Dance of Shadows

There was a battle inside him, of instinct, of duty, of affection and love. Promises had been made on both sides, and Inu-yasha was torn in between which one to choose.

Stay and be with Kikyo, like he had promised?

Or save, protect Kagome, like he had promised?

"Kikyo…I'm sorry, I have to go." The urgency in his voice was not lost on the dead priestess, and she had not doubts as to why he sounded so completely desperate. She could feel something inside, in the soul that was hers, and was not hers. A mix of stolen spirits in a form of hard clay. Clay and bones and memories. Rage and hate and feelings which are not hers, but those which were inflicted upon her in the most tragic of deaths.

It could be hidden by lies, and what ifs, and consequences hand in hand with problems. It could be said that Kikyo had been with Inu-yasha because she needed someone to love. Because she was lonely, because of need, of want, out of the wish of someone being there, who understood.

But she had loved Inu-yasha. Nothing would change that. She had seen herself in him, to some degree, and that was what had started it. She was unable to kill him, and was thus bound to him. She knew she had been cursed by Tsubaki, doomed to a failed romance, but she had gone on anyways, had allowed a secret to be made, to be kept, to let grow.

Inu-yasha's betrayal, or who she thought was Inu-yasha's, would have never hurt so much, would have never made so much hate and resentment, if there wasn't and equal amount of love to convert. She was only human, after all. That was her failure, it seemed. She was a woman with wishes and hopes and dreams, and all opportunities spent.

To see Inu-yasha and Kagome was unbearable. To see Inu-yasha move on when she had died, when she had suffered, when she had come back, was torture in itself.

To see him with her incarnation was something completely startling. Was she to be angered- for she was being pushed away from his heart by the closest thing to her that there could ever be, but a better version, a kinder, more understanding, more trusting version of her? Or should she be happy, because this meant they were soul mates, that they were connected, that they were united, if just in soul bases?

"What is it that causes you such urgency, Inu-yasha?" Her voice was as cold as ever, and Inu-yasha found himself missing the old Kikyo, the real Kikyo. She had been his first love, the first person after his mother who opened up to him, to stop calling him hanyou. It was completely, undeniably true that he had loved Kikyo, really loved her, but that didn't mean he couldn't move on. It didn't mean his heart couldn't fall in love again, it didn't mean his first love had to be his only love.

"Kagome's in danger, I have to go." He said, his voice with a slight, growling undertone, which both knew was not directed at her. There was a moment of tense silence, where Inu-yasha still did not depart.

"Do not worry yourself, Inu-yasha, I was simply on the same path as you, I had no desire of speaking with you." She replied. She turned to go, and as Inu-yasha leaped away, she heard him whisper.

"Thank you, Kikyo."

What was there to thank? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

She walked into the forest, starting her day and a half journey to the village where she was staying, taking cover in the trees, to protect herself from the rain that begun to fall down in a heavy torrent.

Absolutely nothing.

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Kagome and Inu-yasha had disappeared, completely and utterly. The group had known that Kagome had planned to leave to her time through the well, for she had said goodbye the day before, but, as Shippo had hysterically explained, there was the scent of her blood in the meadow's earth, and the well did not contain her fresh scent.

Inu-yasha's scent also disappeared into the forest, but Kirara was finding it very hard to track him down, as he seemed to have run up and down, through trees, on the floor, and leaping from one place to another. They were having a hard time controlling the worried kitsune, which was constantly pale and sniffing back tears at having to face Kagome's death for the second, no, third time. He couldn't stand the suspense he was in, the not knowing where, or how she was. Kaede had convinced him to stay behind, for the sole purpose to keep him out of the way, both of danger and Miroku's and Sango's way, however harsh it sounded, but they were found upon no idle situation, and Shippo knew that only too well.

Fear was a creature that hid, but could never really be banished. It resided inside them like a poorly kept secret, spilling from their eyes every now and then. They had to be distracted, busy with action to make themselves forget. Life was a too fragile thing, shattered easily, saddened quickly. They could not let a girl like Kagome, who gave off so much light, be swept away by the unforgiving river of death, which drags people off until they are too tired to struggle, or it plunges them under suddenly, only the ripples of devastation and sorrow leaving a scar on the surface.

So they kept on searching in something like a frenzy, looking in hollow trees and cloudy skies, because they barely even had the scent of a lead. And all the while they wondered- how did things always get so bad? Why did their lives have to be so God damn complicated?

The fear inside stirred, drawing attention like the pain of a wound does, causing the same effect. To be pushed down, away in the impossible task of calming down when blood is still spilling.

Was it spilling?

Both Miroku and Sango were startled out of their practical run- following the ghost of a scent- by Kirara's sudden wail. It was of protest, of rage and frustration.

Fuck!

She said.

And then it started to rain.

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For the second time in what seemed a too small amount of time, Kagome woke up with certain conditions in which she rather not be.

Coldness

Wetness

Confusion

Pain

Fear

Panic

And having no damn idea where the hell she could possibly be stuck upon this time.

A trembling hand lifted to Kagome's head once again, the cool skin of her palm a refreshing sensation against the almost feverish heat of her forehead, caused by the pain of having been knocked out by some blunt object when the impostor had finally taken her to her destination.

She was no longer in the make-shift carriage in which she had rode the first time she had woken up in a world she really wanted to leave, for it was one of constant danger and harassment, and not knowing what was going to happen next-at all, but in a stable entrapment.

Kagome- being not as clueless as she had once been- didn't call out once the room she was in stopped spinning and revealed itself to be not a room at all, but some kind of rocky cave. Her tense muscles prepared for action, for she had discovered that her captor could smell her scent only too sharply, and that was one thing she could not subdue.

Her eyes flickered around in a heightened sense of alert, allowing her to drink her surroundings, memorizing them, drawing them with their sound and smell as partners.

Dirt and rocks that dug into her hand and legs

A fire that crackled in it's controlled life, firewood in a pile beside it- at a safe distance from the ring of stones that kept the burning creature in

A bowl of water that was overturned, tipped to leave the water in a puddle around it

A rock wall- decorated in natural crevices and erosion- a few steps from her back

Dampness and the drip-dripping of water

The smell of rotting flesh- so strong it clung like the memory of a monster in the mind of a child

A never ending darkness that hid from the ring of light the fire provided

The shadows danced around the fire, to the rhythm of the beat it moved to, darkness leaping unto Kagome and quivering on the floor as the flames licked the air above it. The silence that came with the drip-dripping and the crackling was eerie. Waiting, like a lion ready to spring. It held Kagome's fear at bay, yet kept it there-feeding- never ending until the threat is completely removed, and even then, the taste would still linger in her mouth in a bitter after-taste of trauma.

Kagome felt like crying and screaming and sleeping to make this go away. This feeling of needing something to happen, but fearing the action more than anything else.

Inu-yasha…

She thought pathetically, clinging to the reminder that he always saved her. Even the occasional when she managed all by herself- normally the few times she was stuck with Kikyo- he was there, worried and searching- not really angry, but trying to be.

Her sharp senses picked up the sound of footsteps like the booming of drums, and her heartbeat raced erratically, trying to run away from the sound, it seemed. Her breath came is gasps. Panic caught her by the thought once more.

Oh God…She was going to die.

After all the threats, all the times she survived even though she was just a modern girl- a teenage female from a world the same- but completely different from this one, trudging on beside monsters that should just be made-believe. And now, the end came, stretching on to allow time for fear. She was going to die in some shitty cave, in the middle of God-knew-where, without Inu-yasha in her arms.

No way. No-fucking-way.

Her hands were trembling, but she tried to be silent as she grabbed the largest of all the sticks, clutching it like a lifeline. She got up, dislodging pebbles and making noise- but ignoring the panic the accompanied the sound. She backed away, head flicking from looking into the darkness-where the noise came from- and the rock wall.

The realisation hit her as her back did the wall- the end of the cave. She was trapped- and that was not a position she wanted to be in.

Hastily, as the not quickening steps got louder, she moved so her side was to the back, and to the front, and slid so that she was nearing the steps as they neared her.

Oh, Kami- she was going to be sick.

And suddenly the fire started painting the figure of the approaching person, like water clearing from them as they surfaced. Her eyes widened at the sight.

What the…

What the hell?

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His heart was thundering in his ears, and yet it did nothing to drown out the torrent of water which fell from the sky, churning mud against his feet as he stood, stock still.

This just couldn't be happening.

Just when he finally got hold of Kagome's scent, the worst possible thing happens. He stared sightlessly for a moment as her unique smell was washed away from the air itself, an undoable thing as Kagome slipped right through his fingers like the water that fell at that moment.

Something was gripping his chest, making it unbearable to breathe. Gods, what was he going to do? Desperation clung to him, its fingers cold and suffocating.

He was losing her. Gods…He was losing her.

And for a moment, for a single moment he allowed himself to believe it, and the pain came with sorrow you cannot mourn.

And then it was gone.

He would not accept the fact, battling it like instinct does death. No, he wouldn't let it happen. Not again, oh God, not again.

With a snarl curling his lips and flaming his eyes, he set out once again with only the memory of the direction of her scent in his mind, not a torch, but the reminder of a map as he felt the walls around him for something he couldn't bare to lose.

The newly born mud was kicked into the air behind him, a spray of mixing earth and sky. He won't lose her. He won't allow it, not now, and not ever.

He kept on running, a blur of madness across the path, and that's when he saw the lonely man, walking towards the same direction as Inu-yasha, almost hidden by the downpour that had chosen such an inconvenient moment to fall, but did not managed to hide such a close smell as the man's.

"You fucker!" His growl startled the man, and he turned around suddenly as Inu-yasha stopped, the momentum of the halt kicking the mud forward this time. His opponent's eyes are wide.

"That's right, I found you." Inu-yasha spat that words as if they disgust him by being in his mouth. True, he wasn't even looking for him- hell, he had completely forgotten about the man who had kidnapped Kagome, what seemed so very long ago. Before they had ended their quest. Before Naraku had died. Before he had lost Kagome-again.

"How the hell did you get here?" He heard the man say, and for some reason, maybe the lack of fear, it angered him.

In a flash he had him propped above the ground by the neck of his drenched jacket, but the man seemed to be immune, not even chocking. This only angered him further, adding fuel to the out of control fire that blared inside him, devouring any reasonable thought.

"Where the fuck is she? Where the fuck is Kagome?" He roared. It took everything in him not to smash his face like he had wanted to do that day he had tried to kidnap Kagome. If he didn't prove of any use, he would kill him with his own claws, no matter if he was human.

Even through the crimson tinted sight of his rage, he still saw the man's sudden move, and dropped him like a hot potato as he propelled himself backwards, out of his reach. The blade cut through the air, but nothing more as Inu-yasha snarled once again, and Kyouko landed gracefully on the swirling now mud path.

"What the hell are you talking about, hanyou? I saw you with her a few hours ago." Kyouko's face was contorted with anger, ugly with resentment, as if rage drew scars on his skin, bringing out the worst in him. For a second, as the words penetrated Inu-yasha's hazy, loss induced madness filled mind- he froze. What did he mean, hours? It had been over a day since he had seen Kagome. The cold fact left a chill in his heart.

A lot could happen in a day.

"What do you mean, you just saw me?" He asked. The rain fell no less hard, the sound like the echo of an echo of an echo, resounding around them, no birds flying, no animals running, just the rain trying to get everyone out to play.

Inu-yasha snarled at him as he explained something about a carriage and then proceeded to insult him, about treatment towards a lady. And then, of course, it clicked. He hadn't suspected Kyouko in the first place anyways, but the impostor, so two and two added up quickly, grabbing each other to form one solution.

"Shut the fuck up, will you?" He shouted in sudden will for silence. His stance was tense, coiled, ready, while his opponent's was completely practical and balanced.

"That wasn't me, you moron. That's just an impostor." He ignored the confusion that drew Kyouko's eyebrows forward, continuing. "Do you know where Kagome is?" he liked asking for help as much as he did directions, but for Kagome he would kiss Sesshoumaru's feet. And that was saying something…

The sudden sound of flapping wings startled Inu-yasha, drawing his attention above him to the air, where he spotted a large bird youki approaching. His hand gripped his sword reflexively, and missed Kyouko's narrowed eyes as he calculated the newcomer, but was surprised-once again- as Kyouko halted him.

"You attack her and I kill you." He informed coldly. Inu-yasha growled at him after a snort at his confidence.

The bird landed in a guarded position, eyeing the half-demon before her in the same way he had her.

"Did you find her?" Kyouko's voice had an edge of strained desperation that surprised her, but she didn't take her dark eyes off the half inu-youki.

"What's up with this guy? He looks the same as the one with the girl. And yes, I found her." Inu-yasha narrowed his eyes in momentary confusion before they widened in spontaneous surprise.

"You know where Kagome is?" he asked in a rush, his hand to tight around the battered hilt of his sword, his knuckled turned white and blotches of red appeared behind his claws.

His heart raced.

Anything for her. He would do anything…

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A/N

I'm back!

God, I wrote so much over Christmas! (thought it wasn't CT…) Incomplete self promotion, because this is my story after all, I ask you all to check out my new stories. And my profile! Go check the summaries of my possible stories. They aren't all Aus!

And remember guys, review, or I just might have to make a crab go live in your stomach for a month. A whole, pain filled month. Yay.

I'm really, really sorry, but I'm simply too busy, and I know that if I put this off any longer, I won't have time to post this for a few days, so, you know what, all you gotta do is sign in when you review, and any questions and long reviews I'll respond.

I'll try not to take so long to write the next one.

Do you remember the time when I updated twice a week?

Have a nice week, guys!