Author's Corner

Just a little something I wrote for a friend during Inu Secret Santa for the end of last year (my Tumblr is kagkik if you wanna follow or something). Howl's Moving Castle and SessKik mashed together! This one's for you, Luiza! I hope you have a great year!

Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Inuyasha lmao.

FALLING STAR

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Early morning's winter wind pushed through Kikyo's billowing raven locks and sent a chill down the flesh of her neck, forcing her cheeks to flush with the biting cold. It was particularly cold during this time of the year and she felt a shiver rolling through her bones as she released a deep puff of cloudy breath. She stuffed her hands into the sleeves of her large straw coat and hurried along the cobblestones in the direction of the bakery her sister worked at. The hair covering her ears was thrown back as she walked briskly and the noise of the shrill, howling whistle of a gale tore through her ears.

Feet carrying her down the path mechanically, she allowed her thoughts to wander until she found herself down in the labyrinth paths behind the huts in the town. Consulting the directions Kagome had given her on the slip of worn parchment in her hand, she did not notice the figure she was about to walk into until it was, of course, too late.

"Oof," she breathed as she collided with the stone back of a man, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't—"

"Hey," he cut her off, turning around to face her. His eyes looked tired and sunken and his nose was red and puffy. Kikyo thought it was a little early to be out drinking already, but then it occurred to her that he'd probably been out all night, warmed by the liquor swirling around in his stomach.

He eyed her unsubtly and a smile grew on his face.

"You lost?" he asked, voice deep and audibly slurred. "You look cold. And thirsty. Wanna come with me and get somethin' to drink?"

His tone wasn't aggressive, yet Kikyo was still appalled at his implication. Her shawl was covering her miko attire so he must not have realised her station, and he wasn't in an exactly perceptive state regardless.

Still, there was no excuse for such behaviour.

She was about to sigh and push past him to go about her business when another man appeared. He planted his hand on the first man's shoulder and grinned sheepishly, also quite obviously drunk. He tilted his head when he saw her and his smile grew.

"Well," he drawled, "Who's this?"

"A lost and thirsty little mouse," the first man answered, "I was just telling her she should come with us and get a drink. Don't you think so too?"

"Yeah! Come on."

"Come on. It'll be fun."

Kikyo masked her irritation, not in the slightest afraid of their advances or persistence. If they tried anything, it wasn't like she was unskilled in combat. Had they even noticed the gigantic bow and quiver strapped across her shoulder? Ridiculous . . . About to take some form of action to get them to let her past, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder and turned her head to see that a new figure come and stand beside her.

She had to resist the urge to gasp in shock at the sight of this man, if he could even be called as such.

The men froze in sync with her as they stared at the newcomer, and Kikyo felt her jaw slowly dropping open as she continued to stare, gobsmacked.

"There you are," he spoke with feigned familiarity, though his voice was sharp and shiver-inducing, "I have been looking everywhere for you, Miko."

Demon.

She blinked swiftly as her thoughts screamed warnings at her, but the youkai simply kept his powerful hand on her shoulder. His hair fell all the way down to the back of his knees, silver-white, and in the place of normal human ears were pointed elvish ears. His face was adorned with various monstrous markings and there was a great pelt of fur slung over his shoulder, and she could see in the proximity when he opened his mouth that it was lined with sharp dagger-like teeth. His eyes though, were another story entirely. Stellar gold and defined by the magenta eye paint he'd used, and his pupils were narrow, reptilian slits.

She felt her shoulders shudder when he looked at her with them.

"Let's be on our way now."

The men from before no longer looked so carefree and stood straight and trembling because of the demon in front of them. The demon with his hand on her shoulder as they walked away and her neck in range for the kill! Kikyo felt furious at herself. How had she let herself get in such a position!? He may have lent her a hand in fleeing the troublesome town's men, but they'd been no threat really. The youkai, however, he was a threat. He had her literally in his grasp as they strode down the paved shadowy paths and her throat was open and exposed. She could feel his breath on it, hot and dangerous, and her mind raced with possible ways to escape his clutches. If only she could reach her bow from her shoulder, but if she moved even an inch he'd break her spine in a second.

She was fuming and genuinely fearful now.

"Your pulse is racing," he spoke suddenly, and she bit down on her tongue. She dared not look at him, because if she did he would see the fear in her eyes, and she hated herself for even feeling it, never mind allowing him to see it.

Her pulse was racing? What did he expect? He was leading her off to cut her up into tiny little pieces.

Miko. He'd called her Miko before. He knew what she was. Dangerous. Spiritual. A natural enemy of demonkind. From his humanoid form and regal attire, she thought it would be safe to assume that he was a Noble, so of course he was planning to exterminate her. So how did she escape!?

"Calm yourself," he hissed, "You are drawing them to us."

She frowned.

"What?"

"I am being pursued."

Fear temporarily forgotten, she craned her head up to look at him and searched for an explanation. He didn't return her gaze and just kept staring forward, and Kikyo wondered what he'd meant. Pursued? Who by? The men from before? No . . . Two mere humans with no spiritual powers of such wouldn't dare target a youkai like him, so the question was . . . who was following them?

She sensed a presence behind them suddenly and tensed.

Multiple presences, actually, and she felt him dig his hand harder into her shoulder.

"It is too late for you to flee on your own," he said detachedly, eyes still fixed ahead, "You are now involved . . . Your destination?"

"Uh, the village bakery," she stuttered, "But I don't need a demon to help me get there."

His eyes narrowed and she detested herself for shivering. She was unsure of why he seemed to want to help her instead of killing her, but then he shifted his gaze down to regard her and she saw raging flames in his irises. The promise of wrath behind them seemed to increase and she almost swallowed.

"If you do not accept my assistance, you will die."

Unlikely, she thought.

He was greatly underestimating her.

"Hold on," he breathed.

She wondered what he meant by that but then a cluster of darkness suddenly emerged from the walls in front of them and Kikyo finally saw what was pursuing them.

Dark creatures made from transforming sludge crawled out of the walls and manifested themselves into bodies, reaching for her and the demon, and then she understood what he'd meant when he'd told her to hold on.

His arms snaked around her waist and they shot up into the sky like Chinese canons out of the sludge creatures' grasps. Kikyo screamed as they flew upward and the velocity stripped her coat made from straw from her body, and she watched it fly away on the wind. Throwing her arms around the youkai's neck so she didn't fall, she squeezed her eyes shut and waited for him to eventually throw her to the ground to meet her death, which he inevitably would. When he didn't, she slowly opened her eyes and found that they were floating along the wind like birds. She grew alarmed when he started to remove his arms from around her waist, but he simply brought them up to grab her hands instead.

"Stop screaming and start walking, Miko."

She gasped over the spiralling air and tried to straighten out her legs. The powerful wind carrying them—or were they flying?—made it difficult at first, but finally, she managed to straighten herself out and attempt walking along the current. She clasped his hands and allowed him to hold her steady from behind, and gradually her fear began to ebb away into something else. The ribbon tying back her hair slid out and she walked through the air and felt her hair fanning out behind her like a cloak of dark satin. She stared down at the scenery below and watched the people of the town going about their lives' business, oblivious to the soaring figures above them, and she felt an uncharacteristic smile tugging at her features.

She forgot the demon behind her that could easily snap her neck with his jaws any second, break her wrists, or drop her, and smiled. Truly, genuinely, smiled. She felt unlike anything she'd ever felt before — light, elated, free, and her smile showed it.

She felt liberated.

She turned slightly to look at the demon helping her fly through the sky, and he smirked.

She thought he mumbled something but soon they arrived at the highest story of the bakery Kagome worked at, and they floated down towards the balcony. She landed on its strong wooden planks and he on the bannister, one hand still holding hers. Kikyo could feel herself still smiling somewhat despite the situation, and almost missed what he said because of the adrenaline still pumping through her veins.

"It would be wise to avoid venturing out again until they have fled," he said, "Wait a while until I have drawn them away."

"All right . . ." she breathed absentmindedly, before adding, ". . . But they would be no match for me if it ever came down to a confrontation."

He smirked again, and then withdrew his hand from hers.

"If you say so, Miko."

And then he stepped back and fell from the balcony's bannister, and once she ran to look over the edge to see where he'd landed he was nowhere in sight. As if he'd vanished. She still felt the belated excitement rushing through her body and still had the giant smile on her usually stoic face, despite her brain continuing to scream DEMON. But for the first time in her dark and bleak excuse of an existence, that almost didn't matter. Her cheeks were flushed with thrill and the chill of the wind and she quickly rushed into the building to find Kagome.

How does it feel to be alive? she wondered.

Perhaps it felt a little something like that.

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