It was hard, fighting death when you didn't want to. Yet, she couldn't just
give up so easily. Her conscience and soul wouldn't let her. But that
didn't matter much, as she found herself painfully dying. It all seemed
like a painful dream that she would never wake up from.
She stood on a pillar that seemed a thousand feet high. It was thin, with hardly any room to stand, and unbalanced as it constantly shifted side to side. Her stomach gave a queasy lurch every time it tipped to one side only to tip back and then tip over the other side.
Kagome looked to her left and saw another pillar about two feet away with a door that was set up straight, even without hinges and a wall to support it. There were no walls where she was. Only an everlasting sea of darkness. The door appeared to be made of black marble with a gold and shiny doorknob. Under the door, a small beam of light seeped out followed by traces of soft music. It was a strong, soothing, and unpredictable tune. Constantly changing yet constantly repeating. It beckoned her forward, towards the door. Telling her to come and relax and finally be happy.
She almost jumped over to the door but was startled by a scream. She whirled around to see another pillar with another door that stood off its hinges. White marbled with a black and charred doorknob, the door had a much brighter and harsher light that spilled from it. And no music.
Only a blood-curdling scream.
Oh that sound. That horrible and agonizing sound. It drove her crazy! Kagome placed her hands over her ears in a desperate attempt to shut it out, but nothing could stop her from hearing it. She had to put an end to it! She had to save the person who was screaming so cruelly.
The longer she stood on the middle pillar, the more pain she felt. She could easily jump to each pillar at her side or tumble down into the darkness.
But then what?
Would she save the tortured soul?
Could she run towards the black door and be enfolded in warmth and serenity?
Or should she simply let the pillar completely tip over and fall into the abyss of darkness?
Kagome looked at both doors again and looked down. She opened her mouth to yell out, but no sound would emerge. Suddenly, her knees gave way under her as the most unbearable spasm of pain coursed through her body.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Had I not known you well enough, I would have sworn you were insane."
"I was."
Ojai studied his young master skeptically. "One would think you would have been too ignorant to escape insanity. Did the girl help you?" he asked.
"Is there some meaning to these questions, or are you stalling me on purpose?" Sesshomaru asked as he placed his armor on. "As far as I know the girl is dead. I'd rather be satisfied finding her ashes then never knowing. Now you have delayed me long enough. Bring me Tensiugua."
"An impatient master is an unwise master," Ojai said in his usual metaphorical tone. He bowed his head and went to fetch the sword.
"A servant with a tongue too sharp finds himself without a tongue at all," Sesshomaru countered as he looked over his hand. It was still healing. The cuts were closed and some bruised were gone, but now it throbbed and his claws ached dully as they lengthened themselves.
Ojai laughed as he returned with the sword. "You are much like your father," he said with a fond tone.
"I am nothing like him," Sesshomaru snapped as he took the sword away from Ojai and unsheathed it. He hadn't carried it around in years.after a while, he had just returned home and placed it upon a shelf on his wall, never holding it but always admiring it. It was a gift from his father. And if it could not be destroyed, it would always remain in Sesshomaru's keep and under his eye. Much like everything else he owned.
"When I return, I expect to find the house ridden from the stench of death." Sesshomaru said as he placed the sword in its scabbard and placed it on his side. "You say the girl caused it all?"
"Yes, sire."
"And you are the only survivor?"
"Jaken lives too," Ojai commented, somewhat dryly. It was obvious he had a dislike for the toad demon.
"Typical," Sesshomaru muttered before heading for the door. "Two days are all I need," he said as he walked out.
"Two?" Ojai asked, surprised. "Never have I seen you waste so much time on a woman. A human woman, no less. One would have thought you were too ignorant to learn how to love. Did the girl help you?"
"Ojai," Sesshomaru spat, threateningly. His loyal servant bowed before giving him a wide and knowing smile.
"Safe journey, master."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"She's been dead for over an hour now."
"Are you sure?"
"You can faintly hear the heartbeat."
"Faintly? If there still is one, then she lives. Leave her be!"
"But Koga, it's useless. I think-"
"When I want your opinion, I'll be sure to ask," Koga snapped irritably. His crony angrily stared at his back before turning to rejoin the others. Koga grabbed a bowl and slammed it against the cave wall as he jumped up and walked past his gang and towards the girl on the straw mat.
She looked better than the condition he had found her in. When he had brought her, he handed her over to the women of the pack and watched over her as they set and wrapped her arm while cleaning and grooming her up. Then placed her on Koga's mat. The best healer in the pack and three more from packs over had been summoned to see what they could do.
After forcing many tonics into her system and saying enchantments over her, they left it into the hands of the gods. Though her appearance was better, her health wasn't. It had decreased so rapidly that Koga had to strain to make out the movement of her chest as her lungs brought in air. It took so long that every time she released a breath it seemed she would never take another one.
Koga sat next to her and frowned as he looked at her pale face.
"Inuyasha did this to you," he muttered. "I should have never left him with you. You were always mine to begin with," he said angrily. He punched the ground beneath him and it cracked. "I'll kill him for you, Kagome. I swear."
Her chest rose slowly and fell quickly.
"Look at you," he said softly as he touched her cheek. He gently ran his fingers over the bruise by her eye. "Abandoned like damaged property. You don't deserve the way he treats you," he said. "You never did. Forgive me for leaving you to him."
He watched as her chest rose again and deflated. He waited in silence for the next breath. He could hear her faint heartbeat slowing down.
Until, finally, it stopped completely.
Koga stood and stared at her. Taking in her calm and peaceful expression before turning and walking towards the exit of the cave. Tears glistened in his suddenly hard eyes as he signaled for his men to come and take her away.
He stopped one and held him back.
"Bury her quickly but deep. Her death cannot pass without revenge. There is blood to be spilled."
The wolf-demon nodded and ran along with the other few men to tell them of Koga's plan.
Inuyasha was a dead man.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
If she screamed, she couldn't hear it. If she was in pain, she couldn't feel it. She had fell off her pillar and into the darkness. It suffocated her, filling her nose and mouth and lungs and brain, making it impossible for her to do anything but fall.
Her mind was so immobile that she couldn't even fall into a state of panic.
Calm, she decided. Everything seemed deadly calm. Was she still falling? She couldn't tell. The absolute silence was all around her.
"Forgive me for leaving you to him."
The sound echoed through her body, shattering what she thought was her reality. The darkness released her temporarily and she became aware of the pain her body was going through and the feeling of her stomach giving a nauseous drop as she realized that she was still falling.
Then she heard another noise. Loud but short. A single beat that jarred her upwards and made her shake, slowing her fall. It came again. And again. And again. As it pulsed through her, the sound rapidly increasing. Her heart. Her heart was beating.
And she was alive.
She stood on a pillar that seemed a thousand feet high. It was thin, with hardly any room to stand, and unbalanced as it constantly shifted side to side. Her stomach gave a queasy lurch every time it tipped to one side only to tip back and then tip over the other side.
Kagome looked to her left and saw another pillar about two feet away with a door that was set up straight, even without hinges and a wall to support it. There were no walls where she was. Only an everlasting sea of darkness. The door appeared to be made of black marble with a gold and shiny doorknob. Under the door, a small beam of light seeped out followed by traces of soft music. It was a strong, soothing, and unpredictable tune. Constantly changing yet constantly repeating. It beckoned her forward, towards the door. Telling her to come and relax and finally be happy.
She almost jumped over to the door but was startled by a scream. She whirled around to see another pillar with another door that stood off its hinges. White marbled with a black and charred doorknob, the door had a much brighter and harsher light that spilled from it. And no music.
Only a blood-curdling scream.
Oh that sound. That horrible and agonizing sound. It drove her crazy! Kagome placed her hands over her ears in a desperate attempt to shut it out, but nothing could stop her from hearing it. She had to put an end to it! She had to save the person who was screaming so cruelly.
The longer she stood on the middle pillar, the more pain she felt. She could easily jump to each pillar at her side or tumble down into the darkness.
But then what?
Would she save the tortured soul?
Could she run towards the black door and be enfolded in warmth and serenity?
Or should she simply let the pillar completely tip over and fall into the abyss of darkness?
Kagome looked at both doors again and looked down. She opened her mouth to yell out, but no sound would emerge. Suddenly, her knees gave way under her as the most unbearable spasm of pain coursed through her body.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Had I not known you well enough, I would have sworn you were insane."
"I was."
Ojai studied his young master skeptically. "One would think you would have been too ignorant to escape insanity. Did the girl help you?" he asked.
"Is there some meaning to these questions, or are you stalling me on purpose?" Sesshomaru asked as he placed his armor on. "As far as I know the girl is dead. I'd rather be satisfied finding her ashes then never knowing. Now you have delayed me long enough. Bring me Tensiugua."
"An impatient master is an unwise master," Ojai said in his usual metaphorical tone. He bowed his head and went to fetch the sword.
"A servant with a tongue too sharp finds himself without a tongue at all," Sesshomaru countered as he looked over his hand. It was still healing. The cuts were closed and some bruised were gone, but now it throbbed and his claws ached dully as they lengthened themselves.
Ojai laughed as he returned with the sword. "You are much like your father," he said with a fond tone.
"I am nothing like him," Sesshomaru snapped as he took the sword away from Ojai and unsheathed it. He hadn't carried it around in years.after a while, he had just returned home and placed it upon a shelf on his wall, never holding it but always admiring it. It was a gift from his father. And if it could not be destroyed, it would always remain in Sesshomaru's keep and under his eye. Much like everything else he owned.
"When I return, I expect to find the house ridden from the stench of death." Sesshomaru said as he placed the sword in its scabbard and placed it on his side. "You say the girl caused it all?"
"Yes, sire."
"And you are the only survivor?"
"Jaken lives too," Ojai commented, somewhat dryly. It was obvious he had a dislike for the toad demon.
"Typical," Sesshomaru muttered before heading for the door. "Two days are all I need," he said as he walked out.
"Two?" Ojai asked, surprised. "Never have I seen you waste so much time on a woman. A human woman, no less. One would have thought you were too ignorant to learn how to love. Did the girl help you?"
"Ojai," Sesshomaru spat, threateningly. His loyal servant bowed before giving him a wide and knowing smile.
"Safe journey, master."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"She's been dead for over an hour now."
"Are you sure?"
"You can faintly hear the heartbeat."
"Faintly? If there still is one, then she lives. Leave her be!"
"But Koga, it's useless. I think-"
"When I want your opinion, I'll be sure to ask," Koga snapped irritably. His crony angrily stared at his back before turning to rejoin the others. Koga grabbed a bowl and slammed it against the cave wall as he jumped up and walked past his gang and towards the girl on the straw mat.
She looked better than the condition he had found her in. When he had brought her, he handed her over to the women of the pack and watched over her as they set and wrapped her arm while cleaning and grooming her up. Then placed her on Koga's mat. The best healer in the pack and three more from packs over had been summoned to see what they could do.
After forcing many tonics into her system and saying enchantments over her, they left it into the hands of the gods. Though her appearance was better, her health wasn't. It had decreased so rapidly that Koga had to strain to make out the movement of her chest as her lungs brought in air. It took so long that every time she released a breath it seemed she would never take another one.
Koga sat next to her and frowned as he looked at her pale face.
"Inuyasha did this to you," he muttered. "I should have never left him with you. You were always mine to begin with," he said angrily. He punched the ground beneath him and it cracked. "I'll kill him for you, Kagome. I swear."
Her chest rose slowly and fell quickly.
"Look at you," he said softly as he touched her cheek. He gently ran his fingers over the bruise by her eye. "Abandoned like damaged property. You don't deserve the way he treats you," he said. "You never did. Forgive me for leaving you to him."
He watched as her chest rose again and deflated. He waited in silence for the next breath. He could hear her faint heartbeat slowing down.
Until, finally, it stopped completely.
Koga stood and stared at her. Taking in her calm and peaceful expression before turning and walking towards the exit of the cave. Tears glistened in his suddenly hard eyes as he signaled for his men to come and take her away.
He stopped one and held him back.
"Bury her quickly but deep. Her death cannot pass without revenge. There is blood to be spilled."
The wolf-demon nodded and ran along with the other few men to tell them of Koga's plan.
Inuyasha was a dead man.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
If she screamed, she couldn't hear it. If she was in pain, she couldn't feel it. She had fell off her pillar and into the darkness. It suffocated her, filling her nose and mouth and lungs and brain, making it impossible for her to do anything but fall.
Her mind was so immobile that she couldn't even fall into a state of panic.
Calm, she decided. Everything seemed deadly calm. Was she still falling? She couldn't tell. The absolute silence was all around her.
"Forgive me for leaving you to him."
The sound echoed through her body, shattering what she thought was her reality. The darkness released her temporarily and she became aware of the pain her body was going through and the feeling of her stomach giving a nauseous drop as she realized that she was still falling.
Then she heard another noise. Loud but short. A single beat that jarred her upwards and made her shake, slowing her fall. It came again. And again. And again. As it pulsed through her, the sound rapidly increasing. Her heart. Her heart was beating.
And she was alive.