Chapter Three – Head Full of Drought
She was shivering.
The sour weather had chilled considerably. Kagome walked quickly, her head down and jacket pulled tightly around her shoulders. All she wanted to do was curl up in her bed with her lovely, plushy pigs and sleep. Gorging herself on oden, while dressed in her most adored bunny slippers would be equally pleasant, but fate was wickedly sinister.
Instead she was mulling, or rather stewing, in a mass of farcical questions. The most prominent being 'why?' and following at a close second was actually an irrational string of obscenities.
At this point Kagome realized she was at lack for her textbooks, which were no doubt strewn about with abandon in the school's hallways. It was much to late to gather them up, seeing as she was almost home and with that lay her dilemma. Her mother was in and skipping would not be tolerated. Going back to Inuyasha was always an option but she wasn't quite ready to leave.
The shrine was getting closer.
Kagome couldn't spot her mother's car and sighed in relief. But one could never be too sure. She skittered around the house and spied into the kitchen window. It was empty. She crept to the door and opened it slowly. Her shoes squeaked slightly as she darted though the house and up to her room. She shed her uniform and donned a fluffy robe. Gathering her nail polish she set down the stairs.
No one was home.
Now that she was alone, Kagome didn't know if it was such a good thing after all. The silence was frightening. She would have done anything to have someone to talk to, to take her mind off of everything. Instead she cranked the volume on the living room stereo and situated herself in the bathroom.
She drew a steaming bath and poured in a bottle of bubbles to cheer things up. Being serious didn't feel right. She was a happy person but her life was starting to become oppressing. Her traveling companions usually provided enough entertainment to last an eon. Whenever she came back it felt awkward. The Feudal Era was beginning to look more and more like home.
As the steam billowed, Kagome slid into the water, banishing all thoughts as the bubbles fizzed and popped. Baths were one of those things she would regret leaving if she ever decided to stay in the past. If they weren't so heavy Kagome would have dragged one down the well already. Giggling at the image, she leaned back and closed her eyes, humming along to the music basting outside the door.
Maybe she would just have Inuyasha take one for her. He would have a fit, then she could sit him. She had needs and he would meet them. Lugging around a bathtub would be entertaining as well as convenient. It served a dual purpose and Inuyasha could do nothing to argue with that logic. Kagome would imagine the bath could also be used as a weapon. They were heavy enough to smash opponents, Inuyasha could just heave one at his brother for her and everything would be lovely. Kagome frowned.
Sesshoumaru.
Now there was a problem. Not that the hordes of demons chasing after her weren't problems, but Sesshoumaru didn't hide. Not that he could hide very well. He was six feet tall, with long silver hair, dressed in ancient fashion with two swords strapped to his hip, how hard was he to miss?
Obviously very, because not one person other than herself had noticed him in school. This was the most puzzling thing that had happened. How on earth had he gone undetected? Magic was likely, but what kind? And why had only she been able to see him? Kagome rubbed her temples.
This was defeating the purpose of her bath. A dull throb was beginning to form between her temples. She sighed and dunked her head. The music was garbled by sloshing streams of water. Only the bass was unaffected and it thumped noisily in her skull. Kagome could feel the vibrations and hear the water rushing though the pipes beneath her. A chilled breath crept over her mind. She could hear a slithering in the pipes. Scratching, scraping, clawing at the drains. She jerked upwards just as the plug spouted from the water.
She screamed, leaping from the bath and slipping along the bubble soaked floor. Inky black tendrils snaked from the tub's rim and reached for her legs. She scrambled to the door, flinging it open and clattering toward the kitchen. There was absolutely nothing she could use as a weapon save for the butchering knives. Her bow was tucked away in the well house.
The demons were seeping from the bathroom, worming along the tiles.
Couldn't there be a day where something wasn't attacking her?
Kagome pounded down the stairs and out into the yard. Scampering for the well house. She glanced back to see black globs dripping from the windows and a steady trickle pooling down the steps. She slammed through the door and grappled for her bow. A strangled cry escaped her lips as a slick, frigid coil wrapped around her hand. Kagome turned to see the walls were covered in glistening masses of youkai. Seeping from the well was a rushing stream of gurgling ink.
What on earth was happening?
Kagome stared as vats of tar-like beings tumbled over the well's rim, much to shocked to move. They were coming from the Feudal Era, but they couldn't all have shards. There weren't even enough pieces of the Shikon no Tama to account for all the youkai.
How had they found out? Why where they coming?
Kagome was jolted from her trance as the beings slithered up her bare legs. She shrieked and lunged for her bow and arrows just as they were being engulfed. Stringing the weapon she fired at the well. The youkai wailed then evaporated in rancid yellow fumes. She cleared a path to the shrine and scampered up the steps.
She was shivering madly as the heavy doors banged shut behind her. Kagome gasped and raided the closet for a spare set of clothes. Her hair and skin were dripping as she shimmied into the miko robes. She'd been so distracted and frightened that running around shooting at demons completely naked had never seemed out of the ordinary. Her survival instincts greatly overruled all modesty and pride.
She knew she would feel horrible once it was all over, but there was no time to dwell upon it.
Gathering a new batch of arrows, Kagome headed once gain for the doors but a shooting pain stopped her short. A spasm rocked her body and she doubled over. Through tears, she could see a thin sheet of miasma creeping along the floor. The pain dulled, but an ache remained at her temples.
Standing up quickly, she whirled around. Kagome searched frantically for the source of youki. A shiver passed down her spine. A hulking shadow lurked in the corner, slowly emerging. Kagome gasped as the mangled figure was bathed in light.
"Where is the rip?" it hissed. "The rip that will take us back." Kagome remained frozen on the floor as the mass slithered across the floor. "You will take us there. You will provide our way back." The presence felt eerily familiar, but Kagome couldn't place it. It seemed muted, dancing at the edges of her conscious but refusing to be catalogued.
The creature crawled forward sluggishly. It was marred with slick leathery burns but the mutilations only went so far. Its hair was coal black, thick and wavy, seemingly out of place. Patches of flawlessly smooth, pallid skin seemed to be knit haphazardly across the face. Its eyes were matted and bloody, dully reflecting a vacant red gaze. The creature seemed to be unfinished; it's scarred appearance slowly being covered by the guise of sickly beauty.
Kagome was quivering. Things were becoming so distinctly mad it was terrifying. The heap of mangled flesh upon her floor was testament to the utter chaos her life had fallen into. It was like a bad movie, set on replay. Bedlam, all characters set in mass hysteria, given less time to develop a personality before their bodies were lopped in two. Kagome didn't want to believe it.
She was vulnerable, abandoned without so much as a sign of help. She was starting to pant, her breath coming in wheezes. Outnumbered, and cornered. Her thoughts turned dark.
Death.
It wasn't an option. She would never go down without fighting. Quitting just wasn't in her. Kagome was defiant. She was lawless. Life meant too much to bail out so early in the game. She hadn't done nearly enough to call it satisfying.
She stared down at the mass of flesh, cringing. Her mind was desperately trying to label the lump on her floor. The name was there, but she battered it down. The pieces fit but she refused to acknowledge the truth.
She was in denial.
Naraku was not it Tokyo, he was not hissing orders to her, and he was not lying on her shrine floor. It was just an illusion. Another one of his tricks. He had planted something in her mind. It was another nightmare.
Naraku's last resort, scaring her witless by way of dreams.
She would soon wake up and be safe in her bed. She would travel back to Inuyasha and finish the Shikon. They would slaughter Naraku and his minions, eradicating all trace of their evil. Her duty would be fulfilled and all danger gone. She would then lead a peaceful life between times.
Kagome was snapped from her diatribe as Naraku grasped at her arms. The fingers were soft but the palms rough with wizened skin. The texture wasn't the only thing sickening her. She was physically unable to move as the entity crawled upon her. He pried the bow from her fingers and flung her arrows away.
"Kagome, Kikyo," There was a twinge of humor to his voice. "There was a time when we couldn't tell you apart." Naraku had threaded his hands through her sopping hair and begun to twist. Kagome couldn't think straight in order to place who 'we' was. "Kikyo was never much of a nuisance as you are. Why can't you just give up?" He yanked her hair, her head bent sharply backwards to stare into his face. Naraku towered over her by at least a foot. He stooped to glare straight into her face. "You provided us entertainment in the beginning, Kagome. But now, we grow tired of your antics." A hand traveled to the spot above her left breast. "You're going to tell us how to get back, before we kill you." Her clothes melted away and her skin sizzled.
Kagome screamed. Her heart was being gripped inside her chest. Naraku was sneering wickedly above her. She tried desperately to move but she was paralyzed. Her skin was peeling away in black crisps. Tears dripped from her cheeks. Claws were tearing into her skin. Heat ate away at her chest. The pain was unbearable.
Her heart was squeezed and it was all over.
Kagome collapsed on the floor heaving. Her nerves were shot and her mind was numb. A yellow flash leaped across her vision and she turned her head. Naraku was couched in the corner as a white blur launched towards him. He dodged and conjured a cloud of miasma. The black mist spread and Naraku disappeared.
There was silence.
Agony swept across her chest and down her arms. She lay sprawled on the floor gasping for air as her lungs burned. Her hands fisted on the ground. She couldn't sense anything other than her own distress. She couldn't tell who had saved her or if Naraku was gone. She couldn't even tell if she was dead or not, though the anguish told her she was very much alive, but not for much longer.
Kagome whimpered as hands grabbed her shoulders, pain crawling across her body. She shut her eyes, cringing. Soft puffs of breath were felt upon her eyelids and the pricks of claws were felt upon her cheeks. Miasma crawled about her ankles. It was all overrun but the overwhelming agony sprayed throughout her body.
"Open your eyes," The command sent vibrations down to her toes. "Kagome, open your eyes." She wheezed and coughed. It took great effort to do as told. When the haze cleared from her vision, Kagome was gazing into a pair of dark golden eyes.
"What…?" She couldn't finish. Knives stabbed behind her eyes and her sight was growing dark about the edges. Her savior's image was fading. Worry was etched in his features. She reached a hand to touch him but a spasm rocked her body. Pain flooded her senses and everything fell to darkness.
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Hfaith – Why thank you! I feel so special.
Divine Discontent – I'll keep you in the dark just a bit longer, but it will all be explained eventually.
Xen003 – Will do!
Dana Daidouji – Oh thank you! I usually don't have a plot so I hope this one works. Let me tell you, reviews are a very powerful stimulant.
Volpone – You know you're the best thing ever right? Haha. But you are going to hell. I always said lust was a problem…
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