A/N: Because of the overwhelming reception to the previous chapter, I'm a little nervous about giving you this next chapter. Hopefully, it will have the same enthusiastic response. I want to thank everyone for their patience as the brain ninjas made off with several of my ideas before I finally settled on this one. There were so many different ways I wanted to take this story, but with only so few chapters I plan on doing, I have to reel it in a little.
On a completely different note, did anyone else know that they finally put Vampire Knight up in English? WHY was I not told of this earlier? I am trying to give it the benefit of the doubt, but I'm having some reservations about it.
The point is, I don't know if I like it or not. Then again, I'm comparing to the original, which was amazing, and that usually never works out. The only time it has is with Bleach. I've only watched like an episode and a half too, so we'll see. Sorry about the rambling. I do that occasionally.
So, without further delays, I will now give you Part Two.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
He had not anticipated being summoned five hundred years later by a distant descendant. He had alsonot anticipated becoming something of a slave to said insane descendant. Nevertheless, as he was entertaining the most brutal way of torturing this Rido Kuran, he was finding that it was incredibly difficult to do much of anything.
His body hadn't had proper sustinance in a long time. And the infant with his name that had been sacrificed to bring him back simply wouldn't be enough. Snarling at the other vampire, he did not relinquish his choke hold on him.
"If you really think you have even the slightest chance of harnessing my abilities, fledgling, you are sorely mistaken," Kaname hissed, shakily drawing his other hand back and plunging it into Rido's chest. The hot blood felt so good against his skin, but he knew it still wouldn't be enough. He was going to go insane unless he did something.
"You should have... just let me devour you," Rido coughed, unable to move due to his injuries, "There are others... of your blood. Just beyond that door." Kaname glanced at the door, vaguely recognizing it. Two heartbeats resounded on the other side, and the prospect of fresh blood was exhilerating. Still...
"Will you... take them as well? Your own people?"
He silence the fool by slitting his throat.
The only thing he could do... was to revert. Kaname turned to his coffin; saw the infant that had brought him back from sleep, and made up his mind. If only to repay the ones that had lost their child, he would gladly take its place. And maybe at some point in time, he could fulfill his other promise.
He would find Kagome's reincarnation. And this time, nothing would stand in his way.
Calling up his magic, he allowed the feeling to overtake him, and decided to wipe his memories as well. It would keep things simple. Later, he would give himself access to them; for necessary purposes of course.
He would become Kaname Kuran.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
He was so close. So close to that warm light. The one that he craved; that he needed to keep close. So close to the one that he'd vowed to protect. Small fingers just barely brushed the door knob to his salvation before-
"Kaname." He turned to face his father, a slightly guilty expression on his young face.
"Yes, father?"
"Were you trying to go see Yuuki again?" Haruka teased, smirking when his son scowled and avoided his gaze. He was just so cute!
"I..."
"She'll be fine. Your mother is with her. For now, I have somewhere to be," the older vampire sighed, ruffling the boy's hair before steering him away from his sister's room. He did not enjoy that.
"But-!"
"You're coming with me. I'm going to pay respects to a friend's family." Kaname sighed and grumbled under his breath. He couldn't help it. He was very attached to his cute little sister.
"I... understand. Who are we going to see, father?"
"The Higurashi family. They lost their father, Kosuke, in a car accident," Haruka replied, sighing in remorse at the thought of the strong human dying so suddenly, "It's things like this that make me realize how fragile humans really are, Kaname."
"Yes. They are."
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
"You didn't have to come all the way out here, Haruka-san," the human woman muttered, not meeting the pureblood's sympathetic gaze.
"I know. But Kosuke was a friend, even if we were on opposite sides."
"Thank you. Would... you like to come in for a few minutes?"
"I don't want to impose, Nazuna-san," Haruka countered. The Higurashi woman would hear nothing of it and ushered them inside.
"Hello? Who is this?" she asked, leaning down to stare into Kaname's eyes. There was no judgement. No anger. No fear. Just curiosity and a genuine warmth in the human's brown eyes.
"My son, Kaname," the older vampire stated gruffly, patting his son on the back and smiling good-naturedly.
"Oh? And how old are you, Kaname?"
"I'm 11 m'am."
"My, but you're so mature! Polite too," Mrs. Higurashi smiled gently, patting the young ancestor on the head endearingly, "Why don't you two have a seat in the living room. I'm about to feed Souta, and then put him down for the night."
Kaname nodded quietly. Somehow, though he'd never met the woman before, her smile seemed... familiar to him. It was warm. Maybe it reminded him of Juri, his mother?
No... that wasn't it. Then who-!
"He's so tiny," Haruka breathed, watching in awe as Nazuna lifted her baby boy from the bassinet carefully and cradled the child to her lovingly.
"He's only a few months old, Haruka-san," she replied, cooing gently at the gurgling baby. She raised her eyes to the older vampire, biting her lip in indecision, "Would you like to hold him?"
The current head of the Kuran Clan shook his head rapidly. "No! I wouldn't want to hurt him!"
"You raised Kaname, didn't you?" At his nod, the woman continued, "It's not any different then."
"But-! He's so... fragile looking. I'm afraid he would cry if I held him."
"Haruka-san. If my six year old daughter can do it, then you can as well," Nazuna huffed, raising a brow in amusement when Haruka blinked owlishly.
"Well..."
"Give it a try."
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
Sighing quietly, Kaname watched to two adults bicker back and forth. For a human, and being the wife of an apparent former vampire hunter, Nazuna Higurashi seemed to be very accepting of his kind in general. She hadn't screamed, she hadn't run away, and she wasn't trying to kill them. Hell, the woman was practically making his father hold a human baby!
Bored with the turn of their conversation, he roamed around the living room and glanced through the several pictures sitting here and there. One was of a younger Nazuna and what he assumed was Kosuke Higurashi on their wedding day. They looked happy.
The next one was of them together under a huge cherry tree. He later found out it was called the Goshinboku, or the God Tree. Again, they looked very happy.
Several more depicted the couple in different places. In all of them, they were happy together.
'They must have loved each other very much.' Enough to have had children, apparently. The next one was of Nazuna and Kosuke cradling a tiny baby in the hospital. The baby had dark hair, like it's parents, and a ridiculous pink bow pinned in the meager strands. He had to assume that this was their daughter.
Several pictures were devoted to the little baby girl and her family. One amused him greatly. The baby was sitting up in a diaper and a pink bib, looking back at the camera with a bright toothless grin on her face. Her blue eyes sparkled happily and she was reaching with one hand towards the person holding the camera. And that ridiculous bow was still in her dark hair that now covered her head in a boyish fashion.
She was a cute little baby.
He wondered what her name was.
Another was the baby, now a toddler, grinning in triumph on a pink tricycle, dirt smudged across her cheeks and blue eyes absolutely glowing with pride. Her father sat behind her, looking a little worse for the wear, but still smiling for the camera. The young vampire noticed that father and daughter had the same eye color.
He knew those eyes.
Another was of the family at a New Year's festival. Nazuna was pregnant with what would later become Souta, and Kosuke was holding her close with one arm with his other hand in his daughter's tiny hand. He half expected the little girl to be wearing something pink again, but she surprised him with a light blue kimono with little golden fish splashed across it and a green obi. She was smiling in delight and holding a prize up to show the world. It was, of course, a goldfish. He could even imagine the conversation it took to get said fish.
-'-'-'-'-'-'-
"Daddy! Look! They have fish!"
"Yes, sweetie. Aren't they pretty?"
"Yes!" The little girl would laugh and press her nose against the glass tank where all the colorful fish would be swimming.
"Do you want one?" her mother would ask, laughing loudly when the little girl would nod.
"Please, daddy! Oh, please please please! I'll take good care of it! I promise!" She would turn pleading blue eyes onto her father, who would be unable to resist.
"Oh... All right! Which one do you want then, angel?" Kosuke would sigh, ruffling his daughter's dark hair while his own blue eyes would glitter in challenge.
She would take her time deciding, and then, she would pick the most common looking one.
"That one!"
"But sweetie! Don't you want one of the red ones?"
She would shake her head decisively and Kosuke would ask why.
"Because, I want my fishy to match the other fishies on my kimono, daddy!"
The family would laugh at the simple logic and then the fish catching would commence.
-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-
Kaname shook his head, smiling at the picture and moved on to the next one. His breath caught in his throat. The little girl was standing by herself under the Goshinboku with her back to the camera, and she was reaching for a scarred spot too high for her on the mighty trunk. It wasn't the fact that she looked adorable, even covered in dirt and her little blue skirt ripped down the side from obviously trying to climb up the giant tree.
No, it was the sheer determination glinting in her blue eyes that drew him in. No matter what, he felt that she wouldn't give up until she reached her goal. It was... an exhilerating thought.
Kaname turned away at the sound of pounding footsteps coming down from upstairs.
"Nazuna!" An older man burst into the room, startling Souta and making Haruka flinch away from the tiny human baby. Mrs. Higurashi glanced at her father-in-law and immediately hustled over to the baby bed. Setting Souta down, she was next to the older human in a flash.
"What's wrong?" Something had happened. Kaname tensed, his small body coiled tight in case of some kind of attack.
"It's Kagome! She's gone! I can't find her anywhere!" Grandpa Higurashi exclaimed, worry evident in his dark eyes. Nazuna's eyes widened in fear and she spun around to sprint up the stairs.
"Kagome? Kagome! Where are you?" Grandpa Higurashi began searching in the direction of the kitchen, but the two vampires would have known if a small human girl had come down the stairs.
Kaname frowned. For some reason, that name sounded incredibly familiar. He hated the fact that he hadn't quite gotten all of his previous memories back yet. The ones he had, though, were disjointed and made no sense. And there were so many that he was having trouble piecing them in the correct order. This name, however, jolted something deep in his mind and brought forth an image of a smiling teenage human girl with bright blue eyes.
"I'm practically a sitting duck!" a female voice grouched out. He couldn't make out the details though. This vision was very shaded. Kaname got the vague impression of long black hair and... a green kimono?
No! It looked like... a modern day school uniform that the humans wore? How strange.
"I don't know about duck, but, yes, things are not looking well for you." That was a voice he could identify. It was his former self. Talking to a... girl? A human, at that?
'Ka... go... me...'
"Kaname, please help them find her," Haruka muttered, going over to baby Souta again. He'd started whimpering the moment his mother had left the room and now he was becoming agitated around the two new faces. Where was his sister?
The young ancestor was brought back to the present at the sound of his father's voice.
"It's okay, little one," the older vampire cooed softly, stroking the shock of black hair on the baby's head. He was still a little afraid to cradle the child, lest he hurt him.
Kaname rose and began searching the house as well. Not finding this 'Kagome-girl', he returned to the room his father was in. Haruka was holding a hysterical Souta and looked extremely worried.
"Nazuna-san! Your son! Please!"
"I'm going to look outside," the younger vampire announced, quickly moving out the door before his father could call him over to help. He did not want to deal with a human baby right now. The only child he chose to tolerate was Yuuki.
"K-Kaname!"
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
His vision shifted and he stumbled gracelessly. Something was happening to him!
Strange voices were echoing in his head. Was another piece of his memory returning?
"You should probaby stay off it for a while. It looks bad," he heard the older version of himself say to someone, vaguely taking note of the blurry scenery. Definitely from a time long past.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," the same female voice muttered, one that he knew he should recognize. The memory sharpened long enough to see the human girl with blue eyes again before it faded completely.
Kaname was left there blinking obliviously.
"... Did she really say that to my face?" he wondered out loud.
What a strange human!
Shaking his head, he resumed the task of finding this "Kagome" as quickly as possible. He really didn't want to deal with upset humans. It didn't take very long to locate her. She was just around the corner near what looked to be an old abandoned well house.
He followed the sniffling noise into the shade of a young oak tree. There, sat a little girl with black hair that touched her shoulders messily. Her eyes were hidden in her knees, so he couldn't really tell if she was Kagome or not, but he'd still give it a try.
"Hello? Are you lost?" He knelt down by the child, patting her head gently in consolence. She gasped and snapped her little head up. His heart immediately skipped several beats.
Her eyes were blue.
Images and sounds suddenly flooded his head and he pulled his hand away to clutch at his head. This bout of his memories was... painful. It was even making his heart hurt.
And then, a lot of things started making sense. His memories were shifting, clicking into place one by one until he had most of them placed in their spots. Now, things had just become clearer. She was the one in the pictures! And this little girl...
Was his Kagome.
He didn't know how, but she was right here. Smaller, yes, and much younger too. But his little human was crying in front of him.
And, for once, he was thankful for the fact that he'd had to regress his age and his body to keep himself alive.
Her scent was even the exact same. There was no way for a reincarnation to duplicate that. Then how-?
"Are you okay?" her childish voice hiccupped, gazing up at him in tremulous fear. She was curious. The pretty older boy look... sad. And alone. Maybe he could help her find the person she'd lost.
"... I am, actually. I feel... fine. Are you supposed to be out this late, little one?" The child whimpered and shook her head.
"No, I'm looking for someone."
"Who are you looking for?"
"My daddy. He was supposed to be here, and he said he was coming home today. He was bringing me a special present!"
"I..." how could he tell her that her precious father was gone? That he wouldn't be coming back? How could he break her little heart at the thought of one of her most beloved people being gone?
"... Listen. You're father..." he gulped. Never, in all of this life and the previous, had he been so nervous," He's gone, Kagome. He was hurt badly and he had to go far away."
"... Wh... at?" she whispered, choking on the word. She then did something he didn't expect. She yelled at him. "You... YOU'RE LYING!"
"I wish I was. He was hurt, and he can't come back," Kaname muttered, cradling her head n his hands and forcing her to look him in the eyes, "but where he is now, he's not hurting anymore. He'll keep watch over you, and he'll always be in your heart, Kagome."
Kagome sniffled, then started sobbing all over him, "But-but I wanna g-g-go too! I w-w-wanna be with da-daddy!"
"You can't!" His words came out much more sharply than he wanted and he tempered down his anger at the thought of her dying. She couldn't leave! Not when he'd only jut found her again! Kagome gazed up at him in shock.
"But... why?"
"Because..." Now he had to think of something. Something that would make enough sense to keep her here, "... Because, your father would want you to stay. He would want to you watch over your mother and the rest of your family for him."
"You... you think so?" She sounded awestruck at the important thought. He nodded quickly.
"Yes. One day, Kagome, you'll do something great. You'll change many people and make many good friends. You'll protect the ones you love with a pure heart and your determination to succeed." Now, he felt like he was pushing it a little, but if it kept her from crying and made her happy, he'd tell her anything in the world. But he wouldn't blatantly lie to her. That was the one thing he promised himself.
"Really?"
"Yes. You have to stay strong, Kagome. But, it's okay to be sad right now. Just... don't let it take you over."
Tears brimmed in her blue eyes again and she nodded, valiantly trying to suppress them. He couldn't take that sadness in her gaze and pulled her to him in a crushing embrace. "It's okay to cry now. It's okay."
He let her cry everything out; let her uncork all the emotions she'd been saving up inside her little body. Kaname muttered soothing words and rocked her back and forth with a patience he'd only acquired from being around Yuuki.
"I'm right here. It's all right now."
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
She slept obliviously in his embrace, exhausted from her mourning and just plain tired from staying up way past her bed time. Shuffling the human girl gently, Kaname cradled her close, breathing in her scent deeply. The pureness was still there, accented by her childish dreams that she hadn't yet lost. Eventually, though, it would shift just slightly to the one he'd come to associate her with when she became a woman. When her powers would fully awaken. Then, he would lay his true claim to her.
"To have actually found you is nothing short of a miracle, little one," he whispered, rising and turning in the direction of the shrine. Holding her close, he leaned down and brushed a kiss across her tiny pink mouth, something he'd wanted to do even back then. "Now, it's just a matter of waiting. I'll be patient, my Kagome."
Carefully, Kaname made his way back to her home, knowing her mother would be forever grateful to him for finging her little girl. It would easily grant him all sorts of visiting rights, which would therefore lead to integrating himself more firmly into her life. He could even imagine Kagome and Yuuki meeting. They'd be instant friends because they were so alike.
Things were really starting to look up now.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
He was right. Kagome's mom was ecstatic that he'd found her. She'd then insisted that they come over more often, if only to keep in touch. Kaname happily agreed.
He even came to see her several times without his father. Each time, Kagome would give him a gentle smile that never ceased to pull at his heart. She wasn't quite as happy as he'd hoped, what with losing her father so recently, but she was smiling again. And that was a start.
Things became difficult, though, when he lost his parents and sister a year later. He stopped visiting for a long while; simply because he couldn't get away from his current guardian and he would try to see Chairman Cross's Yuuki as much as possible. He had to make sure his now human sister was doing all right. It was tough, but she was proving to be very strong willed.
He hated his pure blood sometimes. People fawned needlessly over him, offering false condolences and hoping to integrate theirselves more firmly into the vampire society. And he hated them. It made him feel like he was tied by the neck because of obligations.
Kaname finally managed to slip away for a while, thanks to Takuma Ichijou, whom he'd always seen as a brother of sorts. It was strange, but the current Ichijou reminded him of the former Ichijou; Takeru, as it were. Not only because of his attitude in general, but also his appearance was very similar to his ancestor. At one point, he'd believed Takuma had been a reincarnation, but then he'd found out that beings such as theirselves didn't go through the rebirth cycle simply because of their notoriously long life span. It was a sobering thought, and one that put a bad taste in his mouth. But, he'd accept it. Nodding to the blonde, the young ancestor set off in the direction of the Higurashi shrine, ready to pay a long overdue visit.
'It's been a little over four years,' the vampire thought, faintly hearing the snow crunch beneath his shoes in the late afternoon light. He avoided looking directly at the snow, if only because it blinded him momentarily when gazed at in the sun. 'I wonder if they'll remember me?'
He stopped, following the line of stairs all the way up to the torii arch. It was starting to become harder to see, what with the trees growing so rapidly. Glancing around and, noticing the lack of people on the street, he bent his knees and shot into the air, easily covering half of the steps. Landing gently, he continued as a normal person to the top. Kaname smiled. It felt so good to be free for a little while.
When he made it to the top, he brushed his fingers across the torii arch. The magic around the shrine checked him for threats and proceeded to give him a warning zap if he tried to mess with the family under its' protection. It left him breathless from the display of power.
'So protective. Although, I assume these grounds understand that I wish for the same thing,' Kaname thought, smirking in amusement and striding across the well-kept grounds. Everything was so light here, as though he was in an entirely different world.
Compared to where he was currently living, it was.
Nodding to himself, he stepped around the corner and headed to the house. He got to the door, raised his fist to knock, then stopped himself. What if they didn't remember him? What if he came at a bad time? What if-!
The young ancestor shook his head. There was no point in what ifs if he just stood out here thinking about them. He needed to see his Kagome. With that thought firmly in place, he knocked lightly on the wood.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
5 Years Later
Kaname Kuran breathed a sigh of relief as he left Cross Academy. He loved it there, but sometimes, his duties were so stifling. The only reprieve he'd gotten was when he took some time during the holiday break to try and visit the Higurashi shrine again. He'd been disappointed, though, to find Kagome not there. Apparently, she was out spending some long overdue time with her friends. It was a good thing, but he'd really hoped to see her. A lot would have changed in five years and he wanted to know if she looked the same as she did in his long ago memories. If she did... then it was time.
It was part of the reason that he was coming out to the shrine again to see the human family that had taken him in with open arms after the loss of his own. He'd thanked them for that immensely. It was exactly what he'd needed to keep himself sane.
He truly adored the Higurashi family. Grandpa was a funny man that told immensely entertaining stories about the Feudal Era.
Nazuna was a quiet, loving woman that never hesitated in giving someone a smile. It really could brighten up anyone's day. Or night, in his case.
Souta was an energetic boy that was a little bit of a contradiction. He was outgoing, but shy. He was loud, and yet soft-spoken at times. And he loved his sister, but also love to pick on her more than anything.
Kagome, was just Kagome. Sweet, with a temper that he hadn't realized she was capable of. She was incredibly stubborn, but fiercely loyal to a fault. Every word that seemed to come out of her mouth was cute, in his opinion. It made his heart beat faster whenever she smiled at him. He'd really fallen hard for the little human girl. And she had only been ten, at that point.
Then again, his memories of her had been a key player in his developing feelings for the girl. He wagered that he probably loved Kagome as much as Yuuki now. He still wanted the two girls to meet. Even as a human, Yuuki would take an instant liking to his chosen one.
The vampire turned the corner and took the street that would lead him to the steps of the shrine. Gazing up, he smirked at the trees now concealing the torii arch. Had it really been that long? He couldn't believe it! Because of the humans puttering around on the street, he took his time going up the stairs. At first, things seemed to be fine, but then he started paying a little more attention when he'd nearly tripped over a loose stone.
Glancing around, he took careful note that the steps hadn't been swept in... a while.
'Strange. I always remembered them being so clean,' Kaname thought, skirting around a crumbling step before continuing on. He'd let them know of that particular repair. The last thing he wanted was for his human's family to be sued for neglect.
Half-way up, though, he started noticing other things that had him worrying. Several lights had been blown out, the glass littering the sides and crunching under his feet. Weeds were growing wildly and beginning to conceal the steps. His heart beating faster, he began to ascend the stairs much more quickly. Something was very wrong.
He needed to see the Higurashi family, if only to make sure they were okay.
'They must be okay! I won't lose-!'
He stopped, unable to look away from the destruction surrounding him. The torii arch was mostly burned, the spark of magic that had always checked and shocked him minutely missing. Fingertips grazing the burnt wood, the former ancestor grit his teeth and stepped into what was once beautiful shrine grounds.
Nothing was recognizable. The roof of the shrine had caved in from several weak support beams and fierce burns. The grass was tall now, but sparse and brown from lack of care. It came up to his waist easily. The stone walkway was upturned and crushed. The small house-
Was gone; completely burned to the ground. Even that odd little shack that his Kagome had been forbidden to enter was gone, the remnants of what looked like an old well charred and broken on the inside.
"What... happened?" The wind only answered him, blowing eerily around him. Walking around, he carefully avoided touching anything and made his way to the old Sacred Tree. The old cherry tree didn't even escape from what must have been a terrible fire. Many of its grand branches littered the area, its mighty trunk looking charred and deformed from the loss of its rich bark. Kaname ran a hand across an old wound on its front, now faded from age and incliment weather.
Something behind it caught his sharp eyes and he moved around to see what it was. He wished he hadn't. Four stone markers rested against the back of the tree, and with bated breath, the vampire kneeled down to read them.
Nazuna Higurashi
Jiroubo Higurashi
Souta Higurashi
The last one was unmarked, but he was almost certain to whom it belonged to.
Kagome.
'They're... gone.' How had so much happened in only a few months of time? How had this entire family been wiped out when they'd been perfectly healthy? He'd only seen them last fall, and everything was as it should have been.
How had he lost his chance again?
'She was only fifteen. How could someone so bright only be allowed to live so shortly?'
He wasn't sure how long he knelt there, tracing the unmarked stone and lost in happy memories. Why hadn't he been there? The one person that he cared about as much as his little sister was too far to reach again. And this time, it wasn't his doing, but the hand of death.
"Fate... is so cruel. You've slipped from my grasp once again, my little priestess." His fingers brushed over the unmarked stone one last time before he rose. He couldn't stay here. It was... far too painful.
Turning, the Kuran heir swept elegantly from the shrine, and the resting place of the human that had come to mean far too much to him. His chance had come and gone again.
Now, he would wait again. There was, after all, his little sister to contend with.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
2 Years Later
Kagome Higurashi yawned quietly and continued on her way back to the manor. It would be in her best interest to not be late.
'I swear, Sesshomaru is such a slave driver sometimes,' she thought, blue eyes lazily taking in her surroundings. She had nothing to fear; after all, she was in the current Taiyoukai's territory. Hell, she practically belonged to him.
'I own him a lot though. If it hadn't been for him, I'd be dead right now.' Thinking back on those memories was... painful. It still hurt to realize that everything she held dear was taken from her two years ago.
-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-
She felt herself falling, diving deeper into the time portal of the old well. She'd never traveled this long in the rip. Looking around, she took careful note of the way the stars and lights around her were slowly beginning to dim. Did that mean the portal was closing?
"But I'm still inside!" Kagome yelled, whipping around and watching in horror as, one by one, the lights faded then disappeared. Until only one remained. She had to get to that light! Instinctively, she knew it would lead her home to her time.
Reaching out, she grasped onto the star and held it close. Then, the ground suddenly came up to meet her and she hit the floor of the well hard.
She blacked out from the pain.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
'My head hurts. What happened? Where... am I?' were Kagome's first thoughts when she woke up. Then the sharp smell of something burning met her nose and she coughed. Why was there so much smoke in the air?
What was going on?
Pushing herself to her feet, she ignored the dizzy feeling of being deprived decent air and started climbing up the ladder quickly. Something was very wrong.
When she got to the top and out of the wellhouse, she knew she'd been right.
"F-f-fire?" The entire shrine was ablaze, bright and bold orange against the night sky. Where was her family? What happened to them? Why wasn't there a fire truck here yet?
"Mama! Grandpa!" She felt herself running towards their house. Turning the corner, the priestess choked back a sob. The house was on fire too! And it looked worse for the wear than even the shrine!
"Mama!" Kagome choked on the smoky air, tears streaming from her eyes as she stumbled towards the burning building. "Souta!"
"Tsk, tsk. Looks like I missed one," a deep voice behind her muttered. It was strange that she could hear him above the sound of the fire and the beating of her overly loud heart, "No matter. Things did not work out the way I needed them to."
Someone grabbed her arm and swung her around.
"Ma-!" And then, unbelievable pain hit her. She gasped and tried to squirm away, but it only made the agony worse. Someone was screaming. She really wanted them to stop. The priestess looked down when she felt somthing wet hit her shoes and noticed the hand buried deep inside her.
Oh. Was that... her? Screaming? She couldn't tell. She was... bleeding... A lot. It hurt.
"It's such a shame. I'm not sure how I missed you. After all, I was supposed to kill everyone in this family before I did the resurrection. You're such a pretty little human," the male cooed, stroking her hair gently and not minding in the least when she choked up blood onto his shirt.
'He needs to clean that, or it'll stain.' She heard part of the roof of the shrine collapse and felt his clawed fingers twitch as they left the hole in her stomach. That was painful too. The priestess vaguely heard herself gasp and slump against him.
'He tried to kill me!' she thought, not really reigstering that it was becoming harder to move; harder to breath. Harder to... think.
'He's... he's...'
"Wh... at..."
"Now look at what you've done, girl. You got blood on my shirt." Carelessly, he stepped away, and Kagome's body dropped to the ground like a heavy stone, "It doesn't really matter, though. You won't live long enough to repay me."
She tried to turn, found that her arms wouldn't work, then gave up. Numbness was seeping into her conciousness and she wondered at why this man was doing this. He knelt down and carressed her cheek tenderly.
"Such pretty blue eyes." She noticed his were different colors. One was blue and the other was a red she'd only seen Naraku wear. His aura had a dark menacing feeling to it. Was he a demon? No! He felt... different than that. She couldn't place it, but felt that she should have known. Dark brown eyes flashed through her mind before disappearing.
'Who...'
Did he want the Jewel? But that was gone! She had made sure of it! Her wish-
She felt something pulse deep inside her and knew immediately that the cursed artifact wasn't as gone as they had all thought. Knew that, somehow, it wouldn't let her die so easily. The jewel would find a way to keep her around.
And she hated that. Why couldn't it just let her die in peace?
"Good night, little human. Maybe in your next life, you will be a little more lucky." He walked away against the blazing background of her burning home, his aura still screaming at her to recognize it.
Her world faded to black again. But this time, she knew she wouldn't be waking up.
'Please... just let this all be a bad dream.'
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
Someone was calling for her. Pleading with her to wake up. She didn't want to. Here, nothing could hurt her. Here, she could rest and not worry about atrange auras or jewels that stole her happiness away.
Here, no one could touch her.
How wrong she was.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
The blade gleamed in the firelight and slashed down again into the frail human girl. Again, she didn't respond.
"Son of a bitch! Hurry!" The red-head snarled, shaking the girl gently. He couldn't lose her. Not now.
"I'm trying, fool!" the other snapped, glaring cold golden eyes at the younger one. He'd never felt so angry, so... helpless in his entire existence. They heard sirens wailing in the background and knew that they were running out of time.
"Priestess! You will wake up!" His blade shook and pulsed, the servants of the underworld appearing again to try and shackle the girl's soul to send it on its way.
"You will not defy me!" The glowing fang cut through the chains and the creatures, and his soul reached out to hers to pull it back to where it belonged.
-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-
Waking up had been incredibly painful. She'd later found out that Sesshomaru and Shippo had come to check on her and her family. Both had been on different continents and both had felt a terrible disturbance in the air. It had taken a lot of convincing, and some incredible willpower on Sesshomaru's part, but the Tenseiga had let its master to bring her back to life. They had then tried to save her family, but the finicky blade wouldn't allow it.
Kagome had mourned their loss and nearly starved herself from the tragedy. She knew exactly why she'd been saved. The Shikon no Tama would protect its guardian. Even if it meant using others to do so.
Shaking her head to filter out the ache those memories induced deep in her heart, the priestess picked up her pace again and turned the corner. The manor suddenly loomed over her, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
She was home.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
A/N: Revision finished.
Please stay tuned! And thank you once again for your patience and support!
Revision (April 22 2011)