Lauren: Yes, I get joy from watching other's suffer over cliffhangers! XD joking! I know, I just love being evil, is all. I can't stand it when I read cliffhangers but I love to write them! Well, I would have had this chapter out sooner because I wanted to work on it on Sunday but my keyboard decided to break and not work -_-;; so I went all Sunday without typing anything! Gah! It was horrible! But it's all fixed now!
Eck, it's Tuesday and I still haven't finished this chapter! But I have WONDERFUL news! I passed my driver's test ^_~ I studied super hard and passed with a 100%! JOY! I got a good luck picture from my friend and I stole my other friend's lucky shirt! I took my 3rd test on the 3rd of December which is also my Aunt's birthday! Today is a good day for sure. And I'd also like to say CONGRADULATIONS to 'kleptomaniac sam' YOU WERE MY 500TH REVIEWER! Wow...500 reviews...that is like a shock to me. Amazing. I think I'd go have a heart attack except I can't die, not when I just got my permit. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! Without you...this story would not exist! Without your reviews and encouragement there'd be no story! T_T! You are my inspiration! And you all make me SO happy! I read EVERY review and they make me smile and laugh and that's why I write replies to you all, cause you mean so much to me and I love you guys! I just hope the review replies aren't getting too long. They don't annoy you guys, right?
THANK YOU SO MUCH ZEL NO MIKO FOR THE HELP!
I made this one extra long so enjoy it!
T'laren- Inuyasha would be a cool police force but scary too! He'd kick so much butt, there'd be no more crime! Unless he caused it!
Chavi West-Wind- Best of luck to you fighting the dust bunnies!
Majik- Wow, thank you! I feel so special! *glomp*
Holly- Don't hate me! =( I'm sorry!! Hehe!
Syren- Haha! Yeah! The asylums are still looking for me but I gave them the slip last week! XD! Kagome's unstable but she's getting over it. It was just a shock of going out for the first time in forever.
Stephanie-chan- Your brothers your hit man? I'll be sure to stay out of his way! Yeah, I think Inuyasha should act dumber, I suppose I'm giving him too much credit. I agree with your saying about fanfics too!
Minky- Every review matters to me!
Eike- Wow, that does solve everything! Thank you! It's all so clear now and there ARE like a million trailers for the SAME movie!
violettegal345- AH! You reminded me! I want going to write in this chapter about how Kikyo was doing but I totally forgot until now and it's too late! I'll be sure to do that next chapter...sorry and thank you!
Aelinwen Elentari- I couldn't agree with you more! Ah I saw Orlando Bloom and he looks like a French guy in the thing I saw him in! Plus, he had the whole striped shirt and necktie thing too!
Aylee the Dragon- *munches on her cookie* THANK YOU! *glomps her Bernard* Thank you again! And...*tosses her Chichiri* that's for you! ^_^ And thanks for the shrine! D! I feel SO special! And thanks for the Fluff Award too! You rock!
Tori- Nope, I've never read it. Thanks though, maybe I'll look into it later. I'm all better now except for the cough has stayed for now. I love Inuyasha too!
Tenoko- I MIGHT get a sick pleasure for watching people suffer and call me EVIL but....nah, I don't. Well, maybe I do cause it makes me laugh but when I read a cliff hanger I freak. But I made sure to get the next one out ASAP! Here it is all nice and long!
Clump- Don't worry, you can growl at me, just don't bite me!
Raiye- I love you too but don't hurt yourself when you fall out of your chair!
EvaYasha- Read on and your question shall be answered!
Saki- Thank you! I checked back though and on my file it was written 'brother'. I don't know, maybe it was messed up on the web site.
Ryuuzaki- Don't go insane! Inuyasha can only take so many patients!
Jupiter's Light- Read Eike's review on chapter 18 and he gives a good explanation for why it might have extra stuff. On the DVD there are a BUNCH of trailers for the movie and character sketches.
Asilin- It's risky but I'm willing to do it! I love the plan! Bernard, look out, cause here we come!!!
J.J.- Ah, that's freaky! I sleep with a stuffed animal bunny. I hope he doesn't attack me!
Ryu- Ha, locked in the room for 5 years. I remember when my little brother would do threats like that...strangely though it wasn't often that he said them. Sure, I'd love to chat on instant messenger. My screen name for AIM/AOL is: StarSkittles87
Aberuncate- Did it refresh to this chapter? I hope so! Is the ice cream good? I'm sorry if I made you cry! D
~*~ Where Did You Go? ~*~
~By: Lauren~
-Chapter 18-
"Demonic Demise"
Kagome stepped through the hallway, her only light a dim flickering street lamp outside of the apartment building. She sighed, guilt eating at her soul. She knew she should have woken Inuyasha up- it would have been the smart thing to do- but had she done that? No. And she had good reasons for that too.
She didn't want him to get hurt. It was that simple. Inuyasha wasn't a hanyou anymore, therefore, if he fought a demon and got injured, he's probably die. Kagome didn't want that to happen. Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo...all of them had suffered enough already and for reasons that weren't right. This was supposed to be their second chance at a happy life- not to suffer one all over again. That angered the raven-haired girl. It made her so mad that something would go as far as killing her friend's family just for the Shikon no Tama. She hated the cursed jewel. Whatever was waiting for her better be ready for lots of screaming and cursing at it or so she decided.
None of her friends deserved to suffer anymore- especially Inuyasha- so she would face this alone for as long as she could, even if it meant giving up her life. Her life would be better than giving up Inuyasha's.
Her steps were a bit unsteady as she exited the apartment building and wandered out onto the street. It was cold and a shiver involuntarily ran down her spine as she pulled her shirt tighter around her. Was the shiver from the cold? Or was she afraid? Kagome wasn't sure. She fingered the bow and arrow she had found in Inuyasha's closet and had slung it over her shoulder. Her mind backed up to before she had woken up.
The voice had returned to her in her dreams. It had been brief, only a warning. It was as if the voice was trying to baffle her. Kagome chewed on her lip frantically. Why did the stupid voice have to be so vague and confusing when it spoke to her? The words echoed in her mind.
"Times grow darker and darker with little hope in sight. There are no legends that speak of any saviors of the land, no destined champions that will end the pain. But a legend is just that- a legend. A story. A want for some shimmer of hope in a pool void of light. Even if there were legends, few would believe in their truths... but that doesn't mean we are doomed to live forever in darkness. And if this works, we won't..."
And then Kagome had awaken, jerking up to feel her body trembling, warning her that something of great evil was approaching. She knew she had to go face it, even after the new development with her and Inuyasha's relationship. Her cheeks blushed faintly as she remembered the night before, after he had wrapped a blanket around her on the balcony.
"Inuyasha..." Kagome took in a sharp breath, spinning around to face him as her blanket dropped to the balcony floor.
"Shh..." Inuyasha smirked slightly, pressing his finger to her lips. Bending down, he picked up her blanket and grabbed her hand, entangling their fingers together. Walking backwards and smiling as if he held a great secret, he pulled Kagome back into his apartment, and then shut the sliding glass door, locking it.
"What are you doing?" Kagome pulled her hand out of his, stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest. She tilted her head, glaring at him slightly while she bit back a smile.
"Nothing..." Inuyasha innocently smirked as he strutted up to her, seemingly gathering up all of his courage. Taking in a reassuring breath, he looked her directly in her eyes and Kagome felt she could get lost in his gaze. She felt as if she could swim in his amber pools, she felt as if each shade of color was a sparkling star to make a wish upon- she felt as if she was on top of the world. Her heart began to beat rapidly as he bent down, pulling his pants up a bit so that he could lean on one knee. He looked up at her, love radiating from his eyes as he reached out and touched her hand. She felt the warmth spread from his touch into her hand and up through her arm, making her entire body tingle.
"What are you doing?" Kagome stammered, gulping as she gained a pretty good idea of what he was up to.
"This." He pulled her hand towards his lips until they were pressed against her smooth skin. He figured there was no better time than now. "Kagome..." Inuyasha paused before he plunged in, "I love you. I've loved you since...since the moment I saw your lonesome eyes staring out of the clinic window...years ago. Then, I wanted nothing more than to see your smile. And after I met you...I've only grown to love you more. I...I want to spend forever with you. I've never felt this way about ANYONE before...I... I keep getting this funny feeling in the pit of my stomach when I look at you and see your beauty. I want you to smile every second...I want you to be always happy and I want to be by your side every moment of the day. I want...you to marry me..." He finally finished, his face red with a blush.
Kagome's jaw dropped, tears pooling up in her eyes as his words repeated themselves over and over again in her head.
"I'd give you a ring..." Inuyasha shrugged. "But you've already got the one I gave you long ago...so I figured...we could just renew the engagement again. That is, if you want to..." He trailed off, a look of uncertainty in his eyes.
Kagome smiled. It was a huge, genuine, completely happy smile only meant for Inuyasha. "Yes..." She barely managed to utter the words. "Yes...Inuyasha...yes...I want to...!!" She said again louder.
Inuyasha's eyes bugged open as he jumped into the air then pulled her into a bone-crushing embrace. He lifted her feet off of the ground, spinning her in circles and laughing happily before he placed her back on her feet. He looked down at her, his face growing grave. "But...please don't say yes because of the past. I want to know- do you want to marry me because of how I am now?"
Kagome blinked, listening quietly. "Inuyasha...I loved you back then and I love you now. I fell in love with you all over again when I met you. It wasn't because of the past...even if I had no memories of it...I'd still love you. I love you...NOW and forever. But...are you sure you want to marry a crazy girl?"
Inuyasha chuckled, burying his face in her hair as he hugged her again. He breathed in her intoxicating scent. "I don't care." He said into her neck. "I don't care about any of that, I just care about you and I don't want you to get hurt." For a moment, both felt as if they could lose all of their worries to the world and just get lost in one another.
Kagome leaned up and wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's neck, pulling him down slightly so she could press her lips up against his. She kissed him again, this time with all of her sorrow and fear. Inuyasha kissed back with the fear and uncertainty in his life.
Inuyasha blinked, thinking to himself, "Is this what a couple is supposed to do? Tell what is wrong in a kiss? Can I just stay here forever? Stay here kissing her? It...feels good..." But his thoughts were cut off as Kagome surprisingly deepened the kiss, inviting him to do as he pleased. After a minute, the two broke apart, gasping for air before they burst into laughter.
Inuyasha gripped Kagome's hand, laughing and smiling like a three-year old that had just gotten a lollipop or some other wonderful treasure. Carefully, he slid his arm under where Kagome's knees bent and put an arm behind her shoulder. With a quick motion, he lifted her up into the air bridal style and began to walk towards his room. He looked down at her with inquiring eyes, asking if it was okay.
Kagome blushed like a tomato as she suddenly felt a bit conscious of what might happen in that room but when she looked into his eyes, panic and uncertainty melted away instantly. She nodded that she wanted to.
Inuyasha and she were engaged. They were going to get married. They were going to spend the rest of their lives together...so if she was afraid of what might happen, she knew she had forever do it later. She could just say no and Inuyasha would understand. But a thought entered her mind. What if she had to return to the institution? What if the demon attacked the next day and she died or lost Inuyasha? She stopped those thoughts. There was no time like now and Kagome knew she might not have forever with him so she would spend every second with him now. She wanted to marry Inuyasha. She loved him. She wanted to start a family with him one day. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to be with him physically and emotionally. She wanted to melt into him and to become part of him.
Kagome sank to her knees on the sidewalk, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing a hand to her face. What had she done? Why had she left alone? He would be furious with her but...it was for the best. This was how it had to be.
Because that was what was supposed to happen.
There was no changing it.
There was no fixing it.
It was meant to be.
Kagome stared at the sidewalk as she stood up and took determined steps towards were she felt the demon would be. The sky was a midnight black and not a soul was about the town. Her thoughts claimed her again suddenly.
"Many used to think I was the girl with the perfect life...but they couldn't be more wrong. They only looked at what's on the surface...they never took the time to look deep inside...to see the scars in my soul. They say you learn from your mistakes...but I only ended up making the same mistakes over and over again. I gave my trust away too easily and ended up being betrayed. I spoke to anyone about time traveling...no wonder they called me crazy. These days...I don't open up to people as much as I used to. I see no reason for it...I guess I'm too afraid of getting my heart broken again...but now...I've got Inuyasha. He'll listen and he won't call me crazy. He won't betray me. He loves me." She smiled at the thoughts before anger began to boil inside of her. "Why does this damn demon have to screw everything up!?" She burst, kicking a rock near her foot with all of her strength out onto the street. "Is this my life?!" She cried out in rage, turning into a dark alleyway. She knew somehow...someway...her perfect life with Inuyasha would be shattered into pieces. "Is this the way you choose to punish me?!" She roared towards the heavens.
But Kagome received no reply...
The tears that she had been holding back for so long broke through and cascaded down her cheeks. Tears of pain and despair. She couldn't hold back any longer. As much as she tried, she couldn't keep denying the pain that was slowly suffocating her.
Why? Why was her mind and body being flooded with such dark emotions, feelings and thoughts?
Kagome fell to her knees in the alleyway and buried her head in her hands. Her shoulders shook violently as salty droplets broke through and fell like rain. Her entire body shook with the sobs that escaped her. She had lost her strength...
"Is this how fast the miko of the Shikon no Tama crumbles?" A sinister voice hissed to her from the dark shadows of the dead end of the alleyway.
Kagome's head jerked up, her eyes darting around for some kind of solid figure but it was too dark for her to see anything. "Who's there?!"
"Aww, I thought you would remember me." The voice mocked, laughing but with an almost psycho sound. "You still have that lovely scar, don't you?"
Kagome's hand gripped her side in the area were the white scar ran across her stomach. She felt heat pulse from it, filling her body with a tingling feeling. "What do you want? Why are you doing this to my friends and me?! WHY DID YOU KILL MY GRANDFATHER?!" She could make out a figure now but...it was abnormal. It had a humanoid look to it but giant spikes seemed to protrude from the area that would be its shoulders and its fingers were long and spiked to a point with claws. Long, messy hair hung down in front of the creature's face, blocking it from Kagome's view. It appeared male to her.
A fanged grin spread across his face. "The old fool got in my way when I came to get you...said something about protecting his granddaughter and how much he loved her. What a pity he had to die...but his soul...tasted good." He snorted into laughter at Kagome's anger. "Yes...that's right...get angrier and more upset so that your dark feelings radiate to me and empowers me. The more sorrow, pain and hate you create and feel...the stronger I get. I can see it engulfing you...the dark mist surrounding you..."
"What are you talking about?!" Kagome roared, on her feet now as she took a step towards him.
"I feed off of your negative emotions...I was the one planting the dark thoughts in your head...those are your true fears...I only help to bring them out..." He snarled.
"How can you do that? You ARE a demon, right? That's what they said..." Kagome muttered, groping for the bow and arrow she had carried with her.
"So the higher ups got to you, eh?" The...thing frowned, his razor sharp teeth resting over his bottom lip before he opened his mouth again, showing rows of pointed teeth. It had slit-like eyes that were staring at her.
"How do you know about them?!" Kagome demanded, stringing her bow and preparing to attack the demon, while she stepped closer to him.
"I suppose they're too stupid to tell you the truth, about how they probably screwed up or how they can't beat me as they are...whatever it is..." He reached out a welcoming hand to Kagome, putting it out in the moonlight. Kagome swore it had glistening greenish blue scales instead of skin. "Let me guess...they gave you the whole speech about the great evil you had to fight in the past and about the 'balance of the world'...yes?" He's eyes took on a tint of red as he stared into hers.
Kagome blankly nodded yes before she looked at his hand, the temptation of accepting the offer lingering in her mind strangely.
"Well..." He pushed his hand closer to her, offering her to take it. "I'm the darkness that weighs against the light. I'm everybody's nightmare. I'm everybody's pains, fears, sorrows, hate, anger....all of it...I feed off of it. I constantly fight against the people of the light...the voices that spoke to you. Aren't they a bunch of pitiful idiots?"
His eyes were so mesmerizing...Kagome nodded yes. "Are you the only one of your kind?" She muttered, "And why do you want the Shikon no Tama so badly?"
"No, I'm not the only one of my kind. There are plenty of us out there...and we are all different. There are creatures like me...and creatures like the Naraku you fought in the past. I want the Shikon no Tama so that it can grant my wish...I want to use it to make myself more powerful...so that I can destroy the ones of the light!!" He hissed.
Kagome's hand dropped the bow and arrow and slowly reached out to his. Kagome's heart screamed no but her mind won the battle. The instant she touched his hand, a prickling sensation rushed through her entire body. He clasped his hand around hers ever so gently, as not to cut her with his claws.
"I want to engulf this world in darkness..." He grinned, his fangs glistening pearly white in the light of the moon. "Starting with you!!" His grasp suddenly tightened as the spell on Kagome snapped and her eyes, mind and heart all cleared. The creature jumped back as a sharp pain ran through his hand from where he had been touching Kagome. He held his hand to his chest as he nursed his wound but still smiled. Unnoticed to Kagome, a droplet of blood fell from her hand from where he had pierced her skin.
"What is your name?!" Kagome demanded, angered by how she had let her guard down and he had somehow hypnotized her. "I will not allow you to get the Shikon no Tama! And why did you have to hurt my friends?! Sango...Miroku...Shippo...all of them! Why did you have to kill their families?!"
The creature smirked, retreating back into the shadows. "You can call me Daemon. And I killed them all, created such pain...for this very moment. I did everything...to build up your hate for me to such a level...that it only makes me stronger. You can't fight it...you hate me. You always will..." He burst into laughter as Kagome began to shake, her entire body trembling.
It was starting in her arm, from the hand Daemon had grasped. It was like electricity- shocking her painfully as it slowly swirled through her blood. Her confused face went between her hand and the fanged grin of the monster. Outside of her hand, she could faintly see black colored electricity swarming around her pale skin.
"I see my poison is working." He smirked, fading into the shadows slowly. "Don't get too worked up...it'll only make it spread faster..."
Kagome only continued to writhe as the electricity ran up her arm but she refused to let out a cry of pain. She squirmed as the electricity worked its way into her chest. She felt her heart tighten and started to violently shake.
"What are you doing to her?!" A voice snarled. They both spun around to see Inuyasha standing there, a heated glare on Daemon. Sometime during the night he swore he almost...sensed that Kagome was gone....that she was possibly in danger. He woke up in a cold sweat, wanting to see her peaceful sleeping face next to his but...his bed was empty. He ran out of the apartment building, searching for her madly and he would have gotten lost...but he had gotten a strange, nagging feeling from the direction she was in. For a moment, he swore he heard her voice...but it would have been impossible to hear her from so far away- with human ears, at least. Finally though, he had spotted her.
Daemon smirked. "And so, all the players are now in place." He chuckled, feeding off of Inuyasha's anger towards him. "I'm only doing what the pig deserves."
Kagome let out a tiny cry of pain before she could stop herself as stabbing bolts of fire flew through both of her arms now and her chest. She fell over onto the dirty cement ground, sweating and clenching her hands and teeth. She was trying to keep from crying out again.
Inuyasha let out a roar of anger at Kagome's pain as he dashed forward blindly and swung his fist at the humanoid creature. Daemon ducked each punch, kick and swing with ease.
Kagome felt the electricity surge throughout her entire body now. She tried to bite her tongue and tried to be brave but she just couldn't do it anymore. She was scared. She just wanted this nightmare to end. It was all one big horrid nightmare and she had had enough. She just wanted it to end. And as the earth-shattering cry slipped past her lips, she had a sickening feeling that an end was exactly what Daemon planned on giving. She bit back another scream as the pain consumed her body. Her vision was beginning to blur and the room was getting darker. All she could see was Daemon's smiling face and Inuyasha's sparkling eyes. The blackness closed in on her and the last thing she saw was Daemon slashing Inuyasha across his chest, blood splattering next to her as his laugh echoed through the night air.
Daemon laughed harder as he watched Kagome look at him in utter horror before the darkness claimed the woman. Before he could react though, he felt a hand slam into his jaw, causing his head to jolt painfully sideways. Cursing his flaw, he clenched his fists, letting his fingers curl up viciously into his palm before he disappeared into the night air, leaving nothing but a black mist where he used to be.
Inuyasha stumbled towards Kagome's fallen figure, crimson blood running down his legs from the wounds on his chest and making tiny puddles by his feet. Gritting his teeth, he tried to ignore the way his chest felt like it was on fire. He knew he couldn't go to a normal hospital with the kind of wounds he had sustained for it would be too suspicious but Inuyasha wasn't thinking of that at the moment. His one concern was the limp girl he picked up in his arms slowly. Stumbling out of the alleyway, he began to trudge towards the house of the one person he knew could help him...