Another wonderful one-line-at-a-time collab with @sagemcmae @moon-ion and @yumanichan! Sage also provided the mood board, and Yumani has an ethereal piece of artwork included in the fic as well.
Summary: While doing research for a personal endeavour, Kagome stumbles upon something infecting the forest, along with its stoic guardian.
You are all the same, the pitch and volume of the voice changed, but the contempt stayed the same, washing over her as the branches poked and probed. You claim innocence in one breath while nothing but destruction is in your wake.
"I…" She trailed off. The forest voice had a point, as weird as it was to say that.
Kagome had come to the forest as part of her research, but she was impacting the ecosystem by simply being here.
And she'd known that some humans had gone far worse than simply exploring the forest as their hobby to try and investigate endangered birds.
This was why her thesis was on sustainable and environmentally conscious practices. After graduation, she planned on founding a non-profit dedicated to educating others about how to lower their impact to preserve the beauty of nature.
"I'm here to help," she said quietly, though she felt slightly foolish.
You are here to interfere, the voice hissed, branches reaching for her again. I have had enough of him and his kind getting in the way of progress.
"Him? Him who?" she repeated blankly. She hadn't been aware of anyone else receiving permission to go into the forest alone.
"Do not feign ignorance!" The voice was real now, almost physical, and Kagome choked on a scream as the branches lifted her off the ground.
She flailed as she tried to right herself and get loose.
Her limbs were pulled tight, the branches above her ominously sharp as shadows danced around them.
"Let me go!" she snarled, fighting against the hold, but the branches held firm, and she felt electricity build up around her—it was too hot.
A strange sensation overcame her, her skin rippling like the waters of the lake she passed on her hike here.
Kagome felt like she was being torn in two, the ripples washing over her, trying to put out the flames that threatened to burn her alive.
And then she was falling.