**takes place after kikyo died, also after flower dude attacks
They were walking along in silence, the sky was a dark purple and there was the essence of rain in the air. Inuyasha peeked sideways towards Kagome, who was staring at the ground while she walked. Her heart was in so much pain, and I was selfish. I thought I was the only one hurting. Dammit! He thought to himself. He turned his head away from her, feeling the sharp pain her face brought to his heart. He remembered Kikyo, and how much pain she'd felt. He didn't want Kagome to ever have to feel that.
Shippo was asleep in Kagome's arms, covered up by a blanket she had brought from her world. The rain began to pick up again, blowing her hair around and covering up the tears she could no longer hold in. Her heart was still in pain.
Miroku, as always, was sensitive enough to notice that Kagome and Inuyasha could no longer go on in their condition.
"Shall we rest from here, until it stops raining?" He suggested amiably. Sango caught his hint, and played along for the sake of her friends.
"I think we should, Kirara looks pretty sick of all of this rain!" Kagome and Inuyasha simply nodded and followed behind Miroku as he found a dry place to rest.
Night was darker than it had ever been before, eerie and quiet. Inuyasha was not alert, leaving the others with no reason for uneasiness. Shippo laid on Kirara's belly by the fire, Kagome staring into the endlessly cloudy sky and Inuyasha staring intently at the ground, thinking about something to himself. Miroku and Sango had fallen asleep alongside each other, leaving Kagome slightly jealous every time she peeked over towards them. She glanced over at Inuyasha, looking away immediately after their eyes met.
There were a few quiet seconds before Inuyasha jumped up, alert and alarmed.
"Miroku! Sango! Get up!" He hissed under his breath. Disoriented and half-asleep, Miroku and Sango moved slowly. Kagome was standing, picking up Shippo and waking Kirara.
"Inuyasha, whats wrong?" The monk asked calmly, grabbing his staff as Sango prepared herself for battle.
"I smell demon." Inuyasha hissed. His ears twitched and his expression changed to fear as he grabbed Kagome and pulled her in his arms. She held Shippo tightly to her arms, closing her eyes and struggling to keep her feet on the ground as she was being yanked around.
"It's there!" Inuyasha pointed, his nose wrinking as he bared his teeth. There was a small rustle in the trees, but it was short. A small butterfly flew out of the trees and fluttered aimlessly around. Inuyasha released Kagome and unsheathed his Tetsuaiga.
"Inuyasha, its just a butterfly!" Shippo exclaimed, fully awake due to the excitement. The butterfly stopped four feet away from Kagome, and she disappeared into the ground.
"Kagome! Kagome!" Inuyasha exclaimed as he fell to the ground in an attempt to save her from whatever had captured her. The butterfly fell apart in the air, its wings falling to the ground and disappearing the same way Kagome had.
Inuyasha's mind started racing, his heart beating harder each second. He couldn't lose her, he needed her.
"Kagome!" He cried out. Vines shot out of the ground, tangling the group up in them and holding them hostage.
"I've never seen a demon like this before! There's no demonic aura…" Sango struggled to say, attempting to move her arms away from the vine's thorns.
" You can't sense my aura, you don't remember it!" A ghastly voice called out. Vines twisted out of the ground, forming the shape of a face. The face of vines first took the form of the face noone thought they'd see again.
"K…Kikyo…" Inuyasha whispered in a pained disbelief. The fake-Kikyo smile as her face twisted and took the form of Kagome. Inuyasha attempted to reach forward and grab the face, but he was restrained by the vines. The fake-Kagome smiled in the same fashion as Kikyo while her face took the form of a man Inuyasha had never seen before. The man smiled at first, but scowled as his face disappeared and once again took the form of vines.
"You can't sense me, you can't kill me! Kagome doesn't want to kill me! Kagome doesn't want to kill me!" The voice sang out while the vines flew upwards in the shape of an egg. The vines spread apart, one very small slit. The small slit made visible the unconscious face of Kagome.
"You bastard! Give me back Kagome, now!" Inuyasha screamed angrily. His hands were being restrained, so he could not unsheathe his sword.
"But she doesn't want to be let go! Promise!" The voice sang. The wall of vines split open into a passageway, from which a human-looking man stepped out gracefully. He smiled, his lips red and his eyes the same color. His hair was straight and black, down to his knees. His clothes were like every other Japanese man's, but were completely white. He was oddly beautiful, but somehow frightening.
"She likes this memory so far." The man said with an eerie grin on his face. "Look at her face, so cute!" He squealed.
"Let go of her!" Inuyasha insisted again. The man shot him a glare and walked over to him, slowly and cautiously.
"You have bad memories, too." Inuyasha cringed as the man touched his face and inspected him. "Hers are so much more dreadful though! Such pain she endured! She even went so far as to.." He stopped, darting his eyes back at Kagome, "…lock this particular memory away." Kagome's eyes shot open. Her usually bright chocolate eyes were dull and looked dead. She began panting and sweating, cringing as if she were in an unimaginable amount of pain.
"What are you showing her?" Miroku asked, glaring intensely at the man in white.
"The memory she hates the most, of course. It just gives me so much pleasure." The man responded.
"What memory…is she seeing?" Sango asked, her eyes focused on Kagome. Her voice was full of caution. She didn't want to hear the answer she was going to get.
"The memory of…her father." The man in white said. Inuyasha's heart seemed to stop, his breath becoming quiet as his eyes opened in surprise. Kagome had never mentioned one word to him about her father. Kagome's face grew more pale by the second, and the man in white began to glow.
"She's filled with so much pain! She never wanted to relive this! Such pain, its beautiful!" He declared as his eyes rolled back in twisted pleasure. Kagome, still unconscious, let out a blood-curdling scream as she cried. She struggled for breath, but began so speak.
"No…No! I don't… I can't…" Her eyes grew darker and her face grew more pained as the man in white's face grew happier.
"She's being consumed by the memory." He said to Inuyasha in particular, his voice full of sick self-satisfaction. "And I thought a priestess like her would put up more of a fight."
It happened in one moment. The light returned to Kagome's eyes as she pulled herself free from the vines that ensnared her. She lurched forward towards the man in white, and before he could react he was trapped in the light Kagome emitted. As if her hands were sacred arrows, the man disappeared along with the vines.
Miroku fell to his knees, catching a horrified Shippo before he could hit the ground. Sango grabbed onto Kirara, unsure if she could support herself after seeing Kagome in that state. Inuyasha wasted no time getting to Kagome, regretful for having not protected her in the first place. She was panting heavily, and sweating. Her tears hadn't stopped, but she was silent.
"Kagome…" Inuyasha whispered softly. He hesitated for only a moment before he lunged forward and embraced her. He held her so close to himself that he felt her heartbeat. She returned his embrace, and immediately began wailing. She cried hard for a long time, in Inuyasha's arms the whole time. Sango and Miroku stood there, unsure of what to do during this time. Shippo was still frightened, but sparkled at the chance of Inuyasha comforting Kagome as she loved him to do. The three rode Kirara for a distance, leaving Kagome and Inuyasha to themselves until she was better.
"Kagome…" Inuyasha whispered in her ear, scared to present the question he was left with. "What…happened? With you and your father, I mean…" He mumbled, frightened of her reaction. Kagome separated her from him, sitting on his lap as she prepared to tell him the story she had locked in her heart.