…
Chapter Nine
Two Minds, One Body
The blush that stained his cheeks did little to nothing to ease the unmanly feeling that was creeping over his conscious. He was blushing like a fool- a silly little school girl- like one of Kagome's immature girlfriends. With much effort, he willed it away, making furious swipes at his ruddy cheeks with his red sleeve, which, by coincidence alone, resembled a lighter shade of the maroon on his cheeks. Still, even then he could see the figures- the figures of him and Kagome- during that moment and the blush remained, strong as ever.
'What exactly had I been thinking in that moment?' he questioned himself. As he considered it now, the certainty that should have come with his ragged admittance eluded him. He remained without certainty about the event. He had been delirious- maddened, maybe. All he knew- all he could see- all he could feel- was Kagome. His actions, what he said, everything was a direct result from what had occurred between them that fateful night when she had lost control of her powers.
'Even then… What I said was true. My thoughts may be consumed with Kagome- my body and heart… but I cannot allow someone who is half a man such as I to hold her back from her real world. I cannot follow any other path…' A slow wind began to filter through the trees. The midnight sky twinkled with a promise of treachery down beneath the curtain of ancient leaves and cast small rays of pearly light against the crystalline glitter of the pond. Inuyasha's lone figure stood, legs braced and long silver hair flowing, like the lone fighter among a field of ruins. The light in the enclave seemed to cast his body in an ethereal kind of luminosity, making his very figure glow with reserved brilliance.
He did not quite understand why this place had called to him. He still did not know why he had said the things he had here, for they were not something he would have ever thought he would say. Regardless, he did not know of this place, but standing here made him feel as if he was complete, yet, as if he had lost something precious. His secrecy of his feelings... at least a part of them- had been stolen that night by the feelings this place awakened in him.
'I have to become a demon because I do not want to remember Kagome... When I am free of these emotions I can rest, in death, with Kikyo…' he thought, reserving himself to his accursed fate, 'even if…' The figure bowed its head sadly, yet no tears welled in the brilliant amber orbs as they glowed with fierce intensity. As the thoughts spiraled in his mind, unconsciously his fist clenched at his side, his nails digging into his flesh. Was it really the physical pain that caused him to react in this way- surely it was the ache in his chest that caused this pain, not anything else.
'Even if… I can no longer protect… your smile…' he thought sadly. His extremely long bangs slashed over his face, whipping as the air seemed to pressurize the small place where he stood. Its weight and increased velocity had him looking to the sky where a cloud of leaves were thrown into the sky as the winds rocked them loose from their trees.
"What the hell???" he asked aloud, searching the sky and feeling with his senses for anything strange. He did not sense anything amiss at first, but then he suddenly locked in on Kagome's scent. The wind had carried it to this place, at least a 30 minute walk away from the hut, and had managed to stay intact. At first Inuyasha thought nothing of it, almost turning away from the sudden alarm, then he realized something was tremendously wrong with the particulars of her natural odor.
"Wait a minute," he said aloud angrily, the sudden realization crashing over him like a ten wheeler, "that's not Kagome's scent- it's…"
He leapt into the air, abandoning the small lake for the time being, and landed in a tree. He jumped each branch until he had reached the very top where he crouched, two hands gripping the branch, and sniffing at the air like the half-dog he was, confirmed what his senses had already told him.
"Kikyo?!" he cried aloud, confused. It sounded like a bitter croak of a dying man as he took his last breaths, reaching for something he had longed for but had never gotten. The pain in his voice alone caused the trees below him to stir with sadness.
He spared it not even a second thought, what had happened those days ago when he had been with Kagome, but could not erase it from his mind. He leapt from the tree with greater speed then he had ever used before. He was halfway back to the hut, his eyes dry with the force of the winds pushing against him, when he felt the pull of something else. It was stronger then himself, stronger then Kagome; it was the reek of the unnatural. It was impossible that after all this time; Kikyo could have been reborn again…
…
BACK TO KAGOME…
…
A kind of deep sleep had enveloped the girl, lying so deeply within herself. She was aware of every sound, of every cry, of every soft sound of footfall against the gentle grass- but it seemed muted, as if someone had turned down the volume to a blaring radio suddenly, and a person was unaccustomed to the silence. The feeling of deep sleepiness had come over her, but she was trying frantically to fight it.
From somewhere inside of Kagome's possessed body, Kagome was still awake. And as the thing controlling her walked with her body she tried to figure out what was happening, trying vainly.
'What is this? Why can't I stop myself from walking? Who are you?' she asked the bleak darkness. From before her she was seeing through different eyes, a dulled vision under a veil of perfect black lashes, and could see that she was walking. The sound of her new shoes made soft pads as the ground turned from gravel to wispy grass. If she had a form within herself, she would have been shaking her head and twisting her body, as if to break free from the bonds keeping her from her own body's control.
'Why are you doing this?' she asked again, mentally wringing her hands. 'What do you want?!'
She was surprised when a voice answered her, "It is as I have guessed, you are too weak and can no longer deal with your body." came the voice. Kagome shuddered, the voice was soft, cold, and so unlike her own. The sound issued from her lips but it came from somewhere else within her body. Something was causing this entity to control her, but what was it? Could it be Naraku?
'What do you mean? I don't understand!' she cried as the Kagome she was secluded in continued her dull trek through the village, heading in some unseen direction that was unknown to the entity whom the body actually belonged to. She was too weak? How could that be? She could deal with anything, so long as Inuyasha was by her side. Her body would HAVE to deal with it, or Kagome's willpower could…
Couldn't it...?
"It deteriorates." came the voice, cold and unfeeling, and it stole through Kagome's mind, freezing her.
'My body? What do you mean it deteriorates?! My flesh isn't falling off, is it?' she yelled sarcastically. She wasn't certain how the voice was able to respond. She was yelling but even then she felt deaf and stupid, unable to understand. Was she drugged?
"Physical deterioration is the final step to the loss of a being." It was calm, cool. Kagome knew that voice. But from where had she heard it??? From where was it born? How could it control her? And what exactly did it mean when it said "Physical deterioration is the final step to the loss of a being?" she asked.
"It is logical that you have been suffering from sudden outbreaks of heat and cold, however, this is not a sign of physical deterioration, but a sign of imbalance. As such, I am here to rectify this and bring balance to your chi." The voice was controlling her body, walking with her body, talking through her lips. Even as she walked her arms were hung at her sides and did not sway. She glided forward while the real Kagome lay back behind her eyes and watched like a moth to the flame as everything happened around her.
Needless to say, she was confused. 'Imbalance? I eat a healthy diet! What in the world are you talking about?' She cried out to the voice, the darkness surrounding her seemed to dull the sound and it reverberated around her "being" (if one could call it that) like a sick echo of a thousand mixed voices. It was a sound from nightmares, and worst of all, it was all her doing. At least it was her voice that reached from the depths to plaque her, and not the hideous voice that had haunted her dreams.
'This voice is from my dreams...?'
"I have tried to lessen the affect of this imbalance, yet my protection can not last any longer. I am here to seek a balance to your soul because you have not been able to do this on your own and you are now too weak to accomplish your goal by yourself."
'What goal? My soul?! How can my soul have anything to do with anything?' she asked the haunting voice from within.
"It is that which you care for, yet you do not understand what the soul truly is. So long as you are imbalanced, the Shikon no Tama will remain impure. I cannot allow this to happen. It must be cleansed from this earth and for such an act; your other being must become one again with you…"
Kagome froze. The voice had spoken of the Shikon no Tama… She was pure, wasn't she? It still remained pure in her hands, how was it possible that she no longer could cleanse it? She did that every day by merely holding it! It was constantly with her, and she was not imbalanced, simply put- she felt fine.
But the voice spoke again, "You are not "fine". This is the reason for your loss of memory. It is your unwillingness to grasp what I have already shown to you that has led you to this path. Your merely holding the jewel is not enough to fully erase its existence. So long as you are not one with your own being you cannot hope to rid the world of the pollution that is the Shikon no Tama..."
Kagome wasn't pure? What did that mean? How could she have gotten impure? How was that possible?
A multitude of questions paraded around Kagome's head, and it became increasingly difficult to think. As she had before, she called out to the voice asking again for answers that she had no hope to find.
'What has caused this impureness in my body?!' she asked, imploring the haunting voice to issue forth once again. Kagome noticed through the same eyes as before that she had just passed the maple tree… The maple tree where she and Inuyasha had shared what had happened between them. It was there that Inuyasha had told her all that had happened. What had he said? Something about how she had changed physically. It began to nag at her as she listened to the voice answer…
"If you do not know, with all of your knowledge, then you can not be allowed to be "She who guards the Shikon Jewel" any longer."
Something clicked in Kagome's brain. The phrasing that the voice had just used… what was it? Four years had seemingly dulled her memory.
'I know what you mean, but I can't think of the answer!' she cried aloud, not certain why the voice wasn't laughing at her. By now she was certain she would have simply been erased from the black world she had faded into.
"Think harder, Miko. It is your very life that exists on a precarious balance, one that only you had the power to overturn. You have failed. I cannot allow your vessel to come upon any more injury. You must become whole again."
Whole again. She had heard that too, somewhere… Whole again… She needed to be whole???
She thought back to a conversation she had had long ago with Kaede. What had they been talking about? It was something serious…
……..FLASHBACK…….
"Kaede, what truly happened that day? Why is it that Kikyo still lives, even though I still remain with my soul?"
Kaede had been mashing herbs but she sighed and turned to the child. She sat on her knees and faced the woman as politely as she could and listened. She retold the events leading up to her capture by Urasue. From there she went on to explain that, after seeing Kagome bathed in the herbs required for drawing her soul out of her body, and Kikyo's soulless form, Inuyasha had called out Kikyo's name.
Kagome felt a twist in her stomach and felt unreasonably sick for a moment. Confused at that behavior, she instead focused on how pissed off she was that Inuyasha had been the source of her loss of "soul".
That thought had made her laugh.
Then, following the point where Kagome was certain she was going to vomit came the part where she remembered very little. Even as Kaede asked her, she could not dredge up the memory. It was important, that was for certain.
"That is what I don't understand…" Kaede concluded with. Kagome quirked a brow but said simply, "That is what you can't understand? Do you mean me not dying without a soul?"
"No. You had part of your soul still alive in you… otherwise… But even then, I do not understand what kept that last small part of you inside of yourself. What could it have been? I wonder…" she pondered aloud, only confusing the youthful 15 year-old more.
"So long as the part of your soul that was given to Kikyo remained filled with hatred and sorrow you could not reclaim it. She should not have been at peace until Inuyasha's death or unless she had found some sort of peace with her soul that she no longer could hate Inuyasha. Then your soul would have been given back to you, your eyes once again opened to the world… however…"
Kagome had watched the old woman shake her rustic joints and with a squeak, stand to walk towards the back of the room where she retrieved a single arrow from a quiver. She once again sat down next to Kagome and held the arrow out for Kagome to take. Without hesitation, Kagome picked it up and admired the fine tip and shaft before turning to Kaede with a question in her eyes. "What is this supposed to mean?" she asked.
Kaede shook her head. "I am not sure. I know that Kikyo declared that her hate and sorrow would not ever lift, and that her "soul cannot move from this spot". Yet that was talk of evil, and the holy powers should not have been blessed upon her any longer. She was missing a part of her soul, the part that was still in you…" Kagome's eyes widened slightly and she looked at the arrow again. Inuyasha had been attacked by her holy powers… If she had been evil then, how come she had been able to use the holy powers up until now? Why was she still able to do that, if Kagome had most of their soul?
"Shortly after, she came after Inuyasha's life and it was only then that you became animated again…" Kagome remembered she had blushed that time, memories of the night spent with his head in her lap running through her mind, but had shaken it off with Kaede's continued explanation, "You took back from Kikyo's body your soul, a soul forced to recognize its death again, and awoke shortly later, after Inuyasha had returned without Kikyo…"
"It was Urasue who spoke of the remaining hatred that moves Kikyo's macabre body now, a 'demoness' she referred to her as. But I am not so certain about that. Hers was a powerful soul and it has been proven that you two share this soul. But yours is seamlessly stronger, and almost without limit… You are definitely no ordinary reincarnation. There was no evil in her before, so that means that the hatred was the cause of that evil; and because of that… she should no longer be able to use her spiritual powers…" Kaede concluded with a nod.
"So what is confusing? I got my soul back and now Kikyo still has some of it? Kaede, you could be speaking ENGLISH for all I know!" she said sarcastically, knowing full well that Kaede didn't have a clue about where or even WHEN English came around. Not that Kagome could have, at that time, spoken much of it either. Kaede told her such and Kagome tried not to sigh in exasperation.
"Still, you are here now, and your powers are undimmed, and are practically limitless. They have been tested and prove worthy. It is now your time to guard the Shikon Jewel. As Kikyo did before you… I fear it is no longer in her power to do so anymore…"
………FLASHBACK………
The memory faded in a brilliant flash of color and realization spiked through Kagome's mind as she realized what the phantom Kagome meant.
'Who are you?' She asked the void in which she was shrouded, expecting an answer, 'You were talking about Kikyo, weren't you!!' She yelled.
The voice answered her coolly. "It seems you have realized now. It is too late. Sleep, it will all be over soon." she said, and Kagome felt the change as the body stopped. The image cleared. She was standing in a field, a large field, just outside of her village. Before her was the dark expanse of Inuyasha's forest.
'What… what is your intention?' She asked again, fear striking through the remainder of her being, chilling her tiny world inside her own body. She had a good idea now what its intention really was. She had to do something…
It gave her no answer.
'WHAT IS YOUR INTENTION?!?' she yelled, the sound muffled by the deep expanse. She felt herself being drawn away, pulled away from herself and the scene before her clouded like murky water set adrift by a school of fish. She reached an imaginary hand out towards the scene, yelling what she thought she would never have yelled.
'Kikyo! What do you intend to do to Kikyo?' she cried again, her voice shaking with fear. Kikyo had died, she had been gone… Yet if she had TRULY died that final time with Naraku, in their last battle, the remainder of her soul would have been returned to her. It had not.
From the darkening image, Kagome saw the faint glow of Kikyo's shindamachu. She felt a sick feeling welling up inside herself as her mind began to empty, sleep closing the eyes over her mind and shutting out her senses to the outside world. She gave one last thought, one last cry for help, calling out 'Inuyasha… Kikyo… I'm afraid she…'
The hand pressed against Kagome's chest was cold. The being residing inside it gave in to the halted breathing that had been caused by the fierce internal battle to subdue Kagome's soul. It was expected, coming from someone so strong a descendant, however.
Each power gets greater from the previous source.
"As it is true with all of us, you included, Kikyo…" the voice whispered knowingly as the form of the undead miko stepped out from the shade in the trees. Her form was the same as it had been when she had died; the clay body did not age. All things dead were to forever remain dead, until the end of time.
Kikyo stopped just outside the groping reach of the forest, the shindamachu circled around her like whispery shawls floating in unseen winds. She halted, her cold eyes fixed upon Kagome's straight form.
"Kagome." She spoke the one word as if it were something vile and unfit to taint the pureness of her tongue. Even in her death she had remained arrogant in her ability to deal with all threats and types of conflicts. It was no surprise that the newly resurrected Kikyo would be the same as the one who had come before. As weak-minded as Kagome was, she had been unable to see the differences between the undead miko and herself. It was also that same ignorance that failed to show her the similarities.
Still, the voice said nothing. The air seemed to chill. As if resigned to let Kikyo figure it out like Kagome had, all too late of course, the figure stood straight and tall and did not respond to the greeting.
'What is this?' wondered the miko. She peered closely at the face, but could not tell from the thick black bangs what was confusing her. The auras were completely wrong…
"Kagome?" she asked softly, in the same commanding voice as before. She looked Kagome up and down, assessing her enemy. She stopped, the shindamachu circling her closer, as if noting their master's distress.
'I can sense your aura around you but it is not the same. It is darker, and more powerful than even my own. What could have taken you, Kagome? Is it that powerful? How am I to… '
She laughed bitterly. She had come seeking answers, but had found only more questions. However, there was one answer she could get…
"Who are you?" she asked; her eyes steeled and icy. She seemed to withdraw into herself, as she waited for an answer she took stock of her surroundings. It had been a long time, two years worth of time since she had battled, could she do it again now? Would she be able to fight?
'That body is definitely Kagome's. She looks the same, if not a bit more mature, as before, from what I can remember. It is her aura that has changed. It is polluted.' she concluded. When the voice refused to answer, she drew from behind her back her bow and plucking a single arrow from her quiver, notched it and pointed it directly at the stranger.
"You are not Kagome." she said sternly. Her arms shock with restraint as she tried to vainly keep her fingers locked. The voice regarded her coolly as she asked again "Who are you, interloper?"
"Tell me now or I will let this arrow loose and watch your demise before my very eyes…" she said, pulling the arrow back further. Her muscles were screaming and it took all of her control to keep her chest from heaving.
"I am she who controls the Shikon Jewel, Midoriko." She said slowly, bowing to Kikyo's figure.
Her grip on the bow instantly lessened. 'Midoriko? Why would she be here, in Kagome's body? How…' her gaze fell to Kagome's chest where, hanging by a simple chord, the shining Shikon fragment glittered with vibrant intensity. She knew what this was. "Midoriko, how did you come to possess Kagome?"
She had come seeking answers, but it looked like the answers weren't to be had, not now. "Release Kagome!" she commanded.
Midoriko/Kagome slowly met Kikyo's gaze, the icy eyes chilling her form where she stood and said in a calm voice, "I have come to correct the imbalance between you and the Miko Kagome. Without the remainder of your soul, she will be unable to protect the jewel…" she said; her voice empty and dull.
Kikyo felt something akin to bile rising in her throat, she snarled, "It is MY duty to guard the Shikon Jewel, and thus, you may not have my soul!" Taking her soul would mean death, wouldn't it? She didn't want to die yet, she hadn't seen Inuyasha…
'Inuyasha…'
"The day I die is the day you die!"
"Inuyasha…" She whispered the word without thinking and it filtered its way instantly to Kagome's ears.
From within herself, she began to awake…
…
He didn't notice the scent of Kagome's aura as he swept towards the front of the hut. He landed on the ground in a large cloud of dust and saw, even before it cleared, Sango and Miroku, strapping on their battle gear. He stopped, an instant fear taking over his senses. Kikyo's smell had faded slightly, replaced instead by Kagome's aura. Even then, something was very wrong with her aura. He didn't see Kagome anywhere, even now that the dust had settled…
"Inuyasha!" Miroku exclaimed, grabbing his staff and giving it a shake. Sango came up from behind him, tying to her waist her pale bone-tooth scabbard, its katana sheath glinting in the moonlight.
"Where the FUCK is Kagome?!" He asked harshly, angry at not them, but himself. He knew, even before he had asked the question, where she had gone.
'Just like that night… She walked straight into danger, just like before…' he thought, remembering sadly…
Their silence to his question was enough of an answer for him. He couldn't help the vicious string of curses that flew from his mouth as he punched at another tree, re-splitting his knuckles for the third time that night. A shower of splinters erupted from the tortured base and caught in the silver strands of his long hair, a small river of blood began to flow down his knuckles as he growled, deep and low in his chest.
'I'm weak…'
He knew something was wrong with Kagome, but he was always too late, too weak…
'I can't… FUCK IT!'
He was always arriving just as she got hurt. He never was able to protect her from anything. She was always rushing into battle, screwing up his plans, getting under his skin! The stupid bitch wasn't even smart enough to realize when she was outclassed. He KNEW that she was in danger constantly by being by his side, but she had said she wanted to STAY. To stay with him, yet he was supposed to protect her. He was too useless, too strange, and too inept.
"Just DIE, YOU FUCKING SON OF A DEMON WHORE!!!"
"Inuyasha… Something is wrong with Kagome and I fear-", Miroku started, walking towards Inuyasha who was hunched over, growling. He had shattered the tree without a thought. This was not good. Inuyasha must know something is wrong… what can I say? What can I do? There were things, obvious facts… Kikyo's aura being felt, having not been felt in two years, was a horrifying thought. If she had come back, Naraku should have come back as well. The last time they had all been together, that last time, Kagome had almost died.
He did not get the chance to reassure him... As his hand came down upon his shoulder to comfort his friend, he jerked away, his wide amber eyes falling upon his features. He was crazed, frenzied, and he swung his arm out in a wide arc, his hand gripping Tetsusaiga's handle as he leapt into the air again.
Miroku heaved a sigh, knowing that Inuyasha's sense of smell was keener. He could not lie to him. He could smell his very fear, among other things. He frowned as Sango came to stand behind him, her black suit fully attached and her hair tied away from her face, two thick strands falling loose from the high ponytail in front of her ears. Her eyes, too, were wide, frightful- and he had the sudden urge to kiss at the trembling lip that she was so deliciously biting between her teeth.
"Miroku, I am ready." He looked over at her again, and figured she had meant, "Ready for battle" and not something else. He figured if she could read minds, he would be dead. Regardless, his lustful thoughts were not important at the moment. "Where is Inuyasha?" she inquired, holding the frazzled cord securing Hiraikotsu to her back.
He looked up into the clouds and regarded the face of the moon. He now knew why Kaede had been staring at the stars earlier.
"Miroku, let's go!" Sango cried, running towards Kirara as the demon transformed into its beast form. A lick of cool flame caressed his skin as he was snapped out of his trance by Sango's firm grip on his wrist. Kirara took flight as Miroku hefted his remaining leg over the demon's burly body, weighted down by the sheer volume of his robes. When he was secure, Sango turned to him and asked, "Miroku, Kikyo can't be here, can she? She died with Naraku! Inuyasha said he left her alone with Naraku!"
Miroku had no answer. They had searched for Naraku for a time after they had returned to their normal era, but had not found him. They had concluded that he had simply stayed behind, lost in time. But if Kikyo had reappeared, and Naraku had been with her… Surely that meant…
He could offer no reassurances. He just looked up into the moon as the Fire demon gave a mighty kick, its muscles bunching and tensing underneath his thighs. Even Kirara was upset by what was happening. The only question was: what WAS happening?
He looked into the two faces of the fading moon, apprehension kicking in his belly.
Everything was two-sided, this night.
…
Her eyes opened first, and the realization that she was not entirely herself came second. Her memory was faint. What had she been doing?
"Sleep, it will all be over soon."
Kagome became instantly aware. 'Oh my god, Kikyo!' she thought frantically, reconsidering shifting her mind again, lest she be discovered.
'How do I get out of here?' she asked herself, not certain what to do. She was trapped here, subdued by force, her very essence secluded and diminished. Then the knowledge came to her as if she had been attacked with it.
She blanked out all thoughts of Kikyo and Inuyasha, as well as her fear, and thought, 'I have to open my eyes, I can't let Kikyo die again!' and began to focus on her own mind. Soon she began to feel it, the beat of her heart in her mind, and the vision she saw of Kikyo, standing before her, arrow notched and bow raised, shifted into darker focus. She ignored it with a gasp and continued to concentrate. She began to remember what she was.
From her heart her life blood flowed strongly, and from there it would flow across her arms her legs into her head and bring oxygen to her cells. She focused harder… 'And if there is blood in my arms then there are arms for the blood to go into!' she thought. And as she watched her body began to appear before her; glowing a pale white as it illuminated the darkness around her.
As she concentrated, the knowledge filled her. If she had a mind, there was a heart. From those things she could find where her head was, and where her chest was. If she had a chest and blood was flowing, she had arms and legs, and they too would appear before her. From this she began to feel the parameters that had been set by the gods to house the spirit of a living mind- a physical form.
HER BODY.
Now, completely formed, glowing and very naked, she looked around where she was standing. Again the image of Kikyo appeared before her eyes.
"I DID it!" she yelled, the same dullness in her ears. She swung an arm, waved it in an arc and tried to bend it backwards, dull pain flickered inside of her, but she didn't care. She had a head now, a body, and vocal chords. She felt like she was going to cry with her success. It was then that she felt the tremor through her body.
…
Kikyo watched as the dark purple of her eyes began to fluctuate in color. They started to shine. The Kagome before her pressed a hand against her chest almost in disbelief, and said with an almost animal-like hiss, "Fool."
Kikyo knew what was happening. She had suppressed Kagome, as well as Kagome's aura, and now she was fighting back. It had sure taken her long enough. She let her bow fall away as she waited for Kagome's return.
The interloper gripped her chest now, and the Shikon Jewel with both hands. "NO," it said dully, "If you take over now, you will remain imbalanced!" Its face contorted and it looked up from her haze of pain to catch Kikyo's eye. Suddenly, as if the pain had never existed, she stood up straight and lifted one hand to point directly at Kikyo's startled face.
A gasp of shock rocked through Kikyo's body just as a blast of heat surged past her form. She fell back into the trees in a crumpled heap. Instinct took over and she rolled to her side, dodging the second spiritual attack. It exploded in the ground where she would have been laying before. A spray of dirt littered over her figure, sticking to her sweat.
She watched as Kagome began to float, her arm still poised in front of her. She was like a marionette being controlled by strings, as her head turned towards her.
'Kagome, fight harder, hurry!' she thought frantically, reaching for her bow and notching an arrow. With a cry she let it loose. A softened THUNK echoed through the clearing as Kagome caught the arrow in both her hands, the flesh there burning instantly into a mass of bubbling blisters. She disregarded that fact as the arrow suddenly disappeared and reappeared in her hands, aimed at Kikyo.
'No!' She thought, disbelief clouding her eyes, and wildly lifting her bow and shooting another arrow just as hers leapt from her hands. They connected and at that point, a blast of holy heat pushed both forces away, negating the other, and as if Kikyo wasn't worried enough, her arrow shattered and Kagome's continued forward. She gave a cry and leapt to the side in time to dodge the flaming shaft. It imbedded itself in the ground where she had just recently stood and continued to flame. She stood up and reached for another arrow. 'HURRY, KAGOME!!!'
…
Kagome watched as the battle continued. She had to do something. But what?! She had a physical form now, but it was still locked in her body. She sank to her knees, the view of the battle fading away from before her. She began to see smoke rising from the blackness. Like a fine white mist it fluttered around her form and eventually began to take shape. She couldn't see the face of the image appearing before her; it was hidden in the blackness.
'Kagome' it said. It was that same VOICE! Only this time… it was different, softer, and more human.
Kagome's eyes clouded in confusion and she made a swipe at them with her bare arm. Her vision cleared again as she saw what she had only seen in her dreams.
"It's you!" she cried.
--Dark black hair spilled out from underneath a dark brown cloak in thick clumps. The wind whipped the hair up and into the woman's face, the stray hairs from her hood fluttering and catching at the dried blood on her face. They stuck to her lips, which shone with bright red, as if she had knelt to sip the fine nectar that she herself had spilled. Her hair stuck against her lips, and was torn free by the breeze.
A warrior's bamboo breast-guard hung limply by one ring that was strapped to her shoulder guard. It swung like a broken hinge, its splintered coverage doing nothing for protection now. Black blood as dark as midnight was splattered over her figure; both dry and wet. Her face was hidden under a mass of sweat-covered bangs, but even as she stood, silent and still, a drop of blood slid down her cheek.--
'Yes, it is I, Midoriko, of the Four Souls…' The voice came from a face that existed in nothingness, but Kagome didn't feel a chill. She actually felt rather warm.
"Why are you here?" she asked it, her voice shrill, and muffled to her ears. She could remember! She remembered her dreams! She could remember what she had seen! What did all this mean?!
'There is no time…' she whispered, her form gliding towards hers eerily. Kagome didn't shudder though, instead she simply fell to her knees and looked up into the figure as it placed its hands on her face and pulled her body up and towards its own. Kagome felt the warmth inside her fill her with entirety as the being slipped into her body. The figure was gone but the voice continued…
'You will understand everything soon, for now, you must awaken with the knowledge and strength I have given you!' And as she spoke, her soft voice began to fade, as well as the ghostly image in front of her. Kagome was at a loss, and for a moment the image of Kikyo as another arrow was fired filled her mind. She shook it, and stood, a strong sense overcoming her as another aura began to fill her senses…
The aura! The aura of the one she loved the most was coming closer, she had to hurry!
"I don't… I can't let Inuyasha see me like this!" she cried, and stretching her arms out and bracing her legs she began to do something she had never thought she would have done before. The knowledge was inside of her now. It was hers, and with it came the knowledge that she had performed this before. Everything was still a mystery, everything was still confusing, but this she knew for certain…
Kagome focused intently on her own being, separating from her physical body her living soul. The strain on her body caused rivers of sweat to pour down her naked flesh and tease at her warm skin. Her body began to glow, to pulse… It throbbed once, and tears of effort and strain slipped from her eyes.
Very carefully, holding her soul as if was a delicate glass vase, with her mind alone; she forced it out from her body to float above her head. She let it balloon out around the confines of the dark space. It suctioned into the walls of her true form and ran all throughout her true body. It glided along the unseen waves and vibrations that hold the things in the real world together until it latched onto what was needed. Her soul pressed on and the knowledge filled Kagome's mind. Even as she took in the knowledge she utilized it, latching onto the location of what she had been searching for…
'I've done this before…' she thought, watching distantly from above her naked form her eyes flicker and sweat pour down her body, caressing the swells and curves. 'I was running that time…'
She had everything she needed. Like a whiplash, she focused hard on her physical form, the one inside herself, and her soul swept back into her body with a vicious lash against her. Her viewpoint suddenly switched, and she was once again looking through the eyes of the naked Kagome, inside of her own body.
She opened her eyes slowly, 'I know what to do now…' she said with almost a sneer. She thrust her arms out from her body again, this time calling for the body that she was inside to heed her command. She saw through dull eyes Kikyo running, bleeding and holding a bow out. She watched her string the arrow. Kagome braced herself as best as she could. With a soundless yell she snapped the control over her body and held it immobile, severing from her body the interloper's control. As the arrow shot out she closed her eyes, waiting for the sharp pain that would give her control again to fill her senses.
…
Kikyo had no other way out, she had to use the Fuuin no Ya. There was no other way for her to subdue the overbearing spirit controlling her. She braced herself and rolled along the ground. From behind her she heard loud yelling. It sounded so familiar to her ears.
'I am alive,' she thought. 'So long as I live the seal can be removed…'
She strung the arrow with numb fingers, her bloodied hand slipping over the thin shaft as she drew it back along the bow's front. She let it loose with a weak cry of pain as her muscles screamed with pain from overuse. It flew towards the body and almost as if time had stopped, the body froze, and a loud voice screamed, without the mouth moving, filling the clearing as the arrow slammed into Kagome's chest.
From behind her Kikyo could hear a vicious scream tearing through after the loud echo. She felt horror drive through her and she crumpled upon herself, watching as a blur of red ran in front of her towards Kagome's battered form. Her vision swayed as she felt the magic of the arrow disappear.
'It seems, Kagome…' she thought as she fell towards the ground, '…it was I who was too weak, again…'
…
'Miko.'
It was that voice again. Why won't it leave me alone?
'Miko, it's time to wake up.'
I'm too tired now, I don't want to.
'He is calling for you.'
Who? Who is calling for me?
'Your lover has come for you. Awaken.'
Inuyasha?
'Yes, awaken and seek out Namenashi, the answers lie in your grasp.'
Kagome felt her eyes slowly flutter open. Her vision was blurred and her head throbbed painfully. She could vaguely see through her blurred eyes a face, yelling at her, screaming her name.
"Kagome!" it cried.
She blinked, recognizing that voice. She mumbled weakly, tears filling her eyes, "Inu… yasha…?" She felt strong arms wrap around her, dragging her vision into a blur of red. She closed her eyes over her tears and felt her arms come up to weakly press against his back. She felt something inside her twist painfully, twist horribly inside of her. It was joy, and sorrow, fear all thrown together. But most of all, it was relief.
"Inuyasha!!!" She sobbed wildly, her fingers fisting in the cloth covering his back. Her tears poured from her eyes and she held him tighter, fear causing her to shake. "I was so SCARED!" She felt his arms around her, crushing her to him. She sobbed for a long time, hot tears disappearing into the strength of his chest. She clutched his Haori with white knuckles and let herself wail.
It was a long time before she fell silent. Inuyasha pulled away, looking into her tear-streaked face. It was so dirty that there were lines of white where her tears had clearly washed away the dirt. She was peaceful…
He stood up, picking her limp body up with him. He looked around just as Sango and Miroku arrived. He turned when he heard Sango gasp, "Kikyo!" He turned and saw her just as she began to retreat into the forest. He felt his gut clench. It was his obligation to follow her. He wanted to know why she had tried to kill Kagome. But most of all, he had to deal with Kagome.
"Inuyasha," she called out softly. He did not turn his head to acknowledge her. He could not understand what had happened here. His nose told him one thing, his heart and memories told him that it wasn't unlikely that history had repeated itself.
Somehow she had found the strength to move and she knew that in her weak state, she had to recover a little bit before she would have the strength to speak with Inuyasha next, no matter how long of a time that took. There were other means for her to get the information she needed to get to Kagome, one being Kaede. "Whenever you are ready…" and disappeared.
'Kagome…' he thought, looking into her sleeping face as he cradled her head in his arms. Without a word (and much to Sango and Miroku's surprise) he turned; did not even look back at Kikyo's retreating figure and instead made his way back in the direction he had come, carrying a limp and exhausted Kagome in his arms.
End Of Chapter Author Commentary:
Any questions you may have, do feel free to ask in a review. Right now I can't really check my email, so I can't really respond to you that way. On my next post I will respond to all of your questions, alright:D Thanks again for sticking by me! This is the one year anniversary of WWWR, so let's all celebrate!
Happy New Year!
-Luky
---
Proofreader's Note:
Man, this was hell to beta. Several times I was caught up in what happened and forgot to check for errors. Once I had to go back half a page because of that. Oops :P And if you've read this far, you're dedicated :D Many people just ignore the AN sections of chapters.
-KVS
