The second chapter! Yay! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! Your comments are especially appreciated!
Disclaimer: The characters and setting of this story belong to the creators of Inuyasha. They are NOT mine.
Enjoy!
Ignorance is Bliss
Chapter 2
If that corpse was who she thought he was, then Inuyasha would be dead by the end of the month.
It was a dream. It had to be. Any minute now, Kagome would wake up with keyboard imprints on one side of her face, having fallen asleep at the computer without noticing.
It was a nightmare: too surreal to actually be happening. Because stuff like this - reading about the future death of one of the most important people (if not THE most important person) in you life - only happened in the movies.
It made her head hurt and her heart beat itself into a panic.
Kagome pinched her arm and, when that failed to drag her out of what must have been her over-active subconscious mind, bravely tipped her chair on its hind legs until she fell over backwards. She hit the floor hard: landing with a 'thud' and sitting there, rubbing the pain out of her back. Black spots momentarily danced across her vision.
The dark spots cleared and she found herself staring from her position on the floor at those traitorous words that were somehow still on her computer screen. Lying there in a semi state of shock, the wheels in her brain fell into place with a 'click' and she was hit with the enormity of the situation. This was no dream.
Getting up from the floor, she ran out of her room, down the stairs, and out the front door. Worry was bubbling up within her: seething and boiling like some prehistoric volcano about to erupt.
She needed to see him. She needed to make sure he was alright.
Oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please
Tearing out of the house and sprinting to the well, blood pounding in her ears, the concerned cries of her mother barely registering in her head before being pushed out by an all consuming fear; Kagome ripped open the well house door. Stumbling, falling down the last few steps; she threw herself down into the time portal. She'd barely touched ground before she was up again: scrambling her way up and out of the Bone Eater's Well.
Her vision blurred, and then cleared again. Kagome hoisted herself over the well's edge. Her bare foot caught on the wood and she stumbled: pitching forward on to the grass. She caught herself and picked herself up, gasping for breath and sobbing, and raised her head….
I need to see you
To meet a pair of concerned amber eyes.
She was crying. That was the first sign that something was wrong.
Inuyasha had been sitting by the well, impatiently waiting for dawn to break so he could go through the time portal and take back HIS Kagome ( since when has she been yours?), when he heard something scrambling and sobbing. A few moments later and, as Inuyasha watched in concerned confusion, the very Kagome that he had been thinking about clumsily stumbled out of the well.
She was crying. That was never a good sign.
Then she'd looked up to meet his gaze and he saw that look on her face. Forehead furrowed in a mix of anxiety, concern, and fear: jaw clenched and mouth slightly open: eyes filled with tears and worry and something else.
It was the same look she wore when Kagura had been about to shop off his head, when the Windscar had backfired, and when he had been full human and infected with the spider demon's bite.
She only wore that look when he was on the verge of death.
Though he'd never admit it, that look scared him more all Naraku's minions combined. Hell, it even scared him more than Kagome's other I'm-about-to-'sit'-you-into-the-ground look. That look meant he was dying and, as far as he knew, he wasn't about to kick the bucket anytime soon.
Kagome stood up and wordlessly walked toward him, arms outstretched in a silent hug. Biting back a customary crude retort (so you missed me this much, eh Ka-go-me?), Inuyasha returned the embrace and rubbed her back as a sort of comforting gesture. Despite what Miroku and Shippo seemed to think, he wasn't entirely an insensitive jerk.
He pulled her closer, inhaling a scent of rose petals tinged with anxiety. He couldn't recall ever seeing her act this upset before.
"What's wrong, Kagome?"
And Inuyasha grew even more puzzled when he felt Kagome freeze.
What the hell?
How in the world could she answer a question like that?
"Well, Inuyasha, you're going to die in a mysterious castle disappearance in about 30 days from now."
"Oh, is that why you're so worried?"
"Y-yeah…" (Kagome begins to sob uncontrollably. Inuyasha rubs her back and wipes away her tears. The wind begins to blow, gently toying with their hair. Romantic violin music can be heard in the background)
"Don't worry sweetheart, I won't do anything to hurt you. I'll stay here, safe and sound, away from that mysterious castle. I promise. Doesn't that make you feel better?"
"Y-yeah…" Kagome stops crying and smiles, "Thank you, Inuyasha."
"Anything for you, darling,"
The wind picks up and the violin music reaches a crescendo as Inuyasha and Kagome gaze deep into each other's eyes and Inuyasha moves in for a kiss…
There was no way that was going to happen. Kagome knew Inuyasha too well: he would most likely run off toward the danger, laughing and boasting that he was indestructible. God knew he had done that numerous times before. If Inuyasha was anything, it was stubborn. He never backed down from a fight, even if it meant death: a quality she admired and was exasperated with at the same time.
So Kagome couldn't tell him: not only out of fear that he would embrace the danger, but also out of consideration. Knowing about your own imminent death would have a taxing toll on anyone's mind. It wouldn't be right to place such a burden on him.
Kagome took a deep breath and moved out of Inuyasha's embrace. Now that she knew he was safe, her head had cleared. Kagome had also thought with her emotions and, now that the overwhelming fear in her heart had been pushed back to more tolerable levels, she could think more clearly. She had one month: 30 days to figure out how to prevent this catastrophe. She needed help.
She couldn't tell Inuyasha. She couldn't tell Miroku, Sango, or Shippo either: at least, not yet. There had been a handful of other bodies aside from Inuyasha's that had been mauled beyond recognition; since they all traveled together, those corpses were most likely theirs. Heck, for all she knew, she could have been one of those corpses.
But then how could I exist in my time? If I die in the past, wouldn't I be gone from the future? Or am I on a different timeline?
Kagome stood up. She needed to talk this over with someone more experienced than she was. And if her friends were out of the question, there was really only one option left.
"Oy! Aren't you gonna answer my question?!" Inuyasha stood up too, a slightly annoyed and mostly confused expression on his face. Kagome paused and drew another calming breath.
"I…I can't tell you right now. I need to see Kaede."
"Take it easy," Inuyasha snorted, "The old hag's probably sleeping by now. Besides, don't you wanna go and get that back-pack thingy that you always carry?"
"Later. I really need to talk to Kaede right now. I'll go back for it later."
"Fine, Lady Kagome. Shall I escort Your Highness back to our humble village?" Inuyasha waved his hand, emphasizing his words with airs to deliberately annoy the dark haired girl. He looked more than a little surprised when all Kagome did was mutter a
"Yeah… thanks…"
Kagome had started to walk back toward the village when she was suddenly lifted up and placed on Inuyasha's back. She blinked and almost smiled. "Thank you…"
"I ain't doing this for you," Inuyasha's voice was rough, harsher in his false act at indifference, "If you walk into a ditch on your way to Kaede's, I'm the one who's gonna catch hell for it."
This time Kagome did smile: the anxiety in her heart melting away for a brief moment as she snuggled in to his back. And, though Kagome couldn't see it, Inuyasha smiled too: moments like this had become all too rare.
Lady Kaede had been asleep, as Inuyasha had predicted, but had quickly woken up as soon as she saw the expression of Kagome's face. At Kagome's request, Inuyasha (despite much protesting) had left the two priestesses to talk alone and disappeared into the forest.
It was only after she was sure Inuyasha had left that Kagome sat down and began to explain the events of the last hour. It was a relief to finally be able to confide in someone: to be able to seek another's advice and opinions.
The old priestess had listened with great solemnity: her expression impenetrable and attentive after an initial expression of shock. After Kagome had finished her tale, Kaede had nodded once in a thoughtful manner before replying:
"I admit that I have never heard tell of this Tuzuki Castle. Ye must ask Myoga if ye seek more information: he is far worldlier than I. I shall do what I can to help ye, but I am afraid my help is limited.
Ye should talk to Inuyasha about this trouble: I know ye are concerned, but Inuyasha is no light-hearted fool. He has lived with the threat of death over his head before. That is what makes him strong. It is like I said before: Ye must work together with Inuyasha, Kagome."
Kaede blew out a breath and let out a tired sigh before continuing:
"This is a taxing situation indeed. We need to learn more of this mysterious disappearance before we make any decisions…"
"Oy! Old hag!" There was a knock on the wooden wall of the hut before Inuyasha strode in, followed a stranger wrapped in a traveling cloak, "Sorry to bother you, but there's a traveler here says he needs to see ya." Inuyasha jerked a thumb towards the stranger.
"Alright Inuyasha," Kaede got to her feet and looked toward Kagome, "Give me a little while to ponder this problem, and I shall talk to ye more about this then." Kaede turned and nodded toward Inuyasha and the traveler. "Now, what is this about?"
Inuyasha moved to stand next to Kagome as the traveler bowed to Kaede and moved to take off his cloak.
"Lady Priestess, my village needs help," the stranger's voice was on the higher end of the low spectrum, reminding Kagome of a male adolescent who was still growing into his vocal chords.
As he removed his cloak and folded it up in his arms, Kagome's eyes widened and froze. For the second that evening, she was speechless with shock. Another piece of the puzzle clicked and, suddenly, the old pieces didn't seem to fit anymore. Inuyasha froze too, sensing Kagome's surprise.
The traveler was definitely a young male, probably in his mid-teens: a year or so younger than the 16-almost-17-year-old Kagome. He was slightly shorter and thinner that Inuyasha. His eyes looked to be green, which was rare in Warring States Japan. Like Inuyasha, though, the stranger's hair was silver.
He wore white pants with red streaks and was also dressed in a red hatori that Kagome automatically knew was woven from fur of the fire rat. Across his back was strapped a pair of light swords: smaller than most swords and made for double-sword fighting.
Kagome blinked. And blinked again. Her memory spun back to a sentence she had read not too long ago.
The one recognizable body is of a young male with strange silver hair, wearing a red fire-rat hatori and carrying a broken sword…
Could I have been wrong?
Author's notes:
Wow. I seem to like ending stories with cliff hangers….
Alright! PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!! Same standards apply: I am looking for constructive criticism on writing style. If anything bothers you about the way this story is written, PLEASE TELL ME SO I CAN FIX IT (Note: if it's utterly ridiculous, I'll probably ignore it).
So review. Please?
I'll try to update soon!