A/N: T_T Nuuu…you know what I was stupid enough to do? I had the very last chapter written up nicely, and then I went and frikkin DELETED IT!!! ARRRGGGHHH! *bangs head on keyboard* @_ Owies…;_;
Second Chance
By Sango
Chapter Six
Truth
Slender green grasses, still wet with morning dew, nodded their heads graciously as Kikyo made her way through the fields to the agreed on meeting place. The miko cradled her right hand carefully to her chest, the Shikon no Tama shining gently between clasped fingers. She was early. As she waited, the priestess uncurled her fingers and stared at the jewel on her palm. It twinkled innocently in the weak sunlight. Who could have guessed, from watching the flickering play of lights across its smooth surface, that that tiny stone could have caused so much bloodshed?
Kikyo shivered suddenly; a cold gust of wind roared across the field, the plants trembling in fear as the icy breeze passed over. Gripping the jewel tightly to shield it from view again, the miko searched the landscape, trying to ignore the dark premonition that had suddenly swept over her.
The Shikon shall not cause harm to anyone now. Today is the last day it will be here to wreck havoc in this world.
A slight rustling of cloth came from behind her as grass stems parted to make way for someone. The miko half-turned in the direction of the sound, but saw nothing beyond the dark curtain of leaves and grass.
Inuyasha…?
*****
His breath came ragged and painful as the raw morning air tore at his throat. Misty clouds rose from his mouth and hung in the air for a few moments before vanishing. Heedless of all else, Inuyasha plowed his way through forest foliage, leaving a clear trail of overturned stones, broken branches, and crushed plants in his wake.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, the hanyô berated himself as he plunged forward. Why did I wait so long before making a decision? The frigid wind stung his eyes as it lashed numbed flesh mercilessly, forcing Inuyasha's eyes into narrowed slits. Am I too late now?
Decades seemed to pass before the field at last came into view, and the yôkai smiled in relief to see Kikyo's familiar figure standing there. Just then, a flash of movement caught his eye, a brief flicker of well-known red cloth in the bushes, heading the same way he was.
"N-NO!" Gusts of wind breezed mockingly past, blowing his words behind him with peals of frosty laughter. Quickening his pace even further, Inuyasha opened his mouth to cry out one last useless warning. "KIKYO!!"
*****
Inuyasha? She could have sworn his voice had come from her left side, but then what was that movement behind her? Frowning in puzzlement, the miko cautiously returned, "Inuyasha?"
Pain. Burning, festering paths of fire slashing across her right shoulder, down her arm, blazing down to ignite her whole body…gods the pain, too much for her to even utter a single sound. Kikyo felt the Shikon slip from her suddenly limp hand, but could do nothing to prevent it, nor stop her legs from crumpling as she fell, another stab flaming through her arm as it met the ground with a sickening thud. Blurry, dull red motes danced at the periphery of her vision, threatening to envelop her completely.
The…jewel…
Kikyo watched with a kind of detached fascination as an arm that couldn't possibly be her own—how could it be, when she couldn't even feel hers?—inched slowly across the trampled grass and shakily brushed the bright jewel. The fingers trembled, then began to close over the gem.
"Hmph." A foot thudded to the ground, abruptly stopping the sluggish movements of the hand with a cruel grinding flick. New flames licked hungrily over the paths of their predecessors; the arm was suddenly brought back to life with a fresh wave of hurt.
"Fool! I never had any intention of becoming human!" A callous, mocking voice rang through the silent clearing, a voice all too familiar to her…
No…no…please…Clawed fingers reached down, flicking Kikyo's hand away impatiently as they grasped the Shikon Jewel and lifted it up.
"Thanks for the jewel!"
Kikyo lifted her head off the ground slightly, her eyes widening in stunned disbelief as the traveled slowly over the well-known silvery hair, gleaming golden eyes, and cold, mocking smile of the figure before her.
No…Had she though she'd known pain? A true fool, to imagine that anything like that flesh wound could be measured at all, compared to this, this wrenching, smoldering sensation that burned to her very core, igniting her heart and reducing it a bitter, throbbing wreck. Too excruciating, too immense to be described in words…
"Feh…this rock…it's thirsty for more hateful blood!" There was an ominous pause, and then the voice held a hint of a smirk as he continued, "I think I'll go slaughter the village!"
Closing her eyes, the miko tried to block out the malicious words.
Moving closer, he gave Kikyo a rough kick to her injured shoulder. "Well, so you're not dead. Maybe I should keep you…I could always use the powers of a miko to help me. After you've been properly…trained, of course."
The throbbing of her injured shoulder dimmed at those hateful words, chased far away into petty insignificance. Kikyo pressed her face to the cool grass, suddenly too drained to do anything but wish for rest.
*****
Even from here, Inuyasha could see the dark liquid seeping from Kikyo's shoulder and into the ground, bleeding into the very roots of the plants and tainting them.
Drawing Tetsusaiga from its sheath, Inuyasha concentrated all his energy into the blade as he called forth an attack.
"KAZE NO KIZU!!!"
Just before the slashing wind blades hit, the white-haired figure whirled around and stared at Inuyasha with a shocked expression. The golden eyes that mirrored his own flashed a blood red hue, piercing him with a gaze of pure hate.
Naraku.
*****
The voice had stopped. Cool, comforting winds blew gently across her face, and Kikyo gathered up enough strength to let her eyes flicker open. Once again the landscape lay calm and silent before her, a sighing breath of fresh air echoing through the plants.
He'd gone already. Inu—no, no. Better not to name him, better to leave him blank, better to wipe weak emotions away from her heart and leave her path clear before her. Better to do that than to be swayed by the twinges of her own heart, which would not be quieted, which made her hesitant and indecisive.
Staggering upward, the miko clutched painfully at her immobile, dangling right arm. She had a task to complete now, and all those sentiments must be brushed away for later; her village, her wards, her children were in danger and they were her first priority.
Not him. Him—later.
A blur silvery that caught the light and gave it back in an opalescent gleam. Kikyo turned, but far too slowly. He was heading towards her, and there was nothing that she could do to prevent it, nothing. Helpless, trapped, her bow left outside the village, nothing left to stop him from destroying her precious village, ripping it into mangled shreds as he had done to her heart, leaving it to drift away, scattering in the chill wind—
Hands reached out for her, and she could feel the metallic scratch of those horribly sharp claws scraping along her skin—but the hands were gentle, warm, reassuring. She felt herself lifted up, and gazed into amber-gold eyes that bespoke of tender worry. All at once her cold wall of resolve weakened and crumbled under those eyes, that look that promised everything would be fine…
…No! No, it's a trick!
Tears blurred her vision and she pushed herself violently from the entrapping, suddenly suffocating grip of his arms. Her hands fisted in the soft red cloth, fingers scrabbling wildly, her voice gasping out in choked sobs.
"Please—please, no, I don't want—leave, I don't—"
"Kikyo! It's ok, listen to me!" Inuyasha stared anxiously at the fighting girl in his arms, trying his best to soothe her. "I can explain ev—"
"Leave! I don't want you! Just leave, leave, please, I cannot…" Kikyo's last words trailed off into nothingness as she wept silently, uncontrollably, still shoving away from the hanyô. He stared at her in shocked dismay, trying to find words to explain but unable to begin.
The slow plop-plop of dripping liquid awoke him from his thoughts, and he stared, dumbfounded, at his bloodstained hands for a second. Transferring his gaze to Kikyo's shoulder, he noticed with horror the way the dark liquid had dyed her whole kimono top crimson. Wordlessly, Inuyasha set the girl gently on the ground and began making hasty bandages, tearing strips of cloth away from his shirt with his teeth. Peeling Kikyo's once-white kimono back from her injuries, the hanyô wiped off as much blood as possible and began binding the wounds up.
Kikyo stiffened, and Inuyasha stopped his work to gaze anxiously at the miko. Would she start to fight him again? But the girl simply sighed, closed her eyes, and relaxed, apparently too exhausted to make another move. Continuing his task, Inuyasha gently bound each deep slash, his mouth setting into a grim line as he surveyed the injuries Naraku had inflicted.
Naraku…!
Inuyasha's eyes flashed, and his fingernails bit into his palm as he clenched his fists. At last, I finally got you back, you bastard… Glancing back down at Kikyo, his expression softened a little as he quickly peeled more makeshift bandages away from his clothing. …for you, Kikyo. He won't be able to hurt you anymore.
*****
What is this?A dim haze of light hovered above her, and someone sat to her side. Shifting slightly, Kikyo felt a stiffness in her right shoulder, but she sat up, allowing her eyes to adjust. The figure to her left blinked slowly into focus.
"Kikyo! You're awake!"
He bent over her, offering a flask of water, one hand moving to her back to steady her.
"Here, just dri—"
Inuyasha was toppled backwards as a violent shove caught him off-balance, knocking over the clay beaker of water. It fell, rolling over the slick grass before shattering upon impact with a tree trunk. He stared in disbelief at the girl before him.
"K-kikyo!"
"Do not talk to me!" The miko's voice rose, cutting off any more words Inuyasha had to offer. "I have no need of your lies, you trickery, your fake sympathy any longer." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I…I trusted you! I trusted you like the fool I am and now I know better."
"No, just listen to—"
"I don't want to!" Tears
traced wet patterns down her cheeks again.
She knew that if she had to listen to him any longer, her heart would
melt again; she wouldn't be able to do what she had to. Stupid heart. Touching a hand to her bandaged shoulder, the miko continued,
regardless of the fact that her vision was misted with salty tears. "Do not even bother to explain to me
why you have taken care of my wounds; I suppose it is just another of your
schemes, another way to play with me."
Why did her chest feel like it was ripping apart? "How could you do this? After you said that to me? Said that you loved me?" She was crying in earnest now, wet droplets
dropping down like spring rains, but rain brought relief while these only
increased the burning sensation in her heart.
"I trusted you, but I was a fool, so stu—"
"But I meant it!" He stood slowly, moving closer to her, holding out a hand that she had to fight herself not to reach out and touch. "I meant all of it, Kikyo. Please. Please, listen to me."
She shook her head numbly in disbelief as he walked toward her, his hair catching the light as he moved out of the shadows.
"Please."
Kikyo froze in place as she stared mutely at him, arguments dying in her throat as her legs crumpled and she knelt weakly on the ground, her gaze still transfixed on him. Inuyasha. A faint whisper escaped her lips.
"Your hair…" It gleamed dully, now a deep, bluish-black hue in the morning sun. Her trembling fingers reached out to touch it as he bent down towards her. "It is not real. It's an illusion," the miko murmured, her eyes pleading with him to say otherwise.
Inuyasha faltered out an explanation. "Kikyo, it was Onigumo…he willingly became possessed by demons, in order to take the Shikon Jewel…but I destroyed him…it's over now, and the Shikon is gone…"
"Are you sure about that?" a cold voice sneered, echoing across the small clearing.
He recognized that voice immediately. "Naraku!"
"Pitiful halfling," Naraku taunted. "Did you think your attack actually killed me? Oh, I received some injuries, to be sure…but I am far from dead." A movement rifled in the trees behind him; Inuyasha turned, shoving Kikyo behind him. He instinctively fingered Tetsusaiga, but the blade remained cold and useless.
"Perhaps I should let you two lovers…" Now leaves rustled from the front, too; swirls of movement circled the clearing. Inuyasha grimaced, wishing that he had not been so quick to use the Shikon to transform. "…be alone for a while longer, eh? Don't worry, though, I'll be back when you least expect it."
"Onigumo!" Kikyo rose, speaking in the general direction from whence the voice had come. "You…decided to bond with demons? Chose to lose your own soul in order to gain the Shikon? For mere power?"
"Girl, Onigumo is only a part of me now. I have no use for the weak human desires held within him…and no use for you." The yôkai's voice lost its casual tone, gaining a hint of poison. "And not for you, Inuyasha. You are the one…who lost me my jewel. I could have controlled everything; become unstoppable." There was an ominous pause. Inuyasha growled, pulling out the untransformed Tetsusaiga from its sheath.
"…And I still will. Beginning with you." Slowly, the movement stopped and a relieved silence descended over the clearing. Inuyasha dropped Tetsusaiga and sighed. They were safe—for now. Naraku would be back; he would bet his life on that.
"That was Onigumo…?" Kikyo placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Yes…or what he has become." He leaned up against a nearby tree, sighing again. "He'll be back."
She nodded.
"Kikyo…" Without another word, Inuyasha pulled her towards him to engulf the girl in a warm embrace. She leaned against his shoulder, glad for the support, realization finally sinking fully into her body as she let the full flood of emotions swallow her. Two final tears slid down her cheek as she closed her eyes and whispered, "You used the Shikon no Tama…you kept your promise…Inuyasha…"
This feeling…one I have not had in such a long time…the feeling of peace…A/N: Uh-uh, it's not over yet! Don't you dare think that! *Grins* One more chapter, with a little kick at the end that I think all of you Kagome/Inu fans will enjoy!…that is, when I get it rewritten…T_T *Mumbles and wanders off*