his eyes.
"The Shikon only grants one wish," Miroku answered when the silver-haired man remained silent, "and it balances everything. Without the werewolves, the vampires have no enemies, and viceversa. The Shikon won't let that happen. It will grant the wish at the expence of the enemies' lives."
"Then why don't they work together to ask for both curses to be lift?"
Inuyasha laughed darkly at that. "Vampires and werewolves working together? Eternal enemies throwing aside their differences for the sake of their enemies' lives? Do you see how rediculous you sound?"
I glared at the man, not liking his insults. "I'm sorry I only recently learned of any of this. Granted, I knew about vampires and werewolves, but I didn't know until know that they were so utterly hateful towards each other."
"Kagome, just ignore him," Sango hissed. "You need to worry about yourself now. Things are going to get harder from here on out. You can be sure that both sides are going to soon be scrambling for you."
I sighed, knowing her words to be true. "Why didn't they try capturing me years ago?"
Miroku smiled softly. "Your 18th birthday is coming up soon, is it not?"
"Yes," I mumbled, lifting an eyebrow. "So?"
"When you become 18, your soul will hit it's strongest point and you'll be able to break the barrier... Plus, you'll turn," Miroku answered. "If the werewolves get ahold of you, they'll attempt to change you from what you're going to become."
"What good would that do? Vampire blood runs through me, already."
"Any bite is more potent if it is closer to a time when you are changing," Sango stated, sitting down beside me, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. "If a werewolf were to bite you, you'd become more werewolf than vampire- but you'd still have both running through your veins."
"Wouldn't that kill me?" I quiried. "They are opposing blood types, after all."
"Not with your soul, it won't- and, before you ask, you would not be corrupted by either one. You would have all strengths, no weaknesses- no bloodthrist, no allergic reaction to the sun, no unpredicted changes," Miroku listed. "Half-breeds, such as the three of us, are much the same."
"Except our bloodthirst is strong and our strength is dull," Inuyasha grumbled, his tongue tracing his fangs, his ears drooping slightly.
I watched him curiously. Something was hidden in his actions, I could tell. What it was, I would never know. "... Why do they think I'll help them, anyway?" I finally asked, turning my attention to the others.
"You really can't help it once they have you. As soon as you are near that barrier, it will break and the jewel will be in their possession."
"And what if I refuse to let them near the jewel?"
Inuyasha snorted. "Are you saying you'd fight an entire clan?"
"If that's what it takes," I vowed. "I won't let a wish be granted that would kill any of you."
The three stared at me as if I had grown a second head and sprouted wings.
"You'd risk your life for us?"
"Of course- you've risked your own, haven't you?"
"Well, yes," Miroku breathed, blinking. "Still..."
"Then, I owe you all," I replied, taking a deep breath as I stood. "I don't know what I'll do, but I promise I will not let myself be used if it means one of you will die."
Sango pulled me into a suffucatingly strong embrace, her body shaking lightly. "Thank you, Kagome," she whispered. "I promise I'll help however I can."
"Then find somewhere for my brother and grandfather to go- somewhere safe."
"Of course," she sniffled. "Right away."
"I'll give your mother a proper burial, if you wish," Miroku offered. "I used to be a priest, after all."
I nodded. The thought of my mother brought tears to my eyes, my vision clouded once again.
And all I could see...
Was my name...
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I knew it was coming, I could feel it in the air with every breath I took. I had explained as best I could of what was going on to my grandfather, asking him to care for my brother, Souta. I knew grandpa would know, better than I, how to deal with him.
Sango had taken them to a safe house with a woman called Kaede- a priestess Sango had known her entire life- and Miroku had buried my mother beside Goshinboku, marking the sight with a black cross to symbolize her untimely death. Inuyasha remained at my side the entire time, a silent statue of support.
I did not know what to do, my mind still searching for an answer. How was I to save my own guardian angels?
I had no choice in breaking the barrier- I knew I had to do it. I also knew that I needed to be the one who ended up with the Shikon. If I could make the wish, I could wish for both curses lifted...
"No," Inuyasha sighed after I spoke. "It isn't a wish that you speak, but one in your heart. No matter what you may think, your body makes the wish- and you carry vampiric blood..."
"So, it would still..." I sighed in defeat. "If I feel the wish in my soul, though..."
"Do you really know what you want?" Inuyasha asked.
"Well, yeah-"
"Isn't it a human saying, 'no one ever really knows what their heart desires'?"
I huffed, plopping down on the shrine steps. "Something like that, yeah..."
"I don't know why you don't just help whatever side captures you," he grumbled. "I doubt you'll even get to the Shikon before they get their hands on it, anyway."
"I promised and I don't go back on my promises."
"Keh."
I sighed again. Nothing was coming to mind. How was I supposed to rid them of their curses if what Inuyasha said was true? My soul may be the purest, but it didn't mean my heart was selfless... I understood that.
"Inuyasha?"
"What?" he snapped, annoyance showing clearly on his face as he watched Miroku pray over my mother's grave, ears twitching.
"Do you believe in heaven and hell?"
"We live in hell."
I glared. I couldn't stand pessimism- it brought everyone down with it. "Only because you make it so unbareable."
"Spending countless decades with a curse is hell," he spat. "I live with something that completely cuts me off of the rest of the world. I can't have a fucking pleasent day- when I'm not here watching over your clumbsy ass, I'm fighting with my brother. When I'm not fighting with my brother, I'm watching over you. What part of that sounds like its fun?"
My eyes softened along with my voice. "I'm sure at one point, things were better for you- and they will be again, someday."
"Doubtful."
"What did you do before you had to guard me?" I implored, determined to get my point across.
"... I had a life before you."
I lifted an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain further. "... In which you...?"
"I spent my time trying to figure out exactly what you're trying to."
I blinked. He tried finding a cure? For both sides? "... If werewolves hate vampires, why were you trying to save them?"
"None of you business, you nosy little bitch!" he bellowed. Glaring harshly for a moment, the man seemed to give in to his inner battle and bound away, quickly disappearing into the woods behind my home.
I stared after him, surprised at the sudden outburst. What did I say to get such a violent reaction?
Was it that much of a touchy subject?
... Had I brought up unwanted memories...?
The wind blew, drawing my attention back to the gaint sakura tree standing proudly on the shrine grounds. Goshinboku's branches swayed with the movement. It almost seemed like it was waving goodbye to someone.
Perhaps my mother's parted soul.
"Kagome!" Miroku shouted. My eyes snapped down to find the man bolting toward me in a flash. He looked fantic, eyes wide in terror.
Or, maybe, just maybe, it was waving goodbye to me.
After all, it was the last time I saw Goshinboku.
My world had gone black.
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A/N: ... I guess this story will be shorter than I thought, but possibly not. I know a few things I want to do- possibly even need to do- with this story that will take some time, but I fear this will be a rather short story compared to what I had intended. I just couldn't seem to write fillers for this, I want to get right into the action. I want to write the end already, but... Oh well...
And...
Sorry for the late update, everyone! I sincerely apologize to you all. I did not think it would be such a long break, but it could not be helped. Please, forgive me!
Hopeful the next chapter will be out sooner.
Cross your fingers!
Love,
Sakura-chan88