prologue : twilight

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Standing on wobbly legs, Kagome glared at the undead Miko as she readied a second arrow. An angry grimace tightened the line of her mouth as her fingers grazed the wooden shaft of the first arrow that pierced her through the chest.

Kagome had already received a fatal wound. She was dying. She could feel the warmth flow out of her. It was by sheer force of will that she remained upright. This display of stubbornness in the face of death frustrated Kikyou. She would not be satisfied until Kagome's soul left her flesh and affixed itself to the Miko’s sham body.

Blood steadily trailed down Kagome's torso and legs to pool at her feet. It stained her uniform and coagulated in her socks. She clutched at her chest and struggled to breathe. Every passing moment made her more desperate, more fearful. From the corner of her eye, the young time traveler caught the movement of Naraku slinking into the shadows, his eyes watching her intently. Seeing him, she felt her fear of death begin to crumble in the wake of anger. He was the cause of everything. He was why so many had suffered, and continue to suffer.

He could not be forgiven.

Familiar voices called to Kagome, disrupting her thoughts. She turned toward the sound and had to concentrate to focus. Darkening blue eyes wandered to each of her friends, all of them clearly exhausted and thoroughly beaten and bloodied. Her gaze faltered on the hanyou, whose worried expression seemed to linger more in Kikyou’s direction than her own. Kagome cringed and silently cried out to him to notice her.

Finally looking in her direction, Kagome saw an unreadable glimmer reflecting in his eyes and her breath caught in her throat. The moment impressed itself upon her and she felt her heart twist and grieve as understanding came. With great effort, Kagome tore her eyes away to look at the priest who stood nearby and the youkai huntress next to him, a trembling kitsune cub in her arms.

Kagome’s tormented soul, already filled with grief over always being second-best, immediately hardened at the sight of her friends. Too much innocent blood was seeping into the ground. Too many shed tears. She hated Naraku and Kikyou for what they were doing to the people she loved. Turning, she faced her enemy, deadly intent solidifying in her eyes. Only one thought filled her mind:

'I will not let them die here!'

• • •

“I don’t know how you're able to stand,” Kikyou said, voice full of contempt, “but you're still in the way.”

The bow stretched and the corpse took careful aim, a slight smile gracing her delicate features. Voices yelled at her to stop, but she ignored them. What she was doing was for the best. She was making things right again. Kagome should not be in their time. Kikyou should not be confined to a body made of bone and grave soil. The Shikon no Tama had to be destroyed. The only one who could do it was Kikyou, not some girl-child from the future.

Once everything was made right again, Inuyasha would understand. They would all understand.

“Sayonara,” the walking corpse whispered, releasing the arrow with a whoosh.

With inhuman speed, Kagome’s right hand shot up and smacked the projectile away as one would knock away a bothersome fly. The dead woman stared at the girl, her mouth hanging slightly open in surprise.

'She's... what is she--?'

Kikyou's eyes filled with awe and terror as Kagome’s fist closed around the wooden shaft impaling her. Without hesitation, the girl yanked at it savagely. Blood and tissue splattered around her as it suddenly dislodged from her body. The young woman lowered her eyes to examine the arrow in her hand, turning it over as she inspected it before letting it drop soundlessly to the ground in front of her.

Kikyou took a hesitant step back, the tip of her bow dragging on the ground and hanging precariously from her fingers. It was then that she noticed that Kagome’s eyes were different; not just the color, but also the knowledge contained within.

'Midoriko,' the undead Miko thought as understanding flooded her. How could she miss it for so long? How could she not realize just who and what Kagome really was?

In the breath of a single second, terror froze Kikyou’s heart. She had vastly underestimated the importance of Inuyasha’s companion and now the fool child was losing control. Would anyone survive? As though hearing her thoughts, Kagome’s face slowly rose to look Kikyou in the eyes.

Death was coming. Real death. Not just for her, but for everyone.

• • •

The forest seemed to hush under Kagome’s dark glare. The world seemed to grow still as she became aware of a pulling sensation deep within her. It felt comforting. Calm.

Allowing a piece of herself to give in to the sensation, she felt something else flutter about her consciousness, begging to be fully awakened. It promised relief, justice and hope.

Kagome wanted those things. In her short lifetime, she had seen far too much pain and witnessed too much tragedy. It had to stop. She had to make it stop.

Kagome was only dimly aware of the blood oozing from her chest. She raised her hand to touch the wound, unknowingly cauterizing it. There was no pain anymore, only righteous anger and heartache. The emotions surrounded her like a cocoon, protecting her, changing her. The feeling was both foreign and familiar. Had she a chance to think about what was happening, she would have resisted the sensation out of terror. Instead, she embraced it and let it do as it willed.

Wisdom not her own took form within her mind. It moved her body and directed her focus. It made Naraku slink backward and Kikyou stand in frightened awe. Even her friends seemed to be afraid. But Kagome could do nothing for them. She could only watch through eyes her own, but not hers to control.

Power illuminated the darkened forest, causing miasma to recoil under its brilliance. She enjoyed seeing the evil substance boil away into an inert gas that disappeared harmlessly into the air. The poison used so often to hurt her friends was destroyed as though it were nothing. It made her feel good to think that Naraku would soon be next.

Shippou’s startled yelp snapped her back into reality. Only then did she realize what was happening to her. The brightness pushing back the miasma was coming from her. She was glowing. More than that, she was levitating.

‘Do not be afraid,’ a voice within her being whispered. 'What must be done, must be done. If you fear, you will only cause more pain. Trust in your purpose.'

Kagome hesitated, her eyes lingering on the hanyou.

'Do not be afraid,’ the voice repeated. ‘Do not fear for him.’

'I love him,' Kagome thought in reply. 'How can I not be afraid for him?'

‘Fear will only make it worse. The jewel must be used to destroy the evil. We must do this together,’ the voice said.

Still hesitating, the voice pushed her once more.

‘Their fear and pain will not stop until the jewel is destroyed. Trust in your purpose!’

'My purpose?'

'This is what you were born to do. This is why you exist,' the voice said. 'Do not fear!'

Kagome sensed truth in what the voice told her, but could not allow herself to not worry about the hanyou. Still, she knew she had to try. Gathering her courage, she did her best to believe in what the voice told her.

‘I— I will not fear...’

Submitting herself, Kagome let the presence within her guide her actions. Her thoughts focused onto the Shikon no Tama and it came to her obediently, fusing together to form a perfect sphere and levitating before her. She brought her hands toward it and held it between her open palms, allowing it to spin and float freely. The sphere began to pulse in time with her heartbeat as it slowly changed to a pure white with a dark core of inky black.

As the light began to envelope her and the people around her, a vision suddenly flashed in her mind. She saw the twisted corpse of a young woman whose throat had been torn out. Above her loomed a grotesque youkai with a body shaped like a man, but skin like a snake. It turned toward Kagome and sneered, revealing more of its dragon-like features as it parted its bloodstained lips, pieces of flesh still dangling from its mouth.

In that moment, Kagome knew she was looking at her future. By awakening herself, she had also awoken the beast that had fathered the Shikon no Tama. And it wanted her

A calming darkness flooded Kagome’s mind. She felt herself go numb as the vision was blotted from her mind. The Shikon no Tama was already too saturated with sorrow, pain and fear. It would be impossible to stop now.

Her last conscious thought as one Kagome Higurashi was the hope that Shippou and the others would survive and find happiness someday.

She doubted she would.