Disclaimer: I own neither Fairy Tail nor Inuyasha and make no money from these writings.

Curse of Eternity

Chapter One

Noise flooded into the streets of Magnolia as the doors to Fairy Tail's guild hall opened. The first person to exit was Lucy since she was doing her best to get away from her male teammates. She loved her team dearly, but there were days that she wanted to throttle certain members. She, Natsu, Gray, and Erza had returned from their latest job a few hours prior and had stopped by the guild hall to report in to Makarov.

The job had actually gone smoothly for once, though the payout split four ways was just enough for her to cover rent. The annoying part had come on their return trip. Natsu and Gray had started bickering over something stupid on the train ride back to Magnolia and had been at each other's throats ever since. Erza had been able to curb some of the violence between the two, but the boys had still managed to give Lucy a headache. And the summer heat certainly wasn't helping her mood since it left her feeling sticky and gross.

As soon as the quartet were all outside, the bickering started up once again. "That's it!" Lucy shouted as she threw her hands up in the air. "I have had it with you two fighting. Do you even remember what you're fighting about? Because I don't!"

"Whoa, Lucy," Natsu said a little taken back by her outburst. "Calm down. We were just playing around."

"Yeah, can't you tell the difference by now?" Gray added.

"You really shouldn't be so serious, Lucy," Happy called down from where he was circling above their heads. "You might get even more wrinkles than you already have."

Lucy was about to rail at the flying cat when she felt a firm but gentle hand on her shoulder. Looking back, she saw Erza's knowing smile. Though the slightly older girl had her eccentricities, she was easily the most level-headed of their team. So, taking a deep breath, Lucy let go of her temper and decided not to rise to Happy's taunt. Smiling back at Erza, Lucy nodded in appreciation before speaking again. "Look," she started. "I'm beat, and I'm sure you guys are, too. I'm gonna go home, take a bath, and relax a little. Are we still meeting back here later for dinner?"

"We're still on board," Natsu grinned as Happy landed in his pink hair.

Gray and Erza also gave the affirmative, and Lucy smiled. "Great! So I'll see you guys in a few hours," she said with a wave as she turned on her heel to leave. After only a few steps a thought occurred to her and she turned back around to yell after her team members. "And you guys better go back to your own places! No sneaking into my apartment! Do you hear me?!"

When she only got a few half-hearted waves in response, Lucy decided not to hold her breath on the guarantee of some alone time. The walk back to her apartment was quiet, and she enjoyed listening to the lazy flow of the river as she walked along the sidewall. She had her usual exchange with the men who used the river to transport their wares, and she mused on how it was nice when some things remained the same even after years passed. No longer was she Lucy, the guild's new, eighteen-year-old, budding wizard. She was Lucy Heartfilia, Fairy Tail veteran in the prime of her magic and life at a mature twenty-five years of age.

Head high with self-praise, Lucy strutted right up to her front door and sashayed inside, intent on a nice, relaxing bath.

As several hours passed and Lucy was able to bathe, dress, and primp in peace, she was honestly shocked when she left her home again without having to deal with even a single intruder. The day had been hot, but the air cooled nicely as the sun set. Stepping up on the river's sidewall, Lucy heard her stomach growl slightly and was glad that none of her teammates were around to tease her about it. It was only then that she realized that she had skipped lunch. With a slightly quicker pace than she usually took, she made her way towards the guild hall.

A few blocks from her destination, Lucy encountered her river-traveling friends and waved as they called out their usual playful warning. The boat passed by her, and she didn't think anymore of the warning than she usually did. At least, she didn't think about it until she stepped on a loose paving stone in the wall. It almost seemed to happen in slow motion. The stone shifted and in an attempt to reclaim her balance, Lucy over-corrected and felt her weight shift towards the water on her left.

She almost completely missed a yell from the other side of the river as she cried out and braced herself for the plunge. Only instead of the wet river, Lucy landed hard on her butt on a hard surface. Slowly opening her eyes, she ran her hands over what she was sitting on and quickly realized that it was a solid sheet of ice. 'Gray?' Was her first thought, but it was quickly dismissed when a feminine voice called out to her.

"Are you okay?" The voice asked, and Lucy looked up to see the owner jumping down from the wall in the other side of the river.

It was a young woman. Though, Lucy thought, with black hair and blue eyes, the woman did hold a slight resemblance to the ice-make wizard she had initially thought was her savior. "Are you okay?" The young woman repeated as she trotted across a narrow strip of ice connecting the two sides of the river. "I know that ice isn't the softest surface to land on, but it seemed better than a dunk in the water," she explained as she extended a hand to help Lucy stand again.

"I'm fine," Lucy answered as she took the offered hand and righted herself. She slipped a little on the ice, but eventually found her footing and said, "Thanks for coming to the rescue. I'm on my way to meet my friends, so you saved me from having to go home and change!"

"Well, it's a really cute outfit, so it would have been a shame to ruin it," the woman complimented with a smile.

Smiling as she smoothed down her skirt once more, Lucy extended get hand and introduced, "I'm Lucy. And you are?"

"Kagome," the woman returned as she shook Lucy's hand. "So," she began as she looked at the height difference between the ice they stood on and the top of the sidewall. "How are we going to get out of the river?"

Lucy leaned out and looked a little ways down the river before she pointed to what she'd been looking for. "There are some steps leading from the water up to the street down that way. I think the boat men use them to unload stuff."

"Great!" Kagome said with a smile. "Just follow me and stick close. The ice will start to melt the further I get from it."

Lucy nodded and the two women walked on top of the river, sticking close to the wall. As they walked, Lucy noticed something odd. Gray used two hands to cast his maker magic, and Lyon was able to use just one hand if he wanted. But the woman in front of her, Kagome, didn't seem to use her hands at all. There were no spells or motions or anything else to indicate the use of magic. She just walked normally and the ice appeared under her feet. 'I don't think I've ever seen magic like that,' Lucy thought as they reached the steps and Kagome let her step off of the ice first.

"Thanks again," Lucy said as Kagome stepped off of the ice. Glancing back down the river, she saw that the ice stretching across the river was starting to break up and float away. "So are you a wizard who's just passing through town, or are you looking to join the guild?"

"Um, I guess it's mostly the first one," Kagome answered as she started up the steps towards the street. "But I don't belong to another guild or anything. I just travel around."

Lucy was surprised. "You don't belong to a guild?" She asked as she joined Kagome back on the street. "You obviously use magic, so how do you make money? You would need to be part of a guild to take jobs."

"Odd jobs, mostly," Kagome shrugged. "Things like working in little shops, waiting tables, and the occasional courier job."

Looking her rescuer over, Lucy tried to get a feel for who the woman was. She was fairly petite; no taller than five-two or five-three with a lithe frame to match. Lucy thought that Kagome might be around her age, possibly a little younger, but it was difficult to tell. Ever the fashionista deep at heart, she cocked her head a little at the clothes that Kagome wore. The outermost layer was a white…dress? Coat? Whatever it was, it was sleeveless and ended around her ankles. It had slits up the front for easy movement and a zipper that went from the neck to the top of one slit. But underneath that, Kagome wore what seemed to be a skin-tight body suit. It had a high neck, sleeves that ended at the elbows and legs that ended at the knees. With simple sandals and a red sash tied around her hips, Lucy found the overall look a little utilitarian, but it seemed to work for the small woman.

"Well," Kagome began. "Since you seem to be okay now, I'll get going. Be careful out there!"

"Wait," Lucy called as she reached out to grab Kagome's wrist before she could walk away. It was when something poked her palm sharply that she looked down to where she held onto Kagome. Wound around the woman's wrist was what looked like a necklace. The length was decorated with small beads that almost looked like teeth, and a pink sphere the size of a large marble hung against the inside of her wrist. Looking back up at Kagome, Lucy continued, "I want to thank you."

"That's really not necessary," Kagome tried to wave off a little awkwardly. "I didn't help you looking to get something in return."

"Still," Lucy told her with a sense of finality. "I'm meeting my friends for dinner. You should come, too. My treat."

"I don't know," Kagome hesitated as she watched Lucy's eager expression.

Lucy was just opening her mouth to encourage Kagome to accept her offer when she felt something brush lightly against her ankle and screamed. Jerking away and looking down, Lucy was met with the sight of a small cream-colored cat winding its way between her legs.

"Kirara!" Kagome cried. "I was wondering where you went," she said as she crouched down and opened her arms. When Kirara leapt into her hold, Kagome straightened and smiled at Lucy. "Sorry," she apologized. "She likes meeting new people."

Lucy watched the small cat in Kagome's arms. She was sure that the two swaying tails would have been a little more startling if she didn't regularly spend time around a flying cat that could also fly. Happy had somewhat put her off concerning cats, but as soon as Kirara gave a happy little mewl, Lucy melted. "She's so cute!"

"Yeah," Kagome laughed. "She is pretty cute like this."

"You should both come to the guild for dinner," Lucy stressed. "They keep lots of fresh fish around since several of our members have cat partners."

Looking down to Kirara, Kagome felt herself start to cave. Kirara's eyes were lit with excitement, and Kagome felt a little guilty. They hadn't had the best luck with fishing in the lakes around the area, so she and Kirara had been settling for whatever they could round up. Kirara mewled again as her tails twitched in anticipation for Kagome's answer to Lucy's invitation.

"I guess it's two against one," Kagome sighed. "Lead the way."

"Great!" Lucy cheered as she took hold of Kagome's elbow and tugged her along. "You'll love it there, I promise," she said as they continued to walk.

"What guild did you say you belonged to?" Kagome asked as Kirara climbed up onto her shoulder.

"Oh, I don't think I've told you yet, have I?" Lucy laughed. Holding up her right hand to show off her guild mark, she answered, "I'm a member of Fairy Tail!"

"Fairy Tail, huh?" Kagome questioned. She'd heard a lot about the guild. There were always rumors floating around concerning them.

"Mmhmm," Lucy hummed with a happy nod. No matter how much trouble her guild caused, she loved them all and was proud to be part of them.

"Out of all the guilds, why did you decide to join that one?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Well," Lucy paused and put a finger to her chin as she thought about her answer. They were just in sight of the guild when a large crash could be heard from inside followed by some shouting. Lucy began to laugh at her guildmates, knowing the commotion that must be going on inside the building. "It's a one-of-a-kind guild," she finally answered. When Kagome raised an eyebrow at her answer, she increased their pace and said, "You'll see when we get there."

Kagome's eyes widened when they finally stepped through the guild hall's doors. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it wasn't the rowdy scene that they'd walked in on. The large room was filled with people who were drinking and laughing and even a few who seemed to be fighting. "Welcome to Fairy Tail," Lucy said with a bright smile before continuing to pull Kagome inside.

Looking around nervously, Kagome tried taking deep breaths. It had been a while since she'd been in such a crowded area. "Lucy!" She heard a voice call from off to their right. She looked in the direction that the voice had come and saw a pretty, red-headed woman waving at the blonde who held her arm. Lucy waved back before smiling at Kagome and leading her towards the table where the woman sat.

"Hey, Erza," Lucy greeted happily. "Are you the first one here?"

"I was," Erza nodded. "But Natsu and Gray arrived before you as well. They started fighting, so I told them to take it out back."

"Oh man," Lucy whined. "You mean I got here last?"

"Looks that way," Erza told her with a soft laugh. Sliding her gaze over to the woman standing beside Lucy, she asked, "And who is this that you've brought with you?"

"Oh, that's right!" Lucy pulled Kagome to stand in front of her and introduced, "Erza, this is Kagome. She totally saved me from falling in the river on my way here! Kagome, this is Erza Scarlet, one of our guild's strongest members."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kagome," Erza said with a nod in Kagome's direction.

"Yeah, you too," Kagome responded with her best smile. She was a little uncomfortable surrounded by so many people that she didn't know, but she would try to be as polite as possible.

Erza looked to Lucy. "How did you almost fall in the river?" She asked.

"Ah, that," Lucy responded with a light blush of embarrassment. She slid into the booth bench opposite Erza and motioned for Kagome to sit next to her before explaining, "I was walking on the side wall and stepped on a loose stone. It made me lose my balance and I started to fall. Kagome saved me by freezing over part of the river with her ice magic!"

"Ice magic, huh?" Erza mused before looking to Kagome again. She saw that the woman was removing what appeared to be several swords all bound together from the sash at her hip to prop them against the end of the bench where she sat. "Do you belong to a guild, Kagome?"

"No," Kagome answered. "I like to travel a lot, so I never saw the point of being tied down to one specific place."

Erza frowned a little but decided to let the comment slide. "What brought you to Magnolia?" She asked.

Kagome shrugged with a small smile. "The wind, I guess," she answered. "I'm not sure exactly what made me come here or stop here, but I'm glad I did. You have a beautiful city."

Erza and Lucy smiled at Kagome's compliment to their home. Lucy was about to ask what her plans were while she was in town when a door towards the back of the guild slammed open and two familiar voices carried into the room.

"You didn't win, idiot. Eating all that fire has finally started to roast your brain," Gray groused as he and Natsu gave each other light shoves on their way back to their table.

"Whatever!" Natsu argued. "What fight were you part of? I totally kicked your ass!"

"You wanna go again?!" Gray responded as they stopped just before reaching their seats.

"Boys," Erza spoke sternly. That was all it took for both men to clench their fists and jaws but the matter drop. For the moment, anyway.

Natsu looked over to greet Lucy, but he stopped short and blinked when he saw an unfamiliar face sitting next to his friend. "Who are you?" He blurted out.

Lucy immediately got onto the pink-haired man for being rude, but she quieted when Kagome began to laugh. Kagome was a little taken aback by the bluntness of the question, but it strangely enough hadn't come across as rude. It just held such a tone of honest curiosity that Kagome couldn't help the giggles that had bubbled up.

"My name is Kagome," she smiled once her giggles quieted down.

"Kagome," Lucy began. "This is Natsu and Gray," she introduced while pointing to each man in turn.

"Don't forget about me!" A small voice called out as a blue cat climbed onto the table.

"And this is Happy," Lucy continued. Turning to the men of her team, she explained, "Kagome saved me from falling in the river, so I invited her to have dinner with us as a way to say thank you." She paused before adding as an afterthought, "Oh, Gray! Kagome uses Ice Magic too."

Gray gave Kagome a once-over before giving her a quick nod. "Always nice to meet another Ice Mage," he said before sliding into the booth bench next to Erza. He saw Kagome blink rapidly in his direction with a surprised look on her face. "What?" He asked.

"Gray," Lucy hissed. "Put your shirt back on."

Looking down, Gray realized that he was indeed bare-chested. "Damn," he cursed before looking around. "Where'd I put it this time?" He looked up when Erza cleared her throat and saw that she was holding his discarded shirt out to him. Snatching it up quickly, he mumbled, "Thanks."

Lucy sighed as she turned to look at Kagome. "On top of being part of Team Natsu, Gray is also the guild's resident streaker," she explained in a voice that was somewhere between exasperation and resignation.

"Hey!" Gray shouted defensively. He looked to Kagome and tried to explain, "I'm not a streaker. I don't mean to take my clothes off. It just…happens."

Kagome watched the group of friends bicker and tease each other. She'd been traveling with just Kirara for such a long time that she'd almost forgotten what it was like to be part of a tight-knit group like this. For the second time since sitting down at the table, Kagome began to laugh. These people brought back memories of better days that had long since passed. The group turned as a whole to look at her before they gradually began to laugh as well. If there was one thing that any Fairy Tail member was well aware of, it was that one should take every opportunity to laugh. Any why wouldn't they? It always seemed to be infectious.

"You guys seem to be in a good mood tonight," Mirajane said as she approached the table with an empty tray in hand. "Will you all be having your usuals?" She asked as her eyes roamed the faces of her friends. Her eyes widened in surprise however when she caught sight of a new face. "Oh, a newcomer! Are you here to join the guild?"

"No, no, Mira," Lucy waved off with a smile. "I invited her to dinner as thanks for helping me out earlier."

"That's nice," Mirajane smiled. Looking to Kagome again, she asked, "Do you know what you want?"

Kagome, completely at a loss as to what was offered at the guild hall, answered a little unsurely, "Whatever's good?"

Mirajane smiled in understanding and promised, "I'll whip up something special. What about something to drink?"

"Water, please," Kagome requested.

"You got it!" The Take-Over Mage winked with a bright smile. "I'll be back with your drinks in a minute guys."

Lucy suddenly stood in her seat a little before calling after Mirajane, "And an extra plate of fish too, please!" Mirajane waved her hand to acknowledge that she'd heard the request and continued to make her way to the bar.

"Extra fish?!" Happy cried excitedly.

"Not for you," Lucy quickly cut him off. "They're for Kagome's cat, Kirara."

At the mention of her name, Kirara wiggled her way out from underneath Kagome's hair where she'd settled in earlier. She leapt down onto the table and walked over to sit in front of Lucy. With a small mewl, she made the blonde melt all over again.

"You are just too cute!" Lucy cooed as she reached out to scratch under Kirara's chin. Cutting a look in Happy's direction, she deadpanned, "See? This is how cats are supposed to be."

Happy huffed before crossing his short arms across his chest and saying, "Yeah, well at least I can fly."

Kagome hesitated for a moment before her need to defend her friend won out and she said, "So can she, actually."

"Really?!" Lucy gasped as she whipped around to look at Kagome. She was instantly picturing the little cat with fluffy white wings and she couldn't contain the light squeal that made its way up her throat. "Oh my gosh, I think I'm in love!" She enthused as she scooped up Kirara and began to play with her little feet.

"Hey!" Natsu and Happy said in unison before Natsu continued, "Give Happy some love too! He's saved your butt plenty of times."

"Yeah," Lucy admitted without taking her eyes off of her new furry friend. "But he always gives me sass afterwards."

The two continued to bicker back and forth and Kagome was content to watch. She would have said something about how quick Lucy was to scoop up and play with Kirara, a battle seasoned warrior, but she knew that deep down the demon cat loved the attention. Looking up at the redhead across from her, Kagome noticed that Erza's eyes, which had gone quite wide and undeniably shiney, were locked on Kirara in Lucy's arms.

With a small smile, Kagome gently reached over and extracted Kirara from Lucy as she and Natsu continued to argue over Happy's usefulness versus his attitude. Looking pointedly from Kirara to Erza, she set the cat back on the table and watched as she made her way over to the woman who was trying desperately to reign in her girlish love for adorable creatures. Much the way she'd done with Lucy, it only took a little mewl and rubbing her head against Erza's breastplate to win over the S-Class Mage.

Mirajane soon arrived with their drinks and assured them that their dinners would be out soon. Kagome sipped her water and watched the friends some more. She hadn't wanted to come to dinner, but she was gradually becoming glad that she'd accepted the offer.

While Natsu and Lucy were still going at each other and Erza was busy fawning over Kirara, Gray looked over to Kagome and asked, "So what type of Ice Magic do you use?" When he saw her brow furrow at the question, he clarified, "Static or Dynamic?"

The question caught Lucy's attention and she stopped her argument with Natsu to get in on the new conversation. "It's actually a little strange," she stated. "I'd never seen someone use magic like it before."

Kagome suddenly felt very much in the spotlight and her uneasiness from earlier began to return. "I don't really know," she answered unsurely. She really didn't have any idea how to answer their questions. She didn't understand the dynamics behind her magic, only that it worked and how to use it. "I just think about what I want it to do and it happens." As an example, she reached out and lightly touched one finger to the edge of her water glass. Frost slowly covered the glass, but the water inside remained unaffected.

"Whoa," Gray breathed. "Where did you learn that?" He inquired seriously. He was with Lucy on this one. He'd never seen Ice Magic quite like that.

"It really doesn't matter," Kagome tried to deflect. "She died a long time ago.

"Sorry," Lucy said sadly as she placed a comforting hand on the other woman's shoulder. Several of her friends had lost their teachers, and while she couldn't personally relate, she knew that it was likely as hard on Kagome as it had been on them.

"It's fine," Kagome smiled awkwardly. "Like I said, it was a long time ago." There was a quiet pause at the table until she asked, "So what types of magic do all of you use?"

The rest of the dinner went well and everyone soon moved on from Kagome's strange powers to talk of other things. They stayed together for several hours just laughing and sharing stories of past adventures. When it was finally time to go, Kagome stood and stretched before grabbing her three wrapped swords and situating them back into her sash.

Noticing this, Erza asked curiously, "What types of swords are those?"

"Oh," Kagome said as he looked down to the three different handles before looking back up and smiling. "I don't even really know. I can't use them. They're more like heirlooms that I keep with me than anything else."

"So they're very old?" Erza continued to question. She was a little disappointed. She liked examining new swords, but didn't want to intrude if they were possibly antiques.

"Very old," Kagome smiled. "But they're special, so I keep them with me."

Erza nodded and spoke with a gentle smile, "Well it was very nice to meet you Kagome. I hope to see you around the city more before you depart."

"You too, Erza," Kagome responded in kind.

"Do you have somewhere to stay?" Lucy asked as she came up beside Kagome.

Kagome nodded as she said, "Yeah, I'm set up in a little place for while I'm here."

Lucy nodded happily in satisfaction. She didn't want her new friend to have to wander the streets in search of a place to stay.

Kagome turned to say goodnight to Natsu and Gray but found that they'd started up their fight from earlier in the evening. When Lucy offered to walk a few blocks with her, Kagome nodded and began to follow the Celestial Spirit Mage towards the doors.

They were about to step out onto the street when Kagome felt a chill run up the back of her neck. She'd had a similar feeling several times during their meal but had never been able to pinpoint the source. This time, however, when she turned to look behind her, she locked eyes with a small, elderly man sitting on the bartop at the back of the guild. They held each other's gaze for several long moments. He was unblinking and while Kagome was having trouble reading his expression at their distance, she knew that it didn't strike her as a necessarily happy one. Fleetingly, she thought that he looked just a little bit familiar. But the moment was broken when Lucy realised she was lagging behind and reached back to grab her hand and pull her along. Kagome's hand slipped from the door and it slowly fell shut and cut off her view of the man.

'What was that?' She wondered as her heart raced. She did her best to shake the feeling and focus on what Lucy was saying, but it never left her. Even as she was trying to go to sleep later in the night, her mind turned as to where she had seen those dark, serious eyes before.