"Lightning flashes through my heart
And the tears fall like beating rain.
The wind blows through my broken soul,
And the ever-warming sun brings me to life."
--AnimeLady Noriko
…Calm Before the Storm…
He nodded and held me tighter. I wanted to stay like this, lost in his embrace until the end of time, where no one could hurt us and we would be together forever. But, of course, soon we would have to break this beautiful moment but I decided to not think about that time until it arrived.
The days passed by like the river flowing through the never-ending stream, and soon Inuyasha was finally back on his feet. It was not an easy recovery for him, the physical pain he had endure was nothing compared to the emotional strain he had suffered. I stayed by his bedside every day and talked to him…trying to remove some of the painful memories.
But then sometimes I was forced to make him relive some of his horrific experience to me, and he was reluctant to comply, but soon he was easily swayed for he was to weak to object for long.
When ever Inuyasha talked of Jaaku's mistreatment of him the searing hatred collided with my heart again and again. I hoped we would never meet again, I'd didn't know what I might do if we did. The memory of when Inuyasha was first captured scared me to death. At that time I would have killed Jaaku, if he would have given me the chance. That thought frightened me worse then anything I had ever experienced before. To think of myself as a monster.
The morning sun shone through the window which was slightly ajar. Beyond the glass I could hear the distant sounds of the birds singing their songs to the heavens, marking the new day. Sitting up I glanced around the room, rubbing the last remainder of sleep from my eyes. Sayoko was already gone, she must have met Kai and gone off somewhere. Sayoko and Kagome were still asleep though so I softly tiptoed around them.
Entering the hallway I slowly made my way to the kitchen where I was sure I would find Tohru hard at work, bare feet padding softly on the cold hard ground. As I entered the kitchen a glorious scent filled my nose and looked around curiously, wonder where it was coming from. Tohru stood in front of the stove, humming to herself and stirring the contents of a large pan.
"Good Morning Tohru." I said stretching.
"Oh!" said Tohru turning to face me. "Good morning Noriko-chan. Did you sleep well?"
"Extremely well you might say." I said smiling. I looked down to my pajamas, which really were plaid pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, and wondered what I should wear today. -koe- The plain blue jeans and a sweatshirt that appeared on my body would do fine.
"So Tohru what are you making?" I asked, taking in the wonderful aroma again.
"Oh, just my special okonomiyaki." she said smiling.
"For breakfast?" I asked.
"It's an okonomiyaki that flatters all of the normal breakfast flavors." she said as she added some spice to the sauce she had been stirring. "Trust me, you'll enjoy it."
"Hey Tohru, do you know if Inuyasha has gotten up yet?" I asked wrapping a piece of my blonde hair around my finger.
"Umm...yes. He was up, I think he went for a walk in the forest." she said absent-mindedly.
"Thank you." I said before leaving the kitchen and out the front door.
The sun shone above with it's celestial wonder and I had to cover my eyes from the extreme light it was giving off. The flower buds had began to sprout and everywhere I looked there was a little splash of color. The winter had been long and hard but finally the snow had cleared and the little life had returned to this land.
"Where the hell are you going at this hour?" a voice called from above me. My heart stopped and I turned. I learned that the voice had belonged to Kyou and my breath eased again.
"Why does it matter?" I asked him. "It's not really that early."
"I was just wondering!" Kyou shouted angrily.
I turned to walk away smiling as I did so. I was quite fond of Kyou, he and Inuyasha were so alike it was pathetic, despite the fact that one was a dog and one was a cat.
I walked to the deeper parts of the forest, keeping as sharp eye out for Inuyasha as I did so. I don't know why I did so. I knew perfectly well where Inuyasha was. He had found a new favorite tree inside this forest as well. And sure enough as I reached the bottom of that particular tree I could see the hanyou's form resting on the upper most branch.
"Hey there!" I called up to him.
He looked a little surprised to see me when he jumped down. "Noriko? What are you doing up so early?"
"Some good morning" I laughed.
He smiled. "Good morning."
"Do you want to go for a walk down to city before breakfast is ready?" I asked him, staring into his golden eyes.
"What for?" he asked, eying me curiously.
"I don't know. Just a walk." I said.
"Okay..." he said. I grabbed his hand and slowly we walked through the forest, off in the direction of the city.
I had gotten used to all the people in the city, so as we walked through the crowds I felt much less uneasy as I had the first time we had come through it, though I wasn't one hundred percent fine either. I grasped on to Inuyasha's arm in order for calm myself and it proved effective.
The tall buildings glinted in the sun as ifthey weremade of crystal. I remembered back to when Inuyasha was finally able to move around on his own and I had first brought him here. Inuyasha had never been to a big city so his golden eyes held this wonder and delight within their depths as he took in all of the unfamiliar sights.
Despite the fact that there were thousands of people filling around me from both ways I still enjoyed the sights that the city brought. We stopped in a couple of stores to look around but soon Inuyasha's restless actions told me he was tiring of our time in the city.
I glanced down at my watch, we had given Tohru plenty of time to finish breakfast, and came to the conclusion that we should return to the house. As I turned a strange feeling filled me, a sudden dizziness and weakness, that brought me down to my knees.
"Noriko? Are you alright?" Inuyasha's concerned gaze met my eyes as he knelt down beside me. "What's wrong?"
I looked down at my trembling fingers. What was wrong with me? What was happening? Soon I felt my body raise from the ground...but...that's impossible! I never moved! What was going on?
I grabbed Inuyasha by the hand and began to pull him through the crowds of people that swarmed around us like bees. Inuyasha face showed silent astonishment but he didn't resist, just slowly followed.
All at once my feet stopped moving and I stood staring at a cart, which stood tall behind an elderly woman rocking slowly back and forth in her chair, chanting to herself. Inuyasha gaze went back and forth between her and myself. The woman looked up as I approached, her deep gray eyes baring into me.
As she stood I noticed that chains and bangles hung from her wrists and neck and the strong scent of incense filled my nose. I looked back to Inuyasha just as he lifted a sleeve of his fire-rat cloak to cover his highly sensitive nose, he smelled it too.
"Have you come to have your future told?" the woman asked, her once velvety voice cracked with age.
"Uh...yes." I said, unsure of the real reason I was there.
"Well then." she said staring up at me expectantly. I stared back at her blankly. "Goodness child!" she gasped. "Hold out your palm!"
Running two of her fingers up and down my palm she stood with her eyes closed and hummed slightly. I heard a snicker from behind me and I quietly kicked Inuyasha in the leg, cutting off his laughter. I could feel it. Her pulsing aura...she was no fake.
"So cold." she said softly. "Why would it be so..." She opened her eyes and stared at me, eyes clouded with concern.
"What is it priestess?" I asked looking back into her silvery gaze.
"N...no...nothing dear. Nothing at all." she replied, unable to look me in the eye. "You...you have a very...um...fine life ahead of you."
"Noriko!" Inuyasha complained. "Can we go now? I think breakfast is ready."
"Okay Inuyasha. Let's go." I said turning to leave.
The priestess' fingers fastened themselves around my wrist and pulled me back towards her. She whispered into my ear, "Be careful." and then, bowing once more to us, she scuttled away.
"What was that all about?" asked Inuyasha staring after her.
"I don't know..." I said thoughtfully. What had she meant?
"What the hell took you so long?"demanded Kyou when we returned not long after, jumping down from the roof and staring from Inuyasha at my side to me.
"Why does it matter cat?" said Inuyasha angrily. I sighed and began to walk away, back to the house where I knew I'd find peace and quiet.
"I wasn't asking you, damn dog!" Kyou retorted voice dripping with venom.
"Do I look like I care!" yelled Inuyasha growling. Looking back over my shoulder I knew there would be a fight, it's not like it was the first time or anything, Inuyasha and Kyou were constantly fighting.
"You guys!" I said reasonably. "Come on, please don't fight!"
"Noriko!" I could hear Sayoko calling from the house. I looked back once more and then headed into the house towards Sayoko's voice. She was sitting in the living room, remarkably close to Kai looking at me over the top of the book she was currently reading. "Where did you go this morning?"
"Just into town with Inuyasha." I said sitting down too, listening to the distant curses and cusses coming from the yard. "Why?"
"Well I came backand you weren't there." she said settling back down to her book. "And usually you aren't such an early bird."
Shrugging I replied, "I don't know..."
"Are those two at it again?" asked Tohru entering the living room as well.
"Yeah." I said, going back to listening to the distant battle outside.
"Damn cat, what the hell is your problem?" Inuyasha was yelling.
"Shut up dog!" Kyou shot back.
"Wait...what is that?" Inuyasha's voice changed as the anger ebbed away and wonder replaced it.
"Hello Inuyasha." said another voice strangely familiar yet one I hadn't heard for quite a long time. "How are you doing?"
Inuyasha's voice came out in a slow, horrified note. "You!"
My heart began to beat faster and faster as recognition took me and I realized to whom that voice belonged. I stood shakily and sprinted from the room, trembling, fear enclosing my mind. Forcefully I pulled back the door and ran out of the house calling out to Inuyasha.
"Oh and Noriko is here too." said the newcomer, smiling at the shocked expression on my face. "Long time no see!"
Looking into the cold eyes which had haunted my dreams for many a night I rushed over to Inuyasha and held tightly on to his sleeve, and held in the scream that wanted to escape my lips. I could feel ice cold chills running up and down my spine and I could tell Inuyasha was feeling them too.
"You!" I gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"Aww..." said Jaaku, an amused smile crossing his face. "That isn't very nice. Aren't you happy to see me?"
Gah! Why is he here? I thought I got rid of him! Why won't he just go away! So yeah, anyway. Jaaku has returned, however much he is not wanted, here to make some more trouble. I actually have nothing to say right now except that I am REALLY happy I finished another chapter! And even though I love both Inuyasha and Kyou I had to make them hate each other...a cat and dog thing you know. So until next chapter, I'm off!
Disclaimer: Even though I'll deny it if you ask me later, I do not own Kyou. Even though he is one of my bishies!