When You Left
Chapter 1
Pain
We had picked a place to camp for tonight somewhere in the forest. It was fairly remote, and not too far away from a village somewhere near. I was extremely tired after all the walking we had done today, Not only that but so many demons were around us and tried to take the Shikon jewel from me. Of course, we always fought them and won. Now, the sunset had almost passed so we had to set up camp quickly.
I glanced at my friends. Miroku's shoulders were sagging and he had a cut across his arm from the demon we had just finished fighting from. Sango's usually alert eyes of a demon exterminator looked weary and from the looks of the way she walked, I could tell she had a few bad bruises.
I examined Shippo who was asleep soundly in my arms. My adopted son looked so peaceful that it brought a smile to my face. Inuyasha's face was in a scowl. No surprise there. I walked, or rather limped over to Sango. I had pulled a muscle in my leg, that would only heal with time.
"Sango, I hate to ask you this seeing as how you aren't in a good condition right now. But, could you hold Shippo while I go get some wood for the fire?" I asked her. No one was in any condition to go anywhere, but I only had a pulled muscle so, it was only right that I went.
"Alright, Kagome. But I don't think you should walk on that leg. It must hurt. Why don't we let Inuyasha get the wood?" Sango replied and looked in Inuyasha's direction.
But, he wasn't there anymore. Must've left when I wasn't looking…
"I wonder where he went." I mumbled quietly to myself, pondering.
Miroku and Sango gave a quick look to each other. But, I decided to ignore it for now.
"Alright, I'll be back soon. You guys should treat your wounds. The first aid kit and bandages are in my backpack." I told them as I began to walk away.
It had been 20 minutes and I had enough firewood. It took me awhile to get it, since I had to use trees for support to walk.
"Ok, time to go back now…" I said to myself. It would take me another 15 minutes to walk back at this rate. I sighed.
I had only been walking for 3 minutes when I sensed a demonic aura coming towards me at a very fast rate. I froze in my track and looked around frantically. I had not brought my bow and arrow, thinking that I wouldn't need it for 30 minutes, but how wrong I had been.
I saw no threat, every where I looked. But, my miko senses alerted me that danger was near. I had learned to trust them because Kaede had taught me well. Suddenly, my eyes detected movement in the ground. The earth was quaking in a line coming towards me directly.
The most I could do right now was run. So, I dropped the firewood and ran as fast as I could. I had to ignore the pain shooting up my leg. I could feel whatever it was right behind me.
In my haste, I had disregarded a root in the ground and now I had tripped over it. I sat there on my behind trying to think of anyway I could save myself. I had already used up all my energy today fighting demons, there was no more left.
I tried to construct a shield around me. I knew it would not hold for very long, but it was worth a try. As I had expected it was very weak.
The demon popped out of the ground at this very moment. It was a snake youkia. It was colored red and yellow stripes with two black beady eyes and sharp incisors protruding from its mouth.
"Miko, give me the jewel!" It hissed. As far as I knew it had no gender.
In class I remembered that bright colors on a snakes meant that they were poisonous. So now, I at least knew what kind of death I would die. A slow and painful one in which every agony filled second seemed as it stretched on for eternity. Lovely picture.
I checked to make sure the jewel was still around my neck. To my relief it was still there. Now, I just had to make sure it stayed there.
"You will not get the jewel." I stated in determination. I was not going to die now. I would not allow myself.
It shrieked in anger and decided to charge the shield. I concentrated on making it stronger, knowing well that if I used too much energy I would faint. No doubt it.
It bounced back from the shield. Good, it could not pass through. Again it tried, but I made sure that my shield remained strong. Good thing it was weak youkia.
Just when I expected it to jump again at the shield, it did something I never expected it to. It charged at the ground.
OH NO! He was underground now and could come up from anywhere. My eyes widened in shock as I realized this might be my last minute on earth.
The demon popped out of the ground like a daisy. It charged straight towards and I tried to stand and run to no avail. I was a sitting duck. I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the pain.
I gasped when I felt it bite my neck. My eyes flew open. For a split second I felt them flash blue. And before I knew it, from somewhere in my body, a blast of pure energy erupted. The demon had been purified right there, so close to me.
My neck burned with a fiery intensity. I knew demon venom would not sit well in my miko body. There was bound to be a serious reaction. Just as I finished that thought, every part of my body began to burn.
I instantly felt drops of sweat slide down my face. My eyes had grown watery and blurry. I wanted to call out for help, but my throat was parched. All this time I had been sitting up with my arm supporting me, but now I couldn't hold myself up any longer. Before I knew it, I had fallen. Through the little eyesight I had, I could tell that the sky was completely dark now.
I tried to not think of the pain but something else. The only thing that came to my mind was that I had at least learned a new way to purify demons.
My arms began trembling and my heart felt like needles were being shoved into it. Tears began to streak my face as I realized that, Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha may not find me till morning. I didn't even know where Inuyasha was. What if he was no where near me?
I knew it was only going to get worse from here. And slowly, my eyes drifted shut, not able to bear the pain with so little energy. In that instant I knew I might never wake up again.