Ch18
Souta ran as though the Hounds of Hell were at his heals, and his heart was racing even faster as he got closer to the shrine. The closer he got, the more smoke he saw, but this smoke was different from what came from a fire. It was getting hard for him to breath, but he took no notice and only sped up. He arrived in time to see two figures by his house. One of them was dressed in a pink school uniform, and had long red hair, while the other was shorter and clad in all black, with spiky black hair.
The one in pink turned to look at him with green eyes before both people left. Souta ran up to his house and opened the door. He walked in and looked around, 'Nothing seems to be wrong....' he thought, until he opened the door to his mom's room.
Souta's eyes widened as he stared at the blood-covered room. The once white curtains, and bed sheets, were now crimson with blood, and pinned to the wall was his mother. Her face still portrayed the look of horror she held when the first arrow struck. Her once vibrant eyes were now dull, and wide, as though she saw something that she couldn't believe during her last breaths. All over her body were cuts and bruises. The one who killed her, had pinned her to the wall with arrows, and bled her.
Souta backed up a few steps before turning around completely and running. He ran to his grandfather's room, to see if the old man had been killed. Contrary to his mother's room, his grandfather's quarters were perfectly clean, as long as you ignored the mutilated corpse on the ground. Souta dropped to his knees as he took in the sight. It was hard to believe that the mess on the floor was once a living being, much less a human. Some of his limbs were twisted and bent in ways that were thought impossible, while other parts of his body seemed to have been melted or burned. The only thing that remained untouched was his face, which was knotted in pain.
Tears fell from the young boys eyes as another person entered the room. Souta looked behind him to see Kagome standing in the doorway. Without thinking, he flung himself on her, and cried. She rubbed his back, "It's alright, Souta." and "Calm down, everything will be alright." was whispered in his ears.
"T-t-th-they're d-dead, K-k-ka-go-me." he chocked out.
"Yes, they are." Kagome laughed, "They lived longer than I expected."
Souta tore away from her, and stepped back, "W-what do you mean?"
Kagome smiled maliciously, "Exactly what I said. They were quit fun to torture, actually. Neither one put up much of a fight. It was easy." She took a step closer, "Would you like me to show you?"
Souta shook his head, "You're not Kagome! You're a monster!"
She laughed again, "Funny, that's what the old hag said before she died. It's not *that* hard to believe that I killed them, is it? I always thought Mother looked best in red anyways, it brings out her eyes." She flipped some hair behind her shoulder before speaking, "What do you think?" She continued to advance on the traumatized boy.
~*~*~*~
Kohaku was the first one (other than Souta) to arrive at the shrine. He ran into the house, trying to find Souta. 'I know that fog all too well. I saw it while I was under Naraku's control...'
Sango and Miroku came in soon after him. They split up to find him.
Miroku saw Kagome standing in a room with her brother. She had her bow out, and arrow strung. 'It's a disguise, Kagome would never do this.' He thought as he struck her with his staff. "I'VE FOUND THEM, UPSTAIRS!"
~*~*~*~
Souta saw Miroku sneak up behind his sister, and hit her. She turned around and shot him in the shoulder. Souta swallowed his fear, grabbed the staff that he had dropped at the door, and swung at her. As if sensing his movements, Kagome turned around and caught the staff before she could be hit.
She smirked and took the staff from Souta, "It's not nice to hit your siblings!" She swung it, hitting Souta in the head. The force of the blow sent him flying into a wall.
"And it's not nice to make siblings hate each other!" Sango said, as she hit Kagome with her Hirakotsu. "Or did you forget that, NARAKU!"
"Naraku?" Souta repeated before he passed out.
Kagome's body changed into that of Naraku, who began to laugh, "Sango, don't tell me you're still angry about that little thing that happened with Kohaku."
Sango responded by trying to hit the madman with the boomerang. She missed, but Kohaku didn't. He had taken out his sickle-and-chain. Both siblings tried to attack Naraku in the cramped space of the house, but Naraku did nothing more than taunt them. Miroku got up, grabbed Souta, and carried him out of the house, which soon burst into flames.
Sango and Kohaku came running out of the smoke, as Naraku disappeared into the well-house. Sango looked at Souta, "What should we do with him?"
"We should take him with us." Kohaku looked back at the flaming building, "He has nowhere else to go."
Miroku shook his head, "As much as I want to, you know as well as I that we can't. We'll have to leave him here." He set the child down by the God-Tree, "We'll be in enough trouble for interfering with the living as it is." The three faded away, leaving Souta to be found by the authorities.
~*~*~*~
Kagome struggled to breath. It felt as thought everything around her was squeezing. "Inuyasha.....I don't think...that we can live.....through this..."
Inuyasha was also having a difficult time, seeing as his body couldn't breath, "Kagome, don't talk like that..." He took a deep breath, "We'll live through this...."
A tear fell from Kagome's eye, "If we both die like this....you'll be stuck with my soul.....and never be able to live your own life....You've lead a hard life, Inuyasha...."
"Don't talk like that.........Kagome. We'll.....make it....just wait and see."
Kagome struggled to speak, "No, Inuyasha! You know as well as I that............this could very well be the end...........I don't want you to have to..........live a life in the shadows of my soul........I want you to be happy......" She was now crying, "Goodbye, Inuyasha......." She forced him out of her body, and out of the shadows, towards the world of the dead with the parting words of, "REINCARNATE, AND BE HAPPY!!!!!"
As Inuyasha's soul went towards salvation, he looked back, tears falling, "Good-bye Kagome."
~*~*~*~
Yoko felt as though the pressure on his body was going to squash him like a bug, but he was too stubborn to die. He used all of his willpower to force a hand to his hair. After finding the right seed, he used any bit of energy he could muster to bloom it. 'Finally.' he thought as he finished.
The Kagayakasu Plant's (it's suppose to mean, 'light plant', so correct me if I'm wrong) effects took longer than Yoko would have hoped, but he didn't mind much as the shadows gave way, and he was able to breath again. The Kagayakasu Plant died instantly afterward. Outside, he saw four orbs, one of which exploded, while a bright, and somehow familiar, light shot out of another.
Standing where one of the orbs used to be, was SesshouMaru, who was as calm as ever. He looked up to see the bright light disappear into the sky, 'So, Inuyasha's gone. The miko will be upset but that is not what's important right now.' His eyes skimmed around, 'RIN!' He ran over to the orb that had her scent, and slashed it with Toukijin, thus destroying it. Kirara and Shippou had shielded the young girl with their bodies from the blast. 'They're knocked out, but still alive.'
Yoko ran to Kagome's orb, but couldn't get close to it. "What the Hell?!" He tried again, but was thrown back before he could get to it.
SesshouMaru jumped up and freed Jin, who fell to the ground. Then he grabbing the thief by the back of his shirt. Yoko growled at the Taiyoukia, eyes misting with red, "Let me go, I have to get to her!"
"If you would calm down, fox, you would notice that no matter who many times you charge, Shisou will block your path!" SesshouMaru growled.
An evil laughter filled the area, "You should listen to the dog. This is *my* domain, and there is no way you'll be able to fight me in the shadows." Shisou was about to leave his hiding place to attack when he got a mental message from Naraku. ~I have finished my business, leave. And be sure the miko is still alive!~ Shisou nodded, and waited for the opportune time to leave.
Yoko growled low in his throat before running faster than he ever had in his life. The second (if not sooner) he got to Kagome's orb, he slashed it. It dissipated, and Kagome fell into his arms. The shadows dissipated, and Shisou was nowhere to be found. Yoko hugged Kagome close to his chest, afraid to let go of her.
SesshouMaru stood by Rin, and the others, as he watched Yoko hold Kagome, 'Shisou could have easily pushed him back before he got to the girl. Why didn't he? And why did he leave without putting up any kind of fight like that?' he growled, "What are you up to, Naraku?!"
~*~*~*~
The police and firemen were looking through the charged ashes of what used to be a shrine when Souta woke up. He got up and looked around. One of the policemen walked up to him, "So you're awake. Do you know who did this?"
Souta looked around, teary-eyed, "W-where's Kagome?! Or Mom, or Gramps!?!"
The officer bowed his head, "I'm sorry, but they were killed in the fire. No bodies have been found, but it's suspected that they were reduced to ashes from the fire."
"B-but what about the shrine? I don't think I can rebuild it on my own..."
"You won't have to, son. We'll put you in a nice orphanage until you're adopted by a nice family."
Souta shook his head, "But, Kagome's alive, I just know she is. Don't make me leave! Just give me a month, you'll see! She's still alive, she can't be dead!" He was a hysterical mess.
The officer sighed, "Listen, as much as I would like to believe that you have a family member left, they're gone."
"I don't wanna have to go to an orphanage. I can't, Kagome won't be able to find me then."
"Kagome's dead, along with the rest of them." another policeman said, but his voice seemed cold and indifferent. "There's nothing that can be done about it."
Souta looked up at him. "Your eyes..."
"What about them?"
It sounded more like a statement than a question, but Souta still answered, "They're gold, like Inuyasha's." It was then that Souta noticed the long silver hair that fell down the man's back, in a low ponytail.
The man tensed at the name, but regained his calmed before sighing, "If you don't want to be in an orphanage, I think I know a person that will take you in. Come with me." He stood up, and started to walk away. Souta just stared at his retreating form, until he stopped and spoke, "Now!" the tone of his voice left no room for arguments, and Souta followed him.
~*~*~*~
The next morning, Kagome sat alone in the campsite. Since Inuyasha left, there was nothing to keep the demon scenes (or dog-ears) that came with Inuyasha's blood from showing. As soon as she had awoken, Kagome jumped into a tree, and refused to talk to anyone. Her mind was a torrent of thought about the happenings from the other day, 'Did I make the right decision to push his soul out? If I hadn't, would things have been different? What happened to him?' The more she thought about it, the more unanswered questions arose. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha."
Yoko and SesshouMaru looked up when she spoke, their sensitive demon hearing picking up every sorrow-filled word. SesshouMaru decided to ask her about it at a more convenient time, and Yoko went to talk to her. He was held back by SesshouMaru, "She has things to sort through right now, your words of comfort would fall upon deaf ears. It's better to wait until she's ready to talk."
Rin, Shippou, and Kirara had yet to wake up, and Jin was just opening his eyes. He looked around at the melancholy group. 'No one seems to be injured, why are they act'n this way?' He walked over to the two silver haired demons, "What's up? It's not like anyone died, or anytin." He was knocked out when SesshouMaru threw a rock at him, and Kagome ran away crying.
(I'm sorry if *any* of that was confusing, and just to let you know, the police officer *wasn't* Inuyasha's reincarnation.)
Souta ran as though the Hounds of Hell were at his heals, and his heart was racing even faster as he got closer to the shrine. The closer he got, the more smoke he saw, but this smoke was different from what came from a fire. It was getting hard for him to breath, but he took no notice and only sped up. He arrived in time to see two figures by his house. One of them was dressed in a pink school uniform, and had long red hair, while the other was shorter and clad in all black, with spiky black hair.
The one in pink turned to look at him with green eyes before both people left. Souta ran up to his house and opened the door. He walked in and looked around, 'Nothing seems to be wrong....' he thought, until he opened the door to his mom's room.
Souta's eyes widened as he stared at the blood-covered room. The once white curtains, and bed sheets, were now crimson with blood, and pinned to the wall was his mother. Her face still portrayed the look of horror she held when the first arrow struck. Her once vibrant eyes were now dull, and wide, as though she saw something that she couldn't believe during her last breaths. All over her body were cuts and bruises. The one who killed her, had pinned her to the wall with arrows, and bled her.
Souta backed up a few steps before turning around completely and running. He ran to his grandfather's room, to see if the old man had been killed. Contrary to his mother's room, his grandfather's quarters were perfectly clean, as long as you ignored the mutilated corpse on the ground. Souta dropped to his knees as he took in the sight. It was hard to believe that the mess on the floor was once a living being, much less a human. Some of his limbs were twisted and bent in ways that were thought impossible, while other parts of his body seemed to have been melted or burned. The only thing that remained untouched was his face, which was knotted in pain.
Tears fell from the young boys eyes as another person entered the room. Souta looked behind him to see Kagome standing in the doorway. Without thinking, he flung himself on her, and cried. She rubbed his back, "It's alright, Souta." and "Calm down, everything will be alright." was whispered in his ears.
"T-t-th-they're d-dead, K-k-ka-go-me." he chocked out.
"Yes, they are." Kagome laughed, "They lived longer than I expected."
Souta tore away from her, and stepped back, "W-what do you mean?"
Kagome smiled maliciously, "Exactly what I said. They were quit fun to torture, actually. Neither one put up much of a fight. It was easy." She took a step closer, "Would you like me to show you?"
Souta shook his head, "You're not Kagome! You're a monster!"
She laughed again, "Funny, that's what the old hag said before she died. It's not *that* hard to believe that I killed them, is it? I always thought Mother looked best in red anyways, it brings out her eyes." She flipped some hair behind her shoulder before speaking, "What do you think?" She continued to advance on the traumatized boy.
~*~*~*~
Kohaku was the first one (other than Souta) to arrive at the shrine. He ran into the house, trying to find Souta. 'I know that fog all too well. I saw it while I was under Naraku's control...'
Sango and Miroku came in soon after him. They split up to find him.
Miroku saw Kagome standing in a room with her brother. She had her bow out, and arrow strung. 'It's a disguise, Kagome would never do this.' He thought as he struck her with his staff. "I'VE FOUND THEM, UPSTAIRS!"
~*~*~*~
Souta saw Miroku sneak up behind his sister, and hit her. She turned around and shot him in the shoulder. Souta swallowed his fear, grabbed the staff that he had dropped at the door, and swung at her. As if sensing his movements, Kagome turned around and caught the staff before she could be hit.
She smirked and took the staff from Souta, "It's not nice to hit your siblings!" She swung it, hitting Souta in the head. The force of the blow sent him flying into a wall.
"And it's not nice to make siblings hate each other!" Sango said, as she hit Kagome with her Hirakotsu. "Or did you forget that, NARAKU!"
"Naraku?" Souta repeated before he passed out.
Kagome's body changed into that of Naraku, who began to laugh, "Sango, don't tell me you're still angry about that little thing that happened with Kohaku."
Sango responded by trying to hit the madman with the boomerang. She missed, but Kohaku didn't. He had taken out his sickle-and-chain. Both siblings tried to attack Naraku in the cramped space of the house, but Naraku did nothing more than taunt them. Miroku got up, grabbed Souta, and carried him out of the house, which soon burst into flames.
Sango and Kohaku came running out of the smoke, as Naraku disappeared into the well-house. Sango looked at Souta, "What should we do with him?"
"We should take him with us." Kohaku looked back at the flaming building, "He has nowhere else to go."
Miroku shook his head, "As much as I want to, you know as well as I that we can't. We'll have to leave him here." He set the child down by the God-Tree, "We'll be in enough trouble for interfering with the living as it is." The three faded away, leaving Souta to be found by the authorities.
~*~*~*~
Kagome struggled to breath. It felt as thought everything around her was squeezing. "Inuyasha.....I don't think...that we can live.....through this..."
Inuyasha was also having a difficult time, seeing as his body couldn't breath, "Kagome, don't talk like that..." He took a deep breath, "We'll live through this...."
A tear fell from Kagome's eye, "If we both die like this....you'll be stuck with my soul.....and never be able to live your own life....You've lead a hard life, Inuyasha...."
"Don't talk like that.........Kagome. We'll.....make it....just wait and see."
Kagome struggled to speak, "No, Inuyasha! You know as well as I that............this could very well be the end...........I don't want you to have to..........live a life in the shadows of my soul........I want you to be happy......" She was now crying, "Goodbye, Inuyasha......." She forced him out of her body, and out of the shadows, towards the world of the dead with the parting words of, "REINCARNATE, AND BE HAPPY!!!!!"
As Inuyasha's soul went towards salvation, he looked back, tears falling, "Good-bye Kagome."
~*~*~*~
Yoko felt as though the pressure on his body was going to squash him like a bug, but he was too stubborn to die. He used all of his willpower to force a hand to his hair. After finding the right seed, he used any bit of energy he could muster to bloom it. 'Finally.' he thought as he finished.
The Kagayakasu Plant's (it's suppose to mean, 'light plant', so correct me if I'm wrong) effects took longer than Yoko would have hoped, but he didn't mind much as the shadows gave way, and he was able to breath again. The Kagayakasu Plant died instantly afterward. Outside, he saw four orbs, one of which exploded, while a bright, and somehow familiar, light shot out of another.
Standing where one of the orbs used to be, was SesshouMaru, who was as calm as ever. He looked up to see the bright light disappear into the sky, 'So, Inuyasha's gone. The miko will be upset but that is not what's important right now.' His eyes skimmed around, 'RIN!' He ran over to the orb that had her scent, and slashed it with Toukijin, thus destroying it. Kirara and Shippou had shielded the young girl with their bodies from the blast. 'They're knocked out, but still alive.'
Yoko ran to Kagome's orb, but couldn't get close to it. "What the Hell?!" He tried again, but was thrown back before he could get to it.
SesshouMaru jumped up and freed Jin, who fell to the ground. Then he grabbing the thief by the back of his shirt. Yoko growled at the Taiyoukia, eyes misting with red, "Let me go, I have to get to her!"
"If you would calm down, fox, you would notice that no matter who many times you charge, Shisou will block your path!" SesshouMaru growled.
An evil laughter filled the area, "You should listen to the dog. This is *my* domain, and there is no way you'll be able to fight me in the shadows." Shisou was about to leave his hiding place to attack when he got a mental message from Naraku. ~I have finished my business, leave. And be sure the miko is still alive!~ Shisou nodded, and waited for the opportune time to leave.
Yoko growled low in his throat before running faster than he ever had in his life. The second (if not sooner) he got to Kagome's orb, he slashed it. It dissipated, and Kagome fell into his arms. The shadows dissipated, and Shisou was nowhere to be found. Yoko hugged Kagome close to his chest, afraid to let go of her.
SesshouMaru stood by Rin, and the others, as he watched Yoko hold Kagome, 'Shisou could have easily pushed him back before he got to the girl. Why didn't he? And why did he leave without putting up any kind of fight like that?' he growled, "What are you up to, Naraku?!"
~*~*~*~
The police and firemen were looking through the charged ashes of what used to be a shrine when Souta woke up. He got up and looked around. One of the policemen walked up to him, "So you're awake. Do you know who did this?"
Souta looked around, teary-eyed, "W-where's Kagome?! Or Mom, or Gramps!?!"
The officer bowed his head, "I'm sorry, but they were killed in the fire. No bodies have been found, but it's suspected that they were reduced to ashes from the fire."
"B-but what about the shrine? I don't think I can rebuild it on my own..."
"You won't have to, son. We'll put you in a nice orphanage until you're adopted by a nice family."
Souta shook his head, "But, Kagome's alive, I just know she is. Don't make me leave! Just give me a month, you'll see! She's still alive, she can't be dead!" He was a hysterical mess.
The officer sighed, "Listen, as much as I would like to believe that you have a family member left, they're gone."
"I don't wanna have to go to an orphanage. I can't, Kagome won't be able to find me then."
"Kagome's dead, along with the rest of them." another policeman said, but his voice seemed cold and indifferent. "There's nothing that can be done about it."
Souta looked up at him. "Your eyes..."
"What about them?"
It sounded more like a statement than a question, but Souta still answered, "They're gold, like Inuyasha's." It was then that Souta noticed the long silver hair that fell down the man's back, in a low ponytail.
The man tensed at the name, but regained his calmed before sighing, "If you don't want to be in an orphanage, I think I know a person that will take you in. Come with me." He stood up, and started to walk away. Souta just stared at his retreating form, until he stopped and spoke, "Now!" the tone of his voice left no room for arguments, and Souta followed him.
~*~*~*~
The next morning, Kagome sat alone in the campsite. Since Inuyasha left, there was nothing to keep the demon scenes (or dog-ears) that came with Inuyasha's blood from showing. As soon as she had awoken, Kagome jumped into a tree, and refused to talk to anyone. Her mind was a torrent of thought about the happenings from the other day, 'Did I make the right decision to push his soul out? If I hadn't, would things have been different? What happened to him?' The more she thought about it, the more unanswered questions arose. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha."
Yoko and SesshouMaru looked up when she spoke, their sensitive demon hearing picking up every sorrow-filled word. SesshouMaru decided to ask her about it at a more convenient time, and Yoko went to talk to her. He was held back by SesshouMaru, "She has things to sort through right now, your words of comfort would fall upon deaf ears. It's better to wait until she's ready to talk."
Rin, Shippou, and Kirara had yet to wake up, and Jin was just opening his eyes. He looked around at the melancholy group. 'No one seems to be injured, why are they act'n this way?' He walked over to the two silver haired demons, "What's up? It's not like anyone died, or anytin." He was knocked out when SesshouMaru threw a rock at him, and Kagome ran away crying.
(I'm sorry if *any* of that was confusing, and just to let you know, the police officer *wasn't* Inuyasha's reincarnation.)