Forlorn Labyrinth

Chapter IV

IY/YYH Crossover

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi and Rumiko Takahashi. I do not own Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho. This was supposed to be a contest entry for The Deadliestsin but I failed to finish it on time due to my licensure examination. I guess I'll just post this story here. Hope you like it and THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! I really appreciate it ^_^

She turned and faced the mysterious hooded figure while her eyes never left those crimson orbs. Stiff as she could recall, she felt her senses drifting away from her after what she just heard.

Cherishing her breathing as long as she could is the only thing she has on mind thinking that she may not be able to do so anymore. Her bare shoulders trembling, her legs felt like they would give up anytime.

The mysterious figure chuckled derisively at the sight of her petrified form as she watched him in horror.

"You still think this is funny? Talking about death as if it's just a damn joke? I know you just made that up to scare me! This prank of yours is so predictable" she said, looking away from his gaze, trying to force a smile, her eyes stared into space.

"Distressing, isn't it?" he replied sneeringly

She chuckled forcefully as warm tears trickled down thinking that maybe he would drop his act and everything will all be the way it should be.

"It's so funny. I could DIE laughing…Oh how can I be dead? I already am, as you said. I know what you're up to. Using my fears to overcome me, what a genius you are…" her tone changed, she sounded somehow disturbingly happy.

"Hush, Your fear stains the air of this place. Dwelling within the qualms would likely produce unforeseeable outcomes"

"Unforeseeable outcomes? Are you kidding me? You and your hooded jerk face came to tell me I'm now a soul. Isn't that enough unforeseeable outcomes for me?" she replied sarcastically, a smile forming in her lips as tears flowed.

"WHY ME?" she screamed, digging her fingers on her fists, releasing her frustrations.

"Haven't you had enough seeing me suffer like this?" she said almost in a whisper "Just thinking about myself right now….makes me want to believe you…and I hate it!" she added

Yet the hooded figure did not respond, instead, he pulled the whimpering girl into an embrace.

"Enough…" were his only words

Hearing his reassurance just flared up her anger

"You sick uncanny bastard! I've had enough of your jokes and your foolish sweet talk so just take me back!" she yelled hysterically, pounding her fists at him as hard as she could like a spoiled child protesting for gratification. She never knew she was still just as she were before, an innocent little girl.

"Take me back! Take me back!" she cried until she lost the strength and felt her arms limping. Slowly her anger lifted as she felt her mind becoming numb of emotional tantrums. She felt somehow at ease for no apparent reason.

"Am I really….like you said I was?" she asked weakly, her face buried on the hooded figure's chest.

"You are the only soul I have charged nothing of, doesn't that make you special? Something about you is not the same with the others…" he said pushing her slightly to face him, holding her chin up so that he could see those blue orbs of hers which is filled with anger and sadness within.

Her breathing intensified at the feel of his touch. She faced the hooded figure directly at his eyes. His eyes still haven't changed, still maintaining that calm yet dangerous look.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she whimpered

"You did this to yourself…" he replied as he moved his bandaged hand to wipe a part of her soaked cheek with his thumb

"You need not to stain such a pretty face" he added.

She quivered and turned her head slightly at the side, avoiding his touch.

"If so….may I ask you a question?" she asked

The hooded figure just nodded in answer as she bit her lip. Part of her is preventing herself from saying what she was about to ask

"Who are you really?" she spoke, ignoring her involuntary objection

"I have many names…names that people used to call my attention when the time comes…yet I remain as the carrier of the souls. Some say I am a demon, some say I am an angel while some consider me as nothing at all but a flying shadow. I took the lives of the many… the young, the old, the sick and even the well. Only those who aren't afraid of dying are able to see me, those who looked away on the verge of their deaths only see what they wanted to see as I rip their souls from their moldering, fragile bodies. I hold the hourglass of the living as I have held yours"

"Death…." she said in a whisper.

"Why have you come too soon? It was so soon…" she said

"You called me and I answered" he replied

Curiosity toggled her mind as she recalled what she saw behind the hood. Slowly she turned and reached for the hood that hid his face. As she was about to hold unto it she felt his hands grasped her wrists.

"Can I at least see your face? I wanted to see….the face of death" she solicited

"What you must know…you will see me as how you have wanted me to be seen…..your eyes will make the decision for you" he said as he released her hands from his grip, allowing her to pull his hood a little bit to show his face, showing his identity.

She was surprised to see a young looking male with dark, ebony hair and bloody red eyes that are sharp and cold. There's something about those eyes, something that makes her feel at ease as though her anxieties are alleviated.

"That face? Y-You're different from what I heard in the stories…" she said, surprised at what she saw.

"You have seen what you wanted to see…nothing more" he said, covering his face in the darkness once again.

"One last question…How did I die?" she asked, turning her gaze away from him.

"You knew…"

"I can't remember..."

"You knew quite well how you died…." He said, placing a finger at the side of her head

'BANG!'

A loud strange noise echoed through her hears as her mind went blank.

The moment she regained her senses, she was back at the strange room she was sitting at. Only this time, she was lying on the floor.

She stood up just to see the most horrifying thing she has ever seen.

She saw the exact replica of herself on the same couch, on the same clothes, with a gun in her hand and blood oozing from her head.

"W-what is the meaning of this?" she asked herself then she heard footsteps rushing through the room

"KAGOME!" the voice yelled, it was indistinct and she can't tell whether it was a man or woman but she could feel fear within. It's the same voice she's been hearing every time she wakes up. The moment she turned to face the mysterious stranger, her vision started to blur as she was mysteriously transferred into the boat.

She panted heavily as she looked up just to see the hooded figure ferrying the boat. Her eyes shot wide, her chest pounding

"No…No…Stop rowing….take me back"

The hooded figure, to her surprise, stopped and stared at her

"You seem troubled" he wondered

"It c-c-can't be….t-that's n-not true...that gun..." she stuttered

"You talk about this?" he said showing her a gun

At the sight of the said object, she immediately stood and slapped the gun out of his hands

"No...it's not true..." she said

"The trigger is pulled…nothing else can be done" he said calmly

"I…I don't understand…"

"When death comes is unpredictable…you should know that death will come eventually… It's your time…It must have been hard" he replied

"I just saw myself dead with a bullet in my head, your empathetic attempts is not enough to know how hard it is to feel as miserable than I am now!"

"It's the truth…."

"I dare not to believe it"

"It's useless to dwell within your agonies. You must learn to let it go"

"Then….can you take me back to that place once again? I wanted to know how I really died"

"Taking you back is beyond my power."

"How's that against your power? You just took me back" she asked turning to face him

"No one has ever come back once boarded…It was you who remembered"

"Remembered? How is that possible?"

"I can't help you with that"

"Please take me back…just once"

"I cannot"

"Is there something I can do for you to take me back?"

"Well….A payment perhaps…" he said stretching out a hand

"I have nothing in me"

"Then I'm sorry…"

Disappointment filled her. It was her only way of solving her agony until it vanished right in front of her. If only she could go back and retrace her steps, slowly finding out if the places she was just in were related to her downfall.

With no other choice rendered to her, a plan entered her mind.

'Is it possible….to cheat death himself?' she thought, a small smile formed in her lips.

Author's Notes:

Jaganshing: THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS AND FOR THOSE WHO HAD FOLLOWED THIS STORY ^^

Some inspirations that helped me create this fic: Evanescence, Phantom of the Opera, Davey Jone's theme music, Greek Mythology