A/N: I bet you think I forgot about this story. Life and writers block kept getting in the way, hopefully Im back on the roll. For all of those who actually comment despite my absence thank you. Thanks again to Q. :)
Miroku was lying in bed, staring straight up at the ceiling. His body was flooded with pain, and when he opened his mouth to cry his voice had completely left him. Turning his head slightly to the right revealed several exposed veins emerging from his arm, and blood covering both of his hands.
Did the curse do this all in one night? Am I going to die right here?
It took him ten whole minutes to move his right foot up. He could move, but each and every second it took for him to carried pain he wasn't ready for. The room itself seemed to be altered. He could feel heat waves brush against him, steam rippling the air around him. He blinked, at its completion he saw his younger self, standing there in tears.
"What do you mean, he's dead?" His younger self sobbed. "He can't be! Father!"
Saliva welled up in the back of Miroku's mouth, and the apparition disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. His fear began to overwhelm his pain, and he steadied his head back in the middle of the pillow.
Now I'm seeing things. If I don't have control of my own mind, I'm in trouble. We were all foolish to sleep while something so evil was in our midst. I have to get up and stop this, but I can barely move my body!
What felt to him like a snowflake hit him in the face and melted against his cheek. In the direction where it came from stood Kagome, her uniform in rags, blood pouring from her eyes instead of tears.
"You always had a way to con people, didn't you Miroku?" Kagome's voice seemed to come from everywhere, though her own lips did not move. "You always had to find another woman to grope? Did you ever take your life seriously? Did you use the curse on your hand as an excuse to behave any way you wanted? You said you would protect me too, but you didn't. Now InuYasha will never be the same, and any thread of decency you once had is completely gone!
The monk's heart sank. "Kagome," he managed to choke out, "I am sorry I failed you."
"Maybe you just didn't care because I wasn't Sango!"
"What? Kagome..."
Before he had a chance to finish, the wintry landscape he thought he had saw Kagome in was gone, and he was by himself, still a prisoner of the pain in his body.
Get a grip, Miroku! You have to look past all of these visions. They are just here to...
He noticed his foot was bleeding, the skin on his toes tearing.
Distract you while this spell tears you apart. If ever my training needed to come in handy, this is the time for me to shine. I won't...let Kagome think it was my weakness that caused her death. And I'll be damned to hell if I let it happen to Sango.
Miroku took several deep, cleansing breaths. It took a while for him to completely clear his mind, but once he accomplished it, the pain melted away. Everything within his mind was light; he had successfully separated himself from the effects of the spell. Temporarily.
What I need to do now is find a way to break this spell. I don't have any leads except for the doll, so I will just have to start there.
I've heard many tales about enchanted objects, but I did not sense any signs at all of possession. This will make things a great deal harder, if the object is in itself evil.
Think Miroku…Think.
When he paused, the pain in his arms and legs returned. The light started to fade, and it took every ounce of spiritual strength he had to keep from losing it.
What within my travels have I learned about situations like this – I should be better than this! Wait…yes…thank the spirits that might be it!
The monk's mind took him to a time where he had just reached his fourteenth birthday. The sting of losing his father was still fresh, and his trust for people barely existed. Two old men that lived near him, though, had a tendency to sneer and shake their fist whenever they walked by him. It seemed that they would intentionally walk by just to make Miroku feel bad, and of course, his caretaker was too drunk or too full to say anything about it.
One day one of the old guys actually stopped at the temple where he lived. He placed a small artifact, a beautiful wooden staff that had existed for decades, right at his door. Miroku was fascinated by it, but it would not be long before that fascination would warp into fear.
Every night, where Miroku was the only one left with his eyes open, strange apparitions would appear. They would steal things, move things around, and make things overall confusing when daylight came. Their mischievous acts later would turn into malicious ones, where anyone who would come by would get hurt in some odd manner. No one had any idea, but eventually he discovered the staff was the source of the darkness.
Now I remember, the monk smiled ear to ear, a way to seal enchanted objects. I only hope that this will work, I may not have the strength at all to think of another solution.
As Sango opened her eyes for the first time that morning, the first thing she realized was that her entire body was numb. Very slowly she began to regain her sense of touch, starting with the tips of her toes and working its way up to the crown of her head. She closed her eyes again, trying to gain some relief from the strange occurance, but they quickly snapped back open.
What's happening to me? Every time I open my eyes I see him, I see Kohaku. He looks so angry at me, but I know for a fact there is no way he can be here. If I try to move a muscle I'm paralyzed with pain. It must be that curse we were dealing with, someone fell asleep when they were supposed to be awake and on guard.
The demon slayer could feel blood and sweat slip down her ankles onto her feet. Her mind too went to the doll, and she wanted to check it out, but found herself too afraid to move.
We were foolish to have ignored that thing. Technology may have taken over this day and age, but to be so careless as to let our guard down, it may have just cost us our lives. I have to get to Miroku as soon as I can. Maybe together we can think of a way to destroy this darkness.
Slowly, Sango opened one eye, and was surprised at what she saw. It was Nami's doll, just sitting there in her room, its head tilted right at her. She could feel the hairs on her arms and back stand straight up, and her fists clench.
At least now I know for sure the source of all this. What I want to know is how it was able to mask its demonic presence before. Is there a sentient force within it?
She fell down to her knees and began to crawl towards the doll, still with one eye shut. The closer she drew to it, the more fearful she became, and the more agonizing her movements were. Her stomach gurgled with nausea, it felt to her that the harmony within her body was reacting to the doll as well. It became too much for her to take, and she wretched all over the carpet.
I'll never reach Miroku at this rate!
Shippoufaced a similar trial to the others. He was curled up at Nami's side, letting his bushy tail partially cover his face. He was surrounded by the ragdolls, their innocent look making him even more uncomfortable. They were on the shelves, on the floor, on top of the television, and on the bed. What bothered him the most though was that Nami was still holding –her- doll, sound asleep as if nothing had happened.
Wh-What am I going to do? I actually wish InuYasha were here, or at least Miroku. I was hoping Nami would actually have a nice doll to play with, and then this happens. I'd go get someone, but I'm too afraid to go out of bed. No…Shippou be brave, I have to try.
The little fox demon reached out bravely and dragged himself out of the curled up position. He made it to the edge of the bed, but not without serious injury.
When I move, I get hurt! Shippou thought, looking at his bleeding hands. Maybe if I move fast enough, and it takes me less time, I won't get hurt as much. The young fox turned back to his friend. Her face, it looks older. I didn't notice before, but there's gray in her hair. His ears stood straight up. Oh no! That thing is sucking the life out of her to cause all of this trouble. I'm supposed to be her husband now, and take care of her. I can't do that just sitting here.
The greying hair on Nami's head was split severly at the ends. Her sunken in face, bony shoulders and withered legs was enough to make the hairs stand straight up on Shippou's arms. Even the clothes on her back showed signs of age, all of the colors and patterns faded. She was already a small girl, but looked that much smaller with no real mass to her body.
He eyed the distance between the bed and the door. All I have to do now is just jump.
The heroic young fox leaped across the carpet and landed on the floor outside the door. Nose twitching in determination, he marched slowly toward Miroku's room. His only hope was that he was going a lot faster than he felt he was.
Hot water + noodles good eats.
InuYasha and Marathon sat vigilently, watching over the steaming hot cup of ramen noodles. It would be the first of such delicacies they had eaten since crossing over to the feudal era, and both of the hanyou were eager to sink their teeth into a tasty, starchy bite.
The aroma wafted to both of their noses. Tongues licked across lips, and mouths salivated. Hands crept closer and closer to the cup, but stopped wearily, monitoring the other's progress. Lips snarled. Fangs were exposed. Finally, the canine made his move.
His hand moved in to swipe the meal. It was quick, but not quick enough, because his feline counterpart stopped his advancement midway by scratching the surface of his hand. The tension in the room rose, and the hairs on the back of their necks stood on end.
"Don't you remember what happened last time? I kicked your sorry little-"
"Keep talking, cat, and you will regret it."
Marathon's shoulders hunched offensively, and InuYasha pulled his hand back.
"This time, we'll settle this."
"Definitely."
Before her hands could clench around his neck and his claws dig through her ears, the ever so savory aroma of the noodles began to dilute. They looked down, and realized their precious treasure had disappeared.
"What happened?" Marathon lowered her hands and sniffed the air. "Where did they go?"
"I don't...hey!" InuYasha's eyes settled on two devious young demons digging into the meal. Every few seconds they would look up to make sure both the bigger scarier demons had not moved, but then went right back to eating as fast as they possibly could.
"Are those...squirrels?"
"Whatever they are, they're dead." InuYasha rolled up his sleeve. "No one steals my lunch right from under my nose."
"You mean my lunch!"
"Whatever, cat."
"Yeah, MY lunch. I got you sour cream and onion chips, remember?"
"Oh.." His ears flattened and a slight blush came to his cheeks. "You actually thought of that."
The catgirl looked away, speaking softly. "Of course."
"I thought you packed light. Where in the hell do you keep all this crap?"
"Hammerspace."
"What?"
"I store extra supplies at Kaede's, nimrod. Its better than having to go through the well all the time isn't it?"
"I guess so. Kagome had to go back home for every little thing, it was so annoying."
Marathon studied her companion's expression. Every time he spoke of Kagome, even when it wasn't a pleasant memory, his eyes showed sadness.
Why does he have to look like that every time Kagome is mentioned. I wish he would just stop it! She was my cousin too! Stop it InuYasha, stop screwing with me. I hate it when you look like that, if anything is inflicting misery on your tiny little brain, it should be me. Please...
"Wait a second," Marathon stood up."Where did those little guys go?" She edged closer to where they had been eating, and mumbled, though inwardly glad from the distraction. "They couldn't even take the wrapper with them, they must have scarfed everything down while we were talking. Hot food is so hard to get around here too. Fantastic."
"I can share some chips with you, cat."
"Thanks." Marathon got the chips out and dug into them first, grabbing a huge handful of chips. InuYasha's eyes narrowed into slits as she ate, and he began to growl.
"What is your problem now?"
"I said SOME chips. You're trying to eat the whole bag."
"Get over it, those little guys ate my ramen."
"Seems like I should have ate it if I knew you were going to be such a greedy pig."
Marathon lowered the bag, and began to stare InuYasha down. The smell of the sour cream and onion permeated throughout the area. Mouth's watered and fists were clenched. InuYasha's hand reached over the chips, but this time, Marathon made a move.
She started to turn the chip bag upside down.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Watch me."
InuYasha prevented the destruction by grabbing her wrist and holding it in place. He had just enough time to snatch some chips with his other hand and munch on them victoriously. Marathon pulled away and scratched her ear lazily.
"Be glad I'm so nice."
Both of them turned away from each other in a huff, but this time it was to prevent the smiles on their faces from being seen.
Kei Higurashi struggled worse than anyone else in that home. She had been so far removed from her daughter's adventures for such a long time, it was amazing to actually deal with what she did face to face. She could not help but question her mothering instinct: how could she let Kagome face such incredible danger like this every day all in the name of helping her friends. Lending a hand to a pal in need was one thing, but placing yourself in the line of fire on a daily basis was another. These things had run through her head before, in the back of her mind, but now she was forced to deal with something she never wanted to, the fact that her only daughter's death was on her hands, not InuYasha's.
Now, her son and his grandfather were in danger. She couldn't bear to lose them as well.
I have to get to my son. I can't let my children down again. My husband would spit in my face if he saw how I raised them. I thought by giving my daughter freedom she would gain strength. I can't say that she didn't but knowing the type of situations she would be in, I just don't see how I did it. I shouldn't even be letting Marathon go out there. Not even InuYasha, I don't care where he is from he is apart of my family! She took a moment to calm herself, and focus despite her body suffering from the curse put on the household. Right now, I just have to get to Souta.
Going on nothing but motherly instinct, she was able to get to her son's room. He was sitting up on the floor near his dresser, eyes closed, humming loudly. The injuries he did have seemed to be minor, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Souta?"
"Mom. You shouldn't be moving."
"Don't worry about me, Souta."
"Miroku and Sango will save us." Souta said, barely moving a muscle. "They worked with InuYasha, and are professionals at this sort of thing."
"I just hope they can move okay."
"They'll find a way."
