Miscellany by Chie
Twist of Fate
69. Twist of Fate
Prompt: What if Kagome met Sesshoumaru first
Universe: AU
Genre: Drama
1,161 Words
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Kagome smothered her sigh as she descended the stairs.
She did not have the time for this. She was cutting it close already and didn’t want to be late for school.
Yes, the well house could be creepy, but Souta should man up a bit.
The scratching sound unnerved her. It seemed to be coming from inside the well.
But the old well was covered up. There was no way the stupid cat could’ve got himself in there.
Kagome shrieked when something brushed her leg, startling Souta who was cowering at the top of the stairs.
“Buyo!” Kagome picked up the cat, exasperated. “There you are.”
Good, now she could get out of here and go to school.
Kagome turned to Souta, holding Buyo in her arms.
Souta jumped up, his eyes wide.
“Sis!” he called out to her, just moments before an ominous creak of wood sounded from behind Kagome.
Splinters of wood rained against her back and she guessed without turning that the lid devised to seal up the old well was gone, blown to bits.
A cold blast of air buffeted her, phantom arms snaked forward. They clasped at her arms and shoulders.
Buyo slid through Kagome’s nerveless fingers as the ghastly arms pulled her over the rim of the well and into the depths.
It was dark inside and the arms holding her materialised. The cold fingers cradled her face and turned her head.
Kagome came face to face with the creature who held her.
It looked like a woman but wasn’t.
Whatever it was, Kagome knew it wasn’t human.
It spoke using old-fashioned words, its elongated tongue licking Kagome’s cheek.
“You have it, do you not?”
Kagome wrenched away from the creature’s grip. “Let me go!” she demanded. “You’re disgusting!”
Her hand shot forward to push the creature away – and pink light jolted out of her fingertips, somehow repelling the creature.
Just like that, Kagome was free – free and falling through the darkness.
She landed softly, on what felt like sand. For a moment she just stayed there, on all fours, panting through her panic. The adrenaline still hummed in her ears.
For a moment, she half-convinced herself she’d dreamt up the creature – but then her gaze landed on a single severed arm lying beside her.
Kagome shuddered and got on her trembling feet.
She craned her head up the towering stone walls around her. She must be inside the well.
Her mind made, Kagome grabbed onto the thick vines and started pulling herself up.
She emerged from the well into sunlight.
Kagome blinked, the chirping birds loud in her ears as she looked around. A grassy meadow lined with trees stretched before her. Blue sky above her. Green hills in the distance.
No sign of the well house, her home or the towering buildings of Tokyo.
Where the heck was she?
Inside of her, icy dread slithered. Still, she couldn’t help calling out to her family.
No one answered and the only familiar feature her eyes could make out was the Goshinboku.
Hope leapt in her chest and she began to run towards the tree.
She never made it.
Trees crashed to the ground around her and the creature that had pulled Kagome into the well towered over her, its centipede legs flailing, its human face contorted in fury.
“Give it to me! Give me the Shikon no Tama!” It demanded.
Kagome had no clue what the hideous creature was talking about, so she turned and ran back towards the well.
Someone, please, she prayed fervently in her mind, the racing beat of her heart pounding in her ears, unshed tears strangling her throat. Mama, Gramps… “Someone save me!”
Something green flashed in the periphery of Kagome’s vision.
The Centipede Woman lunged – and was torn into shreds by a green ribbon, almost like whip, lashing cruelly through the creature’s bulk.
A squelchy bit of flesh smacked against Kagome’s shoulder – a severed hand.
Kagome’s knees buckled. She landed on the sun-warm grass, staring up at a tall imposing figure.
Her gaze flickered and darted nervously, taking it all in: the sword, the armour, the silver-white hair, the markings on the pale skin, the claws, the coldly dispassionate face, the piercing golden eyes.
Nope, this one wasn’t human either.
* * * * *
Sesshoumaru stared down at the human female. He frowned at the strange clothes. Wondered at the alien scents clinging to her skin.
But the most peculiar thing of all was the Shikon no Tama.
He’d hear the cursed jewel had been burned decades ago with the body of its former guardian. The miko who had died of the wounds his foolish half-brother had inflicted on her, in an attempt to seize the famed jewel for himself.
Sesshoumaru could understand the thirst for power, but he would never put his trust in something as treacherous as the Shikon no Tama.
Inuyasha had been a fool. But Sesshoumaru would not tread down the same path.
He seized the human by her throat, lifted her up.
He could smell the fear wafting off her skin, see her cheeks grow pale, hear the choked breath in her throat.
Yet, her blue eyes met his directly; in a glare no less.
“Who are you?” he demanded. “How have you come in the possession of the Shikon no Tama?”
“I don’t know anything about any tama,” she managed through clenched teeth.
“Do not lie to me, human. I can sense the jewel’s presence on you.”
“I don’t have any jewels!” the human insisted.
Sesshoumaru frowned. He scented no deception off the human.
And yet, he felt the pulse of the jewel, humming like a siren call in his ears.
Something did seem off, though. The jewel’s presence felt oddly muted.
Sesshoumaru concentrated on the Shikon no Tama, honed in on that distracting pulse. His fingers landed on the girl’s waist, just below her ribs.
Could it be?
Sesshoumaru slipped his hand underneath that foreign garment, tracing the soft skin underneath, ignoring the human’s protests.
Then, with a quick flick of a wrist his fingers plunged in, piercing the fragile skin.
The human screamed.
Sesshoumaru continued to ignore her.
His claws met with something hard.
Something that shouldn’t have been there.
He seized it. Pulled it out.
Let the human slump onto the ground.
Even stained with the girl’s blood, the jewel of four souls shone pink and pure in his hand.
Sesshoumaru’s lips curled in distaste.
The human was staring at the jewel, those unusual blue eyes wide.
“What? How? What was that thing doing inside me?”
The wound he’d inflicted was still bleeding. The white of her strange garment was quickly dyed red.
He’d probably need to do something about that.
He couldn’t let her bleed out, he had too many questions to puzzle out.
He trained his gaze on her, inspecting the mystery the fates had thrown into his path.
“That,” he drawled coldly, “is what this Sesshoumaru would like to know.”
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Chie: To be continued by Purity/thesesskagrevivalproject under the same title Twist of Fate. ;) What goes around comes around. xD