Disclaimer: I do not own the anime Ghost hunt or Inuyasha.
Remember Me
one-shot by
firefox369
A spherical orb floated in the darkness, glowing a faint pink in the museum's case. It hovered in mid-air for what seemed like an eternity, a soft humming noise coming off of it that sang into the silence of the building. A form slowly began to appear from the orb; the shape not clearly made out, before the Guard came in and saw it. He cried in shock and took a step back at the sight, slowly walking backwards before screaming and running off.
"...Don't leave me..." a broken voice pleaded, hoping that the man would stop. "...koi..."
Empty, pupil-less eyes watched as the flashlight rolled back and forth on the ground before a twinge of hatred made the orb flash a midnight blue. The light began to fade and the orb dropped back onto the felt casing it was contained in, pulsing light lavender.
"...don't leave..."
The shining stopped and the orb was dormant once more.
---------------
"Can you do anything about it?" a man demanded, staring into deep, violet eyes. The young man before him gazed calmly at the panicking man.
"...Yes" he finally replied and the girl beside him looked at him, slightly shocked. She wasn't even interested in this mission, so why was he? Everything she wanted to do he turned down!
"Damn you, Naru..." the girl growled in her mind. As if hearing her thoughts, the older male gave her a quick glance that made a shiver run down her spine.
"Thank you so much!" the man cried, bowing deeply as Naru watched.
"I'll begin investigations tonight."
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" the man repeated, bowing lower with every 'thank you' as he shuffled backwards out the door. The short-haired girl seemed slightly confused as she watched, expecting Naru to do something in order to make him stop, but no such action was made.
"Naru" she finally stated when the door shut behind the over-enthusiastic man, "Why did you accept?"
Just like she had expected (but hoped he wouldn't do) he didn't give her an answer and instead, simply stood up and walked out of the room and entered another one. The girl clenched her fists at her sides and gritted her teeth, a tick forming above her eyebrow.
"Damn you, Naru!" she shouted in her annoyance.
---------Tuesday: 0930 hours------------
"Mai" Naru called and the girl walked over to him, her face clearly showing her distress. She had been called away from school. Again. Not that she minded, no, she preferred being by Naru's side than sitting in a boring desk in a bland, white room while listening to a teacher's voice droning on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and... you get the point.
"Hai?" she replied and Naru handed her some equipment.
"Set it up beside the case" he commanded and Mai scowled, but obeyed. She knew which case he had been speaking about, for not many held a small pink jewel labeled as the 'Shikon no Tama'. Of course, they weren't even sure if it was the real thing, either, for all they knew it could have been a random piece of round glass just rolling on the ground, and the pink color could be dye, and the glowing could just be a trick of the light, and the fact that it was floating could have been some string, and-
Wait. Did she say floating? She blinked and looked at the jewel again, but it was still on the velvet in the same position it was in before.
"...okay..." she murmured under her breath, confused.
"Hurry up, Naru-san is going to yell at us again if we don't hurry up" another voice grumbled and Mai looked up to see-
"Ayako-san" Mai breathed, confused.
"I can't believe we need all of this equipment, it's obviously an Earth spirit" she mumbled, gently placing the equipment on the ground. It was expensive, after all, and although she hated to admit it, she didn't have enough money to pay for even one of the pieces if she broke it on accident.
"I'm confused as to why we're even doing this. We know it's inside the jewel already."
"You mean he hasn't told you?" Ayako asked incredulously. "Considering what happened after the church I thought he'd confide in you more than everyone else."
"You mean Rin-san?" Mai questioned and Ayako nodded. "What does this have to do with him?"
"It's not my place to tell."
Ayako stood up straight and walked back out to the van, leaving Mai to think things through for herself in her confusion.
"...Rin-san...?" she repeated, still not believing the new piece of information she had just received.
-----Tuesday 22:00 Hours------
"This is so boring!" Ayako whined as she watched the monitor while sipping on a cup of tea. Rin sat at the monitors, staring intently at the black and white screens, eyes occasionally flitting towards the heat sensor. The museum had already closed and the guards were making their rounds. The guard that had made his rounds around the Feudal Era exhibit had quit and was not doing who knows what at who knows where.
Suddenly, Rin jerked up from his seat and watched one of the screens in amazement.
"Kazuya-sama..." he called softly and the seventeen year-old walked up behind him and looked at the screen that was being pointed at.
"What?" Mai asked, hurrying over in her curiosity. Ayako and John followed her, also curious. What they saw made them gasp in both confusion and shock.
The heat sensors had not changed a single bit, the colors not detecting any strange occurrences in that area, but on the visual and hearing scale, things were changing quite dramatically. The jewel began to glow, slowly hovering up from its position on the soft cloth, one part glowing more than the rest. A blob formed above the jewel, but the shape of what the being was couldn't be made out, all that could be seen were a pair of empty, white eyes. No pupils decorated the centers.
The footsteps of a guard drew nearer and the form began to glow even brighter, the jewel beginning to hum in its excitement. As the footsteps grew nearer and nearer, the humming grew louder and louder. There was suddenly a loud scream of surprise and footsteps racing away from the exhibit.
Mournful howling was heard, but the word's that were trying to be said couldn't be deciphered, just like those of other spirits that had remained in the realm of the living for too long. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't seem to figure out what it was trying to say.
A silvery tear dripped onto the ground before it disappeared into thin air, the blurry form slowly fading away and returning to its place in the jewel. All that remained to show that what happened had actually happened were the recordings and the experience engraved in their memories.
"Is it who you think it is, Rin?" Naru questioned and Rin shook his head.
"I can't tell."
"Why don't you go and see if you can make conversation with it? You may be able to satisfy its needs so it may travel to heaven without regrets" John suggested.
"I suppose" Rin agreed before standing up from his seat and walking out of the room. They watched him in the cameras as he moved closer and closer to the jewel, and the small orb began to react the closer he got. A wispy body was seen once again and Rin stopped about ten feet away from it.
Who are you? he asked calmly and the form moaned.
Can you answer me?
It moaned again, this time louder. The shape began to expand until it was about a foot shorter than Rin, standing about two feet in front of him, and looked up at him with its blank eyes. Rin took a step back when the thing reached out with a hand.
At least now they knew that it was human.
It hesitated at Rin's action before continuing its movement. The glowing appendage brushed against his cheek before it moaned again. Its mouth moved in fast japanese, but the noise that came out was haunted and eerie.
Rin stepped even farther away, shying away from its touch, and it jerked back, flashing a darker color for a split second. The body slowly began to disappear and it faded back into the floating jewel. The jewel landed softly on the velvet, the glow pulsing for a few moments. It created one, final moan before falling dormant once again.
"How strange... it didn't hurt him" Ayako murmured and Mai nodded in agreement.
"No, the spirit isn't a vengeful one" Naru informed before turning off the monitor, not finding any reason keep it on. "It's docile, and we know what it reacts to. We'll stop all observations for now. Come back tomorrow around this time. We'll try an exorcism."
--------------Wednesday 0600 Hours----------------
Rin sighed and leaned against the wall next to the jewel, staring at the pink orb with a look of curiosity on his face. He wasn't able to make out the exact features of the being, but he knew it was female. That was a start, he supposed. He blinked when a ray of sun suddenly flashed in his eyes and he squinted, the bright light making his eyes burn.
That's when he heard the humming.
The humming of the jewel was clearer now, and a soft melody played in the background. Rin couldn't exactly tell what song it was, but it sounded extremely familiar to him.
The jewel started glowing, making his already burning eyes burn more, and he blocked some of the light with his hand. The figure slowly shifted into the shape of the woman he saw earlier, and his eyes widened when it walked towards him, gliding over the tile floor. Then it smiled. It wasn't an evil smile, no, it was far from being evil, but it surprised him nonetheless. What exactly was this thing? Spirits usually try to haunt people, not smile at them.
"What... are you...?" he asked slowly and the woman spoke, a moan escaping its mouth instead of the words it wanted to speak, but Rin noticed that if he really tried, he could make out the words.
"A guardian?" he repeated and the spirit smiled before nodding. It stepped closer and squatted beside him, looking him in the eye. The soft, pinkish-lavender hue emanating off of it made him feel calm, and a trembling hand reached out to touch his face once again.
"Rin!" a voice cried, alarmed and his head snapped to the side to see the houshi, Hosho Takigawa. Hosho grabbed his arm and ripped him away from the spirit's reach, his prayer beads clenched in his right fist in front of him. "Stay back, spirit!" he commanded and the spirit shuffled forward one step. "Back!" he shouted.
"Hosho" Rin stated calmly, watching as the figure's mouth moved quickly, arms flinging themselves all over the place in its distress. A loud howl filled the entire exhibit and a gust of wind blew through, knocking over racks and wax figures in the process. The soft lavender turned a blood red before fading into an inky black, the wind moving faster and faster the darker the color got.
"I'll exorcise it" Hosho suggested, walking towards it but Rin had his doubts. The spirit would only fade if it wanted to.
"Iie. Talk to her."
"In this state? You've got to be kidding me. You're the onmyoji, why don't you just kill it?"
At this, the wind moved even faster and Rin sighed, the fast air making his bangs and clothing flap in the wind.
"What's you're name?" he asked over the ruckus and the wind lightened a large amount. The spirit's face softened as a soft moan floated across the gentle breeze and Rin blinked.
"You can understand it?" Hosho asked, confused, but Rin ignored him.
"How long have you been haunting the jewel?"
The spirit huffed, crossing its arms and scowling. The response seemed more annoyed this time and Rin allowed a faint smile to grace his lips.
"I apologize, how long have you been guarding the jewel?"
The spirit thought for a while before smiling sadly. A groan echoed across the now breeze-less room and Rin's smile disappeared.
"I see."
"Rin, what's it saying?"
A gust of wind knocked the houshi over and the spirit smirked triumphantly before shouting something unintelligible to him.
"She says that she's been guarding the jewel for too many years to count."
The spirit nodded before motioning Rin closer. Rin obeyed and the spirit gently took his hand in its own, moaning something in the process. It suddenly curled up his hand and began to pulse, the jewel pulsing in sync with her.
"I will come back later" Rin informed and the spirit smiled, eyes lighting up with happiness. She nodded before returning to her current home inside the jewel.
The houshi grunted as he stood back up, looking at Rin.
"Did she tell you what her name was?"
"Iie."
"What did she give you?"
"A clue" he replied simply, staring at the stone with the letter 'D' engraved into it.
---------------Wednesday 2200 Hours------------------
Naru looked at the 'D' with a scrutinizing gaze, thinking about everything that could have been connected to it, which really wasn't very much.
'Dog, perhaps?' he thought to himself, remembering the tale of the Shikon no Tama that he had heard too many times to count. There were a few canines involved in the story, but he couldn't remember exactly who they were, or whether or not they really were dogs. For all he knew, they could have been wolves, or coyotes.
"Do you have any ideas?" Naru asked softly and Mai blinked before looking at the smooth stone.
"Iie... I can't seem to recall anything in story about the Shikon that begins with a 'D'."
"Ayako, you should know" Hosho commented and Ayako looked at him.
"And you should, too" she retorted.
"Well I'm not the full-time miko, now am I?" he argued childishly and Ayako crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance.
"There are a few things in the story of the Shikon that begin with a 'D'" she informed haughtily.
"Demons" Mai chirped, a light bulb going off in her mind, "do you think it might have anything to do with demons? Her lover was a half-demon, and her adopted son was a full-demon. Do you think they're still alive?"
"Demons don't exist" Ayako scoffed and Mai blinked.
"That's what I thought about ghosts" she shot back and Ayako opened her mouth to say something but it clicked shut. Mai had a point there.
"Or, maybe it has something to do with drawing?" Hosho suggested. Everybody looked at him in confusion.
"...drawing...?" John repeated, obviously not having had the luxury of hearing the story of the Shikon when he was younger.
"The miko's adopted kit loved art, and from what I recall, drew many pictures" Hosho explained.
"That makes some sense..." Mai murmured.
"Enough wasting time" Naru interrupted before turning on the television once more and staring at the dormant jewel. "It's time to try an exorcism."
-----------Wednesday 2300 Hours-------------
Rin watched as the houshi prayed, desperately trying to make the spirit of the jewel pass on, but whether it worked or not was unknown. The sphere began to glow and the translucent from of the woman was seen sitting atop the podium, also observing the houshi. A hushed moan escaped her lips and Hosho's eyes snapped open to look at the spirit with interest.
"I suppose this isn't working because you're a holy spirit, ne?" he suddenly asked after a few moments of silence and the girl glowed a bright white. Both males squinted from the brightness but the depressed smile on her face could easily be made out. One last moan echoed across the room before everything turned dark.
Mai looked around the darkness, searching for that one person that she always saw in her dream. She waited for what seemed like forever, but Naru never appeared, which worried her.
"Naru?" she called. No answer.
"Naru? Are you there?"
"No!" a voice screamed and she spun around to find herself in a large, open area. Grass moved with the wind, whistling and rustling in the process. A light blue sky showed overhead, a few clouds drifting across. The entire sight would have been beautiful if not for the bloody bodies strewn across the field. A single girl stood in the middle of it, a shattered bow in her right hand as she stared down at the broken bodies before her. Big, fat tears rolled down her face and she released a loud sob.
"No!" she shouted, dropping to her knees. The bow slipped out of her right hand as she threw the object in her left to the ground. The small pink sphere bounced once before rolling a few feet away.
There was a cough from behind her but she paid it no heed as she flung herself over the still forms of her comrades.
"No..."
The scenery suddenly changed and Mai found herself staring at the girl again, this time she was sitting near a bridge, the pink jewel dangling from a thin chain around her neck. Without all of the blood on her, she was actually quite beautiful, but would have been even more beautiful if her blue eyes shone with happiness instead of grief.
"Are you alright...?" someone asked and she turned around to face the man. She smiled softly before leaning backwards over the railing of the wooden bridge, falling and plunging into the cold depths of the river far below. The jewel flashed a brilliant white.
Mai's eyes snapped open and she shot up to see John staring straight at her.
"Another premonition?" he asked and Mai blinked a few times before laughing nervously.
"Was it?" Hosho asked, curious.
"I wouldn't exactly call it a premonition..." she replied, trailing off before she could finish the sentence.
"What was it about?" Naru asked and she looked at him before lowering her gaze to stare at the floor. "Mai" he stated sternly and she dropped her head, trying to remember all the details.
"I saw her dying" she finally whispered after a few minutes. "I saw how she died." Her voice began to quiver as she continued to speak, eyes widening at the memory of all the blood and gore.
"Mai, calm down" John comforted and she suddenly began to cry.
"She committed suicide..." she whimpered, "to meet her comrades in the afterlife, but she got trapped inside the jewel instead and-"
"Did you hear her name?"
"Iie..."
---------Thursday 0530 ---------
"Can you tell me what the 'D' stands for?" Rin asked the girl and she looked at the stone in his hand before sighing. Her cold hand brushed against his warm one as she slowly turned the stone and he blinked once. "...how is this supposed to help me?" he asked and she smiled warmly before pointing west.
A soft groan left her lips, but he could lip-read that word anywhere.
Go.
"Go west?" he asked and she smiled once again before fading away. He sighed and turned towards the direction she had pointed and was slightly shocked to stare straight into emerald green orbs.
"So, you're the person she told me about" the man mused and Rin tensed, expecting something bad to happen. He had been on his guard while speaking with the spirit, yet he had not heard this man approach him from behind. Was he going senile at such a young age? He hoped not.
"Who are you?"
"I've been told to give you another hint." Rin remained silent now, not sure whether to believe the man or not. "I'm just a messenger for her."
"Who is she?"
"It moves, yet doesn't" the man said simply before turning around and walking away.
"Answer me" he commanded. He unconsciously blinked, and when his eyes opened again, the man was gone. "Answer me..."
---------Thursday 1400 Hours------------
Rin stared at the stone in his hand while thinking about the various clues he had been given. He had wanted to tell Naru in the beginning, but thinking things through a little more, he realized that he wanted to solve this case himself.
He sighed and stared at the stone once again, desperately trying to piece the clues together. His mind coming up with a blank, he chose to stare at the jewel on the podium once again. As if sensing his distress, it began to glow. The girl appeared in front of him once more, this time sitting with her legs crossed right in front of him. Her lips moved, an amused sound escaping her throat. Rin simply gave her an annoyed glare.
"Yes" he replied and, to his surprise, light laughter reached his ears. Apparently a spirit's laughter wasn't warped, but only their words. The spirit's shoulders slumped in an inaudible sigh before her eyes widened and she lurched forward. Her form began to darken and she trembled.
"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly and she looked up at him with pleading eyes before a loud howl echoed across the entire exhibit. A distressed voice called out in his mind a few moments later.
Hurry! The light is waning! it cried before the girl disappeared.
"It's beginning..." Naru suddenly stated from behind him and Rin looked at him, face void of all emotion, but Naru understood. "I did some research on the Shikon no Tama" he explained, "and found that the good in it is supposedly equal to the evil. However, the holy spirits are outnumbered two to one, and they're being worn down because of it."
"Thus, the light is waning" Rin finished and Naru nodded. "What will happen if the jewel falls to the darker half?"
Naru remained silent before slowly turning around. "You don't want to know."
-------That Evening--------
Rin stared at the jewel, watching as the color slowly but surely turned darker and darker. The soft pink from earlier that morning had begun to fade into a dark violet, and he could feel the temperature in the room beginning to drop. He occasionally heard creaking noises that never existed when the jewel was pink, and knew that the effects were starting to begin.
"Rin, aren't you going to eat?" Mai asked and he turned to look at her.
"Yes."
Her eyes suddenly widened and she gasped, taking a step back.
"Rin…" she whispered and he turned around just in time to see a clawed hand above his head. There was a loud roar and he dodged just a split-second too late, the sharp nails slashing him across his cheek.
"Rin!" Mai cried and he scrambled to his feet ignoring the blood dripping down it at an alarmingly fast rate.
"Run, Mai!" he commanded, taking her wrist and sprinting out of the exhibit. The thing went to make chase but suddenly turned into a pile of dust with a roar of pain. Rin glanced back to see the girl there, a bow in her hand as she watched him leave, a look of hope on her face. As he looked back, all the clues finally put themselves together in his head and he knew.
He knew where to find all the information he needed on the mysterious miko.
------Friday 0945 Hours------
Rin stared up at the many steps to the shrine in front of him and he smiled in his head. He had been successful in his search. The words 'it moves, yet doesn't' referred to the sun. The sun moved across the sky, but in all reality it didn't move at all. The 'D' on the stone was really a picture of a sunrise or sunset with the straight line being the horizon, and the sun sets in the 'west'. Putting all of these things together, Rin remembered a shrine with that namesake, and that was where he was now. He was standing in front of the Sunset Shrine.
As he began his ascent, the wound on his cheek began to sting. Choosing to ignore it for the moment, he continued to climb the steps to see a teenage boy sweeping the grounds. The boy noticed him and stopped what he was doing, smiling in welcome.
"I've been expecting you" he stated and motioned for Rin to follow him. "Come on, you must be curious about the miko."
The boy walked away and Rin followed, trusting his senses. The area was pure, and the boy was pure. He held no ill intentions, but truly wanted to help Rin. They ended up in front of a table and they both sat down to begin their conversation.
"Who are you?" Rin asked.
"I'm Souta Higurashi" the boy replied.
"Who is she?"
"Kagome, my sister."
Rin fell silent, obviously more than just slightly confused. Souta smiled apologetically and took a deep breath in order to tell the tale. Hopefully that would reduce some of the questions the older male had.
----------Friday 1035---------
Rin stared at the large tree in the courtyard, feeling a large amount of spiritual energy coming off of it. Souta had told him about the tree, and now that he was closer he could understand why Kagome seemed to like it so much. It was calming, and considering how hectic her life had been, the God Tree must have been like a safe haven to her.
"Where is she now? Kagome, I mean" Rin asked and Souta smiled sadly at him.
"Isn't it obvious? She's being devoured by the darkness in the jewel' he replied, "she's being eaten alive. She never died, Rin, her body and soul are both being confined within the Shikon."
"How can I get her out?"
Souta smiled forlornly once again. "You can't."
"There has to be some way…" Rin whispered and the tree's power pulsed once, soothing him, almost asking him something. What it was asking he couldn't understand, but it was questioning him.
"Why are you trying so hard to save her?" Souta asked, "That is what the tree said."
"I saw her…" Rin replied slowly, trailing off and Souta smiled, this time happily.
"And that is why she chose you" he stated, "Please save her." With that, he turned around and walked back into the shrine house.
"…die…" Rin finished and lowered his head in thought, his long bangs covering his eyes. "I saw her die…"
-----------Friday 2000 Hours----------
Rin walked towards the now black jewel, his expression the most depressed Mai had ever seen him. It worried her to no end, especially since he was most likely walking towards his death.
"Are you alright, Rin?" she asked but he ignored her, choosing instead to walk even closer to the jewel. "Rin!" she cried but he continued to walk towards it. "Stop!"
He did, but only once he was standing right in front of it and looking down at it. He reached out to touch it and lightened a tiny amount as the spirit now known as Kagome desperately tried to break free for his sake, to overpower the darkness in order to keep him safe. Her ghostly pink form hovered next to the still black jewel, trying as hard as she could to turn it back to its original color.
"Gomen ne" Rin whispered softly to her and touched her cheek "I couldn't save you."
She shook her head and cried, pointing behind him and trying to make him turn around to face the thing sneaking up on him.
"Rin!" Mai shouted but he ignored her.
"Gomen ne…" he repeated and she flung herself at him to knock him out of the way but went straight through him. She shook her head and her white, non-liquid tears splattered against the marble floor.
No! her actions cried when the demon raised its claws to strike him.
"NO!" someone screamed.
There was a bright flash of light before his entire world went black.
When he woke up, he found himself still on the marble floor, worried blue eyes staring into his own.
"Rin…" she whispered and he slowly sat up. "Oh kami-sama…" Before he could comprehend what was happening, she had thrown herself into his arms, sobbing. "Arigatou…" she sniffed, "arigatou…"
"For what?" he asked.
"Arigatou…"
Not sure what to do, he awkwardly snaked his own arms around her body one around her lower back and the other around her shoulders. She was shaking because of the force of her sobs, and that made him even more confused. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Was he doing this right? Why was he even attempting to do this?
There was a sudden flash of light and he blinked, turning his head to the right to see Ayako with a camera in her hand. His expression told her all she needed to know and she smirked.
"It was just too good of a chance to pass up. If you want, I can give you a copy the next time we see each other."
"No."
She pouted. "But you two look so good together!" she whined and he abruptly stood up, making Kagome fall out of his lap.
"Enough" he stated, straightening his shirt and taking one step towards the exit of the Feudal Era Exhibit.
"You're so cruel sometimes," Ayako sighed and a tick began to form above his eyebrow, but he continued walking.
"Ne, Rin" Kagome called and he stopped, showing that he was listening. "Would you like to go somewhere to eat with me sometime? As a show of thanks."
Rin hesitated before continuing his exit. Kagome shrugged, making a face that said 'You can't blame me for trying.'
"Sure" he replied, flashing a quick smile as he turned the corner. Kagome laughed and clapped her hands together in her glee.
-
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-
-
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Rin opened his mailbox to see a letter from Ayako to him and he blinked, not sure whether to open it or not.
"What is it, Rin?" Kagome asked, trying to look at it as she stood on her toes to look over his shoulder. Rin opened it and pulled out the picture from inside it. He only needed to see it for a split second before he was about to rip it into tiny little pieces.
"Wait!" Kagome cried and plucked the photo from his fingers. She blinked a few times as she looked at it before blushing.
Rin was sitting on the marble floor of the museum, Kagome in his lap as she buried her face into his dark shirt. His arms were wrapped tightly around her body in comfort as he looked down at her, and there was an extremely tender look on his face. Almost as if he was in…
"You lovesick little puppy, you" Kagome teased and he took the photo from her hands and looked at it again. He found himself forced to grudgingly agree.
He looked a little too damn loving for his liking.
The End
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Okay, right now I'm extremely obsessed with one-shots, so if there's anyone that wants me to write one, message me and if I like the pairing, I'll try it! The next one-shot I'll be writing is a HikaruKagome, an OHSHC IY crossover! Make sure to R and R, too! I LOVE REVIEWS!!!