Chapter 1 – How it all Began

Six months. Six months since her parents had died in the fire. She had nearly died, too. She was lucky to be alive. But she had some scarring to her shoulder blades, and a weak chest from inhaling the smoke. She didn't really care, though. She was a powerful miko, and her wounds had healed fast. One day, they would be gone. Completely. Since the accident, she had moved out and now lived with her older sister. Kagome had worshipped her from the day she was born. Her big sister was everything she aspired to be. She was kind, clever, graceful, beautiful, funny… and powerful. Kagome had her match in magic, but not in discipline. She struggled with a lot of her magical studies, and could never hope to match her sister in that way.

That was how she had survived the night of the fire. Her miko powers, her sister had once told her, acted on instinct. They were liked to Kagome's heart, not her brain, she had said. She had said she envied Kagome in that respect.

Kikyo.

She was the focus point of Kagome's young life. Kagome was now eighteen years old. Her birthday, ironically, had been the day after the fire. The fire had been started by her mother's ill-fated attempts to make her a birthday cake.

She could have lived on her own, but Kikyo wouldn't hear of it. She said that they were family, and that no family member of hers was going to live on her own in a time of need.

Kikyo lived in the middle of town, in a small two-bedroom apartment seven floors up. Since the lift was broken, it was a hell of a walk up to their home, but neither of them really cared.

Her life was not perfect, but it was back on track.

Except for one thing.

Naraku.

Kikyo's boyfriend. Kagome had never liked him. Not from the moment she had met him. He was a hanyou, a half-demon, and she had no problem with that. He No problem at all. The issue came with his soul. He was a bad person. Kagome could tell. Her miko powers acted up while he was around. Once, she had unintentionally sent a glass smashing into the side of his face. His eyes were crimson, the colour of freshly-spilt blood, and his hair a dark black, but not the elegant ebony of Kagome and her sister. It was more… dark. Like night with no stars.

There was definitely something wrong about that man. She was afraid of him. Afraid of what he could do. To Kikyo, or her.

She knew that he hit Kikyo.

She had seen the bruises one night. By accident. Around Kikyo's forearms, the imprint of a hand staining her skin, like someone had grasped her and shook her hard. A bite mark on her colour bone, but not the bruise from a love bite. Kagome's magic could sense the malicious intent coming from the bite.

Kagome had had some boyfriends. Hojo. He was pathetic. Very sweet, but absolutely benign.

Then there was Koga. It had been a fiery, passionate love, but it had petered out fairly soon.

But none of them had hurt her.

She had never confronted Kikyo about the marks. And Kikyo had never mentioned any incidents. But as the days wore on, and her sister's movements began to get more sluggish and slow, and her magic wavered, and the bags under her eyes grew on her pale, wasted face, Kagome worried. She knew that he was wearing her sister down. And she was powerless to stop it.

Powerless to stop him.

…

It was late, broaching onto the early hours of the morning. The inky sky was star-speckled and cold, and the large, luminescent moon stood through the blackness, sending out a message to all those who could read it.

Kagome knew that something was wrong that night, as she undressed to get into bed. She felt… uneasy, like a phone had been vibrating in her pocket and she couldn't answer it.

Kikyo had said she would be out late that night. Told Kagome not to worry. Of course, this did absolutely nothing. Kagome worried more than ever about her sister nowadays.

She didn't have much family left, and she shied away from the pain as much as possible, covering up her anguish with concerns for those left behind.

Namely, her and Kikyo.

She closed her eyes, and darkness swallowed her.

The last thing she knew was a flash of pink in her room.

…

She heard the door open, then slam close, and the chain was slid across. The movements were harried, fumbling.

"Kikyo?" she yawned, stumbling out into the hall, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. "What are you doing? What time is it? how come you were out so late?"

"Ssh, Kagome, just go back to sleep. It's ok," Kikyo whispered from where she was standing at the door.

She shook her head to clear it, then frowned.

Something red was trickling down Kikyo's neck.

She screamed.

In a second, Kikyo had a hand clamped over her mouth. "You'll wake the neighbours," she said gently, removing her hand.

She was a mess.

A large, purplish bruise was beginning to swell along her right cheekbone. There was a cut stretching the left side of her mouth into a grimace. Dirt was smeared across her forehead, as if she had been thrown to the ground. A cut traced below her left ear and across her hairline.

"Sister," Kagome breathed sorrowfully. "What has he done to you?"

"What?" she sounded… surprised? Anxious? She laughed and touched her hand to the bruise. "Oh, this? Silly me; I fell down."

"You mean… he didn't…?"

"Who, Naraku?" Kikyo said, edges of desperation in her voice. "No, he would never lay a hand on me, Kagome! You know that. He loves me."

There was something flat about the way she said that. Empty. A dream which had been abruptly, horribly, disillusioned.

But Kagome trusted her. She was her sister. Why would she lie to her?

Of course, she knew that Kikyo was lying. But she hid it. Covered up the little voice inside that was telling her what really happened. She didn't want to believe that anything could go so badly wrong. Twice.

"O…ok," she said shakily. "Do you need some help with healing?"

"No thanks, babe," Kikyo said light heartedly. "It'll be gone by morning. You should go to bed, Kagome," she added, in a gently scolding tone. "It's late, and you need your sleep."

Kagome yawned. "Sure. I'm gonna go get a drink. I'll see you in the morning; let me know if you need my help." And with that, she set off toward the kitchen.

Kikyo breathed a sigh of relief and started down the corridor towards her bedroom.

Kagome had just taken a glass from the cupboard, when she heard…

Knock. Knock.

That was it. Nothing foreboding. Nothing menacing. Just someone knocking at the door.

In autopilot, Kagome walked towards the living room, and slid back the chain.

"No, Kagome!" Kikyo cried urgently. "Don't open the-"

"Hello, Kagome," Naraku said, smiling. "Is your sister in?"

"Naraku, get out of here!" Kikyo yelled.

If only she had used her miko powers then to throw Naraku out of the building, they might both have been saved.

But Kikyo didn't think like that.

Her first, prominent thought, was for the safety of her baby sister. She used her magic and drew Kagome back sharply into a magical barrier.

And she was left open for Naraku's attack.

She was thrown backwards into the wall, which cracked on impact.

Human bones were not made to withstand that kind of force.

"You should have left well enough alone, Kikyo," Naraku whispered, walking towards her slowly. "Now, because of your meddling, you and your sister will both have to die."

"No…" Kikyo breathed. "No… not… Kagome…"

She looked at her sister, and something flashed in the air between them.

Around Kagome's neck, was jewellery. A necklace, adorned with a large pink gem.

No… Kagome thought desperately. No… please…

Desperately, she tried to send magic out to help her sister, but it didn't work. Kikyo had completely shut her off. Nothing coming in, nothing going out.

Kikyo looked at her tearful sister, and a tiny smile graced her lips. "Sorry, Kagome," she whispered.

"No!" Kagome screamed, hammering at her magical prison. "No! Let me out! Kikyo, let me out! Don't die, please don't die!"

Kikyo set her eyes for the last time upon her sister. Her sight was fading.

"Run," she whispered, with her last breath.

The magical barrier around Kagome shimmered, and disappeared.

And Kagome threw an attack behind her, knocking Naraku off his feet and spurring her forward.

And Kagome ran.