Desperation in a small World
He forced himself not to go after her, even though he knew she was heading towards the well. He had been expecting this. He had this coming.
Then why the disappointment?
He debated with himself internally. He was such a fool when it came to words. They jumbled together, and came out in a mess. Things twisted from his heart to his brain, they hid and transformed. But who could blame him? He had rarely had someone to talk to. It was always: run away from this, steal that from them, avoid the trap there, don't let them catch you now…
There was no time for sentimentality, for talking or feeling or companionship. It was just him and his thoughts, and his pains, and everybody else laughing when hope was shown in his words. So now, there simply was no shown hope.
Sometimes it seemed Kagome understood the predicament Inu-yasha stood in, the turmoil his feelings were in, but she seemed so tired of putting up with it, and he couldn't blame her. After all the snapping, and biting, and hurting her time after time, even such a pure heart as Kagome's needed a rest. Away from this beating he always seemed to deliver.
So when the dawn peeked its head, rising its pink wings above the horizon, he watched her leave in silent restraint, waiting for the disturbing moment when her fresh scent disappeared, leaving a lingering ghost of her presence in his wake as a sole reminder that she was ever in his time in the first time.
He closed his eyes as she walked out of view, and dug his claws into the wood, yet careful not to pierce too far, lest the branch snap and he fall down.
He was thinking about her eyes when he sensed it. A feeling of urgency, of sudden fear. Someone was calling him. No, not someone, a very specific person.
His heart stilled.
Oh, no.
There was a sudden sense of alarm, rage, fear. He jumped from the tree. He hit the floor. He ran, he flew. He arrived at the meadow.
A coat of green.
A Ring of trees.
An awakening sun.
A loved well.
The scent of blood.
And no one there but him.
OoOoOoOoOo
It had taken him much longer than he had expected to get out of there. There had been
a barrier around that damn half-breed village, and he wasn't able to get a message to his partner until he reached the mountains that ringed the forest. If he weren't a hunter, there was no way he would have made it alive. If he hadn't trained in Rose Village, he would be demon fodder, in little juicy bits.
Yum.
Once outside the forest, he had taken the whistle he had well hidden inside his inner-kimono and called Tsubasa, his partner and best friend.
He had set camp and waited for who he knew would come. A day had passed, crawling and slow. When he had to go and hunt some food carefully, he killed more than he would eat so that he had something to feed Tsubasa when she arrived.
Late into the dark night, no moon to light the land, for it was the start of the lunar cycle the flapping of wings reached him, and he had known it was her, a smile widening on his face as his eyes lifted to the overcast sky. Against the grey blackness of the heavens was a pure shadow made figure, so black her form. It descended gracefully, stirring dust in dancing clouds.
She was the same size of him, yet had the form of a pure, coal black eagle. Her eyes were a luminescent green, which glowed and flickered, reflecting the fire he had built. She looked like a true other-worldly creature, feathers gleaming in the light. They regarded each other, and there was a beat of silence. And then…
"Where the hell have you been, Kyouko? I knew I shouldn't have left you alone! I told you so, didn't I? didn't I?" Her voice sounded angry, irritated, scolding, but Kyouko knew better.
"Come on! You never let me have any fun, Tsubasa!" He laughed, walking over to the fire once again, which he had left in favour of his feathered friend. He set out the raw meat for her, and Tsubasa eyed it with appreciation as she settled down with a fluttered of feathers. She snapped up one of the cut pieces, swallowing it whole.
"So, where have you really been?" She asked without further ado. Kyouko shrugged, looking into the fire as if there were answers in its dance.
"Here and there. Got captured once in a strange town." He said matter-of-factly. Tsubasa swallowed another piece of meat.
"Anything that can be raided easily?" Her tone was conversational, casual, and she settled more deeply within herself. This wasn't a strange occurrence
"Nope, not at all. But it doesn't matter, they have something that I want, and I'm going to get it." His eyes were filled with determination, hard with decision. Tsubasa looked at him with interest, curiosity ruffling her feathers.
"Really? And what's that?" Kyouko looked at her, and a smirk appeared on his features.
"The prettiest girl I have ever seen." He replied. Tsubasa rolled her eyes.
"Just a girl? Pfft, what a waste of time. There are plenty of free girls out there these days, with all the wars leaving them alone." She stated as she finished off the meat, looking around for more. Seeing there was none, she sighed in a defeated manner, and lowered her head against her bulging chest. Kyouko shook his head.
"Yeah, there are loads of girls out there, but none like her. For one, she's a Miko. I could feel it." At that Tsubasa raised her head again, her interest sparked.
"A Miko you say? And a pretty one at that?" Tsubasa inquired. Kyouko smirked again, poking the fire after adding another pair of branches.
"Yep, she's gorgeous. It's not only her looks though. If it were just her form, then, yeah, she would be pretty, but not all that special. It's her eyes. Her eyes are…" He trailed off with a dreamy expression and a sigh as he stared into space, but the look quickly melted to be replaced by one of anger.
"But she was with this...half demon. An inu-youki, I'm pretty sure. The bastard got in the way, just when I was about to take her…" kind of he though. There was that knee in the family jewels business but, oh well. It only proved how full of life she really was.
"Right…So, why did you call me then? You need my help to get her back?" She asked sleepily. Man, she was tired, and the flicker of the fire was really making her drowsy…
Kyouko smiled at her. She really was a good friend. The best. He owed her his life, and she hers to him. He could see the exhaustion in her, and shifted so that he was close to her, so that their warmth was shared.
"I need to go to the village to get some materials, and then we'll come back. We can take a little road trip, yah know? Just us when we come back." Tsubasa grunted, but he could see the smile in her eyes.
They settled for the night, leaning on each other in a practiced way. The next day they took off for a long trip, for Tsubasa had only taken one day because she had already been looking for him
This was going to be one hell of a ride indeed.
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There was pain, physical, sharp, and it was confusing. Kagome's thoughts were a muddle of memories, and twist of shadowed forms. The floor was shaking under her, and there was an odd clip-clopping sound reaching her.
A groan escaped her, coming from the pain of her re-opened wound, which she had attained in the fight against Naraku, and for the bruises that seemed to have appeared across one of her sides. Her head was throbbing in a pulse of pain, and her cheek felt swollen and stung if she moved it.
All in all, she felt like crap.
Her eyes opened groggily as she lifted herself with once arm, while the other hand lifted to her head.
Where the hell am I?
She was seated in what looked to be a big wooden box, or some kind of carriage. It rattled, as if trembling, and she could feel that it was moving forward as she looked at the light that filtered through cracks. The patterns that it threw across the wooden boards changed, diminishing in bright and being blocked as objects got in the way of where it derived.
Panic suddenly swelled inside her as she remembered exactly what had happened, bile rising with the mounting fear.
She had been kidnapped, and now she was being taken away from…from…from Inu-yasha, for her home, from her friends.
She lifted her hand to her throat, and relief washed over her as she felt the cool Shinkon No Tama jewel hanging from the custom made necklace, but fear crept forward once the knowledge diminished.
She was being Kidnapped by God knew who, to be done God knew what, in God knew where!
She was hyperventilating.
"Awake, are you? Aaah, I love the smell of your fear, whore." For a moment she though the man who had spoken, which she was sure was the impostor, was there in the carriage with her. The terror she felt in that instant was overwhelming. It rose, all consuming, so that she could feel nothing else, so that no thought could rise, except the urge to run as far away as possible from the source of this tremendous fear.
Her eyes darted around the gloomy cage she found herself in, and felt the sudden panic fall as she saw that she was alone.
And then the anger returned.
"Where are you taking me, you freak?" She shouted. There was no response, just the sound of the horses hooves against the path they travelled upon.
The impostor, who thought the girl would be scared into silence, got a nasty surprise when she started banging on the wooden walls, and would simply not stop, no matter the threats he uttered. He could smell her fear, that was for sure, but still, she wouldn't give up the racket making.
They were in a public road, of course. It wasn't a very busy one, he had to admit, but that didn't change the fact that, those which they did encounter were looking at the carriage with puzzled, suspicious expressions. Maybe this plan hadn't been though out that perfectly…
He stopped the carriage, and the banging ceased, but just for a second, before it started up again, even louder than before.
He dismounted the horse, walking around the carriage with murmured curses raining down his tongue.
He opened the door to the back a crack, so his eye and claws could be seen.
"Look, bitch, if you don't- arguh!" The door hit him in the face suddenly as she barrelled against it, causing it to swing open. Damn slut, she was going to pay for this!
Did she really think she could get away?
How very pathetic.
He gripped her forearms, making sure his extended claws pierced her skin. She yelped in surprise and pain but, luckily, the few people who were travelling were distracted with the large bird youki that was travelling alongside a peculiarly clad man who, by the way, was staring at Kagome with what looked like surprise on his face. One could never be sure, with these stupid humans.
"Listen, bitch, if you purify me, you'll find your dear kitsune burning on a stick, got that?" He snarled in a whisper, and she stilled at once, face paling at his words. He smirked in satisfaction, golden eyes filled with sick amusement. That was the trick then, threaten other people, and not her.
Oh, how very noble.
"Good bitch. Now get back inside, and if you make so much as a peep, I swear you're going to suffer, and you little hanyou as well." He hissed, and then lowered his lips against hers in a sudden attack. She fought automatically, Miko powers rising. He pulled away.
"You don't kiss me back, and your friends will meet a very disturbing end." He whispered. There was a moment of fear filled hesitation, before her lips were moving against his. It was one of the worst kisses he had ever received, and he hated kissing humans, but the simple idea that it was Inu-yasha's bitch sweetened her taste.
Suddenly, she was thrown back inside the carriage, the door slammed shut and locked behind her. He chuckled evilly as he walked back to the grazing horse, who was oblivious of what he was helping achieve.
This was going to be fun…
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Inu-yasha felt physically sick. Nausea hit him, and bile rose as he thought of what could have happened, or be happening, to Kagome.
Why hadn't he stopped her…?
Guilt lived in him like a creature that fed off hope, devouring it in a rampage of 'what ifs' and 'how comes'.
He couldn't lose her. Not again, not now. He needed her, to live, to breathe, to be happy.
Please…
He had been running around for hours, almost a day, trying to follow her scent, but it disappeared and appeared like the wind, the shadow of an old sweetness. A reminder of a mistake. He hadn't taken the time to inform Miroku and Sango, or even Shippo and Kaede of Kagome's disappearance. All he knew was that Kagome hadn't gone through the well. All he knew was that he had to go get her as soon as he could.
He caught her scent once more, and it was stronger this time. Hope came alive inside him, like it did each time he caught wind of her.
His footfalls were light as he hit the forest floor, and then out into a dirt path.
Yes, he could smell it clearly now, even though it was only a faint ghost of it's potential.
What would he do if he lost her? What would happen if he let her down? Someone was stealing her smile, her eyes, her laugh, her sits.
How dare someone steal her away from him? They belonged to each other. Their souls felt united by a bond of time and fate. Of love and trust.
He remembered her touches, her kisses, her affection. Her skin against his, lips against lips, tongue against tongue. Her hair below his fingers, her breath the same air as his, hearts synchronised.
No one would take her away from him.
It didn't matter how many times they fought, argued, shouted. It didn't matter how many times he got sat and she insulted. They had battled for this, for the right to love, to be together. They had defied time, had killed monsters, had made and broken promises for this. A jewel, a mission, a group. A pair, two worlds, a love.
No one had the right to break this.
So he ran on, a fire in his veins only Kagome could trigger. It was rage and desperation, hand in hand. Love and hate, running and chasing with a fear in his heart that made him go faster with each horror filled image he received.
The landscape was a ribbon of land unfurling at his sides as he ran forward. Desperate for another clue of where she was. There was a soul consuming terror as he smelt the blood laced with her sweet scent.
And then a noise reached him, the song of mourn, his ears used to the cry. He stopped dead in his tracks, half because of surprise, and half because of habit, and yet something inside was screaming at him, demanding him to go on.
He didn't have time for this!
And yet her name slipped out, no barriers left between the two.
"Kikyo…"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
It was Kagome, he was 100 sure. He had been dimly aware that her aura was near, but he was confused by the presence. Kyouko signalled to Tsubasa, and they stopped, Tsubasa watching the girl with interest as other humans stared at the demon with a mixture of fear and confusion.
Kyouko was sure that the man that was with her was that mutt that had hit him over the head with the damn rock, even though his aura was different, more malevolent, but he hadn't been concentrating on the hanyou's presence anyways. He had been too busy with other things.
They were standing beside a crappy looking carriage, and seemed to be arguing. There was something weird between them, and something told him they weren't lovers. There was no affection or care in their movements. Kyouko and Tsubasa walked to one side, closer to the shadow of the trees, even though the mutt didn't look like he was paying anyone but her any attention.
Kyouko had no spiritual qualities, except the training he had undergone to sense auras, but that meant he could not read them, no matter how hard he tried, so the feelings of the young miko went undiscovered.
He spied with narrowed eyes as Tsubasa observed them. The passer-bys were ignoring them now, forgetting their presence as they made themselves the invisibles
Tsubasa watched as her human friend's face changed expression as the pair they were looking at kissed. She could practically feel the anger as he tensed beside her, but confusion took over as the girl pushed the male half-demon away. Tsubasa herself was growing confused. She didn't see how Kyouko though this half-demon was in the way of him and the lady's heart.
But then the girl leaned up and kissed him by her own accord, and the bird demon could see how Kyouko looked away, and her eyes widened in surprise.
That girl had really gotten to him!
"Oh!" Tsubasa couldn't help but gasp as the girl was thrown into the carriage without care. Kyouko's fist clenched in anger.
"That good for nothing dog!" He grounded out. He took a step forward, eyes filled with fury which was directed to the inu-hanyou walking back to the placid horse. Tsubasa extended a wing in front of him, stopping his path. Kyouko looked at her in anger and surprise, as if just remembering she was there. Tsubasa clucked her tongue.
"Why don't we follow them instead? Do you really think it a good idea to just attack in such a public place? We can go through the forest or the sky. We have the advantage over him…" Tsubasa suggested. She saw Kyouko relax and nod, and she retrieved her wing to her side.
With hard eyes and decisive steps, they disappeared into the shadows the forest provided, hiding in the trees that grew at the side of the path.
No one treated Kyouko's chosen lady like that.
That Inu-hanyou would pay.
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A/N
Merry Christmas everyone! Sorry for the delay, and I will inform you now that there will be, most likely, another wait for the next one. But I did put up a lot of one-shots, in my defence, and will continue to do so, for I have a grand total of 20 one-shot ideas. I've written out the title and summery of each one and everything, so I don't forget them. Damn plot bunnies wont stop breeding!
Ok, I love you all a lot, but my internet is really, really crappy now that I'm here, don't have it most of the time, so I cannot respond to reviews, but I appreciate every one of them! I wrote the whole chapter at one go because of a review I got today, thank you!
Have a happy new year everyone!