Hey everyone! You know what? I just love physics. No! I'm serious. Who wouldn't love to calculate the angular velocity of a moving object -rolls eyes- I'm doomed!
Well, enough complaining. I want to thank everyone who reviewed. Love to all! I really do love reading them all. There are some really interesting reviewers.
Hearts of Eternity: Hahaha. See what I mean by interesting? I hated Kanna too, with her air of pomposity. That's why she has a mirror you know? Narcissist. And it would be great to end wars with a kiss…but seriously…have you seen some of those people? (I probably just offended someone right there)
Courtney, firefairy, Brigurl, Miranda, AlleyCat8, Eveilpristess, Eternal Sky, Owari Nai Yumes, Amazonb-tch: Thanks! Your reviews mean a lot to me and make me write faster knowing that there are people out there that will read it.
Lady Persephone: First of all…Love the name. I absolutely LOVE Greek Mythology. Second of all, glad you like it. There will be more Sesshoumaru. Who doesn't love him?
AngelWing: Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Dark Inu Fan: Yay! One of my loyal reviewers! Hehe…Yeah…Eri the kitsune. You'll have to read. (Although I won't put her as one of his descendants…not quite.)
Cara the Mordsith: Hey again! Thanks for reviewing. Another Lost Fan? YAY! OMG! Tell me that Sawyer is not hot. And Jack. And Charlie. And Sayid…and it's soooo funny.
Disclaimer: I do not nor ever will own Inuyasha. Nazakaki, Tademas Nikko, Raidon Kurouki, and Blaine Morris, however, are mine. Maybe a couple others too, can't remember -scratches head-
Alright, enough rambling. On with the show…or story…or whatever.
It may sound absurd
But don't be naive
Even heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed
But won't you concede
Even heroes have the right to dream
it's not easy to be me
Up, up and away, away from me
Well it's alright
You can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy or anything
I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees
-Superman by Five for Fighting
Kagome searched the classroom for Eri, but she wasn't there. She stumbled but caught her balance by grabbing a desk. All of the youki in her school…was completely overwhelming. With her miko power in overdrive, her other senses left her feeling foggy and incredibly tired.
She spotted Yuka and managed to stumble over to her. "Yuka, have you seen Eri?"
"Kagome! You don't look so well. Sit down." She gestured to the desk beside her.
"I need to find Eri. Have you seen her," she asked again.
The worry was evident on her friends face, but she feigned a smile. "Eri's in the bathroom, but you better hurry. Break's almost over."
"Thanks," she hurried out of the room and to the restroom at the end of the hall.
Pushing through the door clumsily, she called out to Eri. When the girl didn't answer, she began to push through all of the stall doors in the apparently abandoned bathroom. "Eri? Eri, I know you're in here. I just want to talk."
A cough, a dry sob was the answer she got. "Go away."
Kagome followed the sound and pushed open the seventh stall, revealing a girl sitting on the toilet with her arms wrapped around her knees tightly, as if she was protecting herself from something. She gently laid her hand on Eri's shoulder. "What's wrong?"
The girl slowly lifted her red-rimmed eyes to Kagome's. "What's wrong?" she asked incredulously. "This is—you can't tell humans, Kagome. They won't understand. Promise me you won't tell them!"
She soothed her friend's hair back, "Take it easy Eri. I'm not going to tell anyone. I just…don't understand why you never told me."
"You wouldn't have understood."
"You didn't give me the chance. I might have understood, Eri. You'd be surprised," she said while extending her hand.
After studying her hand for a moment, Eri finally grabbed it and allowed Kagome to help her up. "Why aren't you freaked out about this?"
Kagome walked over to the sink and turned the water on. "Should I be? You've been one of my best friends since I can remember. You don't seriously want me to believe that you'll eat me, do you?" she asked, shooting her friend a reassuring smile.
The kitsune took a moment to digest this. "Did you know that you boyfriend is—"
"A hanyou? Yes. But that doesn't change the way I feel about him, the stubborn baka," she grinned as she dabbed a wet paper towel under Eri's eyes.
Laughing, Eri said, "He didn't seem that bad."
"He has his faults, but that just makes me love him all the more."
Eri leaned closer to her and cautiously sniffed. "You're not…" she trailed off with reddening cheeks.
A light blush fell across the bridge of her nose. "No, not yet."
Her friend nodded, "I didn't mean to pry."
Kagome giggled, "Yes you did. All three of you are like vultures that feed off my love life."
A sudden dizziness hit her cutting her laughter short; the miko tried to clear her head by shaking it. Trying to focus on the kitsune, she was able to see the girl's lips move but wasn't able to hear her. She could see Eri's smile fade into a worried frown. The girl's lips moved again. Kagome swayed, falling into Eri's outstretched arms.
She watched the black steal over her but refused to close her eyes.
'Kagome?'
'Who's there?'
Cruel laughter pierced her through her mind, 'I've been looking for you for a long time. You wouldn't let me in. But now I've finally found you. Let me in, Kagome. Let me see through your eyes.'
A silent gasp, a cry that didn't reach her lips, 'Nazakaki.'
A pair of golden eyes watched the sun rise in the distance. "Jaken. See that Rin has food."
"Ay, my lord," toad youkai muttered and began to totter away, but he stopped suddenly. "My lord? Why would you bring Naraku's spawn here?"
The Inu-youkai turned his eyes to glare coldly at his retainer.
"Many pardons, my lord! I didn't mean to question you."
Turning briskly, he walked up to the two-headed dragon, Ah-Un, "Food, now."
Jaken sighed dejectedly, "Yes, my lord," and hurried off
Sesshoumaru looked around. It was so different here than it was at that hated place, Naraku's castle. The grass was fresh and green, the water was clear…everything about this place screamed life. Walking over to the river, he began to remove his armor and clothing intent on washing off the stench of death and blood. Slowly, he began to submerge into the icy, clear water and watched as the current carried away some of the dried blood on his arm and hand. His own wound tingled under the scrutiny of the freezing water. His wound…a reminder of how foolish he'd been during the fight. It had been a long time since he'd done something so impulsive, so stupid, so…Inuyasha. He stared blankly at his reflection in the water. Why did everything he said or did twist his thoughts toward Inuyasha?
He grimaced. 'Because,' he thought wryly, 'you're trying to make up for your mistakes in the past.' He gave a snort of disgust at his thought and dunked his head in the water. 'I'm going soft.'
When he re-emerged, his features and emotions were once again schooled, cold, and blank. He glided through the water and back onto the bank and slipped into his hakama and shoes. Running a hand through his sopping wet hair, he glanced at the sun, letting the wind caress his face. Without a second thought, he took off through the open field running as fast as he possibly could. Within a minute, his hair was completely dry and fell into place as he halted near his companions. He noticed with an air of satisfaction that Jaken had yet to make it back.
'That toad stifles me.'
Heavy eyelids fluttered open, revealing the ruby eyes beneath them. She squeezed them shut again, blinking out the blinding sunlight as her head throbbed with a dull pain. 'What happened?' she wondered groggily. The memories began to flood back to her.
"Where were you, Kagura?" a voice thick with maliciousness demanded.
"That is none of your concern, Nazakaki." She rounded, pushing her way past the dark youkai.
The youkai merely laughed, a cruel, merciless laugh. "The sooner you realize that you can't destroy Naraku, the better your chance of survival."
"Naraku isn't invincible."
"No," she agreed slowly, "but he will be once we're rid of the miko and have the rest of the jewel."
It was Kagura's turn to laugh, "Foolish. You actually believe you can destroy the miko?" She ignored Nazakaki's warning growl and continued, "That girl has enough power in her little finger to destroy you. You are no more that a stubborn nuisance to her…no more than a mosquito. You're alliance to Naraku proves it—"
"Be quiet Kagura!"
"The way he controls you…it's despicable. Youkai weren't meant to be ruled!"
"Silence! You will not speak of Naraku that way!" she shouted.
"You are nothing more than his lap dog. How long will you last, Nazakaki? How long until he doesn't need you—" She had continued her tirade until the darkness encompassed her.
As she fell, she heard Nazakaki's last words: "I will outlast you. I will obey. I will love him."
Through the darkness a single word kept her from losing herself by offering a semblance of light: Sesshoumaru.
She shook the memories out of her head and slowly opened her eyes. At first she thought she was still dreaming when her eyes fell upon the sun again. She sat up and looked wildly around her. 'Where am I? How did I get here?' A slow grin found it's way across her face.
"Kagura."
She started at the sound of Sesshoumaru's voice, and her smile faltered. "I am still dreaming," she understood miserably.
She heard the Inu no Taisho's grim chuckle. "You are quite awake."
Her eyes widened as she gazed at him. "—But the castle, Nazakaki, …Naraku?" She sighed in confusion, "How did I get out here?"
His face revealed nothing. "You called me, so I came."
She shook her head in uncertainty, "I called you?" A memory hit her hard. The struggle in the darkness… 'Sesshoumaru?' "I called you," she affirmed.
He nodded slowly.
Pushing herself up on shaking legs, she asked, "Why did you come?"
"I told you…because you called."
A sad smile graced her lips. "Sesshoumaru. Thank you. But I have to go back."
"And why is that?"
She winced, "There's something that I need to get. Otherwise, my life is still in Naraku's hands." She stood in silence, staring up at the sky wondering…when did she change? What made her able to defy Naraku? Why did she have such a connection to Sesshoumaru? How was he able to hear her? A quiet rustling caught her attention. Turning to look at Sesshoumaru, she saw that he was holding something out to her with his hand.
She allowed a small cry to escape her lips as her hand flew to her mouth in surprise. Her wild eyes darted up to the Inu youkai, who nodded once. With treacherous hands, she slowly reached out for the clay pot that he held out to her.
Clutching the pot to her chest with fierce protectiveness, she brought a hand up to the lid and let it linger there for a moment. She was scared, scared that it wouldn't be what she thought it was, what she hoped it was. Closing her eyes and releasing a trembling sigh, she pulled the lid off the pot and stared blankly at its contents.
Pulling her watery gaze away from the glowing scarlet orb, she locked eyes with him. A single crystalline tear ran down her face, "How?"
Pushing his way through the crowded sidewalk, Inuyasha was able to see the police station. He looked around. The humans bustled around, entering and exiting buildings, ignorant that youkai walked among them doing the same. His eyes traveled from person to person, human and youkai alike, until he found himself staring into yellowish, almond-shaped eyes. He blinked at the snake youkai, who had been handing out brochures to passing pedestrians.
"Can I interesssst you in a brossschure for the new art sssstudio?" he hissed while holding out a flimsy piece of paper, his fangs evident through his happy smile.
Inuyasha took the paper and scratched his head, "Uh…thanks."
The snake's smile widened, "You are mosssst welcome!" and he went about his business of handing out the ads.
'This is going to take some getting used to,' he thought dryly as he resumed his fight towards the police station.
Bursting through the doors, he shouted, "Raidon! Get your sorry ass out here! Raidon?" Satisfied that the panther youkai would be out shortly, he noticed that he only had the attention of every person in the room. "What?" he growled at them, smirking when they all nervously set back to work.
"I'm sorry…he's a little slow." Raidon explained to the crowd as he appeared in the room. He glared at Inuyasha and whispered…harshly, "What do you think you're doing?"
"What am I doing?" he repeated angrily. "You told me to meet you out here, and you damn sure better not have forgotten."
"Of course I haven't forgotten," he waved his hand briskly, "and will you please keep you voice down? Discretion would be appreciated," he hissed.
The hanyou snorted.
Sighing, Raidon gestured to his office. "Let's go. We've got a lot of work to do."
Inuyasha plopped down into a chair in the office. "How is this supposed to work?" he asked as he toyed absentmindedly with the prayer beads hung around his collar.
"I teach you how to place a spell on an item, and it places a barrier around you," he replied simply.
He thought it over for a moment. "What kind of item?"
"Usually like a ring or necklace or bracelet. Some article of jewelry that people wear everyday," he glanced absently at the hanyou before shuffling through some papers at his desk. "Like your prayer beads."
"What? I don't want you to touch these beads."
The youkai looked up from his papers. "Why not? They're perfect. It appears that you wear them everyday anyway. It wouldn't harm them."
The hanyou hesitated for a moment. "I never take these off, and I sure as hell am not remaining a human!"
"What? Of course you're not. You don't turn into a human…you only appear to be human to other humans…that don't have the gift of seeing, of course. Youkai will know you for what you really are…hanyous too. You see, it's a barrier for human eyes."
Inuyasha was very doubtful about letting Raidon place another spell on the enchanted beads, but allowed him to anyway.
The youkai muttered some words from a piece of paper he had found on his desk and reached for the beads. He hissed and jerked his hand back when they shocked him. He looked from the glowing beads, to his rapidly healing, singed hand, to Inuyasha. "She put a curse on you!" he asked in disbelief.
He frowned, "We didn't have a very good start, but because of these beads I know Kagome the way I do." He looked away blushing, "Anyways, it's a long story." 'I can't believe I just told him that.'
Raidon wasn't convinced. "She put a curse on you!" he repeated.
Inuyasha growled. "Am I going to need a different charm or not?"
Raidon shook his head and sighed, "No. I can work over this." Walking over to his desk, he picked up a small jar filled with a clear liquid. He walked back over to Inuyasha and placed the jar under the hanyou's nose.
"What are you going to do with that?" he asked, glancing from the jar to Raidon.
"You are going to place it on the pray beads and do the spell yourself," he said through his grin.
"What?" he bellowed, "Oh, hell no! No f-ing way!" He pushed the jar back towards Raidon.
"If you want that appearance barrier, you will. I can't touch it, remember?" he said a little too innocently.
"Is this some sort of sick revenge for burning your hand? What happens if I mess this up? I could be screwed!" he complained. "Even I know not to mess with an appearance spell!"
Raidon laughed, "Just calm down; I'll walk you through it. It really isn't that hard."
He hesitantly took the jar, but grumbled, "I should've just waited for Kagome."
Taking a moment to look off into space, the panther youkai nodded, "Probably."
"Kagome? Kagome! Are you alright?" Eri slowly sank to her knees with her unresponsive friend and lightly shook her. "Kagome! Snap out of it!" The kitsune gasped. Through the thin fabric of Kagome's shirt, she could feel the searing miko power coursing through her as her energy spiked. She held the miko tighter and struggled not to cry out in pain. 'Kagome's placed a barrier around herself.'
With a loud gasp, her eyes came back into focus. Her wild eyes fell upon Eri. "I have to go," she whispered, "I can't stay here." She struggled to her feet with the kitsune helping her.
"What's wrong Kagome? What happened?" She didn't try to hide the fear and concern on her face.
Blinking back burning tears, the miko choked, "I—I can't. I have to go. I have to find Inuyasha." She pushed herself out of the bathroom and into the crowding hallway. Running as fast as she could, thrusting herself through the crowd, she didn't stop running, until she hit her physics professor.
"I—I'm really sorry Professor Shimizu," she murmured pushing herself to her feet once again.
"Miss Higurashi?"
Kagome grimaced as she felt his youki scrape against her. A vague sense of recognition hit her as she stared up at him.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm not feeling very well. I'm going home to rest."
"Alright. Get well soon, and be careful. I don't want you getting hurt, so keep your mind focused."
Her back went rigid as a small gasp escaped her. "Excuse me?" she asked cautiously.
With a warm smile, he responded, "Make sure you watch where you're going. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Oh." She laughed nervously, "I will." She was still trembling from her ordeal in the bathroom, and to top it all off, she had believed for a moment that her physics teacher had known.
Thankfully, she had succeeded in concentrating all of her energy to form a barrier around herself, keeping Nazakaki from learning the truth about the world she was from. It still scared her though, the close call that it was. And now she was completely drained and wanted nothing more than a long nap. It was clear that she wouldn't be able to go back to school until she learned how to handle the steady youki she was sensing. Otherwise, Nazakaki just might be able to grab onto her mind, weary and weak from the constant assault on her senses.
"I'm doomed," she groaned as she trudged home through the biting cold.
YAY! Another chapter is finished! OMG! This one was soooooo fun to right. I loved every minute of it. Awwww…my dog is whining b/c she wants to go play basketball with my brother…she's getting on my nerves.
Anywayzzzz…have a good week! I'll update as soon as I can.
Moment of Randomness: Watch 'Without a Paddle' and 'The Forgotten' and 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart', which is not a movie but "fake" news…He's hilarious.
Read 'His Dark Materials Trilogy' 'tis very good.
Quote of Randomness:
Locke: Just stay calm-
Charlie: If I could just STAY CALM, I wouldn't have an irrational fear of bees now would I?
-Charlie and John Locke on Lost