#INUYASHA FANFICTION

[dyaz-stories]

who are we to fight the alchemy? || Gojo Satoru x Kagome Higurashi (1)

summary: All Kagome wanted to do was go home, after her friends made her go out to go clubbing. As a result, she had no choice but to go through Shibuya, on Halloween night of all nights.

Sometimes, it only takes one person to change everything.

warnings: canon-typical violence, angst, eventual fluff, eventual romance, fix-it fic (kind of), BAMF Kagome Higurashi, Adult Kagome Higurashi

word count: 6.3k

A/N: this is a crossover pairing I've ben obsessed with recently, so here is the first chapter of a story that's all vibes with little plot. I hope you have fun and it can heal other's hearts after all the harm jjk caused all of us!

Also posted on Ao3 and fanfiction.net if you prefer reading on other websites

All Kagome had wanted to do that night was get home. If anything, she was quietly fuming at the thought that she had, again, let Eri, Ayumi and Yuka talk her into going out, only to be met with thorough disappointment and boredom, and she wanted nothing more than to get back to the comfort of her bed.

Upon coming back from the Feudal Era, she had reveled in the feeling of safety, in the fact she no longer had to risk her life or see her friends be gravely injured, in no longer having the weight of the world on her shoulders, in the mundane pleasures of the modern life. Time had gone by since then, though, with the well never letting her through again, and though she had accepted it and moved on, now…

Well. Now, she may or may not be a little… bored.

The modern world had its oddities, too. Though yokai were few and far between, particularly in Tokyo, as the remaining ones preferred the empty forests and mountains, there were creatures roaming the world. They looked somewhat like yokai, but were unintelligent, for the ones she’d seen, strictly malevolent, and, from what she could tell, non-living.

They also instinctively steered clear of her and, as she’d confirmed for herself, they could not resist even the smallest contact with spiritual energy. No need for spiritual arrows, even coming in contact with her was unbearable for the weaker ones. As for the stronger ones, while they also could not withstand her touch, it was still more efficient to use arrows — but not necessary, not in the way it had been with yokai.

She wasn’t sure what these things were. Since becoming a teacher, she’d gotten used to cleaning the high school of them, as they appeared frequently, and discreetly freeing her students of them. After a few years of that, the school had started to feel… purified, with the creatures’ appearance becoming rarer and rarer.

“The atmosphere feels much better in the school, don’t you think, Higurashi?” one of her colleagues had asked her recently. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s gotten much brighter in here, I think. Even the students feel it!”

She’d hummed and smiled, but hadn’t commented on it.

That was one of the more interesting aspects of her life these days. Going clubbing on Halloween night with her high school friends, on the other hand… wasn’t.

She cursed under her breath as she wedged her way through the crowd outside of Shibuya. Maybe she’d have been better off calling a cab, but her small salary as a teacher, paired with the rising cost of life in Tokyo, meant that she’d be feeling the ripple of that for far too long. So, even if just the thought of the sea of human bodies down there exhausted her, she started making her way down, deep into the belly of the station.

She had just reached the top of the stairs to the last level, where she hoped to catch a subway soon enough, when she felt it.

Something was coming down. She lifted her head, only to be, of course, met with nothing but the ceiling. Even without seeing it, she felt its power extending, caging the whole building, and she felt it sealing as it reached the floor. Her breath caught painfully in her throat, heartbeat racing as she glanced around, trying to understand what was happening.

“Yeah, so I told him— Can you hear me? Hey, do you— Hello? Shit, my call cut off,” a young man muttered beside her.

Soon, everyone was echoing the same feeling — calls cutting off, SMS not sending, no Internet, no signal, no signal, no signal.

And Kagome couldn’t see anything, just try to keep breathing through the oppressive feeling.

She hadn’t experienced something like that since the three days she had spent inside the Jewel. The longest, worst days of her life.

She’d never thought she would have to deal with something like that again. But, unable to move, stuck between the bodies of thousands of others, as everyone slowly came to realize that no trains were coming and they couldn’t leave the building, she felt tears well up in her eyes.

I don’t have time for that, she thought, forcing them back and tightening her jaw to keep her lower lip from trembling. There had to be something she could do, and she refused to stand there, weak and useless, as whatever had caused this to happen decided what to do with them.

Except she couldn’t see anything.

She managed to take a few steps more, craning her neck in hope of spotting something others might not be able to see, when she bumped into a broad man.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, “if I could just—”

“Listen, lady,” he said, turning around a glaring at her, sweat dripping down his forehead, “no one here can move. So just stay where you are until they fix the issue, alright? No need to try anything. Stay in your goddamn place.”

Then he turned his back on her again, and Kagome stared, blinking slowly.

See, it was in moments like that when she regretted not having a big, strong half-demon with anger issues by her side.

Well, that, and whenever she was making herself ramen.

She hoped he’d found something he liked just as much, in the Feudal Era.

Bumping into the man again — one might say, deliberately pushing him, but Kagome would never —, she slipped through the crowd further, out of reach by the time he turned around to shout at her.

“You bitch!”

Asshole.

There were odd things going on, she realized as she got closer to the trails. She couldn’t see them, but she could feel strong presences, exuding the same energy as the creatures she’d been getting rid off for months, except so much stronger it made it hard to breathe, not unlike Naraku’s miasma — except that she seemed to be the only one to feel it.

The spiritual energy swirled inside her, instinctively wanting to rebel against whatever energy that was — not demonic, nor spiritual… what could it be? — and she pushed it down. She hadn’t let it out fully since the first couple of months of her first year of high school. It brought her unnecessary attention, which she didn’t want to deal with back then, and she had never gotten around to letting it out fully. There had been no need, and her emotions were either to reign in when she didn’t let herself experience everything. With her spiritual energy out, she didn’t have a choice to do that. Still, even when under control, it prickled unpleasantly when that energy infested the air.

“Does anyone know what’s going on?” she asked out loud, to no one in particular.

“No clue, but there are some dudes on the tracks,” a woman answered, somewhere in front of her. “Maybe that’s why the trains aren’t coming? The security should hurry up to get them off if that’s the case, though.”

“Some dudes?” a tall man in a suit scoffed. “There is one man there. Anyway, I heard the security is waiting for someone to come.”

“Who?” Kagome asked, frowning in confusion. She could not imagine how one man was necessary here.

“Gojo Satoru,” he replied with a shrug. “No clue who that is, though. Heard someone saying that.”

Okay. Very odd. Sounded like a trap for that guy, whoever he is, if you asked her, but there wasn’t much she could do about it from where she, and the doors to the tracks were shut close, which left her with another choice.

Going back.

Whatever it was that she felt fall earlier, she could at least try undoing it. If it was similar in nature to the weird energy of the creatures, it wouldn’t last long in front of her anyway.

Problem was, of course, that everyone was trying to leave, and there just wasn’t any space to go. She managed to make around twenty meters before getting stuck again, back at the bottom of the stairs.

This was starting to get annoying. If Inuyasha was there, she’d hop on his shoulders and they’d jump over the crowd. If Kirara was around, she’d fly over the scene and away from here. If Sango was here, well, she’d probably start mowing down the crowd with her Hiraikkotsu.

Kami, she missed her friends.

“What’s he doing up there?” yet another anonymous voice in the crowd asked.

Tilting her head all the way back, Kagome squinted to try and figure out what is was she was seeing.

If her eyes weren’t betraying her, high up there, where she thought the ground floor of Shibuya was, there was a man. Floating in the air.

She’d seen such things before, of course, but these were yokai. That man, though even from where she was she could tell that there was something incredibly powerful about him, was decidedly human.

And, as she slowly realized because the silhouette was growing closer, coming down.

Fast.

Right above her.

Surely, he wasn’t going to…?

Nope, he definitely was. She ducked with a shriek before his shoe came in contact with her face, and watched as he stepped onto some guy’s head instead, then jumping through the crowd before disappearing behind the gates protecting the rails.

Could that be Gojo Satoru? The guy that was supposed to save everyone here? Really?

Well, she supposed having the power to fly was a step in the right direction — no pun intended — but she did wonder if he could be trusted to save them.

Though, again, she once knew a boy with a heart of gold who would have saved everyone here while absolutely stomping all over them and yelling insults at the people under him too, so maybe she shouldn’t be so prompt to judge.

She still couldn’t move, could only crane her neck and try to glimpse what was happening. And things were happening, which made it all the more frustrating. She could hear the screams, as the gates to the tracks opened and people fell down, she could feel the energy’s rise and fall, she could see a blueish aura developing, become stronger. She both heard and felt, deep in her bones, as one of the things that was never really alive died, and it tugged at her heart in a way it never had before. Somewhere, she thought, a leaf had weathered and died.

She couldn’t explain it though, couldn’t explain anything that was going on there — and things only got worse from there.

She’d stayed composed, mostly, as things went crazier, even she didn’t understand a thing. Fear may have been running through her veins, but it was a feeling she was once used to, and she found that that wasn’t the kind of things you just forgot.

As a train started to approach though, slowing down not far from her, fear was replaced by absolute horror.

She could see the souls seeping out of it, contorting, bent into abnormal shapes, sobbing and begging to anyone who could hear them, for freedom.

Souls weren’t things she usually saw. Sometimes, she noticed someone with a very large one, and she wondered what their story was, if it was anything like hers, but for most people, their shapes espoused their bodies perfectly — they were right where they belonged.

She choked a sob, and it was only when she felt the tears slide down her cheeks that she realized she was crying.

She tried to take a step back, bumped against another body, didn’t comprehend the person’s protest.

Her head

spins.

These

are

all

people.

 The subway doors opened slowly, and all Kagome could do was watch as the horrible, misshaped humans with the screaming souls poured out, tearing into the other humans who stood in their paths. One of them rushed towards her, and she grabbed onto it, hands tightening onto its shoulders as it tried to bite her face off.

As she was falling, she felt its body shift under her hands.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered quietly to the young woman whose dead body remained in her arms, as her soul was freed. She saw it shiver, taking back its true form, before floating towards the exit of the station — hopefully, it would be free to do so.

Around her, there was nothing but chaos. The humans that were no longer humans ripping into the ones that still were, bodies falling from the upper floors and coming to crash down near her. She didn’t have time to mourn any of those deaths, nor did she have the power to do much, not as she was. She wished that she had her bow and arrows with her, but they were forgotten in a corner of her grandpa’s shed, where she hadn’t stepped foot in months, maybe years.

That meant she had nothing to channel her spiritual energy into. The only choice that left her, she thought as she slowly rose back to her feet, abandoning the woman’s dead body on the floor, was to let her spiritual energy flow out.

It had been so long since she’d last done that, though, that she had no idea where to start. She had spent so many years repressing that side of her, only using it to protect her students and loved ones, trying to dismiss the years she’d spent in the Feudal Era, trying to fit in and be normal and forget… How could she let it out again, even if she wanted to?

No choice, though, she repeated to herself, clenching her fists. Another monster jumped on her, and with a gentle touch she set it to rest, doing her best to accompany the body of the old man to the floor. Then came a businessman, and a teenager, and a middle-aged woman with a round face, and Kagome couldn’t figure out what to do, not when they kept coming, and they were all people, all with their own lives, their own loved ones, and her eyes burned, and her heart ached, and she needed it all to—

Stop.

When the world froze, she didn’t understand what was happening.

She saw a dash of white to her left, and realized, slowly, that everyone around her had gone completely and utterly still. Former humans, humans, even the oddly shaped creatures she could spot now that the world had gone quiet. She took a step forward, then another.

Nothing moved, except — except that white bolt, running through the people, piercing through the former humans.

It was the man she’d seen earlier, she realized.

Had she been right about his identity then?

Was he Gojo Satoru?

She walked through a world gone still. She could feel, distantly, something pushing against her mind, trying to get in, but the spiritual energy inside her would never let it. It was an instinctive thing, a refusal, and she knew that whatever was happening outside of her just wasn’t compatible with what was going on inside.

She had so many questions, not even the beginning of an answer, but she let them go, walking slowly in the frozen space, bending down to brush her fingers against the back of former humans to get their bodies to turn back into their rightful form. They deserved to find rest as they had existed.

One of them was a young girl, wearing a Sailor Moon costume. She had to have gone out to have fun tonight — and her life had not only been cut short, but horrifically so, through pains Kagome could not even begin to imagine. She bent down, picking up the magical girl staff that was hung at her waist. It was a silly thing, nothing like Miroku’s staff, but holding it like it was a weapon gave her a little bit of strength.

She needed magic too, tonight.

She walked between an odd young man — who she knew was no man at all — with long grey hair and stitches all over his body and face, and a blue creature with what could best be described as a volcano for a head. She didn’t touch them, knew right away that they were not the same as the ones she had gotten rid of at her high school. She needed more information, and that meant that, at least for now, she would not risk making contact.

Plus, there was something by a pillar that had caught her attention.

Well, it didn’t feel like something. Her eyes told her it was a box, but she picked up nothing from it.

No, not nothing — less than nothing, a void, a black hole, an emptiness in a world where nothing was truly empty. It was off, in the same bizarre, fucked up way this whole situation was off, and once more, she couldn’t figure out what on earth was going on here.

The white bolt appeared again on the stairs on the other side of her, on the opposite side of the place through which he’d left, still tearing through the former humans, finally getting to the last one, a couple meters away from her. He didn’t pay any attention to her, probably assuming she was frozen like the rest. The second the head was torn off, the world switched back on.

Kagome looked at him. There was blood all over his clothes and hands, dripping from a spot on his cheek. The bluest eyes she’d ever seen appeared to shine under white locks of hair that clung to his forehead. He was panting painfully, shoulders slinking down with each exhale, chest rising up and down. He was a handsome man, but that wasn’t what stuck out to her right now. No, she thought of how he looked tired. She thought of how he had just allowed the souls of hundreds, maybe of thousands of those humans to go free, and carried that burden on his shoulders forever now. She thought of all the people that were alive now, thanks to him. She thought of how he’d done it all alone, and her heart ached.

All of her important battles, she’d fought with all of her friends by her side.

His eyes darted to the box, which was sitting between him and her, and all of a sudden, eyes snap open on the box, as the nothingness around it expanded.

The white-haired man’s eyes widened, and he spun around, starting to get away — when another man appeared. Long black hair, traditional clothing, stitches on his forehead, and something so deeply, deeply wrong about him that even after everything she’d seen that night, it still made Kagome’s stomach churn.

“Satoru!” he said cheerfully, confirming Kagome’s suspicions about the man’s identity. “Long time no see.”

The white-haired man froze, and almost right as that happened, the box started to shake.

Kagome’s body moved on instinct. Her gut telling her that something bad was about to happen, her knowledge that she could stop it, her deep conviction the white-haired man deserved to have someone on his side, it all took over, and she couldn't have stopped to think about it if she wanted to.

Just as the box was launching itself forward, she’d stepped in front of it, raising a hand. Her back collided with that of the white-haired man, so she was certain whatever was coming wouldn’t get in contact with him, another unconscious decision. Since she didn’t have anything to channel her energy into, all she could do was raise the Sailor Moon staff she’d grabbed earlier. It wasn’t anything much, but she could still push her energy through there, using it to shape it as she wished to — until she figured how to actually let it out.

“Kekkai!”

Barriers had never been her specialty. Kikyo and Miroku might have excelled at them, but her powers mostly manifested in an offensive way, not defensive. In this case though, she only wanted to shield the two of them, not a whole building, like she’d tried — and failed — to do at her school a few times. This was much more within her capabilities, even with such a small staff as her only tool.

The box shrieked like it was in pain when it hits the barrier, and her spiritual energy started pouring into the barrier, through the staff, as it purified it. A lesser priestess could have been drained in an instant. Kagome? She felt energized. As the power left her body, used as it was intended to, it felt like she finally had room to breathe.

The box fell to the floor, eyes closed again. Defeated, if only for now. Around it, space was back to normal.

Wow. Not too bad for someone who sucked at barriers, huh?

“Are you okay?” she asked, whirling around to look at the man, a hand naturally coming to rest on his shoulder.

She was met with wide blue eyes that seemed to be able to look straight through to her soul. They were cautious, inquisitive, something cold about them, but more than anything, they were curious.

“You’re conscious,” he noted, tilting his head to the side, fascination growing more and more obvious on his face.

Well, yeah, of course she was, she thought at first — until she realized, glancing around them, that all the humans looked frozen in place, bodies slack though they were still standing, mouths open, eyes dull and empty.

Why…?

“A priestess,” the man with the black hair said thoughtfully. “I thought you were all extinct.”

They weren’t, and she knew for a fact that she was far from the last one. Despite that, she doubted that this was an information she should be giving him, so she held her tongue, even if she wanted nothing more than to throw in his face how wrong he was. The white-haired man turned to face him, deliberately placing himself between him and Kagome, as if shielding her from him.

“Now that that’s dealt with,” he said, tone light and breezy, “how about you tell me who you are?”

The man’s eyes remained cold, but the corner of his lips lifted to form a smile — one that appeared quite painful to put up. Kagome wasn’t sure what was going on here, but if she had to guess, she’d say she might have thrown a wrench in that dude’s plans.

Good.

“You know me too well to ask that, Satoru,” he said. His tone was soft.

Satoru scoffed.

“Please. As if I’d be fooled.” His eyes hardened, and Kagome could feel his muscles clenching. He was preparing to throw himself into battle. “My Six Eyes might be telling me you’re Geto Suguru, but my heart and soul know otherwise. Who are you?”

Six Eyes…? Oh, whatever. That seemed pretty low on the list of her priorities right now, actually.

The man started to raise a hand, but let it fall back down to his side.

“Maybe we’ll have that conversation again, at a later time, Satoru,” he said sweetly. “For now, I’m afraid we’ll have to backtrack.”

“Are you kidding me?” the volcano dude hissed, not far from him. “Is that it? Just because some bitch appeared?”

Rude.

“I don’t know who he’s supposed to be,” Kagome said, tiptoeing to try and get closer to Satoru’s ear so he could hear her, “but there’s a presence in his head.”

He glanced at her over his shoulder, blue eyes filled with confusion now.

“How can you know that?”

Kami. Why was everyone intent on being so disrespectful to her tonight?

“No time for this, Jogo,” the black haired man — Geto, was it? — chimed. “I would advise you leave while you can.”

Satoru spun back around.

“None of you are leaving this place,” he announced calmly.

In just an instant, he was gone from in front of Kagome, launching himself at both Jogo and Geto, with a speed that made it impossible for her to follow. Her eyes left the fight once it looked to her like he could take both of them at once, and focused instead on the third bystander — the one with the grey hair.

He looked at the fight with vague interest, and she thought he might not be as invested in the result as the others, maybe not as dangerous as the rest — until he walked to one of the frozen humans, a woman with a long dress and short black hair, and she saw the shape of her soul and body change into something that couldn’t be recognized as a human.

When he let go of her, the woman, who looked nothing like a woman now, threw herself into the fight. It took less than a second for Satoru to kill her, but already the grey-haired non-human was moving on to the next one.

Changing these people’s bodily integrity, wounding them so deep in their very essence they couldn’t survive it, all to kill them.

Something started burning within Kagome.

“You’re the one who’s been doing that to those poor souls,” she hissed between her teeth.

He glanced at her, eyes widening as a big smile formed on his lips.

“You can see souls?” he asked, sounding genuinely delighted. “Finally someone who can appreciate what I’m doing!”

“Appreciate?” She was trembling with anger. She felt her spiritual energy banging against the walls of her mind, the ones she didn’t remember how to lower fully, as had been natural to her when she was a teenager, and she could feel them getting ready to collapse. “You destroyed them. All they can hope for now is death. You’re a monster.”

He laughed, light and happy, and his eyes were warm when they focused on her.

“Thank you,” he hummed. “Maybe you’ll appreciate what I’m going to do to you?”

He was in front of her before she could blink.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m sure Gojo will kill you soon. But before that, I’m going to make you so, so disgusting.”

Both of his hands closed over her face, almost delicately, as if he was cradling a small animal within them.

Almost immediately, she felt him pull on her soul. It wasn’t a new feeling exactly, not to her, though his attempts at shaping it were. She could tell it was expanding, knew, on some level, that in order to fit her body, it was forced to make itself smaller than it was. That was what that old witch had said, too — her soul was much, much larger than usual.

She heard him let out a sound of surprise.

“Oh,” he commented, obviously delighted, “oh, I’m going to have so much fun with you! Maybe I’ll keep you!”

As he pulled at her soul, she could feel his — if you could even call that a soul. She could see all the shapes it had been forced into, found it distended and fragile and about to tear. More than anything, she found it repulsive. It tried, clumsily, to change hers. But she was never going to let anything or anyone else toy with her soul, ever again.

“Get you filthy hands off my soul,” she snarled, wrapping her fingers around his wrists.

She would never have bested him in a purely physical fight, but this wasn’t one, and he was the only one to blame.

He was laughing at first as she forced him back.

Then the laughter turned into screams.

“It burns!” he protested, like a child discovering fire for the first time. “Stop it, it burns!”

She could feel it, too, her spiritual energy piercing through him as easily as a knife through butter. She forced him to his knees, and as he looked up at her, eyes terrified now, she knew he saw it. Her soul, wrapping itself around her in a wide sphere, dwarfing him and his poor excuse of a soul completely.

“That’s… beautiful,” he whispered.

Even then, he couldn’t resist trying to change it, couldn’t help himself. And so, as Kagome called it back to her, felt its warmth as it invested her body completely, she felt no guilt, no shame, not even rage anymore.

She was merely doing what needed to be done. This creature was an anomaly existing to cause chaos. It wasn’t a yokai that played its own part in nature, not a human, not even truly living. A plant warranted more respect than this.

So, through her palms, she pushed her spiritual energy on him, in him, ignored the burning it caused her. Through and through, with no regards for the amount of energy she used, she purified him. There was so much pain inside of him, and she let it pass through her, let it turn back into what it was, just an emotion, just something human that should have always stayed that way, never taken that form.

When she reached the end, all there was left was a sense of relief.

He smiled at her.

“That’s not so bad,” he whispered before vanishing.

Kagome fell to her knees, heaving. It had been years since she’d last used her powers like that. Glancing down at her hands, she saw her palms were red and burnt, and she closed her trembling fingers over them carefully.

It took her long seconds of trying to regulate her breathing and to calm down the energy within her — which was telling her it wanted out, still so much left inside her, no matter how much of it she had just used up — before she realized how quiet the station had gotten.

Glancing up, she saw Satoru approaching her, lips twisted into a annoyed expression.

“Where—” She realized her mouth was painfully dry, swallowed. “Where are…?”

“Geto’s gone,” he said, clicking his tongue. “Used the other one to escape.”

He’d gotten rid of Jogo, which had barely been a work-out, but whatever or whoever was puppeteering his friend’s body had managed to escape him.

Which delayed the moment when he’d kill it. He couldn’t say that thrilled him.

“Now,” he said, ridding himself of those thoughts to crouch in front of her. “Tell me. Who are you?”

She blinked at him.

“Kagome,” she answered. “Kagome Higurashi.”

He studied her. The name was unfamiliar, not any exorcist family he’d ever heard of. On top of that, she didn’t produce any cursed energy. It was almost reminiscent of Fushiguro Toji — except Toji had been a void, and she definitely wasn’t one. Whatever she exuded was warm and gentle.

“You’re not an exorcist,” he said finally.

“Well,” she said, glancing up at the ceiling thoughtfully, “I’ve dealt with ghosts and yokai — demons, if you’d like. So, I guess technically, you could say I am an exorcist…?”

She watched as a wide grin formed on his lips. Reaching up behind him, he wrapped a blindfold around his face, hiding his eyes.

“He called you a priestess, though, didn’t he?” he asked, fiddling behind his head to tie it.

“I guess you could say that too,” she shrugged. It wasn’t like she’d ever spent that much time working at a temple. Really, it was just a title to describe her ability, one she didn’t feel that strongly about. “I’ve been called a miko, too, but— I’m sorry, do you need help with that?”

He stilled his awkward attempts at tying the thing behind his head, examining her — she thought — from behind what looked like a thick blindfold.

Odd. Very odd, in fact, but so low on the list of ‘odd’ she’d dealt with today that it would feel silly to ask about it.

“My oh my,” he said once he’d gotten his bearings back, “is that what you’re into, then? Blindfolding guys you’ve just met?”

Oh God. She might have missed Miroku, but not nearly enough to be happy that this was where he was going right away.

“Now, when you said yokai, were you talking about curses?” he asked, having apparently succeeded with his blindfold.

“What do you mean ‘curses’?” she frowned, mind immediately going to the Wind Tunnel. “I’ve known people who were cursed, but I mostly meant… Well. Yokai.”

“Alright, Kagome,” he said, and her brow furrowed some more at the immediate familiarity. “I’m going to have a lot more questions for you, but I think my people are going to get here soon, and it’s probably better if you’re not here when they get there.”

Ominous. Another question to add to the list.

“What do we say we get out of here?” he asked, shooting her a cocky grin.

“Um. Sure, but how do you— Ah!”

Without a warning, he’d pulled her to her feet and, wrapping a strong arm around her waist, he’d pressed her against him as he— took off, basically. It wasn’t her first time flying, but it still caught her off guard. She wrapped her arms around his neck without giving it a second a thought, almost jumped back when he let out an outraged gasp.

“We’ve just met!” he protested with fake modesty. “Do you always hug strangers?”

She glared, tightening her hold so she didn’t feel like she’d fall down the second he’d let go.

“Do you?”

He let out a light laugh as he flew up. He kept her tightly pressed against his hard chest, arm not once faltering. He might have been a stranger, but for the first time since the beginning of the night, Kagome felt fully safe.

Eventually, they made it out of the building and he distanced himself from it, taking her to a nearby rooftop.

“Alright then,” he said, setting her down. “Call a cab.”

She groaned. After the way she’d spent her evening, it felt very, very unfair to have to live on a teacher’s salary.

He watched her as she reluctantly got her phone out, then sighed while she stared at it.

“Do you want me to call you one?” he asked.

Did she? If he was like Miroku, she’d never hear the end of it. On the other hand, well, she didn’t know what that weird box thing was, but she didn’t think it would have helped him, so…

“So, you’re an exorcist, right?” she questioned, looking at him. “Does that pay well?”

He seemed surprised for a second, then laughed again, throwing his head back as if she’d said the funniest thing ever.

“I can’t complain,” he said, pulling out his phone and pressing a few touches on the screen. “They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Thanks,” she sighed. “It was nice meeting you…?”

“Gojo Satoru.” Then he paused, as if for dramatic effect, and his grin widened when she didn’t react. “Well, I’ll be in touch, Ka-go-me,” he said, stretching her name as if he was testing out how it felt on his tongue.

She opened her mouth to ask him a question — she wasn’t even sure which one, there were so many on her ever-growing list, but before she could, he’d raised a hand, and then he’d vanished. She didn’t think he’d run, though, no, he was just— gone. There one second, away the next.

She had no idea what on earth had been tonight.

The news talked about some sort of terror attack in Shibuya that night. She let herself weep then, mourning all the lives that were lost, wishing them a safe travel to the other side, hoping the next life would prove kinder to them.

She knew she would not have that long to get used to those thoughts, to that world that she had only caught glimpses of until then. She knew that whatever had started in Shibuya, this was only the beginning.

Next time, she would need to be ready.

“So you’re saying that Geto Suguru, whose body you refused to have destroyed last year, has come back, possibly as a curse himself, and was responsible for the attack on Shibuya?”

Gojo scratched the back of his head, failed to stifle a yawn.

“It wasn’t Geto Suguru,” he answered with a shrug. ‘A presence in his head’, Kagome had said. Not that he had any clue what it meant, of course. He’d had to look into that, but he couldn’t do that while these old farts kept interrogating him about something none of them could have even hoped to achieve. “Are we done here?”

“We’ll see what the consequences are for your actions, which have endangered all the lives of those living in Tokyo, will be,” the distant voice boomed. “For now, we have one more question.”

On a screen, a camera recording of Kagome appeared.

“This woman. While we lost sight of her, it appeared she was not affected by the use of your domain extension. Who is she?”

Gojo stared at the screen with fake concentration.

“Oh, that’s what I forgot to do! I didn’t ask her that.”

There was heavy silence on the other side.

“We will find her identity,” the voice threatened. “You are only delaying the inevitable.”

“Well, you should tell me once you do! I sure would like to know who she is, too,” Gojo answered with a shrug. “Now, if we’re done here, some of us are actually working hard, and need to rest.”

He waved as he turned his back on the Higher-Ups, moving towards the doors with some wide strides. They didn’t bother answering him, and he didn’t bother looking back. He could have been worried about Kagome, but all they had to go off of was the grainy footage of a damaged surveillance camera. On top of that, even if they tried to find a better picture somewhere, doing that while looking at the footage of Shibuya on Halloween night would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Maybe they’d be able to pull it off eventually, but it would take them time.

He was sure that he would get to her first.

It's been a while since I had as much fun writing a fic as I did this one! I'm super excited for this pairing and I have a ton of ideas for them. This story is really just so I get to write for them before I finish outlining other ideas I have for him that will have a little more plot than this. I hope you liked this, please consider supporting your writer (me, I'm your writer) by reblogging, commenting and/or sending me an ask about it! I thrive on interaction, and also I would LOVE to talk about this pairing. See you in the next chapter!

[daddys-silly-little-gem]

Passionate Morning

Husband! Sesshomaru x Wife! Reader

Rated: M

The sun has just begun to rise over the mountains on the horizon. The clouds were a beautiful painting of orange, pink, and purple. You were in a delightful daze, just staring at the beautiful sight that you were greeted with every morning. You shifted slightly and you sighed in contentment. You never would've imagined having a demon lover as beautiful as he was, let alone a crowned prince turned king.

Just as you thought about him, he moved just barely behind you, making you look over your shoulder at him. Honestly, you were shocked that he was even in the bed, he'd usually be moving around the castle, or he'd be wandering across the lands on the quest for power. You stared at him for a moment over your shoulder. He was laying on his back, his Mokomoko laying under his head. Not a hair was out of place, he looked like a true sleeping prince. He wore a simple, yet elegant resting kimono.

You could've stared at him all day, but you were basking in the aftermath of waking up from a good night's sleep, so you laid back down, and you got comfortable, shifting yourself until you were laying on your side, and you sighed once more as you closed your eyes, the edges of sleep creeping in to take you back under. But the feeling of a large, powerful hand could be felt gently ghosting over your curves. It started at your hip, and it trailed up your waist, ever so slowly. You gently chuckled at the feeling. You felt him shift closer to you, the bed dipping in under you as he sat up on his elbow and leaned over you.

He trailed his nose up the side over your neck, and you raised your head up, allowing him to do as he pleased. "Good morning, my love. I assume you sleep well?" He asked, his deep voice made your insides tingle and you slightly shivered. You hummed at his words before you answered. "Yes, I did. I'm surprised you're here this morning." You said as you continued to lay on your side. He hummed in acknowledgment at your words. "This Sesshomaru, decided to stay the night with you. For I fear that I haven't been doing that enough with you." He admitted as he placed a gentle kiss on your neck.

You smiled sweetly at his words. "Thank you." You said sincerely. The fact that he decided to stay with you because he felt that way, made your heart flutter. He lightly growled in response as he began laying gentle kisses along your neck, his hand running up and down your waist. The tips of his nails brushed the underside of your breast gently, but the slight prickly feeling of them made you moan. His gentle kisses on your neck trailed up to your jaw and you turned your head towards him in response. You both stared at each other. Yours clashing with his honey golden ones. They were always so pretty in the glow of the sunrise.

"You're ever so beautiful, for This Sesshomaru is a lucky demon." He said, his eyes tracing your face. You smiled softly at his words, he always made you fall back in love with him all over again. You shifted onto your back, and you gently caressed his face. Not a blemish in sight on his ageless face. It almost made you sad to know that you only had about 70-80 years with this man. But if you could come back, then you'd always love him in every lifetime. The hand that was on your waist grabbed your hand that was on his cheek, and he closed his eyes and he turned his head to gently kiss your hand.

Your heart never ceased to never not flutter by his small yet meaningful actions. He held your hand a little longer, before he let it go and he adjusted himself to lean over you. His hair gently slid off his shoulders, making a curtain of beautiful silky white locks. He stared down at you for a moment before he leaned down and he claimed your lips. You moaned gently into the kiss, it nearly took your breath away every time he kissed you. Your hands slowly wrapped around his neck, pulling him down closer to you.

Your lips molded together perfectly, your tongues twirled and curled around each other's, the tips of his fangs presses slightly into your lips, it always seemed to remind you that you were waltzing at death's door, but his tender stares and touches always made you crave for that danger. One of his hands moved down without your knowledge, but the large palming of his hand on your breast made you moan slightly louder and you pressed up into his palm. His mouth detached from yours, and a string of saliva connected you together for a moment before it broke.

He gazed down at you, watching as you slightly huffed from the lack of oxygen, your lips plush and full from the kiss, your eyes hazy with lust and want as you stared up at him. His inner beast growled in success at the sight of you. He looked down at where your resting kimono crossed over your chest. Through your sleep, the fabric separated itself, and he could see the valley between your breasts. His hand moved from your breast and up to the fold. He gently parted it with his claws, before he slipped his hand into your clothes.

With a firm pull, he revealed your soft body to his piercing gaze. You looked away from him in embarrassment, and you took your arms from around his neck, but you didn't cover yourself from him, as he didn't like it when you did that. Instead, you lay your arms down next to your head. He looked up at you, his eyes reading your very being down to your soul. "Don't shy away from me. For This Sesshomaru, wishes to see you in your glory." He said. Your cheeks warmed at his words before you timidly looked over at him. You've both laid in bed together for a few years now, but you always wanted to hide from him, your silent insecurities always making you second-guess your beauty. But he always reassured you, that you were just simply too beautiful for even him to put into words.

His gaze softened when you looked up at him. He kept his gaze locked with yours as he leaned down to your breast. "Keep your eyes on me, for This Sesshomaru is possessive of your beautiful gaze." He said, before he latched onto one of your nipples. You jumped at the stimulating feeling of his warm mouth enveloping your nipple. The tips of his fangs scrapped over your nipple and his tongue lapped at it, the attention made you whine and moan as your breathing picked up. Your gaze was squinted but you kept your eyes on him as your head turned to the side. One of your hands slipped up his shoulder while the other slipped into his hair. He stayed on that breast for a moment longer before he dragged his lips to your other breast.

The attention he gave you every time you both had sex, was always so intoxicating. He'd treat you like the finest piece of China, making you lose all your modesty, turning you into a crude woman. Your moans bounced off the white walls of your bedroom, his low growls making your chest tremble with excitement. When he finally pulled back, you were a painting mess, your kimono practically open, the only thing keeping it together was the thin tie around your waist, hiding your most precious part from him. He stared down at your moist chest, his saliva coated you, mixing his scent with yours, as it should be.

He looked down at the tie around your waist, and he nearly growled in irritation as he realize that your precious body was hidden from him. "Lord Sesshomaru.." Came your voice. He looked up at you, waiting for you to continue. "Please, My Lord. Please take me, pull me under your spell and never let me go." You pleaded. He stared at you for a moment before he traced your cheek gently. "You never need to beg me, for I shall always come to your becking call." He said. Your dazed eyes softened at him and you held his hand to your cheek as you nuzzled into his palm. His stare softened and he lightly growled. You smiled, it was so light, till it almost sounded like he was purring. He pulled his hand from your face, as he sat up straight. Your arms pulled from him as you rested them on either side of your head.

He looked down at the tie and he moved to loosen it. With a few tugs, the tie loosened and he pulled it from your body, dropping it on the ground. His hands laid on your waist and he rubbed his hands up and down gently. You hummed at the light massage. His firm yet gentle hold was comforting. He picked at the fabric and he pulled your clothes open, revealing you completely to him. Your legs pressed together, as you hid from him and he frowned. "What have I told you." He said, his voice slightly crossed as he grabbed each thigh in his hand.

You tensed up and you presses your thighs closer together. "Don't hide from me. Your everything belongs to This Sesshomaru." He said in a possessive tone as he pulled your legs apart effortlessly. You yelped in slight surprise as he pulled your legs wide apart, revealing your moistness to him. You whined in embarrassment but the heat pulsed through you as you watched his hungry gaze linger on you. You watched as he licked his lips like a beast who was about to feast.

Your core clenched and his eyes sharpened at the sight of it. His hands moved down your thighs and under your hips. You yelped when he pulled you down towards him, your back practically laying on his lap, as your hips were angled up to his mouth. He leaned down close to your core, and took in a deep breath and he exhaled with a deep shaking sigh. You whined from the embarrassment as you covered your face.

"Don't smell me there, I haven't bathed yet." You whined out. "This Sesshomaru prefers this scent, it's your most natural state." He growled out. You whined in response, but you moaned out loud when his tongue flattened out over your core and he licked up to your clit. Your core clenched and unclenched as he continued his long strokes. Your hands gripped the fabric of his pants and the sheets as your hips jutted up in humps against his mouth. He kept a firm grip on your hips as his tongue dug deep into your core and his nose brushed over your clit.

You felt the pressure building, and you knew what was coming. Your moaning grew in pitch and your hips began to roll more frantically. The clenching of your core around his tongue made his cock twitch as he gave a low hum. He pulled his tongue out and he latched onto your clit, he sucked and flicked his tongue over it. Your body tensed up and your eyes widen as your vision faded to white and your moan poured out uncontrollably as you thrust in time with your climax. His eyes rolled some before he closed his eyes. Your orgasm lasted a little longer before you slacked against him.

Your breathing was heavy as you rested on his lap. You whined in sensitivity as he continued to lap at your clit, drunk off the overwhelming scent of your release. He pulled off with a pleased sigh as he sniffed the air. "This scent is intoxicating. I can't ever seem to get enough of it. " he said as he pulled back, he laid your hips back down. You were once more on the bed, your legs wide as they lay around his hips. He stared down at you for a moment before he pulled open his kimono. His strength could be seen in his lean and toned muscles that lay upon his perfect body. The magenta markings on his cheeks lay upon his waist and his forearms.

You could never get tired of seeing his beautiful body. No scarring, no marks, just a plain field of unmarked skin. He leaned back over you, his hands on either side of your head, his hair all fell to one side of his body, forming another thick curtain of silky white locks. He dropped down onto his elbows and he leaned down to press a kiss against your neck. You lifted your head up, giving him access and he growled in appreciation. He kissed your pulse before he licked heavily up the collum of your neck.

It was a ritual at this point, he always had to remark you after a few months once the scarring healed from his bite. It always hurts, but the aftermath was always forgiving. You felt his fangs rub against your skin and you relaxed, you learned that tensing up made the pain worsen. But you were pleasantly surprised when you felt the head of his cock rubbing against the opening of your core. You looked down in question, but he suddenly bit down while also trusting into you and your back arched and you painfully yet also pleasuringly gasped out. Your hands tangled into his hair as he thrust into you at an even yet rough pace, your hands tangled tighter into his hair and his fangs gently pulled out from your wound.

He licked the wound, pouring some of his salivae into it to heal it faster, while his thrusts slightly picked up speed. You moaned and gasped as you held onto him tightly. Your legs locked around his waist and he groaned at the position change. He slipped in deeper and he was able to hold you closer. Tears pricked in your eyes as you threw your head back into the mattress, the slapping of your hips connecting echoed out through the room. One of his hands slipped under your body, while the other stayed on its elbow, he presses your chest up into his chest. The thumping of your heart could be felt and he groaned at the feeling of it.

The thumbing of your heart, matched the clenching of your core around his cock. He always felt more connected to you when he had you like this. Writhing under his mercy, lost in your own world of pleasure, the pleasure that he was causing. He felt empowered, yet he also felt vulnerable, he felt like you knew what he was feeling. The way his breathing was slowly becoming erratic, the way his heart beats against your chest, the way his cock would twitch in time with your clenching. He felt open, yet it felt good. To be vulnerable around someone without having to worry about you using it against him.

He loved that, and he craved it. More than he could've ever thought that he would. 'Perhaps, this is why father loved Izayoi more than mother.' He thought as he angled his hips up more and you nearly yelled from the strong stroke of his cock against your g-spot. The small patch of meat deep inside of your core was grazed and your breathing picked up, your hips met his halfway as your end was coming closer. His grip on you tighten as his lips latched onto your neck, kissing everywhere he could reach. He gave a shakily groan at the feeling of your core tightening. His thrusts became faster and stronger. Your body bounced from the strength of his thrusts, your head bobbing as you loudly moaned.

"It's... It's coming." You warned him in a shaky voice. He groaned in acknowledgment at your words. "I... I can't hold it... Anymore." You whined as your core began to pulse. "Then let go, I won't let you get far." He responded. Your brows tightened and your mouth went slack as your orgasm hit you hard. Your moans sounded out with each pulse and he slightly slowed his thrusts, he didn't want to hurt you as you tightened up around him. He growled out lowly, as he helped you ride out your orgasm. Your body went slack as your grip on him loosens. Your breathing came out in heavy pants as you huffed. He looked down at you, his stare was wild with lust but the love was mixed in it.

He pulled out from your sensitive core and you whined from the feeling. His cock was still hard, as it glistened in your liquids. He grabbed your arms and firmly pulled you up before he flipped you by your waist onto your front. You immediately got into position. Up on your knees, hips angled up, legs spread. You were used to him needing to go longer, his stamina far surpassed your own, but you never complained. You loved serving him, it was one of the many ways you showed your love to him.

He gently held your waist with one of his hands while his other guided him into your moist caverns. He grunted as he pushed back in while you whined. He bottomed out and he sighed before he grip your hips in his hands and he began his thrusting once more. Your body rocked as you moaned weakly, your hips slightly trusted back, the feeling of another climax already building once more. He grunted at the tightening of your core. "Already so close to another one are we?" He light-heartedly taunted you. You whined in response. "Your body's sensitivity is always so fun to explore." He said as he traced his hand up and down your back, your sweat from your first orgasm made your skin dewy yet beautiful.

"The paleness of my skin against yours is simply divine." He breathed out as he admired your skin tones clashing against one another. You listened to his words, but you couldn't respond as the feeling of his cock seeming to swell within you made your eyes roll back. He grunted and his gaze narrowed. His knot was inflating and he was catching onto your core, he was getting close to his own end. The fuzzy feeling of his orgasm climbing up his cock and through his body made him shiver in anticipation. He usually lasted longer than this, but it's been a while, so he's a little pent-up. He grabbed your hips, and he picked up his speed, chasing his orgasm with hard yet quick thrusts. Your ass jiggled from his powerful thrusts, the softness always reminding him how fragile you were.

Your hand came up next to your head and you gripped the sheets in your fist as you felt another, stronger orgasm coming. You tried to warn him, but you couldn't form words. But the shaking of your hips and the clenching of your core was enough of a warning. He gave a rather loud groan as he released your hip, he leaned over your body, his hands pressing into the mattress as he slammed his hips into you from behind. He clenched his eyes tight as he felt his end coming, but he refused to finish before you did.

But he didn't have to wait long before your shaky moans grew loud and your vision faded out as a powerful orgasm tore through you. You clenched tightly around his cock and his hips studdered as his thrust became sloppy. His knot swelled up and he pressed himself against your back. He grunted with each squirt of cum that went into your waiting body. The clenching of your core was enough stimulation. Once your orgasm ended, your body began to slope down, but he quickly gripped your hips once more, the knot locking you both together. You both painted, yours heavier than his as you both basked in your afterglow.

He fell to his side, taking you with him, holding you close. His knot is going to stay that way for a while, so he might as well get comfortable. You laid upon his Mokomoko, the fluffy fur was always so soft and warm. You felt it wrap around both of your bodies, its fluffiness acting as a blanket as it covered your nakedness. You slowly opened your eyes and you stared out the window. The once orange, pink, and purple sunrise was now a yellow, white, and blue sky. You stared at it a little longer, before you closed your eyes again, and you fell back to sleep. Finally getting that extra morning nap.

[moonkissedart]

To @shinidamachu, because your kind words to everyone make you special! ❤️😘

This was inspired by Kiss Me, which takes place after the kiss of the second movie. It’s really sweet and fluffy 🥹😍

[yu-huuuu]

Any opinions on a soft yandere Sesshomaru? 👀

[🌸] ay mi ciela 🦅

warnings: yanderishhh— and thoughts

characters: sesshomaru;; some character mentions  

haha :b… wHAT—

- - -

-okwy, okay, okay, okay

-hear me out… 🔥

-I know I said I wasn't going to write anything about yandere or something similira bUT—

-a Sesshomaru soft yandere…

-woman, do you think the same as me???

-like????

-that would be our sesshomaru from the first season!

-*happy noises* okay imagine a demon lord being jealous of the slightest interaction you have with human men because-

-YOU don't deserve to be with those human garbage

-yes, he knows that you are human but you are different, you know?

-You're the only human being he can stand not cutting off their head (and then Rin arrived, so there would be two... no wait; there's Kagome, Kohaku and—)

-well at least he stand others BUT

-don't think that the man who looked at you in a seductive way and wanted to touch you will go unpunished.

-sesshomaru will growl with evil intentions when he sees another demon/human approaching you

-our man is ✨wild✨

-his level of protection towards you will rise to infinity

-his level of love and adoration for you will rise to infinity

-his level of jealous will rise to infinity

-but he won't hurt you!

-of course not!

-how can you think that? You are like a delicate flower that he must protect because he decided to make an exception for you when he decided to be with you

-The touches you will receive from other people other than him to you will be few.

-rin can hug you all day without suffering consequences or an annoying growl from your grumpy man

-Kagome is fine, she can hug you... for a limited time (he's counting time)

-with jaken it's an in-between... the demon goblin can feel your touch if YOU are touching him, which happens if the little demon goblin gets hurt and needs your help. although he prefers that Rin be the one to take care of him

-As for Inuyasha... please no

-just no…

-no :)

-sesshy is going to be the type of yandere who will tell you that he's doing it for your own good while hiding you in a cave or something similar when he's feeling particularly jealous of showing you to the world

-(If it were up to him he hides you underground so that the evil of the world will never touches you... but he discovered from the annoying girl called Kagome that humans need sun. AKA: vitamin c)

-sesshy sad because his plan is not going to work

-In the end, to keep you happy and let you go out more often, he decided to put a nice cloak on you with his scent so that at least others could smell him on you BECAUSE—

-he will not share your smell either, my dearest friend

-(he almost put out the eyes of the monk who accompanies his foolish younger brother when he discovered him looking at you)

-It was worse when Naraku decided to kidnap you... he almost sent the world and human existence to hell—

-Jaken vaguely concerned about how the good of living beings depends on your life and what you want

.

.

.

-Well, I hope this has been satisfactory ✌🏼 haha

that would be me if I met sesshy from the first season— like… dude pls calm down 😭

[julytheartist]

A new chapter of As the World Falls Down is here!

With new art requested by my dear @sereia1313

Big Fluffy Doggy Sess is my passion

[heynikkiyousofine]

Happy Holidays @aerin-of-the-isles I'm your Secret Santa! I wrote this cute little one shot for you, and had some amazing work commissioned by @heavenin--hell to go along with it. I hope you love it as much as I do!💕

Finding Home In You

Summary: Querenica: (spanish/adj.) a place where one feels at home, a person where one feels at home with

He sat with his back pressed against the rough wall, a mere few feet from the entry of Kaede’s hut, with even less space from a certain miko on his right. Inuyasha claimed this particular spot along the edge, the perfect place to reside while he watched over her, months ago when they began their journey for shards of the Shikon Jewel. Glancing around the well lit hut, he determined they were safe for the evening, his posture relaxing slightly at the thought, though he would remain on guard while they slept through the night.

Read here on ao3

taglist under the cut

@blairex ; @mamabearcat ; @enchantedink-ag ; @splendentgoddess ; @mandirox89 ; @sailorlolo ; @mustardyellowsunshine ; @knittingknots ; @yukinon-writes ; @clearwillow ; @keichanz ; @serial-doubters-club ; @malditamigs ; @zelink-inukag ; @shinidamachu ; @banksdelivers ; @that-one-nerdy-gal ; @sarahk21 ; @dchelyst ; @anisaanisa ; @lavendertwilight89 ; @otaku-108 ; @sailorbabydoll92 ; @queerkagome ; @chit-a-to ; @liz8080 ; @lightmidnight ; @shikonstar ; @soliska ; @inusecretsanta ; @inukagbot ; @brain-rot-hour ; @xanthippe-writes ; @hahaalaine ; @moonkissedart ; @lostinfantasyworlds ; 

[kstewdeux]

If fanfics make you happy, clap your hands. 👏👏

If fanfics make you happy, clap your hands. 👏👏

If you love a special fandom and you love to make it happen,

If fanfics make you happy, clap you hands. 👏👏

[eliza-faust-diary]

Commissioned illustration to @violetasteria 's fall-flavored story "Falling for You" 🍂 Read it HERE on AO3!

[feudalconnection]

The Nomination Period for the 2nd Term 2024 Inuyasha Fandom Awards is now CLOSED!!

Hey everyone!

Well, you've officially done it! We have exceeded Tumblr's link limits this term! This means that this term you guys nominated over 170 different creative works!!

That is incredible!!

What does this mean for FC? Well, we've already sent feedback to Tumblr asking to increase those limits - however the likelihood that this will occur is marginal at best. So for the time being, each term that this occurs, we will be unable to post a complete list with tags. But don't worry! The Google Doc will continue to have everything up-to-date and available!

Please click here for the Google Doc, which will include all nominated fanfiction and fanart!

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We strongly encourage that when you view a work of art or read a fanfiction, please reblog or leave a review to let the creators know how much their work and talent is appreciated!

As a reminder, we are giving 3 weeks time to enjoy all of the creations. The voting period will begin June 6th and end June 20th.

In order to be able to vote, you'll need to register so we can keep it all neat and clear. We will be posting the link to the voting form on the first day of the voting session.

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[With us unable to tag the creators, we ask that you please reblog this post to help us announce the closing of the nomination period, and so the information for the voting period can be spread. Thank you!]

[thedarkheretic156]

VIII Eternal Flame VIII

The final moon before the feast dawns on the young demigod, and with it, it's threatening consequences.

Parts: ❧ I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX❧

Warnings: Fem Afab reader, she/her pronouns. Angst, mentions of death, violence, slight nsfw (if you squint).

Even as a child, I remembered how the fire dancers in the east would tell stories of the old. Their fires in hues I had never seen before. Deep crimsons and pale yellows with greens that rivalled rain forests. That was the first time I realised that every flame was different. 

The dancers moved and their long braids swished around them, their movements sharp and lithe, not missing a beat. Fire dancing was an old tradition, performed every year, one night before the feast of manana. It was called the ceremony of the Khar-moon, the incomplete moon.

It was less a form of entertainment and more of a ritual, a portrayal of faith towards the Goddess. They said that the performers practiced all year long just for those few minutes on stage. And it never failed to take my breath away, twirling on the stage, aglow with the torches behind them, the dancers looked like flames personified.

This year, I knew the story well. It was the same boring text my aunt had grated into my brain. She would even sit me down and make me recite it over and over, until the words clouded my thought the moment, I closed my eyes. So, it wasn’t surprising that I recognised it at once. They were telling the tale of ‘the hearth’. The beginning of all life. Or what we understood of it. 

The dancer dressed as the hearth was in silver and orange, their eyes lidded, a beacon of peace and tranquillity. The music fanned, low and rhythmic as the singer began the first song.  Their clear voice rang out, rippling through the crowd.

My palms sunk into the grass as I leaned forward eagerly. My aunt swatted my ankle, “sit properly!" but the swelling music drowned out her voice.

They sang of how every fire was born from the Hearth. Each eventually taking different forms. Dancers dressed in gold twirled around the Hearth. The fire of the stove, I recognised. Gold bangles glittered around their wrists as they moved, calling fire that looked like molten gold, its flames docile and controlled.

The music shifted suddenly, becoming faster, louder just as a dancer in scarlet jumped high from between them, red flames curling around their wrists. The flame that lights the torch for war.

All the flames gathered around the hearth and bowed deeply. Paying respect to the one that birthed them. And that’s the end of the story, I thought.

“Can we leave, father? -” I started and my aunt hissed me into silence. I furrowed my brow; was there more?

It was then that another dancer jumped up front, my heart jumped at the sudden action. Their clothes were blue, flowing around them like water, replicating the shades that flickered within my flames.

It was a harsh contrast to the others dressed in shades saffron. A stranger, an anomaly.

I remembered feeling a pit in my stomach, the curiosity I had for the play suddenly dissipating like someone had put out a candle.

My flames were blue.

And I wasn’t told this part of the story.

It did not bow to the hearth, the dancer flicked their blue robes arrogantly, the fabric rising like the audacious plume of a peacock. I gulped nervously as my aunt finally pulled me back on the seat. I heard her mutter sharply but my father shushed her down,

"Leave her be Hathor." He grumbled.

I felt my breath shallow. As the head clan, I sat with my family at the very front. Placed closest to the stage, second only to the Gods. It was the highest honour, something to wear with pride, yet I wanted to crawl away. I couldn’t help but curl my fist around my father’s robes in anticipation. While every eye was on the performer, I was the one who felt the burn of their gaze.

The blue flame was different. I was told I was born with divinity. But there was nothing divine about this flame Without a shred of warmth, something born in hell, far away from the fire of a hearth.

The flames that dance on a pyre.

An immortal bound in death.

Even now, years later, as I stared at the Khar-moon high in the sky I couldn’t help but remember the performance, the fire dancers, and the pit in my stomach.

One night before the feast of manana.

I tore my eyes away from the moon, no point in brooding over that now. I looked over at Sesshomaru and he was already halfway down the hill. Prideful steps, not even bothering to look over his shoulder. So, it had taken him about 4 seconds before he went back to his mutt like ways.

I shook my head, gathering the hem of my kimono so I wouldn’t trip and land on his head. Rin and Jaken could be anywhere down the mountain. And it was about time I greeted them.

❧ 

“It’s a human village.” I realised, “We’re staying here?” I asked, genuinely surprised. Sesshomaru and his disgust towards humans was more than apparent, why in the world would he set camp in a human village?

His eyes looked back as I trotted up to him. In the darkness of the night, it was hard to tell, but there something haunting about this place. I pulled my eyes towards the village again. There was a morbid silence that coveted the landscape. The small bamboo knit cottages looked empty, abandoned. Like a painting standing still before us, there was nothing alive in this village.

“It’s been deserted…” I stated. A strange nervousness settled in me,

“Humans.” He said, his voice basically a pained sigh, “cowardly creatures.” 

I started back at him in horror, what kind of a person thinks a deserted human village is a good resting spot? Even I knew that humans emptying out entire villages was bad news. And not just the ayakashi kind, the apocalyptic prophecy kind.

“It better not be plagued.” I tell him,

Sesshomaru just scoffed in response, “Try and keep up.” He replied, “I won’t come searching for you a second time.”

I gave him a sarcastic smile before starting to walk.

A singular fire burned in the still landscape, like a dying ember. Despite everything that had happened in this short period, I had always found myself back here. Maybe it was suiting that I spend my last night with them. The khar moon was already high in the sky, and I could feel the exhaustion of the travel weigh down on my shoulders. I dragged my feet down, trying to push unnecessary thoughts away. Spending your last night in a plagued town. I thought, how poetic.

❧ 

Jaken cried more than Rin. Which was surprising.

“W-what a r-relief.” Jaken sobbed out loudly, I looked over at the goblin grinning, “You did miss me how cute.”

Rin ran into an embrace, her wiry arms clutching onto my kimono like she was afraid to let go again. There wasn’t anything childlike in the way she cried, no angry tears, no broken sobs, just silent tears of relief. I stood frozen in my place, just…unsure. My arms felt like lead, and in that moment despite how glad I was to see the human child alive I couldn’t make myself show it.

Something tugged at my heart, but I pushed it aside at once.

Humans are delicate creatures. Death comes to them swiftly, whisking them away like they never existed. Befriend them and you live on with their ghosts.

I patted her head awkwardly, “Hey it’s okay.” I said. “I’m okay.”

The child pulled away reluctantly, she nodded wiping a runny nose with the back of her hand, “are you s-sure?” she sobbed out.

I stepped back so I could give her a turn, “All good, see?”

Rin gave me a skeptical look, “You don’t look very good.” She replied.

I threw back my head and laughed, my voice ringing out in the midnight sky. I looked down at the kimono I was wearing. It was one of Sango’s pink ones, and I had really put it through hell and back. “Do you have a spare?” I asked jokingly.

Rin peeked a smile watching me laugh, a sense of relief rushing to her face. “Follow me!” she chirped, the old self I knew slipping back. I grinned at the little skip in her step as she sprinting down towards the cottage. “It’s the one behind the big tree!” she said giddily, pointing towards a bamboo knit cottage. I grabbed the hem of my kimono, not realising the easy smile lacing my lips and ran after her.

❧ 

Jaken patted down his own tears, “I’m so glad you found her Lord Sesshomaru!” He said, “Rin must be so relieved now.”

Sesshomaru grunted in response, watching the human child skip towards the cottage and the woman clutching on to the all too big kimono to keep up with her. The two of them laughed, bare feet skidding on the dew-covered grass. A human world of their own.

It had been less than a month since the strange woman had appeared, Sesshomaru shook his head, he had saved her. He assured himself. Returned her safely, yet the daiyokai couldn’t seem to quiet his thoughts. The haunting stories of the infamous blood moon somehow sneaking up on him, ringing constantly at the back of his mind.

He tossed his hair over his shoulder, turning away. Once the wretched crimson moon had passed us, he thought, It’ll be quiet again.

❧ 

Rin grinned wide, stretching out her hands to show all the space we suddenly had. This cottage was way better than any we had come across before. With all the travelling and avoiding humans, there was hardly any liveable spaces to begin with. Much less an entire village. Rin dug into one the chests in the cottage pulling out spare clothes, they had even left clothes behind. 

This place… its like the humans had just randomly disappeared into thin air. They had left everything behind. Clothes, pots of grains and rice, children’s toys scattered on the grass like they had disappeared while playing.

I jumped as Jaken snored loudly in the background. This sound I had not missed.

Rin giggled at my expression, “Master Jaken couldn’t sleep at all, while you weren’t here.”

“That’s…” I started, “Surprising.” 

I took the new kimono Rin had offered me, finally pulled off Sango’s borrowed one I had on. Man I had really put these poor clothes through the apocalypse. Every time I got a new one, I’d just get attacked by something or the other.

Rin’s eyes pinned on the bandages, wide with worry,

She opened her mouth but the words seemed to hang in her throat.

“Someone very skilled helped me with it.” I assured her, although I didn’t know if kagome’s grass medicine could be categorized as very skilled, it had saved my life like it was ambrosia of the Gods. 

Naraku’s poison had quite literally charred through my skin, clumped out the flesh. Nothing I hadn’t seen before, but this mortal body didn’t heal the way my ayakashi one did.

“Does it still hurt?” she asked timidly.

“No.” I lied. 

Her thumbs fiddled with the hem of the checkered fabric, “Who was the woman that attacked us?”

“Does it matter?” I asked. “We run into ayakashi all the time.” I said, She was so young. I thought, at her age all I cared about was chasing fire birds and setting yokai on fire. She shouldn’t feel the need to carry that much.

“This one unfortunately was the bad kind, that’s all” I tried to convince her, the lesser she knew about all this mess the better.

Rin’s face fell regardless, 

What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I just thought…” Her voice wavered, lower lip quivering as she pulled on a brave façade, “I thought you got hurt.” She completed finally.

I turned on my side to look at her. Her eyes looked glassy from the tears, the runny nose and ears red from the cold, bony elbows sticking out of the blanket and a swelling mosquito bite on her cheek.

“No one would tell me what happened.” she said quietly. “Then Lord Sesshomaru left too, and I just had to wait here.” She completed.

Sudden anger flared in me, after everything she had witnessed, all he did was take off without a word? At least I was trying to make up lies.

“But it wasn’t just that.”  Rin replied, cheeks puffed from trying not to cry, “It was that other thing.”

I turned my head towards her, “What do you mean?”

Rin’s face paled, uncertainty flickering in her eyes, “I don’t know what it was.” She started,

And I felt my heart drop. “I-, I think I saw something when we met that woman in the forest.”

“It wasn’t her, it felt darker,” her voice quivered, “Meaner, like there was something more than just the lady before us.”

She gulped, eyes glazing as she tried to remember, “It was all around her looming over the forest, like a spider made of shadows,” she said softly. 

I felt myself holding my breath.

“It’s like I could feel how-” Tears welled up in her eyes again, “Wei, it wanted to hurt you so badly.” She croaked out.

Something bitter curled in my mouth,

Rin shook her head, her voice got very low, “I don’t even know if it was real, or I’m going crazy.”

She sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand, “but I know what I felt. I know it, even though I couldn’t see” her brow knitted in frustration, “And even though master Jaken said it was in my head.” her eyes finally met mine, she shuddered, “Am I crazy?”

I stared at her, out of all the things I thought she would have to say…

“You’re not crazy.” I told her, knowing that I should probably just agree with Jaken and tell her she dreamed it. Keeping her away from all of this mess was the best mercy I could grant her. And yet I couldn’t make myself lie to her. At the end of it she deserved to know the danger before us, something we would soon be facing down whether I like it or not.

“The spider…” my voice trailed, how much of everything do I even tell her. “He exists.” I confirmed.

Just the memory made the scars on my chest sting, “and he did want to hurt me.”

I pulled my eyes to the shadows on the hay roof of the cottage, dancing in the dark like the curling legs of the spider. His strength had completely caught me off guard and the helplessness I had felt in his clutches still haunted me. I hated to admit it but the thought that I would probably be dead before I see him again was relieving.

“Why?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

I shook my head, “What matters is that he couldn’t.” But he will try again and again. If he wants hellfire then I’m his only link to it. I pursed my lips,

Rin’s silence rang of hesitation.

“Lord Sesshomaru can protect us from him.” She finally said, trying to sound dutiful.

“Yeah.” I mimed out absently. Honestly I’d like to think that too. Sesshomaru hadn’t ever shown me the extent of his powers, But if Inuyasha and the others don’t stop him from mining that ore, maybe even the daiyokai of the east won’t be able to stop him.

“Could you sense him too?” she asked hopefully, “The way I did?”

I shook my head, “Not really.”

Thinking back to the encounter, my reaction was purely instinctual, I hadn’t even noticed naraku’s powers until after I was already in his void. It wasn’t uncommon for humas to see demons. But it was nearly impossible for them to sense their magic. And Rin had seen naraku’s miasma even before he had shown up.

My heart felt heavy, now the coincidences were getting too cruel.

“But,” I started, my mouth felt like sandpaper, “There are some humans who can see and sense more than others.” I told her.

In the east we called it the gift of Manana, blessed by the moon with the power of premonition. Someone who could see terrible things before they actually happened. Wei, the real Wei, had the same powers.

I gave her a pained smile, “Just think of it as a gift.”

Rin looked horrified, “I don’t want it.” She croaked out. “I don’t ever want to see anything like that again.”

“It’s not all too bad.” I replied, “I knew someone who had a similar ability. She could sense things, before they actually happened.”

Not that it prevented her death, I thought bitterly.

“So, I can learn how to control it?” Rin asked.

Wei had learned to control it, I remembered. It was painted in my mind like an ink scroll painting.

Her eyes lidded as she sat before the fire, and her face crinkling as I broke her meditation. She would hiss out of frustration when I continued to egg her on, her leaf green eyes opening wide, “even the toddlers in the village know better, y/n, Toddlers!”

I averted my eyes painfully, “I guess you can.”

Rin flexed her fingers as if expecting the magic to show up on her palms, “How do I do that?”

“I don’t know.” I replied quickly, pushing away the torrent of emotions that often-accompanied Wei’s memories.

“Maybe you could ask your friend.”

“No.” I replied sharply.

I can’t ask her. Not anymore.

They would have gotten along. I had realised that the moment I had met Rin. wet tears slipped down my cheekbones sliding over the shell of my ears.

"Wei are you crying?" Rin's sleep heavy voice called out,

I felt my vision grow cloudy. 

"No." I sniffled.

Rin hand threw an arm over my torso, "it's okay" the child mumbled, "I missed you too."

“You say you wouldn’t do that for anyone.” She had sniggered, twirling the scared bells around before bonking it on my head,

I pushed her hand away angrily and she had laughed, “But I bet you’d do that for me.”

I sat up suddenly. 

“Where are you going?” Rin asked,

“Go to sleep.” I told her, I ran a hand along the nape of my neck, it was drenched in sweat. The cottage was too warm, and my mind was too heavy with the thoughts. I pulled my hair up in a knot. It was my last night before my death, and I didn’t want to spend it under a covered roof.

❧

The spring looked prettier than usual, but it didn’t help that the water in it was biting cold.

I groaned as I lowered myself in the spring slowly. With the full moon on the morrow, there was no scarcity of moonlight. A view like that would have enchanted anyone, mortal or not. I sank into the numbing cold water, my fingers trailing over my arm absently. This body the curse had put me in had only started to feel like mine. It was brittle and lanky, so weak I dared not test its limits. But I had surprised myself with everything it did withstand.

Maybe it wasn’t that easy to kill humans after all.

With everything I had survived, I wondered how exactly death would come for me under the moon tomorrow. I let my head roll back in thought. I didn’t even have the capacity to think how I was to die tomorrow. I took in a deep breath pulling myself under the surface.

It felt calm underwater, the water cancelled out the sounds of the forest. God, what would I give to fall asleep under the surface just like this. This would be a nice death, like you’re drifting away to sleep. It would be a sad death; they probably wont even sing of me in the east. I stayed under water until my lungs screamed for air, eventually bopping my head up over the surface.

“human.”

His sight just left me frozen,

What the actual fuck was he doing here now.

It was a little pathetic how much I ogled him as he lowered himself into the spring slowly.

His body was that of a warrior, honed over the years, stripped with scars, some fading some brazen. I couldn’t imagine how many stories he had to tell about just the scars on his arms.

I tried to keep my eyes on his torso, trying not to dip any lower than the magenta marks around his waist.

But while the chilly mist rising from the spring was thick, it was not opaque enough. His shamelessness in my presence was surprising, but then again, he probably thought of me like a bug. Who covers themselves in front of insects?

Even in the hot spring, he settled down like a king on a throne. His silver hair pooled around him like molten starlight. With the damp hair matted across his forehead, and the slitted amber eyes peeking through the bangs, he looked every bit the god they painted him in the folk tales.

I averted my eyes awkwardly, heat rushing to my face. My body remembering the time he had actually let his reatsu out after we had hunted the boar. The way it had crawled over my senses, overwhelming me until I could feel it in the back of my throat- stop it. I screamed at myself, pressing my thighs together.

“What are you doing here?!” I snapped at him. Even after being in a human body my demon instinct still persisted and I did not have the time to deal with how badly my ayakashi-self wanted to ride him.

“Your scars.” He stated casually,

I looked down finally realising that I was also naked before him. I gulped, “urm, yes.” I replied awkwardly. In the moonlight it looked even worse than it actually was.

“It’s still poisoned.” He stated. “I can still smell his miasma off of you.”

I winced as he said that, brushing my fingers over the wounds. I had been afraid of that being the case, even without my ayakashi senses, I could feel the poison in the wounds, keeping them from healing properly. Remanets of his disgusting magic that have permanently branded themselves on my body.

“It will only fade in his death.” I sighed, a miasma like that is connected to an ayakashi’s soul.  

“You won’t have to wait too long for that.” He replied.

I felt very cold, “What do you mean?” I whispered out.

His voice sent chills ran down my spine. “Isn’t it obvious?” he snarled out, “I am going to seek out the spider.”

My jaw slacked, “what do you mean seek him out?”

His eyes flicked towards me, already annoyed, “Do you think I’m a coward that sits back silently, Human?” he growled,

I shook my head, “You cannot defeat him.”

He snarled in reply, the sound making the hair on my arms stand.

“Not another word-” He growled out.

I felt a lump in my throat as his amber eyes narrowed, they were truly a beautiful colour, I forced myself to think clearly, “You don’t know what he’s capable of.” I told him.

Sesshomaru grunted, “How strong he seemed to a human like you is irrelevant.” He replied, “To so much so as look at someone under my protection was a death sentence.”

“He will pay for this insolence towards me. For even thinking of challenging me. For a spider like that to do this…” he growled out, “How humiliating.”

What stung my heart was how familiar it all was. His words, ego masquerading as nobility. How selfish the words truly sounded.

It sounded like me.

“To you?” I scoffed out, my voice low.

“I am standing here and I can fucking feel what he did to my body.” I told him, the scars, the phantom pain, the fear will never wash away. “And you have the audacity to talk about how he slighted you?”

My breathing was heavy and angry. “Because that’s what it is, isn’t it?” I said, “you’re just worried about what the world will think of you, the great daiyokai bested by a spider.”

Tears pricked at my eyes, “She used to tell me revenge is selfish, and I… I just couldn’t understand her.” I mumbled out.

My shoulders slumped; I am a fool.

All my fucking life, I had created an idea of myself. The great demigod, a ruthless warrior, and I had truly believed I was meant to live that life. But in the end, it had all been so meaningless. What had that gotten me? I had lived through my immortal life haunted by Wei’s voice, buried under the weight of her death. Tortured by just the thoughts of all that could have been. The whole truth shattered around me into a million pieces. 

I buried my face in my fingers, my legs going very weak.

“What I thought would give her peace, was truly just a step I took for myself. I should have pressed that ego down. I should have stayed with her, somewhere I knew it was what my heart wanted. But I was scared that the act would be called too cowardly.”

“I failed her.” I completed. “I failed her in every way.”

The taunting voices in my head were dead silent.

“Tell me Sesshomaru.” I asked him, “Do you wish to kill him because by attacking me he questioned your authority? That you felt emasculated that someone under your protection was taken from right under your nose. Or is it truly because you wish to bring someone justice?”

He stared at me silently as I continued.

“There’s a difference, you know. A difference I just realised existed.” I shook my head, giving out a dry laugh.

“One you do for your own ego, to put someone who has defied you in their place. To tell the world that you aren’t the coward. The second…” my voice trailed away. Why hadn’t I understood such a simple thing when she was alive?

“What of the second, human?” he hissed out.

I looked up at the daiyokai sadly, “The second you do out of love.”

He actually laughed, which I soon realised was a lot more horrifying than his poker face.

He turned his head away, “It’s this trait of you humans that I cannot understand. You worry too much about your fragile lives, it’s foolish, weak.” 

I frowned, my own anger bubbling up to the surface.

“Not only that, you begged me to abandon you to save her.” He continued.

His amber eyes slitted, the mountains around us seemed to shift, “you are fooled if you think you’re not weak.”

 He’s exactly like me.

Rein in your temper daughter of the hills, the voices sang,

But you can’t put out fires from hell.

"You talk of how I'm lesser for saving Rin, yet you came crawling to search for me remember?!" I said pointing a wrinkly finger at him,

Sesshomaru looked like I had just slapped him across his face. The water around me chilled. I knew the moment I should stop yapping, but my bitter temper just continued to pour out.

“You’re the one that’s weak and cowardly.” I snarled out. “Cowering away under the guise of arrogance when all you have is your empty honour. Even the measly humans you seem to hate show more chivalry.”

His growl rang in my ears as he charged. Within a second his fingers were curled around my throat, pinning me down.

His hair fell around me like a rain of starlight, his ragged breath fanning my face as his fangs slipped out. My heart hammered in my chest, as he spoke, “You have constantly, tested my patience human.” His grip tightened around me, nails digging into my skin.

“Do it.” I spat out. The anger in his eyes flickered, taken aback with something of the same ferocity staring back. After everything I had gone through, with my death facing me down tomorrow, did he think a tantrum would scare me?

 “You’re only angry because I’m right.” I gurgled out. “Wei tried telling me that.” I told him, watching his brow furrow with confusion. His grip loosened and I pushed him away.

,It may be that mortal lives are delicate, but they aren't like flowers that wilt away. Many like battle scars leave their mark. They are immortalised in memories, daughter of the hills. Even bound to death, they are worth living.

“Maybe my death will make you realise that.”

❧

I strode towards the camp angrily, in my rage I hadn’t even dried myself, just draped my kimono over my body, screamed at him and left. 

I cringed a little, such dramatics. Couldn’t have just dried myself before making such impactful exit. Now the clothing along with me was sopping wet, water dripping down at my feet making small puddles as I walked back.

Something rustled making me halt. As I stared, a strange figure seemed to loom around the opening of the groove.

I furrowed my brow, the silhouette looked like that of a child that was crouched over. Did Rin follow me all the way here? I craned my neck, about to call her out when the figure spoke up first.

“Does mortality fare you well? Daughter of the hills?”

The voice was light and girlish, unrecognizable. My heart went still,

It couldn’t be.

The figure stepped forward, striding into the moonlight so I could see her.

It was a child, yet it wasn’t. The alarm that rang in my bones wasn’t from fear, it was recognition. The more I looked at her, the more inhuman she looked. Markings adorned her body, inky lines running up her face and arms, whorls made of runes mapped like galaxies on her body.

It was the same creature, that 14 moon before had appeared before me differently. My breath shallowed as time slowed around me.

The crone.

I raged towards the crone, but it felt like someone had tied boulders to my feet. Illusion magic? The invisible weight slammed me into the ground. The impact knocking the breath out of me.

She pointed a chubby finger at my face, “Have you learned nothing?”

I looked up at her aghast, the girl was no bigger than Rin, barefoot with windswept hair like she had just casually wandered out of a nearby village. She tossed a flat- stone between her hands, giving me a grin that missed a front tooth. “By now you should know you can’t compete with me.”

I growled angrily at her words, my nails dug into palms so hard I drew blood, while, she just watched me a mocking smile.

I knew it was the unnerving eyes, the iris was completely white, blinded by a cloudy white haze, like the moon peeking from behind clouds. Her unyielding gaze was pinned on me. I knew in that moment it was nothing but her gaze that had pinned me to the ground.

Don’t fucking stay down this time.

I pushed through the invisible weight with everything I had. The more I struggled against it the worse it seemed to get, gripping down my bones until they broke. I screamed through the pain, the pressure sending a stream of blood down my nose. The first time I couldn’t face her, this time- I will not go down that easily. With spots dancing before my eyes, I managed to drag myself up to my knees. My smouldering gaze finally met her, “Give m-!”

Within a second the pressure doubled, it felt like someone had grabbed my shoulders and slammed me back into the ground with a thud.

“Mmph!”

She put a hand to her ear theatrically, “I’m sorry, what was that?” the cheeky tone of her voice really pissed me off. “Couldn’t hear you with your face planted in the dirt.”

I looked up at her painfully, spitting out grass. “Give me...” I growled out. “My powers back.”

The kid gave me a toothy grin, “Even if I did,” She said cheekily, “You know your current body won’t be able to contain it right? Your flames are so ruthless, they won’t even show their own master any mercy.” She giggled as if it was the funniest thing in the world, “They’ll roast you from the inside out!”

I looked at her morbidly, “I miss the crone.”

The girl laughed, “We’re not much different.” 

“Why are you here?” I asked. “What more could you possibly want?” I told her, “You have taken everything. Everything.”

My neck felt like it was going to snap from the pressure, “My powers, my body, everything that made me, myself. You stripped me of my very being” I cried out.

The creature sighed, “yes, how unfortunate.”

My anger surfaced again “You vile masochistic demon.” I snarled out, thrashing on the ground as the invisible force continued to pin me, “What did you gain by putting me through all of this?”

The child arched an eyebrow,

“So your mother levelling mountains because someone ticked her off is divine, but me cursing a sad demigod is vile?” She challenged, “Such double standards.” She said clicking her tongue, “I was right the first time, your ayakashi blood does make you stupid.”

My eyes widened, my mother?

I felt my mouth go very dry, I should have figure that the scorching light wasn’t just any spell, it was divine spirit energy. No ayakashi can put curses out like that. No, I realised bitterly, it wasn’t a curse at all, it was a prophecy.

A Goddess.

She could bend everything that the moonlight fell over. Bathed in divine light, the goddess of the crimson moon.

Just like the different phases of the moon she appears different each time.

Oh seven hells. Maybe I should apologise for calling her a masochist.

My jaw tightened, “You’re her.” I gasped out, goosebumps flooding my body, “You are Manana.”

A ghost of a smile played at her lips, the blind eyes crinkling at the sound of her name, “Well then,” she said, sounding very pleased. “Now that you know, we can actually begin.”

“What do you want?” I said, feeling the exhaustion in my bones. I had fought for this stupid human life for days, scrambling to keep myself alive. I hadn’t expected mortality to be so heavy.

“What I want?” She asked, giving out another laugh, “I thought you would be rubbing your nose at my feet begging me to spare your life tomorrow.” She completed. “Tell me daughter of the hills, do you not fear the fate tomorrow’s crimson moon will bring you?”

Considering how much it did scare me, I should have been begging her for life. For most demigods in the stories, begging for mercy to a Goddess worked out well.

“Unless..” She picked up on my thoughts, “That’s no longer what you wish for.”

I pulled myself to tell her what was truly ripping me from the inside, “If Naraku holds my dying heart, he’ll get his hands on hellfire.” I said,

“But my death will prevent that” I explained flatly, “There won’t be a beating heart to hold.” I told her bitterly. My eyes met her’s with a broken smile, “it’s not much, but I can accept a death like that.” It’s the best defence I can provide the others.

The ends of her mouth twitched, “Are you really naive enough to believe that something so mundane as death would stop him?” She replied, “There’s no stopping his ambition. He’ll find a way to attain your flames even if he has to carve out your corpse.”

 No. I mouthed.

“That’s not what was supposed to happen.” I whispered out, my throat going very dry, my death won’t matter. He will continue to hunt everyone I will leave behind.

I curled my fists, “You don’t understand, this isn’t just about me anymore.” I looked up at her, trying to gather any shred of sympathy. “If he gets his hands on my flames, I–“ I shook my head, “I don’t even know what all he would be capable of.” I looked up at sudden desperation closing up my throat, “No one else understands.”

“Not Sesshomaru not inuyasha and the others, they don’t fucking understand how powerful he is.” But I do.

I felt the brunt of his powers firsthand, the poison in his miasma and how his talons tried to carve out my heart. “They will not be able to stand up to him.”

“And?” she asked.

My words faltered, “And?” I cried out angrily, My voice cracked, “The death and destruction he will bring would be a thousand times worse than what I did.”

“Human lives obviously.” The Goddess said, “Naraku’s descent into power will spark a war bartered in lives, ayakashi and humans.” She flicked the flat-stone and it disappeared mid-air.

“But it’s a war that does not concern you.” She said, “It is something you won’t even have to deal with at all. What has changed so much, that it has you pleading, daughter of the hills?”

“That doesn’t…” I pursed my lips, no longer knowing what exactly to say. I will die tomorrow. And whatever fucked up shit naraku is brewing I won’t be a part of it. Wasn’t that the easiest way out of it?

“I can’t just leave now.” I said finally, my head dropped, No matter how much the fire clan sang about glorious deaths, and how much I thought I desired a gore-y end on a battlefield. I realized I wanted to live. Even as a sad, unattractive, mortal, mountain girl. I still wanted to live. Especially now. Especially now that I’m-

My voice quivered, “I’m leaving behind too much.” I rasped out. “With my hellfire, I can give them a chance.”

“What does it really matter which tyrant holds the flames?” She tilted her head, “Do you think he would use it any different than what you did?”

The world around me went very still. Hellfire isn’t something I deserved either.  

I begged her, “I know… I know I deserve my end.” I bowed to the divinity before, surrendering every sense of ego I had, “So please, Please” -

I thought of Rin and Kagome, and all those who had shown me so much kindness. They would all fall under his hand, hounded by my flames. The same flames I could have used to protect them. Even if I can’t change my destiny.

“I don’t have anything else to barter.” I replied, “You already have my life, so I can only beg this to you.”

“You can’t let Naraku get my flames.” I told her,

“I don’t care what you have to do to this body for that.” I continued, burned, eaten by animals, “Whatever brutal death I’m fated to tomorrow” I said, “Please, make sure it rids my entire existence, and I’ll pull my hellfire back into hell with me.”

There was a momentary silence, where I thought, she would start laughing again. But the Goddess just hummed curiously.

“Fine then, daughter of the hills.” She spoke, the voice ringing out hauntingly in the grove.

My eyes widened

“Tomorrow when death comes for you, I’ll allow you a chance.”

The Goddess beckoned her powers and magic shook the forest awake. I could feel the ancient, strange spirits of the forest peek over the shadows around us. Stirring from years of slumber to witness another prophecy.

Her white iris gleamed, “Just one.”

I stared at her in absolute silence. Just like the first time I had encountered her, the temperature around me dropped, making my ears ring painfully.

The tips of her lip curled, “I’ll give you one chance to change your destiny, where you can seize back your flames, return to a life of immortality.”

As I watched, the markings on her face began to glow, knowing what was coming I shielded my eyes from the blinding light. It still seemed to sear into my skin, like I had embraced a burning star.

“Daughter of the hills, death will come for you under the crimson moon.” Her voice boomed around me, “But as the blood moon rises for my feast, I shall grant you one final bargain. Take it, and you’ll find your flames again.”

When the light died, I was still on the ground, my kimono soiled from dirt and sweat. As I came to myself, I felt my heart hammer in my chest, a singular thought running in my mind.

Even if the earth splits open and the sky shatters around me, even if it was nearly impossible, even if I only had one chance, somehow, anyhow, I had to survive.

❧

“Wei!” Rin called out in the darkness and I jumped.

In the dark she looked like a little tent, sitting up on her knees the moment I walked back into the cottage.

“Didn’t I tell you to sleep?” I sighed,

The child looked at me expectantly, “I was thinking about what you said earlier.”

I shook my head, far too exhausted to think about this again, “Rin I really don’t want to talk about this.”

“Hear me out.” She persisted as I dropped down on the mattress beside her.

“Next time.” She told me, “When I see something, we can just run away together.”   

She said it with such sincerity I wheezed. That did seem like a simpler solution.

“Don’t laugh!” Rin said, her fingers tugged the sleeve of my kimono, “Promise me.” She said seriously, “Promise me that the next time we’re in danger you won’t stay back alone.” her sound was barely was a whisper, but it hung in the icy air like a sword over my neck.

“Promise me that we’ll run away together.” 

I stared back at her,

One chance.

I tried to give her a small smile. One

A fool’s bargain, yet a bargain nonetheless.

“I promise.”

❧

GUESS WHICH SLOTH JUST UPLOADED?????

[anyara]

AQUELLAS COSAS QUE JAMÁS CONTAMOS Español FF

WP

AO3

Ilust: @Kalisami1 (twitter)

Inspiración: https://twitter.com/Kalisami1/status/1757550859829772431

https://twitter.com/lanmeimeia/status/1757397100663329024

[inukag-archive]

do you know any nsfw stories that are set immediately after kagome comes back after the 3 years? It can be a chaptered story or oneshot

Thank you!!!

superpyku asked:

Hello, I love a good post-canon fanfic where it describes what happened when Kagome came back from the well. Doesn't need to be a long fic about their life thereafter but one about what happened during and immediately after their reunion will be good. Would love to know your fav list of such. Thank you

-------------

We love a good reunion fic! The list below is full of stories that take place right as Kagome returns to the Feudal Era and immediately after, split into NSFW and SFW for whatever mood you're looking for. There are a lot of fics like this out there, but we capped ourselves at 20 to keep the list at a reasonable length. Feel free to add your favorites in the reblogs/replies!

If you're looking for more post-canon goodness, you can also check out our other post canon lists:

Post Canon

Post Canon NSFW

Post Canon / Canon Fluff

Happy reading!

[NSFW]

Dearest by @kitramune (M)

After Kagome returns to the Sengoku Era, Inuyasha and she explore how deep their devotion really goes.

--

Linked by Alyxandra (E)

Inuyasha and Kagome experience their first night together three years after the disappearance of Shikon no Tama.

--

When She Comes Back by Karaumea (M)

The story of his wait, her return, and their reunion. One-shot lemon that takes place during and after the last chapter of the manga.

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Her Time by @keichanz (M)

All he wanted was some of her time, but as it turned out, so did everybody else. He'd have to make it clear that while they merely borrowed her precious time, he stole and hoarded it for himself, because in the end, she and everything about her belonged to him.

--

The Return by Sweet Inu Girl (M)

Kagome has returned to the feudal era after three years. Finally feelings are revealed and a new life begins for our favorite miko and hanyou.

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Coming Home by @ruddcatha (E)

The day Kagome returned to the Feudal Era, Kagome and Inuyasha came out of their long nightmares. When they are finally alone, confessions are made, feelings are revealed, and a decision is made that impacts the rest of their lives.

--

After the End: New Beginnings by @splendentgoddess (X)

Welcome to my official post-manga universe! This introductory story takes us through Kagome's return to the past, and her developing relationship with Inuyasha. The first installment of what will be my "After The End" series!

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To Fight For Tomorrow by @sarah-writes-stories (E)

The shard hunt...the battle with Naraku...it was only the beginning.

Their past held a terrible prophecy. Her future, the terrifying result. Kagome had finally been allowed to return through the well...but it wasn't luck that granted her wish.

The red threads of fate had always tied them all together, had always guided them towards each other. Now, as new powers are revealed and souls are healed, their destiny becomes clear.

Theirs is a quest that requires everything they have to give.

Theirs is a battle they cannot afford to lose.

Theirs is a fight to protect tomorrow.

--

Come Back To Me by jyvonne13 (M)

After defeating Naraku, Inuyasha and Kagome were separated for three long years after the well closed. What happens on that fateful day when Inuyasha catches her scent after so long? What do the two of them promise each other and how do their lives change from this point on?

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With You by Animetey (E)

“Kagome, did you come back to see me... and to be a priestess? Cause I thought...or, I’d hoped... that you came back to be with me.”

Everyone has their own version of what happened the night Kagome returned, this is mine.

--

[SFW]

White Dogs on Blue Cotton by @artistefish (T)

Caught up in the rush following her unexpected return to the past and to the man she loves, Kagome realizes a little late that some of her wardrobe choices aren't quite as private as they used to be. Post-canon, InuKag reunion, super-duper fluffy.

--

Hearts Returned by @mrfeenysmustache (M)

A sweet moment alone after a long day of welcome backs.

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Love Language by @shikonstar (T)

When Kagome returns to the past, a love-starved hanyou is hoping for some words of affirmation.

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One Day With You by @hanmajoerin (G)

After spending three years in the world she grew up in, Kagome is able to return home.

A three years later reunion fic.

--

Inukag Fluff Week 2022 (Chapter 3: Hot Springs) by @inukagbot (T)

inuyasha is a thoughtful, soft little puppy who missed his girlfriend very much so he decides to do something nice for her like the Good Boyfriend he is. confessions ensue.

--

Clashing Emotions by PureKagome (K)

Kagome has finally returned after her three year absence. And what is the first thing Inuyasha does? Screw up.

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Stay By My Side by PotatoButt (G)

Kagome finally gets to return to Inuyasha's time after three years.

--

A Not So Modern Convenience by doggieearlover (T)

Post Manga Canon. Kagome is worried about InuYasha's happiness while he has the same concerns about her and tries to do something about it.

--

Kagome's Got To Go by @ajoy3fanfics (NR)

The way Yuki and Suki saw it, this Kagome woman needed to go.

From the first day she came, they knew she was trouble. They had been playing a perfectly fun game of 'who can annoy uncle the most' (It was always Suki), when he suddenly stood up, passing them off to Shippo with a distant look in his eyes. Uncle was fast, there was no question about that, but unless there was a reason for him to be on high alert, he was downright lethargic. Still, Uncle Inuyasha needing space wasn't anything new, so it wasn't terribly worrisome that he took off at high speed; It did, however, raise a few red flags when Shippo shook them off and headed in the dog demons direction, screaming "it's her! She's back!"

--

Snapshots of Life After the End by ananova (T)

A collection of post-canon after the anime and manga end interconnected drabbles that show bits of Inuyasha and Kagome's life together. Not posted in any particular order.

--

Feel free to add your own recs in the comments or reblogs! Check our Masterlist of previous lists to see which topics we've covered.  After reviewing our submission guidelines, send us an ask (here).

[malamira]

random idea but spy au where inuyasha is the brash but competent field agent who gets assigned on retrieval missions. always monitoring his earpiece is kagome, one of the newer (but not any less brilliant) tech agents assigned to be his partner. not much is known about kagome's background but inuyasha's assured that she's good at what she does, so he doesn't mind. he's met her once, but doesn't intend on making friends anyway, so he doesn't go out of his way to see her again. if kagome does her job then he's not going to stick his nose where it doesn't belong.

kagome is chatty, though, so he knows some things. she has a younger brother. her father passed away when she was young. she has a cat, she lives in an apartment by herself. inuyasha doesn't offer any personal information, but she doesn't mind—she just likes to fill in the dead air during long waits when inuyasha's in the field and he has to wait an ungodly amount of time before something happens.

they work well together, more or less—up until one retrieval mission where kagome is uncooperative, leading him down dead ends and wrong turns. it was supposed to be a simple in and out task—break into the building, head one of the many office on one of the many floors, grab the folder labeled #00415, and go. so simple that his superior just left it as a note on his desk.

he didn't ask questions on what this was all for; he didn't think he needed to. he never even bothered bringing it up. but with kagome purposefully fucking up the mission—almost leading him into a pack of gaurds to get caught—he's starting to get pissed off, because what the fuck, you're wasting time, i need to get this damn document and i need to do it now. he snapped as such into his mic and kagome instantly quiets, and thanks to her silence he eventually manages to find his way into the damn office.

it doesn't take him long to find the document, and with his mouth in a scowl he speaks into his mic that fuck, fucking finally he has it, thanks for nothing kagome, now he just needs to make sure that this file is the one, so he opens the folder labelled #00415 and peeks and—

name: higurashi kagome identification number: #00415 report: unknown role in the murder of higurashi kikyo

his eyes widen.

he speaks into his mic and demands to know what's going on, but kagome isn't responding. when he gets back to the agency, she's gone, none's seen her in hours, and his superior demands to know why he's been mia. inuyasha snaps that he went on that stupid retrieval mission and found kagome's file. his superior looks at him as if he were crazy.

"what retrieval mission?" his boss says, confused.

"the one you left on my desk this morning!"

"i didn't leave any thing on your desk, inuyasha. what are you talking about?"

inuyasha's stomach drops.

kagome, he thinks with dread. i have to find kagome.

"sir," inuyasha starts. "i think kagome's in danger."

[julytheartist]

The new chapter of You and Me After All is here and at the request of dear readers, my diva Chiaztolite commissioned an artwork of Seirin and Rinnosuke.🩵

[moonkissedart]

The hacker and the hacked one.

Inukag Au

We were working together a little with @timetravellingpaperbag for her fic Hack. It was a love project for me and I really hope you see this on the illustration. 🥹 This is a scene from chapter 3.

I can’t help but find hacking interesting and really attractive (I know, I know…), so this story was just calling for me. 😅 And I’m so happy for the opportunity to work on it. 🥰

[inuyashapridemonth]

Inuyasha Pride Month 2024

Hello, Inuyasha fandom! We're coming for June once again, and this year, we've abolished daily prompts, and opted for themed weeks to kick start the fun; for further information, click 'Keep reading'! We hope you'll join us this year in celebrating LGBTQ+ creators within the Inuyasha universe!

When the time comes, tag us @inuyashapridemonth here on Tumblr, and use the hashtag #inuyashapridemonth2024, so we can share your creations!

Week 1 – Identities

This week is all about letting your character's flags fly - or not, depending on how you approach it. This week is about choosing your own labels, so paint your characters however you see fit. Artists: for a plethora of pride flag colour codes, click here.

Week 2 – M/M

Let's hear it for the boys! Also known as MLM or Slash, this week is for shipping the lads of the series.

Week 3 – F/F

Girls, they run the world! Also known as WLW or Femslash, this week is for shipping the gals of the series.

Week 4 – Characters

Finally, we have characters. This week is to celebrate your characters as individuals; if you missed your chance to play with your fave ace, this is their time to shine!

Important Note: For M/M and F/F weeks, characters that identify as male/female or NB are more than welcome, e.g. Inuyasha x trans!Kagome are perfect for M/M week.

For more information, head to our Rules & FAQs page.

If you have any questions, send us an ask!

Writers! Find our AO3 collection here.

The countdown begins! From today, there are 2 months until Pride Month, and we'll be here with a few reminders. See you then!

Love, The Mods ♡