Scars
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own InuYasha! He belongs to Rumiko Takahashi! Enjoy!
Prologue: The Hardest Decision
"InuYasha! InuYasha! Where are you? INUYASHA!"
Folding her arms across her chest, Kagome huffed in silent anger. Where can he be? After all that pining and whining to get going and when we're finally ready to leave, he goes wondering off! That jerk! Kagome sighed in exasperation. He always finds a way to get me to forgive him anyway…Kagome looked around at the trees of InuYasha's forest and Keade's village, pondering to go or to stay until the hanyou decides to return. Should I go? I mean, it's only appropriate that I go and get him since we are ready to leave; if he finds out we've been lying around instead of getting him, he'll be even more furious than before! But, then again…what if he's doing something important – like cooling down? I don't want to get on worse terms with him; we're already on bad terms all ready. She sighed.
"Ahhhh, to hell with it, I'll just go get him."
Kagome walked through the forest slowly as to leave her scent a trail, just incase she missed InuYasha go to the village and he could easily track her down. Her dark chocolate brown eyes danced lively as she spotted many beautiful flowers nestled among the trees or bushes. Her eyes shined happily, gasping in delight as she stooped down near a bush,
"Hey! I remember this plant! This herb would make a great gauze in case I run out of the stuff! Let's see, I think I would need to have at least ten of the leaves to make a glass-full…" Kagome sighed happily as she held them meticulously as to not damage them. Thank you Keade…Returning to her quest, Kagome walked on, enjoying the forest's beauty. Her eyes saddened. And to think, it'll all be gone in 500 hundred years, minus the God Tree…
Kagome looked at her feet as she continued, her thoughts stated on the future. Mama, Souta, Grandpa…I miss you guys, even Buyo. Kagome couldn't help but crack a smile at that thought; a frown easily set place. And the girls, I feel bad for lying to them; it isn't fair for them to be left out into the dark. But it's not like I have a choice, they can't keep a secret if their life depended on them. And school, I don't know where to start! How am I supposed to keep up with my class if InuYasha won't even give me a few weeks to stay there and at LEAST catch up with my studies. I would like to graduate with the rest of my friends. It is a little humiliating though, just one moment I'm the smartest girl in my class and in the next, I'm on the edge of flunking 8th grade. I can't wait till the journey is over.
Kagome stopped in front of a bush mindlessly, her eyes focused on the sunflowers before her although her mind was elsewhere. She took her free hand and rummaged underneath her school uniform and brought up a small container with the jewel shards intact. Her eyes settled frustrated at the glinting jewels.
It's strange, it's been a year since we started our mission to find the Shikon no Tama jewel shards and we aren't yet finished! I mean, the first few months with only InuYasha and I, we had at least a QUARTER of the Shikon no Tama. Kagome looked some more at the pieces in wonder. From what we know, Naraku has TONS of the Shikon no Tama, the Band of Seven have I don't know – maybe six or seven, and Koga has two of his own. When will we ever complete it?
"Huh?" Kagome dropped the herbs and sunflowers she had picked forgotten on the forest floor, sensing a spirit, more than one in fact. Curious, Kagome looked up and gasped,
"Kikyo's soul stealers? What are they doing here?" Kagome watched the two long ghostly spirits pass over her with no acknowledge of her and beyond the tree tops, a soul in each other's claw-like hands. Her eyes widened,
"Kikyo…is…here? But…INUYASHA!"
Kagome abruptly ran after the two demons, focusing on their energy signals. Oh, InuYasha! Please be okay! Kagome ran on, dodging the large trees numbly with difficulty. Note to self: bring running shoes next time instead of school shoes. Kagome gasped as she slid down a sudden drift in the ground to a lower level of land. Almost tripping on her own feet when reaching the end of the slope, Kagome hurried on, keeping eye of the soul stealers. Please be okay, InuYasha…
"Hey-they stopped!" Kagome stopped running, turning into a jog that soon turned to a slow walk. Placing a hand over her racing heart as her chest ballooned for air, Kagome weaved through the trees carefully, still keeping her thoughts centered on the ghosts and following them until she reached a clearing. Looking in front of her curiously, Kagome almost let out a sad sigh, remembering InuYasha's acute hearing. I should have known. She frowned sadly. It always ends up like this all the time. Kikyo would start talking her garbage and InuYasha and his big head of his will fall for it.
There, standing in a small clearing was InuYasha and…K…Kikyo. Holding each other in such a tender embrace that made her heart ache dearly to be in Kikyo's place for a just a moment – just to feel that magical feeling of being wanted, needed. Kagome leaned against the tree trunk, not paying attention to the rough bark that was now rubbing harshly against her tender back, through the thin cotton material of her school uniform.
It never changes…Kagome bit her lip harder to contain herself from screaming 'SIT' until InuYasha couldn't have the strength to get up until tomorrow morning. After all those times that Kikyo tried to kill him and take him to hell with her…he still believes her to be the old Kikyo he fell in love with. Why can't he see that she was revived by hatred and vengeance?
"InuYasha, don't be fooled by Kikyo's image! She is not the same Kikyo that ye know! She was revived by hatred and vengeance – by an evil demon! Don't ye be fooled by appearance!"
Keade-baba's words ran through her head. InuYasha knew that Keade-baba's words were true. He knew fully that Kikyo is not alive by scent…the way she would have a stoic look on her face that could rival Sesshomaru's, the way her eyes are so filled with coldness that could rival the Antarctic…he knew…but he still believed in what he wanted to be true…Kagome felt her heart break at that realization. He fantasizes about Kikyo so much that he won't mind living in a dream world of his own where all there is, is him and Kikyo. Kagome closed her eyes halfway and leaned off of the tree, feeling the way her back burned when torn away from the hard clutching ridges of the tree.
She walked away from the pair unseen or noticed. She stopped when she was at a distance where she could still make them out holding each other closely like an old fairy tale when the knight finally found his beloved and would never let her go. She looked over her shoulder quietly and slowly, tears building in her eyes. Feeling shy and vulnerable at the picture, her left hand held onto her upper right arm as to comfort herself.
No matter how many times I catch them together…my heart still cries at the same level of pain…She whispered softly, turning her back on them and walking slowly away at a distance she knew InuYasha couldn't hear, even with his ability,
"Why do you hurt me so much InuYasha…when you're supposed to be my protector?"
-.-.-.-.-
"All right! We've been here for too fucking long! You guys wasted good traveling time! Let's hurry it up and go!" Sango and Miroku stared irritably at the hanyou as InuYasha entered the hut in an arrogant way as usual. Shippo jumped on his head and started biting on his ear causing InuYasha to growl at him,
"You big jerk! We were ready for you long ago! It's your fault!" InuYasha grabbed him by the tail, the kitsune although held in the air like always by his fluffy tail, continued to swipe at him in anger and irritation. InuYasha's grip tightened on his tail that made Shippo squeak,
"You little runt –"
"SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT!" Kagome frowned as InuYasha slammed against the floor 14 times. It was amazing that the floor didn't break from the sheer force of his thick skull against the wood. InuYasha rubbed his bruised forehead and glared venomously at her. Kagome knew that glare even if she wasn't facing him. She was given that glare daily every day since day one. He probably wouldn't ever give Kikyo that look. Her fists clenched for a moment before going back into the same position they were in before, stirring the mixed herbs that would make her gauze. Shippo, who had jumped away just in time, ran into her lap from the side, peered from in front her and stuck his tongue out at him. Miroku and Sango looked at each other with amusement twinkling in their eyes. In their minds, this was one of the perks of joining these three for the Shikon no Tama. InuYasha growled. Kagome rolled her eyes in boredom. Here he goes again.
"Bitch! What was that fucking for?" Kagome gritted her teeth before shouting again,
"SIT!"
"UGH!" InuYasha growled again, slightly muffled from being unable to lift his head.
"THAT one was for calling me a bitch, InuYasha!" Kagome slid the slimy army-green goo into a glass container with the label 'GAUZE' in front. She stood up with Shippo scrambling on her shoulder; he had a triumphant smirk on his face that irked InuYasha beyond boiling point,
"Stupid human wench! Stop sitting me!" Kagome clenched the jar tightly in her hands before placing it in her medical kit inside her big yellow bag. She turned sharply at him,
"My name isn't wench! It's Kagome! KA-GO-ME!" Sango looked down at InuYasha,
"You should be talking InuYasha, we were WAY ready. Maybe a few hours ago, but we couldn't find you! Kagome went into the forest for you." Kagome saw him pale slightly for only her to notice. That's right…She thought sourly. I came, I sought, and I found you and Kikyo. Kagome folded her arms sighing,
"I tried to find you, but it was like you disappeared! You had the NERVE to tell us we've been wasting time when we tried to find you and you didn't appear for at least two hours!" Kagome couldn't help but be hurt by his relieved look that he 'tried' to suppress.
"Keh, you humans are too slow! What was I supposed to do, sit here and comb Kirara's hair?" Miroku raised an eyebrow,
"You could have at least waited InuYasha, we were done just a moment you took off, around noon or so?" A sly twinkle came into his eyes, "Unless you went to a brothel –"
SLAP!
Miroku laid unconscious on the ground with mini-Sangos riding on Kiraras flying around his head. Sango sighed and grabbed the scruff of his monk attire and dragged the unconscious pervert outdoors. Kagome got rid of the blush that stained her cheeks and grabbed her yellow back pack. InuYasha still stared gaping at where Miroku once was. Shippo stared at him, standing near his feet. He blinked curiously,
"InuYasha, what's a brothel?" His answer was a swift kick to the head.
"OW! KAGOME! INUYASHA'S BEING A JERK TO ME AGAIN!" Kagome stopped before the entrance, her back still turned against them. She said in a sickeningly sweet tone,
"Oh, InuYasha…" InuYasha paled,
"Kagome wait –"
"SIT!" Shippo grinned at him deviously. Kagome called out while walking outside,
"Come on Shippo!" Shippo yelled back as he ran over InuYasha while giving him a good jump in the middle of his back,
"Coming Kagome!" InuYasha's eye twitched,
"UGH! You little runt! Just wait when this stupid spell wears off! You'll wish that you were never born!" Kagome smiled at Shippo on her shoulder, she patted his head,
"Don't worry Shippo; I won't let him hurt you." Shippo hugged her neck while shouting back at InuYasha who was now crawling down the steps,
"Here that InuYasha? Kagome's on MY side!" InuYasha unsheathed the Tetsusaiga,
"You –" Kagome mentally laughed happily to herself, her anger for him not fading away yet saw a great opportunity to give him pain,
"SIT!" InuYasha's eyes widened in fear before his face launched downward into the steps, officially breaking at least one step. Keade-baba stared down grimly at him,
"You better fix that before ye leave InuYasha." InuYasha glared at Keade-baba,
"Stupid old hag! It's Kagome's fault, make her rebuild it!" Keade-baba's remaining eye seem to twinkle with amusement,
"And yet it was ye face who did damage, eh InuYasha?" InuYasha groaned. Miroku, who had miraculously woken up, asked,
"So we're staying the night again Keade-baba?" Keade-baba smiled,
"Depends on how fast InuYasha can work. I'd recommend ye start now InuYasha if ye wish to start the journey today." Still whining about it wasn't his fault, InuYasha took the utensils that the old miko offered.
By the time they were on their way, it was all ready around four thirty in the afternoon. Kagome shook her head sadly and sympathetically as she heard InuYasha's grumbling,
"Stupid hag…wasn't even my fault…that little runt and his taunting…stupid fucking subduing spell…perverted monk…brothel to hell…"
"InuYasha?" InuYasha looked back at her, his eyes still portraying he was still pouting about earlier.
"What, wench?" Kagome sighed irritably,
"When will you use my name InuYasha? I use yours instead of half-breed!" InuYasha folded his arms arrogantly that made Kagome remember Souta was like when he was younger,
"Keh, so what! I'll call you what ever I like wench! Now what was it that you wanted?"
Kagome sighed almost sadly,
"Are you okay from earlier? I didn't know you were at the steps, really! If I would have known I wouldn't have done it." Yeah right. She saw InuYasha's eyes slightly soften. She put on her eager puppy eyes,
"Accept my apology? Please?" He sighed angrily,
"Fine, whatever!" Kagome grinned. Shippo peaked from the basket on the bike,
"Why should Kagome have to apologize? InuYasha was being a big jerk, he deserved what he got!"
In the next moment, InuYasha was chasing after the poor kitsune while yelling threats at him. Kagome, Sango, and Miroku sighed tiredly at the same time. Sango asked to either Miroku or Kagome,
"Are they ever going to stop?" Miroku shook his head,
"Probably not." Kagome smiled though,
"But it wouldn't be normal without it." Sango and Miroku nodded in agreement.
-.-.-.-.-
Two weeks later
-.-.-.-.-
Kagome sat wide awake on the grass in front of the fire they made. She peered around. Sango was asleep with her own blanket and traveling kimono. Miroku was asleep, propped against the large battle cat Kirara. She turned around to smile fondly at the kitsune that snuggled deep in her sleeping bag. InuYasha was gone as usual for the fifth day in a row.
Ever since they left Keade-baba's village, Kagome would catch InuYasha sneaking away to visit Kikyo and each night took longer than before. Kagome felt heart break that InuYasha didn't trust her enough to tell her what he was doing. I thought he cared about me enough to at least be a close friend…
Kagome felt the tears enter her eyes, the flames of the fire reflected in her dark brown eyes. She sniffed a couple of times before standing up with her bow and arrows. She narrowed her eyes at the fire. I'm sorry, I can't take it anymore. She moved towards Sango and took her dear friend's hand and wrapped the chain of her necklace about two times before settling the container with the jewel shards in her palm. Kagome closed her fist firmly yet gently around it and took her hand under her chin as to not lose her grip. Sango not once woke up.
She gave a brief kiss to her cheek and whispered,
"Goodbye Sango, you're like a dear sister to me, you'll understand what I did." She walked towards Miroku and smiled sadly. Leaning forward, she gave him a kiss on the cheek before whispering,
"Good luck Miroku, I hope you get rid of the wind tunnel and defeat Naraku. Good luck with cracking Sango. You're a brother to me, please don't die."
Standing up, Kagome walked to her sleeping bag and picked Shippo up and settled him on her lap snugly. Shippo yawned adorably and snuggled closer to her stomach, his small cute claws fisting in her clothing. Kagome felt the tears overflow the brim of her eyes as she hugged Shippo closer to her, her right hand holding his small head against her while her left arm wrapped around him. She kissed his forehead lovingly,
"Oh Shippo…This pains me so much to do this to you…Please…forgive me. I love you so much! But I can't – I can't do this anymore! Please try to understand. You did nothing to cause this…" She settled him back comfortably tucked in the sleeping bag and left two large bars of chocolate by his head. She walked to Kirara and stroke her head a few times lovingly,
"Please, Kirara help Sango defeat Naraku. I hope you can comfort Shippo when he dearly needs it."
Standing up with her bag and bow and arrows, she walked to the direction where InuYasha left. She closed her eyes as she tried to pinpoint InuYasha and Kikyo's energy peaks. She opened her eyes slowly, whispering,
"Found yeah…"
Kagome weaved through trees, jumped over bogs, and slid down a few slopes. I wonder why he left further than usual…She sighed in tiredness as she dropped her bag. Finally…She thought as she felt their energies peaked the highest, giving her the motion they were very close.
Kagome peered behind a tree and gasped, dropping her bow. She slumped to her knees in shock. Her brain couldn't register what she saw.
Tangled in their own clothes that were thrown on top of them, was InuYasha and Kikyo. InuYasha's strong chest could be seen in the moonlight going up and down with every breath he took. InuYasha haori, the upper cloth of his kimono that had protected her so many times and had been used to keep her warm before she thought of bringing her sleeping bag, was almost not covering Kikyo's exposed chest. Their hair contrasted against the other as they held on to the other.
Kagome felt a sob come up, but she unwillingly choked it back down. She couldn't let InuYasha catch her here. She took her quiver and put it on, the strap going criss cross in front of her chest. She took an arrow out and with shaking hands lined up the arrow. She took many calming breaths. Come on Kagome…do it-you have to do this. For every one's sake…just focus. Put all that training into use. Kagome let out a long breath while closing her eyes; she stretched out her emotions and feelings, gathering in the cool night air, the sounds of crickets, and the sweet smell of pine trees. Opening her eyes, but still full of pain there could be found a small spark of determination. She steadied herself and squinted both eyes as she aimed carefully at InuYasha's sleeping form. Her eyes narrowed in concentration, tears gathering in the corners.
"I loved you InuYasha, with all my heart, all of it. I gave it to you, right into your hands on a silver platter. I trusted you with my heart, to guard it, protect it, and most of all: love it. But I guess you can't do that can you InuYasha? Will I forever be only known as a shard detector, a bitch, a human wench, and worst of all…a reincarnation? I'm always stuck as the third wheel…always second best to win your heart, but no longer. I will solve that problem right here, right now…" Her bow and arrow quivered for a moment until she tightened her grip until her hands turned white.
"After all you put me through InuYasha…I still love you." She waited for a moment and then, her eyes snapped open, she whispered softly as she released the arrow with a satisfying twinge of the bow's string and the hiss of the feathers as it sailed through the air,
"I'm sorry InuYasha, that I can't be Kikyo…"
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Hi there! What do you think? This is my first attempt at an InuYasha fic, so please, PLEASE go nice on me.
REVIEW! – Miss Artemis