CHAPTER ELEVEN
*
Kaede watched Kagome sleep fitfully. It would only be a few hours until sunrise, but the girl from the future had taken hours to settle down completely. Now she and Sango were cuddled under a blanket, with Shippo snoring between them. In the corner, Miroku was curled up on a mat of his own.
Kaede sighed.
The loss of Inuyasha weighed heavily on Kagome's soul. While she might be Kikyo's reincarnation, she still was young. It brought sorrow to her heart to see the girl suffering so, especially since she felt such guilt over his loss, though she had not been to blame. Even more so, Kaede suspected, because she and Inuyasha had not had time enough to express any hidden feelings for one another.
The old woman rubbed her remaining eye. She would not have thought that she would have become so fond of Inuyasha; his crabbiness and stubbornness had been a constant source of irritation. Yet now, Kaede found that she missed the abrasive young demon.
I wonder where Kagome spent the past day, she thought, walking to the doorway. It is not like her to suddenly leave alone. Yet she does not wish to tell us, and I think it is best to say nothing more... for the time being. Let her mourn Inuyasha in her own way.
Down by Inuyasha's grave, she could see the form of a dark-haired woman, wearing the red and white garb of a priestess. Around her were floating long, insectile-looking demons that swirled around her body. Though her face was in shadow, Kaede knew that it would look almost precisely like Kagome's.
She could not see her long-dead sister's expression. She suspected that she did not want to know what it held. When she turned back in the doorway, she saw that the woman and the demons had vanished.
In the darkened house, Kagome held Tetsusaiga closer, and mumbled in her sleep, "Inuyasha..."
*
The next day, Kagome was walking in a daze. As before, she kept the Tetsusaiga beside her wherever she went, although she left Inuyasha's clothing in Kaede's hut. Shippo often trailed after her, but after awhile he too left her alone. Instead the little fox silently helped Kaede grind her herbal potions, occasionally running out to put a flower on Inuyasha's grave.
The villagers still offered their sympathy to Kagome, and she tried to accept it. It was a little difficult, given what she had just made a deal to do.
When Miroku asked Kaede about Kagome's distant behavior, the old woman said, "Let her be, Miroku. Simply let her be."
When Kagome came to Inuyasha's gravesite, she felt almost like an intruder. She knelt beside the earth mound and rested her hand on top of it. What did I do? she thought. Did I just make the worst mistake of my entire life? I don't think Sesshoumaru would allow me to just back out of it.
She felt numb and dazed, as if she were walking half in a dream. Her hand curled on the grave dirt. She wasn't entirely sure how Inuyasha would react when he knew what had happened. But she was sure that he would be enraged. After all, he'd gotten ticked off when Sango only stole Tetsusaiga for a few hours, and she'd been blackmailed to boot. Kagome had simply agreed to hand it over, to the second-worst person Inuyasha had known.
"But do I wanna back out?" she muttered. "No, I don't. That is, I don't want Inuyasha to stay where he is. He deserved better than that. And I want him to have a chance at having what he really did deserve." She touched the Tetsusaiga, stroked the frayed hilt. "If he has to hate me for that to happen, I'll do it."
"I don't - I don't know if what is happening is right or wrong, or if I'm just being stupid," Kagome said softly. "Heck, I don't even know if Sesshoumaru is lying or not. But he's the only one I can go to."
She rested her head on the grave. "Inuyasha... this is probably the wrong choice for me to make. And I'll probably regret it. I just... I just want you back."
TO BE CONTINUED
*
Kaede watched Kagome sleep fitfully. It would only be a few hours until sunrise, but the girl from the future had taken hours to settle down completely. Now she and Sango were cuddled under a blanket, with Shippo snoring between them. In the corner, Miroku was curled up on a mat of his own.
Kaede sighed.
The loss of Inuyasha weighed heavily on Kagome's soul. While she might be Kikyo's reincarnation, she still was young. It brought sorrow to her heart to see the girl suffering so, especially since she felt such guilt over his loss, though she had not been to blame. Even more so, Kaede suspected, because she and Inuyasha had not had time enough to express any hidden feelings for one another.
The old woman rubbed her remaining eye. She would not have thought that she would have become so fond of Inuyasha; his crabbiness and stubbornness had been a constant source of irritation. Yet now, Kaede found that she missed the abrasive young demon.
I wonder where Kagome spent the past day, she thought, walking to the doorway. It is not like her to suddenly leave alone. Yet she does not wish to tell us, and I think it is best to say nothing more... for the time being. Let her mourn Inuyasha in her own way.
Down by Inuyasha's grave, she could see the form of a dark-haired woman, wearing the red and white garb of a priestess. Around her were floating long, insectile-looking demons that swirled around her body. Though her face was in shadow, Kaede knew that it would look almost precisely like Kagome's.
She could not see her long-dead sister's expression. She suspected that she did not want to know what it held. When she turned back in the doorway, she saw that the woman and the demons had vanished.
In the darkened house, Kagome held Tetsusaiga closer, and mumbled in her sleep, "Inuyasha..."
*
The next day, Kagome was walking in a daze. As before, she kept the Tetsusaiga beside her wherever she went, although she left Inuyasha's clothing in Kaede's hut. Shippo often trailed after her, but after awhile he too left her alone. Instead the little fox silently helped Kaede grind her herbal potions, occasionally running out to put a flower on Inuyasha's grave.
The villagers still offered their sympathy to Kagome, and she tried to accept it. It was a little difficult, given what she had just made a deal to do.
When Miroku asked Kaede about Kagome's distant behavior, the old woman said, "Let her be, Miroku. Simply let her be."
When Kagome came to Inuyasha's gravesite, she felt almost like an intruder. She knelt beside the earth mound and rested her hand on top of it. What did I do? she thought. Did I just make the worst mistake of my entire life? I don't think Sesshoumaru would allow me to just back out of it.
She felt numb and dazed, as if she were walking half in a dream. Her hand curled on the grave dirt. She wasn't entirely sure how Inuyasha would react when he knew what had happened. But she was sure that he would be enraged. After all, he'd gotten ticked off when Sango only stole Tetsusaiga for a few hours, and she'd been blackmailed to boot. Kagome had simply agreed to hand it over, to the second-worst person Inuyasha had known.
"But do I wanna back out?" she muttered. "No, I don't. That is, I don't want Inuyasha to stay where he is. He deserved better than that. And I want him to have a chance at having what he really did deserve." She touched the Tetsusaiga, stroked the frayed hilt. "If he has to hate me for that to happen, I'll do it."
"I don't - I don't know if what is happening is right or wrong, or if I'm just being stupid," Kagome said softly. "Heck, I don't even know if Sesshoumaru is lying or not. But he's the only one I can go to."
She rested her head on the grave. "Inuyasha... this is probably the wrong choice for me to make. And I'll probably regret it. I just... I just want you back."
TO BE CONTINUED