Winged by Dream Walker
Cursed
“Do you have everything? Would you like some extra snacks and goodies for your friends?” asked Mrs. Higurashi.
Kagome rolled her eyes at her mother before responding. “No Mom. I can’t fit anything else in my bag as it is, and you really shouldn’t spoil them. I know they don’t get this stuff in their time, but honestly you’re going to make them fat with all of this junk food!” Frowning at her mother, the young school girl attempted to sling the giant, overstuffed back pack over her shoulder. She could barely hold it up as it was and she didn’t need to add to the weight of the bag.
Seeing her daughter struggle, Mrs. Higurashi raised her hands in surrender. “Okay! Okay! I get it, you don’t need anymore! Now you better get going before Inuyasha comes to get you personally,” her mother said shooing her out the door. She did have a point. Honestly though, she thought he would have already been there to scold her and drag her back to the Feudal Era. She had already been gone an extra day and it was a wonder why he hadn’t popped in yet.
Sighing lightly, Kagome nodded and ran out the door with her gigantic back pack. Her mother followed her all the way to the well and embraced her daughter in one last hug before she left for a whole other life she lived outside of their time. “Please be safe Kagome. Don’t be too long either! We always miss you so much when you’re gone!” her mother cried on the brim of tears.
Rolling her eyes again, Kagome tried to sooth her over protective mother. “Mom, I know! I won’t be gone that long this time, I promise! Stop worrying about me; you know Inuyasha and the others would never let anything happen to me!” She was really starting to get aggravated with her mother due to the fact that she was already late and didn’t want to keep her friends waiting any longer.
After a few more seconds, Mrs. Higurashi finally sighed and released her only daughter. “Alright, I know… Promise you will be safe? Don’t do anything rash and stupid please. We’d like to see you home in one piece.” Her mother gave a half-hearted laugh as she wiped a tear from her eye.
Giving her mother a nod and an apologetic smile, she waved good-bye and leaped down the old well. She never hit the bottom of the well though. As soon as she entered the well, a beautiful vortex of swirling, mystical lights flashed around her and left tingling sensation on her skin. After just a few seconds, the lights disappeared and Kagome found herself at the bottom of a very familiar, vine covered well. Smiling, Kagome stood up and called up to the top of the well to see if Inuyasha was waiting there like he normally was when she was gone. “Hey! Inuyasha! Hello? Is anyone up there?” she yelled.
No answer came to her call though, which made her worry slightly. Inuyasha was always there to greet her, especially if she was running late. Though by this time, he would have already come to her time to retrieve her. Shrugging it off, Kagome sighed and tried to figure out how she could go about getting the hefty bag out of the well. When no bright ideas came that didn’t involve her using the physical strength that she greatly lacked, the school girl decided that she would just go to the village and make Inuyasha retrieve it later. He owed her that much anyway for not coming to get her…
The vines leading out of the well were as sturdy as ever, making it easy for her to climb out. As she had suspected, there was no one up there waiting for her which struck a nerve in her somewhere. Did they stop caring about her or something? Did they not need her anymore? Is that why no one came to get her? If that was the case they could have told her out front to never come back….
Kagome shook her head, dispelling the dramatic thoughts. Of course they would never do something like that. They must still care for her in some way and they would definitely never abandon her… Then why wasn’t there anyone waiting for her?
Sighing once again, Kagome walked towards the village calmly trying to keep the bad thoughts about abandonment away. Honestly she couldn’t figure out why she was worrying about being abandoned by her friends. They were her friends after all. Friends were supposed to stick together and help each other out… Right?
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she stopped dead in her track on the hill that overlooked the village. Shock and fear immediately flew across her face as she examined the flaming village. It would appear there was some sort of demons rampaging, but that didn’t make any sense. The villagers were strong and skilled in the art of Demon Slaying, especially her friends. Though what she saw of these demons seemed to be different. Their bodies appeared to be made of pure black fire and they had ominous, glowing yellow eyes. She had honestly never seen anything like them before. What were they?
Without a second thought or any weapons, the reckless Miko ran forward as fast as she could into the village overrun by chaos. She ran through the flames, trying to search for her friends or Kaedae to explain what was going on. After only a few minutes in the village, the school girl found herself at a dead end with a wall of flames. Damn it! What the hell is going on?!
“I see you have finally arrived…. We have been waiting for you Kagome,” said a sinister female voice from within the flames. Kagome could somehow hear the voice over the noise and chaos of the flaming village. It was as if the voice was coming from inside her head.
The terrified school girl spun around to see a tall, beautiful woman dressed in a black kimono with intricate silver designs and a matching silver obi walk out of the flames. She was one of the most beautiful women Kagome had ever seen in her life. Her skin was slightly pale and flawless, she wore a lot of makeup, but it would appear that she would be really pretty without it as well. The woman’s eyes were an ominous crimson color that seemed to glow in the light of the flames, and her long black hair was held up in a beautiful hairpiece that led her hair in neat braids and strands in various directions.
Kagome just stood there in shock staring at the strange woman in front of her. Who was she? Was she a demon? If so, she was doing a very good job of masking it. “W-who are you? How do you know my name?” she stuttered. The woman had a sinister smile on her face that struck fear through the young Miko and radiated through her body.
The woman only laughed and stared right into Kagome’s eyes before finally responding. “All will be revealed in due time, don’t worry…” She giggled at that response only causing Kagome to grow even more frightened. Where were her friends when she needed them? She knew she shouldn’t always count on them, but she didn’t have a bow or really any means of defense. What should she do?
Suddenly the woman began to whisper something in another language that seemed to echo in the air. Kagome couldn’t make out what the woman was saying, but for some reason those ominous words struck pure terror into her soul. It was as if she could hear the tortured cries of the damned whose souls rot in the flaming pits of Hell just by looking at the woman. They were telling her to run. Run for her life if she valued its current state at all. She could hear them, but it was as if she was rooted to the ground and couldn’t take her eyes off the woman.
After a few more seconds, the woman’s whispering became slightly louder and faster as an evil grin grew across her beautiful face and she stared directly into the young Miko’s eyes. Kagome suddenly screamed in pain and agony as a searing pain exploded through her chest. It felt like someone was branding her, pressing the scorching metal against her skin. It sent excruciating pain through chest and the world was becoming blurry around her. Was it the woman causing this?
Kagome’s suspicions were confirmed as the more the woman whispered, the worse the pain became. Finally coming to her senses, the tortured Miko turned around and bolted in the opposite direction away from the village. She had to get as far away from there as she could.
It didn’t seem to help to put distance between them though. The pain just continued to grow as time drew on. It was starting to become completely unbearable.
Suddenly, Kagome burst through the trees into the well’s clearing. Her best bet right now would probably be to go back home right now. The thoughts of her friends briefly crossed her mind as she threw herself into the well. She really hoped they were okay and they had managed to get away from the chaotic state the village was in…
As Kagome fell down the well, something felt different. There was something off about the well, but she was in too much pain to place it at the very moment.
The suddenly became even greater as she fell through the vortex, and Kagome couldn’t take anymore. As the swirling colors of the vortex changed into a different spiraling pattern than normal, the young Miko couldn’t take anymore and passed out from the pain. Maybe she would just wake up in her own bed and it would all have been a dream….
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Several hours later, Kagome’s eyes fluttered open to reveal the bright blue, mid-day sky with thin wisps of white, fluffy clouds drifting through it. It was a calming sight, except for the fact that she should have woken up in the well house or her own bed. She wasn’t though. She was lying in the middle of an open clearing with tall grass and flowers all around her. Where was she? Shouldn’t she be at home? She had gone down the well hadn’t she? In fact, Kagome was sure she had…
Sitting up slowly, she took in her surroundings. Tall trees bordered the clearing with branches full of green leaves and tree buds, showing signs that spring was here. A few feet away from her appeared to be a small bubbling stream that seemed to be very calming to the young Miko.
Yawning slightly, Kagome crawled over to the stream and splashed some water onto her face. She couldn’t really think anything through just yet, due to the fact that she was still half asleep.
Suddenly Kagome remembered the strange dream she had had. The flaming village, the woman, the searing pain all flashed through her head. She didn’t think that it had happened, but for some reason she felt compelled to check her reflection in the water to see if maybe it had.
Her eyes immediately grew wide as she pulled down the shirt to her school uniform ever so slightly to show her collar bone. Right where she had felt the searing pain the night before was a tiny black tattoo of a bird. W-where did that come from?! Could the woman have been a witch? Did she do this? More importantly, what did she do to me?
Kagome’s head was full of frightened questions and thoughts that she wanted answers to, but didn’t know who to get them from. Since that did happen the night prior, it would mean the village was burned to the ground and most likely everyone was dead. What were the chances that there were some survivors? She had to find out. Kagome just couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t at least check. No matter how much heart break it could cause her if everyone was dead, she would still go anyway.
Standing up, the young school girl dusted herself off and looked to see which direction she should go to find the village. Then it had occurred to her that she didn’t know where she was or how she had gotten there. She did remember going down the well, which meant that someone must have moved her… But who?
She really didn’t have time to speculate though, before she heard rustling noises in the bushes and trees at the edge of the clearing behind her. Spinning on her heel, Kagome glared at whoever was there with a little bit of fear and annoyance. She wasn’t really in the mood for a fight and she didn’t have a weapon, so she really hoped that whoever was there is friendly.
A low growl echoed through the clearing, causing the hairs to rise on the back of Kagome’s neck as a set of giant glowing green eyes appeared in the shadows of the trees. Slowly, the ominous set of eyes crawled forward until the head and body of some kind of rabid looking demon appeared.
An evil smile crept across the demon’s lips as it looked right at Kagome with pure hunger. “Well, well… Look what we have here,” it purred, licking its lips. “A nice meal to make my day… Try not to put up too much of a struggle…” The demon laughed to itself as it raised its oversized club over its head and began to approach Kagome.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said a deep voice from the side of the clearing, making both Kagome and the demon jump and look over in the direction it came from.
Both turned to see Inuyasha’s older brother Sesshomaru standing there with a bored expression on his face as he glared at the demon. She couldn’t exactly place it yet, but for some reason he looked different… What was it?
The demon only laughed before taking a step closer to the Miko. “What are you going to do about it?” the demon teased. “Are you really so foolish as to interrupt my meal? I don’t care what your youkai status is. I will get my meal even if it means killing you first!” With that, the demon lunged at Sesshomaru who in turn charged forward as well with an unfamiliar sword. It didn’t appear to be Tokijin or Tenseiga, which seemed very odd for him. He never seemed to be caught without his swords.
Then suddenly, Kagome noticed something else different. It surprised her that she didn’t see it sooner. Sesshomaru’s left arm was back and he looked a lot younger with shorter hair, though it was still down to his lower back. What was going on here?
The helpless Miko just stood there and watched as the demon fought with Sesshomaru. It would appear that Sesshomaru was having no trouble with him, but his face was almost completely expressionless except for the slightly annoyed look on his face.
Sesshomaru suddenly thrust his sword right through the demon, causing it to cry out in pain as it crumbled to the ground. It didn’t appear to be dead yet, but instead of carrying out the job, Sesshomaru just held his polished blade to the demon’s throat. “I will let you live if you leave this area at once and never return. Do I make myself clear?” he commanded in a very authoritative voice.
His actions just made Kagome blink in shock. Since when did the infamous Taiyoukai ever hesitate to kill an opponent when challenged? From what she always thought he was so cold hearted and cruel to anyone who stood in his way. Why had he randomly started showing mercy now to such a worthless demon such as the one at the tip of his blade? Nothing was making any sense to her.
The cowardly demon frantically nodded his head before scrambling to his feet and hurrying off into the woods somewhere as far away as he could from the Taiyoukai. As the demon scampered away, Sesshomaru sheathed his average looking sword before turning to the confused Miko with a blank expression on his face. He looked her directly in the eyes as his face suddenly became very serious. “Are you alright? Did he hurt you in any way?” he asked with genuine concern, totally catching Kagome off guard.
She shook her head once to clear her head before responding to him. “I-I... Y-yeah… I’m fine,” she stuttered as she just gawked at him. Why would he pay attention to her? He would never even look at her without a glare before, so why would he ask if she was alright now? Why the sudden change of heart?
He raised an eyebrow at her for a second before letting her hesitation slide for the time being. “That is good to hear,” he said looking her straight in the eyes. “Now tell me… Why were you at the bottom of that well?” He raised an eyebrow at the young Miko as he awaited her answer.
So he was the one that got her out of the well? Why did he do that though? He was acting so out of character today… “W-well, uh… I fell down into it on accident... You see I live in the village near it and I like to be around there sometimes. It’s very peaceful,” she lied. Kagome didn’t plan to tell him the well’s secret, though she wondered if he knew already. “If you don’t mind me asking, where did you take me?” She giggled nervously, not wanting to anger the dangerous Taiyoukai.
“Ah, I see.” He nodded at her answer, meaning that he must have somehow believed it. Kagome had thought he already known that though... Was it possible he was acting pretending? If so, he was a very good actor… “You are in a nearby clearing to the well. If you would like, I will escort you back to your village. Your family and friends must be wondering where you are right now.”
Kagome blushed slightly before lifting her hand up to cover her newly discovered tattoo on her collar bone. She was wondering where they were at too… “Yes… Thank you. That is very kind of you, Sesshomaru-sama,” she said bowing slightly.
Sesshomaru raised a questioning eyebrow at her as she spoke her name. “How is it that you know my name, though I have never told it to you?” he questioned, his golden eyes boring into hers looking for an answer.
Kagome blinked in surprise. “You’re joking right? We have met several times before. We share similar goals remember? To destroy Naraku?” Did he not remember? She didn’t think that it was possible to forget about their quest that easy, especially with everything going on in the land…
The demon lord’s eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as he tried to figure out what the Miko was saying. “Naraku? I have never heard of him… I am sorry, but I have no idea what you are talking about. I have never seen you or met you before in my life…. I don’t even know your name….” He looked genuinely confused which surprised Kagome.
She didn’t have much time to think about it until she finally figured out what was going on. “Oh crap…”
A/N: Hehe… Well this took forever to get done… I procrastinate way too much. v.v Don’t worry though, I will try to get updates up as soon as I can! ^-^ Now friends, please rate and review! I love to know what people think of my work! This is not my best work, but hey I don’t normally write in 3rd person. :P