{The Road Between Souls}
{chapter 14 - tadaima yo}
Kagome began to crawl out of the cave, hating her currently crippled body. This isn't going to work!
"Kagome-ne-chan?" One of the few youkai wolf females stood there, shyly smiling, holding a pair of crutches in her hands, and a small bundle wrapped with fur. "I think you might need these." Kagome suddenly recognized the girl. Yukie, who liked to be called simply Yuki.
"Thank you," she said warmly. "Watch over Kouga-kun's wounds for me, will you?"
"Of course." Yuki beamed. "Good luck. I'd go with you, but..." she hesitated.
"I understand." Kagome smiled again. "Take care of yourself, okay?
And then she set out on her journey.
Inuyasha sat high up in the branches of a tree, his arms crossed and face shadowed. It had been a week since his return from the second fight with Kouga. A week of anger, hurt, and locking himself up so that nobody could penetrate his shield of loneliness. A hurt which could only be healed by Kagome's return - which was unlikely. It was raining, he realized with a start. It had been raining that day Yumeyari had died, and he'd gone to comfort her...and they ended up in his room, sleeping. Or, rather, not sleeping.
How many times? Was she lying when she told him that she loved him? Inuyasha cursed fate. I barely had any time with her...are the gods that cruel...?
Without Kagome, he felt alone. Remembering something he'd read in a book recently - something which was a miracle in itself; him reading - was a passage about halflings such as himself...
"Neither human nor youkai, neither good nor evil, they exist with half lives, such as their half blood. They are accepted wholly by neither humans nor youkai; they become weak and emotional to survive amongst humans, and cold and powerful to live with the youkai. Yet both societies shun them; it is only through hard training or studying that they prove their worth the the world they choose to live in.
"It is their choice to be one or the other, and once they make one choice, they are unable to change it; unable to go back and decide to be human; decide to be youkai."
And the author of that scroll? A hanyou by the name of Kangae. Just Kangae, as he himself was simply Inuyasha. As he had chosen to be youkai, Kangae had chosen to be human, by studying and proving that his youkai-borne intelligence was superior to the human brain.
He was right, Inuyasha decided. Once you chose to be one, there was no going back. Just like there was no going back between him and Kagome. He still loved her more than anything, still felt an empty ache in his heart, still wanted to go flying back to her and carry her back.
But what good would it do? What was the point? Kouga had the upper hand in this battle, and all Inuyasha held was the promise to love and protect her. Though it was true that she loved him in return...how he knew this was a mystery, but he would bet his life upon it.
Not that his life was worth much to him at this point, but allowances sometimes have to be made.
He heard a soft sound then, of somebody limping. Kagome! He threw himself out of the tree, barely managing to land as he scrambled towards the source of that scuffle-shff sound he heard.
What he saw next made him want to both cry and shout for joy.
She stood there, leaning on a pair of rough crutches, wearing nothing more than a pair of makshift shoes made of leaves, and his jacket. She looked utterly exhausted, ready to drop. But she also looked thrilled beyond belief.
"You came back," he said hoarsly. "I didn't think you would."
"I love you." She grinned crookedly. "I'll always come back to you. I'm like a plague - you can never get rid of me. Never."
"I don't want to," he said frankly. Slowly, he walked closer to her, then wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Don't ever leave me again, Kagome."
"No," she agreed. "Never again. And what Kouga said...he was assuming. I never intended to stay with him."
"Good. 'Cause I'm never gonna let you go. I love you too - always."
And he lifted her into his arms and carried her inside.
"Happy endings are best, aren't they?" Sango said with a smile, watching Inuyasha carry her friend inside.
"But the story isn't over yet. There's still a sequel." Miroku mused.
"Yes, but we won't know what happens until a certain author - KATRA!!! gets off her lazy butt and writes it!"
Blink-blink-blink-blink."Uhm...I'm not a character in the fiction," Katra mumbled. "Dammit...I KNEW staying up till 1:00 after all that funeral reception bartending was a bad idea..."
"Get back to the fiction!" Tsuraiuta roared.
Katra saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"
"Anyway, like I said, it isn't over yet. There's a lot to resolve." Miroku continued.
"Of course. Anyhow, I think I hear Tsuraiuta yelling. I'm going to head to the kitchens." Sango replied, standing up.
"No, she's still yelling at Katra."
"Oh."
"Why are you in such a hurry to get away from me?"
Sango blushed. "Well, you're such a pervert most of the time...and...well...um..."
"I won't do anything," Miroku promised, a deceptively innocent smile on his face.
Sango wasn't fooled. "Somehow, I just don't believe you; though I'll give you the benefit of doubt this time."
"That makes me happy."
"Why?"
"Because that means I've earned some trust." He smiled again. "I'm human, too, Sango. Remember that."
"You're free," Sango said bitterly. "That makes you different. Besides, you own me."
"I'm sorry you think that way," Miroku's voice was sad. "We should get inside now; I'm getting all wet and so are you. You don't want to get sick, do you?"
"No. I'll go get you some dry robes and miso soup." Sango let emotion fade out of her voice, pretending she was one of the other slaves; lifeless, hopeless, and without personality.
"Sango."
"Yes, Miroku-sama?"
The soft moonlight and rain that flitted across the houshi's face made him appear as though he were a ghost. "Remember that lying and pretending, even to protect youself will eventually kill you - or break you. You must always keep fighting for who you are, who you want to be, your love, your hope, everything. If you do not, you shall lose yourself. Always keep this in your heart and in your mind: you should not play a part you would not wish to be in reality. Some parts that you play will stick with you forever." He paused, then began to walk back into the palace.
To lose myself...Sango thought. Lose my soul to the part I am playing...
IT'S DONE!!!!!!!!! Well, almost. I'll be adding a very short (note the word SHORT) epilogue to this; it will open up the sequel. (Which is titled for now "The As-Yet Unnamed Sequel To The Road Between Souls". LOL.
So, I hope to see you soon, reviewing! I want more reviews! I mean, dammit, Laz-chan has almost 200! And she only just put up her 8th chapter...*pout pout* Anywhoo, here's something for the other "slave" fiction authors:
To Lazuli, Crystalite, and Kagome-sama:
I was thinking that maybe I'd do a cute little website for all our fictions, then host it on my server...when it gets up. Heh. Anyhow, tell me whatcha think of that, if it's a stupid idea, then meh, if not than yay!
-Katra Winner
