Chapter Thirteen: Shattered Soul
For some odd reason, Rue woke up way earlier than she normally did.
Ria stirred restlessly inside her the moment she opened her eyes.
To Rue, something about the air inside the hut felt… wrong, somehow.
Something's not right, Rue thought with a frown, slowly sitting up and staring at the wall. I don't know how, or why... but... for some reason, I can feel it...
She sat there for a moment, wondering about the strange feeling in the air. Then, after getting up, she silently dressed in her school uniform and shoes, tied her hair into a ponytail, and tiptoed over to the door. Before she moved the bamboo flap to the side, Rue glanced behind her and stared hard at all of her sleeping friends, being careful to make sure that none of them had woken up. Nobody was moving except for Shippo, who was rolling around in his sleep and mumbling something about candy.
Her eyes instantly softened.
Why is he so cute? she silently wondered. It's almost painful, really.
Shaking her head with an amused sigh, Rue slid the flap as quietly as possible and slipped out into the street.
The entire village was still asleep and the sky above her barely even had enough light to see. Focusing her mind like Ria had taught her to, Rue lifted her hand and heated the air above her palm. Within the span of seven seconds, a ball of gentle white flames ignited above her hand and lit up the road ahead of her. Following the strange feeling of foreboding that was steadily growing inside her breast, Rue silently padded down the street with a worried frown etched onto her face.
At the edge of the village, the girl stopped and stared at the edge of the road: there, at the bottom of the hill she was standing on, were the graves of the two buried demon corpses—the snake who attacked her when she'd first come to Kaede's village, and the demon bug from the previous day. However, the graves were silent, still, and motionless—and that wasn't where Rue was getting the feeling from. It was emanating from beyond that, across the fields of tall grass.
Rue didn't even notice when a familiar one-eyed man with bandages across his head peered around a corner and narrowed his eyes at her.
This sensation... Ria suddenly spoke, waking up inside her consciousness. I recognize it... but what, for the love of everything good, is it doing here?
What is it? Rue asked, peering around with hesitant eyes. Something dangerous?
Yes, Rue... so go back right now, Ria whispered, anxiety unexpectedly beginning to rise inside the girl's subconscious. I know this feeling from somewhere…
I can't, Ria, especially not if something dangerous is lurking around here, Rue told the woman, making her way into the field as the wind began to pick up. If something dangerous is truly nearby, we need to know in order to warn everyone else, okay? It'll be our fault if I ignore this feeling and something bad happens because of it.
The gentle gusts bowed the tall grass as it brushed around the girl's slender waist.
She momentarily wished that she had a lawn mower.
As she continued to walk through several cultivation fields, she began wondering if the creators of these crop farms made them in an effort to keep them going on forever, but she let the sarcastic thoughts fade because the sickening feeling in her chest was getting stronger with each step that she took. Eventually the sense of danger became so strong that she paused twice—but each time she chose to go on against her better judgment.
Rue halted when she came to the base of a tall mound.
Upon further inspection, however, she guessed that it wasn't really a mountain since it was only about thirty feet tall—but then again it wasn't really small enough to be a simple hill. Rue's golden gaze shifted and her eyes widened with a jolt of fright when she saw that, dug into the side of it, an opening about ten feet tall stretched open like a gaping mouth. It was a cave, but the opening itself wasn't what had her terrified.
The source of her fear was the sickening iridescent black smoke that seemed to be spilling out of the cave.
"What the hell is that?" Rue asked bluntly, staring at the smoke with a wary expression. "I've never seen anything like it before... ever. What is it?"
It's an Aura, Rue… Ria replied in a low growl. Run away... right now... the aura in that cave is unbelievably evil and way more powerful than you are in your current state.
That…? Rue whispered,silently trailing off as she stared at the rippling smoke-like substance. That's an aura?
Yes, it is! Ria snapped, answering her inquiry with a fearful manner. And now that you know, you need to run! Run back to the village!
Before she could do anything, a sudden blast of wind smashed into Rue's body—pulling at her skirt and hair with invisible fingers as it roared past her body. Her thigh-length silver hair whipped around her torso and she covered her face to protect it from the debris that started pelting her. After a moment, however, Rue was hit by startling recognition: she'd felt this unnaturally bitter wind once before—back when she'd nearly been killed by the woman holding the weird fans.
Rue shivered when the wind died down and hastily began backing away, staring at the entrance with huge golden eyes.
The cloud emanating from the cave had suddenly vanished and a man with long, dark brown hair emerged from the shadows. His eyes were redder than any eyes she had ever seen before, and he was standing in such a regal-looking position that it made him seem powerful despite his slender frame. Almost immediately, the girl's face went blank and she stared with huge eyes... because, somehow, she recognized this man from somewhere... and not just from a description, either.
At some point in her life, she had actually seen him... but when?
And how?
The nightmare I had... the girl realized, eyes flashing with fright. Oh, my God... this is the man I saw in my nightmares! Who the hell is he?!
"What do we have here?" the man from her nightmares casually inquired, voice sounding dark and very deep; out of nowhere, Rue's eyes unintentionally flitted to the right, just as a small child dressed in a white kimono emerged from the shadows to stand at his side. The girl's dead-looking silver eyes locked onto Rue's stricken face for a very long moment: long tendrils of her white hair billowed around her expressionless face in beautiful, glistening tendrils. "A child...?"
For a moment, Rue was baffled: the little girl was an albino just like her... well, sort of.
"I've seen her before!" a familiar voice gasped, and in a blast of wind the woman with the fans appeared on the man's other side. "She was traveling with Sesshomaru, the dog demon lord of the Western Lands, about three weeks ago! I saw them as I was flying overhead!"
"Well done, Kagura," Naraku stated smoothly, refusing to take his eyes off the girl in front of him; he pinned Rue to the ground with those deadly red eyes once again, exactly the same way that he had in her nightmare. However, her perspective of him suddenly changed before her eyes... and somehow, he really didn't seem so threatening to her anymore. Feeling a jolt of surprise, Rue nearly gasped in mortification when she unexpectedly found herself wanting to stand beside him as well.
Don't fall for it, Rue! Ria immediately shouted, breaking through the illusion like a wildfire. Run away as fast as you can, right now!
You don't have to tell me twice, Rue hastily replied, slowly beginning to back away. This is too creepy for my taste... I'm outta here!
"Naraku, this girl's soul has been touched by a strange power," the white-haired child stated, speaking in the most emotionless voice that Rue had ever heard; the little girl suddenly looked down at the round mirror in her hands before she turned it on Rue, reflecting the yellow-eyed albino's image for everyone to see. Her reflection was glowing with violet light... the same light that had appeared when Kagome had brought out the sacred jewel. "How interesting."
"What the—?!" Rue spluttered, stiffening in surprise; she instantly glanced down at her hands, then looked back up at the mirror. "What?!"
"She is the daughter of a Celestial Maiden who was born in another plane of existence," the child suddenly droned. "Her soul has been touched by the presence of a nine-tailed fox demon, who inhabits her body: their consciousness are in the process of merging together... but strangely, there are no shards inside her."
Rue stiffened with a jolt of shock.
"What do you mean there are no shards inside her?" Kagura demanded, frowning at the child in confusion. "I can plainly see that she gives off the same aura as one!"
"I can see this too, Kana... the glow is very familiar," Naraku stated calmly, crimson eyes burning deeper into Rue's golden irises. "Explain your knowledge to me."
"There are no Jewel shards inside of her," the little girl droned, lifting the mirror; Rue's reflection was still glowing violet, "because somehow, she is a Sacred Jewel."
Naraku's eyes sharpened and Rue froze: she had been rendered immobile through the sheer willpower resting in his eyes.
"Kagura," he stated in a low tone, narrowing his eyes before he glanced at the terrified reflection in the mirror, "bring her to me."
"As you wish, Naraku," Kagura chuckled, leaping into the air and flying toward Rue. "Come here, brat!"
"Oh, shit!" Rue squeaked, instantly spinning around on her heel and sprinting back towards the village with her hair and school skirt flying. "Higurashi-san! HELP!"
Behind her, she could hear Kagura laughing in amusement.
Rue pushed herself to go as fast as she possibly could: her arms pumped and her feet flew, long white hair flying behind her like a cloud of spider silk.
However, just before a blast of tearing wind smashed into her from behind, someone dove out from behind a tree and smashed into her side, tackling her out the way. Instead of hitting the girl, it hit the ground next to her, ripping up the dirt and sending her AND her savior flying forward at an impossible speed. When she and her savior finally hit the ground, Rue flipped away like a rag doll because of the momentum and rolled over and over again, painfully being bashed against the dirt.
Her violent tumble came to a halt on the edge of the field just outside the village.
But as a result, her shoulder wound reopened and the stitches in her stomach burst.
"OWWWW!" Rue screeched, squeezing her eyes shut in agony; the sound of her scream echoed out across the fields, seeming to linger in the air as it reverberated off of the mountains and bounced across the valleys far in the distance. "OW! OWWWWWW! GOD DAMN IT, MY SHOULDER! OW!"
"Silence, girl! I promise I'll make this quick," Kagura chuckled, landing gracefully on the grass about three yards away and blocking her escape route to the village. "You're going to make Naraku really happy... maybe he'll stop following me around so much after this."
A sly and dangerous smile pulled across the woman's face when Rue frantically staggered back to her feet: the injured girl slowly started to back away, panting heavily as she clutched her bleeding stomach. Before she could even think about running away again, Kagura swung her fan again and a deadly slice of wind shredded toward her. But before she could blink, the green-eyed man who had constantly been following her around jumped in front of her.
Rue's golden eyes instantly widened, and all of a sudden, she had a choice to make.
He would die.
If she didn't do something, he would die.
There was no chance for him to live if she didn't react.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Rue screeched, eyes frantic with terror; so saying, she slung her arms out and focused with frantic effort. "MOVE, YOU GREEN-EYED IDIOT!"
When he twitched and looked at her with a surprised expression, a wall of water suddenly exploded into the air on the right side of her body, swirling up out of the surrounding earth, plants, and air in a monstrous pillar of crystalline liquid. On the left side of her body, a pillar of blinding white fire ignited into existence with a thunderous roar, giving off a brilliant flash of light. Rue quickly flung her hands out and directed the elements to fly in front of the Menace.
The wind knocked weakly against the fiery shield without even touching the watery one.
"What?!" Kagura hissed, drawing back a bit and staring at the display of power with stunned eyes. "But how?!"
Rue hastily stumbled forward and gripped the man's arm, jerking his attention to her.
"Go get Inuyasha and Higurashi-san!" she frantically commanded, looking at him with fearful eyes. "I'll try to hold these people off until they get here! Hurry!"
"Can you do it?" he demanded lowly, narrowing his eyes at her stomach. "You're bleeding."
"I said I'll TRY!" Rue snapped, eyes sharpening. "GO ALREADY!"
He stared at her for a moment, green eye glittering in the firelight... then nodded and took off running.
Kagura sent a wave of her power flying at him, but Rue cut it off with her flames.
"Damn you!" the wind sorceress hissed. "Just come along!"
"No! So get the hell away from me!" Rue spat, drawing her lips back in fury. "I swear I'll burn your ass if you take another step towards me! I've had enough of people trying to use me! For ANY reason! SO GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE! IF YOU DON'T, I'LL... I'LL..."
She trailed off and clenched her jaw, unable to say it.
The woman sent more wind blades soaring at her, but Rue somehow managed to block them using fire each time.
However, it was taking a toll on her body, and she couldn't keep it up for much longer.
"Kagura!" Inuyasha's distant voice suddenly shouted, making her nearly melt in relief. "I knew it was you!"
The woman in question scowled when she realized Inuyasha and the rest of his friends were running toward them from across the field.
"Damn!" the woman snapped, pulling a feather from her hair and enlarging it before jumping on and flying into the air. She pulled a small round object from the inside her kimono and tossed it to the grassland far below. "I failed, but at least this should keep them busy for awhile!"
"Miharu-chan!" Kagome cried, bolting for the girl who was encased by a wall of white fire. "Miharu-chan, can you hear me?!"
When Rue finally dropped her arms, the fire swirling around her body dissolved into a shower of burning embers. However, the girl stumbled and let out a weak groan just before her legs unexpectedly buckled: her long hair fell over her body like a blanket when she landed heavily on her stomach, left arm twisted out to the side at an awkward angle.
"Miharu!" Sango cried, anxiously following Kagome—who'd darted forward and sprinted to the girl's side the moment she'd collapsed. "Are you okay?!"
"I hurt," the albino mumbled into the grass. "My shoulder is killing me, and the gash on my stomach opened up again."
"You blockhead!" Kagome whispered, rolling her over and worriedly lifting her shirt; she winced when she saw the wound and instantly removed her neck scarf, using it to put pressure on the injury. "What were you thinking?! You could have been killed!"
"I'm okay," Rue murmured, weakly shrugging her arms. "That just… took a lot out of me. I'm okay, really."
"No, you're not okay," Kagome retorted in obvious distress, gently lifting the girl's head and tucking her knees under it like a pillow. "Your stomach is bleeding again, and you've exhausted yourself to the point of incoherency by using your abilities to an extent you've never had the chance to try! You're the farthest thing from okay right now."
"Obviously!" Sango harshly agreed, kneeling down beside her and checking her pulse. "Why on earth were you even out here all alone in the first place?"
"I felt something weird in the air, so I went for a walk to see what it was," Rue croaked out, turning her head when the redheaded man trotted up. "Then I ran into that freakish wind lady and a little girl with white hair holding a mirror. A creepy guy with red eyes told the wind lady to attack me, so I ran away. If it hadn't been for the green-eyed menace over there, I probably would have been in a bigger pickle than I am right now, but thanks to him, I managed to hold her off till you got here."
"Who was the man you mentioned?" Miroku demanded in a low tone of voice. "Did you catch his name?"
"That woman called him Naraku," Rue muttered, giving him a frown. "So did the little girl."
"Naraku?!" Inuyasha shouted, eyes flashing wide with fury. "What the hell is he doing so close to Kaede's village?!"
"How should I know?!" Rue weakly demanded, closing golden her eyes as she lay limply on Kagome's lap. "I'm just telling you what happened. Don't bite my head off."
"Let's get you back to Kaede's house so you can rest," Kagome sighed, patting the girl's arm. "You're gonna need more stitches for your belly... trust me."
"Oh, goody," Rue muttered, instantly feeling nauseous. "As if the first time wasn't awful."
However, any further words were cut short when the ground began to tremble and a low rumble filled the air.
The sound soon grew louder and the shuddering heavier.
"What the—?" Sango gasped, gripping her weapon and readying herself for battle as the earth continued to tremble. "What's going on?!"
Miroku placed both of his hands on his long staff as he glanced around warily and Inuyasha pulled out his sword—which transformed in his hands as he did so. Kagome strung her bow with an arrow, but she didn't move from Rue's side despite the fact that the girl's yellow eyes had snapped open and she'd bolted upright. The one-eyed man's expression didn't change, but he did sink down to one knee in an effort to keep his balance.
Then the ground split open with a terrible groan—as if the earth itself was crying out in pain.
Rue's breath caught when she saw a great mound of twisting grass and roots snaking into the air before swirling and tying into knots and braids.
Arms, claws, and a head soon began to emerge and take form—outlining the body of a monster.
"Food!" the earthy demon grumbled in a deep, trembling voice. "My master has fed me well!"
"Did that thing just TALK?!" Rue choked, shakily trying to climb back to her feet. "And what does it mean by food?! What the heck is it considering eating?!"
Kagome instantly grabbed onto the girl's arms in an attempt to hold her up when she stumbled.
"What is that?!" Shippo cried hysterically. "It's so ugly!"
"Who cares?" Inuyasha bluntly asked, lifting his sword with a glare. "Its gonna die right here!"
"I agree," Sango stated, taking her battle stance by Inuyasha's right side while Miroku joined him on his left. Lifting her boomerang-like weapon, Sango spun around three times in a circle before releasing the weapon and sending it flying at the beast with the war-cry, "Hiraikotsu!"
The weapon zipped at the beast with incredible speed, slicing off its arm in one hit.
"Alright, Sango!" Kagome exclaimed, clapping with a huge grin; the demon slayer laughed, but then she froze in shock since the arm had suddenly stopped falling before it was able to hit the ground below. Soon afterwards, several slimy-looking veins stretched out of the monster's shoulder and attached themselves to the hovering arm, snatching it back up and sewing it in place. Kagome instantly blanched and squealed, "EW! Did it really just do that?!"
"That was a cheat!" Miroku sighed, shaking his fist in a half-hearted manner. "I figured it would happen, though... this is one of Naraku's minions, after all."
"No way!" Rue shrieked in horror. "Do you mean all of Naraku's friends pull themselves back together like that?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Kagome confirmed, shaking her head. "Even Naraku himself does it."
"Gross!" Rue squealed, shuddering in revulsion. "I hope I never have to see that in person. It sounds disgusting."
"Why don't you all shut up? You're embarrassing me," Inuyasha sighed, shaking his head; then he leapt into the air and roared, "WIND SCARRR!"
His attack sliced the monster into three parts, just like the previous time with the stick-bug demon—but then, as the light began to subside, the monster chuckled and the earthy veins once again slithered out of the wounds and pulled the pieces of its torso together without any effort.
"That tickled, little man!" the demon laughed in victory. "Who will try next?"
"You asked for it!" Miroku snapped as he pulled off the beads that circled around his hand; thrusting his palm out, he cried, "Wind tunnel!"
Rue jerked with a start when a powerful gale began ripping everything in Miroku's path toward his hand, pulling any loose objects into the dangerous-looking black hole that had appeared on his skin. Her thigh-length hair was pulled in front of her body by the force of the powerful air currents as she watched him work from behind. The beast growled and then opened its mouth, roaring as a thick green fog exploded from the depths of its bowels.
The sickening cloud was instantly grabbed by the suction.
"Miroku, close it!" Sango cried, eyes widening in horror. "It's poison!"
The man quickly wrapped the beads around his cursed hand, closing off the incredible pull of air before the toxic cloud could reach him.
"What now?" the monk growled. "Nothing I can do will work on him!"
"I will feast on this whole village!" the beast rumbled, reaching forward with outstretched hands. "I shall eat well tonight!"
"Dragon Strike!" a calm voice unexpectedly called, echoing on the wind. "Roar of the Dragon!"
Rue's eyes went blank as familiar flashes of blinding blue lightning suddenly thundered out across the field in a straight line, coupled with an explosion of brilliant light.
It engulfed the demon's body with a thunderous series of cracks.
Not even a second later, the attacker walked into the field with a familiar group traipsing behind him.
It was then that a little girl wearing orange spotted them and gasped in delight.
"RUE!" Rin's abruptly squealed in delight, sprinting up to the girl and tackling her to the ground in a bear hug. "Oh, Rue, I missed you soooo much! How are you doing? Are you okay? Why did you leave us back at the inn? Did I—EEEEEK! Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no! Miss Rue, you're bleeding! You're hurt! Are you okay?!"
"Don't worry, I'm okay," Rue instantly whispered, rubbing the girl's back with her good arm. "Really, I'm..."
However, the teenager cut herself off and her eyes went blank when she felt another set of eyes on her.
After a moment of struggling with a palpitating heart, she forced herself to look up.
Her head moved slowly and carefully despite the fact that she wanted to move faster.
Sure enough, he was approaching the two of them with Jaken following close behind, carrying his two-headed staff like always.
And his sharp eyes were indeed locked onto her face.
All of the memories that Rue had tried so hard to forget, all of the confusing and painfully hollow feelings she had fought so valiantly to ignore ignited in an instant.
They came flooding back into her mind as though a dam had burst inside her body.
Rue quickly squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away from him.
"Miss Rue…" Rin whispered, grabbing her attention once again. "Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine," Rue lied, hugging the child close with her good arm. "Don't worry about me so much."
"But I missed you," Rin said quietly, burying her face in the older girl's green skirt. "I really did! Don't leave us ever again!"
"I missed you, too," Rue whispered, staring off into the distance with vacant eyes as the breeze played with their hair. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah, this is all a great warm, fuzzy reunion and all—but why the hell are you here, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha angrily growled, narrowing his eyes. "Why did you come to us?!"
"Don't speak to him like that, you ungrateful child!" Jaken yelled at him in disgust. "You have no right!"
"Ah, a child..." the beast suddenly exclaimed, turning his eyes on them. "A delightful little snack!"
When its hands reached out in their direction, Rue clutched Rin's shoulders and protectively dragged the girl behind her.
"Don't even think about touching her!" the albino roared, glaring at the monster with fierce yellow eyes. "LEAVE THIS VILLAGE!"
"Rue, stop!" Kagome cried, covering her mouth in horror. "You can't do anything more! It's too dangerous!"
"No, I won't stop," she spat, feeling the fury building up. "I've HAD it! I'm done with people trying to use me, and then trying to hurt me when they don't get their way! I'm not going to just sit back and let it happen anymore! I'm DONE WITH THIS!"
And as she stood there, her eyes began to glow with an iridescent violet light.
Not even a second later, an explosion of power ripped throughout her body: a door that had been hidden away inside her had opened up just a crack, allowing her to use what lay behind it. The glowing blue marks immediately began to wind across her body, illuminating her pearly skin with their blinding light... but then, instead of remaining blue like the previous times, they shifted in hue to the same luminescent violet as the Sacred Jewel.
The Gaelic symbol on her forehead traced itself out with a brilliant flash, glowing with an ominous aura.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Rue screeched, coming out so loud that everything else to fell silent. "GO AWAY!"
It was almost as though the very power in her voice had drowned out all other sound.
Even after her mouth stopped moving.
Everything fell silent to the point of being completely muffled... and everyone, even Sesshomaru, turned to look at the furious teen when the sound of her echoing voice distorted their senses. Kagome let out a soundless cry and flailed her arms at Rin, who was tugging on Rue's shirt, but the Asian girl instantly clamped a hand over her mouth with a startled expression when she realized that no sound had escaped her lips. So, instead of shouting, the teenager darted forward and pulled Rin away.
The switch had been thrown.
Rue's long hair instantly blasted towards the sky and the ringing permeating the strange silence intensified.
The albino slowly lifted both of her hands as her hair billowed around with the current of power exploding around her body.
Above her right hand, a small ball of iridescent white flames ignited.
Above her left, a ball of water swirled out of the air and condensed into a shimmering orb of liquid that radiated multicolored light.
Then, as the intensity of her power hit the top of its peak, Rue looked at the earth monster and said one word.
"Die," she whispered, voice echoing on the wind.
Everyone watched in shock and horror as she spun around in a graceful circle and swung the hand holding the water at the demon's feet.
The moment that small orb landed, a massive waterfall exploded out of the ground with an impact that shuddered the earth beneath everyone's feet.
When the reversed tsunami stretched magnificently above the beast's enormous head, Rue flung her hand back down towards the ground and the water smashed around the monster's legs. Immediately lifting her foot, the girl generated energy in her leg before slamming her foot down on the ground: a wall of ice instantly erupted from the toe of her dress shoe, surging across the field in roaring wave of glittering blue crystals. The beast was instantly frozen to the ground when the ice hit the water around its legs.
Once the monster was unable to move, Rue flawlessly spun around again—long silver hair fanning out around her as she threw the ball of fire.
The roaring flames immediately encircled the beast around its legs where the ice was: with a terrifying look of finality on her face, Rue deftly lifted her hands and held them out with her palms facing the ground in parallel synchronicity. Her companions watched in awe as she slowly lifted her arms and flung them towards the sky, arching her back as her ghostly wings spread wide: the girl's long hair was immediately blasted backward in the fiery wind that ripped through the fields.
The fire immediately responded to the girl's actions by spiraling up around the demon and entrapping him in a twister made that pure, iridescent flames: the monster let out a metallic screech, but the blaze didn't stop swirling around it. Still standing on the tips of her toes with her back arched to the sky, Rue twisted her tiny hands together in a flash and forced the fiery prison to fall onto the demon.
The monstrosity cried out in pain as the flames began to crush it to death, and the metallic screeches rapidly became more and more agonized until they finally choked out and the creature died. Bringing her arms down after a long moment of waiting on her toes with her back arched, Rue turned to the flames that were threatening to burn the fields to ash. The girl stretched her uninjured arm out over the fire, gently blowing out a breath of icy air.
However, her breath—no matter how gentle or small it looked—flattened the grass in the fields with ice and snuffed out the wildfires like candles.
A second later, sound returned to the world with a thunderous impact and everyone rubbed their ringing ears.
"Oh, my God…" Kagome whispered in English after a long moment of silence, mouth hanging open. "Miharu... what the heck... did you just do?! You... you... how?!"
"That was impressive," Sango stated quietly, giving her a subdued look. "I think you're the first human being to have ever truly frightened me."
"Agreed," Miroku breathed, looking a little pale as he clasped his lecherous hands behind his back. "That was a little much."
"You were amazing!" Rin cried, smiling up at her proudly. "How did you do all that stuff with the purple light and the fire?! Ooh, and the waterfall?!"
"My Lord?" Jaken whispered, glancing up at Sesshomaru's shocked expression with a look of surprise. "My... lord...?"
In truth, the demon lord actually felt stunned as he gazed at the fragile-looking girl's tired face. He was utterly and absolutely shocked to the core—for the first time in his life. He'd thought he'd mostly figured out what kind of human she was, and the fact that he hadn't absolutely astounded him. He had believed her to be just like any other pathetic human in the world, but she was by no means a helpless little girl.
In fact, the extent of the power he'd just witnessed had come dangerously close to surpassing his own.
Which bothered him greatly, since that level of power resting in a frail human being was an extremely abnormal occurrence.
Where had he gone wrong in his observation?
Rue glanced up at Sesshomaru and met his golden eyes just as he was wondering this.
They stared at each other for a long moment as the breeze ruffled through their hair.
That's when it happened.
Rue's eyes suddenly became huge and she staggered back a step, clutching her chest with both of her hands as she let out a shaking gasp of pain. Something inside of her chest began to break like a pane of glass as she looked up at the star-filled sky with a frightened expression, muscles trembling violently when the cracking slowly stretched throughout her entire body. She suddenly felt as though she were going to break apart… she didn't know why, but she did.
Rue, Ria whispered weakly. I think we're about to die…
Well... if that's true, then... goodbye, Ria… the Irish girl replied, shivering all over as the sky turned red and seemed to fill with black spots.
"Rin..." Rue choked, eyes losing their sheen. "I'm... sorry."
The moment she finished speaking, something within her shattered.
Her eyes immediately deadened and the life in them fully dispersed.
She began to fall backwards in what felt like slow motion: her empty golden eyes stared vacantly ahead as her vision flickered, and her thigh-length hair billowed around her frame like a cloud of as the world tilted. Her arms slowly stretched out with the motion of her fall, but when Rue's lifeless body finally slammed into the grass of the field, her hands seemed to ricochet a little. Her hair fell across her face as she stared out at nothing, expression completely blank.
"Miharu-chan!" Kagome cried, instantly hurrying over to her side. "Hey! Are you okay?! Say something!"
She shook the girl's arm, but there was no response: she didn't even blink.
"Oh, no..." Sango whispered, covering her mouth when Kagome pressed an ear against her chest. "Is she all right?!"
Kagome waited for a moment, but then her expression clenched and she shrieked.
Instantly pulling herself upright, she hastily began performing the Heimlich Maneuver.
"HER HEART STOPPED!" the Japanese girl shrieked, shaking all over; once she finished the chest compressions, she pressed her lips against Rue's and gave the girl mouth to mouth resuscitation. "BREATHE, MIHARU!"
Rin and Shippo burst into tears when the Asian girl continued trying to revive her.
Eventually, Inuyasha grabbed her and went running towards Kaede's hut.
And through it all, the girl's golden eyes continued to stare ahead unseeingly… out at nothing.
Darkness had captured her, and it threatened to never let her go.