Kazekage by Azuka
Imperial
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and CO
Prompt: Imperial
Source: Skye's Bi-Weekly Challange
Word Count: 1k
Chapter Eighty Eight
The moment Kagome came within a few feet of her mother the image wavered and became an open broom closet. She dropped her arms at her side, coming to a stop as she stared in disbelief at the room.
Shaking her head and pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes and groaned, why am I loosing focus between reality and illusion? Is this what he meant by testing me? Kagome dropped her hand and turned to see him; her age, dressed in a black high school uniform with his long white hair in a low ponytail with a pair of glasses adorning the bridge of his nose.
Her mouth ticked awkwardly with the desire to smile as her brain franticly revolved around morbidity and insanity; surely he was not sexy to her right now; it was part of the illusion!
As she thought it, he began to change again, standing a grown adult in a black suit with a white tie; she staggered back in surprise, “Wh-what the hell is going on? This isn’t like every other time!”
Sesshomaru smirked, lifting his middle finger, adorning a gleaming claw and adjusted his glasses, “ We are within the Maikai.”
Raking her fingers through her hair, Kagome finally managed to touch base on a chunk of reality. Maikai…. “M-Maikai?? As-as in-.”
“You human’s skewer any notion presented to you, according to your fear of it at the time. Mystics and Oracles believe that it is the Maikai that ‘demon’ and ‘evil’, all that reside within the counterpart soul of a human heart, all originated in the Maikai. It is not a place nor thing; but life at its source. Evil and Pure reside here not as ‘things’ but as actuality.”
It was the longest he had spoken as he moved closer to her, yet still without looking directly at her. Eventually he stood facing the opposing direction of her, his shoulder almost to hers and yet he towered above her almost menacingly.
“Why have you brought me here?”
His glasses seemed to glint with a jyaki all their own as he ducked his head and grinned subtly; a chill raced up her spine and she felt her shoulders begin to roll but fought it by crossing her arms awkwardly and kicking her chin up, ”I want an answer Sesshomaru. I agreed to training, not torture.”
Sesshomaru’s glasses shimmered as he tilted his head and she could see the scarlet of his demon from the depths of his eyes. She swallowed and glared as best she could at him.
“Do you wish to best me, Priestess? At my own game, perhaps?” He lifted his head and began to walk, she spun and reached after him her face paling, “…what does that mean, anyway?”
“W-well wait a minute! Don’t just leave me here!” She jogged after him, missing the ghastly hand that reached out and curled inches from the back of her haroi.
As she rounded the corner she found herself in a classroom, standing up behind her desk with the rest of the students. She almost went face first into the desk with the sudden change but caught herself on the edges of the desk.
The teacher paused only long enough to glare at her before continuing in role-call. Once he was done every sat down; Kagome hesitated. Years of schooling screaming that she could not sit; her name had not been called. She sat slowly, awkwardly and while rubber necking in confusion.
As the teacher droned on she sighed and looked down at her desk, her fist in her cheek; a scroll and parchment sat in a nest stack of three with a quill and bottle of ink off to the side. She blinked slowly at it, and watched it wavered and suddenly became a pencil and notebook as if it had always been there. She frowned and struggled to recall what had been there. The longer and glared down at it, the harder it became to remember….
“Is this one boring you, Higurashi?” Kagome’s spine snapped rigid and her gaze forward with drilled obedience.
“No, sensei.”
“Hn.” As he turned Kagome glanced up and gasped as long silver hair swishes across a black jacket, pulled tight across broad shoulders. Sesshomaru!
The scene was ripped out from under her, and she stood alone in the hallway she had originally turned own after Sesshomaru. She whipped around twice, back and forth, “Where did he go?”
“Priestess.” She turned and found the hallway suddenly lined with ancient Imperial armor, eyes glowing acid green as they each began to pop and shiver as if being filled with life. When the first made a bulky stomp onto the hallway floor, Kagome began to back away wearily.
Hand pressed firmly on her shoulder and lower back, forcing her to abandon her retreat, “Do not run from your fears. Fight them.”
“I… I don’t have anything to fight them with! You-you just brought us here!”
“Fight.” He ordered roughly, shoving her forward. She squealed as she stumbled into the swing of a large pole arm. She found her body moving before she realized what she was doing; and yet, in the back of her mind, she was fully aware and had anticipated such a movement and executed it flawlessly.
Slightly amazed but mostly appalled at herself and the situation she found herself In, Kagome lurched to the side, twisted her hips and leaned back; all in quick succession of the agile and surprisingly nimble suit of armor that was attacking her with the vigor of a wired teenager. The movement became wild and thought Kagome knew she was ‘deciding’ on these movements and reactions to the pole arm wielder, but she also understood there was no way in hell she would normally be able to do this.
It was then the blade sliced into her right shoulder, sinking down through the layers of meat until it chinked against the rotator cusp unforgivingly. She screamed and dropped.
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