Melting ice

^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any of its characters.


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Chapter 2: Arrogance of an Enemy

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Kagura pushed through the cold thickness that now reached her mid-thigh
but she had not made it more than a few feet before a fierce blaze of light
blasted directly in front of her. It reflected through the ice crystals and was
magnified by the shards of sleet into a blinding flash of purity which stung
her vision. Instantly she shut her eyes.


A booming voice echoed, surrounding her with the freezing cold,
"YOU BE THE WIND USER, KAGURA."


Kagura opened her eyes, squinting at the brilliance that threatened to
blister her sight, "Yes, I am. Who wants to know?"


The white radiant form standing directly in front of her moved forward and
seemed to float over the dense snow and through the surging torrent like
a wandering ghost.


Sensing danger, she backed up a step. "What do you want? What are you?"


"I AM THE GREAT SPIRIT OF THE NORTH WIND."


Suddenly, the bottom dropped out of her stomach. A pure entity of nature?
Here? Why?


"I HAVE WATCHED YOU, DEMON. I HAVE WATCHED YOU FROM THE MOMENT
THE HALF-DEMON, NARAKU BIRTHED YOUR PRESENCE INTO THIS WORLD. YOU ARE NOT
WELCOME HERE. YOU HAVE ANGERED I, THE NORTH WIND, WITH YOUR PATHETIC
EXISTENCE. YOU DARE FLAUNT YOUR UNSANCTIFIED ABILITY TO CONTROL WHAT RIGHTFULLY
BELONGS TO THE NEVER-ENDING SKY. YOU ARE NOT WORTHY TO USE THE POWER OF THE WIND.
YOU, YOUKAI, HAVE SOILED THE BREATH OF THE HEAVENS WITH YOUR TOUCH.
I, THE SPIRIT OF THE NORTH WIND, DO HEREBY CHALLENGE YOUR RIGHT TO EXIST.
PROVE YOURSELF WORTHY. PROVE TO ME YOU CAN WITHSTAND THE FORCES AGAINST
YOU WITHOUT THE AID OF THE WIND, WITHOUT YOUR UNHOLY POWERS.
MAKE IT ALIVE THROUGH MY STORM, WIND WITCH, AND I WILL SPARE YOUR LIFE."

With that last deafening roar, the light vanished and left a growing
darkness of smothering sleet and snow. A sudden gust of wind knocked her
flying backwards. She stumbled into the snow, almost buried by the
icy wetness. Grumbling, Kagura stood and began to trudge forward,
pushing against the freezing wall of ice that tore at her lithe form
mercilessly. This was unfair. What had she done to deserve such
a fate? She now knew why her powers were of no use, why they had
decided to desert her. A powerful entity of purity wanted her dead. She
did not have a chance. Gritting her teeth while trying to shield
her face from the cutting shards of hail with her right arm, Kagura
painfully sloshed through the snow that now came to her waist.

She didn't know how long she struggled through the torrential downpour of
what she now knew to be a Holy blizzard of death. It could have been hours
or it could have been mere moments. The endless sheets of ice and snow
threatened to bury her alive.


Her hand brushed against something rough and hard. She looked up to
see what she had nearly run into........ it was a home, a small human built
hut of some sort. Silently thanking what little luck she had, Kagura
found the front entrance and entered the dilapidated wooden shack. It was dark and
musty. Numerous cracks allowed the snow and icy wind to invade the
abandoned hut. There was a place meant for fire on the far wall and, adjacent
to the old fireplace was a small bed. Kagura smiled. She could wait out the storm here.
She would survive.

Frowning, the wind user looked down at her soaked clothes, cold and clinging
to her skin. She grimaced. How would she get dry? Spying two grey
blankets on the bed, Kagura walked over and grabbed the coverings.


At that moment a whisper on the wind amplified to the pitch of thunder,
"NO, YOUKAI , IT WILL NOT BE THAT EASY FOR YOU TO ESCAPE YOUR FATE."


Kagura clutched the blankets to her chest and looked around the wooden shack
with wide eyes. The wind outside whipped and whistled through the open
cracks. Decayed wood groaned from the pressure. Kagura backed up, frantically
glancing at the walls and ceiling. The groaning continued as the ferocity
of the storm beat upon the outside of her shelter. It intensified to
the grating sound of splintering wood. For the first time
in her life, the wind user became afraid...of the wind.
She bit her lip and ran for the door, making it out just in time,
stumbling from the mass of splinters behind her.

She stood shivering and screamed into the hail, "Why? What have I done to deserve
this? Tell me!"

There was no answer to her defiant but weak plea.


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Sesshoumaru stared out into the chaos, undecided about what he should do.
His indecision about how to find Rin was beginning to unnerve him.
This unnatural raging storm had swallowed his ward within seconds.
If he did not find her soon, the cold would kill her. A sudden image of
Rin's shivering body and blue lips flashed through his mind. For the
first time, Sesshoumaru became fearful for his little one. Mulling over
what action to take, the inu youkai decided to take to the air in a ball
of light and let his demon senses find the child. With that decision
made, the dog demon attempted to rise. Nothing happened. Confused,
Sesshoumaru tried again to ride the wind. Once more...... nothing. Deep,
dark red seeped into his vision but vanished as soon as it had begun.
He could not transform. He looked at the falling snow, holding his hand
out to the sparkling flakes. The icy crystals fell on his skin, glowed a
light pink hue, then melted from his warmth. He silently cursed. This
storm contained purifying energy. Any youkai caught in this mess
would find their powers lacking.

Sesshoumaru's instincts gave him a direction to try. Growling in contempt,
he began walking. His instinct was all he had at the moment.... the only
thing he could try in order to find Rin before this accursed blizzard froze
his ward to death.

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Kagura sniffled while pushing through the body numbing cold. The heaviness
of the snow pulled at her legs, sucking her down, binding her to the frozen
ground.

A dark feeling of helplessness began to choke the breath from her body.
She considered giving up. What did it matter anyway? She was nothing
but a slave to her master, worthless, chained, degraded on a daily basis.
What worth did her life have? Sighing, Kagura began to slow. She was wet,
tired and growing numb from her feet to her fingertips. Her clothes
were tattered from the jagged shards of hail that pummeled her body
mercilessly and her spirit was dimming from the purifying power within
the raging snow. All she had to do was die and it would all be over, give
up to the entity that demanded her life and she would be free of this misery.

As her thoughts began to darken, Kagura stumbled forward. She fell
down an unseen embankment. Closing her eyes, the wind user surrendered to her
fate: Death by purification and ice.


The fall was not a long one, Kagura tumbled downward, first rolling then hitting
what felt like a solid wall of stone. She opened her eyes to the stinging
sleet and turned her head away. To her left was a hole in the rock, a cave.
Slowly, painstakingly, Kagura crawled into the blackness, her last attempt to
flee from the purifying storm.


Sharp edges of crumbled stone ground into her knees as she crawled
into the darkness. As her eyes adjusted, she looked around.
Sensing something, the wind user squinted as she moved deeper into
the earthly hollow. The sound of the howling torrent outside died to only
a slightly nagging whistle as she crept further and deeper.


What she sensed was warm, alive. Before she knew it, two very young, brown
eyes blinked toward the pinpoint of light that was the mouth of the cave.
The dim sparkle reflected back at her in fear. It was a child........a human child.

The little one whimpered, "Please, don't hurt me."


The wind user stopped a few paces away from the frightened human girl and
sat up, "I have no intention of hurting you, young one."


Brown eyes blinked back at her, "Are you lost..... like me?"


Kagura slowly nodded her head in defeat, "Yes, child, I am lost."

There was silence for several moments until Kagura heard the
light chattering of teeth. The child was freezing, she could
not withstand the cold like a youkai. More than likely she would
soon freeze to death.


Making up her mind, Kagura opened up her garment and pulled out the
blankets she had stuffed into her clothes.

Taking one, she slowly crawled over to the child who was huddled close
to the rocky wall. She draped the warm blanket over the girl, "Here, this
will help you to stay warm."

The small child accepted the gift, bundling up into a blanket
covered ball, "Thank you."

Leaning with her back against the stone wall, Kagura nodded and sighed.
"You are welcome, little one."

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Okay, chapter two, I am winging this story as it is. I have an outline
in my head so don't worry, there is an end. Chapter three may be out tomorrow.
Chapter 4 of TCOR may be out then too. Till next update. Scarecrow.