InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ West Under Winter Siege ❯ Chapter 1

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

West Under Winter Siege

Author: teishou

Email: tsukaidate@yahoo.com

Rating: T

Pairings: SessxKag, InuxKik, MirxSan

Summary: After the defeat of Naraku, and the completion of the jewel, Kagome continues to live peacefully, in both the past and present. However, this period of relaxation has come to an end, as Sesshoumaru comes to the group in need of help. The Western Lands have been cursed to remain in eternal winter. Will the group succed in bringing an end to this ceaseless winter? Will the Taiyoukai's heart melt along with his lands?

Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 1: Remembering

Kagome slowly pulled herself up over the lip of the well. She sat on the edge she while adjusted the straps of her yellow backpack. Her attention was drawn to a glowing pink sphere hanging from the chain encircling her throat.
They had done it. They had defeated Naraku and completed the jewel. Kagome remembered the battle vividly.

Sesshoumaru and Kouga had joined them in their final battle and had proved to be great allies. They had defeated Naraku’s army of Youkai and destroyed his numerous clones until Naraku himself stood alone. Sango and Miroku had been the first to go down. The taijiya had been knocked unconscious and was bleeding heavily. Miroku had been severely injured as well; his wind tunnel poisoned, and carried his love to safety. Kagome had urged the monk to rest and stay out of the battle. He’d shaken his head to protest, only to fall unconscious before he could utter a word. Kouga was next to fall. Naraku had ripped the jewel shards from his legs and stabbed a tentacle through the wolf’s stomach. The next to go down was Inuyasha. The stubborn Hanyou was bleeding nonstop and had fallen unconscious from so much blood loss, Tetsuaiga clasped tightly in one hand. That left Kagome and Sesshoumaru to face Naraku. Both were breathing heavily by then, muscles aching from overexertion.
Then it happened. Kagome was firing arrow after arrow at Naraku, only to be blocked by tentacles that would disintegrate, then be replaced by even more tentacles. Sesshoumaru had been fighting off three tentacles from the front, trying to get closer to Naraku. He was having a hard time fending for himself when suddenly; Kagome saw a fourth tentacle attacking him from the back, unbeknownst to its selected victim.
“Sesshoumaru!!” The silver-haired Taiyoukai turned to look at her and she immediately regretted shouting out his name. All four tentacles had pierced through his chest. Golden eyes stared into her own sapphire orbs as she watch him fall. “NOOOOOO!!” She screamed desperately, watching as he fell to the ground. She turned to face a chuckling Naraku.
“How fortunate for the Taiyoukai. The last face he will ever see will be yours, my beautiful miko.” He chuckled as he gazed at her lustily.
“You disgust me.” Her voice was surprisingly firm. Naraku was about to retort but froze when he saw her. Her aura was actually. . .visible. The icy blue aura twisted angrily about her frame, making her look like she stood in a giant blue flame. But what scared him the most were her eyes. Her normally sapphire orbs flashed a dark violet. He watched as her eyes flickered back and forth between blue and violet until they finally grew a purple so dark it became black. Naraku shuddered at the pure hatred he saw in those black depths and knew his death was in the near future.
Kagome took a step forward and almost laughed as he backed away. She smirked at the obvious fear in his eyes, his stance. She liked this feeling. She could feel the power rushing through her veins, she could almost taste the fear.
She was about to take another step forward when she heard rustling behind her. With inhumane speed she whirled around but saw that it was only Sesshoumaru. He stood on his knees and one hand, the other clutching his chest, blood flowing freely past his fingers. Kagome stared at him, her black eyes flickering back to blue for a seconds, before returning to black. Her heart clenched painfully at the obvious pain in his eyes.
Sesshoumaru stared back at her, mouth hanging open at her new appearance. His fuzzy mind questioned if she was aware of her new appearance. Her normally waist length hair now reached her ankles, and an ice blue tear drop sat on her brow. His mind fought to remember what that meant. He watched as her eyes flashed from black to blue and felt the darkness begin to surround him. He whispered something before succumbing to the darkness. “Pure Heart Miko.” Confusion flitted into her eyes for a moment before she turned to face Naraku once again. He was frozen in place, sating at her in fear.
“You see these people,” Kagome gestured to the people behind her, “they have all suffered needlessly, and have suffered so because of you.” She paused, waiting for his gaze to meet her own before continuing. “You‘ll suffer as well.” She extended her right arm in his direction, palm facing the creature she despised so much. Blue miko power in the form of ribbons flowed out from each of her fingertips and shot to him, surrounding his shaking form. An earth-shattering scream rang the earth as her purifying powers slowly but surely killed him. The five unconscious people behind her jolted back into consciousness, startled eyes taking in the scene before them.
Kagome, well, someone who could only be Kagome, stood with her back to them, blue miko power flowing from her fingertips and encircling the writhing body of Naraku. His pain-filled screech was just dying down when another agonized shriek was ripped from his throat. This went on for several more minutes, the air thick with the sharp, excruciating screams of Naraku. Sango looked away, and Miroku comforted her, giving him an excuse for tearing his eyes from the horrendous scene. The three demons watched intently, however the wolf and Hanyou had both winced several times; both secretly wondering if this ruthless woman was really Kagome. As for Sesshoumaru, he was surprised, but very proud. ‘So, she will not buckle in the face of death nor danger.’ His chest swelled with pride. ‘Of course, how could I expect anything less from my miko?’ His eyes widened at his thoughts. ‘My miko? What??’ He was abruptly drawn out of his thoughts by a piercing shriek filled with indefinite pain and agony. The five that were once unconscious watched on in slight horror as Kagome’s miko ribbons tightened around Naraku, as his body disintegrated with a burst of blue light. The rest of the Shikon no Tama lay on the ground where Naraku had once lain.
Stepping forward, she picked up the piece and turned, ripping her part of the jewel from her chain as she did so. Bringing the pieces together, she formed her hands in the typical miko way. A blinding white light surrounded her as she felt the jewel pieces fuse together. The light receded and she promptly fell to hr knees. The others moved to get to her, but she immediately stopped them with a hand. She shook her head, and stood slowly, her features soft and weary. A flick of her wrist and a blue barrier enveloped each of them. Feeling warm and tingly, they looked down at themselves as their wounds faded away and healed themselves. As the healing barrier flickered away, they looked up at her in awe. She gave them a soft smile and proceeded to fall forward, the comforting black ebbing at the corners of her eyes.
Sesshoumaru shot forward when he saw her knees buckle and deftly caught her in his arms. The last thing she saw before the darkness took over was piercing gold eyes.
“Sesshou. . .”
Kikyo had come to them the day after the final battle. The solemn miko had drifted to them as they stood outside of Kaede’s hut, ignoring everyone but Kagome herself.

Kagome watched as Kikyo approached her, knowing at once that Kikyo’s purpose concerned no one but herself.
“Hello Kikyo,” Kagome greeted warmly.
“Kagome,” Kikyo responded with a nod. Blunt as usual, she got to the point. “You are aware that you are a Pure Heart Miko, “she paused at Kagome’s nod, “This means you have extremely strong powers, surpassing mine and most likely even the most powerful Youkai.” She waited for Kagome to nod again. “But this also means one more thing. Well, one of many actually, but this I shall reveal now.”
“Go on,” Kagome bit her lip a little. Kikyo opened her mouth to speak, hesitated, then closed her mouth again. “What is it, Kikyo?”
“It also means that. . .it means that you are not my reincarnation.” Kagome, as well as everyone else, (excluding Sesshoumaru) gasped at the information. “Pure Heart Miko are never reincarnates. They are direct descendents. You, Kagome, are the direct and only descendent of Midoriko.
”EH? But how--” Kagome struggled to process the information.
“You will understand in due time. As for now, I must take my leave.” The older miko regarded her for a moment before embracing the confused girl. She smiled a bit when the younger girl returned the hug. “We will see each other again soon.”

Since then, Kikyo had visited them a couple times a week, usually aiding Kagome in her training and talking with the younger girl. They had grown somewhat close and Kikyo often called her imouto, little sister. Kagome smiled at the thought and slowly stood up to begin her trek to Kaede’s hut.
On her way there, she passed a puddle and was startled by her reflection. She still hadn’t gotten used to her new appearance. Her hair was ankle-length, and although beautiful, Kagome found it irritating sometimes, especially when the weather was hot. She’d tried to cut it back to its usual length, but it had grown back over night, delighting and frustrating the miko at the same time. She knew she had grown, but she hadn’t expected to grow horizontally. She was taller by at least three inches, her hips wider, and her breasts fuller. Miroku hadn’t hesitated to inform her of her changes either, pointing out that her curves were incredibly enticing. She ran a finger over the teardrop that sat on her forehead, proof that she was a Pure Heart Miko. But the feature that had confused her the most were her eyelids. She had a strip of blue on each lid, the same color as her teardrop. It was not unlike the crimson on Sesshoumaru’s eyelids. Thing was, this was a trait of a Youkai. Kaede had told her that it was possible her transformation was not yet complete. That when she had found and ‘mated’ with her soul mate, she would fully transform.
Silently, she continued onward to Kaede’s hut. She found no one outside and so entered the cozy hut. Surprised, she found Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Kaede sitting around the hearth; seemingly in the middle of an important conversation. Looking up, they greeted her in their own various ways. She returned the greetings and set her bag down next to a sleeping Shippo and Kirara, patting both on the head before coming to sit between Kaede and Inuyasha.
“What's going on?”