Fandom: Maximum Ride/Inuyasha Pairing: Fang x Kagome (ka-goh-meh)
Above Yourself
By, Jullene Sager
Blinding light flashed behind closed eyes, forcing them open in shock. Disoriented, the girl's long lashes fluttered as her pupils adjusted painfully. She could see white blurs hovering around her. When she moved to shift her head, restraints kept it in place.
Her dainty wrists rose in panic, which escalated even more when she found that, they too, were held down. Beneath her, the feeling of cool of metal seeped through whatever vesture she donned. Metallic clanking rang in her ears as every part of her struggled to escape the imprisonment. After a few minutes of this her body collapsed against the harsh surface, chest heaving in pants of exhaustion.
Bang! If she had been able, her petite form would have surely jumped several feet at the startling sound. She strained her vision, now slightly clearer, to see a middle aged man, wearing a stark lab coat, make his way through a large metal doorway. What used to be large white blurs, she now knew were multiple men and women in identical lab coats. Were they doctors? Scientists?
"What is the latest progress report?" his deep voice asked one of the other 'white coats'.
"Sir, subject #249, a.k.a. Kagome Higurashi, has recently regained consciousness 7.36 as of minutes ago. She shows no signs of any effects similar to those of previous subjects at stage three following the injection of serum #76. Though, 8.75ml is nearly twice the amount the largest dose we've tested before." The white coat paused to readjust his glasses. "In fact, Sir, there have not been any noticeable changes in her body. However, the serum is still present in her bloodstream. The time elapsed after initial administration is currently, -" Another pause, this time to glance at his timer. " - hours."
Unfazed at this new information, Jeb reached down to place his large hand on the girl's cheek. The moisture building in her large chocolate eyes brimmed over with the strangled whimper that escaped her trembling lips. His gruff thumb swiped below her left eye to clear away the tear.
"Good, she is progressing as expected." Jeb could see the fear festering on Kagome's face. "After I leave, inject two regular doses of serum #154, then put her under for the next 72 hours." he instructed.
Another voice interjected at their colleague's nod. "Jeb, you know that formula hasn't passed the initial trials. You can't just test it on such a valuable subject!" Finally, Kagome mustered the strength to bring forth her own scratchy voice.
"Where am I?" She sounded weary at first, but then- "What have you done to me?" her vocals squeaked as their volume rose.
"Kagome, darling, you are here to help advance humanity, for the greater good." Jeb explained vaguely with sugarcoated words. Her infamous temper boiled, her powers heating with it.
"Who the hell are you!" she shouted, then paused to search the room once more. All other movement of the white coats ceased. They all looked at her, lying vulnerable on the steel table.
"Kagome, my name is Je-" All sound came mute to her ears, and before her she no longer saw the white lab, but a replay of her last memory. "-This facility you're in is the Sch- "
"Where's Fang?" she demanded. Clanking flooded the room again. The force she tugged made the cuffs rub her limbs raw.
"Where. IS HE! What have you done to him!?" Her eyes narrowed into slits. Banshee shrieks burst eardrums as her body seized against the restraints. "LET ME GO! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!" Kagome's body twisted, bruising her wrists with each movement. She grew even more rampant, forcing Jeb and the other white coats back in shock.
Jeb required more time than usual to regain his composure, but soon he gave quip orders to prepare a strong anesthesia. Rough colossal hands grappled to force her body against the table.
At last, Kagome snapped. "GIVE HIM BACK!" Spectator's' eyes rounded as her petite form was immersed in light. The white coats that had been holding her down were thrown back into various sets of lab equipment. Jeb stumbled back in fear at the same time shattered restraints whizzed past his head.
The priestess sat up on the table, secreting an aura of raw unadulterated power. She slid down so that her bare feet landed, then stood, onto the floor littered with shattered glass. Seeming not to feel an ounce of pain, the murderous look she bore struck terror into all that laid eyes on her.
"K-Kagome, ho-honey, F-f-Fang is safe." Soul piercing eyes burned holes through Jeb. He stumbled back in fear when she began stalking towards him. "H-h-he's n-not h-he-here tho-ughhh." His breathing sputtered, and his body shook as violently as a brittle leaf in the fall. The 19 year old girl then pinned the jugular of the frail man against the wall.
Kagome had crossed the border of reason long ago. The blood bond her and Sesshomaru shared transformed once dark irises into a striking gold. The abyss of her pupils slit into those of an animal's, and long black hair flowed mystically around her. The once helplessly cornered human girl faced him now, their roles reversed. Sweet looking Kagome had turned predator. Jeb was flooded with a level of horror he'd never experienced.
The young woman leaned forward, past his face. The warm breath of her next words ghosted against ear, driving ice shards through his chest. "Die, Jeb, for all of the suffering you've dealt, along with your filthy School." The breathy whisper promised death. "There is no escape here. The flock? The only 'challenge' you've faced are ignorant children compared the monster lurking beneath this pretty face." All of the other white coats were frozen, watching anxiously as the scene played out. Kagome then straightened, looking Jeb directly in the eyes.
"Whatever cards you hoped to draw in this little game are a losing hand." The priestess gave him a sadistic smile, her powers reaching out with a destructive nature.
"Newsflash, Jeb... game over." These words were the last he heard, before everything turned white then... nothing.
"It's been nearly three days, Fang." Max said softly from behind him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, trying her best to comfort his grief. He released an exhausted sigh while furiously attempting to wipe the fatigue from his face.
"She's close Max, I know it." He and Kagome shared a rare connection. No one else could grasp the idea completely, but the only way to describe it was that he could feel her. Somehow he knew when she was close by, when she felt pain, her emotions, he sensed all of it, and vice versa. This was how he'd guided the flock as far as they were. Every direction they flew depended solely on Fang's instincts.
"I don't understand." HIs voice cracked in sorrow. Max's eyes emanated sympathy, and they watched his movements worriedly. His large stature spun suddenly to face her. He grabbed her shoulders roughly in desperation. "I could feel her fine yesterday! Kagome, she-she was unconscious, but deep down I know she was scared!" Fang searched Max's expression, hysterical.
"Fang, I'm sure she's fine. Kagome's tough, she can take care of herself." She stressed over the fact that he was literally being driven insane by Kagome's absence. How do you comfort someone who can only be comforted by the one thing you couldn't find? Anyone could see that the intimacy shared between them meant much more than some infatuation. Max often feared what tragedies would occur should they be separated somehow.
Fang released her to begin pacing, soon stumbling throughout the cave they'd taken refuge in. "But last night, in a blink, her presence was just gone!' He raked dirtied hands through his long, unwashed hair, the dark locks standing in all different directions.
"Fang, you're exhausted. You won't be able to focus on finding her the way you are now. Go get some rest, I'll go out on patrol while you sleep." Max persuaded. All of their previous rest stops were similar to the cave they stayed in now: hidden, in the middle of nowhere, out in the wild, and they always set up camp long after dark. None of the Flock had taken a shower for nearly half a week. Sleep also came sparingly, Fang was running on less than two hours in three days. Gazzy, being the one with the most rest, had slept around five hours each night.
Fang's usual stubbornness stayed dormant this time. He gave her a small nod before settling himself on the ground, leaning back to rest against the cave wall. "Maybe just an hour or so." he muttered. Listening to Max's orders without argument might as well of been a billboard sign, advertising just how tired he truly felt. Never before had Max seen Fang so low. She, being the one person to know him the longest, had thought for sure she'd seen all of his faces. But the Fang before her was not the Fang she had grown up with. In every fight he was always the one to keep his cool. Sure, he got angry, but neither of them had ever sunk to this level of desperation.
Kagome's absence had taken a toll on everyone, but Fang's condition was another matter entirely. Angel watched him intently; only she knew how close he really was to falling over the edge. She'd seen the chaos of his mind, and not finding her was out of the question. Fang would be less than half a soul, an empty shell would be the only thing left of him.
"I can't feel her." His pitiful whimper echoed.
"Max," Angel called out, "I'll watch over him while you're gone, but where are you going?" She rose from her position beside the fire to go to Max's side. Gazzy, Nudge, and Iggy were also there, snug in their sleeping bags.
"I'll fly over a few miles radius. If he's so sure she's nearby, she has to be out there somewhere." Max stepped quietly to the mouth of the cave. "I still feel like we're forgetting something." she muttered to herself. "Angel, can you think of any details about Kagome's family? She had a brother..."
"Sesshomaru, I remember." she piped up. "He's some kind of demon, with his senses finding Kagome would be that much easier." Angel made a valid point, but how do you track down a guy you're not even sure exists?
"Ugghh!" Max scratched her head in frustration. "This is such a mess! How do we even fi-" In the blink of an eye white light flooded the cave, and a flash of ebony feathers swept past them. "Wait, Fang!" Calling to him after him proved useless, for he was already in the air flying towards light's source. Max and Angel sped after him.
"Uuaa? What's going on?" Gazzy asked with sleep in his eyes. Iggy sat up wearily.
"Forget that, let's go!" Nudge shouted, tugging at both of them.
'When did he get so freakin' fast?' Fang's head start cost them quite a few minutes. Max trailed behind him as fast as she could.
»
He felt it. He felt her. As soon as the light came Fang knew that Kagome was the cause of it. Like the swipe of a match, a fury that was not his own festered deep inside, and a wave of familiar power rolled over him.
The center of the blast came into his sights, only a few minutes off. 'So close,' Fang thought to himself 'We were almost there. Am I too late?' Trepidation consumed him when a large clearing of razed earth greeted him. Smoke rose from the ashes of the rubble. Another School successfully destroyed.
He swept down searching for the petite raven he'd fallen for. His stare zeroed in on a prone figure resting in the center of the clearing. Surely enough, there she lay. 'The Caged Bird' no longer caged, and who in turn set him free.
Fang tucked in his wings, and dove in to land. Dust clouded below him as his feet touched down. He rushed to kneel beside Kagome. Her long raven hair curtained over her face. He didn't dare let a breath escape him, and his hands shook as he reached to push it aside. Kagome's face was peaceful, but her body was so still. What had happened to make her like this? He concluded, after a quick visual examination, that she bore no flesh wounds outside of sores marking each of her limbs.
His strong arms felt so weak lifting her body to rest in them. "Kagome." Fang's husky voice broke. She looked so fragile, and he treated her as if she would shatter at the slightest touch. "Wake up, bird lover." he whispered, she showed no response to her nickname, which only caused additional worry.
He gently embraced her close to his chest, basking in the feel of each steady breath she took; the slight rise and fall of her chest brought some comfort to his troubled heart. Holding her, feeling her warmth, her sweet scent consuming his senses, they were all proof that she was real. She was there, in his arms, safe.
"Hm-mm," Kagome released a quiet groan. Fang watched anxiously as her head shifted.
"Kagome, can you hear me?" he prompted, softly as not to startle her. Slowly, her chocolate eyes opened, straining to focus on his features. Now adjusted to the daylight, she found his gaze, full of concern.
"Yur... a-kay?" she muttered, finding it difficult to take a breath.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." he assured immediately. "Forget about me. How do you feel?" Fang ran his hand from her face down to her arm, grabbing her own in his.
"Like I've been alone with Nudge on hyper-chatter mode for an hour." she replied sarcastically. He chuckled gruffly at her quip, and she gave him the most radiant smile in return. Kagome: his light that illuminated the cocoon of darkness called the world. The very thought of her chased away any shadows lurking inside his heart.
"You know I love you right? More than anything else." He brought forehead down to rest against hers, then lifted her palm to rest against his cheek. The weight they'd both been bearing, for what seemed like an eternity, vanished in that moment.
"I love you too, Fang. Forever." Her voice wavered; then her smile crumpled, and her eyes glistened. "Don't ever leave me...'Kay?" she said weekly, cheeks growing damp. The uncertainty of ever seeing him again brought a type of agony unlike any other.
Tenderly, he pulled her to him, trying to hold her as close as possible. Through Fang's embrace she felt his love spread throughout her, body and soul. A drop of wetness fell against her neck, and she realized he too was crying. Beneath her she felt his arms tremble, and Fang's broad shoulders shook with each gasp he tried desperately to hold back. When was the last time he'd wept like this? Now here he was, that traffic wreck inside him exploding to the outside in tears.
"Never again. I promise."
﹎End﹎
FUTURE STORIES?
I seem to write better with a prompt, and I think I'm going to stick to one shots for now. So if you have any suggestions: I love random Kagome xover pairings; I've seen a lot of anime, read a lot of books, and seen lots of movies (not rated R) so chances are I'm familiar with whatever you come up with, if not I probably won't write it; I'm currently into reader inserts, and daydream plenty about Levi Ackerman, Edward Elric, Sesshomaru, Kaneki Ken, and many others.
Author's Note
So this I have not written very much, but I think this is better than my last story. If you've checked out my other Inuyasha story and enjoyed it, that's great. However, I'm more than unsatisfied. Honestly I really didn't have a grasp on where I wanted to go with the plot, so if you do read it, I'm open to ideas.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this! The idea just flowed out of me, but there were a few awkward things in the first draft. I went from one idea to the next, so I never really looked back to see if what I wrote made sense. I asked my friend to read it, and go through it with a red pen.
Afterwards she was like, "There's this one part I don't really get."
And I'm like, "Okay, where's that?"
"I'm not exactly sure where it is..." (I wrote it in my notebook) She flipped through the pages. "The place with the fish-"
Okay. Enough said right there.
When Kagome is holding Jeb against the wall by the neck, threatening him, the original line of what she says went a bit like this: "The Flock are a bunch of ignorant kids craving normalcy. But I am a warrior that has burnt much larger fish than your miserable existence."
Yeah, that happened, no joke. The idea was instead of 'bigger fish to fry' she'd 'burnt' much more powerful 'fish' than Jeb. Get it?
It was a pretty great laugh though, and now you're privy to our inside joke. Don't you feel special?
I'm pretty sure there're a bunch of tense changes throughout the story, and for that I apologize. I get kind of confused, and my grammar isn't fantastic, but since it's currently 9:30 at night, time is an issue, and I really want my friends, and whoever else, to read it so that I can get some feedback.
If you have anything to say, ideas, comments, compliments, constructive criticism, YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO REVIEW!
Thanks for reading! -jujubug712