I changed one part of this chapter, because, I formerly had written that Naraku had taken on the appearance of Kikyo and shot the arrow through Inuyasha. But that wasn't true, so, I corrected it! Anyway, thanks to Devine-Red-Crayon and Angela for pointing that out!
This was actually originally going to be a one-shot, cuz I badly need a break from writing long stories, which give me writer's block every time I try to update, but it turned out too long for that. It's still going to be pretty short, ranging from five to ten chapters. Anyway, that's enough of my babbling... Enjoy the story!
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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Inuyasha series.
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.:Chapter One:.
The first stars of the night timidly illuminated the skies, blazing like a cluster of fiery white embers. Twilight was fading, taking all light and warmth with it, to sink into the black hole of night. The sun had retreated to its invisible haven beyond the golden horizon, leaving the moon to begin its nightly reign.
Ghostly pale fingers painted the clear cerulean skies to a darkness reminiscent of coal, leaving no light to shine on the world, save for a few pinpricks of radiance to dance around the phantom of the sun.
A reckless breeze whistled expressly, whipping through the air like a careless whirlwind, destroying everything in its path.
Kagome shivered despite herself as a passing wind tossed her unbound ebony locks violently back. She pulled her knees closer towards her chest, hoping to preserve the last bit of warmth she might have.
There was only one thing that could keep her out in the bitter cold this late, with nothing but a flimsy school uniform and the company of an ancient cherry blossom tree to shield her from the biting wind.
She was waiting for him.
Inuyasha.
The hanyou she fell in love with.
It had been a while ago when she realized this undeniable truth, but she had never mustered the courage nor seen the need to expose her feelings to Inuyasha in the past.
But the past was over now.
The fight was over. Naraku was defeated, and the shikon no tama was complete.
Kagome instinctively laid a hand on the small purple gem at her neck, aware of how familiar the jewel now felt to her. It was reassuring to know that the small gem was now safe from the grasp of Naraku, whose cruel intentions would stain it black, but the completed jewel was also a burden to Kagome.
Now that the shikon was complete and her position as shard seeker was no longer needed, she worried that perhaps Inuyasha would expect her to go home permanently.
Kagome felt something squeeze her heart. Did Inuyasha see her merely as a shard seeker?
She hugged her knees tightly. Whatever the consequences, she was determined to confess her feelings to Inuyasha. Perhaps her love could awaken some feelings from inside him. Kagome was hopeful. Besides, she couldn't keep it in any longer.
Especially since there was a feeling of foreboding forever tugging at her chest every second she wasted with Inuyasha in the shadows of her emotions.
And that was precisely why she had made this appointment with Inuyasha, to meet her by this ancient cherry blossom tree, swaying under the light of the moon and stars. When he arrived, she would tell him she loved him.
Would that solve everything? Kagome had to believe it would. At the very least, it would release her from the heavy obscurity that shadowed her every second she kept Inuyasha in the dark.
But she couldn't help but notice the long delay in Inuyasha's presence.
Kagome gazed out across the moonlit meadow. Her eyes impulsively found the trunk of a particularly old tree in the distance.
It was the very same tree that Inuyasha had been bound to for fifty years. Bound by the spelled arrow of the miko priestess, Kikyo.
The tree was the heart of one of Inuyasha's most painful memories.
Kagome felt herself get up. It was like seeing herself move from another person's point of view. She didn't know where she was headed; her body seemed to have a mind of its own.
The shivering tree came into clearer view as Kagome made her way distractedly toward it. She felt that she could almost feel the dry, wrinkled bark under her cold, moonlit fingers.
The insolent breeze suddenly attacked her again, propelling her night black hair into her face with exuberance.
Kagome ignored the assault, faltering in her steps. The wind had carried a familiarly unwelcome scent to her nose.
It was Inuyasha's smell mixed in with the earthy stench of… Kikyo.
'Did Inuyasha ditch me to meet Kikyo?'
Kagome hugged her jacket closer around her as a brief dose of jealousy stabbed her heart. She was jealous that Kikyo had always been the one who could draw Inuyasha away from his intended schedule, even if it meant ditching someone else.
Kagome walked towards the tree at a quickened pace, and Kikyo's monotone voice gradually came within her range of hearing.
Kagome crouched doubtlessly behind a shelter of tall grass, and peered out intently, without a feeling of guilt perturbing her mind that she was eavesdropping.
Inuyasha was standing by a rippling blue lake in his signature red haori, targeting Kikyo with an intense gaze that was unusual to appear on his customary indifferent face. Kikyo sat on a flat rock a few feet away, delicately rinsing a twig of green leaves in the water, not seeming to notice the presence of the newly arrived. Kagome guessed that the leaves were of herbal value.
"You came." Kikyo's voice was emotionless, but softer than usual. She paused a moment in her work to spare a glance at the object of her statement.
Inuyasha didn't say anything, and he turned away before their eyes could lock.
"What will you do next, Inuyasha?" Kikyo tilted her head to catch Inuyasha's eyes with her own again. A hint of mild curiosity tainted her otherwise indifferent voice. She paused a moment before continuing, "Naraku is defeated. And the shikon no tama is complete and purified, I believe?"
Inuyasha grunted his consent.
Kikyo was about to speak again, when the hanyou suddenly interrupted.
"You want me to use it to become human." It was more of a statement than a question.
Kikyo stood up and walked slowly towards Inuyasha. Her gaze flickered in the direction of the tall grass concealing Kagome, but it was in a second's time. Kagome couldn't even be sure it happened.
Kikyo reached out to Inuyasha's face almost tentatively, as if she had long forgotten how it felt to touch the flesh of the living. With her pale, slender fingers, she brushed away the tangle of white hair covering the hanyou's face. Inuyasha flinched slightly at the contact, as if, he too had forgotten the feeling of being touched.
"You remember," Kikyo whispered. Emotion that didn't seem possible for a dead woman to possess flashed momentarily across the miko's pale face. "I thought you-"
She was cut off with Inuyasha's word of protest. "I never forgot." He took Kikyo's hand suddenly and held it between both of his own. "I never forgot about you. During those fifty years of being bound to the tree by your arrow." He looked at Kikyo in the eyes for the first time since he first arrived. "You haunted my thoughts every second."
Kikyo smiled. "Of course. You hated me fervently."
Inuyasha looked away in admittance. "But now we both know the truth. Everything was just a trick Naraku played to corrupt the shikon no tama."
"But even so, after Naraku took on your appearance and attacked me, I truly thought it had been you. I truly thought everything you ever said had been a plot of deception. And a burning fire of hatred overwhelmed me. And I am sure, that after what I did to you, you felt the desire to rip your claws through me the way Naraku did." After a pause, Kikyo continued, somewhat sadly, "Do not deny it, Inuyasha. You hated me. As I hated you."
The said hanyou replied with a little impatience in his tone. "I can't say I didn't hate you. I hated you more than anything else when I saw the arrow coming toward me, and your vengeful face in the background."
Kikyo smiled serenely, and looked at the ground. "I did not expect any less. I can scarcely forget the burning hatred I developed toward you." She pierced his gaze with her tranquil gray eyes. "So, I suppose, now that Naraku is defeated and the shikon no tama is safe again, you will have no need of me anymore." She looked at the hanyou before her almost sadly. "When I look at you sometimes, I see a flicker of the old hatred of me lingering in your eyes. You say you have not forgotten. That is true, I suppose. You evidently still remember the pain and betrayed feelings I must have caused you that fateful day." Kikyo looked away, her brows knitted together delicately. "I suppose, now that you have no further need of me, you shall be sending me back to death?"
Kagome held her breath. What exactly was Kikyo trying to do?
Inuyasha looked away. "I don't have to do that."
"I do not wish to stay in a body made of soil for the rest of eternity, Inuyasha." Kikyo smiled mildly. "And you should definitely understand what it feels like to live feeding on hatred. After all, during those fifty years of confinement, surely-"
"I can't kill you."
Kikyo placed a hand gently on Inuyasha's face. "Yes," she said sadly. "You can't kill me." She smiled bitterly. "I'm already dead. I should not be here, among the living."
Inuyasha growled impatiently. "Your hatred for me was so strong when you thought I was the one who killed you, that it was possible for you to be brought back to life through it. And now, if I really kill you-"
"It's different this time," Kikyo said simply. "If I have to leave this world a second time, I want your face to be the last I see. That is all."
Inuyasha turned his head to meet Kikyo's calm gaze. "I can't," he snapped. Before the miko could speak, he continued, on a softer note, "Although you've done more than your share of damage, and you pose the biggest threat now that Naraku is gone, I still can't. Like I said, I can't forget. About you, or about my… love for you. I-"
A prolonging silence dawned on the two, both finding themselves unable to say anything.
Kagome felt her heart clench together. Although she had known about Inuyasha's past love for Kikyo, it was still hard hearing him say it so plainly.
Finally, Kikyo placed her arms placidly around Inuyasha's neck. "Always know that I love you, Inuyasha." She looked up and added, "If it may be possible to love in this despicable body of earth."
Kagome was about to turn and leave, when she saw Kikyo turn her gaze quite obviously in her direction. She froze in her steps.
"It is true that I do not wish to spend the rest of eternity in this body of soil," Kikyo began. "But that definitely does not mean I have to die again, it is merely that… I cannot live using this body anymore," she whispered plaintively to Inuyasha.
The hanyou looked at her in confusion.
"You do love me, do you not?" Kikyo questioned.
"I-"
Kikyo continued, "I will forever be a broken woman made of soil and hatred unless I acquire a complete soul. If I can obtain a soul powerful enough, it can restore me to my former self." She searched Inuyasha's eyes. "I could be a living woman again, breathing and able to love. I could once again be the woman you fell in love with."
The hanyou was silent.
Kikyo went on, "There is one soul I know of that can fulfill the requirements. You know of her, too."
Kikyo's words shook Inuyasha from his trance. "Kagome?" he muttered in a low voice.
The said girl shuddered involuntarily from her spot. So this was what Kikyo had brought Inuyasha here for.
'In the end, it's all a plot to get rid of me,' Kagome realized with a growing fear. 'And Inuyasha's falling for it…'
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Is the conversation between Inuyasha and Kikyo too long? I tried to cut out some parts, so it wouldn't sound as if i were babbling on and on, but all the stuff they say are important. It would sound wierd if i cut out something. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Suggestions would be appreciated, but no flames, please!