Konagona Ni Natte Inai (Broken But Not Shattered)
-By ForgottenHero
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Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha and am making no profit, what-so-ever, from this fan fiction. Any InuYasha related items are respectfully owned by Rumiko Takahashi and her producers.
WARNING: Sexual Situations [Lemons, limes etc...], Violence/Gore and strong Language.
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My Corner:
Hey guys and welcome to an angsty fan fiction that I've been lingering over for a bit. I know I know I've got way too many stories but I think I've been good for updates... kinda... a bit... ANYWAYS, here it is and please let me know what you think ~.^. I'm going to warn you; this is going to be a sad fan fiction and I'm going to try my hardest to keep everyone in character as much as possible. Before anyone asks, yes this is a romance fic as well between Sesshoumaru x Kagome.
Anywho, onto the story...
Don't forget to Read, Rate, & Review!
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Prologue: Dishonor
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The sky was grey and the air frozen. It seemed the weather reflected the tragedy that had happened but a day ago. The sound of crunching snow made the animals in the forest scurry to their borrows. They watched a slender figure stumble through the sleeping trees, leaving a trail of crimson in the white blanket that covered the frozen ground. Pained blue eyes tried to focus on the blurry forest. She was in agony but pushed herself forward. Her hand grasped tightly onto the small jar that hung around her neck, the slight warmth of the last jewel shard in it the only thing that reminded her that she had to stay alive. A girl of eighteen years slowed to a stop; her body had reached its limit. Her long, toned legs bore countless cuts and bruises. Her left hand shakily raising, she grasped the gaping wound on her abdomen, gasping painfully as it panged at the slight touch. Slowly, she fell to her knees, her head bowed forward, her bruised and cut face hidden beneath her thick black bangs. Her broken body trembled when a cold breeze blew between the trees. Her hair fluttered in the icy wind.
Higurashi Kagome stared at the snow she knelt in numbly. Her mind screamed at her to get up but her body refused. She had reached her limits. After all, she was only mortal. She had run for the last day and some, not stopping for rest nor food. Her wounds ached and there were signs they were already infected. She could bet they were due to the fact she had not taken the time to bandage them and she had been infected by countless youkai's poison and the hanyou Naraku's jyaki. Her pale face became stony.
'Naraku.' The name echoed in her mind.
Woodenly, the priestess' hand clenched tighter around the jewel shard. The despised hanyou Naraku had caused all this. All her sorrow and pain stemmed from that malicious creature. Her blue eyes darkened to the point they almost appeared black. Five cherished faces flashed in her mind's eye. Her body shook visibly from the pain in her chest as the smiling, laughing faces of her comrades swam in her memories. Tears gathering in her eyes, the miko hugged herself and curled inwards, her body shaking as she continued to kneel in the snow, lost in her grief.
'Miroku, Sango, Kirara, Shippou... InuYasha... gone.. they're all gone.'
Her eyes dripped hot tears that stung her face but still she stared blankly at the ground.
Why had it all ended like this?
She shivered. She could still hear their screams and cries. InuYasha's face flashed in her memory. The look of fear, something he rarely expressed, was imprinted in her brain permanently. His golden eyes wide and almost insane with worry, he had continued to fight off the demons and Naraku alone, their comrades having fallen a long time ago. He had struggled to keep them at bay with Tetsusaiga, unleashing wave after wave of attacks. She had desperately attempted to help, her immense reiki purifying countless demons. But then Naraku had overwhelmed the couple. InuYasha had realized they both couldn't escape. She had as well. They had looked at each other somberly. She had accepted she was going to die. She wanted InuYasha to run away and live. But the hanyou had shocked her when he had looked at her over his shoulder, his golden eyes steely, and screamed at her to run. She had felt her heart stop. Immediately she had refused.
Kagome closed her eyes, her hands raising and cupping her head in pain as the memories played out like a twisted nightmare.
The smell of blood and jyaki seemed to cling to her skin. Sango and Miroku had died together. Shippou and Kirara had attempted to protect Kagome only to be over-come by the thousands of demons at Naraku's disposal. Soon it was just she and the hanyou. Her bow had broken and she had run out of arrows. Desperate, she had grabbed Sango's sword, not even glancing the slayer's splayed, bloodied body and tried to channel her reiki through the blade as she sliced at the youkai in a frenzy born of desperation and despair. Then they knew it was over when the demon waves never ceased and their strength continued to evaporate under the merciless onslaught.
When InuYasha had yelled at her to run, she knew he was going to sacrifice himself but she didn't want to believe it. She had run at the half-breed. He had peered at her over his shoulder, his golden eyes dull with pain but a half-hearted rakish smirk on his tanned face before he had thrown Tetsusaiga at her. Kagome had frozen when she felt the blade slide into her body. Stupified, she had looked down at her chest to see the katana had impaled her, once again in its rusted, useless state. The miko had looked up at InuYasha who had merely grinned at her dryly,
"I'm not going to let you die, Kagome. I promised to protect you. Now get outta here and live wench and don't get yourself killed." The boy had stated firmly.
And with that she had been enveloped by white light. She had screamed in pain from the blinding brightness and before she could even try to lunge after InuYasha who was then swallowed by Naraku and his minions, she felt the sword tugged from her chest, the pain burning, and herself thrown to the ground. She lay there, trembling in the snow, in a field far away from the battle and InuYasha. The miko had swiftly stood and looked around, desperate to find a way back to the battle to try and save InuYasha.
Except only an endless forest she was not familiar with met her frantic gaze. She had stood there, numbly realizing she could not save InuYasha. He was already dead. She felt him die when a horrendous pain in her heart made her literally gasp and clench at it. Her fingers digging into her chest, as if trying to grab her hammering heart, she looked at the blurring forest with agonized eyes that filled with furious, pain-filled tears. Her heart knew when InuYasha died - of course it had. For he had been the only thing that her heart had been focused on for over three years. He had been the reason it beat, lurched, danced and skipped. He had made it feel like more than organ but an actual piece of her that reflected her feelings for the hanyou.
They had loved one another. They had been best friends and a couple. He had been her everything and her only. And now he was gone.
The hard truth made her quiver, her tears steadily dripping. Her lover, best friend and first love was gone. With him, their friends and comrades joined him in death. She did not know if they could see her. She did not know where they were. Yet she said a prayer, hoping they were somewhere far away from the pain of the wintry Hell she existed in. Her dull blue eyes slid from underneath her bangs and focused on the endless white landscape that stretched before her cruelly. She had to continue on. She had made a promise. Her friends, InuYasha, the Sengoku Jidai - they all depended on her now. She was the only one left who could stop Naraku.
The thought terrified her. She had never been strong. She had always been a background piece in the inu tachi team. Though Sango and Miroku insisted she had immense spiritual energy, the futuristic girl failed to control and harness the supposedly vast strength that lay dormant in her body. She had succeeded a few times to use her energy but they had been burps and random spurts of luck. Such events had not been born from from any true skill or improvement on her part. Kagome looked at the naked trees numbly. Yet she had to somehow get stronger. She had to find somewhere to recuperate and somehow finish their journey alone.
But where could she go?
Confused, the miko considered her few possibilities. A few weeks ago, Naraku had destroyed the well. Lately he had been pursuing them, trying to catch them unaware so he could demolish the group that had been a thorn in his side for three years. Kagome's mouth began to taste bitter. Instead of the usual them chasing Naraku, he had actually pursued them. The girl had intended to head back to the future, in desperate need of supplies and to hand in her college papers. InuYasha had escorted her. She had sat on the well lip, fully intending to jump down, but had noticed something off about the clearing. InuYasha had as well, his golden eyes narrowed as his ears twitched.
That's when Naraku had attacked.
Somehow, they had managed to fight off the Shikon-fuelled hanyou. She had ran out of arrows that day and InuYasha had received a few nasty injuries. The couple had stared at the destroyed well, InuYasha resting his claw on her shoulders as she looked down at its splintery remains, her heart breaking. She could no longer go to the future or ever see her family again. InuYasha had comforted her the best he could and despite his injuries, carried her to the village. There, she had moped for a few days but then accepted the sad fact.
Eventually coming out of her sadness, Kagome had told Miroku and Sango her worries that Naraku was becoming serious. They had agreed only to have InuYasha scoff at the idea. They had then returned to traveling across the plains, intending to catch Naraku before he did them but obviously that had backfired. Thus how she had ended up here, injured, scared, broken and alone. She had no where to go and no where to hide. She could not possibly return to InuYasha's village - she did not want to have Naraku follow her there for the last jewel shard.
Her mind whirling, she tried to think of every ally she had. Most of them were either dead or she did not remember how to get to them. Finally, one figure made itself apparent. A demon dressed in white with frozen gold eyes flashed in her mind's eye. The miko grimaced. He was her only hope and her only chance. Reluctantly, she accepted she had to head West. The girl looked up at the darkening sky, noting the heavy, thick clouds. A snow storm was imminent. She had to hurry. She struggled to stand, her body trembling and swaying from her wounds and immense blood loss. Slowly, she strapped Tetsusaiga on her hip and with a determination born from love for her fallen companions, Kagome achingly pressed on.
Her blue eyes squinting, her jaw clenched to hold back any sobs and and the urge to scream, she stared through her tears at the seemingly endless woods ahead.
'Please... someone... help me find Sesshoumaru.'
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Three figures slid through the thick black fog. A pillar of white glided forward elegantly at the head of the group, long white-silver hair flowing behind it. A two headed dragon lumbered behind the graceful white figure, a small child straddling a saddle on its back who glanced around the scene with curious brown eyes. And last but not least, a rather disgruntled creature that looked very much like a toad waddled behind the group, its bulbous yellow eyes narrowed with displeasure.
The toad creature raised its hoari sleeve to its beak, trying to block or at least filter the grotesque scent, and muttered, "Disgusting! I smell that dirty hanyou Naraku's putrid scent everywhere, Sesshoumaru-sama!"
The white form paused its fluid stride. A pair of golden eyes surveyed the empty battlefield indifferently, their depths as barren as the wasteland the group stood in. Sesshoumaru, daiyoukai of the West, surveyed the torn apart field. The grass beneath his black boots was grey and dry - a common side effect from Naraku's disgusting jyaki. Wherever the hanyou went, he left scars upon the land with his sinister imprints. The air was thick and foul smelling as a thick fog of miasma still hung over the battlefield. The dog demon's eyes narrowed. Lifting his pointed chin, he silently inhaled the air, his nose burning from pain but continued to do so. The faint smell of his idiot half-brother and his group was barely distinguishable from the thick miasma smell. His eyes slanting, the demon Lord's golden eyes probed the shadows and fog. Following his instincts, he stepped forward.
With out looking back, he ordered coolly, "Stay here."
Jaken watched his wonderful Lord disappear into the shadows and bopped his head dutifully. "Of course, Sesshoumaru-sama!" He chirped back enthusiastically before glaring at Rin who in turn cast him an innocent smile.
Sesshoumaru glanced around him carefully, taking note of every detail swiftly. His face blank yet his eyes slanted, revealing his concentration, the demon Lord paused when he saw a figure on the ground. His instincts became alarmed. His angelic features stony, the demon Lord glided towards the mass on the ground and stopped but a foot from it. A pair of empty brown eyes stared up at him. The dog demon stared down at the slain houshi and taijya placidly. So his idiotic half-brother's comrades had fallen. He scented the air again and once again he smelt InuYasha. He continued further, passing the dead bodies of the inu-tachi, dully noting the dead kit and cat demon he passed. Finally, a red figure, splayed in a mixture of mud and blood met the daiyoukai's cold golden eyes. Pausing but a foot from his half-brother's out-stretched claw that seemed to be trying to grasp at something, Sesshoumaru looked down at the hanyou. He was dead. His eyes slanting, the inu youkai scrutinized the hanyou.
Judging by the copious amount of injuries and the amount of blood that stained the ground beneath him, the hanyou had fought hard. His frozen gaze sliding over the hanyou's features, he considered the situation. The inu youkai's sharp eyes narrowed and returned to the half-breeds bloody, scratched face. Naraku had killed InuYasha and his friends, that much was obvious. If he were to trust his analytical mind and the obvious signs a blind man could deduce from, it appeared the group had been attacked while their guard was down. The pale demon glanced at the bountiful demon remains. They had certainly fought back. He returned his chilling stare on his half-brother. The hanyou's young face, even in death, seemed arrogant. Sesshoumaru arched a brow. How the pup managed to seem impudent, even in death, managed to amaze even he. His ethereal features stony, Sesshoumaru noted every injury on the half-breed's body. He felt no sadness, no anger and no remorse over his half-brother's death. Yet he felt no ill wishes towards the moron either. Over the years, he had managed to gain a small bit of tolerance for the hanyou and a very minuscule amount of respect for the brash pup.
While he still did not consider him worthy of his blood line and certainly not a family member he would proudly claim as his own, Sesshoumaru had reluctantly acknowledged the hanyou's growing strength in the last three years. His skill with Tetsusaiga, though aided by Sesshoumaru, had improved immensely and he had managed to master the attacks of the katana fairly well. Yet now, staring into the empty gold eyes that seemed strangely alike to his own at that moment, Sesshoumaru was annoyed. Naraku had killed a member of his blood line. He had dishonored and breached Sesshoumaru's family line. The daiyoukai's eyes narrowed. That would not be tolerated.
His keen mind rang when he noted something odd about the scene. Sesshoumaru glanced around the clearing, noticing two things were missing; Tetsusaiga and the miko. His lips tightening, the demon Lord's wintry stare intensified. If Naraku had dared taken Tetsusaiga Sesshoumaru would tear the despicable filth a part slowly. He would not stand to be dishonored by the abomination again. His golden eyes narrowing furiously, the inu youkai looked around for the miko. He scented the air. Her scent was faint, almost to the point it was nearly undetectable even to his superior nose. His lips tightened at their corners as he flicked his long hair behind his shoulder, his eyes hooding. He could not tell if the priestess had been captured or had escaped.
He knew her body was not in the clearing however which left only twom possibilities - she was either captured or had miraculously escaped.
The daiyoukai considered the possibility of the priestess being in Naraku's clutches. He inwardly growled. Though he was reluctant to admit it, the girl was rather powerful. If the hanyou had her in his possession, it could make Sesshoumaru's revenge on the hanyou take longer than he would like. Craning his slender neck upwards, he turned onthe heel of his black boot to leave the sombre scene. Yet, he paused for a moment. Slowly, he peered over his shoulder around his thick white boa, and down at the hanyou. An odd feeling seemed to prick at his mind. His eyes slanting, the dog demon glanced at Tenseiga at his hip, arching a brow at it in a silent command. He willed for it to work. He would revive the hanyou and his friends. Yet the blade did not respond to his commands. The demon Lord's eyes became steely, his elfin face stony and rigid.
'What a useless heirloom Otou-san left this one.' He sneered within as he glared at the unresponsive blade with obvious loathing.
With a flick of his platinum head, the pale youkai glided through the thick jyaki, glowing with his ethereal perfection. His youki shimmered beneath his skin, melting away any miasma that tried to attack him. He emerged from the thick fog and walked past Jaken with out a word. Jaken watched his beloved Lord stride past and glanced at the shadows he had come from. His green brow furrowed. He had sensed a certain amount of displeasure from his Lord which was unusual. Though he remained impeccably stoic, the tightness to his lips and certain icy flicker to his eyes hinted to his dissatisfaction.
"We are leaving." Sesshoumaru announced coolly before he leaped into the air and began to fly away with out a backwards glance.
Rin straightened in her saddle and nodded. "Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama! Ah Un up!" She commanded the dragon, flicking the reins, who in turn responded with a growl before launching itself into the sky as well.
All the while the toad youkai continued to stare at the black fog. He could smell the hanyou InuYasha and his comrades. His Lord did not seem pleased. The scent of death clung to the inu-tachi's group. The retainer frowned. Naraku had slain the group and, in particular, Sesshoumaru-sama's half-brother. It was a slight against the House of the Moon and Sesshoumaru himself for the hanyou to kill anyone that hailed from the West's royal lineage. Thus, Sesshoumaru was honor bound to rectify the slight and reinstate his honor and that of his house. The toad sighed. It seemed they would be going to war. With that thought, Jaken turned around to straddle Ah Un and leave. He froze and blinked in confusion when he noticed he was alone in the midst of the fog. Squawking, he looked up to see his precious Lord floating away, a cheerful Rin and snickering Ah Un following after the silver dog demon. Howling, the toad youkai began to chase after the trio, all the while screaming for his Sesshoumaru-sama to save him and ordering Rin to land and let him on Ah Un.
His cries echoed in the distance.
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A.N: So what do you think? A good start? ~.^
Translations:
Hanyou: Half-breed
Miko: Priestess
Inu-tachi: Dog Group
Daiyoukai: Demon Lord
Jyaki: A demon's evil aura/shouki