17 – by Twilight Zero
TZ's notes: Waiii!!!! Minnasan! The long wait is over!!!!! I hereby present to you the last chapter of our beloved Inu/Kik fanfic, "17"!! And so without further ado, here it is!! Enjoy! ^________^
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Inu-Yasha was humming a sweet song as he made his way back to the said place where he and Kikyou talked before:
"Inu-Yasha, come to this place tomorrow at dawn; I'll be here with the Shikon no Tama." she promised.
Finally, he's going to be human for her…without the annoying changes that he's experiencing everytime the new moon is up. No more uncontrollable transformations. No more loneliness and suffering. For he's going to experience true happiness within her. as he eyed the first rays of sunshine for the day, he can't help but feel delighted…
Unfortunately, it won't last for long…
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"There he is…" Naraku's evil voice broke thru the merry chirping of the early birds in the forest. In one of "her" hands, he clutched a long bow similar to that of Kikyou's. In his eyes swirled the thirst for vengeance and hate. The instinct to kill and be victorious. The uncontrollable feeling of passion and lust.
Wasting no time, he took an arrow from behind him, and aimed…
Her scent! Inu-Yasha thought. He was halfway to their meeting place when a soft breeze delivered her sweet fragrance. When he reached the spot, no miko was to be found.
Only the stinging pain of a very familiar spritual arrow. It swished and missed him by a hair. "No way!" he mentally cried. "That's-"
"INU-YASHA!" followed a very familiar voice.
Horror of horrors, he looked behind him, and there she stood… "Die, Inu-Yasha!!"
"Kikyou-?!?!" he cried, as she followed her previous shot with another and another. No way, but you said…
Dodging one, he made a break into the depths of the woods, with her at his heels…
You said that you wanted to be with me forever…
Another arrow. ZWING! It missed his right ear again…
Were they all just lies??
…then he jumped his way into a sturdy tree branch, and leapt further away from her…
I thought that deep in your pure heart you truly loved me…no way…
He has reached the end…yet his heart kept on running like wild with confusion, betrayal and hatred. There he desperately yelled:
"KIKYOU!! WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME?!?!?!"
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The real miko, however was weakly making her way back to the village. "Inu-Yasha, why did you deceive me? Why, why..?" those were the only questions that echoed in her head, only to be interrupted by a cry of war coming from the Shikon no Tama's shrine. "What's happening??"
"Help! Somebody help us!!"
"Inu-Yasha has returned again!!"
Crash! Kaboom! Fire flew up into the sky, and the angry cry of the hanyou was towering above all the chaos. "Haiiii!!!!"
"He's attacking the village…" she angrily thought. "And I suppose attempting to kill me wasn't enough…I must stop him!!!!"
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"Quick! Guard the Shikon shrine until Kikyou-sama comes back!" The male villagers were desperately trying to protect the sacred grounds, using their typical spears and arrows. But they were no match for the burning rage of the hanyou's soul.
"Get out of my way, ya filthy humans!!" The hanyou somersaulted into the air, only to be captured inside a net thrown at him by the fishermans of the village. "We got him! Hurry, kill him now!!"
Kikyou…her name continues to roll in his mind. Her face…no! he can't be distracted now! "Do you possibly think a flycatcher would be able to stop ME?!?!" and with one violent slash, he was free again. He made a break for the temple, ignoring the spears that were continuously bouncing against his firey red haori. The men finally caught up with him inside the shrine, with the jewel in his hands. They continued attacking him from all sides. Desperate, he made a break for the roof, causing an explosion in the process. "Ha ha ha! I never imagined that getting this glass was easier than I thought! Now, I can be more powerful and more destructive! Finally, I can be a full youkai!!"
As he landed on the grounds of the forest, near the Goshinboku tree, his keen sense of smell caught something familiar…
Kikyou's blood!
The weak miko stood behind him and ready to fire, ignoring the gasps of the villages as to where and how did she got that nasty-looking wound on her shoulder. "Kikyou onee-sama!" Kaede cried. The little girl's eyes followed every gush of blood that was escaping from her sister's body every second. "You're hurt! Kikyou onee-sama, stop that, please!"
"I can't…I must stop him…" He's got the jewel in his hands…why does it have to turn out like this??
"INU-YASHA!" and with a blinding flash from her spiritual energy, she released the arrow…
Upon hearing his name, he snarled and turned around. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that fatal wound on her body. Unable to respond quickly because of the sight, he never noticed the arrowhead that waspiercing his left shoulder. He just snapped back to reality when the excruciating pain hit his body like electricity, and threw his back up against the great tree's trunk…
"Aahh!" he cried out loud. In his pain, he dropped the Shikon no Tama. The enchanted little ball of glass dropped to the ground and rolled back to its protector. Kikyou kneeled down and picked it up.
"K-Kikyou," Inu-Yasha struggled to say. He tried to pull the arrow out, but her spiritual energy forbidded it to be so. "This arrow's cursed," he thought, and his sight went back to her below. "Kikyou…why?" he whispered audibly before falling uncounscious…forever…
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"You did it, onee-sama!" Kaede cried with glee. The villagers cheered for their great protector, with blessings showered upon her a hundredfold. Kikyou however, felt weak and exhausted, until her body can't take it anymore. She fell to her knees.
"Kikyou onee-sama!"
"I did it," she said weakly. "The Shikon no Tama's safe…"
"Yes you did, onee-sama. Now come along and we'll tend to your wounds."
"No, it's too late.." She gently pushed Kaede's hand away. "I'm getting weak…I've lost lots of blood. Kaede, listen to me…"
The young miko-in-training kneeled down next to her. "Take this jewel, and burn it with my remains…I don't want you people to suffer again because of it. Live peacefully from now on, rebuild your lives and I shall be watching over you to guide you always."
"W-what are you talking about?!?" Kaede exclaimed. "You can't die, onee-sama! How about us?" Tears were beginning to fall down her dirty cheeks.
"I can feel that it's my time already…be strong for me, Kaede…I'm sorry, I can't be with you for long…I love you, little sister…"
And after saying that, she fell to the ground, clutching the jewel in her dainty fingers. Deep inside her heart, she was crying tears of regret and depression. The past…with Inu-Yasha…memories of their conversations, their first hug…their first kiss…their dream to be together forever…
She never felt so happy in her entire life…and yet…
Why does it have to end like this…?
"Feels good, when I tried,
Makes me happy, you are it exactly…"
"Onee-sama!!!" Kaede wailed, hugging her sister and never letting go. Her small hands were clutching to the white gi of her clothes. "Kikyou onee-sama!!! No! Don't leave us!! Come back, you can't die!! Kikyou onee-samaaaa!!!!!!" Her tears streamed down from her eyes like a never-ending waterfall. All of the other villagers were crying just the same.
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A cold breeze blew over the place, and nobody ever noticed the teardrop that rolled down Kikyou's eyes. Her last tear…before finally closing her eyes…
"I don't wanna do right, I just want you tonight
Not just only in my dreams
Save my best behavior for a little later…
Cause I'm only 17…
Only 17…
Yeah, only 17…."
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The End. Thank you for reading "17", everybody! Arigato, minnasan!
Love and Peace!
~Twilight Zero
P.S. Please be so kind…review! ^______________^