Green Child by Violetcarson

Prologue: Requiem for a Dream

Prologue: Requiem for a Dream

The lone figure paced the halls of his castle, his agitated steps outlined by the flickering of a multitude of candles. He strode across the floor, back and forth, here and there, on and on, as he'd been doing for the last hours of the day steadily into the beginning of night. Rest ran screaming from his bloodshot eyes and aching limbs. It had been three full days since Sesshoumaru had slept and yet he could not relax. His mind would not allow it. Every time he had laid down on his bed, images filled his mind and he would be up and pacing again within moments. Even a demon of his stature was beginning to wane.

The path he followed around his study had worn against the tatami, causing the edges of the mats to fray, marking his path. He idly noted the fibers coming undone under his feet as he trod on them, Must remember to have them replaced, he thought distractedly, and immediately forgot the notion. His long fingers trailed along his desk as he circled it, claws snagging on papers: reports on his household and lands, figures for the accounts, encoded messages from his spy network. The pile was in a terrible state of disarray. On any other day he would have set to work to immediately repair such disorganization but now he barely noticed as a couple of small complaint papers fluttered to the floor.

There was a sudden pressure in his mind, a new sensation at the edge of his senses. Finally. He unconsciously straightened his already impeccable clothing as he took a seat behind the desk, claws tapping against the dark stained maple. His amber eyes narrowed at the painted fusuma that opened into the hallway of his private wing. He mentally counted down the seconds it would take for them to arrive.

Thre e, Two…The inked mountains slid away noiselessly and two figures knelt in the entryway, their flame colored queues resting on the floor as they bowed their heads.

"Rise and report," he snapped impatiently. The two kitsune obeyed in unison, adopting identical stances; feet shoulder width apart, hands clasped behind the back. The one standing to the left, who was slightly taller, was the one who spoke.

"We were successful. The sword has been retrieved and we did not have to go out of our way to recover a shard. The youkai who took the sword was in possession of two. We believe she was in the employ of Naraku." They bowed in unison, the twin who had been silent producing a rough cloth sack from behind his back, presenting it to his lord.

Sesshoumaru cursed. How that interfering hanyou could have discovered the significance of the sword was beyond him. At least the vile creature had not succeeded in destroying it. He ripped apart the youki seal on the bag and removed the sword, placing it reverently on the desk. With a flick of his wrist, the two jewel shards fell into his hand. His heart skipped a beat as they made contact with his skin, and he closed his eyes for an instant to savor the feeling. It had been so long. He allowed himself the smallest moment of weakness possible before returning his attention to the two youkai. "What of my brother? What did you see of his pack?" It has to be now. I can't have mistaken the signs.

"They were celebrating the taijiya's name day when we observed them. And there was a marked distance between the hanyou and…her. No tension, it was just as if there was a new ditance to their relationship. And," here the kitsune's voice faltered, sounding concerned, "she seemed sad."

Sesshoumaru tried to process what he'd been told from an objective point of view. There was no doubt now. It was almost time. It's been so long, a voice whispered again in the back of his head. He ruthlessly shoved it down and tried to consider his next move as cooly as possible. Despite his every attempt, small tendrils of feeling broke past his iron control. Little shivers of excitement rocked his mind. He was practically giddy. He shook his head minutely to clear it and focused on the kitsune.

"You remember your instructions. Now is the time to carry them out." His voice was cold, but despite that, the two kitsune adopted wide grins at his words, abandoning their rigid stances.

"Excellent!" enthused the shorter kitsune. He was unabashedly joyful as he punched his brother in the shoulder, formality completely forgotten. The other was staring in wide-eyed excitement at Sesshoumaru. He let out a whoop of joy.

The demon lord rolled his eyes internally. Honestly, these two were well over 300 and needed to start acting their ages. He tried to ignore the small, (maybe not so small…) bit of his mind that was celebrating right along with them and let out a small growl. The two jerked back to attention and had the decency to at least appear thoroughly chastened at their lack of propriety. Except for the massive grins both were still sporting. Idiots, grumbled an irritated Taiyoukai.

Sesshoumaru tried to ignore their cackles of glee as they left his study. He unconsciously caressed the two shards in his hand. He raised them up to eye level and studied them intently. It seemed that he could feel the shards warming under his gaze. They seemed to pulse slightly, their purity shining. He closed his eyes. "Soon," he whispered to the shards of a miko's heart in his hand. "Just a little while longer."

The shards pulsed brighter in response.

~G~C~G~C~

The wind swirled through the trees, dancing with the leaves and singing in the branches. It tugged playfully at the green skirt of a young woman as she strolled through the forest. The wind's playfulness had no effect on her vacant expression, and so the wind moved on, whispering through the forest.

Kagome's steps carried her away from the quiet voices of Sango and Miroku. The two were so wrapped up in each other they had hardly noticed her leaving. The monk had finally succeeded in getting the skittish demon slayer to sit with him and enjoy the warmth of the fire as they munched on the remains of the bag of marshmallows Kagome had supplied for Sango's birthday. The foxkit had devoured most of the bag and left the adults of the group to pick through the remains for suitable roasting options, and had long ago succumbed to a sugar coma on top of Kirara. The slayer had looked doubtful when the monk first offered the seating arrangement, but she gave in with surprising ease. Perhaps she had softened up a little due to the monk's gift; she had yet to release the perfect miniature of her brother that he had painted for her. Maybe the monk is finally learning.

A resounding slap could be heard, breaking the peace of the evening. On second thought, maybe not.

Kagome smiled at the sound, seeing it as proof that some things never change. But her smile faded quickly, because some things do.

The final member of her tachi had disappeared into the trees above, golden eyes keeping as sharp a watch as they ever had.

Her feet brought her to an opening in the dense forest and she sighed at the sight of Goshinboku before her. She sank to the ground between two of the roots and stared up at the sky. Even after spending over a sixth of her lifetime in the Feudal Era, she couldn't help but be amazed at the expanse of night sky that was so impossible in the future. So many wonderful things were lost to everyone there, and they didn't even know what they were missing.

She began to trace the familiar constellations with a finger. The hunter. The sisters. The dragon. She'd learned the Western tales in a rather spontaneous astronomy class taken her senior year. It might have been a rather desperate attempt to connect her schooling with something applicable to her life 500 years in the past. The stars changed, but so slowly that the half a millennium that separated her from her home seemed like the blink of an eye.

They're so lucky, she thought to herself. She knew it was ridiculous even as she thought it. Really? Envious of the stars? But she couldn't help it. Stars were stars. They had a specific job to do, a certain path to follow. All they had to do was twinkle, and bewitch the minds of those looking up at them. A niggling voice of reason in the back of her mind wanted to know how gigantic balls of hydrogen gas were supposed to be anything close to romantic but she ignored it. Considering the science ruined the philosophy of it.

She let her hand fall back to the ground. Consciously avoiding this depressing train of thought, she focused instead on the dampness that was transferring onto her clothing. Dew was gathering on the grass beneath her and the back of her skirt was already soaked through. She lifted the pleats and examined them with a critical eye. The skirt was dirty and worn thin from wear, but it was no better than the other skirts she had. She made a mental note to get rid of them at the next opportunity. She was foolish for still wearing clothing so similar to her school uniform. After she graduated, she found that it was just weird to wear anything else in the Sengoku. Also, some people looked even more askance at the jeans that clung tightly to her legs than they had at her skirt. How did that make sense? At least the jeans had covered her up.

Deliberately, Kagome pulled her hand away from where it was worrying the fabric and rested it on her stomach. She was trying to avoid thinking about him, and she knew that had to stop. Not thinking didn't mean it hadn't happened.

"He. Does. Not. Want. Me." She spoke the words aloud, clearly, and tried to ignore the tears that welled up at the admission. She remembered…

It was a warm summer morning. Birds were singing. The sun was shining. And she was taking a walk with the first man that had ever made her heart pound.

Sango and Miroku had volunteered to fix breakfast for everyone. Or rather, Miroku had volunteered them and a sputtering Sango had agreed with a glare. Shippo had proudly declared that he and Kirara would stand guard over the humans, leaving InuYasha to plot the day's travels. Kagome had volunteered to scout around with him, in the hopes that she might sense a jewel shard. Now, as they walked through the forest, she couldn't help but steal little glances at him. His ears twitched as he examined his surroundings. Occasionally he would bend to sniff at the ground, and sometimes he would leap up into a tree to see over the next hill.

Kagome felt content. Really she did. She was content with the situation right now, just walking beside him. The nervous chewing on her lips was just a coincidence. It had nothing to do with the unreadable glances she had caught him directing at her often over the past weeks. But, she just had to ask.

"Inu…InuYasha? I-" she cut off with a squeak, having watched him so intently that she'd missed the jutting rock that interrupted her path. Her arms flew out before her in a pointless attempt to regain balance. She closed her eyes, braced for the impact…and fell right into his arms. Her eyes remained closed for just a moment and she mentally cheered. InuYasha had caught her. This moment was too perfect to be true. The scenery was beautiful, the mood was set, and she could almost hear the cheesy theme music in the background. After an endless moment she opened her eyes and blinked up at him. He was staring at her, his gaze the most intense she had ever seen it. His ears twitched and his eyes burned golden. For an endless instant they regarded each other. Then he began to lower his face to hers.

AIYEEE! went her mental scream. Freaking finally! She could hear the theme music crescendo and her lashes began to flutter together. His breath was warm against her cheek. He was so close she could almost taste him.

And then it was gone. Abruptly he had let go of her and was out of arm's reach. His eyes were covered by his bangs, unreadable, and she gasped for the breath that suddenly seemed impossible to draw into her lungs. She stared at him and felt her throat close with the tears.

He looked up at her and his eyes were tight with pain. "I'm sorry Kagome," he said quietly, his voice even rougher than usual. "I can't…it's just that every time…I can't help but see her face." He looked away, his gaze searching desperately for something, and finding the surroundings wanting. He stared at his hands for a moment, the sharp tips of his claws glinting in the sun. His voice was a desperate plea as he returned to facing her. "I really want…I just can't…I'm so sorry Kagome." His eyes begged her to understand.

Kagome closed her own and took a deep breath. In through the nose, hold, and release. Without opening her eyes she reached for him and clung. Her face was buried in his fire-rat and his pressed against her hair as he held her. It might have been the most tender embrace they'd ever had. But it wasn't.

She sobbed in his arms and both of them knew that they would never be together. 

G~C~G~C~G~C

A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed the Prologue!

So, I did some more editing on this, and rewrote the first chapter. Last time, I swear. XD