Chap 13.

"Inuyasha!" The word tore out of Kagome's mouth before she could hold it back, and she was almost startled at the shrill, undeniably desperate tone of her voice. Under other circumstances, she might feel a little embarrassed about that, but right now there was hardly the time. She felt like she was running on autopilot. Her legs were moving now on their own, carrying her towards where Inuyasha was laying. He was entangled by some kind of glowing blue bindings that writhed as if they were alive, and his body was still except for small, labored breaths. Kagome's heart felt like it was dropping down to her toes. Something in the back of her mind was aware that running directly toward the completely unhinged, jewel-shard-wielding witch was probably not the best idea in the world, but that thought was drown out by the ringing in her ears and the panic in her chest. All she could think of was reaching Inuyasha.

Her mad dash ended about as well as one would expect; before Kagome was even within arms reach of Inuyasha, Yayano had already spotted her. Unwilling to give up her quarry, the witch swiped Kagome aside with one of her thin but astonishingly powerful arms, and Kagome found herself crashing back into the treeline with a shriek. She only came to a stop when her shoulders made contact with a large tree trunk, the impact knocking the wind out of her, and it took a moment of frantic gasping to catch her breath again. With a groan, she hauled herself shakily back up to her feet, knowing already that her back would be sporting some nasty bruises in the morning. She could also feel the sting of cuts and scrapes all across her body from the brambles she had been thrown through. A hot trickle down her jawline told her that she was bleeding as well, but she ignored it. She was too fixated on returning to help Inuyasha to worry about herself.

She was about to begin making her way back to the glow of the clearing when after a few steps her feet hit a mound in the dirt, almost sending her falling again in her lingering dizziness. She looked down to see what had tripped her, and her eyes widened. At her feet was a small rise in the ground, about as wide as her shoulders and as long as a person was tall. The topsoil of the little hill was caked solid as though it had been abandoned to the elements for some time, but it still rose up enough to be distinguished from the ground around it. Kagome's head was swimming, but she still knew what that shape meant. She looked around slowly, dreading what she already knew she would find.

More rectangular heaps, all the same size. Some so worn down they were almost no longer noticeable, but others where the soil on top was still dark and moist as if it had been piled on only yesterday. They stretched on all through the dead undergrowth of the forest, scattered between trees haphazardly, more than Kagome could count. She looked back down at the one at her feet, and saw that something was sticking up from the ground at the corner of it. She knelt wearily to inspect it more closely, and saw what looked to be the corner of a piece of cloth colored a dingy grey though she knew it would once have been white. The rest of the cloth vanished into the earth, beneath the mound of dirt.

Kagome's stomach churned. She thought of Mizuko, and then off all the other spirits that she had seen with him. How many had their been? Twenty? Fifty? More still than that? One for each of the little piles of dirt, beneath each of which was undoubtedly a similar white cloth, wrapped around discarded bones. Unmarked graves, left to be forgotten here among the shadows. As her thoughts slowly connected the pieces, she felt an odd moisture building up on her cheeks and thought for a moment she might have accidentally started crying. But as she reached up to wipe it away, she realized it wasn't from tears. The air around her was suddenly thick, condensation building up on her skin and tiny droplets forming in her hair and eyelashes. Puzzled, Kagome looked around to see a heavy mist had settle all around her, so quickly she'd not even noticed it.

"Kagome..." A voice called to her from the haze, making her jump. Maybe she really had hit her head too hard, she thought. What was happening now?

As she looked around wildly, trying to find the source of the voice, a shadow formed from the swirling fog in front of her, the figure leaning forward until she could see a pair of familiar golden brown eyes peering out at her from beneath jet black bangs.

"M-Mizuko?" She asked, her voice quivering with something between fear and relief. The ghostly boy had his face only a few inches from hers, and though his image was solid enough the edges of him seemed fluid and out of focus. Once again he was clothed in the loose blue robe, the front hanging open enough that Kagome could see up close the dreadful gash on his chest that cut across pallid skin and… remarkably well defined muscle. She finally had to tear her gaze away, though she wasn't sure if it was due to nausea or embarrassment.

"You and your friends fight well," Mizuko said, pulling away to a more reasonable distance. "I know that you are very close now to defeating my mother." The second part he said with just a hint of regret, and Kagome's heart dropped as she remember the severity of their current situation.

"We will save her, too," She said, sounding more meek than she meant to. She looked around at the graveyard around her, and felt her conviction returning. "We will set you all free, I know we will!"

"I believe in you, Kagome," Mizuko said with a nod. "You're the only one who can do this." As he finished speaking, a rush of wind blew past them, and Kagome gasped at the frigid air.

"It's cold here, isn't it?" The phantom boy said, offering out his pale hand to her, which she reluctantly grasped. As he helped her to her feet, she realized he was right. The air was suddenly chilled even more than it had already been, and Kagome shivered as goosebumps formed all across her body. An ominous silence had also fallen all around them, and coupled with the oppressive mist it made Kagome feel as though she was suffocating, like she was being smothered inside her own white death shroud, waiting to be lowered into a shallow grave. She shivered again, more violently this time.

"Come here," Mizuko said, startling her by wrapping one of his arms firmly around her shoulders. She glanced up at him questioningly, and was met by an unwavering stare from those shimmering amber eyes that seemed to still have some life left in them yet. She was surprised to find that his body radiated a weak warmth, and she was baffled as to how that could be possible since Mizuko shouldn't hardly be as solid as a puff of smoke. But his form against hers was firm and sturdy, and as she gawked back at him he let a gentle smile sneak across his face.

"I know of your plan," Mizuko said. "I will help you."

Kagome's mouth fell open for a moment as she struggled to find a reply to his sudden remark. "W-what? How…" She felt ridiculous for being left so speechless, but the flutter in her chest only worsened as Mizuko's smile softened even more.

"You're more powerful than you realize, Kagome. I feel the resolve of your heart, and the connection between us will be what lets us win this fight." Despite her nerves, his cool, even tone put her at ease somewhat, and she cracked a bashful smile back at him.

"Thank you, Mizuko. If you can help us, then maybe we really do have a chance."

Mizuko nodded. "I know you need to go. I shouldn't be keeping you here," He spoke just above a whisper now. "But… it's so strange…"

"W-what is?" Kagome asked, feeling her cheeks growing steadily hotter as she became aware of just how closely their bodies were fitted together. Though she'd been freezing only a moment earlier she felt like she was catching fire now.

Mizuko moved to put his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her to face him fully. "I feel… warm here with you, Kagome. It's been so long," he said. "Lost here in this torment, wanting only to be at peace, for it all to finally end. Then we found you, and it was the first time I have felt hope in longer than I can remember." His breathy voice was deep, and just a bit rough, like the far off rumble of a waterfall.

Kagome smiled, trying to ignore the blush on her face. "It's all going to be alright, Mizuko," she said, reaching up across her chest to place a hand over his on her shoulder. "We're going to set you free, I promise."

"Kagome…" Mizuko murmured, gazing at her through half-lidded eyes with a look that spoke of some sudden deep longing. The shift in his tone took Kagome by surprise, and she wondered what he could be thinking. She was so engrossed looking up at his face, once again marveling at just how similar his features were to Inuyasha. As the thought of the half-demon crossed her mind, she felt something snapping back awake inside of her. She… she had to leave. Yes, she had to go right now. She had to get back to Inuyasha.

Unaware of her renewing panic, Mizuko reached up with one of his colorless, almost translucent hands and brushed aside a lock of her hair, then trailed a single slim finger down the length of her neck and across the curve of her collarbone. Kagome just about leapt out of her skin at the touch. It wasn't unpleasant exactly, but it was definitely not at all the gesture she had expected to receive from a dead man in a moment like that.

The shock of it seemed to at last bring Kagome fully back to her senses, and she took a forceful step backwards out of Mizuko's grasp. "I need to go!" She said, taking a gulp of breath she hadn't realized she'd needed so badly. "I… I need to finish this now, and I have to save my friends, too. I'm… I'm sorry."

Mizuko made no move to stop her, and his face remained calm, like he understood. Without waiting for a reply, Kagome turned away from the spectral man and bounded back through the trees, awkwardly side stepping a few more of the burial mounds as she went. The mist faded out behind her, and she thought she heard Mizuko's voice echo after her, but she didn't hear the words.

What in the world had just happened? Kagome shook her head hard trying to dislodge the cobwebs that seemed to be cluttering her thoughts all of a sudden. It was like for a moment there she had been pulled back into that in-between place where she had met Mizuko before, where everything seemed to slow down and fade away. How long had she been there? And why had Mizuko been acting so strangely? Kagome felt her poor, battered brain scrambling to sort it all out, but soon she broke free from the treeline once more, and all worries about Mizuko fell away in an instant.

Inuyasha was still in Yayano's clutches, wound tightly in her tendrils of neon lightning, but now he was being held aloft over the very center of the pond. Yayano herself stood at the nearest bank, speaking in a low voice with words Kagome couldn't understand. Once again, Kagome felt the urge to rush into action blindly, but this time she restrained herself. She had to use her head for this, or all of them were in trouble.

Creeping as quietly as she could, Kagome moved forward enough to once again spot the jewel shard in Yayano's chest, and her mind raced trying to pull together the fragments of the plan she had only half worked out. She hoped Mizuko really would be able to help. If this was going to work, she had to wait for exactly the right time, she knew that much at least.

Interrupting Kagome's thoughts, Yayano's mumbling began to rise. Her words grew louder and more pronounced until it became clear she was chanting some sort of spell. As she did so, the bindings that held Inuyasha began to glow even more brightly, so much that the blue was overtaken by a pure white radiance that forced Kagome to cover her eyes. This definitely wasn't good.

Over the stormy sound of magic rushing through the air, a piercing shout cut through the chaos and straight to Kagome's heart. Inuyasha, though seemingly still unconscious, began thrashing wildly against the binds that held him, groaning and crying as the light around him grew brighter still.

Kagome had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming out his name, knowing she couldn't intervene yet. She watched in mute horror as small wisps began to flutter out of his open mouth, like vaporous strands of cobwebs. She had witnessed the same thing many times, whenever they saw the person she dreaded the most. Kikyo, accompanied by her demon minions, always had the lost or stolen souls of the dead with them. Small, sad swirls of colorless fog that were all that remained of people's lives.

It was Inuyasha's soul Kagome now saw. The light around him was drawing it out, but only weak threads seemed to be emerging, as if the rest of it was clinging desperately to some anchor deep within him. In front of Kagome, Yayano began to shake and finally her chanting stopped, replaced by gasping and quite curses. The blazing glare receded back to soft, pulsating blue, and Inuyasha slowly grew quiet and still once more as the cloud of his soul quickly retreated back into his chest.

Kagome exhaled a relieved breath but her heart was still pounding violently, remembering what the other boy, Hisato had said; he had felt like he was being ripped out of himself. Kagome felt her throat tighten in sorrow imagining what Inuyasha would be feeling under the effects of Yayano's spell. But Inuyasha was strong, she tried to remind herself. If he could just hold out long enough for her to go through with her plan, everything would be okay. It had to be.

As the witch bent over, gasping for breath, Kagome to the opportunity to sneak closer, concealing herself behind a small boulder almost directly behind Yayano. She had to press herself flat to the ground to stay completely hidden, and she wiggled her way forward on her belly to peer around the edge of the rock. She mustered all her focus once more in order to allow herself to sense the jewel shard, which filled her mind's eye with a familiar pink glow. Now that she was so near, Kagome could see that the jewel shard wasn't as deep in the witch's chest as she'd feared. It illuminated the area around Yayano's sternum, dead center, in about the same spot a pendant would have hung. As Kagome continued to watch, Yayano hacked out a raspy cough, and Kagome gasped as she saw the jewel shard shake violently and lift slightly, then settle back again as Yayano caught her breath once more.

"It's at the bottom of her throat…" Kagome exclaimed quietly to herself, feeling her hope rekindle. Maybe her plan really could work, she thought. She just needed the right distraction.

"Mizuko," She whispered. "Can you hear me?"

Yes.

Kagome's eyes widened upon hearing the disembodied voice in her mind, but it was exactly what she had been hoping for.

"You need to draw your mother's attention, can you do that?" She said, feeling a bit strange at talking to the air.

I think so. I have an idea, but you might not like it.

"Huh?" Kagome said, scrunching her eyebrows together. "What are you going to do?"

Will you trust me?

Kagome paused and looked out at Yayano, who was finally standing upright and beginning her erie chants again. As the white light began to spread down her magical tendrils towards Inuyasha once more, Kagome bit her lip to hold back her cries.

"Yes," She said at last. "Please, just help me."

Thank you, Kagome. When the time is right, do what you must.

Kagome shifted her position to curl her legs beneath her in a low crouch so that she could pull one of the Sacred Arrows from her quiver. "How will I know when the time is right?" She asked as she knocked the arrow into place in her bow.

You will know.

Kagome could have rolled her eyes back into her head. She hated vague answers. But she supposed she had no choice now except to be ready for anything and hope that Mizuko would make it obvious to her soon.

Now that she was sitting up, she wasn't fully hidden behind the boulder anymore, but it didn't seem like it would matter. Yayano was too preoccupied, her chants once again reaching their peak, and Inuyasha thrashed and shouted as the white glow enveloped him. Kagome gritted her teeth and waited, all the while feeling as though her heart was cracking in half.

As the ghostly curls of Inuyasha's soul began to trickle from his mouth, Yayano stopped her chant to whisper to herself. "Come, my son," She said in a voice that sounded broken and desperate. "Come back to me, Mizuko…"

Above the pond, the blinding light suddenly pulsed to a new intensity, unbearably bright, and then in a momentous flash, ceased altogether, plunging the clearing into darkness. Kagome had to blink hard to get her eyes to adjust to the sudden dimness, and from the exasperated mumbling coming from Yayano's direction, she guessed the witch had not intended for this to happen.

As Kagome managed to get her vision back in check, she realized that there was still a faint shine coming from somewhere nearby. She stood up a little higher to see that although the magical bindings around Inuyasha had vanished, he was still floating just above the water in the middle of the pool. His whole body was emitting a subtle glow that plused from white to blue and then back to white again. Kagome didn't know what was going on, but she was happy that at least Inuyasha no longer seemed in pain, and looked to still be breathing.

"What… what is happening…" Yayano muttered as she stepped closer to the edge of the water.

As Kagome and the witch both continued to gaze out at Inuyasha with confusion, he began to lift higher. His body slowly turned and his top half lifted so that he was in a standing position, his robes billowing around him, making him seem caught in a flurry of wind. His silvery hair flowed and seemed to float around his face as though he was underwater. A few pale strands crossed in front of his face, concealing it from view for a moment. When at last they blew aside again, Inuyasha was looking down at them with eyes open wide. Both Kagome and Yayano gasped in unison.

Kagome had spent longer than she'd ever admit staring at Inuyasha's eyes. Most times it was when they were arguing, with their faces shoved up close as they shouted and bickered. During those times his eyes were fierce and piercing, their yellow irises sparking with the passion of his stubbornness and anger. Yet other times, they were startlingly soft, like when they would walk side by side in comfortable silence, or speak in hushed voices at night when the others were asleep. Those times, his eyes seemed to shine like golden firelight, aglow with some sweet, unspoken things that Kagome longed to discover. In their time together, Kagome had come to know those eyes very well, memorizing the way their color shifted in the fading light of dusk or how his pupils grew large when he was embarrassed. She could have recognised them even in the dark with only the reflection of the moonlight as their illumination.

So as she stood staring at Inuyasha held aloft above the dark blue waters of the pond, her throat constricted and her breath caught in her chest, because the instant their eyes met she knew one thing for sure: Those were not Inuyasha's eyes. That was not Inuyasha.