AN: DarkAngel048~! (I wrote this at her request.)
Wow, I must say that the reviews for each chapter have slowly gone up... Thank you. :) And a special shout-out to my friend Lies (MELONLORD~!) and also to Chibinelly because frankly, your reviews aren't "Sheep" (heh heh) and have some depth to them. I like fat reviews. ;)
ENJOY!
Disclaimer: I don't own DNAngel or Inuyasha.
CHAPTER SEVEN
I felt groggy. It was the feeling I always got when I woke up in the middle of the night and realised I still had hours of sleep ahead of me. Except what I was lying on wasn't my bed; I stretched, my eyes still closed.
I realised I was still wearing my pyjamas, though; a baggy top and shorts. My eyes shot open and I took in what was around me, squinting in the light. I was sitting on soft green grass, and there were trees in the distance. The sky above me was bright blue and the air was still with no breeze. It was a beautiful day, but my heart leapt into my throat in fear because I had no idea where I was.
"Kagome?"
I froze. Blood seared through my veins. My eyes began to heat up. It was Inuyasha's voice. I battled with myself and the idea of turning around to look into his eyes; it was something I had craved for so long, but what if it was only his voice in my head? If I turned around and saw nothing I might finally break. I chose to squeeze my eyes shut and I ignored the hot tears that trailed down my cheeks and fell into my lap.
"You're not real," I whispered to myself.
Inuyasha snorted, and my stomach clenched with nostalgia at the familiar sound. "I am real. If you stop crying you'd see that."
I slowly opened my eyes, and Inuyasha was sitting in the soft grass in front of me. His eyes were just as I remembered them, brilliant gold. His silver hair flowed over his shoulders and his ears twitched on top of his head. I recalled how soft they were and smiled.
"I'm finally back."
Inuyasha blinked at me, his arms crossed so I couldn't see his clawed hands. His ears twitched and he slowly smiled at me, revealing a fang as he did so. I always loved that smile; my heart did a pathetic little jump in my chest, and I felt myself blushing as he looked at me.
"Why didn't you come back sooner?" He asked. I edged closer to him so the red material of his clothes brushed my bare legs.
"I couldn't," I sighed. I was about to elaborate, when a piercing ache seared through my head. It felt like an anvil had fallen on my skull and I cried out in pain, my vision swimming in dark spots. Inuyasha's golden eyes became wide and he pulled me close to him, cradling me in his arms. He was so warm.
"Kagome, are you all right?" He asked softly. He was worried. My vision was blurry.
"I'm okay," I mumbled groggily, looking around. Again, I took in the surroundings, unable to comprehend that I was actually back in the Feudal Era, safe in Inuyasha's arms. I snuggled into him, burying my face into his clothes. He smelled just as I remembered him, but…
I lifted my head and stared up at him. Something was missing, but I couldn't figure out what it was.
I frowned. "You're different," I said.
"You're stupid," he countered. A typical Inuyasha remark, I thought. A switch flicked on in my brain, and my eyes widened.
"Except you're not typical Inuyasha…"
He continued to stare at me with his golden eyes; the feeling still wasn't there. I must have stared at him too long without changing my expression because he frowned at me and cocked his head to one side in wonderment and confusion. I blinked.
"I can't taste your magic," I whispered, pushing against his chest. His arms fell away from me and I stumbled to my feet. He watched me from where he sat, utterly too innocent for the usually angry hanyou that I knew him to be.
I collapsed to my knees as pain shot through my left shin. "Don't move." I meant to yell it at Inuyasha, but it only came out as an angry whisper. My skin tingled and the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end. Something was definitely wrong. I wiped the tears away from my eyes and sniffed; for the first time since Inuyasha had appeared, I noticed the ring of feathers around my neck.
Dark's voice echoed through my head.
Whatever you see when you leave your room will be an illusion, you have to remember this.
Was Inuyasha an illusion? I stared up at him through the locks of my dark hair, and he was still sitting in the same place he had been before, his eyes full of worry for me as he clasped his hands together inside his red sleeves; he was leaning slightly forward in worry, but he hadn't moved, like I'd told him.
Sadness opened in me like a void and tears leaked down my face, falling into the soft grass beneath me. The pain in my shin was gone now, just like the pain in my head. Both had disappeared right after they had come. The feathers around my neck hung by their thread, and I stared down at them.
"Inuyasha," I sighed, blinking slowly. "I'm going to miss you so much," I whispered brokenly.
Inuyasha sprung to his feet, his eyes wide as he stretched out his arms and reached for me. He wasn't fast enough – if he was the real Inuyasha, he would have been fast enough. I grabbed the feather necklace with both hands and slammed my magic into it; I felt through my magic how intricate the feathers were, and how my magic interweaved with Dark's, twirling and clinging together like a vine attached to a tree. My surroundings swam in a blur of colour, blending and merging together and slowly disappearing and fading away.
I gasped, my eyes popping open. I was in a small room with wooden floorboards and no glass where the windows should be. Dark was standing in front of me protectively, and I was slumped against the wall; I felt slightly dizzy.
"Kagome, thank god, Kagome…" he mumbled under his breath. I frowned, rubbing my forehead. My eyes widened in surprise when my fingers came away bloody. I jumped violently when a deep growling laugh erupted from whatever Dark was facing and all I could do was stare.
"It seemed I got what I wished," the man grinned. It was that same lopsided smirk that I'd seen on Dark's face, except now it seemed to match the face it was on. His hair fell to his shoulders in greasy knots, his eyes a piercing icy blue. His shirt had stains all over it and was un-tucked; he also wore baggy grey pants and tennis shoes that were supposed to be white but were caked with so much mud and grit it was impossible to tell what their actual colour was intended to be.
"You share Dark's body," I managed to say. Dark glanced back at me and I felt my stomach knot when I realised he had a bloody gash on his cheek. Hopefully it wasn't too deep.
"We're not sharing anything anymore," he mused, pacing from one wall to the other with his hands behind his back. Dark straightened so he was standing normally, rather than in the protective stance he had been crouched in. Maybe my being talkative had altered the situation.
"And we won't ever be again. I'm finally in my own body," Dark said. His tone was fairly neutral, but I could almost sense the amount of emotion that would show in his eyes.
"Dark, where are we?"
He answered me while still looking at the man across the room – I'd never been told his name, nor did I particularly want to know. "We're in the mirror you bought," he said.
I rubbed my shin and winced because it was bruised. It hurt. "I know that much," I muttered impatiently. "I meant where is this place?"
I'd been in the Feudal Era, the place that I'd wanted to visit every day since I'd been blocked from it. This mirror transported you to where you most desired to be; someplace in your past. Out of all the beautiful places Dark could have been, he chose a small room with wooden floorboards and musty boxes stacked against the walls, but why?
Before Dark could answer me, the room shook and I gasped. Dark grabbed me by my arms and lifted me to my feet, supporting me by snaking an arm around my waist. I would have felt embarrassed because I was still in my pyjamas, but I was too scared to be embarrassed.
"We've got to move, now," Dark said in my ear. The man across the room narrowed his eyes at us as Dark whispered to me. He took a step forward as Dark raised a hand towards me; I nodded, understanding. I'd escaped my desired world, I was breaking the mirror's spell; this world was shattering, and it was taking with it everything that it had absorbed.
At the same time, both Dark and I slammed magic into the feathers around my neck. They acted like a beacon, glowing with a bright light as our magic clashed and wound more tightly together. The light became so bright I ended up burying my face in Darks chest, and he held me close to one side of his body.
I heard the man yell and lunge for us, but he was too late, as Inuyasha had been. We were already gone, blinded by the white light as we disappeared. I felt something pulse next to me, and I dared a peek to see what it was.
They were wings, as black as midnight, and they were attached to Dark. I buried my face in the material of his soft shirt again and squeezed my eyes shut. I trusted him, just as I did Inuyasha. He would bring me home safely. He would get me out in one piece.
AN: Yay, Dark has magical wings. :) Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter - please review! They're like a warm drink on a cold day. :)
