"Where is she? She has no right drawing pictures of, this Sesshomaru. How dare she!" The demon seethed. Angry thoughts plagued his person, a lowly human drawing pictures of him. They looked so bland and simple, were there more? He must know. "I want to see her now! Bring her here. We have many things to discuss." A miko, drawing no less, bah! Impossible. He gave the pictures back to Inuyasha, though delicately.
Each drawing, in a total of four, all seemed to have been of different encounters from when the brothers would fight. Or when Rin incessant whinnying to be with the little kitsune rang in his ears until he would take her. Naturally he would never leave his ward with his simple minded half-brother. One showed him leaning up against a tree. The shadows from said tree on his handsome face. His mokomoko swaying in the soft, gentle breeze. No distractions from the artist to paper. Another picture was of him in deep meditation waiting for Rin's return so he can go back to patrolling the lands of his fathers, father. His armor gleaming in the sunshine. Eyes relaxed in a calm deep meditation. The last two were of him in the heat of battle. Swords out, elegance a constant. Each line so pronounced and yet so right. How can she do this? Its too good. He surely must have some faults, but he detected none from the pictures. The lines said it all.
No matter, thought the deadly demon lord, I will have plans for her if she continues to draw these, these.. Masterpiece. No. No that's not what I ment. If she continues to draw such ridiculous.. Pieces of art. He growled low in his chest.
His half- sibling taking a instant stance of submission to the stronger fighter, head hung low and a soft whine escaped his chest. Chancing a peek at him, Inuyasha looked confused at his brother. He thought the pictures were great. Can't he see that? They were so real. He thought the his older brother would love them, maybe even want one. Granted these were the ones in pencil, he didn't know how he would react to the paintings or the charcoals. Still these were magnificent! Any idiot with brains can see that! Kagome really out did herself, but his ears flattened to his head the more he thought. He just got her in trouble, didn't he? A heap of trouble.
Their truce was still in place. The reason for said truce was for the young ones to have a bit of fun when there was no battles to take place. Tension, as the days once the truce was formed, slipped away. Leaving a calm. At least he would not harm Kagome.
"Well be sure to tell her to bring all of her..." He looked at his brother and waited for him to fill in the gap.
"Art supplies?" Inuyasha said timidly, waiting to see if he answered the invisible question and would get a break from the lordly demon.
Sesshomaru looked his half sibling up and down in pure irritation, but reluctantly he need him to fetch the wench. Sighing in his mind he looked at his brother in a mono toned voice simply answered, "Quite."
Back to the future....
"Ok class, now that we have gone over strokes and different style of paint consistencies. Now lets see what you all have created from the lessons from the past two weeks." Ms. Bliss, the head art teacher of Tokyo Community College for 7 years, looked around the class and waited. Groans from almost the whole class could be heard. The missing groans are signs of a job well done, but Ms. Bliss will be the judge of that. A smug smile graced her face and she waited for her students to bring out their homework from last night, granted they still had two more weeks to work on it, but at least she can check on the status of their work.
Ms. Bliss was late forties early fifties looking woman. Short in stature, but big in heart. Each student she treated like a grandchild, patient and understanding always a key factor in her class room. Her salt and pepper, middle back length hair, was tied in a high pony tail on her head. It bounced with each step, giving the young adults a sense of comfort in the childish antic of their teacher. True, Ms. Bliss can act quite tough, but preferred the gentle guidance of her teachings compared to most teaching styles. She never wore make up. Her clothes always covered in some foreign color or substances used for art. Normally, she would wear coveralls and a long sleeve tee shirt of a bright solid color. Today, she wore a sun dress. Spring does crazy things, she mused, crazy things.
Kagome sat in the back of class glancing at everyone's work. A tinge of self pride rose when she noticed everyone doing a land scape or a bowl of some sort of fruit. All of them looked the same but hers. She did a profile. A person from five hundred years in the past, but know one would know that by face alone.
Each line, each smoothing of the textured graphite gave depth and presence to the demon/ man before the canvas of her work. This whole portrait screamed regal and elegant. His pointed ear the only thing that screamed "not human" in the whole profile, but no one really noticed; chances are they were hung up on the creatures eyes. Eyes that could steel your very resolve, immobile you to the spot. Those livid pools of early morning sunshine, but only the artist knew the true color of those eyes. The intensity she depicted from the demon was beyond normal. It was captivating and awe inspiring. His hair looked like gravity had no claim to it. Free flowing is the only words to describe what happened to that mass of elegance. Even if you were blind you felt the aura radiating off it in waves. To say she captured her work on this canvas, is an understatement. To say she froze time to make it stay, that is the only real truth to it. Nothing in the picture, drawing and masterpiece, was out of place. Everything in it had a way of belonging.
The charcoal profile was beyond anything from this community college art class. Ms. Bliss could not understand why Kagome was not in a big, well-to-do-college; instead she sat in the dingy little art class. With the hand me down art tools and wobbly desks. The room smelled of old wet dog, and the circulation was horrible. Most hot summer days they would go out side in the shade for it would be a reprieve, to the dutch oven of a class room. Don't get Ms. Bliss wrong, she loved teaching for the community college, but for the life of her she just did not understand this enigma that was Kagome Higurashi.
"Fine." Ms. Bliss stated looking at yet another drab landscape, of some nameless street. "Acceptable." Bowl of fruit with a Hawaiian umbrella. So boring. So simple. Where is the depth?
When she came to Higurashi's to say she was speechless would be an understatement. She started to say something than continued to breathe in and choked on her own spit. Coughing she waved at a student to fetch her some waited. She looked at Higurashi, through bleary bloodshot eyes. This, she thought, this is beyond a masterpiece. All the strokes were done with something beyond knowledge. The water helped her calm down and she stared at Higurashi before she spoke. "Who did you draw?" It looked like she drew a, lover? No, but than again she was old enough to do what ever she wanted.
Oh crap! What the heck am I gonna tell her? Yeah, I drew a demon lord five hundred years in the he past. I used the magical well in my backyard to study him and and.. Kagome knew she should have just drew Sango or Miroku. But no, she had to draw this, this demon. "Um, he came to me in a dream..." Kagome trailed off. Hope that it would suffice for the time being. At least this will be ok. No one needs to know the truth. Or think that she was about ready to go to the looney bin.
Ms. Bliss eyed Higurashi with suspicion, but let it slide. She could tell this was more than a mere dream, it gave a glow of love and life. But something under the surface, longing? One will never know as long as Higurashi kept her mouth quite, she could do nothing. Well, wondered the teacher, may haps a simple nudge never hurt.
Bllllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg.
Ahh, saved by the bell, thought the young miko. Poor Kagome, she did not realized the situation waiting for her once she returned home to the shrine. She swiftly gathered her art supplies and her drawings. Double checking that she grabbed her art journals, she looked at her teacher with an apologetical smile. Finding the small chance of escape and took it, making a mad dash out the door and kept running till she was panting at her bus stop. Her knee length white skirt billowing out beyond her. Checking to make sure that she was all there and her things were well secure flickering her forest green peasant shirt back into place she sighed. What did I do now? All she can do now is wait in the spring warmth for the bus to take her home.
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Inuyasha waited in Kagome's room. He knew today was her art class day, he never wanted her to miss one of those days. He actually supported her work. The only really happiness she had anymore. The tragic day still fresh in his mind. Pain and sadness still manage to gnaw at him. He should have been there. Done something, anything. He, like Kagome, was in the past. The well seemed to have sealed temporarily as if to prolong the pain. To make more hurt come. It truly did not matter to either being. Pain is pain. Now Kagome is just like Inuyasha in a sense : neither have a family.
** 3 YEARS IN THE PAST**
"Inuyasha," started the worried girl," I think something is wrong." A pang in Kagome's chest started to make her fists clench and unclench. " I have to go home," she state with finality. She started to look desperate, she felt like the forest was shrinking and she was growing. Like the whole world was slowing down and she was going way too fast for a normal pace. The young miko started to pale, bringing her hand to her heart and cried out in pain.
Inuyasha looked at his best friend of six years. She looked pale and in physical pain. He whined lowly and crouched in front of her waiting for her to get on his back so he can get there fast.
"Hurry." Was the only thing the miko could manage. The pain, she thought, it hurts. What's wrong with me? Her powers started to flare from her unchecked emotions. Inuyasha had to stop and look over his shoulder. She started to make a pained face. Picking up the pace, the well finally in site. He jumped and waited for the blue glow that never came. Kagome held her breathe and waited.. She looked up. No well house roof. No soft blue light.
She jumped off of her companions back and started to dig at the dirt, and crying. Than a pain, unlike any feeling she had, suddenly started. She looked at Inuyasha, "Get away. Somethings wrong." She started to pant. "My.. I.. Can't.. " She took a deep breath. Some small semblance she looked at him. Her normal blue eyes turned to pink and began to bleed like blood. Her tears became he own blood.
He jumped out. Waited, and waited. Than he heard her.
A howl so unimaginable from such a small creature. Everyone could hear it. Everyone stopped. Time stood still for the little human in the well. All of her pain came out in waves of miko energy. Her powers flared to pink, than purple. Finally a deep, deep crimson stauled in waves. It looked like blood coming off of her skin. The well raised her in the air. She looked at nothing. Saw nothing, felt nothing. She floated in her own energy and waited.
Hanyou in tow was shocked and tried to reach her only to be stilled by pure raw energy crackling at his skin. He retracted the charred appendage and looked at his friend, first best friend. She started to go into a ball. He was lost. A mantra started to form in his head. What am I suppose to do? What am I suppose to do? Only one thing came to his mind. Sesshomaru. Reluctant to leave his friend, but at the same time he knew she was going to die. A sinking feeling in his very soul screamed it to him.
He jumped and leaped in search of his brother. He flared his aura so his brother would meet him.
Never to disappoint, the "Killing Perfection", cleared out of the tree line and landed gracefully in front of his stricken half brother. He gave his brother a look and waited.
"Did you hear the howl?" The worried hanyou asked his brother searching his eyes. Before he could let his brother answer he leapt to his 'sister'. He never started to think about her like that, until that moment. This moment signified changes in the air. Wild, scary changes. From tree branch to tree branch, he ran. The Demon of the West hot on his heels till they came to the clearing. They froze.
Kagome hadn't change, but she started to sing, "I've got you.. Under my skin..." The eerie song startled the brothers but she continued the Sinatra for all to hear. A love ballad for no love in her life, a cry of her very being. She sang on. " I've got you.. deep in the heart of me... So deep in my heart..." She groaned but continued, "I've got you.. under my skin." This normally up beat song was sung so slow and lowly, that it was almost sad, like she was afraid to admit even to herself that she could love someone. "I've tried so... Not to give in.." She looked directly at Sesshomaru's presence and continued, "I've said to myself.. This affair never will go.." Bloody tears smeared down her porcelain skin, such an odd contrast on such a fragile being.
Sesshomaru was speechless. The little slip of a girl was singing. In pain and singing an odd song. Never had he heard such a song before, but he was so transfixed to the spot that he felt a chill crawl up his spine as she sang.. He started to notice the stigmata on her hands as they started to shake from pain. Slowly, as if he was he would hurt her more from moving to fast, he reached his hand out for her to take.
She stopped her singing and stared at the demon that she was secretly pining for years, and reached back to his out streched claw. Before she could take his hand, her surging powers crested and engulfed them both in miko energy.
Being a very sensible demon lord, He - Sesshomaru - was in fact, very lost. Blinding white light surrounded him he could barely look. His only arm trying to shield both eyes, as he continued to stare looking for Kagome. He tried to call out for her, but his mouth refused to work, it was dryer than an place in all of Feudal Japan. Slowly his eyes started to adjust to the light. There he saw her. Crumpled on her knee's staring sightlessly out in front. He kneeled next to her and gazed at some contraption. He didn't have to stare at the unknown demons to not smell the deaths that lingered in the air. Squashed remains of humes were nearly gone, like smashing bugs with your claws, he thought with odd finality. Shiny things graced the 'ground' of their landscape, some clear and some a dark crude brown black. He looked down at the little woman before him. Shocked and shaking.
"My, my.. family-" She started than had to stop and hold her breathe. She continued, "They a-are all dead. All of them. The bus.. hit their car. No way they could have..." She looked at the demon lord with sightless eyes, grabbed him by his haori with white knuckles, pulled him down to her and cried. "Souta, you barely lived. You barely lived." Sobbing uncontrollably she tried to continue, "MAAAMAAA!!!!" Realization finally hit her. Her mama, mother, was.. NO! She tried to get up to them. Tried to get there, but was rooted to her spot. "Jii-jii.. oh why? Why my whole family?" She started to feel herself rocking and looked up at liquid sunset eyes, tips of crimson in their depths. But she cared not. She grieved on him, she did not care if he were to kill her. She.. wanted her family.
Said demon was so shocked. Her whole family, gone? He could use his fathers sword and revive them, he tried to get up, only to realize that he was rooted to the spot same as the onna beside him. His inner beast craved avenge her honor and deal out his justice for her dead family, but all that he could do was comfort the crumpling figure that was forever going ot effect his life.
They stayed that way, well into her last bit of red miko energy depleted. Inuyasha was shocked to say the least. One second he thought his brother was going to get flung in to the tree line and next they were gone. But only for a moment to him. Just a second. He cautiously approached the silent pair. As he bent down to reach Kag's Sesshomaru bared his canine's at his brother. The startled hanyou realized that his brothers beast was there. Protecting..?? What?? No, now that makes no sense. None of this makes sense, sighed an exhausted half demon. He perched up in a tree and waited.
**Today 500 Years in the future**
No one told him that he would wait in that tree for just a few short hours. No one had to. He looked around Kagome's room and noted that all the girlie things were gone. In their place was art supplies and canvases of himself and the gang. Plus Sesshomaru's pack as well. Paper's of drawings were strewn all over her desk. No more pink, no more kids stuff. Kagome grew up rather too fast for his taste. White walls, and canvas stands were her only source of being young. Back to the drawings around her room, some were of demon's from his time, or of random people that she candid as they were going to a village to exterminate a demon.
One thing he noticed was that there was no pictures of her family. Poor, poor Kag's. Always pushing forward, even if you refused to look in the past. He side glanced at her clock and counted to five. The front door banged open than slammed closed. He could visualize her clambering upstairs to her room. He waited.
"Hey buddy," started Kagome than noticed his ears droop, "did you get me in trouble?"
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