Notes:
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, or any of the characters from the anime and/or manga. Everyone else belongs to me :)
Hello everyone! I hope that wherever you are, you are safe and well, or resting and getting the treatment you need. I hope that all the stories you're reading if you've found us here are providing you with some respite (I know they do for me).
So...things are about to get a little angsty and even more canon divergent, just as a warning. But I hope you'll continue to stick with us! I have so enjoyed reading the comments you've posted; if you think of it, please continue to do so.
She was following a path with high grasses on either side that blew gently in the breeze all around her. The air had a slight chill to it, as though summer were ending soon. She looked down; she could see her white kimono and red hakama, and she wore tabi and geta. Her bow and quiver were slung over her back; her long hair was pulled away from her face.
She was wearing the clothes she'd worn all day at the shrine, but this was not the shrine. This was not her home.
Confused, she sent out a pulse of her aura, feeling around her. She could not sense Inuyasha, but she sensed youki ahead of her, down the path. Cautiously, she followed it, drawing her bow forward and nocking an arrow.
When the grasses parted, the path opened up to a small beach alongside a river. The youki came from a man standing at the riverside. His long dark hair tumbled down his back; he wore a deep violet kimono and black hakama. Although she knew that she should be afraid, she was more curious than anything else. Plus, one shot from her arrow would purify the man on sight, so just let him try anything.
Then, the man turned around, and Kagome almost dropped her bow and arrow.
It was Naraku.
Not Naraku as she had known him, dark and twisted by his lust for the Jewel. This Naraku was exceptionally handsome, with deep red-violet eyes that gazed upon her kindly. That kindness was shooting off all kinds of warning signals in her head, but she suddenly realized she was not in control of her own actions.
Her body continued to move towards the riverbank, despite her inner cries for it to turn back. Her hands went slack on the bow and arrow, and returned them to their spots on her back. He smiled as though she were the most magnificent thing he'd ever seen, and she wanted to throw up.
Why wouldn't her body stop moving?
He held his arms out to her. Every one of her instincts was screaming at her to run, to find Inuyasha, to get the fuck out of there as fast as she could, but yet she continued to move towards him. When she reached him, she fell into his arms. He held her tenderly; Kagome wanted to purify him on the spot, but her arms encircled his waist, and she felt herself sigh into his chest.
Then, Naraku spoke.
"Kikyo. My Kikyo."
And then a voice that was not her own replied.
"Onigumo. I'm glad to see you are fully healed."
No, Kikyo, NO! Kagome was screaming over and over. But Kikyo didn't hear her; it was as though Kagome wasn't even there.
"It's thanks to you, my darling."
What the actual fuck was happening?
Kagome felt her face twist into a smile. "I couldn't give up on you, Onigumo. You may only be human, but you showed the remarkable healing abilities of a demon."
Naraku laughed. "Your treatments greatly accelerated my recovery, dear." He released her and cupped her face in his hand. He then bent forward slowly and kissed her, gently, sweetly, but long, and hard. His lips were soft and inviting. Kagome's insides were writhing in agony, but Kikyo seemed to be delighting in his affections.
WAIT.
Kikyo had said that he was "human." Did she not know? Could she not tell?
Kagome's mind was reeling. He must be hiding his youki from her; Kagome's skills were such that it was much more difficult for a youkai to hide itself from her. Kikyo might not be as developed, skill-wise, as her. This made Kagome smirk to herself, despite the situation. She couldn't help it.
The kiss was deepening. Kagome wanted to reach inside, to where Kikyo was, and slap her senseless until she realized what she was doing. But she was just a bystander in this vision; there wasn't much she could do. Naraku threaded his hand through Kikyo's and together, they began to walk down the riverbank.
"I know a place where we can sit and…talk," Naraku said quietly. "We can just talk if you want."
Kikyo breathed out. "I'd like that, yes."
But Kagome knew that "talking" wasn't what Naraku had in mind. He never did. He was all lies and trickery, and Kikyo was falling for it again.
"Kikyo!" she silently screamed. "Kikyo! Kikyo! KIKYO!"
Nothing. Kikyo didn't know she was there. Kikyo was about to make the biggest mistake of her life, and Kagome could do nothing to stop it.
"Mate! Mate! KAGOME!"
Kagome came to as someone was anxiously shaking her shoulder and kissing her cheeks, trying to wake her up.
She opened her eyes and looked around wildly. She saw a pair of golden eyes looking down on her in concern.
"Kagome?" His voice was soft and hesitant.
She sat up and felt her body. T-shirt, no bra, no underwear. She felt beneath her. Soft bed, twisted blankets. She leaned forward and felt Inuyasha's face. It was tanned and lined with concern for her. She reached up and felt his ears. They were there; they were twitching, trying to catch any kind of sound that might have caused her this pain. His hands reached out slowly and touched her arms. She was shaking madly.
"Can you…hold me?" she asked. But she needn't have. He instinctively pulled her flush to his chest and stroked her hair. They sat like this for several moments as she brought her breath under control. He was really fucking concerned for her well-being—and the pup's!—but he had to be patient and wait for her to tell him what happened.
Finally. Finally, she started to talk.
"It was…a dream," she said hesitatingly. "I…I was Kikyo." She heard Inuyasha's breath hitch, but to his credit, he said nothing and continued to stroke her hair. She paused and looked up at her mate.
"What do you know about the nature of her relationship with Onigumo?"
Now Inuyasha couldn't hide his surprise. "I know what you know," he said. "She cared for him while he was dying. He was obsessed with her. He made a deal with demons and absorbed them into his body. He became Naraku. He tricked us into betraying each other. You know the rest."
Kagome was really struggling to tell him everything that happened. "Inuyasha…this dream… it felt very real." She snuggled deeper into his chest. "You have to understand that before I tell you anything else. It felt like it was real, and I had no control over what was happening."
"What in the hells does that have to do with anything?" he asked, confused as to what she was trying to tell him.
"I dreamed that I was Kikyo and that I was going to meet the man Onigumo for a secret rendezvous," she said in a rush. "And he held me and he kissed me, and I was screaming the whole time inside for him to let me go, and he wouldn't." He hissed and pulled her so close, she could be inside his skin. "But someone did enjoy his affections." She sighed as he sucked in his breath, barely daring to hear his mate's words.
"Kikyo," she said simply. "Kikyo enjoyed his kiss, and went away with him willingly. He said it was to talk, but I know he had other plans. I know what he was planning to do, and I don't think she could have been ignorant of his intentions."
At this Inuyasha could take no more. He dumped his pregnant mate unceremoniously on the bed and stood up, angrily pacing around the room. Kagome curled up on the bed, openly weeping.
"FUCK!" he bellowed, punching a hole in the wall.
"FUCK!" He punched another hole.
"FUCK!" He fell to his knees and felt the tears pour forth from his eyes, out of his control.
They both stayed like that for a while, sobbing, not touching, not daring to feel the other in this awful, awful moment. Inuyasha allowed himself to wallow in the image Kagome had described, his very soul shattered. Kagome wept uncontrollably, knowing she may have just broken her husband.
Finally, Kagome spoke first. "Inuyasha?"
He grunted and rose, wiping the tears from his eyes. He turned to face his wife. His face was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The despair in his eyes was deep and dark; the puffiness of his face struck more horror in her heart than what she dreamed.
"How could you?" he muttered.
"I'm…sorry?" she said.
"Do you think this is funny, mate?" he asked, mocking her openly. "Do you think you can stomp all over my heart like this, tear me apart like this? You know I love you, but fuck, 'Gome, do you have to take what I felt for Kikyo and twist it, rub it in my face, like this?" She opened her mouth to reply, but he spoke over her. "No," he said harshly. "Don't." He made to leave, but Kagome's voice made him stop.
"Wait, Inuyasha," she called out in a hoarse, broken voice. "Please."
Her plaintive cry caused him to turn around and see her, really see her. She was curled up on the bed, her body broken and racked with sobs. Her face was tear-stained and, like his, puffy and red. Her hands covered her belly, protecting the pup.
Fuck. The pup.
Inuyasha crossed the room sat beside her on the bed. He pulled her up into his arms and held her close. "I'm sorry, koishii, please," he said desperately, stroking her hair, feeling even more broken now than he did when Kagome told him about her dream. "I acted in bad fucking form. I'm sorry."
Kagome took deep breaths, trying to stop the tears that just kept coming. "It's okay," she managed to gasp out. "I wouldn't have told you, but it's too much for me to keep inside."
Inuyasha searched inside to find the right words to soothe his now hysterical mate. "Do… do you think it was real?" he finally managed to ask.
Her tears continued to fall. "It felt real to me, Inuyasha. I don't know if it was a vision from the past, or the most vivid dream I've ever had, but it felt so, so real."
He rocked her slowly in his arms, unable to grasp the situation, unable to soothe her, unable to soothe himself. All he could do was hold her, whisper reassurances in her ear, rub her tummy affectionately, and remind her that she was his love: his only, his truest, his most divine, love.
When she had at last fallen back asleep and her breathing was regular, Inuyasha gently laid her back down on their bed. He stood up and examined the walls of their bedroom. He was going to have to get some plaster and putty to repair the holes. But even if he managed to repair them, the holes would still be there, underneath, ready to break open again with one well-timed shot against them.
Notes:
How will Kagome and Inuyasha handle this new wrench in their relationship? Will Kagome's visions continue? Find out at the next update, and as always, thanks for reading!
