Embracing Ice by Yabou
Deviated Fate
EDITED: 05/17/2007: All chapters that were previously damaged have been fixed!
Warning: This will be a very long fic, and I do mean long. I can't see coming up with a happy SK ending in 15 or so chapters...so please be patient and hang on tight as you read Embracing Ice.
Story Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or original Rumiko Takahashi plotlines, the others, however, are mine. All characters not included in Inuyasha: The Feudal Fairy Tale are also mine. ^_^ what can I say, I'm needy.
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Pairing: Sesshoumaru/Kagome, Others to be announced.
Rating: M (FanFictionNet) / MA (MediaminerOrg) (A Single Spark)-I will post links when there are variations.
This Section: K+
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Embracing Ice
Chapter One: Deviated Faith
Written By: Yabou
Edited By: FireAngel8723
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A long, strenuous day of shard hunting had swiftly turned into a bloody night of struggles when the giant eagle youkai had swept down upon the weary group. No one had even sensed danger in the immediate vicinity, and the attack seemed unwarranted since the demon did not scream out in vain for the few shards of the Shikon no Tama that hung safely around Kagome's neck.
The eagle smiled deliriously as Inuyasha released another attack that was only dodged or swiped away with a beat of the demon's powerful wings. Nothing seemed to work on the over eager creature. She arrogantly taunted them while they scrambled around her in desperate attempts to catch her off guard.
She let out a mocking laugh when Inuyasha failed to land another blow.
Kagome wanted to give her a swift kick in the can.
She was tired and hungry, and this demon was definitely the last thing she wanted to deal with after arguing for nearly three hours with a stubborn hanyou who refused to allow her to return home. Sighing in remorse over lost sleep, she pulled the small kitsune into her arms and darted for a new haven since her current hiding position had just been flattened by the aforementioned hanyou.
Ducking down behind a tree, she watched Sango clash head on with the eagle in order to keep it away from her. A familiar feeling began to well up deep inside her chest, and she felt the tears brimming behind her closed eyes. 'Weakness.' She vehemently shook her head and clutched the jewel and the kit closer. 'I am not weak. I'm doing what needs to be done. The jewel has to be protected.'
She could hear something sneering at her in the background. It had to be a terrible thing when your own mind turned against you. Even she thought she was weak, and she was even too weak to admit it.
"Kagome!" Sango cried out, fighting against the strong youkai. She was in a losing battle. This demon was too strong. "Get away!"
Kagome nodded quickly and started to leap away only to be stopped in her tracks.
Giant black wings surrounded her form; she dropped the kit and whispered that he run.
"So, miko...you're the one all this fuss has been about?" The eagle gave her a penetrating look, as if sizing her up. "You don't seem like much to me."
The young woman remained silent in fear.
The demon laughed. "Can't even protect yourself? What kind of white magic user are you?"
"Inuyasha," she whispered.
"That brat can't save you now, bitch. For hell's sake, stand on your own two feet." Her opponent glared at her in disgust. "You aren't even worth my time or effort."
Kagome felt the anger began to surround her body and roll away from her feet in waves. "What did you call me?"
"Ah, so you can be riled?" The eagle smiled. "Bitch. I called you a bitch."
"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled from somewhere outside of the tent of feathers surrounding her body.
"Inuyasha!"
"I'm coming!"
The eagle's eyes narrowed. "Well, we can't have that, now can we? I was just starting to have a little fun with you."
Her sharp black beak grasped the back of Kagome's hakama and lifted her high into the air with one powerful thrust of her shimmering wings.
Kagome shrieked. This definitely wasn't a good thing. "Let me down!"
"Shut up, bitch," came a muffled reply.
"No!" She pounded her fists against the rock hard surface of the demon's beak and kicked her legs into her chest. "Put me down, damn you!"
The eagle merely giggled.
Inuyasha was rushing through the trees beneath her feet, becoming smaller and smaller as the demon soared above the clouds.
Definitely not good.
"Kya!" Kagome screeched into the animal's small ear canal in a desperately high pitch.
The eagle flinched and fumbled in the sky, beginning a swift dive toward the earth.
"No! No! No!" She clenched a few of the feather in her small hands. "Don't drop me!"
"Bitch!" The eagle was obviously infuriated and rolled out of the plunge. "How dare you!"
"I-I-I!"
"No, shut up, human bitch!" The youkai shook her violently. "You wished to be released? Well, have at it!" Her mouth opened, and Kagome felt the wind rushing against her body in a new direction. She was falling, faster and faster, toward a clearing that she recognized.
She saw the well grow larger and larger and prayed that Inuyasha would see her before it was too late.
Her life flashed before her eyes, and she found herself lost in regret for the things she had never been able to accomplish. Her tears were lost in the wind.
"Kagome!" She could hear Inuyasha in the distance, but even she knew that it was too far. She could only hope that the well would ease her fall by pushing her into the future at a slower pace.
Curling into a ball, she shot down the well and released a sigh of relief, but she unfurled too soon. She felt the world go black as her head and other limbs scraped against the sides of the old wood.
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A foggy voice rang through her head as her brain began to shut down. 'You were never supposed to be the catalyst of so many problems, miko-child. You deviated from your chosen fate, and the pathway must be corrected. ...I am sorry.'
She could only moan in response.
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Kagome groaned and burrowed into the silky sheets. Extra strength Tylenol and a very dark room were definitely in order. Her head was pounding and practically resonated with distress. Letting loose a small yawn, which became the source of more discomfort, she settled for whimpering in pain until her mother decided to take notice and show some pity on her.
The voice that called out to her, however, was not expected. "Human?"
Her eyes shot open and the feeling that resulted could have been compared to that of a knife gouging out her brain. "W-Whooo's there?" she finally managed to hiss out.
"Drink." The obviously female voice commanded and pushed a steaming cup to her swollen lips.
"Wh-at?" She croaked.
"It will relieve your pain."
Well, she didn't need to hear that twice.
The woman laughed softly as she gulped down the strong tea. "You will be able to sit up in a moment's time."
Kagome snorted but was surprised when the pain quickly began to subside and allowed her to examine her surroundings.
Her gaze fell first on the immaculate room. She could see the sun beating down on shoji screens that had been painted with a calm garden scene. A wardrobe of an elegant sort was pushed against the far wall directly in front of her pallet, and a few pillows had been thrown into the unused corners. Her hands smoothed the white and red patterned silk covering her lap as she forced her unwilling body into a sitting position.
Then, she gasped out at the beauty of the woman beside her. Her face was framed by long silver hair that was twisted into an elaborate design upon her head. Piercing amber eyes twinkled with amusement when Kagome struggled to speak.
"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome whispered, worrying frantically on the edges of the fabric in her hands.
The woman's soft laughter ceased and was replaced by shock. "What did you say?"
Kagome did not respond. She couldn't stop staring the at the navy crescent moon and magenta stripes that adorned the woman's face.
The woman's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Who are you?"
"I'm Kagome." She managed with only a small pause for her discomfort. "Who are you?"
The youkai woman nodded. "I am Lady Bishou, wife of Lord Konton of the Western Lands."
Kagome released a small, helpless sob. "Where am I?"
"You have been moved to our political home in Nara."
She nearly cried. "Nara?"
"Yes, Nara. The capital of our country Japan."
"Oh Kami." Kagome hugged the sheets. "I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore."
"I have never heard of this Can-sass." The woman stood. "You should not move any longer. The pain will only return and grow."
"How did I get here?" Kagome questioned herself, not really expecting the woman to reply.
"My Lord found you in the bottom of a well during his travels. According to my Lord, you have been in a deep state of sleep for nearly two lunar cycles." The woman's nearly harsh look softened notably at the mention of her husband. "He has a very gentle heart. I could not deny him when he brought you hereto me."
'Two months? I've been knocked out for almost two months? Oh, Kami!' She sighed. "Thank you very much." One hand clutched her forehead as the small, steady throbs began to increase in strength and duration. This was all too much. "I think that I should sleep now."
"Very well." Lady Bishou nodded and quietly left the room.
"Nara?" Kagome whispered into the heavy air of the happy room. "Where have I heard that capital before? It wasn't in the Edo period... Okay, think Kagome. Remember those history classes that you were there for."
Her fingers absently twirled a loose lock of hair. "Before Edo, there was the Azu...something or another...and before that there was Muromachi Period, right? Right. Okay, Nara wasn't in either of those...so before that was the Kamakura and Heian Periods...and..."
She couldn't bear to go on. She remembered. 'And before that was the Nara Period.' "When was that? What year?" She mentally began separating the eras in her mind. '1945-1912, 1912-1868, 1868-1603, that's about where I was with Inuyasha...1603-1573, 1573-1338, 1338-1192, 1192-710...'
"No..." A tear began to sting her right eye. "I'm somewhere between 710 and 1192? Oh, Kami-sama. What am I going to do?"
She could feel her pupils dilating when she fell into shock. She could hear her short pants and gasps for air, but there was nothing she could do. She was unable to stop the sharp stabs of pain that shot into her body and caused spots to form in front of her eyes.
Slowly, the edges of her vision faded into a ring of black, and after a few minutes she laid unconscious, swaddled in silken sheets.
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