Disclaimer: I don't own anything on Inuyasha!
Chapter 1: Standing still
The
swirling dust and smoke is beginning to settle down, allowing the
rays of the rising sun through, lighting the devastating effects. The
final battle has been fought, ridding this
world of the vile
existence of Naraku, but the expense was too great. It's a wonder
how this time-traveling miko can stand staring at it…
She
forced herself to look around at the deaths surrounding her. She felt
her stomach painfully clenching at the sight of Shippou, her poor son
with a huge gapping gut
through his entire abdomen. She went to
him in hope that by all the miracles in this world he might still be
alive, but no, he's dead and when she touched her son's tiny hand
it was already stiff. "Forgive me, my son." She said very
softly afraid that she might cause more pain to him though she very
well knows that he won't feel anymore. She tried
to seal his
gut with his divine powers, though no large amount of it would bring
him back to the living. "I'll come back later my son, I'll just
look for the others…"
It's so obvious that no one can
still be alive in that mess. The land is covered with pools of blood,
the stench of blood and death is thick, even her human nose can pick
that up but
still, she wishes that someone else survived. She
filled her mind with arduous hope that her friends are still alive,
she refused to accept that they're all gone except she sees it
with her own eyes. Wrong move. She saw Miroku's bloody body in
the ground his stuff broken into two pieces. She approached him,felt
for his pulse but there was nothing.
This time her eyes begun to
water but she won't let them fall…
They died a noble death, it's not like they died for nothing. In crying…. I- I'll give that vile creature the satisfaction he so want wherever his cursed soul might be.
She looked at his right hand and
saw the tunnel was no longer there. "I see, you have finally been
freed from the curse, in the price of your life… At least you are
no longer
bound in your death… Sleep ell my friend." She said
ruefully as she smoothen his fringes.
As she finished sealing
the open wounds, something in her right caught her attention. The
Hiraikotsu firmly planted in front of a fallen youkai and in the tree
in front, Sango is
pinned standing by a spear through her chest.
She wished it didn't pierce her heart, not just because it would be
too bloody when she removed the spear but that was such a
painful
way to die and certainly Sango didn't deserve such a painful death.
She began talking as she approached her, Sango, the girl who had been
like a sister to her.
"Fighting until the very end, my friend?
Fighting still even in the face of death, how valiant and I wish I
could ever be as valiant as you are…" Then she reached her side
she
touched the spear and examined where exactly it pierced
through. That was close The spear was just a centimeter or two
from her heart. The spear is tainted
with ill will She
started gathering her purification power in her hand touching the
spear and allowed it to flow through it, evaporating the spear
completely. "There,
does it still hurt?"she said softly to
her as she catch her lifeless form, laying it gently to the ground.
She placed her hand over the wound. "Miroku and you would
probably
be happy in heaven, can you take care of Shippou for me?" Then the
wound was completely sealed. She stayed there for a awhile, bracing
herself to what may
come later on. She cuddled herself in her
knees. She just sit there, void of anything, thinking of nothing. She
just wished the emptiness would leave her alone.
Be brave Kagome, you can't sit here forever. He's waiting for you to find him…
"Inuyasha…" there came her small voice.
"Sango, I'll just leave you for awhile, I'll just go look for
Inuyasha." She then walk and let her heart guide her way to him.
The tug on
her heart is drawing her near to him, she just know
it.
She saw him sitting against a tree with a far way look in
his eyes, she knew what those eyes meant. It wasn't just a far away
gaze, it was eyes with no soul nor life with them.
She was
infront of him now, no more than a foot away. She saw his silver hair
drenched in blood, she held on his hands and saw how bloodied they
were. Sudden
realization hit her hard, he's gone, he won't
come back an-and our chance to be together is gone… that's
when the tears fell. She crushed him in her and held on to
him
fast. She wept and sobbed uncontrollably. She wept for the early
demise of her son, the cruel fate that befall them, all the suffering
that she feels right now and most all the pain that they endured upon
dying, the knowledge she wasn't there to help them
and that
there's nothing she can do bring them back.
Why, does it have to end like this?!!!
Unknown to her all this time she
has a spectator, quietly watching her every move. He must admit he
was quite amused with her. Sealing wounds is hard to do and not all
miko
is capable of it, and in fact this is the first time he saw
it himself, he had only heard this kind of skill being executed by
Midoriko from his father. Her words were also
enchanting, they
are full sorrowful yet laced with wisdom, understanding and
compassion. He was awed when he saw her vaporized the spear piercing
the tajihaya. He
didn't know that she'll notice that it was
actually a low class youkai camouflaging as a mere spear. He didn't
know why, but his amusement vanished when she started
weeping. He
had always and will always dislike the smell of human tears and all
kind of tears, plus, her sorrow and what he presumed to be self-pity
is starting to evoke her
untamed and raw miko powers leaking it
around the air and he don't like the feel of it though his
resistance to purification power is very strong. Her weeping doesn't
seem to
subside, it's like she's planning to weep there for
all eternity, so he decided to do something.
"Pathetic
woman get-up now." He said in his usual stoic cold voice, demanding
abidance. She jumped-up a bit obviously startled with him and he
smirked at this, she then looked-
up to him.
She looked up
to the source of that voice. She knew very well, who it belonged to,
yet, she couldn't help her eyes to widen as she saw him standing
there with all his regal glory
and elegance. He didn't even
have a single cut on him or maybe it had already healed… But what
puzzled her most is why he is actually right here, in front of her.
Based on how she knows this guy, she assumed that after the
battle and he's unharmed and still alive, he would make his graceful
exit, but no! He's here! He heard a
growl from him. That's
when she realized that she's still staring at him and he
dangerously narrowed his eyes to her, she immediately pushed aside
her question.
He knows of her unsaid question, she's as readable as an open book. He can almost hear her say 'why are you here?' or something like that.
Damn, youkai honor and societal laws.
He narrowed his eyes to her daring her. He saw the look of resignation in her eyes and he was satisfied with himself. "Get-up and do what you must." He ordered her.
She
processed it for awhile and understood what he meant. She must put to
rest her fallen comrades. She nod to him. She then turned to Inuyasha
and sealed all open wound. From
her peripheral vision, she swear
that she saw a look of amusement in Sesshomaru's eyes. She wanted to
cry, why was he amused? Because Inuyasha's dead?!
By the gods
they're brothers. He smell tears in her again. He almost groaned in
annoyance, almost. She did the unthinkable. She quickly whipped
around and founded her fist in his chest. "You pathetic
excuse
for a brother! What the hell is inside your mind?! Why are you so
damn amused?! There's nothing amusing in this whole damn thing!
Your brother's dead, my
friends are dead and we're surrounded
in a suffocating untimely death around us!" She said while banging on him as
hard as she can. His patience is growing thin, yet, he feels
strangely amused with the whole ordeal. He wasn't amused with
his brother's demise neither does he feel sorry for him. He grabbed
her hands with his two hands, yes,
thankfully his arm had
finished the regeneration process. "Listen wench, be thankful I do
believe that you're under unstable emotions right now because if
you weren't you're
as good as dead right now." He said
dangerously low to her. She gulped but shortly afterward, she look-up
defiantly to him. "Do as you wish! Kill me!" she spat at him. He
smirked at her and she felt herself shudder. "Why would I give
you your satisfaction? If you really honor your friends' and my
brother's death that much, I
suggest you strive to stay alive,
I do believe it's one of their dying wishes for you. In addition,
you insolent woman, those words that you just said doesn't fit the
lips of a
miko. I believe a miko preserves life and not throw
them away at all cost." She then lowered her head, her eyes now
overshadowed with her bangs.
He then walked to his brother and picked him up and throw him by his shoulder.
"What do you think are you doing?! Leave him alone, he's dead already!"
"Woman, I do not desecrate the dead. I do believe you don't possess the necessary strength to carry them all back to your village…"
My village? Oh, he doesn't know about me.
I saw some hint of distress about that notion in her but I opted to leave it be for now. I focused myself in the task at hand.
After every single body of her fallen comrade are in
the village, she and Kaede prepared for the parting ritual for the
dead. It's her duty as a miko, and after the prayers for a
safe
journey in the after life, the pyre in where they would be
burned was being prepared. She noticed Sesshomaru was there, silently
watching. She was curious and
unnerve with a hint of fear of why
he was still around but strangely enough, she felt an odd sense of
tranquility.
The bodies of Miroku, Sango, Shippou and
Inuyasha were already laid in the funeral pyre but they haven't put
the fire yet. She cleared her throat and she got the attention of
Kaede
and the villagers. "What is it child?" She looked
downcast for a split second, unsure if she's going to do the right
thing or if she can do what she wish to do after all. "Umm…
Can
we not burn their bodies?" Kaede seemed to be taken by this "Child,
you are aware that funeral pyre is suit for kings and so is for
fallen warriors whose valiance and
nobility surpasses that of a
king." She looked straight in Kaede's eyes and nodded her head
"Yes, I am fully aware of that, but I can give a higher and nobler
kind of burial
to them." Kaede's eyes widen. "Tell me child
are you capable of performing the ancient burial ritual?" She took
a deep breath. "Ever since the part of my soul that
was with
Kikyou returned and she was finally at peace, I was able to have
access and more control on my powers." "And how do you know and
learned about the Soul
Fragment Dance of Deliverance Rite?" "I
learned them through an old scroll and something pushed me into
learning it though I never knew that I'd used it to them…"
Kaede took a deep breath. "Very well child, do as you wish. I
really wish to see this myself before I myself is among the dead…"
"Huh? Does Kikyou doesn't know how it is
done?" "I
believe she does, but the opportunity of her to use it never came. No
one was deserving enough of that kind of ritual died during her time…Hurry now
child, attend to your
duty as a miko." She bowed to her just
like what a proper miko would do.
He was amazed to know that
she can do the Soul Fragment Dance of Deliverance Ritual. His father
told him that the beauty of this kind of ritual is enough to take
your mind away
from the sadness gnawing at your soul. He was told
that his grandfather was delivered to the next life by this ritual
from a compassionate miko who held no malice for demons.
He
was amazed. First, the miko went to the kitsune child she held her
hands over his fallen body then the child began to glow pink. The
child's features blurred until it was a
mere silhouette of his
form and after that, the pink light dissipated and the glowing
silhouette's color is now orange. He soon found out that it must be
the child's soul, then
the miko's finger tips glowed pink
again and the soul began to break apart into sparkle of orange
lights, it was like dissipating into glowing magical dusts flying
upwards
into the heavens and when the child's soul was
completely gone, she cast a bittersweet smile.
She repeated
the same with the monk, his soul revealed a lavender color then she
went to Sango, her soul a color of light blue. She went over to Inuyasha
and she hesitated for
awhile, she stared intently on his form.
She want to memorize everything about him, burn his image in her
memory.
This is the last time…
She then continued to deliver him to the next life, his soul a color of vermillion. It suit him very well….
She then was too
emotionally tired and spiritually drained of her sacred powers, she
still wasn't used to it's strain. She then begin to collapse, she
was sure his going to hit the
damn hard ground but she felt
strong arms wrap around her and she allowed herself to fade to sleep.
Perhaps, in her sleep, the pain in her heart would leave her even
only for awhile.
A/N: Why is Sesshomaru still around? Why
won't he just go away? So tell me what you think about it, or if
you want me to continue this, ok?
To all the readers of my Fall,
I think I lost the enthusiast to write it for awhile but I'll get
back to it.
