InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Perfection's Descent ❯ Consent ( Prologue )

Author's Note: 6.4.05 Re-vamp, re-edit. Inspired by Black Rose Lady, who issued a challenge I was going to do, but then came out as something complex and my own.

Disclaimer: One can only dream.

Note: Higan no chu-nichi - In a year, there are two Higan no chu-nichi, or Equinox, when the day and night are of the same length. The Vernal Equinox (when winter becomes spring. Generally falls around the day of March 20th) and the Autumnal Equinox (when summer becomes autumn. Generally falls around the day September 23rd). I'm not completely sure if back then they had this holiday, but in this story they will. ; Higan no chu-nichi is based on Buddhist teachings and is a time where families go to visit there deceased relatives.

Summary: Pre-Rin, post-Sango. Sesshoumaru/Kagome. A human Sesshoumaru, in an act of vengeance, kidnaps Kagome; the consequences lead to bitter realizations. A lost Inuyasha. A secretive Kikyou. The line of humanity has never been this blurred.

 

Perfection's Descent
prologue: consent

 

The night air was dark and unnaturally heavy, enshrouding the village nestled at the secluded base of the mountain in a sense of grave foreboding. From the rocky crags that began the ascent up the peak to the village's bordering vacant fields and tall, fortifying evergreen trees, an ominous chill had crept its way into the homely atmosphere. The green canopy overhead was dank and empty of its usual chattering occupants and the damp, browning foliage of the forest floor lay silent and unmoving. Even the villagers had noticed the significant change, having ushered their young children inside and tied shut their mat doors. Without the glow of a burning fire or the snaking tendrils of smoke, the settlement of huts looked like nothing more then a child's playground— a collection of muddy, straw covered cakes scattered profusely across an open plain.

From her standpoint on the cliff overhanging the small village, the temporary resident miko and healer gazed at all of this solemnly. Her sharp brown eyes swept the area calculatingly, lingering on the darkness so thick and aberrant that hung blanket-like over the small village. Each intake of breath brought a distinct and bitter tang to her tongue, a particular metallic taste that scraped down her throat as she swallowed.

The unease that came with it was not comforting.

Lifting her head, she sniffed testily. The smells of dust, mineral and rust assaulted her nose first, the usual smells that came with the wild of the rugged, rocky climate. However, beneath the mountain's distinct layer something heavy and malicious churned sickly, a darkness that had her body thrumming instinctively in reply. Swirls of miko energy began racing through her hollow veins, tingling at the tips of her fingers in impatience. As the minutes ticked, her discomfort was steadily growing into apprehension.

That, in itself, was a sign that something was definitely wrong.

Turning her head away from the view of the valley, the woman grimaced. Rarely, if ever, had she been one to blindly assume anything. Both overestimation and underestimation were dangerous weaknesses to practice, ones that blossomed from arrogance and pride. Letting herself to succumb to something so stupid was idiotic in itself. Despite her reluctance, however, even she had her guesses and assumptions to what this…this darkness and evil presence was. Having dealt with various kinds of dangerous youkai and memorized their patterns of behavior, she knew only one candidate who could possibly be arrogant enough as to risk putting himself in such a danger of discovery, no matter how uncharacteristic that move would appear. Or perhaps, she mused, this show of presence was just another decoy, a ploy to attract his enemies into a false sense of accomplishment. Or, considering the bastard's manipulative nature, maybe he was trying to get attention. Either way, she noted upon the possibility with certain unpleasantness. For now, she would have to wait until who ever had invaded the lands saw fit to reveal himself, but even then, she feared that her intuition held more truth to it then simple guesswork.

After all, her instincts were hardly ever wrong.

Fear. A cold feeling, strange yet achingly familiar, rippled down her spine, and between a tiny shudder she smirked somewhat.

It had been along time since she had protected a village enough to fear for it.

The mountains were still, quite. She shook her head, banishing her thoughts and emotions. Crouching down on the balls of her feet, the woman quickly plucked the rest of the weeds and herbs she had been gathering earlier. There was no time to worry over things that could not be changed. Higan no chu-nichi was coming swiftly, the Autumnal Equinox causing quite a disturbance in the village. Many families would be leaving to visit their kin's graves, giving offerings of rice and incense. Though she particularly didn't act on this Buddhist holiday, as she was a Shinto shrine maiden, she would never abandon her people and force them to fend for themselves, no matter the trivial matter. So with the prospect of their well being in mind, she was going to help the villagers prepare on such a significant day.

With one last pluck, she twisted the last greenly weed in her hand and carefully placed it in the reed twined basket on her back. The pack was heavy against her shoulders, filled to the brim with the smell of herbs, and it relaxed her a bit. Bracing her arms on her knees, the woman quickly wiped away the excess clumps of moist dirt, rubbing at the stain it left on her ghostly pale skin. Once a majority of the dirt was chased off her hands, the woman gripped the straw hat she had set down on the ground and placed it inside the basket and over her plants, protecting them from the heavy dampness of the air. With a shake of her long hair, she swept gracefully to her feet, the fabric of her miko robes rustling lazily with her movements.

She stiffened suddenly, freezing in place. A slow summer breeze blew over her desolate form, lazy and warm, but carried on its current a barely discernible trace of youki teased at her senses, circling around her guarded mind with probing fingers.

Ah. He has come.

There was no possible way that she could mistake who owned that jyaki. She would have known that evil energy anywhere. Her fists clenched. Her pale brow furrowed slightly, trying to comprehend this sudden turnabout of events, but somewhere deep inside her an unnatural fury was sparking, growing in crescendo, consuming her every thought. Dark whispers snaked out from the crevices of her soul, lashing at her mind, hot and black with rage.

Why is he here, why is he doing this, how dare he, why, why, why, the screams chorused in her head, and it took all her control not to break and join in.

Then, suddenly, the cries subsided. Like they always did. It took her a moment to compose herself into indifference, building up once again that icy wall that surrounded the interiors of her soul, guarding her motives, her thoughts, her emotions. She breathed heavily, tasting the coolness of the mountain and letting it calm her slightly ruffled nerves, before gripping the straps of the basket fastened tightly to her back. With her countenance drawn into carefully perfected apathy, the somber miko slowly began her descent down the mountain.

She was a third way down when it began.

Wisps of darkness began to dance and weave around her, inky mist rising in the shadows of every corner and nitch. It seemed to flood down the mountain path, bubbling and oozing like swamp muck, slinking around her aura like a circle of snapping predators. The sound of another pair of footsteps resonated through the air along with her own, its stride laid back and careless.

She continued on, undeterred. Stretching out a hand to steady herself on a the rocky face of the mountainside, the woman deftly dropped off a small incline, her wooden sandals clacking against hard stone.

Suddenly, a voice spoke out in the silence.

"Ahh…the little miko is alone…without her faithful pet," it whispered smoothly, curdled with amusement. It seemed to surround her on all sides, reverberating hollowly in the thin air.

The woman continued her spiraling trek downward, undaunted. "And what of it?" Her tone was steady and neutral, completely wiped of any previous emotion.

The voice chuckled. "Surely, I would have expected to find you haunting the lands in search of that pathetic hanyou of yours, staking your rightful claim for his death." A movement to her left, and suddenly a dark crouching figure in an ashen pelt had joined her, its mouth twisted in a smirk. She gave him a brief acknowledgment, her eyes instantly drawn towards the stark contrast of white his robes created in the darkness, before she flicked her eyes forward once more.

"The time for that is not now," she said simply.

A rumble came from behind her that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. She knew it was not. People like this evil man did not laugh.

"But when will the time come?” he asked. “When you and your dead way's have little effect on the wounds of a slowly healing hanyou?" His smirk grew as he watched her shoulders stiffen, the hands gripping the straps of her pack whitening at the knuckles. He was obviously enjoying her discomfort. "When the time comes and you decide to take his death hand in hand, will there even be anything left to take of the ignorant fool?" A pause, before he hissed, "I hear that the girl he is with has begun to change him. And of what I know, the dead are very slow to change or make change…Kikyou."

The basket of herbs and weeds strapped to her back rattled as Kikyou stopped abruptly, her eyes sharp as they snapped to his face. Her expression was hard, bitter.

"You did not come to me to chat idly, Naraku. Tell me what you want of me or leave." Despite her attempts at sounding neutral, she could not hide the dark hatred that burned hoarsely through her normally smooth, velvety voice. If Naraku thought he could throw his insults at her so casually, he had another thing coming. The air thrummed around them.

Naraku obediently backed off. "As you wish."

Kikyou's eyes narrowed at the words. "Do not mock me with your tricks."

Naraku remained silent, his miasmic shouki twining around him intimately. She gave him a last calculating look, before continuing on her trek once more. The baboon pelt fell in step with her, the shadowed face calm. It was only moments before his silky voice rippled through the air, colder then even the chill of the night wind.

"There is a rumor spreading from the far East to the tip of the far West. Maybe you have heard it, for you reside here near the border, but then maybe you have not, for this place is hidden so well," he drawled. "The rumor spreads about a particular heartless youkai traveling through these parts. One that is powerful and dangerous and with whom holds little respect for fragile mortals such as you once were."

Kikyou's lips quirked in amusement. Where Naraku was going with this was obvious enough. "And because he is a threat to you, you come seeking like a beggar's dog for someone else to dispose of him," she finished.

Naraku paused a second. "He…is a nuisance. One that needs to be dealt with accordingly. And because I do not have the time to worry about such things—" Here his face twisted darkly, "—I have searched for someone far more willing."

Kikyou scoffed. "And you came to me?" She did not believe he was that impudent. Surely, he was smarter then that.

When he did not reply, she pulled up abruptly on the thin path, turning her narrowed eyes onto his hunched form. For once, she did not hide the incredulity that colored her features. "You can not be serious."

He snorted. "When was I one to ever joke?"

Kikyou gripped her straps tightly in her hand, contempt beginning to resurface in her dark eyes. "Then you are a fool."

Naraku only smirked. "A fool who has lived longer then you ever will."

Kikyou's expression turned hard and the air dangerously began to thrum once more, rippling in currents. "Do not insult me. You are nothing but a charlatan, a scum who knows nothing of the dead. Do you think to use me? I, out of all people, will not play as your little puppet in which you control." Blue sparks began to dance at her fingertips, iridescent shimmers of power. Her voice lowered to a low hiss. "The living may be foolish and ignorant but I know better then that. The choice to do as I see fit is not yours but mine and mine only, and I have yet to see why doing this will benefit me in any way. What makes you think I would do you such a favor, after all the history we have together?"

Naraku watched her angry and wild form with impassiveness. "Because this youkai is Inuyasha's brother."

Kikyou froze abruptly, stunned. "Sesshoumaru?" With a last spark, the rest of her power died away and the air stilled. Naraku lowered his head, smirking. In front of him, Kikyou stood there, too shocked to put up the necessary barriers between Naraku and herself. Her mind was almost visibly working, processing thoughts and piecing together puzzles that were finally beginning to make sense.

A long moment passed, where neither figure said a word.

Finally, Kikyou turned her gaze down to the rocky path, her face bitter, and pressed a pale hand below her chest.

"I will not kill him," she said quietly, resolutely. "I do not care about what you desire, but that man will not die in my presence. I am not so foolish."

Perfect.

Naraku was visibly pleased. While the terms in which she set did greatly change the direction of his plans, Kikyou had also conveniently left her sentence open. Only Naraku saw the loophole she purposefully did not mention, the very clue which revealed her reluctant participation in his game. Maybe it was a weakness on her part, to be meddling once again with the inu clan; their blood had once been hers, after all: to love, to hate, to kill. Perhaps they were still a distant cherished dream or maybe she wanted them all to suffer, Naraku did not know. Regardless, even if she did no longer respect her once claim to one of their clan, there was no doubt in his mind that she could not and would not kill her damn hanyou's older brother.

This amused Naraku. His lips quirked as darkness began to spiral around his white figure, tall towering shadows of opaque blackness.

"As you wish," he said, mocking to the very end. Then, with a sardonic bow, he was gone, nothing left in his wake except for a tuft of curling black miasma.

Kikyou stared at the spot where he had stood, her face tense and unreadable. A soft wind picked up and smoothed over the footprints that marked his presence, washing away any evidence he had been there at all. Had her mind not been preoccupied, Kikyou would have pondered longer on his peculiar ability to be able to wipe his very presence off the face of the earth and leave no trace he had ever existed. Instead she gave a derisive snort, before turning back to the path and continuing down the mountain.

Looking ahead, she spotted the indication of greenery and vegetation beginning to grow on the rock face, small dotting little prickled leaves that signaled she was nearing the forest floor. Clutching her pack once more, she began to slow her descent, careful to not slip on the moist moss.

By the time she had set foot into the quiet woods, her mind was made up.

Sesshoumaru… we will meet soon, you and I.