17 ~by: Twilight Zero
TZ's notes: ^______________________^ WAIII!!!!!!! 15 amazing reviews!!!! Minnasan, arigato gozaimasu!!!! (does a Japanese style bow) Thanks to you, this fic has become my most successful Inu Yasha fic!!! *sniff* I'm so touched…also, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Emme! It's a great honor for me to know that you guys love my fic! *sniffle* Gosh…ureshii na…=^_____^= (cracks knuckles) Yoshi! After a lot of thinking and plotting, I hereby present to you the seventh chapter. Standard disclaimers apply; that is, I don't own IY. Itadakimasu!!!
The first rays of sunshine greeted the village, as spring came back to the country. The entire place was back to its lush green color after the cold bitter weeks of winter. The village people thanked the gods for a peaceful winter; cause surprisingly, youkais haven't invaded the village during the cold days of snow. They also thanked the Shikon no Tama and Kikyou, for their efforts in maintaining peace in the place. After the fields announced their stablity for planting crops, they soon got busy and things slowly returned to how it was before.
Kikyou had been away that day, and so Kaede was the one who checked up on Onigumo at the cave. The great miko was summoned by a rich oyakata (master of a mansion) for his mansion was seemed to be infested with evil power. The miko's little sister just finished tending Onigumo's wounds, and was washing something in the water when he asked her something…
"Hey, runt…" he began. Offended, she faced him.
"I'm Kaede."
"Kikyou, your aneki," Onigumo continued, "The Shikon no Tama is in her possession, isn't it?"
Kaede was surprised because Onigumo knew about the jewel. "How did you know that?!" she demanded. Onigumo managed to cackle, much to Kaede's annoyance.
"Because all of the bad guys are after it you see…if we had that damn jewel, we would be more powerful." He closed his eyes, with the image of the Shikon clear in his mind. "That jewel can become evil if it absorbs evil energy…hehehe…:
"Hmp! Onee-sama keeps the jewel pure. It won't become evil…ever!" Kaede pouted like a little child. She looked at him with an annoyed expression, and because she couldn't hold her temper any longer, she decided to leave, leaving him rambling to himself. He was staring at the mossy walls of the cave.
"That damn miko always keeps that unruffled look in her face…I would like to see her in pain…just the thought of it is so thrilling."
Not far from the cave, Kaede saw her sister, who had just returned from the mansion. "Onee-sama!" she cried. "Okaeri!" Her sister smiled at her, and pretty soon, they were walking together back to the village. Kaede narrated the events that happened while she was away, including the things that the wounded bandit told her about Kikyou and the jewel. After she finished, her expression was a childish frown, while her big sister was deep in thoughts.
"I see…he said such a thing."
"Onee-sama," Kaede said, "I hate that guy." She heard her sister chuckle at her complaint.
"Forgive him, Kaede. I doubt that he would do any harm to us, much more to steal the jewel. Because I bet that he, Onigumo, he won't move from there for the rest of his life…"
Kaede nodded at her onee-sama's statement and breath out a sigh of relief. The tension of their conversation was dissolved by the cheery greetings of the village people, & because of them, she managed to forget the evil ningen's words.
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"Anyone who's ever been in love
Has got to know what it means,
To have a dream and no one can say anything…"
It was a beautiful afternoon that day, when Kikyou decided to pay her little hanyou 'friend' a visit. It has been a month since their last conversation, and because of that the couple had a lot of things to talk about. Memories to reminisce. The atmosphere was lightened up by their heartfelt conversations, until it came down to one topic.
"Are you sure?!" he almost squeaked. "Me? Become human?"
"That's right. After all, you're a half-youkai right? In your veins flow the blood of a mortal, that's why it's likely that you become a human…just like me." The thought made her shiver for a moment, thinking about her and him living together…she felt electricity surge down her whole body. Yes, she wanted to be together with him, with only him…
Inu-Yasha on the other hand, didn't know what to say either. Sure, for so long a time, he had dreamed of living with Kikyou, the woman that he first loved. His doubtful expression turned into joy, as he smiled and replied, "I'd love that. I-I want to be human…so that I…" Feeling that she was looking at him, hoping to finish his statement, he stood up and grabbed her arm, walking towards the riverbank.
"W-wait! Where are you taking me?"
He just smirked. "Have you ever seen the beauty of this river at sundown?"
"Well, yes, everytime I take my afternoon walk."
"Well," he said, and loosened his grip on her. "Have you ever experienced its beauty up close?"
She looked down on the ground. "No…I'm afraid not." She felt that he went silent for a while, and when she looked up, he was pointing to a small boat.
"Well, what are you standing there for? Come on, we're going on a boat trip." He walked ahead first, before being stopped by Kikyou. "Inu-Yasha! Why are you doing this?"
He looked down, face buring red. "It's my way of thanking you…"
The atmosphere was peaceful and serene that afternoon, and Kikyou enjoyed it very much. She had never seen the river this close on a cool spring afternoon. Plus the fact that the man of her dreams took her into it, she can't help but refer to herself as the happiest girl in the world. "You're right, Inu-Yasha. The river really is beautiful up close. I wish Kaede could see this."
"By the way, how's that little sister of yours?"
"She's getting better and better each day. Pretty soon she'll take my place as the next shrine maiden. And when that time comes, she won't have to worry about the jewel anymore, for she won't be protecting something important, making her role easier."
"Are you sure you wanted to give the jewel to me?"
"I'm sure. Besides, I want to…"
Inu stopped rowing for a second to hear her statement. "Want to, what?"
"It's nothing…never mind it." I can't say it to you directly after all. But at least i…
They soon reached the dock, and while alighting the boat, Kikyou tripped on her way up. Before she hit the wooden floor, Inu-Yasha caught her in the nick of time. "Are you alright?" he asked.
Kikyou looked up, and saw his golden eyes staring directly at hers, and without warning, he hugged her tight for the first time. She felt strange all of a sudden – she felt strong and weak at the same time. She felt that she was safe in his strong arms. Giving up to his embrace, she let go of the arrows that she was carrying and embraced him back. "I'm alright…I'm glad you caught me before I fell…" She clutched tightly to his gi as she tried to say what she was dying to tell him the whole time. "Inu-Yasha, I may be cold and emotionless all the time. And I may be not that perfect maiden, but even so, I've been dying to express my feelings towards you and the truth is...I love you. I love you so much and I wanted to be with you forever…I'm happy whenever you're with me, and I don't want to lose you…"
"…to change my mind, no not this time…"
"And I love you too, Kikyou. It took me so long before I realized it, and I just wanted you in my life…I never knew that falling in love makes you feel happy like this…" he replied in a tone so sincere that it made her heart skip a beat. Gently, he lifted her chin so that she is facing him directly, and as his head bent low to hers, she closed her eyes as a teardrop rolled down her cheek…
A teardrop of happiness…
…and wished that time stopped as she received her first kiss, the kiss that they both have been dying to experience. Kikyou felt like she was going to crumble in his arms, as they slid down to her waist and pulled her closer to him. Unconsciously, she slid her hand at the back of his head while the other held on to his gi, as if she was holding for dear life. They would pause for a while for some air, before feeling the warmth of each other's lips. Not too long after they let each other go, and gazed at each other with love in their eyes. "Tomorrow at dawn, wait for me here. I'll come bringing the Shikon no Tama, so that you can wish upon it and turn into a human…so that we can live together with each other…"
"I'll live forever with you Kikyou, I promise I'll wait for you…" Before she left, he gave her one last kiss and watched her disappear in sight. He smiled, pretty pleased with himself, at that moment, nothing runs in his mind rather than the thought of living with Kikyou forever –
As a human…
"Give me your soul…"
"I want to eat your soul…"
Demons were lingering around and inside Onigumo's cave, as the bandit was helplessly laid there, while being drooled over by the youkais that were dying to eat him. His pupils dilated at the sight of the monsters, as he smiled wickedly to himself. "Of course…OF COURSE!!! Why didn't I think of it before! With these powerful youkai by my side, I can get the Shikon no Tama – and Kikyou – easily! My dreams of becoming the most powerful being in the world will come true!!!" Looking at the creatures, he shouted, "You, youkais! See this rotting bag of flesh? It's all yours now!!! Eat it if you want…come unto me! THE ABSOLUTE POWER!!!" (A/n: Insert any creepy IY BGM [background music] here…)
The cave was filled with darkness, as the youkais made their way into him, and thus a new being was formed…
"I can feel it…the absolute power…kukukukuuu…"
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Yay! Another chapter done! Oh a little note, the dialogue where Onigumo and Kaede talked was from the the official Inu-Yasha manga. I don't own that either, I just love the site where I first read it. Inu-Yasha fans, new and old alike, try checking it out! All of them are translated by Chris Rijk, and the address is: www.wot-club.org.uk/Inuyasha. It's a great site!
** yawn ** As for me…I'm sleepy, so I gotta hit the sack now…please review…oyasumi…zzzzzzzz… =-.-=
IY-gumi: ** sweatdrop **