Here it is! The full version of Another Hanyou?!
Note: Kagome had a kid with Kouga, but when she went back to her time, the two times were jumbled up slightly, so when Inuyasha waited for Kagome to come back, it was actually her daughter who came! Also, when Kagome left through the well, she was slightly pregnant. Then, in her time, time speeded up. But, in Inuyasha's time, time stood still. So it was actually about an hour after Kagome left in Inuyasha's time that Kagome's daughter went through.
~*~
~*~
A young girl of about 15 years of age stood in the middle of a large circle, waiting for her cue to start the interpretive dance.
As the lovely music flowed forth, her graceful moves drew 'oohs' and 'awes' from the crowd.
At the end, the girl concluded with a flourish as her knee-length black hair flowed gently over her shoulder and to the ground just above the hem of her beautiful kimono as she bowed gracefully from the waist.
As the crowd clapped, she looked around to see if her mother had been watching.
Her spirits deflated as she saw her mother on the cell phone a little ways away from the crowd.
Later that evening, as she sat in the back of the mini-van with her younger brother's fighting with her in the middle of it, Sakura Tamashii wished for all the world that at least her father could have been there.
But her parents were often too busy to help her practice for the Dancing Club.
As her youngest brother, Shiro, tugged on a black lock of her hair, she got angry.
Pulling her hair out of his chubby little fingers, she gave him a death glare. "Cut that out, Shiro. You too, Ichiro." She said, turning to see her second youngest brother sticking his tongue out at her behind her back.
"You all cut it out," her mother piped from up front, stopping her argument with her father for a moment.
"Yes, Mama Kagome." They all said in unison, although the brother's said it happily.
It seemed that Sakura was always in a depressed mood. But not when she was dancing. Something about the music she chose just drove her to listen and try to dance out the feelings in her heart.
Kagome look worriedly at her only daughter. She knew that she would eventually have to tell Sakura of her real father, Kouga the wolf demon, and that she was a hanyou. But Kagome would hate to shatter what little was left of Sakura's happy moments. It seemed that her daughter was always sad and sulky, and Kagome could guess why.
She would have to send her daughter back to Inuyasha's time so they could complete the shard quest, as giving birth to her daughter had literally taken all Kagome's miko powers away.
So, Sakura was half-miko, and half-youkai. Not a pretty thing to do to your only daughter, and an intelligent one at that.
Kagome looked over at her husband, Mamoru Tamashii, and felt a regret at having married him instead of returning to the feudal era and telling Kouga she'd had a daughter, and Inuyasha that he had a godchild.
She sighed, fingering the ¾ shikon jewel that hung around her neck that she and Inuyasha had collected long ago.
Feeling an immediate need to tell her daughter everything, Kagome turned to Mamoru. "Dear, I think we should take the kids home. They'll have nightmares if they see 'Blair Witch'."
~*~
"You wanted to see me, Mama?" Sakura asked gently, walking into the prayer room of the Higurashi Shrine.
Kagome smiled at her, hoping that she wasn't making a mistake by doing this. "Yes, Sakura. I have something very important to tell you."
Instantly on alert for any signs of weariness, Sakura nodded and sat down by her shorthaired mother.
Kagome put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, the other taking off the shikon jewel and clasping it around Sakura's neck.
Sakura stared at the beautiful jewel her mother had always been wearing ever since she could remember. She looked questionably up at her mother.
"The shikon no tama," Kagome whispered to her daughter, going back years before when she had been young and full of life. "A jewel that can raise a youkai's power substantially, even when cracked into shards."
"Mother?" Sakura whispered, feeling slightly frightened at the calm resolve dripping through her mother's words.
"I cracked it. It came from my body. I am the reincarnated miko, Kikyou. You must go find Inuyasha," Kagome started to sway, getting up to breath heavily as if she was drunk. "Find Inuyasha. help him find the rest of the shards. find Kouga. your real father. do not forget your miko powers and your hanyou powers. you will need them both to survive in the feudal era."
With that, her mother collapsed before Sakura could help her.
Mamoru rushed in, obviously worried by the heavy thud as Kagome hit the floor. He stared at his wife before glaring cruelly at his stepdaughter.
Knowing what would come if she stayed in the same room with him for long, Sakura ran to the well house, crying as she hoped her mother would be okay.
~*~
Inuyasha started grumbling as he noticed that Kagome still wasn't back by the time he finished counting up to an hour.
"An hour she said! An hour! More like two!"
Sango stopped tending to her weapon to roll her eyes in Inuyasha's direction. "As if you really care whether she comes back or not. You're going to go get her anyways, so why waste time yelling at us?"
Miroku nodded, agreeing, before Sango could sense his presence behind her.
She gave him a good whop on the head as he reached for her butt.
"Don't even think it, Houshi."
Shippou sighed, bored without Kagome to talk to or for her to carry him around. "Hurry up and go get her, Inuyasha. I miss Kagome."
But before Inuyasha could jump into the well, a soft hand grabbed onto his foot as a young girl climbed out of the well.
He fell backwards, dragging the girl with him, making her fly the rest of the way out of the well and roll onto the grass a little ways away from the group.
They all stared at her, noticing at once that it wasn't Kagome.
"Who in the nine hell's are you?!" Inuyasha demanded at once, an odd smell wafting to him from the girl.
But he was up for his wits' end with her.
"And why should I tell you, One-who-wears-dog-ears," she grumbled, hoisting herself up off the ground. She gave a slight whimper as she looked around her.
~*~
Sakura's eyes slowly took in her surroundings as she ignored the angry gaze of the boy with dog-ears.
'I'm really here.' Her mind chanted, trying to convince her. 'I'm in the feudal era like Mama said I would. And could that be.' She looked over to the boy, noticing for the first time his long silvery hair. "Inuyasha?" she whispered without knowing.
Hearing the girl say his name, Inuyasha got confused. "How do you know my name, wench?" He then saw for the first time that the girl wore the uncompleted jewel at her throat, much like Kagome would have done. "And where's Kagome?"
Before she could answer, Sakura felt an immediate migraine that took most of her willpower to not show on her face. She looked around to see what was causing it, feeling strange with this stuff happening to her. She then remembered that the boy had asked a question. "Uhmm. My mother told me about you." Sakura said carefully, not wanting to provoke his anger.
At once, all of the strange people crowded around her, almost suffocating her for she was slightly claustrophobic.
"Who is your mother?" A man asked her, looking very much like the ancient time monks she had seen drawn by her friends at school.
"How come you have the shikon jewel about your neck?" Asked a young woman, a humongous boomerang slung over her shoulder.
"Do you know Kagome?" A small child asked, standing on what appeared to be fox legs.
"Who the hell is your mother?" The silver-haired boy demanded of her also.
Her migraine was escalating with all the continuous questions thrown at her. "Uhmm. I. uhmm. my mother's name is Kagome Tamashii. but Higurashi was her maiden name. She gave me the necklace and said to go to the well and find someone."
At once, they all left her, going off into a little circle of their own, whispering behind their hands.
Sakura put her fingers to her temples and gently rubbed it. It didn't make the headache go away, but it made it feel a little bit better.
On that precise second, a whirlwind appeared out of nowhere and attacked Inuyasha.
"Where the hell is my mate, Dog-turd!" A man yelled as he crouched low, ready to spring, as the whirlwind of dust disappeared.
"Kagome is not your mate, wimpy wolf!" the boy yelled back, cracking his finger before reaching for a long sword at his waist.
"Kouga!" the other three people gasped, immediately stepping away as if he was dangerous.
The headache increased as the shouting went on back on forth, becoming almost unbearable that Sakura could hardly hear anything being said anymore.
She gasped as she sank to her knees, her eyes going wide as a terrible power coursed through her veins. She had felt this before, but her mother had always somehow stopped it from escalating into what Kagome had called 'total transformation'.
As the boy fought with Kouga, the young woman looked over at Sakura, suddenly realizing that she was in pain.
Without second thought, she rushed right over there, putting her hand on Sakura's shoulder before asking her what was the matter.
But Sakura couldn't hear past the roar of unfamiliar blood in her ears. Something was coming. something, something that could easily destroy what was Sakura Tamashii.
The young woman stepped back, frightened, as Sakura started sprouting a long wispy tail, and her ears going slightly pointed.
As the pain went from unbearable to excruciating torture, Sakura screamed, drawing attention to herself from everyone in the clearing, including the two fighting males.
Even before the scream faded, blessed darkness swept into Sakura's vision, driving out the pain that still was with her.
~*~
Slowly opening her eyes, Sakura took in her surroundings with indifference before opening her ears to listen to the voices outside the hut.
"Who the hell is she, old woman?" Obviously the silver-haired boy growled.
Sakura sat up at that, but winced when she felt her tailbone go at a wrong angle. 'But human tail bones aren't supposed to go past the coccyx.'
She quickly look behind her and her eyes went round as saucers as she realized she had a long black wolf-like tail, same color as her glossy hair, which covered it up slightly.
Feeling more oddness in her body, she felt her ears, which were now slightly pointed. But that didn't bother her much as the tail did. When she got home, how was she going to explain the new appendage to her family?
Hearing a faint noise, Sakura lay back down and pulled the blankets up past her arms before getting in the position she'd been in when she'd woken up. She also closed her eyes and let her other senses do the work, as she'd done often before when her brothers had been trying to play a prank on her.
She heard the steps of the bare feet slapping the wooden floor come near her before a rustling of fabric indicated that the person was now sitting down beside her.
Sakura hoped that the silver-haired boy wouldn't notice that she was awake and not asleep.
After a while, she heard three other come in and sit by her, talking in whispers so as not to disturb her.
"Kaede said that she sensed miko powers in her, just like Kagome's, but a little differently." The small boy's voice echoed through her ears.
"But Lady Kaede also says that it is almost impossible for a hanyou, no offense Inuyasha, to become a miko or to have miko powers." The voice of the monk said a little to her left.
Silence followed before a woman's voice spoke. "The only possible way is for a miko to mate with a youkai."
Silence continued after that, and Sakura felt the warm sun that had been on her face earlier drift away, realizing that it was getting dark. She would have to leave soon if she were to make it home.
She waited a little longer before figuring that it was safe to leave now, as her finely tuned hearing told her that they were all snoring peacefully. Even the boy. Inuyasha.
Sakura got up slowly, noticing with unconcern that her bright dance kimono was torn from wear her tail had emerged.
Glancing at them all momentarily, Sakura left the small hut and used her sensitive nose to find her way to the well, as if she'd done it a million times.
When she got there, Sakura looked back over her shoulder, noticing a small child with a young man and small toad-like creature staring at her.
"A hanyou, Jaken?" The young man asked the toad.
"A-aye milord," the toad stuttered. "Shall I destroy it for you, so your hands won't be sullied by this impure demon?"
Flaring a temper she didn't know she had, Sakura growled. "Think you can kill me, toady? I'll have you know my mother wouldn't stand for it and would kill you before you could even wipe the blood from your robes."
The girl giggled, as if it was funny, but the young man didn't. His face just kept an impassive expression. "You wear the shikon jewel. How did you come upon such a treasure?"
Feeling agitated that everyone knew about her mother's pretty charm, Sakura made a rude gesture with her hand. "Go to hell, you slimy bastard."
Before any reaction could come to any of their faces, Sakura somersaulted backwards into the well, disappearing into her own time.
~*~
Flattening her hair around her ears and new appendage, Sakura left the safety of the well house and walked cautiously to the house. With her nose so finely tuned, every single smell she'd taken for granted came swiftly at her, making her stop every so often to get a better whiff. She finally got tired of it that she closed off that sense, something she could never do before.
Feeling trepidation as she entered the house, she ran upstairs to her parent's bedroom first. It was empty except for rumbled bed sheets, like it was normally as her father got up later and didn't bother to make the bed.
She walked into her bedroom, which used to be her mom's before starting to pack a few things.
That was when she noticed Inuyasha at the window.
"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Both Inuyasha and Sakura covered their ears as her scream rang out.
Recovering first, Inuyasha opened the window and jumped into the room, walking about it in eerie familiarity.
"So, Kagome really is your mother?"
The question startled her. "Of course. Though Mamoru might not be my father, Mama Kagome is."
Inuyasha suddenly started growling. "Stay in here," he barked before rushing out of the room.
Hands on hips, Sakura gave her door a frown.
She abruptly heard a faint whimpering sound coming from her closet, something that hadn't been there when she'd come into the room.
She pulled open the closet door, and out tumbled her two little brothers, crying silently as they stared up at their sister. The then began hugging her and crying louder, saying over and over about how glad they were that she was all right.
She pushed at them before looking closely in their eyes, willing them to calm down.
When that happened, Sakura interrogated them gently. "Now, what is the matter, little brothers?"
Ichiro was the first to speak. "Papa said that. Papa said. Papa said that if you'd ever come back, he would kill you for what happened to Mama!"
At that, they both started crying again.
That was when she smelt it. Fresh blood. And sweat.
'Inuyasha!'
~*~
Inuyasha stared at the ghastly corpse of his dead friend Kagome.
Words ran inside his head, nothing else but the thought that he'd never told her about his feelings for her chanted in his mind. He'd been too late to save her.
Hearing a slightly muffled grunt, Inuyasha was tearing up the stairs to make sure Kagome's daughter was safe. But the door was held back by considerable force, so he raced outside and jumped back through the window.
The sight that greeted him almost made him loose what little he'd eaten in the last month.
For there, standing with her hands around the throat of balding man, snarled Kagome's daughter with two small humans begging her to let go of him.
"You bastard!" He heard her say. "You killed my mother! Even when she was carrying your damned child! And then you come up here expecting to kill me with no struggle whatsoever?! Think again you slimy toad!"
Knowing that she wouldn't stop until she'd killed him, Inuyasha rushed forward and grabbed her under the arms, drawing her against him and holding her arms pinned to her sides so she could not escape.
He yelled at the man and two kids, "Get out of here! Now!"
He knew from experience that she wouldn't stop until she'd killed him and appeased her anger.
"Stop it!" He told her sternly, holding her tighter against his chest. "What would your mother think of you killing her husband?"
That was all it took for Sakura to break down into sobs. She turned around in his arms and cried against his chest, feeling strange about being comforted for the first time in her memory when her fears surfaced. She'd always been afraid of killing someone, and she'd almost had.
Feeling strangely moved by her tears, Inuyasha gently patted her back. "Shh. Its okay. Shh. It'll be alright."
~*~
~*~
Brief Interlude:
Hello! How didja like it so far?! So far, I love writing it! There's going to be really sappy stuff up, but also blood, gore, fighting, all that fun stuff.
Note: Yes, Sakura is a hanyou like Inuyasha, except for the fact that her miko powers can dispel the likeness of s demon most times, thus that is why she looked like a normal human girl most times, kind of what happens with Inuyasha during full moons, but only different. Sakura is almost a completely different person. Her demon self has a bad temperament and can make her kill someone easily, and her human half is always depressed and slightly closed off from everyone.
Okay, back to the story!!!
~*~
~*~
Back in the Sengoku era, Inuyasha carried the sleeping Sakura back into Kaede's hut, but everyone was still asleep, so they didn't know of their midnight charades.
He gently laid her back in the blankets she'd been sleeping in before walking back to his own space and sitting down with a thump.
He stared at her, wondering where all the pent-up rage came from.
'So many questions left unanswered with Kagome's death.' Inuyasha thought sadly. He couldn't save Kagome this last time, but he would protect her daughter in her stead. 'But I will still miss her.'
The next morning, Inuyasha wouldn't talk to any of them, knowing that if he told them of Kagome's death, they would grieve for so long that Naraku would most likely find the rest of the shikon shards.
But everyone seemed to like Sakura well enough, and they all made friends, but Inuyasha couldn't help feel that what happened last with her father was the first of many times for the future.
As Sakura was introduced to Sango and Shippou (having beaten Miroku quite thoroughly for asking her to bear his child), Sakura already felt herself closing off from them. It happened with everyone that tried to get close to her.
Kaede entered the hut, a short kimono slung over her arm. "I noticed your kimono was torn and too long, so I had the village women sew it for your travels- as the replacement of Kagome."
Sakura smiled gratefully, but her mind kept denying the fact that she would probably be staying here for a while. She didn't want to become entangled with anyone here for when she left. She couldn't bear the fact anymore that no one would ever miss her as they would her mother.
She was told quickly what happened and what she was to do. (Of course, Kaede helped her conceal her hanyou looks behind a powerful spell, using much of her own miko powers).
Inuyasha waited impatiently as they got provisions from Kaede (as Sakura said she would go back home in a couple of days, not before).
As they set out, Sakura's human attitude returned, so she kept very quiet, depressed as usual.
Then the fateful question from Shippou was asked, "What do you do for a hobby?"
That cleared away her melancholy pretty fast, at the prospect of performing for her new friends. "Interpretive dance. It's quite fun, and my coach even says that I might compete and become a champ one day."
Both Sango and Miroku raised their eyebrows in surprise. "You dance?" Miroku asked, a familiar glint in his eye that Sango failed to notice.
"Yes, but I don't think I'm that great. But its what I love to do. If you want, I'll dance when we stop tonight if anyone has anyone music."
Sango smiled. "I can play the pretty well. Will that do, Sakura?"
Sakura smiled happily before the depression returned. "That'll be great."
Inuyasha was silent throughout all of this.
Later that night, Sango got out her and picked a song to play for Sakura to dance to.
"Since I haven't practiced beforehand, I'll be just dancing steps at the top of my head." Sakura said, a little bit of her sorrow edging through her voice.
Sango nodded, and waited for Sakura to take her place before starting to play.
They all widened their eyes appreciatively, watching Sakura's graceful moves, so unlike the ones of the dancers Miroku usually watched.
Sakura's mind started going blank as the music drifted through her ears and to her limps, pushing them to move. But, in the recesses of her mind, the little imp called depression played havoc with her confidence.
'What if they don't like it?' It oozed into her consciousness, eating away at her.
As the song closed to a lovely ending, Sakura's mind was already making her feel sick to the stomach, as it made her do most times after a dance.
They all clapped, unknowingly jarring Sakura to her senses. She smiled, hiding her distress.
But it lost on Inuyasha as he sensed her troubles though she hid them well. 'What kind of problem does Kagome's daughter carry on her shoulder's that makes her so sad?'
A couple of days later, late at night, Inuyasha's question was half- answered as he heard Sakura cry silently. He could hear her sorrowful whispers, and almost went to her to try and comfort her, but something held him back.
"Why. why do you have to torture me so, God? Do you not know that you are making me not believe in you? What troubles do you have planned for me? Why can you not just end my life now? I fell so alone. even among my friends, I fell alone."
After a week passed with no sign of Naraku (the shards he had were the only missing, so that was why they didn't need to go after other youkai), Inuyasha got fed up with Sakura's tears.
So, why they were walking along, Inuyasha just up and shouted, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
The rest looked questioningly at him, but Sakura just turned inward from his anger. "Why do you care?"
Startled by the question, it took a moment for Inuyasha to recover. Even though he had shouted, she had asked it with deadly calm. "Because you are Kagome's daughter, and I'm fed up with you're crying."
Sakura lowered her head, staring at the ground as Sango, Shippou, and Miroku all continued along, somehow knowing what would follow. "I understand. you are just like everyone. Never caring about 'Crybaby Sakura'..."
Not knowing what to say, Inuyasha just did what else he could think of. "Well you are a damn crybaby! Your worse then Kagome!"
A bright light emanated from Sakura, her aura stating her anger quite clearly. Her façade was ripped away, with her demon self emerging and immediately attacking him.
Inuyasha blocked just in time before Sakura's hands could wrap around his throat.
He didn't know why, but Sakura's anger wasn't directed exactly at him.
But before he could retaliate at hold Sakura down, she was running away, loud sobs coming out from behind her.
~*~
Sakura ran on and on, not trusting herself to stop just in case Inuyasha came to take her back.
She had never had anyone hear her crying into her pillow at night, or ask her that forcefully what was wrong. She didn't like the feelings Inuyasha was stirring inside her, but all she could do to drive him away was lash out in anger.
But she didn't want to kill him.
All her life, she'd been called a crybaby. She'd cried for little things, cause her feelings were so sensitive, but everyone counted that as her weakness and treated her like shit because of it.
She'd toughened up slightly when she'd gone to the sixth grade, and gradually overcame her crying habit by the eighth grade, but being in her sophomore year of high school, she'd reverted back slightly to relieve the stress studying had put on her before she discovered interpretive dance.
She tripped and landed on her face near the edge of a cliff, sobbing into her arms quite loudly.
((((((Where is Kouga? I noticed that he hasn't appeared for a while, and so have Jaken and Rin. I'm giving up on trying to put them all in the story at once, so there going to appear sparingly. Back to the story!)))))))
She sobbed and sobbed, until she had regained enough composure to crawl over to the cliff's edge and push herself over, wanting to end her life.
She fell; down, down, down; down into the abyss of her mind and inner torture.
"You'll never be anything."
"You're just a useless crybaby."
"You're not worth loving!"
Voices of the past echoed through her head, driving her to try and shut them up.
She rolled over and over down the cliff face, holding her head as the voices grew louder and louder.
She rolled to a stop at the base of the cliff, lying in a small pool of her own blood from the wound near her heart where she had stabbed a pointed rock on her way down, feeling the voices centering around that area.
She lay there like that, staring up at the bright sky, waiting for death to take her into its dark grasp.
A shadow fell across her, but it wasn't Death coming to take her to hell.
Inuyasha picked her up gently, removing the rock from her chest. He ignored the tears streaming down both theirs faces as he leaned down and kissed her gasping mouth, replacing the taste of blood with his own.
Sakura moaned, liking the feel of her first real kiss.
Sakura was jerked awake when she felt sharp fangs sink into her arm.
It had been a dream, a good one, but a dream nonetheless.
She looked at her arm, seeing a little leech demon suctioned onto her arm.
Getting up was painful, as the sharp rock hadn't been really pulled out of her chest. As her life's blood spilt to the ground, Sakura dug her short fingernails into the leech until it let go with excruciating pain.
She tossed the demon into the bushes followed shortly after by the rock.
She looked at the sky, sighing when she saw that it was sunset and the others wouldn't know where she was.
Sakura ripped the bottom of the short kimono and tied it tightly around her chest, trying to keep the wound closed. She would have to repair it and wash them.
She stumbled up to the bottom of the cliff, feeling that the only way to get back to where Inuyasha had left her was to climb.
She hoisted herself up from outcropping to outcropping with no real base to keep her from falling. And she almost skidded down the cliff again once, but she was able to use her tail to grab onto a stuck out root near the top.
By the time she pulled herself up to top, she was breathing heavily and feeling dizzy from the lack of blood, but she smiled triumphantly, knowing that if her mother could have seen that she would have been proud, as Sakura had never been able to climb anything before.
She sat down, trying to catch her breath while clasping her arms around herself, shivering when a wind blew across the little clearing.
Sakura glanced around with barely any life in her eyes. Her human side was returning, so her demon strength was fading so she would most likely die if she didn't get back to the others soon.
Struggling to a standing position, Sakura grasped her chest, feeling immense pain as her youkai aura faded with the return of her human aura.
"I. must get. back. to the others." she panted, staggering past the trees and into the deserted path that they had been taking earlier that day.
But, the voices in her head returned, but they were not the same ones that kept her from getting close to anybody.
"You can do it, Sakura," they whispered, silently encouraging her to continue.
"You have the shikon no tama, and your hanyou strength."
"You can make it, we know you can."
Feeling empowered by the heartening voices echoing throughout her consciousness, Sakura smiled as she made her way down the pathway, dripping blood from her open wound all the way.
~*~
"Where's Sakura, Inuyasha?" Shippou asked a little worriedly when they stopped to set up camp just before the sun set.
Inuyasha shrugged, not really caring. She was not Kagome, so why should he care?
~*~
Sakura stumbled into the camp when everyone was asleep but Inuyasha. Her eyes were a dull brown, showing barely enough life to support her double self.
"Inu.Inuyasha," she called, leaning against one of the trees on the edge of the tiny clearing small enough for a small campsite.
Inuyasha looked up and his eyes widened as he took in the bloody mess of Kagome's daughter. "Sakura! What happened?" He practically shouted, waking everybody up as he jumped down from his tree to try and keep her steady.
Sango got to her first, holding Sakura up as she slumped.
"Sakura!" Shippou wailed, crying his little heart out.
"Sango," Sakura whispered slowly. "Wound. near my heart. won't close."
Miroku (non-hentai mode) started making a bed for Sakura to lie on.
"Put her here, Sango. We'll have to try and heal the wound."
Inuyasha stood helplessly by while Miroku and Sango worked to heal Sakura. He just stood there watching as they undressed Sakura and he saw the gaping wound. It was red with the built-up blood and looked worse then any he had ever gotten before.
About thirty minutes later, Miroku and Sango sat back, done wrapping Sakura's wound in fresh bandages given by Kaede for the journey.
Even though Sakura had been awake through it all, she hadn't made a move since the beginning, somehow not feeling the pain that obviously racked her body unused to the pain.
The next morning, Sakura's state of mind wasn't any better, but she could quite convincingly act normal, as if the injury hadn't even occurred. So, with insistence from Sakura, everyone headed off towards the mountain area, where they had heard Naraku to be.
But unknowingly, Sakura actually knew Naraku, but she would never tell anyone. That was why she kept away from everyone. But the incident was still too horrible to think about even then.
Sakura clutched her forehead where the brown dot signaling her demon self sometimes appeared, but it wasn't the pain of transformation, but the pain of memory that ripped through her tortured mind. It was because of Naraku that she was this way, half of her mind dripping with depression.
About an hour before sunset, they all stopped to make camp near a hot spring, where Sango said Sakura could take a bath to wash off all the dried and caked blood.
But Sakura said that she would wait until Sango and Shippou to take a bath, not letting them know her reasons why.
When it was her turn (after Inuyasha's and Miroku's turn of course, so Sango could keep an eye on them), Sakura looked at the steaming water for a few minutes before disrobing and stepping into the pool.
Waist deep in water, the memories came flashing back at Sakura, making her wince and try to block them out so she wouldn't faint right there in the water. After the incident, her mother would have had to watch her to make sure she didn't faint while bathing, but with Kagome gone, it was up to Sakura herself to make sure she didn't drown.
Sinking down low into the water until it covered her shoulders, Sakura lazily drew her arms back and forth, watching the small ripples going back and forth across the disturbed water.
If only Naraku hadn't broken her mind, she would most likely be back at camp talking to Sango and the rest with abandon, as she used to with her friends when she was eight.
Feeling a lone tear creep down her cheek, Sakura wiped it away so Inuyasha couldn't smell it and come to ask what was wrong.
Looking at the scab of the wound on her chest, Sakura gently rubbed it, cleaning the dried blood off, leaving a slight pink tinge in the water around her.
"If only you could kill Naraku and prove to yourself that you are worth something, Sakura," the most common of the voices whispered in her ear, the one she'd named Chaos.
Reverting back to her habit of talking to the voice, Sakura smiled slightly. "That is quite fanciful, Chaos."
"Ha-ha. But if you could, maybe that dream you had at the bottom of the cliff could come true. Maybe then Inuyasha would kiss you and forget about his love for your mother."
Sakura shook her head. "He loved my mother, Chaos. I would never steal him away from her, even though she is dead."
Chaos just laughed insanely, driving her underwater to escape the grief- stricken laugh.
Sakura vaguely realized she was practically drowning and pulled herself up and out of the deep end, going back to waist deep part of the hot spring.
She gasped, coughing up the water, but the voice still followed her, laughing at her, at her life, at everything happening to her.
Glaring out across the hot spring, Sakura vowed silently, "I will kill Naraku."
After a few more minutes of coughing up some blood and water, Sakura reached for her kimono (fixed by Sango) and started washing the blood away from it, giving the water a reddish glare.
~*~
Inuyasha sat guard as they all slept, waiting for Sakura to come back from the hot spring. After a while, he heard the low growl of something vowing vengeance. He wondered belatedly if it had been Sakura, but to whom was a mystery to him.
~*~
~*~
Brief Interlude:
Hi, hi! How is it so far? I'm working REALLY hard on it. But a note first:
The way Sakura keeps acting is kind of what happens to me, but not the suicidal tendencies, and not all the voices in my head. There is only one, my alter ego Chaos. But, that's basically how I feel most times.
*cuts to screen showing Sesshomaru and Inuyasha chasing me with their swords raised high*
~*~
~*~
Coming back into camp with a slightly damp kimono wrapped around her, Sakura sat by the dying fire, huddling into the embrace of her own arms, wishing to high heavens that she had a boyfriend to comfort her. What Inuyasha had done when she'd tried to kill her stepfather didn't count. He had just been trying to save the bastard.
"That's right," Chaos's voice wrapped around her shivering body, lulling her into the trance that occupied her just before fainting. "No one cares for you, my dear, no one. You are worthless, absolutely worthless. And why should Inuyasha comfort you? What have you done to deserve such a thing as comfort when the pain becomes so unbearable?"
Sakura cried silently, clutching her head, hoping that Chaos would shut up soon, to leave her with her own worries and fears.
"Stop it," Sakura whispered as Chaos laughed insanely, making her cringe at the laughter.
"Face it, my dear. You don't stand a chance of winning against Naraku. Face it, and give in to his supremacy. Give him the shikon jewel and surrender your life to him."
"No." Sakura said aloud before falling to the side, in a dead faint.
During this whole thing, Inuyasha had watched Sakura from the tree he sat in, wondering what was wrong with her head. But her fainting was a complete surprise, since she'd obviously been listening to some inner voice, but what it was saying had been beyond him.
He got down and tucked a blanket Kaede had lent around her, scooting her back to a safe distance from the fading flames of the campfire.
Feeling a sudden urge, Inuyasha quickly bent down and placed a light kiss on Sakura's parted lip.
~*~
Sakura awakened slowly, her dead eyes looking around at her sleeping companions. She sat up slowly, feeling the scab over her heart stretch slightly and itching. Maybe it was just her, but she vaguely remembered Inuyasha putting a blanket over her and kissing her, but it must have been another dream, as why would Inuyasha kiss her?
She quickly made her way to the hot spring and had a quick bath before any of the others could get up, especially Inuyasha.
While she was bathing, Sakura welcomed the feel of her tail emerging from her backside, thankful that her demon self could take away the pain that still remained with her.
Looking at her hand, she stared at the pure white scar on the back of it; the one Naraku had given her when they'd first met.
She clutched her hand and hurriedly finished her bath, and left the hot spring, still clutching her left hand.
When she got back, the rest were already awake and packing up the supplies to continue. She helped them, though she ignored any of their attempts to talk to her.
Walking along the pathway to a castle near the summit of a low mountain, Sakura felt the presence of jewel shards and Naraku's presence. He would soon pay for the damage he'd caused to her life.
Sakura sighed, working up enough courage to tell the others why she had agreed to help them kill Naraku.
"Guys." she said before her courage to fade.
They all stopped and turned to her with questioning eyes. Inuyasha was the only one who kept walking.
"I haven't really been truthful. I. I'm sure you want to know the reason why I want to kill Naraku. It isn't the reason my mom had, but another, more painful one for me."
Sango patted her back, feeling the tension through the thin silk cloth of the short kimono. "You don't have to tell us now, Sakura."
Sakura shook her head. "No. I must tell someone. I haven't told this to anyone and its been eating at me ever since it happened. I didn't even tell my mom before she died. I got to get this off my chest."
Inuyasha stopped, hearing the cold determination in Sakura's voice.
"When I was nine. I fell through the well for the first time. but I don't know what happened between then and when I woke to find Naraku leaning over me. He." Sakura sighed, clutching her hands to her sides before continuing. "He put a curse over my mind when I refused to give him something. Everyone said it was depression, but I know its not. The demon curse Chaos keeps me from talking to anyone about the time I spent in Naraku's castle. She keeps me from getting close to anyone, and sometimes tries to make me kill myself. She can't affect my demon half, so I can break away from the curse for now. That's is why I can tell you all this now. But I still haven't enough courage to tell you what Naraku did to me."
Inuyasha couldn't believe it. Naraku had affected everyone he came in contact with: even Sakura who seemed to be the nicest of them all. Now he knew why Sakura always seemed to be sad in her human form and deep in thought.
"I promised myself long ago that I would get him back for the pain he caused me, but my therapist gave me a drug to help me forget most of it. but I can never forget or forgive."
~*~
Naraku stood near the group, listening with great amusement. His little puppet had finally broken some of the strings around her heart, allowing her to tell part of the truth. How funny it would be when Inuyasha and the humans found out about what had really conspired between him and Sakura.
He smiled maliciously at the thought of the return of his amusing puppet. With her and Kohaku at his disposal, he would soon have the complete shikon no tama and be the most powerful demon in the entire world.
"Hurry up, my little pawn," he grinned evilly. "I cannot wait to have you here beside me again."
~*~
Far away, in a village of demons, Aoi, a bird youkai, flapped away from his perch. "Oh no! I must warn Lady Sakuya that the Demon Lady has returned!"
~*~
After telling them part of the truth, Sakura was too tired to continue, so they stopped and made camp.
Deep within her thoughts, Sakura couldn't help but fear what would become of her new friends when they found Naraku. She just hoped that she would break all the strings before they reached him, or else they would all die.
Looking down at the exposed part of her chest, Sakura came up with an excellent plan. If Inuyasha played right into her hand, all would end well.
~*~
They all finally reached the summit and the gates of Naraku's final castle when a high pierced whistle broke the silence.
Inuyasha drew the Tetsuseiga out as he recognized the dark cloud coming towards them as a horde of demons.
But it was Sakura who insisted they enter the castle before the demons came upon them, suspiciously anxious.
~*~
Naraku watched them enter, a sinful grin upon his face.
But it was wiped away when he saw the horde of demons coming towards his castle. "Damn," he muttered. "If that bitch Sakuya stops me from using Sakura again, all is lost."
~*~
"Naraku!" Inuyasha yelled, looking around. "Show your damn face!"
They all looked around when they heard the maniacal laughter echo.
Then Inuyasha was stabbed through the stomach as Naraku suddenly appeared, a sword in hand followed by Kohaku, holding his weapon at the ready.
Inuyasha growled, transforming the Tetsuseiga before having it wrenched out of his hands by Sakura who leapt over to Naraku.
He stared at her, noticing the tears streaming down her face before grinding out, "What the hell are you doing, Sakura?"
Naraku wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her against his side before grinning in Inuyasha's general direction. "Hasn't she told you, Inuyasha? She is my Demon Lady. I control her completely, much like Kohaku, but she isn't controlled by a mere shikon shard."
He held up her left hand, showing them the bright white scar on it. "This I gave her. No shikon shards used, so no one can control her but me."
He was suddenly cut off when Sakura wrenched away from him, grunting in pain as blood spilled out of her chest as she tossed the sword back to Inuyasha.
~*~
Aoi looked worriedly at Lady Sakuya as they marched the demons of the village forward, heading towards Naraku's castle. "I hope we're going to be able to save her, Lady Sakuya."
A beautiful demon maiden, Lady Sakuya, nodded grimly, "Yes. Sakura will not be able to withstand that pain on her heart for long if we don't cut the strings that bind her."
~*~
Naraku stared at Sakura; quite astonished she could stand that much pain.
Sakura laughed brokenly, blood spilling out of her mouth as she spoke. "You cannot control all of me, Naraku. Like I did when you tried to rape me, I can withstand whatever you put me through long enough for my friends to kick your ass."
Naraku glared then snapped his fingers, sending Kohaku to kill her.
Sakura easily dodged the attacks from the boy exterminator, thanks to years of practicing for the interpretive dance club. That was why she had practiced almost with grueling pace to learn to move her body easily within milliseconds of a movement.
While dodging the scythe-like weapon, Sakura shouted to Inuyasha, "Hurry up and kill Naraku! The faster you do," she grunted as another spasm of pain made more blood spill from her mouth and chest, "the more time I have left to live."
Inuyasha looked at Miroku and Sango before all three charged Naraku, each attacking at once, leaving Shippou behind.
~*~
Seeing that the battle had already started, Sakuya scanned over the melee of combat, locating the Demon Lady Sakura.
She jumped down from her chariot of demons, sending Aoi at Kohaku before catching the fallen Sakura.
"Sakura!" She screamed worriedly. "Don't die! I found a way!"
Sakuya ripped away part of Sakura's top portion of t her kimono and extended her claws, taking careful aim. "Sakura, listen to me, this may hurt, but you will be able to help your friends."
She stabbed clear through to the heart, wrenching a long scream from Sakura, making all the fighters stop momentarily.
They all stared at Sakuya, with her hand showing out of Sakura's back.
~*~
Sakura's vision turned inward where her own inner battle was being waged, between her and the voices.
They rammed against her protective barrier of youkai energy, but they were wearing it thin.
Then, one new voice emerged, not evil like the others, but her own voice, rising in courage. "You cannot harm me anymore, Chaos! I know your true form! Show yourself!"
At that, the memories of hurtful times swirled around into the form of an ugly little demon. "No!" It screamed, clutching its own head. "You cannot defeat me! I am Chaos, the master of depression." It faded with its voice; melting with the new strength Sakura felt pouring through her very cell.
Some of it wasn't hers, Sakuya's most likely, but the rest was raw and newly found, coming from deep within her, somewhere.
Her heart, she realized. Her heart was the strength she needed to defeat the curse.
With that, all the bad memories and voices faded into dust, leaving only one strong pure voice, the voice of her own.
Sakura's eyes snapped open as she thrust Sakuya away, springing up with such speed and grace it was almost ethereal.
Her eyes full of life now, Sakura dove down at Naraku, twin swords magically appearing in her hands.
She cut swiftly through his head, making Naraku's whole body shatter with the immense power.
She landed daintily on her feet, her demon form fading into that of her human one, a big real smile pasted on her face for the first time in seven years.
"Its finally over," Sakura said aloud, turning towards her friends as they all smiled at her. "Naraku will never harm anyone now."
~*~
Inuyasha stood next to Sakura as she stared at Bone Eaters' Well. He knew what she was thinking. How will she deal with her stepfather when she returned?
He touched her shoulder. "You sure you want to go back, Sakura? You could stay here and I could take care of you."
She smiled reassuringly at him. "Don't worry, Inuyasha. I used to run from my problems, but now I realize that asking for help isn't always such a bad thing. I've learned to face my fears instead of letting them grow. I'll find a way to deal with my family problems." With that, she leaned up to him and kissed him quickly before pulling back and winking. "She you sometime in the future?"
"Y-yeah." He stuttered, startled by her kiss.
"Bye."
With that, the Wolf Hanyou Sakura Tamashii left through Bone Eaters' Well, returning to her own time.
Note: Kagome had a kid with Kouga, but when she went back to her time, the two times were jumbled up slightly, so when Inuyasha waited for Kagome to come back, it was actually her daughter who came! Also, when Kagome left through the well, she was slightly pregnant. Then, in her time, time speeded up. But, in Inuyasha's time, time stood still. So it was actually about an hour after Kagome left in Inuyasha's time that Kagome's daughter went through.
~*~
~*~
A young girl of about 15 years of age stood in the middle of a large circle, waiting for her cue to start the interpretive dance.
As the lovely music flowed forth, her graceful moves drew 'oohs' and 'awes' from the crowd.
At the end, the girl concluded with a flourish as her knee-length black hair flowed gently over her shoulder and to the ground just above the hem of her beautiful kimono as she bowed gracefully from the waist.
As the crowd clapped, she looked around to see if her mother had been watching.
Her spirits deflated as she saw her mother on the cell phone a little ways away from the crowd.
Later that evening, as she sat in the back of the mini-van with her younger brother's fighting with her in the middle of it, Sakura Tamashii wished for all the world that at least her father could have been there.
But her parents were often too busy to help her practice for the Dancing Club.
As her youngest brother, Shiro, tugged on a black lock of her hair, she got angry.
Pulling her hair out of his chubby little fingers, she gave him a death glare. "Cut that out, Shiro. You too, Ichiro." She said, turning to see her second youngest brother sticking his tongue out at her behind her back.
"You all cut it out," her mother piped from up front, stopping her argument with her father for a moment.
"Yes, Mama Kagome." They all said in unison, although the brother's said it happily.
It seemed that Sakura was always in a depressed mood. But not when she was dancing. Something about the music she chose just drove her to listen and try to dance out the feelings in her heart.
Kagome look worriedly at her only daughter. She knew that she would eventually have to tell Sakura of her real father, Kouga the wolf demon, and that she was a hanyou. But Kagome would hate to shatter what little was left of Sakura's happy moments. It seemed that her daughter was always sad and sulky, and Kagome could guess why.
She would have to send her daughter back to Inuyasha's time so they could complete the shard quest, as giving birth to her daughter had literally taken all Kagome's miko powers away.
So, Sakura was half-miko, and half-youkai. Not a pretty thing to do to your only daughter, and an intelligent one at that.
Kagome looked over at her husband, Mamoru Tamashii, and felt a regret at having married him instead of returning to the feudal era and telling Kouga she'd had a daughter, and Inuyasha that he had a godchild.
She sighed, fingering the ¾ shikon jewel that hung around her neck that she and Inuyasha had collected long ago.
Feeling an immediate need to tell her daughter everything, Kagome turned to Mamoru. "Dear, I think we should take the kids home. They'll have nightmares if they see 'Blair Witch'."
~*~
"You wanted to see me, Mama?" Sakura asked gently, walking into the prayer room of the Higurashi Shrine.
Kagome smiled at her, hoping that she wasn't making a mistake by doing this. "Yes, Sakura. I have something very important to tell you."
Instantly on alert for any signs of weariness, Sakura nodded and sat down by her shorthaired mother.
Kagome put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, the other taking off the shikon jewel and clasping it around Sakura's neck.
Sakura stared at the beautiful jewel her mother had always been wearing ever since she could remember. She looked questionably up at her mother.
"The shikon no tama," Kagome whispered to her daughter, going back years before when she had been young and full of life. "A jewel that can raise a youkai's power substantially, even when cracked into shards."
"Mother?" Sakura whispered, feeling slightly frightened at the calm resolve dripping through her mother's words.
"I cracked it. It came from my body. I am the reincarnated miko, Kikyou. You must go find Inuyasha," Kagome started to sway, getting up to breath heavily as if she was drunk. "Find Inuyasha. help him find the rest of the shards. find Kouga. your real father. do not forget your miko powers and your hanyou powers. you will need them both to survive in the feudal era."
With that, her mother collapsed before Sakura could help her.
Mamoru rushed in, obviously worried by the heavy thud as Kagome hit the floor. He stared at his wife before glaring cruelly at his stepdaughter.
Knowing what would come if she stayed in the same room with him for long, Sakura ran to the well house, crying as she hoped her mother would be okay.
~*~
Inuyasha started grumbling as he noticed that Kagome still wasn't back by the time he finished counting up to an hour.
"An hour she said! An hour! More like two!"
Sango stopped tending to her weapon to roll her eyes in Inuyasha's direction. "As if you really care whether she comes back or not. You're going to go get her anyways, so why waste time yelling at us?"
Miroku nodded, agreeing, before Sango could sense his presence behind her.
She gave him a good whop on the head as he reached for her butt.
"Don't even think it, Houshi."
Shippou sighed, bored without Kagome to talk to or for her to carry him around. "Hurry up and go get her, Inuyasha. I miss Kagome."
But before Inuyasha could jump into the well, a soft hand grabbed onto his foot as a young girl climbed out of the well.
He fell backwards, dragging the girl with him, making her fly the rest of the way out of the well and roll onto the grass a little ways away from the group.
They all stared at her, noticing at once that it wasn't Kagome.
"Who in the nine hell's are you?!" Inuyasha demanded at once, an odd smell wafting to him from the girl.
But he was up for his wits' end with her.
"And why should I tell you, One-who-wears-dog-ears," she grumbled, hoisting herself up off the ground. She gave a slight whimper as she looked around her.
~*~
Sakura's eyes slowly took in her surroundings as she ignored the angry gaze of the boy with dog-ears.
'I'm really here.' Her mind chanted, trying to convince her. 'I'm in the feudal era like Mama said I would. And could that be.' She looked over to the boy, noticing for the first time his long silvery hair. "Inuyasha?" she whispered without knowing.
Hearing the girl say his name, Inuyasha got confused. "How do you know my name, wench?" He then saw for the first time that the girl wore the uncompleted jewel at her throat, much like Kagome would have done. "And where's Kagome?"
Before she could answer, Sakura felt an immediate migraine that took most of her willpower to not show on her face. She looked around to see what was causing it, feeling strange with this stuff happening to her. She then remembered that the boy had asked a question. "Uhmm. My mother told me about you." Sakura said carefully, not wanting to provoke his anger.
At once, all of the strange people crowded around her, almost suffocating her for she was slightly claustrophobic.
"Who is your mother?" A man asked her, looking very much like the ancient time monks she had seen drawn by her friends at school.
"How come you have the shikon jewel about your neck?" Asked a young woman, a humongous boomerang slung over her shoulder.
"Do you know Kagome?" A small child asked, standing on what appeared to be fox legs.
"Who the hell is your mother?" The silver-haired boy demanded of her also.
Her migraine was escalating with all the continuous questions thrown at her. "Uhmm. I. uhmm. my mother's name is Kagome Tamashii. but Higurashi was her maiden name. She gave me the necklace and said to go to the well and find someone."
At once, they all left her, going off into a little circle of their own, whispering behind their hands.
Sakura put her fingers to her temples and gently rubbed it. It didn't make the headache go away, but it made it feel a little bit better.
On that precise second, a whirlwind appeared out of nowhere and attacked Inuyasha.
"Where the hell is my mate, Dog-turd!" A man yelled as he crouched low, ready to spring, as the whirlwind of dust disappeared.
"Kagome is not your mate, wimpy wolf!" the boy yelled back, cracking his finger before reaching for a long sword at his waist.
"Kouga!" the other three people gasped, immediately stepping away as if he was dangerous.
The headache increased as the shouting went on back on forth, becoming almost unbearable that Sakura could hardly hear anything being said anymore.
She gasped as she sank to her knees, her eyes going wide as a terrible power coursed through her veins. She had felt this before, but her mother had always somehow stopped it from escalating into what Kagome had called 'total transformation'.
As the boy fought with Kouga, the young woman looked over at Sakura, suddenly realizing that she was in pain.
Without second thought, she rushed right over there, putting her hand on Sakura's shoulder before asking her what was the matter.
But Sakura couldn't hear past the roar of unfamiliar blood in her ears. Something was coming. something, something that could easily destroy what was Sakura Tamashii.
The young woman stepped back, frightened, as Sakura started sprouting a long wispy tail, and her ears going slightly pointed.
As the pain went from unbearable to excruciating torture, Sakura screamed, drawing attention to herself from everyone in the clearing, including the two fighting males.
Even before the scream faded, blessed darkness swept into Sakura's vision, driving out the pain that still was with her.
~*~
Slowly opening her eyes, Sakura took in her surroundings with indifference before opening her ears to listen to the voices outside the hut.
"Who the hell is she, old woman?" Obviously the silver-haired boy growled.
Sakura sat up at that, but winced when she felt her tailbone go at a wrong angle. 'But human tail bones aren't supposed to go past the coccyx.'
She quickly look behind her and her eyes went round as saucers as she realized she had a long black wolf-like tail, same color as her glossy hair, which covered it up slightly.
Feeling more oddness in her body, she felt her ears, which were now slightly pointed. But that didn't bother her much as the tail did. When she got home, how was she going to explain the new appendage to her family?
Hearing a faint noise, Sakura lay back down and pulled the blankets up past her arms before getting in the position she'd been in when she'd woken up. She also closed her eyes and let her other senses do the work, as she'd done often before when her brothers had been trying to play a prank on her.
She heard the steps of the bare feet slapping the wooden floor come near her before a rustling of fabric indicated that the person was now sitting down beside her.
Sakura hoped that the silver-haired boy wouldn't notice that she was awake and not asleep.
After a while, she heard three other come in and sit by her, talking in whispers so as not to disturb her.
"Kaede said that she sensed miko powers in her, just like Kagome's, but a little differently." The small boy's voice echoed through her ears.
"But Lady Kaede also says that it is almost impossible for a hanyou, no offense Inuyasha, to become a miko or to have miko powers." The voice of the monk said a little to her left.
Silence followed before a woman's voice spoke. "The only possible way is for a miko to mate with a youkai."
Silence continued after that, and Sakura felt the warm sun that had been on her face earlier drift away, realizing that it was getting dark. She would have to leave soon if she were to make it home.
She waited a little longer before figuring that it was safe to leave now, as her finely tuned hearing told her that they were all snoring peacefully. Even the boy. Inuyasha.
Sakura got up slowly, noticing with unconcern that her bright dance kimono was torn from wear her tail had emerged.
Glancing at them all momentarily, Sakura left the small hut and used her sensitive nose to find her way to the well, as if she'd done it a million times.
When she got there, Sakura looked back over her shoulder, noticing a small child with a young man and small toad-like creature staring at her.
"A hanyou, Jaken?" The young man asked the toad.
"A-aye milord," the toad stuttered. "Shall I destroy it for you, so your hands won't be sullied by this impure demon?"
Flaring a temper she didn't know she had, Sakura growled. "Think you can kill me, toady? I'll have you know my mother wouldn't stand for it and would kill you before you could even wipe the blood from your robes."
The girl giggled, as if it was funny, but the young man didn't. His face just kept an impassive expression. "You wear the shikon jewel. How did you come upon such a treasure?"
Feeling agitated that everyone knew about her mother's pretty charm, Sakura made a rude gesture with her hand. "Go to hell, you slimy bastard."
Before any reaction could come to any of their faces, Sakura somersaulted backwards into the well, disappearing into her own time.
~*~
Flattening her hair around her ears and new appendage, Sakura left the safety of the well house and walked cautiously to the house. With her nose so finely tuned, every single smell she'd taken for granted came swiftly at her, making her stop every so often to get a better whiff. She finally got tired of it that she closed off that sense, something she could never do before.
Feeling trepidation as she entered the house, she ran upstairs to her parent's bedroom first. It was empty except for rumbled bed sheets, like it was normally as her father got up later and didn't bother to make the bed.
She walked into her bedroom, which used to be her mom's before starting to pack a few things.
That was when she noticed Inuyasha at the window.
"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Both Inuyasha and Sakura covered their ears as her scream rang out.
Recovering first, Inuyasha opened the window and jumped into the room, walking about it in eerie familiarity.
"So, Kagome really is your mother?"
The question startled her. "Of course. Though Mamoru might not be my father, Mama Kagome is."
Inuyasha suddenly started growling. "Stay in here," he barked before rushing out of the room.
Hands on hips, Sakura gave her door a frown.
She abruptly heard a faint whimpering sound coming from her closet, something that hadn't been there when she'd come into the room.
She pulled open the closet door, and out tumbled her two little brothers, crying silently as they stared up at their sister. The then began hugging her and crying louder, saying over and over about how glad they were that she was all right.
She pushed at them before looking closely in their eyes, willing them to calm down.
When that happened, Sakura interrogated them gently. "Now, what is the matter, little brothers?"
Ichiro was the first to speak. "Papa said that. Papa said. Papa said that if you'd ever come back, he would kill you for what happened to Mama!"
At that, they both started crying again.
That was when she smelt it. Fresh blood. And sweat.
'Inuyasha!'
~*~
Inuyasha stared at the ghastly corpse of his dead friend Kagome.
Words ran inside his head, nothing else but the thought that he'd never told her about his feelings for her chanted in his mind. He'd been too late to save her.
Hearing a slightly muffled grunt, Inuyasha was tearing up the stairs to make sure Kagome's daughter was safe. But the door was held back by considerable force, so he raced outside and jumped back through the window.
The sight that greeted him almost made him loose what little he'd eaten in the last month.
For there, standing with her hands around the throat of balding man, snarled Kagome's daughter with two small humans begging her to let go of him.
"You bastard!" He heard her say. "You killed my mother! Even when she was carrying your damned child! And then you come up here expecting to kill me with no struggle whatsoever?! Think again you slimy toad!"
Knowing that she wouldn't stop until she'd killed him, Inuyasha rushed forward and grabbed her under the arms, drawing her against him and holding her arms pinned to her sides so she could not escape.
He yelled at the man and two kids, "Get out of here! Now!"
He knew from experience that she wouldn't stop until she'd killed him and appeased her anger.
"Stop it!" He told her sternly, holding her tighter against his chest. "What would your mother think of you killing her husband?"
That was all it took for Sakura to break down into sobs. She turned around in his arms and cried against his chest, feeling strange about being comforted for the first time in her memory when her fears surfaced. She'd always been afraid of killing someone, and she'd almost had.
Feeling strangely moved by her tears, Inuyasha gently patted her back. "Shh. Its okay. Shh. It'll be alright."
~*~
~*~
Brief Interlude:
Hello! How didja like it so far?! So far, I love writing it! There's going to be really sappy stuff up, but also blood, gore, fighting, all that fun stuff.
Note: Yes, Sakura is a hanyou like Inuyasha, except for the fact that her miko powers can dispel the likeness of s demon most times, thus that is why she looked like a normal human girl most times, kind of what happens with Inuyasha during full moons, but only different. Sakura is almost a completely different person. Her demon self has a bad temperament and can make her kill someone easily, and her human half is always depressed and slightly closed off from everyone.
Okay, back to the story!!!
~*~
~*~
Back in the Sengoku era, Inuyasha carried the sleeping Sakura back into Kaede's hut, but everyone was still asleep, so they didn't know of their midnight charades.
He gently laid her back in the blankets she'd been sleeping in before walking back to his own space and sitting down with a thump.
He stared at her, wondering where all the pent-up rage came from.
'So many questions left unanswered with Kagome's death.' Inuyasha thought sadly. He couldn't save Kagome this last time, but he would protect her daughter in her stead. 'But I will still miss her.'
The next morning, Inuyasha wouldn't talk to any of them, knowing that if he told them of Kagome's death, they would grieve for so long that Naraku would most likely find the rest of the shikon shards.
But everyone seemed to like Sakura well enough, and they all made friends, but Inuyasha couldn't help feel that what happened last with her father was the first of many times for the future.
As Sakura was introduced to Sango and Shippou (having beaten Miroku quite thoroughly for asking her to bear his child), Sakura already felt herself closing off from them. It happened with everyone that tried to get close to her.
Kaede entered the hut, a short kimono slung over her arm. "I noticed your kimono was torn and too long, so I had the village women sew it for your travels- as the replacement of Kagome."
Sakura smiled gratefully, but her mind kept denying the fact that she would probably be staying here for a while. She didn't want to become entangled with anyone here for when she left. She couldn't bear the fact anymore that no one would ever miss her as they would her mother.
She was told quickly what happened and what she was to do. (Of course, Kaede helped her conceal her hanyou looks behind a powerful spell, using much of her own miko powers).
Inuyasha waited impatiently as they got provisions from Kaede (as Sakura said she would go back home in a couple of days, not before).
As they set out, Sakura's human attitude returned, so she kept very quiet, depressed as usual.
Then the fateful question from Shippou was asked, "What do you do for a hobby?"
That cleared away her melancholy pretty fast, at the prospect of performing for her new friends. "Interpretive dance. It's quite fun, and my coach even says that I might compete and become a champ one day."
Both Sango and Miroku raised their eyebrows in surprise. "You dance?" Miroku asked, a familiar glint in his eye that Sango failed to notice.
"Yes, but I don't think I'm that great. But its what I love to do. If you want, I'll dance when we stop tonight if anyone has anyone music."
Sango smiled. "I can play the pretty well. Will that do, Sakura?"
Sakura smiled happily before the depression returned. "That'll be great."
Inuyasha was silent throughout all of this.
Later that night, Sango got out her and picked a song to play for Sakura to dance to.
"Since I haven't practiced beforehand, I'll be just dancing steps at the top of my head." Sakura said, a little bit of her sorrow edging through her voice.
Sango nodded, and waited for Sakura to take her place before starting to play.
They all widened their eyes appreciatively, watching Sakura's graceful moves, so unlike the ones of the dancers Miroku usually watched.
Sakura's mind started going blank as the music drifted through her ears and to her limps, pushing them to move. But, in the recesses of her mind, the little imp called depression played havoc with her confidence.
'What if they don't like it?' It oozed into her consciousness, eating away at her.
As the song closed to a lovely ending, Sakura's mind was already making her feel sick to the stomach, as it made her do most times after a dance.
They all clapped, unknowingly jarring Sakura to her senses. She smiled, hiding her distress.
But it lost on Inuyasha as he sensed her troubles though she hid them well. 'What kind of problem does Kagome's daughter carry on her shoulder's that makes her so sad?'
A couple of days later, late at night, Inuyasha's question was half- answered as he heard Sakura cry silently. He could hear her sorrowful whispers, and almost went to her to try and comfort her, but something held him back.
"Why. why do you have to torture me so, God? Do you not know that you are making me not believe in you? What troubles do you have planned for me? Why can you not just end my life now? I fell so alone. even among my friends, I fell alone."
After a week passed with no sign of Naraku (the shards he had were the only missing, so that was why they didn't need to go after other youkai), Inuyasha got fed up with Sakura's tears.
So, why they were walking along, Inuyasha just up and shouted, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
The rest looked questioningly at him, but Sakura just turned inward from his anger. "Why do you care?"
Startled by the question, it took a moment for Inuyasha to recover. Even though he had shouted, she had asked it with deadly calm. "Because you are Kagome's daughter, and I'm fed up with you're crying."
Sakura lowered her head, staring at the ground as Sango, Shippou, and Miroku all continued along, somehow knowing what would follow. "I understand. you are just like everyone. Never caring about 'Crybaby Sakura'..."
Not knowing what to say, Inuyasha just did what else he could think of. "Well you are a damn crybaby! Your worse then Kagome!"
A bright light emanated from Sakura, her aura stating her anger quite clearly. Her façade was ripped away, with her demon self emerging and immediately attacking him.
Inuyasha blocked just in time before Sakura's hands could wrap around his throat.
He didn't know why, but Sakura's anger wasn't directed exactly at him.
But before he could retaliate at hold Sakura down, she was running away, loud sobs coming out from behind her.
~*~
Sakura ran on and on, not trusting herself to stop just in case Inuyasha came to take her back.
She had never had anyone hear her crying into her pillow at night, or ask her that forcefully what was wrong. She didn't like the feelings Inuyasha was stirring inside her, but all she could do to drive him away was lash out in anger.
But she didn't want to kill him.
All her life, she'd been called a crybaby. She'd cried for little things, cause her feelings were so sensitive, but everyone counted that as her weakness and treated her like shit because of it.
She'd toughened up slightly when she'd gone to the sixth grade, and gradually overcame her crying habit by the eighth grade, but being in her sophomore year of high school, she'd reverted back slightly to relieve the stress studying had put on her before she discovered interpretive dance.
She tripped and landed on her face near the edge of a cliff, sobbing into her arms quite loudly.
((((((Where is Kouga? I noticed that he hasn't appeared for a while, and so have Jaken and Rin. I'm giving up on trying to put them all in the story at once, so there going to appear sparingly. Back to the story!)))))))
She sobbed and sobbed, until she had regained enough composure to crawl over to the cliff's edge and push herself over, wanting to end her life.
She fell; down, down, down; down into the abyss of her mind and inner torture.
"You'll never be anything."
"You're just a useless crybaby."
"You're not worth loving!"
Voices of the past echoed through her head, driving her to try and shut them up.
She rolled over and over down the cliff face, holding her head as the voices grew louder and louder.
She rolled to a stop at the base of the cliff, lying in a small pool of her own blood from the wound near her heart where she had stabbed a pointed rock on her way down, feeling the voices centering around that area.
She lay there like that, staring up at the bright sky, waiting for death to take her into its dark grasp.
A shadow fell across her, but it wasn't Death coming to take her to hell.
Inuyasha picked her up gently, removing the rock from her chest. He ignored the tears streaming down both theirs faces as he leaned down and kissed her gasping mouth, replacing the taste of blood with his own.
Sakura moaned, liking the feel of her first real kiss.
Sakura was jerked awake when she felt sharp fangs sink into her arm.
It had been a dream, a good one, but a dream nonetheless.
She looked at her arm, seeing a little leech demon suctioned onto her arm.
Getting up was painful, as the sharp rock hadn't been really pulled out of her chest. As her life's blood spilt to the ground, Sakura dug her short fingernails into the leech until it let go with excruciating pain.
She tossed the demon into the bushes followed shortly after by the rock.
She looked at the sky, sighing when she saw that it was sunset and the others wouldn't know where she was.
Sakura ripped the bottom of the short kimono and tied it tightly around her chest, trying to keep the wound closed. She would have to repair it and wash them.
She stumbled up to the bottom of the cliff, feeling that the only way to get back to where Inuyasha had left her was to climb.
She hoisted herself up from outcropping to outcropping with no real base to keep her from falling. And she almost skidded down the cliff again once, but she was able to use her tail to grab onto a stuck out root near the top.
By the time she pulled herself up to top, she was breathing heavily and feeling dizzy from the lack of blood, but she smiled triumphantly, knowing that if her mother could have seen that she would have been proud, as Sakura had never been able to climb anything before.
She sat down, trying to catch her breath while clasping her arms around herself, shivering when a wind blew across the little clearing.
Sakura glanced around with barely any life in her eyes. Her human side was returning, so her demon strength was fading so she would most likely die if she didn't get back to the others soon.
Struggling to a standing position, Sakura grasped her chest, feeling immense pain as her youkai aura faded with the return of her human aura.
"I. must get. back. to the others." she panted, staggering past the trees and into the deserted path that they had been taking earlier that day.
But, the voices in her head returned, but they were not the same ones that kept her from getting close to anybody.
"You can do it, Sakura," they whispered, silently encouraging her to continue.
"You have the shikon no tama, and your hanyou strength."
"You can make it, we know you can."
Feeling empowered by the heartening voices echoing throughout her consciousness, Sakura smiled as she made her way down the pathway, dripping blood from her open wound all the way.
~*~
"Where's Sakura, Inuyasha?" Shippou asked a little worriedly when they stopped to set up camp just before the sun set.
Inuyasha shrugged, not really caring. She was not Kagome, so why should he care?
~*~
Sakura stumbled into the camp when everyone was asleep but Inuyasha. Her eyes were a dull brown, showing barely enough life to support her double self.
"Inu.Inuyasha," she called, leaning against one of the trees on the edge of the tiny clearing small enough for a small campsite.
Inuyasha looked up and his eyes widened as he took in the bloody mess of Kagome's daughter. "Sakura! What happened?" He practically shouted, waking everybody up as he jumped down from his tree to try and keep her steady.
Sango got to her first, holding Sakura up as she slumped.
"Sakura!" Shippou wailed, crying his little heart out.
"Sango," Sakura whispered slowly. "Wound. near my heart. won't close."
Miroku (non-hentai mode) started making a bed for Sakura to lie on.
"Put her here, Sango. We'll have to try and heal the wound."
Inuyasha stood helplessly by while Miroku and Sango worked to heal Sakura. He just stood there watching as they undressed Sakura and he saw the gaping wound. It was red with the built-up blood and looked worse then any he had ever gotten before.
About thirty minutes later, Miroku and Sango sat back, done wrapping Sakura's wound in fresh bandages given by Kaede for the journey.
Even though Sakura had been awake through it all, she hadn't made a move since the beginning, somehow not feeling the pain that obviously racked her body unused to the pain.
The next morning, Sakura's state of mind wasn't any better, but she could quite convincingly act normal, as if the injury hadn't even occurred. So, with insistence from Sakura, everyone headed off towards the mountain area, where they had heard Naraku to be.
But unknowingly, Sakura actually knew Naraku, but she would never tell anyone. That was why she kept away from everyone. But the incident was still too horrible to think about even then.
Sakura clutched her forehead where the brown dot signaling her demon self sometimes appeared, but it wasn't the pain of transformation, but the pain of memory that ripped through her tortured mind. It was because of Naraku that she was this way, half of her mind dripping with depression.
About an hour before sunset, they all stopped to make camp near a hot spring, where Sango said Sakura could take a bath to wash off all the dried and caked blood.
But Sakura said that she would wait until Sango and Shippou to take a bath, not letting them know her reasons why.
When it was her turn (after Inuyasha's and Miroku's turn of course, so Sango could keep an eye on them), Sakura looked at the steaming water for a few minutes before disrobing and stepping into the pool.
Waist deep in water, the memories came flashing back at Sakura, making her wince and try to block them out so she wouldn't faint right there in the water. After the incident, her mother would have had to watch her to make sure she didn't faint while bathing, but with Kagome gone, it was up to Sakura herself to make sure she didn't drown.
Sinking down low into the water until it covered her shoulders, Sakura lazily drew her arms back and forth, watching the small ripples going back and forth across the disturbed water.
If only Naraku hadn't broken her mind, she would most likely be back at camp talking to Sango and the rest with abandon, as she used to with her friends when she was eight.
Feeling a lone tear creep down her cheek, Sakura wiped it away so Inuyasha couldn't smell it and come to ask what was wrong.
Looking at the scab of the wound on her chest, Sakura gently rubbed it, cleaning the dried blood off, leaving a slight pink tinge in the water around her.
"If only you could kill Naraku and prove to yourself that you are worth something, Sakura," the most common of the voices whispered in her ear, the one she'd named Chaos.
Reverting back to her habit of talking to the voice, Sakura smiled slightly. "That is quite fanciful, Chaos."
"Ha-ha. But if you could, maybe that dream you had at the bottom of the cliff could come true. Maybe then Inuyasha would kiss you and forget about his love for your mother."
Sakura shook her head. "He loved my mother, Chaos. I would never steal him away from her, even though she is dead."
Chaos just laughed insanely, driving her underwater to escape the grief- stricken laugh.
Sakura vaguely realized she was practically drowning and pulled herself up and out of the deep end, going back to waist deep part of the hot spring.
She gasped, coughing up the water, but the voice still followed her, laughing at her, at her life, at everything happening to her.
Glaring out across the hot spring, Sakura vowed silently, "I will kill Naraku."
After a few more minutes of coughing up some blood and water, Sakura reached for her kimono (fixed by Sango) and started washing the blood away from it, giving the water a reddish glare.
~*~
Inuyasha sat guard as they all slept, waiting for Sakura to come back from the hot spring. After a while, he heard the low growl of something vowing vengeance. He wondered belatedly if it had been Sakura, but to whom was a mystery to him.
~*~
~*~
Brief Interlude:
Hi, hi! How is it so far? I'm working REALLY hard on it. But a note first:
The way Sakura keeps acting is kind of what happens to me, but not the suicidal tendencies, and not all the voices in my head. There is only one, my alter ego Chaos. But, that's basically how I feel most times.
*cuts to screen showing Sesshomaru and Inuyasha chasing me with their swords raised high*
~*~
~*~
Coming back into camp with a slightly damp kimono wrapped around her, Sakura sat by the dying fire, huddling into the embrace of her own arms, wishing to high heavens that she had a boyfriend to comfort her. What Inuyasha had done when she'd tried to kill her stepfather didn't count. He had just been trying to save the bastard.
"That's right," Chaos's voice wrapped around her shivering body, lulling her into the trance that occupied her just before fainting. "No one cares for you, my dear, no one. You are worthless, absolutely worthless. And why should Inuyasha comfort you? What have you done to deserve such a thing as comfort when the pain becomes so unbearable?"
Sakura cried silently, clutching her head, hoping that Chaos would shut up soon, to leave her with her own worries and fears.
"Stop it," Sakura whispered as Chaos laughed insanely, making her cringe at the laughter.
"Face it, my dear. You don't stand a chance of winning against Naraku. Face it, and give in to his supremacy. Give him the shikon jewel and surrender your life to him."
"No." Sakura said aloud before falling to the side, in a dead faint.
During this whole thing, Inuyasha had watched Sakura from the tree he sat in, wondering what was wrong with her head. But her fainting was a complete surprise, since she'd obviously been listening to some inner voice, but what it was saying had been beyond him.
He got down and tucked a blanket Kaede had lent around her, scooting her back to a safe distance from the fading flames of the campfire.
Feeling a sudden urge, Inuyasha quickly bent down and placed a light kiss on Sakura's parted lip.
~*~
Sakura awakened slowly, her dead eyes looking around at her sleeping companions. She sat up slowly, feeling the scab over her heart stretch slightly and itching. Maybe it was just her, but she vaguely remembered Inuyasha putting a blanket over her and kissing her, but it must have been another dream, as why would Inuyasha kiss her?
She quickly made her way to the hot spring and had a quick bath before any of the others could get up, especially Inuyasha.
While she was bathing, Sakura welcomed the feel of her tail emerging from her backside, thankful that her demon self could take away the pain that still remained with her.
Looking at her hand, she stared at the pure white scar on the back of it; the one Naraku had given her when they'd first met.
She clutched her hand and hurriedly finished her bath, and left the hot spring, still clutching her left hand.
When she got back, the rest were already awake and packing up the supplies to continue. She helped them, though she ignored any of their attempts to talk to her.
Walking along the pathway to a castle near the summit of a low mountain, Sakura felt the presence of jewel shards and Naraku's presence. He would soon pay for the damage he'd caused to her life.
Sakura sighed, working up enough courage to tell the others why she had agreed to help them kill Naraku.
"Guys." she said before her courage to fade.
They all stopped and turned to her with questioning eyes. Inuyasha was the only one who kept walking.
"I haven't really been truthful. I. I'm sure you want to know the reason why I want to kill Naraku. It isn't the reason my mom had, but another, more painful one for me."
Sango patted her back, feeling the tension through the thin silk cloth of the short kimono. "You don't have to tell us now, Sakura."
Sakura shook her head. "No. I must tell someone. I haven't told this to anyone and its been eating at me ever since it happened. I didn't even tell my mom before she died. I got to get this off my chest."
Inuyasha stopped, hearing the cold determination in Sakura's voice.
"When I was nine. I fell through the well for the first time. but I don't know what happened between then and when I woke to find Naraku leaning over me. He." Sakura sighed, clutching her hands to her sides before continuing. "He put a curse over my mind when I refused to give him something. Everyone said it was depression, but I know its not. The demon curse Chaos keeps me from talking to anyone about the time I spent in Naraku's castle. She keeps me from getting close to anyone, and sometimes tries to make me kill myself. She can't affect my demon half, so I can break away from the curse for now. That's is why I can tell you all this now. But I still haven't enough courage to tell you what Naraku did to me."
Inuyasha couldn't believe it. Naraku had affected everyone he came in contact with: even Sakura who seemed to be the nicest of them all. Now he knew why Sakura always seemed to be sad in her human form and deep in thought.
"I promised myself long ago that I would get him back for the pain he caused me, but my therapist gave me a drug to help me forget most of it. but I can never forget or forgive."
~*~
Naraku stood near the group, listening with great amusement. His little puppet had finally broken some of the strings around her heart, allowing her to tell part of the truth. How funny it would be when Inuyasha and the humans found out about what had really conspired between him and Sakura.
He smiled maliciously at the thought of the return of his amusing puppet. With her and Kohaku at his disposal, he would soon have the complete shikon no tama and be the most powerful demon in the entire world.
"Hurry up, my little pawn," he grinned evilly. "I cannot wait to have you here beside me again."
~*~
Far away, in a village of demons, Aoi, a bird youkai, flapped away from his perch. "Oh no! I must warn Lady Sakuya that the Demon Lady has returned!"
~*~
After telling them part of the truth, Sakura was too tired to continue, so they stopped and made camp.
Deep within her thoughts, Sakura couldn't help but fear what would become of her new friends when they found Naraku. She just hoped that she would break all the strings before they reached him, or else they would all die.
Looking down at the exposed part of her chest, Sakura came up with an excellent plan. If Inuyasha played right into her hand, all would end well.
~*~
They all finally reached the summit and the gates of Naraku's final castle when a high pierced whistle broke the silence.
Inuyasha drew the Tetsuseiga out as he recognized the dark cloud coming towards them as a horde of demons.
But it was Sakura who insisted they enter the castle before the demons came upon them, suspiciously anxious.
~*~
Naraku watched them enter, a sinful grin upon his face.
But it was wiped away when he saw the horde of demons coming towards his castle. "Damn," he muttered. "If that bitch Sakuya stops me from using Sakura again, all is lost."
~*~
"Naraku!" Inuyasha yelled, looking around. "Show your damn face!"
They all looked around when they heard the maniacal laughter echo.
Then Inuyasha was stabbed through the stomach as Naraku suddenly appeared, a sword in hand followed by Kohaku, holding his weapon at the ready.
Inuyasha growled, transforming the Tetsuseiga before having it wrenched out of his hands by Sakura who leapt over to Naraku.
He stared at her, noticing the tears streaming down her face before grinding out, "What the hell are you doing, Sakura?"
Naraku wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her against his side before grinning in Inuyasha's general direction. "Hasn't she told you, Inuyasha? She is my Demon Lady. I control her completely, much like Kohaku, but she isn't controlled by a mere shikon shard."
He held up her left hand, showing them the bright white scar on it. "This I gave her. No shikon shards used, so no one can control her but me."
He was suddenly cut off when Sakura wrenched away from him, grunting in pain as blood spilled out of her chest as she tossed the sword back to Inuyasha.
~*~
Aoi looked worriedly at Lady Sakuya as they marched the demons of the village forward, heading towards Naraku's castle. "I hope we're going to be able to save her, Lady Sakuya."
A beautiful demon maiden, Lady Sakuya, nodded grimly, "Yes. Sakura will not be able to withstand that pain on her heart for long if we don't cut the strings that bind her."
~*~
Naraku stared at Sakura; quite astonished she could stand that much pain.
Sakura laughed brokenly, blood spilling out of her mouth as she spoke. "You cannot control all of me, Naraku. Like I did when you tried to rape me, I can withstand whatever you put me through long enough for my friends to kick your ass."
Naraku glared then snapped his fingers, sending Kohaku to kill her.
Sakura easily dodged the attacks from the boy exterminator, thanks to years of practicing for the interpretive dance club. That was why she had practiced almost with grueling pace to learn to move her body easily within milliseconds of a movement.
While dodging the scythe-like weapon, Sakura shouted to Inuyasha, "Hurry up and kill Naraku! The faster you do," she grunted as another spasm of pain made more blood spill from her mouth and chest, "the more time I have left to live."
Inuyasha looked at Miroku and Sango before all three charged Naraku, each attacking at once, leaving Shippou behind.
~*~
Seeing that the battle had already started, Sakuya scanned over the melee of combat, locating the Demon Lady Sakura.
She jumped down from her chariot of demons, sending Aoi at Kohaku before catching the fallen Sakura.
"Sakura!" She screamed worriedly. "Don't die! I found a way!"
Sakuya ripped away part of Sakura's top portion of t her kimono and extended her claws, taking careful aim. "Sakura, listen to me, this may hurt, but you will be able to help your friends."
She stabbed clear through to the heart, wrenching a long scream from Sakura, making all the fighters stop momentarily.
They all stared at Sakuya, with her hand showing out of Sakura's back.
~*~
Sakura's vision turned inward where her own inner battle was being waged, between her and the voices.
They rammed against her protective barrier of youkai energy, but they were wearing it thin.
Then, one new voice emerged, not evil like the others, but her own voice, rising in courage. "You cannot harm me anymore, Chaos! I know your true form! Show yourself!"
At that, the memories of hurtful times swirled around into the form of an ugly little demon. "No!" It screamed, clutching its own head. "You cannot defeat me! I am Chaos, the master of depression." It faded with its voice; melting with the new strength Sakura felt pouring through her very cell.
Some of it wasn't hers, Sakuya's most likely, but the rest was raw and newly found, coming from deep within her, somewhere.
Her heart, she realized. Her heart was the strength she needed to defeat the curse.
With that, all the bad memories and voices faded into dust, leaving only one strong pure voice, the voice of her own.
Sakura's eyes snapped open as she thrust Sakuya away, springing up with such speed and grace it was almost ethereal.
Her eyes full of life now, Sakura dove down at Naraku, twin swords magically appearing in her hands.
She cut swiftly through his head, making Naraku's whole body shatter with the immense power.
She landed daintily on her feet, her demon form fading into that of her human one, a big real smile pasted on her face for the first time in seven years.
"Its finally over," Sakura said aloud, turning towards her friends as they all smiled at her. "Naraku will never harm anyone now."
~*~
Inuyasha stood next to Sakura as she stared at Bone Eaters' Well. He knew what she was thinking. How will she deal with her stepfather when she returned?
He touched her shoulder. "You sure you want to go back, Sakura? You could stay here and I could take care of you."
She smiled reassuringly at him. "Don't worry, Inuyasha. I used to run from my problems, but now I realize that asking for help isn't always such a bad thing. I've learned to face my fears instead of letting them grow. I'll find a way to deal with my family problems." With that, she leaned up to him and kissed him quickly before pulling back and winking. "She you sometime in the future?"
"Y-yeah." He stuttered, startled by her kiss.
"Bye."
With that, the Wolf Hanyou Sakura Tamashii left through Bone Eaters' Well, returning to her own time.