Chapter 27: Hate Seed
Inu Yasha set Kagome down and dropped to the grass and dirt to sniff the ground. "Damnit! I lost his scent!" Inu Yasha growled. "Are you sure you don't know where he went?"
"No, I really don't. He didn't say at all, he just dropped me and ran off!" Kagome said watching him anxiously.
"I can't believe him!" Inu Yasha shouted. "How could he run off with you like that??"
"He didn't do anything to me!" Kagome shouted back.
"Well he wanted to, I know it! God I am going to call him out when I find him and-"
"He didn't do anything to be because you're his friend!" Kagome cried.
Inu Yasha paused and the wind blew through his long hair and made the grass ripple. All of a sudden a demon dropped out of the sky and landed right on the spot he was sniffing.
Inu Yasha and Kagome jumped back in shock.
Sumiko stood there smiling at them with her catlike eyes gleaming in the night.
"Sumiko?" Kagome asked. "Where's Shio?"
-
Sashimi stood in front of Naraku with an unbelieving expression over her face. He smiled, enjoying every moment. "It-it can't be." Sashimi shook her head. "How did you bring her back?? Why did you bring her back??"
Naraku laughed under his breath, "Kukuku, I've brought her back for the same reason I brought you back Sumiko. You sisters were very useful to me indeed. Especially Sumiko. With the help of my minions, I've brought her back with the same soul, the same body, yet she had no light and unlike you, she didn't know how to create light….You're family is cursed in a way did you know?"
Sashimi didn't answer.
"A spider killed your mother, a spider killed your father, a spider killed you….guess what kind of egg Sumiko was born in."
Sashimi's mouth opened a little but she said nothing.
"That's right! She was born from a spider's egg!" he laughed again at her shock though much louder. "She's not a spider demon but it adds a bit of finesse to Shio's demise."
"Naraku. You can't get rid of Shio." Sashimi said proudly. "Our family may be cursed, but the bad luck is always followed by hope. That is only a small fraction of the power of our light!"
Naraku leered evilly at her. "Shio is dead."
-
"Sumiko, answer Kagome. Where is Shio?" Inu Yasha said.
Sumiko's little smile grew and she spoke. "Tell a lie Inu Yasha."
"What?" he asked.
"Tell a lie Inu Yasha."
His eyes grew, as he noticed how strong her demon power was now. How did she get so strong?
"Sesshomaru is my best friend." Inu Yasha lied. "There. I told a lie, so what?"
Sumiko grinned exposing short fangs alongside her lips.
But Kagome was able to figure it out. "Inu Yasha! Shio put a spell on you so that you couldn't lie, remember?!"
Inu Yasha gasped. "He did! I just got used to telling the truth I guess.." then he turned on Sumiko angrily. "Where is Shio, Sumiko?!"
"Lie all you want now, all of his spells are broken." Sumiko purred.
"WHERE IS HE!!??" Inu Yasha went toward her and reached out to grab her shoulder.
His hand hit an invisible shield that crackled with his touch and tossed him back hard.
"Inu Yasha!" Kagome went over to him to see if he was okay. They both looked at Sumiko who laughed at them for some uunknown reason.
"Shio is dead. His heart belongs to the darkness now." Sumiko said. "And I killed him. I'll say it as loud and proud as I want because he was nothing but a fool and a phony; a poor excuse for a demon if I've ever seen one!"
Inu Yasha got up growling. "Damn it, Sumiko! You used to be a nice little girl who chased butterflies and wanted Shio to like you!"
"SHUT UP!" Sumiko help up her hand so that the palm faced him. She bent it into a claw shape. "I've never liked him and now I have his light! That makes me a goddess!" The palm of her outstretched hand turned blood red.
-
Sashimi didn't even flinch at the mention of her brother being dead.
"What's the matter?" Naraku asked. "Cat got your tongue."
"I was just pondering on whether you knew what would happen if Sumiko gained to much light. A girl as young as her has limits. She might gain too much too fast and the light would act as a nova inside of her. Then the light would be gone forever. No one could possess it."
"I've already planned to take it from her before that happens." Naraku said.
Sumiko closed her eyes. "She's fighting Inu Yasha right now….looks like they've got company of the priestess kind."
"Yes. That girl Kagome, maybe Sumiko will kill her too."
"No. I'm not talking about her." Sashimi said. "There's someone else there with them."
-
Sumiko lunged at Inu Yasha, "Crimson Light Claw!"
He drew Tetsusaiga and held it in front of him. Her attack bounced off of the sword but the metal rang like a tuning fork.
"Kagome-sama!"
Kagome looked up and saw Miroku, Sango and Shippou come ridding through the air on Kirara. They landed in front of her. "Guys! Sumiko's turned evil!"
"We see that!" Sango said as she saw Sumiko do a flip out of the way as Inu Yasha sliced tetsusaiga at her.
All of a sudden, Sumiko heard the sound of the flute in her mind. She jumped out of the battle zone grabbed onto a brach and swung herself up onto the one above it. She closed her eyes and listened as the notes of the flute became words in her mind…."Sumiko….change of plans…..there's a priestess close by who looks like Kagome…her name is Kikyo…kill her first…then go and take Inu Yasha's light…."
Sumiko nodded and looked down at Inu Yasha who was shouting at her to come down or else he would come up. "I'm sorry, Inu Yasha!" she shouted. "But I must depart for now!" She pulled a thin dart gun out of her kimono. "But I leave you a special present!" she raised it to her lips and fired at Kagome.
ZUP!
"OW!" Kagome clutched her arm like it was stung by a bee. "It hurts!" she cried.
"Let me see!" Sango sat next to her, lifted Kagome's hand from the spot and saw a tiny puncture in the skin. "What did she shoot at you?" she asked as if Kagome knew what was swimming in her blood stream at that moment.
Sumiko flew off in a ball of fire.
"Shippou, get the first aid kit out of Kagome's bag!" Sango said, she and Miroku watched as the skin around the wound started to redden slightly.
Inu Yasha held her hand then a familiar scent caught his nose and he realized where Sumiko was going. "Kikyo!"
Everyone looked at him surprised.
"She's going after Kikyo!" he shouted. He dropped Kagome's hand almost knocking her down as he leapt up and went in the direction that Sumiko went.
Shippou watched after him in disbelief, "That creep!"
"He's just going to run off and leave Kaogme live this!?" Sango said watching as well. "We don't even know if whatever's in her will kill her or not!"
Kagome moaned in pain and felt the center of the wound pulse.
"I guess when it comes between Kagome and Kikyo's life…" Miroku trailed off.
Sumiko smiled. "That's right Inu Yasha…make Kagome feel bad…all that hate seed inside of her needs is one unhappy thought to take root and assume control."
Inu Yasha felt a great force hit him in the back and he skidded across the grass landing most ungracefully. He sat up feeling like Kagome had used her enchanted word. He looked back and his heart jumped as he saw Kagome standing a few feet away with her eyes shadowed by her hair and trails of tears going down her cheeks. The wound on her arm had darkened greenish grey.
Kagome looked at him, her eyes full of hate and anger. "How dare you." She hissed darkly.
-
:One last thing I don't understand." Sashimi said. "When you brought Sumiko back, she should have been in a younger form, she's aged much quicker then a regular demon could."
Naraku was once again, ready to answer this question with pleasure, "I thought it would attack the boys more. Especially Shio."
Sashimi looked at him disgustedly. "That's sick. Thinking that Shio would go after his own younger sister in such a way…Shio would never-!"
"You must have been left in the dark while you were dead!" Naraku interrupted her. "Shio's a lot different then what you remember."
-
Deep in the forest, Kikyo walked in the darkness followed by her shikigami serpants, the only friends she had. The soul stealing demons around her shivered in disturbance. Kikyo stopped walking and stood silently sensing the demon coming. She drew and arrow and fired.
Sumiko caught the arrow in her hand as it was coming right at where she was about to land. Doing a flip she landed, held the arrow up mockingly and set it a flame.
Kikyo watched without expression. "What is it you seek from me, kitsune?" she asked.
"What is it I seek?" Sumiko mimicked. She chuckled evilly and stood in a fighting stance. "I seek your undead life."
"Very well, I shall purify you, demon." Kikyo said drawing another arrow.
-
Inu Yasha stood up watching Kagome. He had never seen her so angry, so upset at him before. She almost looked like she wanted to murder him!
Kagome clentched her fists. "What are you waiting for? Why don't you go save your precious Kikyo?? After all, she's all that matters, right?" her voice dripped with dark anger and acid sarcasm. "RIGHT?? AM I RIGHT??!"
Inu Yasha was speechless. He didn't know what to say or what to think. The words themselves were shocking, but the emotion in her eyes was incredible. He could only say one word. "Kagome."
"DON'T SAY MY NAME UNLESS YOU REALLY WANT ME, YOU SICK, TWO-FACED BASTARD!!" she thrust her arm forward, a vine poked out of the flesh of her skin, curled around her wrist and fingers creating claws of thorns and woody brown vine. She swiped at him and he barely dodged out of the way in time. More veins broke out of her skin, sprouting leaves and sharp spiky thorns. They curled around her limbs, constricting her body but apparently not bound so tight that she couldn't chase after Inu Yasha. The veins even made her gain agility and speed.
Sumiko smiled to herself as she faced off with Kikyo, The more the dark thought grows, the more the hate plant grows. It will keep feeding off of Kagome's sadness until she dies.
Several vines shot out of Kagome's arms and came at Inu Yasha with sharpened ends. He swung tetsusaiga and cut the sharp ends off each of them. Kagome screamed in pain and hugged herself in agony.
Inu Yasha's heart sank. He didn't realize that she was sharing pain with the pant growing inside of her. "Kagome! I'm sorry!" he said quickly.
She glowered at him and swung the vines at him again. He dodged. "No you're not sorry!!" she shouted at him. "You don't care at all! If you cared you wouldn't string me along like a fish on a line!"
Inu Yasha dodged another one of her vine attacks but jumped right infront of another attack. He heard the rip of his kimono and felt the white hot pain of his chest being gashed. When the air touched the wound he cried out from the pain and jumped into the foliage of the forest.
"Yes! That's right!" Kagome shouted, letting tears fall freely from her eyes. "Go off to save your precious Kikyo!! It's not like Kagome matters! She can die for all we care! As long as Kikyo is safe, nothing else in the world matters! It's not like someone who is actually living loves you!!" after stating this Kagome gave a loud sob.
Inu Yasha was actually shivering, but not from fear. He knew that Kagome didn't like him going off to be with Kikyo, but to know that it hurt her this badly, he realized he had truly never considered her feelings. And here he was, hiding while Kagome suffered because of him. An overwhelming hate for himself filled his mind and he pounded his fists into the ground. Though this move seemed to have caught Kagome's attention.
"BASTARD!!"
Inu Yasha was impaled through the shoulder with a vine and pulled back into the clearing where several more vines dug into his body. He gritted his teeth as the pain started to numb, which was not a good sign. He was lifted off of the ground a few inches before he was dropped again on the ground. His nose and mind were clouded with the smell of blood. When he realized it was Kagome's blood too he groaned and tried to look at her. He couldn't move his right arm but his left arm could move a little. He leaned against it and the pain stabbing into him. He managed to sat up and turn his head to look at Kagome.
She was lying on the ground the vines coming out of her limp, and blood leaked out of the spots where they broke out of her skin. "Kagome." Inu Yasha managed to move over to where she was and lift her into his lap with his almost good arm. "Kagome, wake up!"
She didn't move. She had no pulse, she looked up at him with glazed eyes, and though she was lifeless, they still showed the pain in her heart she felt before she died.
"Kagome wake up! Don't leave me! Please, don't go!" Inu Yasha put his face into her hair and actually felt his eyes water. Kagome died, and he was all alone in the forest. He couldn't even imagine what to tell the others, wherever they were.