The Last Light
Chapter 12: Mad World
"All around me are familiar faces. Their tears are fillin' up their glasses. And I find it kind of funny.
Worn out places, worn out faces.
Bright and early for their daily races.
Goin' nowhere, goin' nowhere.
No expression, no expression.
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow.
No tomorrow, no tomorrow.
I find it kind of sad.
The dreams in which I'm dying.
Are the best I've ever had.
I find it hard to tell you.
'Cause I find it hard to take.
When people run in circles.
It's a very, very.
Mad world, mad world.
Mad world, mad world."
"Mad World" by Gary Jules
To say that this scene that suddenly played out for Kagome was gruesome is an understatement. She has been waiting anxiously for the past couple of days in fear of this exact moment to happen, but what she pictured before is nothing like what she was seeing right then.
Her hand stayed on Inuyasha's face, her eyes searching his before he clenched them shut and let out another yell. His screams were terrifying, and Kagome knew they would haunt her forever. Never before has she seen her hanyou, so strong all the time, in so much pain.
And what was the worst was that Kagome knew there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Maybe he could pull it off, maybe Inuyasha could make it through the night. But even as she thought this, this small ounce of hope disappeared as soon as she saw the blood seeping from his clothes. She watched with eyes wide open as blood trailed down his sides and pooled on the futon beside him.
"Ka-go-me!" Inuyasha gasped out in a strangled voice, his hands now in fists at his sides.
"Kaede!" Kagome screamed, looking behind her, but found that she was already there, fumbling over the pot she made earlier. From the looks of it, she's been there a while.
"I know, I know!" Kaede said frantically, taking a large bowl of the medicine and rushing over to kneel next to Kagome.
Kagome watched as Kaede attempted to rip apart Inuyasha shirt. Kagome helped her, and they succeeded in tearing it down the middle. Together they pulled it away from Inuyasha's wounds, but some of the shirt stuck to the blood and the open wounds that were outside the bandages, so they had to carefully shed it away from his skin.
"Help me get off his bandages," Kaede said. Kagome nodded and began to work, her hands now covered in some of Inuyasha's blood. And as they peeled away the soaked bandages, Kagome felt bile rise up in her throat at the sight of Inuyasha's injury.
Just when she had thought it was looking better before, now looking at it, it looked ten times as worse. Not only could Kagome see some of his insides, she also saw what looked like green fuzz building up around it and building up towards the surface. Was that Naraku's poison?
Kaede grabbed a cloth, dumped it into the bowl, and dabbed it on Inuyasha's open wounds, causing him to writhe in pain and let out another heart-wrenching howl. Kagome couldn't look at his face right then or at Kaede attempting to clean out the injury.
Turning her head away, Kagome was shocked to see Shippo huddled in the back corner, his arms around his knees, and his eyes wide and frightened. He looked at her, and Kagome's heart dropped more, if even possible, at the amount of tears she saw cascading down his red cheeks.
She quickly stood up and walked over to the small kit, and reached out a hand to him. He reached forward, shaking, and Kagome gathered him up in her arms and hugged him as she knelt on the ground where he was. She held him tight against her, wishing just as he that none of this was happening.
He started sobbing into her shoulder, and all she could do was rub his back and run her hand down his head. He's too young to see this, she kept thinking.
"He said he'd be okay!" Shippo said through his sobs, and Kagome could only blink back her tears, trying her hardest to stay strong, not only for Shippo, but for Inuyasha as well.
But worried that Kaede might need some help, she pulled Shippo away from her and set him back down on the floor.
"I need to go help," she said, as she gave him a reassuring smile before she turned around and went and sat back down next to Kaede.
"How is he now?" Kagome asked, trying to be hopeful.
"Not good," Kaede said as she continued cleaning his wound, "Although this may be helping a little, I am afraid it is not doing enough."
Kagome nodded in deep sorrow, crawling a little closer to Inuyasha's head. His head was still on the ground, but she noticed how his body was still moving in pain with heavy labored breathing, and his hands were still clutched so tight that they were turning white.
Carefully putting her hands around his head, she lifted his head and set it on her lap. He opened his eyes then and looked up at her, and remarkably he smiled. How he smiled, Kagome didn't know. But she could still see the incredible amount of hurt he was experiencing in his eyes. She knew him; she knew how to read him. And right now, she wish she couldn't, wish she couldn't see the torture he was going through.
However, she couldn't help but smile back.
"You smell good," Inuyasha whispered before his smile disappeared, and he shut his eyes again, grunting as Kaede wiped at his torn flesh.
Kagome smiled, letting a couple tears escape from her eyes for that instant. That was one of the things Inuyasha said to her the first time he turned human.
But her smile quickly vanished as soon as she heard another horrific shriek from Inuyasha. He then grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight, and he kept his hand there to compress it whenever he had another rush of pain. Kagome held onto him, trying to give him any form of comfort that he needed.
She didn't know what to do, how to help him. She wished she could, but Kagome knew there was nothing. And who knows what could've happened to Miroku and Sango? It's been days, and they still haven't come back. It's possible something happened to them too.
Kagome refused to cry, she refused to let Inuyasha see her fear, even though she knew he could look right through her. She continued to watch on in horror. As the next ten or so minutes passed, she watched as Kaede continued to wet a cloth, a different one each time, and try to wipe away Naraku's demonic remains or blood. But she saw too much blood on the ground around Inuyasha's torso, and she saw too much blood on the once white cloths that piled on the other side of Kaede's body.
But what was worst of all was watching his face move and constrict, trying to get rid of the hurt. She knew he was trying his hardest to stay alive as long as possible, but once she saw the color drain dramatically from his face within a couple minutes and started to feel his hands start to get cold and sweaty, she knew this could be it.
"This is not working," Kaede said, as she dipped another new white cloth, about to get stained, into her bowl, "We need that flower for this to really work. Inuyasha's body is too weak as a human to handle this type of demonic power."
Kagome bowed her head in despair, grateful that Kaede kept cleaning Inuyasha even though it was greatly feasible this would all end soon.
"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered as she bent her head down towards Inuyasha's face. Gently rubbing one of his ears, she said, "Just hang on."
"I'm…trying…" he said, his voice hoarse and strained. Kagome gave his cold hand a gentle squeeze, and continued to rub his ear tenderly, trying to soothe him in the only way she could.
"I love you Inuyasha," Kagome said, her voice cracking a bit as she leaned down and kissed his freezing forehead.
She saw the hint of a smile touch his lips before it disappeared. She didn't expect a reply, she knew he loved her. He had to focus on himself right now.
Several more minutes passed in agony. Shippo eventually came and sat next to Kagome, but away from Kaede and the blood-stained rags. Kagome noticed he had calmed down a little, but he still had to look away at times when Inuyasha started thrashing about.
He was sweating and cold, and Kagome's heart was heavy with lead as her thoughts kept thinking to what was about to happen. Although Inuyasha is strong, right now he was only a human, and it's a much weaker form than his hanyou form.
"K-Kagome…" Inuyasha rasped out as he gripped her hand lightly.
"Yes?" She said, her face coming closer to his.
"I can't…do this…much…longer…" he said between heavy breaths, his chest rising and falling quickly.
Kagome bit her lip, "No," she said, "You can do it Inuyasha. I know you can."
Inuyasha kept his eyes fixed on her. "I'm sorry," he whispered so softly that Kagome almost didn't hear it.
"No!" she yelled out, "Just stay with it, okay? You're not leaving me yet!" She shook his hand a bit to try and get emphasis, but knew at the same time it wouldn't do anything.
"I'm…sorry…" he said again, and looked at her one last time before closing his eyes, his head falling to the side away from her.
"No…" Kagome said in shock.
She then looked to his chest, and watched as his rapidly pumping chest abruptly stopped.
"No," she said again in disbelief.
"Inuyasha?" Shippo whispered.
Kagome tilted his head towards her, her hands on his cold and damp cheeks. "Inuyasha!" she screamed, her cracking voice surprising her.
"No! No, no no!" she yelled out, her hands roaming around his face, feeling his cold skin, then running a hand on the top of his head and down his sweaty hair.
"I am afraid…" Kaede whispered, "It is too late."
"No!" Kagome screamed out again, not believing it. This was Inuyasha, he could get through anything. Anything!
She let out a loud sob, her head falling down to the crook in his neck. Sobs racked her body, leaving her no air to breathe, and no feeling in her body as she cried out her mourning.
This feeling…these emotions that were taking over her being, started to slowly destroy her. She felt as her heart crumbled and her mind starting to lose it. All she wanted was Inuyasha. He deserved everything, and in the end…
He's just…gone.
That thought alone shook her body in violent tremors. He was her life, her love; she would've done anything for him. But she was the one who got caught in Naraku's grasp. It was her fault this happened.
All her fault.
Lost in grief and sorrow, her mind flooded with dark thoughts, and all she could do was hold on tighter to his body. Her vision blacked out and she lost focus, not hearing anything going on around her.
She didn't even notice Shippo's surprised gasp, and him yelling out the names of their comrades. She didn't see when Miroku walked in, Sango in his arms, but awake, with the tiny Kilala following at his feet. She didn't see Miroku and Sango's distressed faces as they rushed over to Inuyasha's side, looking at him one last time. And Kagome definitely didn't hear them talking to her, trying to get her to relax.
But she did feel arms wrap around her mid-torso, and pull her back. But she resisted. When she opened her eyes, her eyes were blurry, but she could still make out Inuyasha's body in front of her. She tried to yank away from the person holding her, trying to get closer to Inuyasha.
But she was too weak in the end, and she was forced back. Kagome felt familiar arms wrap around her, and when she looked up at the face, she saw Sango looking at her. Letting out more shrieks and sobs, Kagome buried her head in Sango's shoulder, desperate to find comfort.
Kagome started to hear things now, and feel more. She felt Sango's hand run up and down her back, and felt Sango's own tears hitting the skin of her shoulder. Then she started to hear the sobbing from Shippo and the soft cries from the others. And as she gained more focus and blinked away the blurriness that flooded her vision, she saw Miroku sitting next to Kaede with Shippo in his arms.
"…I can't believe we're too late," he said in remorse.
Sango pulled away from Kagome and faced Miroku, "This is all my fault…" she said, her head going in her hands.
"No, it's not!" Miroku said, grabbing her hand, "We did our best-"
"I didn't!" Sango cried out as Kagome started to crawl back over to Inuyasha's lifeless body, "If I hadn't been so into Yokiru-" but Kagome stopped listening as she knelt next to her dead love, brushing his black bangs off his forehead and kissing his cheek.
"I'm so sorry, Inuyasha," Kagome whispered as her head fell to his chest, leaning on the side so she could see his face one last time before she looked away.
Just as she was about to pull away, she stopped short and her heart started hammering. Her eyes widened as she pulled back, looked at the spot on his chest she was just laying, and put her head back to where it was.
Did she just…hear that?
Trying to put her head closer, she waited a couple seconds, and before she pulled away again in immense disappointment, thinking she was just hearing things, she was shocked beyond belief when she heard it again.
It was a heartbeat.
Pulling away, she gasped so loud that everyone stopped what they were doing to look at her.
"What is it child?" Kaede asked.
"He's-he's alive!" Kagome exclaimed, a bright smile on her face. "He still has a heartbeat!"
There was stunned silence for a couple short moments before Kaede told Miroku to get her the flowers, and she immediately set herself down by the bowl of medicine and dirty rags. Miroku handed her the flowers, and she began peeling away the petals, crushing them with a stone she had nearby and putting them quickly into the bowl. Next she ripped apart the roots, occasionally stabbing herself with the thorns, and put what looked like a yellow powder that rested beneath the roots in the bowl also. She then mixed it until it turned a shade of yellow.
Kagome returned her attention back to Inuyasha, feeling all the sadness she just had vanish as a small hope appeared. Maybe this could work after all.
Kagome's head kept turning back and forth as she watched Kaede start to dab at Inuyasha's wound with the correct medicine, then to look at Inuyasha's now peaceful face. At least he wasn't in pain like he was before.
She heard a sickening sizzle as Kaede touched Inuyasha's wounded flesh, and Kagome cringed away from the sight of it. Taking a small peek over again, she saw a small puff of smoke that came from where Kaede touched, with the yellow liquid pooling into the wounds.
For several minutes Kaede continued her movements and the room was silent. Everyone sat around Inuyasha and kept glancing at what Kaede was doing.
Everyone also had the same feeling of hope. Miroku was thankful for getting there on time, when originally he thought they hadn't. Shippo remained in Miroku's arms, sniffing loudly and wiping away his tears with his sleeve. As for Sango, she clutched Kilala in her hands, and although the wound she had just gotten that day was killing her, she knew it wasn't that bad, and she would eventually heal. Right now she was just focused on Inuyasha.
As for Kagome, she couldn't calm down her rapid beating heart. She put a fist to her chest and waited restlessly for something to happen. If there was still a heartbeat after all of that, he must still have a chance.
Right?
Glancing over at Kaede, she noticed that Inuyasha's wounds physically looked much better, which let Kagome feel a calm wash over her. There were also no more traces of greenish poison, which also cheered Kagome up a little bit.
She found herself leaning forward, now looking at Inuyasha's face more closely. It was all a matter of time now.
Kaede kept going, her eyes constantly moving between the flesh she was cleaning and Inuyasha's face.
They all waited there for what seemed like hours. Time seemed to role by very slowly and some of their hearts dropped a little, thinking they really were too late.
Not being able to stand it anymore, Kagome used her hand that was clenched in front of her chest to reach out, shaking, to lightly touch the side of Inuyasha's cheek.
But just as she did that, she swiftly pulled back, because just as if her touch sparked life into Inuyasha, he suddenly took in a deep breath that echoed throughout the small hut, and his chest started moving in a regular motion.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked in wonder, and the room stayed quiet. Everyone leaned closer, trying to get a better look at Inuyasha's face.
And hearing her sweet quiet voice, Inuyasha blinked his eyes open, and looked around, trying to get rid of the blurriness.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed as she hugged him, her voice finding its spot in his neck, while the others let out a little burst of excitement. Shippo clambered over Inuyasha's legs and appeared at the other side, opposite from Kagome, jumping in excitement. Miroku patted Inuyasha's leg in greeting, as Sango and Kaede smiled in relief.
It took a few seconds to realize what was going on, but as soon as Inuyasha gained his focus back, he found everyone all over him.
"Keh," he said, not knowing what else to say. But he couldn't hide the smile that surfaced, not only comprehending that he was going to live, but that now he was going to live with Kagome by his side: forever.
Kagome looked up at the sound of his voice and smiled through her tears. Leaning forward, she pecked him on the lips before she leaned back onto her heels, her hand finding its way into Inuyasha's.
Inuyasha relaxed and closed his eyes, trying to find sleep even with all the chaos that was erupting around him. Right now, he needed to just relax. He still hurt, but it definitely wasn't as bad as it was, and now he knew he was going to make it. Seeing Sango, Miroku, and Kilala there proved it. Obviously they had gotten the flower.
For a while there, Inuyasha was sure he was a goner. He knew it. He could feel Kagome trying to calm him, and Kaede's constant attempt at trying to heal him even though they all knew it would be worthless in the end. When he looked one last time at Kagome, his heart shattered as he felt his head hit the floor and his body fall out of consciousness.
What was weird was that it was as if Inuyasha died…but didn't. He was in darkness, and he could feel and hear nothing, and in all honestly it scared the crap out of him. If that was what Hell was like, it was really going to be tough to exist an eternity in darkness.
But then, as if he was being pulled back from some unknown force, the blackness started to turn to a dark gray, then to a lighter shade. And in his confusion, he heard the most beautiful voice say his name. It took him a second to realize it was Kagome, and didn't know if it was really her or an anonymous power messing around with him.
But this feeling, the feeling of being touched, even though he was stuck in a world with nothing, shot him back to life. Inuyasha couldn't explain it, but he knew it was Kagome that helped him. It was her touch he felt; she saved his life.
Inside Inuyasha smiled at that thought. She was his now.
Eventually, it wasn't hard for Inuyasha to nod off into his dreams, but right before he did he gently squeezed Kagome's hand, and as she gave him a little pull back, he fell asleep finally happy for what the future holds for him.
Wow...this chapter got to me.
I can't believe this story is just about done. Just one more chapter, and this story I've been writing for four years is DONEEE!!
I don't even know what to say. Today I was looking over some old stories I've written, and wow, my writing has improved so much. I have stories that I wrote back when I was 11 and 12, and now I'm 17 (almost 18).
Oh, and you guys happy I updated within a day?! Haha I think that's a record. I'm proud of myself. I just read some of your wonderful reviews and I was like, I need to finish this.
With that thought, I would say expect the last chapter out VERY soon. I'm just so excited to finally complete this story. I mean, I love hitting the 'complete' button when you finish it. Haha.
But reviews are appreciated, and thank you for the ones for the last chapter. I'm so glad this story is really getting to you guys.
:]
-Every Heart-
Oh and P.S. I almost, just ALMOST was gonna let Inuyasha die. But then I was like, nahhh. I'm a weird ass and love my angst, but might as well have a happy ending, right? Unless I kill him off next chapter... 0_0 haha kidding. That would be bad.
