Winter Tale by Uncoloured186
Winter Tale
01/06/2013: Due to the violence ahead, please treat this as a warning as well, the rating has changed from T to M. I totally missed the violence part without a good nudge from Wiccan a few hours after the posting. Thanks, dear! :D
31/05/2013: A bow of gratitude towards my beta Rhiose, who has been keeping up with my furious writing for the past two months. Thanks to her, I have finally finished all challenges at Dokuga_Contest! If you're interested with the stories, just take a quick look at my profile. For now, sit back and enjoy the story! :D
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Winter Tale
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It was the first day of winter when she died, and it hurt so badly, her heart especially.
How could he do this to her after years of fighting a common enemy, protecting each other, and caring for one another? She tried to laugh at the situation she was currently under, but it proved to be difficult when her heart was embedded with an arrow that was shot by none other than Kikyō. The ground, blanketed with snow, was cold and colder as the seconds ticked by. Tears of betrayal blurred the image of the one who seemed to be ready to deliver the final blow. Strangely, she was unafraid of death. Instead, she embraced the idea.
She was sad but held no regrets for her family in the future because she had told them that she would not come home until Naraku was destroyed. Since she already finished her high school, her mother agreed that she should focus on finishing her quest now. She had planned this after she graduated and wished to tell the group about this today, but unfortunately, it would no longer possible. The last thing on her mind after Inuyasha swiped his claws on her throat was her kit Shippō. She exhaled one last time as the world that she often called as a wonderland, for its magic that no longer exists in the future, faded from her vision.
Kikyō tried her best not to gloat in victory as she saw her reincarnation come out of the well. Her plans to destroy Naraku once and for all would work as long as she got her soul back. The girl was useless with the power she could not control. With her experience, she would do better, much better. She had finally convinced Inuyasha to help her. It took months for her to plant the idea into his head as what she had planned was for the good of the people and the land. Seeing how their progress with Naraku was so little to none, Inuyasha finally agreed with her. They would kill her reincarnation.
She prepared an arrow and waited for the right moment. When she saw her turn to the way she wanted, she let the arrow go. True to her aim, the arrow hit the mark, the girl’s heart. As the girl plummeted to the snow-filled ground, she stepped out from her hiding place with Inuyasha.
“End her suffering, Inuyasha,” she said, keeping her eyes on the girl.
Inuyasha stepped forward before the slowly dying girl. When he didn’t move, she quietly told him, “The longer you wait, the longer she will suffer through the pain.”
With that said, Inuyasha clawed the girl’s throat, and within seconds, the girl finally died.
Both waited with bated breath. Once the girl died, the soul should be returned to her, the rightful owner.
Unknown to Kikyō, the gods had seen through their wicked plan. Kagome was the chosen entity of all gods to keep the balance of the land. Should Kagome die, all of their plans would be for naught, and the demon race would come to extinct once more. Kikyō didn’t know that Kagome was never her reincarnation. The small part of soul she held was actually her own soul that was carried along with the Shikon Jewel. Urusue was their mean to separate the souls permanently. It was unfortunate that the once great miko had fallen from her grace for killing her sisters.
Minutes passed away but nothing happened. Inuyasha spun around and glared at Kikyō accusingly. “You lie!”
Kikyō shook indignantly as she muttered incoherently, “No, no, no, it should have worked. Lies, lies, lies, this is not happening. The girl...”
At this moment, Inuyasha couldn’t feel any more remorse than he already had as he realised what he had done to Kagome, his best friend, the one who had accepted him for who he was. Gazing back at her dead eyes, he let the beast within him loose. It was too late. Kagome was dead, and it was his entire fault! He should have never trusted Kikyō, who had betrayed him by giving the jewel to Naraku in the first place.
Kikyō only saw red eyes before her borrowed life was ended. Her clay body crumbled down as the souls she had stolen from dead women were set free.
Through Kanna’s mirror, Naraku watched Kikyō conspire with Inuyasha to end the living miko’s life. It was thrilling to watch the miko die. Finally! The girl had been a thorn on his side because of her growing power. Too bad for Inuyasha that he couldn’t see past Kikyō’s fake facade to realise she might have planned to kill the girl from the very beginning. He had been worried that the soul of the girl would return to Kikyō, for it would become more difficult to kill her, but lo and behold, it appeared that the girl was not Kikyō’s reincarnation! Truly, he had to applaud Kikyō for doing a great job.
Much to his pleasure, the day was getting better when Inuyasha lost himself to his demon side and killed Kikyō. It would be right to name this as killing two birds with one stone! Though, he had to admit that it would be difficult to collect the last few shards without Kagome’s eyes. Still, a celebration was in order as he called for Kagura. A certain wolf demon would want to know his woman’s fate. He laughed maniacally at the thought of his victory over the troublesome group. Soon, he would be able to rule all lands.
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The atmosphere within the hut was heavy with sorrow. It was only Shippō who made a sound as he still couldn’t stop crying ever since he found his dead adopted mother’s body. With Kaede’s help, Kagome’s body was cleaned and made ready for burial at sunset. Yesterday was such a dreadful day for everyone that they had hoped it was just a bad dream, a nightmare that would be gone as soon as they woke up. They, however, knew this was real, and they were not dreaming. Kouga and Sesshōmaru’s continued presences were enough proof.
They didn’t know what had transpired, but something really bad had happened, which left Kagome dead and Inuyasha lost to himself, despite the Tetsusaiga that was still unsheathed on his hip. It was thanks to Sesshōmaru, who came out of nowhere to knock Inuyasha down unconscious, that they could prevent Inuyasha from attacking Edo. The event hadn’t stopped there as Kouga suddenly appeared and demanded the truth about Kagome’s death. Shippō, who heard such news, shouted at him in denial before rushing to the well.
When they heard a heart-wrenching cry from Shippō, they knew that what Kouga had said was true. Needlessly to say, Kouga had nearly lost his mind when he saw the dead body of his woman. It was due to Sesshōmaru’s heavy aura that pressed against him that he didn’t let his demon side take over and kill Inuyasha for revenge. They all could see the claw marks on her throat and knew well who delivered such an attack. The one who shot the arrow was obvious after they saw a pile of soils and miko garments that were not far from Kagome. As much as they wanted to kill Inuyasha, they wanted to know the truth as well.
A small groan halted Shippō’s tears, and all looked up at the slowly awakening Inuyasha. The red clad hanyou sat up from his position abruptly, shouting Kagome’s name out. Cold sweat was glistening on his forehead as he tried to calm his breathing before he frantically looked around the room, looking for Kagome, but met with the sorrowful faces of his travelling companions instead.
Kouga, who couldn’t wait any longer, growled. “Tell me, mutt, what did you do to Kagome?”
Inuyasha’s mind seemed to be cleared enough to remember what he had done. Shoulders slumping, he looked away from them. He saw it coming, but he did nothing to stop it.
Sango grabbed the front lapel of the red haori with angry eyes. “Did you kill her?”
Inuyasha closed his eyes, unable to look upon the hatred in Sango’s eyes as he murmured, “I did.”
The hand that held his haori shook uncontrollably, and he had wished that she would kill him. Yet, he was disappointed when she let go of him instead.
“I guess you expect me to kill you, huh?” Tears streamed down her face. “Too bad for you, hanyou! I will not let you escape from what you had done by death! You don’t even deserve death as your punishment!”
With that said, Sango left with a hard-sobbing Shippō. They both felt so betrayed and wished to hear no more from the one they had thought as friend.
Miroku, as much as he wanted to go after his lady and comfort her, wished to know the details. Trying hard not to hit his now former friend, he sternly said, “Do give us the details, Inuyasha.”
Inuyasha obliged while hoping that by the end of his story, one of them would end his miserable life. He couldn’t look at Kaede or anyone’s faces as he told them what had happened from the very beginning. The guilt, grief and sorrow were eating him from inside out.
Sesshōmaru, as soon as his hanyou half-brother finished his story, left the hut. To say he was disgusted would be an understatement. Killing the one you had sworn to protect was beyond honourless. Someone like Inuyasha did not deserve the fang of their sire. The hanyou, unfortunately, would need the sword to seal his demon side. Though, he had to take into consideration that the sword might not work for Inuyasha anymore. After all, from what he had learnt, the purpose of the sword was to protect someone, and now, that someone was no longer alive. He hated to admit this, but he, the Lord of the West, couldn’t revive the miko. When he arrived at the scene, Tenseiga did not even pulse. He could only conclude that the girl’s death was meant to be, and he couldn’t interfere with fate’s design.
He sighed mentally as he analysed the situation at hand. Aside from Kagura’s appearance before Kouga to deliver the news, he didn’t know if Naraku had a hand in this unforeseen event. Now that the Shikon Miko was gone, how would they complete the cursed jewel? Though it would be a good idea that the jewel would remain incomplete, for now, they all didn’t know how long this peace would last. What he was going to do would be unpleasant. His ward would be more than upset to hear the miko was no longer around. Still, he had to tell and bring his ward here to witness the burial of the miko. Afterwards, he would leave and hope his ward would be all right once more.
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It was the second month of winter when she was given a new life as an inu demoness.
She would have thought that as soon as she died, she would be sent to the afterlife. Turned out, her spirit only left her body. She had watched her friends the entire time they wept for her. Her kit Shippō and Rin were inconsolable as soon as they saw the fire engulfed her dead body. To honour her position as the Shikon Miko, the villagers had decided to build a shrine with the well as its centre. Her ashes were spread on the depth of the well when Kaede and Miroku could no longer felt the magic of the well. As she looked at the well house, she couldn’t help but think that her death was destined. Though, she had to admit that it was creepy to know that the well was actually her own grave. How strange. She had never heard from her Jii-chan that they were actually guarding the Shikon Miko’s shrine. It was two days later when the head villager named the shrine as Sunset Shrine. With that, everything seemed to go according to the lane of history.
Now, what to do? Naraku was not yet destroyed, obviously, and she didn’t know why she was still here. A moment later, she felt a pulse from the Western Land. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Nonetheless, she followed the pull and came upon a beautiful but dying demoness at the edge of a snow-filled meadow. She then saw a huge dead ogre, who obviously caused the wounds on the demoness’ body, nearby. From her position, she could see the demoness didn’t hold any markings on her face like Kouga and had a long golden hair. She wore a peach-coloured haori and hakama with colourful flowers. As she floated closer, the demoness released her final breath.
She bit her lip to stop the tears that gathered in her eyes. How she really hated this form of hers when she couldn’t do anything to help anyone. If she could be honest with herself, she missed being alive. That was when she finally noticed the hand under the demoness’s dead form. A shikon shard! That was the reason why the demoness was attacked, but why would a demoness want to keep a shikon jewel? She shook her head as it was no longer important now. Unsure what to do, she touched the jewel shard, or tried to. A gasp escaped her lips when she successfully touched the shard. Soon, the shikon started glowing and engulfed her and the dead demoness.
The moment air filled her lungs, she had to moan. The sounds and the scents around her were too much for her ears and nose. When she opened her eyes, she felt like she was looking through a microscope that she had to shut her eyes immediately. What was wrong with her? She then got a painful reminder of the wound on her back as she turned around. Before everything went black, she felt Sesshōmaru’s approaching aura.
Sesshōmaru stared down at the inu demoness before his eyes. From her black hair alone, he could tell she was a black inu. He had met most daughters, who had come of age, from all Cardinal Lords, but the demoness before him didn’t seem to fit any house. What surprised him the most was, the two golden stripes upon her cheeks. To have such markings was a sign of powerful demon, or demoness in this case. How could he never notice this demoness before this day was beyond him. Still, her appearance was a mystery. When he had felt a great power came from his land, he had to rush to the location to see who had caused such power. Remembering that she was hurting, he immediately brought her into his arms and used his orb to return to his palace.
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Low and soft murmurs met her ears as she slowly returned to the world of awareness. For unknown reason, she knew that she was somewhere quiet and safe. Remembering her first experience of opening her eyes, she did it slowly now. She sighed in relief as she no longer felt abnormal. Aside from the soreness on her back, she felt quite fine.
“How are you feeling, My Lady?”
Still lying down, she turned her head to look at the black-haired demoness, whose grey eyes were smiling at her. Though the woman appeared young, she could sense her old and mature’s soul. She blinked and muttered, “Okay, I guess.”
“My Lord will be here shortly, so please relax.”
Before she could ask the name of this lord, she felt it. The aura was unmistakable. She sighed. This was going to be a very long day. The older demoness left when Sesshōmaru entered the room.
“Woman, you will tell this Sesshōmaru who you are, and why you were in my land.”
Kagome glanced at the daiyoukai. She didn’t know what was happening, but she did have a good hunch what happened to her. Somehow, the jewel shard had helped her gain a new vessel for her wandering soul. Though she was grateful for being alive once more, she was not thrilled to meet the half-brother of the one who betrayed and killed her.
A growl brought her back to the present. She looked away from him. “Greetings to you, too, Sesshōmaru. Stiff as always, huh?” Suddenly, she sensed the jewel shard on him, no doubt the very same one that revived her. She glared at him. “The jewel shard, give it back.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“It’s mine.”
“...”
Furious that he did not make a move to return what belonged to her, she grabbed the nearby clay cup and hurled it at him. In seconds, she found her back kissing the hard wall with his hand around her neck. Thankfully, her back had already healed. Otherwise, this would hurt like hell.
“You dare attack this Sesshōmaru after he saved you?” Sesshōmaru almost lost his grip when she glared at him defiantly when she should have feared him.
Although it was difficult to breath, she concentrated on her miko powers. She had sensed it earlier when she felt herself in danger. The power inside her had risen to protect her, but she successfully kept it down. Grabbing the wrist that was squeezing her neck, she released her miko power, successfully burning his wrist.
Sesshōmaru, shocked, relinquished his hold, dropping her still weak form. Looking at his still throbbing wrist, he narrowed his eyes at the woman. He honestly didn’t see that coming. He didn’t even sense the reiki within the woman until her eyes glowed white. A demoness with miko power! She was, indeed, powerful and a rare breed. It was decided then, she would be his. Such power to land on another would be a waste. With her as his mate, no one would dare to attack his lands.
After her coughing fit ceased, she glared at Sesshōmaru. “Honestly, did you have to do that?”
“Wo—”
“Kagome.” Her eyes filled with fire. “My name is Ka-Go-Me! I don’t go by any names you can come up with. Unless you wish me to call you names, learn to use mine!”
The glaring contest continued for a moment before he relented, “Very well, Lady Kagome.”
All anger left her system as she gaped at him. “Did you just call me Lady?”
Sesshōmaru, more than amused, arched an eyebrow. When she still stared at him, he let out a mental sigh. “The stripes on your cheeks are a sign of powerful being. It is only right to call you according to your rank of strength.” A short pause. “This Sesshōmaru apologises for his earlier action.”
Her jaws would have been dropped to the ground, for she had never heard him apologise to anyone before, if she didn’t catch his words about these stripes thing. Searching around the room, she finally found a body-length mirror and rushed towards it. She almost crashed into it because of the inhuman speed. She would need time to adjust to this new body. As she saw her reflection, her breath hitched. The woman that stared back at her was an image of perfection. Her black hair and blue eyes was the only thing that remained with her. Her skin was smooth and with a healthy pale complexion. Though she couldn’t open her white yukata to see more, she knew her body had changed as well. For whatever reasons, she found herself grateful for the things that happened to her so far.
“This is... me...?” she asked more to herself, still in awe.
Sesshōmaru was baffled, to say the least. It was as if the woman had never seen herself on the mirror.
She glanced back at him before realising that if this was how she looked, he wouldn’t even recognise her, but her name should ring a bell, right? She opened her mouth but closed it second later. Not wanting to make herself a fool, she asked, “You don’t remember me, do you?”
He narrowed his eyes. As much as he hated it, he had to admit that the demoness reminded him of someone. Her name even sounded familiar to his—his eyes widened slightly. “Miko.”
A frolic smile played on her lips. “Well, I guess I’m good enough to be remembered even though I was only dead for weeks.”
“Explain!”
“Do you mind now?” She held out a hand.
Finding no reason to keep the jewel shard any more, he took the tainted shikon shard from within his obi and threw it at her. He watched in satisfaction as the shard immediately turned pure as soon as it touched her hand. She surprised him once more when the jewel floated from her hand and glowed white before entering her body. The miko closed her eyes and sighed in contentment.
Kagome walked back to her futon and sat back down. “Please sit down as this might take a while to explain.” Her sudden growling belly made her blush in embarrassment.
Sesshōmaru let out a chuckle before calling for a servant to bring their meals here. It was already midday, so they would talk after having their lunch.
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It was the third month of winter when she met her former life’s companions again.
After a month of intense training and adjusting to her new body, she finally told Sesshōmaru that she wished to retrieve her kit. Though her former group wouldn’t recognise her, she found herself unable to keep her identity a secret from her adopted son. Besides, she just thought that it was time for Shippō to be raised properly as a demon. Before, she couldn’t do it because she was a human, but now, she could even though she was not a fox demoness. Rin, who already knew about her identity after a revised short story from her, was elated to have her back and begged her father figure to let Shippō stay with them. Sesshōmaru, seeing no reason to object, agreed, and they both immediately left for Edo while the weather was still good.
When they reached the village, Inuyasha, much to Kagome’s dread, greeted them without brandishing his mighty sword at them. Weeks before, Sesshōmaru had shared his thoughts that there was a chance that the sword would not work for Inuyasha anymore. Not wanting to keep anything important from him, she finally told him that the sword recognised her as its master, for she was the one who pulled the sword from its resting place. When she gave the sword to Inuyasha, she had chosen him as her protector, and the sword worked for him when he returned the oath by his promise to protect her. Now that she was dead by his hands, he had broken that oath.
Although she knew about how Inuyasha still lost to himself despite the sword’s presence, she believed the fang, transformed or not, would still keep him safe. He may have betrayed her, but she wasn’t cruel enough to take the sword back. After all, the fang was the only thing, beside the fire rat robe, that his sire had left him with. And Sesshōmaru, after hearing her reasoning, had to begrudgingly agree with her and accepted her decision to let Inuyasha keep the sword.
“What do you want here, bastard?” His golden eyes flickered towards her for a while before glaring at his half-brother.
“This Sesshōmaru has no business with you, half-breed,” Sesshōmaru replied before turning his gaze towards the approaching taijiya and monk.
“Lord Sesshōmaru.” Miroku bowed his head down in greeting before looking over her with appreciation. Under Sesshōmaru’s request, she was wearing the same outfit as his, complete with the armour and a sword, taken from his dojo, on her hip. Her long black hair was tied high in a pony tail.
A smack behind Miroku’s head stopped the perverted monk from continuing his perusal on her person. She had to stifle a smirk as she thought, Some things will just never change...
“Taijiya.” Sesshōmaru nodded. “This Sesshōmaru wishes to see the kit Shippō.”
Sango and Miroku exchanged worried look but still nodded at him before Sango left to retrieve Shippō at Kaede’s hut.
“If I may ask, who is the lovely lady beside you, Lord Sesshōmaru?” Miroku asked with a grin.
Kagome had to hold back her protest when Sesshōmaru, after a moment of silence, replied, “This is Lady Kagome, my intended mate.”
Sango and Shippō who just arrived gasped. The shock and disbelief faces were hard to miss as her former group, especially Inuyasha, stared at her openly now. She mentally glared at Sesshōmaru. Intended mate! Was this why he asked her to wear the symbol of his house? He would hear what she had to say about it later on. For now, she gazed at them with cool eyes. “Have anyone told you that staring is rude?”
Immediately, all, but Shippō, flushed red. It was only Sango and Miroku who muttered apologies while Inuyasha looked away, but from the corner of her eyes, he was giving her curious glances every minute. Seeing her kit’s current state, she had to withhold the urge to cry. Her little kit was getting thinner, and she could tell he had trouble sleeping as well.
“Kagome?” His voice was so hopeful that she almost said yes.
Her eyes turned gentler as she greeted him, “Hello, little one.”
Shippō, either too irrational or didn’t care, ran towards her, bawling his eyes out. She took him into her arms, despite the protests that erupted from her former group. After getting a nod from Sesshōmaru, she left them without a second glance. She would tell them the truth, but for now, she had to pretend that they were strangers. Whispering comforting words to her distraught kit, she hoped he would forgive her for not coming to him as soon as she was revived.
-:-
Three days of meditating was finally paid off when she successfully located Naraku’s lair. It was thanks to the Shikon shard within her that she could find the rest of the shards. She knew that she should have told Sesshōmaru about her plan, but she wished to finish this herself and to catch Naraku off guard. With deep concentration, she used the shard within her and teleported her to Naraku’s location. With her scent and aura masked, she stealthy moved around his hideout. At one of the hallways, she ran into Kagura.
Quickly clamping Kagura’s mouth with her hand, she looked left and right before quietly told her, “I want to end his life now. If you’re willing to help, tell me where I can find him.”
When Kagura nodded in agreement, she released her slowly.
“Who are you?” Kagura whispered.
Kagome smirked. “I’m pretty sure you will find out soon enough.”
Without anymore delay, Kagura told her when she could find the vile hanyou. Naraku, to her delight, was caught off guard with her sudden appearance, and within seconds, he was within her grasp and mercy while he tried to discern who she was. His tentacles were useless against her as she had put him in her reiki barrier. Even his miasma was not enough to keep the reiki that was trying to purify him.
She grinned when panic and fear finally registered on his face. “I have come to take back what’s mine, Naraku.” With a wave of a hand, the incomplete jewel flew towards her. As soon as it touched the tip of her clawed fingers, the jewel shone white with pureness before entering her body.
Naraku’s horror-stricken expression made her laugh as she asked, “Did you have fun watching me die by your dead lover’s hands, Naraku?”
Before he could even utter her name, he was already destroyed, leaving a pile of ashes in his wake.
“Hn,” she commented as the castle, with the dead of Naraku, slowly disintegrated before her eyes. When all was gone, she was left alone in a barren land. She went down on one knee and put her palm on the ground. With the help of the incomplete jewel, she successfully breathed new lives for the land as it began to fill with young, green grasses and buds of wild flowers. The previous state of the corrupted and destroyed land was nothing but a history as she stood back up.
“It’s good to have you back, Kagome-sama,” the void child greeted from behind her.
Kagome gave Kanna a smile over her shoulder. “Yeah, it’s good to be back.” Facing Naraku’s incarnations fully, she asked, “What are you guys going to do now?”
The sisters exchanged silent conversation before nodding at one another. A true smile graced Kagura’s red lips. “We owe you a life debt, so we will gladly serve you, Kagome-sama.”
Kagome shook her head and formed her cloud to return to the West. “Do as you please.”
She could imagine their happy smiles as they both followed her with Kagura’s feather.
As soon as she touched down at the courtyard of the Western Citadel, she was barrelled by two upset children. After reassuring them that she did not abandon them, they left her with a displeased Sesshōmaru. Kagura and Kanna still followed after her to his study for explanations. Sesshōmaru, after finding out what she did to Naraku, was not happy because her sudden disappearance had upset their adopted pups, which she already knew. As a punishment, she would not be allowed to leave without his permission. Only after he told her that he cared about her well-being that she agreed without anymore protest. For him to admit such thing to her was more than enough to move her heart.
The night after they retrieved Shippō, she had demanded why he had told her friends that she was his intended when she was never agreed to be one. It was right at that moment that he asked her permission to court her. Basically, he had asked her to marry him, only without a diamond ring. Since she had nothing to lose, she agreed. And she was glad that she did. Though her relationship with Sesshōmaru didn’t go like her favourite love song, his action was enough to let her know that he cared for her deeply.
Afterwards, she, along with Kagura, returned to Edo to tell her former group about Naraku and her identity. Sango and Miroku looked a bit upset that they didn’t get the chance to help her destroy the vile hanyou. Still, they were grateful, for Miroku was finally free from the wind tunnel, and for returning Kohaku, who was well and alive. As for her identity, they were only glad to have her back, no matter what she was now. She didn’t wait for what Inuyasha had to say until he tried to stop her from leaving Edo.
Inuyasha didn’t believe that she was the same Kagome he knew. Not that it mattered, but she sat him, just to prove him wrong. His once dull golden eyes were filled with happiness. Before he could hug her, however, he was repelled back by her barrier. He had the grace to look shocked and hurt that his betrayal came back to her full force. While keeping her expression cool, she approached his still sitting form calmly. Before he realised what she intended to do, she bent down and yanked the beads off of his neck.
His eyes widened in shock as he wildly looked at the scattered beads around him. “Ka-Kagome...”
She stood straighter and looked down at him. “I should have killed you for what you did to me, but for the sake of what we had gone through together as friends, I will not take your life. We no longer share a bond, Inuyasha.”
With that said, she left with Kagura’s feather.
Kouga’s den was their next stop as she needed to complete the jewel. When Kouga refused to give his shards up, obviously, she had to retell the story of her death and resurrection. Once she told him stories about their encounters, Kouga finally believed her and asked her to be his mate, again. Of course, she refused and said that she was actually Sesshōmaru’s intended now. To say Kouga was upset would be an understatement. It took him a burn chest to finally get it into his thick skull that she was never his, and she didn’t love him that way. In the end, he let her go and said that if she changed her mind, he would be around. Since she was too weary to argue with him, she left it at that.
After the completed Shikon Jewel rested within her heart, Inuyasha became her problem as he tried to find a way to apologise and win her heart back. Given time, she knew that she would forgive him, but it didn’t mean she would forget what he did to her. As for her heart, unfortunately for him, it already belonged to his half-brother for some time. Since he was too stubborn to hear her out, she let Sesshōmaru mark her as his mate. And that was on the last day of winter.
-:-
The End
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End Note: So? How was it? I'd intended to write romance, but the story just went to this direction when I wrote it down. Still, I have to say that this is the longest one-shot I've written so far. If I put the actual romance, the story is probably going to get longer, which is something I could not afford since today is the last day to submit the entry for the challenge. Anyway, it will make me happy if you can tell me what you think about the story. Ciao~