Author's Note: Hello everyone. This is my first fanfiction! Please be gentle with me! I had this idea and really wanted to try writing it out. I hope you guys like it. Please drop me a line if you do :)
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The Falling
Chapter 1
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If only I had a bandaid - Kagome thought, tracing the deep violet crescent moon on her forehead. In that moment, she would have done anything to be able to cover it up one way or another. Her bangs did a decent job of hiding it, until a stray breeze came along. That's usually when people ran away. Or fell to the ground and started bowing and apologizing for all kinds of nonsense, all because they believed her to be a demon of the West.
Honestly, how did I get myself caught up in this mess?
Letting out a long weary sigh, Kagome pulled and fluffed her hair until it somewhat covered up the foreign mark on her face then turned and began gathering her things. She stared long and hard at the pair of swords leaning against the wall. It was surreal, seeing Tenseiga and Tetsusaiga standing there. So quiet. So lifeless without their owners wielding them. She still couldn't believe any of this was real. A part of her insisted that she'd fallen into the well and hit her head. Maybe she was down there even now, bleeding out into the mud and dirt.
None of this made any sense.
When the well opened after nearly six years of silence, Kagome made the choice to return to Inuyasha's world and spend the rest of her life with him. She thought it was a miracle sent by fate itself. That's why she hadn't hesitated. After saying her goodbyes, she'd left her home and her beloved family behind, believing she was going to find Inuyasha waiting for her on the other side. Instead, she found something completely different.
While running in the direction of Kaede's village, she found Inuyasha's father, Inu no Taisho, resting beneath the bows of a large pine tree. Kagome had seen enough injuries to know when they were fatal. Even a demon like him couldn't survive the multitude of lacerations and stab wounds present all over his body. The truth sank in fast. Against all logic, Inuyasha's father was dying right in front of her, and there was nothing she could do to help.
He died in my arms, Kagome thought with a shudder. Two weeks had passed since then, but sometimes she swore she could still feel his hot blood all over her skin. Guilt ate at her. She wondered if there was something she could have done. She supposed it was a normal reaction to a situation like that, but her conscience insisted that she should have tried harder.
Nothing happens by coincidence, he'd said. Something brought you to this place, just as I was led here by some unseen force. I believe I understand. Find my sons. Pass my legacy to them...
How Kagome wished now that she'd denied his request, had questioned it much more than she did. Pass Inu no Taisho's legacy to his children? Take care of the swords? Bring them to their rightful owners? She was a human and a stranger! How could such a wise and powerful demon trust her to do something like this? Not to mention the "protection" he'd given her to help in her quest had been nothing short of a disaster. Traveling with it had been a nightmare.
Frowning, she subconsciously fingered the mark on her face one more time.
When she finished straightening her priestess garb and strapping the swords to her back, Kagome picked up her bow and quiver then stepped out of the hut she'd borrowed for the night. With a sincere smile, she thanked the family who'd shown her such generosity and began to plan out her journey for the day. She ignored their terrified looks and quivering shoulders. Somehow, she was getting used to being seen as a threat, though she hated every minute of it. Being villified just for having a mark on her face chipped away at her patience. On the bright side, she was able to find shelter despite not having a single coin to her name. As long as people saw the crescent moon, they went out of their way to make sure she was too comfortable and satisfied to "kill them".
Walking all day, desperately seeking a place to stay overnight, crashing in other people's houses and feeling guilty at the sight of their frightened faces — this lifestyle was starting to really eat at her resolve. Straightening her shoulders, Kagome set her lips into a thin determined line. Whatever it took, she had to reach the center of the Western provinces today. If she did as Inuyasha's father requested, maybe it would help her find a way back home or — she prayed — back to Inuyasha's time. The first step to doing that was finding Sesshoumaru.
She flinched at the thought.
Back when she first met Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru was a scary and callous demon. This far back in the past, was he the same? What would he do to her when he saw her carrying both of his father's swords? Even worse, what would he do when she refused to give him the Tetsusaiga? There was no way he'd trust her word on the matter, nor would he care what she had to say. From what she could remember of their early days together, he was volatile and unpredictable in every way except his singleminded desire to possess Tetsusaiga. In that regard, they could always count on him to carve a path of his goal no matter the means.
Kagome lost herself in her memories, her body going into autopilot as she navigated her way to the West. She thought about Inuyasha, wondering what he had been doing these six years without her. Somehow, she trusted that he hadn't moved on. He was waiting for her, just like she'd waited for him. Imagining what their life might be like together sent her heart racing and strengthened her determination to get out of this time and jump back through the well to the place where her beloved still existed. She would go back. If she had to run around and play delivery girl for Inu no Taisho in the meantime, so be it.
By the time she noticed she was being followed, the sun was setting. Darkness crept over the skies, devouring the light and cocooning the clouds in a black shroud. Kagome's senses warned her with a splash of goosebumps on her forearms, alerting her to an evil presence not far from where she walked. Trapped in a forest heavy with shrubs, nettles, and vines, Kagome knew that running would do her no good. She nocked an arrow and pulled back the string of her bow, prepared for an attack. She turned in every direction — seeking; searching; afraid, yet confident that she could purify most youkai that would bother to prey upon her.
A figure stepped out of the night like a ray of moonlight, the soft whites and reds of his clothes a stark contrast to the dull emeralds of the forest around them. Kagome recognized Sesshoumaru right away. Her breath hitched; she'd almost forgotten how beautiful some demons were in this era. His long silvery hair swaying in the breeze and his pale unmarked skin gleaming, he reminded her of a painting. A bit relieved to see him, Kagome looked into his golden eyes and whispered his name. Her hands lowered, relaxing on her weapon. Finally, something familiar. In all this time, she hadn't encountered a single person or creature she'd known.
"I'm so glad you're here," Kagome told him.
His lifeless stare froze her to her core. He raised his hand, and in a flash, disappeared and reappeared right in front of her. His hand wrapped around her throat. A threat. No more than that.
For now.
"Human," he said in a soft deadly tone. "You will explain why you have my father's swords."
"Sesshoumaru, wait…"
His grip tightened painfully.
The Sesshoumaru she remembered was cold and ruthless, logical and efficient. But, had his aura always felt so suffocating? Had his demonic energy always given off such an acidic, venomous, and sickening sensation? Kagome examined each and every dip and curve of his face and saw a stranger. The thing that held her by the neck was not Sesshoumaru. At least, not the one she knew. This was a different demon, and he was undeniably dangerous.
"Explain. Now," he commanded, his tone dropping even lower.
"Y-your father…he…" she swallowed past a lump in her throat, struggling to form the sentence. "He wanted me to give you Tenseiga."
"Tenseiga?"
"Yes."
"And what of Tetsusaiga?"
Kagome looked down. "Tetsusaiga belongs to Inuyasha."
For a long while, Sesshoumaru said nothing. His demonic aura spoke for him, whipping around them, thickening the air into a sticky paste that clogged her lungs and made breathing difficult. Kagome tried not to move even when she felt Sesshoumaru's claws radiate his trademark venomous miasma. Antagonizing him in any way now would just end with her ripped to pieces, and she couldn't afford to risk it -- not if she wanted to see Inuyasha again.
Just when she thought she might lose her mind, he moved. Still holding her by the neck, he reached back around her and, ignoring Tenseiga, wrapped his hand around Tetsusaiga's hilt. The shock was immediate. Kagome cried out when the blast from the sword's barrier pushed them apart. She went flying, landing on the ground with a pained oomph. Above her, Sesshoumaru stood tall and resilient, staring at a large burn on his hand with the same indifference he might display if he was inspecting the sky for rain.
"What is the meaning of this?" he growled. His eyes shifted to her.
"Your father meant for you to have Tenseiga," she told him. "Tetsusaiga can only be wielded by Inuyasha."
"No," he interrupted her, pointing a single claw in her direction.
Confused, Kagome blinked up at him. "No?"
"Not the swords. Your face," he said. "Why do you bear my family's mark upon it?"
"Oh." She smoothed her fingers over her forehead. "I don't know, actually. I met your father when I got here. He was hurt and…" Kagome ground to a halt. She stared up at Sesshoumaru and wondered — should she tell him about his father's death so casually? She never had learned how the demon lord felt about the subject. Would he be angry? Sad? Somehow, she couldn't envision the latter.
"He is dead, then," Sesshoumaru filled in for her.
"…Yes."
In response to her confirmation, Sesshoumaru glanced towards the sky where a full moon hung as though suspended by a thread. It looked unnaturally large, so bright that it illuminated everything for miles around.
"I'm sorry," Kagome offered, knowing her condolences were likely unwanted and unwelcome. She meant it though. Sesshoumaru hadn't been a close member of their group, but she knew him well enough to consider him as more than an ally.
"Give me the swords," he ordered without preamble.
"But Tetsusaiga —"
"Does not belong in the hands of a half demon," Sesshoumaru bit out. "Neither does the noble mark of my family belong on the filthy skin of a human woman."
His demonic aura spiked. Kagome saw a green glow manifest around his claws. His features darkened, and despite the fact that his expression didn't change at all, she knew he was going to kill her.
She couldn't protest; couldn't beg for her life.
There was no time.
She blinked once, and in the next second he was already cutting her down, raking his claws across her body from throat to navel. As Kagome felt her skin splaying open and her blood pouring out of her, all she could think of was Inuyasha's face and how she would never see it again.