Spiraling into the Realm of Hatred

Chapter Four

     Nothing could stave the anger that welled within Kagome's heart.  Kikyou was right.  Kikyou was right about everything . . . How could Inu-Yasha love her?  How could Inu-Yasha even care for her as nothing more than a friend?

     As a Jewel detector?

     The living dead stood over her, her hair damp and sagging about her and yet still seemed as if the rain did not touch it . . . her eyes firm and unafraid . . .

     Uncaring . . .

     Unhindered . . .

     Kagome felt her breath in her lungs . . . it was painful . . . hard to breathe . . .

     The mud was cold on her skin as she struggled to remain on her hands and knees, her white shirt dark and stained . . . but she didn't care . . .

     How could she?

     What did it matter what she looked like?  It wasn't as if she had anyone to impress!  It wasn't as if anyone really cared!

     "Get up, Kagome." Kikyou spoke slowly.  "Pick yourself up from the ground and keep running."

     But she didn't feel like running anymore . . . she did, but her legs wouldn't cooperate.  Her heart couldn't keep beating in her chest as fast as it was . . . it hurt to breathe . . . it hurt to think.  "N . . . no . . ."

     "You cannot be weak now, Kagome.  You must pick yourself up.  You must keep running from here.  It is the only way to free yourself from this pain."

     "I . . . I can't . . ." the girl gasped. 

     "You can and you will." Kikyou urged.  "Run, Kagome.  You are no longer welcomed here.  Leave this forest, Kagome.  Leave here and never return."

      "Kikyou . . ." Kagome coughed through the rain.  "Kikyou, this is . . . this is your doing!  It's because of you . . ."

     The Priestess's smile widened.  "What could cause a foolish little girl to believe that someone like Inu-Yasha could love anyone such as you?  Fool."

     Kagome trembled and again, pushed herself up onto her feet.  Her knees shook, the bitterness from the winds and the rain cut through her as it also grew inside of her.

     The hate became consuming.

     "Run, Kagome.  Run to the ends of the earth . . . never return."

     He lied . . .

     Inu-Yasha didn't mean any kind words ever spoken to me in regards to his feelings towards me . . .

     Other than a jewel shard detector . . .

     Only that . . .

     Kikyou smiled . . .

     She was nothing to him.

     Nothing . . .

     "Run . . ."

     Kagome listened, it wasn't as if she had a choice.  It was cold and she cried, harder than before, gasping for breath as she left the dead priestess behind . . .

     But she didn't care . . .

     Somewhere in the back of her mind, Kagome began to think about Kikyou.  About how her mind was playing tricks on her because of Kikyou's presence, about her being there.  About how she was trying to get Kagome away from . . .

     He lied . . .

     He could never like you . . .

     Never . . .

     He lied . . .

**********************

     Inu-Yasha worked his way into the forest, but there were no scents in the drenching rain.  His nose was useless, his ears also . . . but he had to try.  Suddenly he felt bad for Kagome . . . she was alone in the woods at night because of him . . .

     Because of his words . . .

     But why hadn't she returned?  She always returned by then . . .

     Had she gone down the well?

     No, her scent would have disappeared by the time the rains began . . . she had gone past the well, away from it . . .

     She was still in the forest, he could sense it.

     A flash of lighting skittered across the belly of the looming clouds, lighting the hanyou's path for a mere second.  Any footprints delved in the mud in which he stepped through would have washed away long before he arrived . . . the shadows of the forest seemed deeper . . .

     There was a hatred he felt there.  Enveloping just as if it were the darkness of the night blotted by the storm clouds and enhanced by the sweeping sheets of rain . . .

     And Kagome was all by herself.

     The hanyou thought about what he had said.  About what Miroku had said to him.  But finding Kagome was more important on his mind . . .

     She had to be close by . . .

     He felt her . . .

     He heard her crying through the rain pattering into the mud and tapping against the trees . . . against his ears . . .

     Kagome's soul cried out for him, but it was faint . . . and fading . . .

     He had to get to her!  The fading . . . the fading meant that if her soul faded any more that he would lose her . . .

     "Where do you think you are going, Inu-Yasha?" a stern, feminine voice stopped the hanyou in his tracks from behind.

     Silence ensued before he could gasp a shocked response.  "K . . . Kikyou?"

     The dead shrine maiden frowned solemnly.  "Searching for someone?  That girl perhaps?"
     "AND?  What about her?  Where did she go?" Inu-Yasha growled, suddenly any remorseful feelings towards Kikyou were shaken.  "Where's Kagome?"

     A wave of hurt spread across her emotionless face.  "You care more for that foolish girl than I who stands before you?"

     Inu-Yasha took a shocked step back as the woman approached him, raising a hand to place tenderly upon his shoulder.  "I . . . I need to know where Kagome went!"

     "You sound as if you are troubled, Inu-Yasha . . . here, let me help you forget about her." Kikyou leaned in for a gentle kiss . . . but scowled upon the hanyou pulling away.  She gripped the sleeves of his kimono.  "Forget about her!  She is gone!  It is too late to save her!"

     "Save her?  Save her from what?" Inu-Yasha nearly threw the woman to the side in fear, frustration mounting.  "Save her from what?"

     Kikyou smiled sweetly.  "From herself."