I do not own Inuyasha.
- EA
Inuyasha hated the rain.
The drops splattered down at an alarming rate, attacking him as he sped across the ground. The canopy of trees overhead didn't help in the slightest; in fact, they just dumped more of the disgusting water on him, making things that much worse.
He bounded into the air, and a few drops struck his eyes. He snarled, whipping his hand across them to push the water away. If there was one sense he actually needed to stay intact right about now, it was his damned sight. For when it was raining his sense of smell, while very acute and sharp, was useless. The rain blended together all of the lingering scents cruelly, and then mercilessly washed them away altogether, making his nose impossible to use. The rain also pounded against the ground loudly. Lightning and thunder screamed from the sky at certain times, making the storm even louder. The sound blocked out all of the other small sounds that Inuyasha usually followed to track down other demons.
Other demons that had taken hold of his precious prize.
That was why he needed his sight now, above all else. Despite being blurred by the rain, it was the only thing he could reliably count on. The raindrops annoyed the golden globes and made them work overtime, but at the very least, Inuyasha could use them.
The half-demon pushed off the ground once more to take another leap above the trees. He had been running for longer than he cared to think about. No, he had been chasing them. Chasing the cursed demon that had taken away his woman.
'Damn them,' he thought bitterly. 'Damn them, damn the rain… And damn myself.'
He hadn't been paying attention. If he had been paying closer attention to Kagome, this would have been avoided altogether.
"Inuyasha, let's stay inside today. I don't feel right…"
"Keh!" He had replied. It wasn't at all like Kagome to admit that she was afraid of something… But he couldn't clearly sense anything either. So while he was confused, he wasn't about to let her waste time over a petty, childish fear. "Where's that "spunk" you always seem to have? Come on, we haven't got all day, you know."
She had begged and pleaded to stay inside. But Inuyasha hadn't listened. He never did, so why should he have started then?
Inuyasha snarled again, gritting his teeth as he whipped through the irritating rain, his now soaked clothes trailing behind him.
He wished he had listened.
But there was no time for self-pity now.
All that mattered was getting Kagome back… And telling her off afterwards for not telling him why she had wanted to stay inside in the first place.
Inuyasha ran, and ran, and ran. He ran for what seemed like hours, but in reality, he had no idea just how much time had passed. He was just wondering if, perhaps he had gone in the wrong direction… When suddenly, his nose decided to work again.
The rain was pelting down harder now, as though trying to fight against the scent that Inuyasha had picked up. Yet, no matter how hard it fought, Inuyasha was able to smell it. He screeched to a halt, letting his eyes rest, his burning muscles relax, and his lungs refill with gulps of the murky, humid air. His nose, though, he forced to work. He would not let it rest.
For Inuyasha knew, with a heart-splitting certainty, what that scent was.
It was the scent of blood.
To be more specific, it was the scent of Kagome's blood.
The acrid scent came to him in wafts. It would be there for a split second, then vanish again under the rain, making it nearly impossible to track completely. But it didn't matter.
Inuyasha sped forward again, abruptly ending his resting period. His feet slipped in the mud, but he didn't care. The rain struck him harder than ever, but he didn't care. He could barely see now, he was running so fast. But he didn't care.
The scent was getting stronger, and stronger. Which meant that he was, undoubtedly, very close. A line of trees was all that was blocking him from the forest clearing now, and he knew that, without a doubt, Kagome would be there. He couldn't smell any demons around, but he figured that was the rain working it's tricks once more. His hand already gripping the hilt of his Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha made one last bound and burst through the clearing, landing on his toes with a splat on the other side.
What greeted him sent his heart skidding to the bottom of his stomach.
There was no demon to be found. That, in itself, was a good thing in Inuyasha's book. In it's place, however, was something much more terrifying. Kagome was lying facedown in a puddle of rainwater, right in the middle of the clearing. The rainwater that surrounded her was leaking red.
Inuyasha held his breath for a split second, taking his clawed hand off of the Tetsusaiga. He then expelled it in a rush of air that formed a scream. "Kagome!"
He ran forward, splashing through the drowning grass, and seized Kagome's arms, dragging her away from the growing puddle of rainwater. Her hair was matted with her own sticky blood, and her school uniform had been ripped apart by three long claw marks. Fresh blood welled up within the tattered marks, staining her uniform, then joining the rain as it ran down the surface of Kagome's tattered body and to the ground below, leaving watery streaks of red in its wake.
Inuyasha pushed down the lump in his throat and fought back the rising urge to vomit. The stench of blood, even with the rain trying to wash it out, was overbearing. It filled his nose with each breath he took. It made him sick, both literally, and sick with fear. He was afraid, afraid to turn her over and see her front, which would undoubtedly be worse than her back. He was scared to look at her face, and see her sightless eyes. He was terrified to find out that she might be…
He stopped himself there. There was no point worrying over something that may not even be the case. Steeling himself, Inuyasha grasped the girl in his arms and gently flipped her over so that she was lying across his lap, frontwards up.
His breath caught in his throat and he furiously fought back a cry of desperation. He had been right; Kagome's front was much more mangled than her back. Her eyes were closed and body completely lifeless. Her uniform was stained with blood. One couldn't hardly tell that the uniform had once been a crisp white color. Her long legs, left unprotected by the short uniformed skirt she wore, were slashed and bruised, fresh gashes lacing across them like a checkerboard. Her stomach was laced with blood as well, fresh streams of it mixing with the rain, much like it had on her back.
A sob threatened to rise from Inuyasha's throat at the sight. He shuddered, holding Kagome disbelievingly in his arms. This couldn't have happened… Why? Why had this happened?
"Kagome..?"
The rain droned on. Inuyasha didn't hear it anymore. All he could hear was Kagome's voice in his head. Her laughter in the depths of his mind.
"Kagome…"
The rain poured down, washing away the blood from her figure. He could only smell those two things: the blood and the rain. How he wished he could smell Kagome's sweet, beautiful scent instead.
"Kagome, please…"
His sense of touch was only slightly altered by the rain. He brushed his hand across her slippery skin, placing a finger gently on her clavicle, feeling for a pulse. He felt nothing.
"Kagome!"
Inuyasha was looking downward, but he found that his sight was still blurred. His voice had risen an octave with that pained cry, but once again, he found himself not caring. His vision was blurred as he stared down at the lifeless body of his woman… Of his lover.
Inuyasha hated the rain. It shut down his senses, making him virtually useless in battle. It was incredibly annoying to walk in while he was journeying. Overall, the rain was something he could live without.
In fact, there was only one thing he could find that made the rain useful, as he held the broken body of Kagome to his chest and let his body tremble… let himself fall away into misery.
The rain was good for masking the tears that cascaded down his face.
Yeahhh.
Guess what series I'm currently obsessed with? Yep, this one.
Don't worry though. Sticks and Stones and Change are still my main focuses. This was just a quick oneshot since I'm way too hooked on Inuyasha for my own good. It was somewhat rushed, I wrote it within an hour and a half, and didn't really edit it... So I hope it was at least bearable to read.
Sorry if I killed your feelings today, I promise our other stories will be a bit happier! Ahaha...
Till next time,
- EeveeAlchemist