Chapter Thirteen
Inuyasha's Devotion and
Onigumo's Rebirth
Summer went on without mercy. The heat was at its peak, which, for the villagers, was a sure sign that they were nearing the end of the summer season. Kikyou, on the other hand, said nothing about Inuyasha's incident with the passing of the new moon nor did she speak of her staying with him that night. Kaede continued with her attempts to get answers from Kikyou but got very few, it any, in the process of her chores that seemed to pile up as the days went on.
"Lady Kikyou, are you leaving to treat that man again?" A man asked as he stopped hoeing the ground.
"Yes, I must be sure that he has enough food and water in this heat." Kikyou grabbed her woven basket of herbs and tools, as well as new bandages, and walked off into the forest.
Kikyou had to take care of a bandit name Onigumo and she had grown accustomed to doing it. She hated to see someone in so much pain and secretly wished that someone, not necessarily her, would put a stop to his endless suffering. He had recovered quite well but the flesh had yet to restore itself and some of the pain still set in certain areas. This small handicap left Kikyou to be Onigumo's chain between life and death.
"Onigumo. It is I, Kikyou. I have come to check on you." She stated at the mouth of the cave.
A grunt came out from the depths of the cave and Kikyou, without hesitation, made her way in. The cave was damp from the rainwater that seemed to have been soaked into the rock itself.
There, in the back of the cave, was Onigumo's body, lying still and quiet. Kikyou wasted no time in restarting the fire then grinding the herbs and soaking the bandages within the watered solution. This was the one thing she dreaded doing. Changing his bandages meant that she would inflict pain unto him and she was trying to heal him. She had no other choice and if some of the newly grown flesh was attached to the bandage, then she would take that with the bandage and further injure him, prolonging his healing period.
With a sigh and the wiping of her brow on her gi sleeve, she went on with her work, slowly and carefully tearing off each section of bandage as gently as she could. Unfortunately, some skin had restored itself and nerves were beginning to function again so that when the bandage hit a snag, Onigumo would let out a groan-like shout and cause Kikyou to jump.
"I ask that you forgive me but there is nothing I can do if your bandages are not changed." She stated as she finished with the final row and began to carefully place clean bandages on his body.
She started from his head and worked her way slowly to his feet, overlapping and layering so that the chance of infection was greatly reduced. Occasionally, Onigumo would let out a yelp but Kikyou could not stop during the rewrapping for fear she may forget to overlap one section. She had little trouble when she managed to get to his feet, apparently the most nerve damage was there and Onigumo did not make a single sound while she worked.
"There…that shall be sufficient." She heaved, wiping the new sweat from her face.
She looked around and saw he had plenty of food for the day and some of tomorrow but noticed the bowl of water was bone dry. In fact, the water had evaporated from the dish, leaving mold to set on the bottom of the dish to dry out. Kikyou stood up and took the bowl in her hands then looked to Onigumo with an odd expression of disbelief on her face.
"I shall return with more water." Kikyou said with a smile. "Stay here for me."
She dashed out of the cave quickly.
~What else can I do…but for you, dear Kikyou, I would die…~ Onigumo thought to himself as he watched her figure disappear from the cave entrance.
Meanwhile, outside of the cave, Inuyasha had followed Kikyou to the cave and was waiting for a chance to check it out. His chance came when Kikyou came rushing out with a bowl in her hand at a quick walk. Hunched on the other side of the entrance, Inuyasha waited until she had vanished behind the forest line and nearing the river. Which, fortunately for him, was near the other side of the forest.
"Now to see what she's up to." He said with a smile.
He stood in front of the cave first, sniffing the air. Then he tilted his head to listen for any sign of movement. Nothing. He walked into the mouth of the cave and listened again, closer and more attentive. A shuffling sound rose from the back, it was not much but Inuyasha's sharp hearing picked it up quickly over the consecutive dripping off of the stalactites.
"What is that smell?" He gagged, raising his right arm to cover his nose with his gi sleeve.
He cautiously made his way to the back of the cave and stopped inside a small dip in the cave wall. Groans and moans echoed through the cave and Inuyasha took in a shallow breath to not smell the scent of rotting flesh and mildew. He peeked out of the dip and saw a fire and a blurred figure behind it. He stepped away from the wall and took a few steps to the fire and saw the bandaged figure of a man lying behind it.
The smell was horrid at this range and nearly unbearable for his sensitive nose. Just when he was about to get a better look, he heard Kikyou singing. Without bothering to say a word to the figure, Inuyasha darted out of the cave and saw that Kikyou was almost on top of him. Thinking quickly but not rationally, he jumped up on top of the cave and held on to some of the rocks that jutted out from the surface.
Kikyou hurried into the cave with the bowl of water, stopping for a moment when a few small rocks fell. She looked around but saw nothing and hurried on. Placing the water down upon a small rock, Kikyou gathered her things and bid Onigumo farewell, promising to return later that day.
"Now to return to the village and be sure that the Shikon no Tama is in its rightful place in the shrine." She whispered, not thinking that Onigumo had overheard her.
She stepped outside of the cave and stopped for a moment and looked at the wonder of the hot summer day. Inuyasha struggled to keep his hold but found that some of the rocks were loose and accidentally knocked some of the rocks down to the ground, catching Kikyou's attention. Kikyou looked down at the rocks then placed her things down on a rock and looked up at a struggling Inuyasha.
"Ah…Inuyasha." She said with a smile. "Would you like to come down and sit-Inuyasha lost his grip and slammed into the ground with a thud-with me?"
She looked down at him as he stood up and dusted himself off. He gave her a smile and scratched the back of his head.
"You'd think you had me in your spell." He laughed.
"Indeed." She said with a smile.
The two stared at one another in silence, both holding smiles upon their lips as if to hide a secret. Inuyasha cleared his throat and looked up, Kikyou gave him a worried look that made him laugh.
"What ails you, Inuyasha?" She asked calmly, placing her right hand to his cheek.
"I have something to tell you, Kikyou. It's important..." He spoke with a gentle tone.
"Inuyasha…I told you that you did not have to ask permission to speak." Kikyou added with a smile. "Speak freely and tell me what is it that you must tell me that is of importance."
Inuyasha shifted his weight and scratched his head again nervously.
"Kikyou," he said with a deep, entrancing tone, "I love you. You are the first person to ever treat me like I was normal and not some half-breed. I watched you in secret, to take the jewel at first but…you did nothing to hurt me. I thought it was a trick at first, and tried getting closer to take the jewel…but," He gazed deep into her dark brown eyes with a tender smile upon his lips, "I fell for you. Because of that...I have made a very big decision."
Kikyou looked at him, his golden eyes glimmering in the sunlight with a tenderness that she had not expected to see in Inuyasha.
"This decision…might I ask what it is?"
He lowered his eyelids and smiled.
"The Shikon no Tama holds amazing powers…the power to turn a half-demon into a full-demon," he stepped back, "or a human."
Her eyes widened and she had to fight the urge to let her mouth open.
"Inuyasha…what…what are you trying to tell me?"
"Kikyou," he said softly, "I want to become human."
Kikyou could not hold it any longer, her jaw dropped. Did she hear right? Inuyasha did not just say that he wanted to be a human instead of fulfilling his desire to become full-demon. She could feel tears swelling in her eyes as she lowered her head.
"Inuyasha…if you become human…you shall have to wait for me." She said solemnly.
"I don't care." He shouted, pulling her close. "I'll wait forever if it means being with you, Kikyou. I don't care…I only want to be with you, and only you."
She looked up to him, a tear sliding down her left cheek. Inuyasha wiped it away with the gentle slide of his hand.
"Do you…mean that, Inuyasha?" She cried.
"With all of my heart."
Kikyou gazed into his eyes and Inuyasha leaned close to her. The two kissed once more, this time, filled with pure happiness and love. Inuyasha wanted to be human and be with Kikyou. This was a dream come true in Kikyou's eyes. Inuyasha was just as pleased to find out that Kikyou felt the same way about him.
Unfortunately, one witness to this act was not pleased with the outcome of the event. Onigumo lay in the back of the cave, just close enough to the entrance to witness the whole act, and was filled with jealous rage.
"Miko…Kik…you…is…mine…" He groaned softly, his eyes burning with rage at the sight of Inuyasha kissing Kikyou.
He watched as the two said their 'good-byes' and quickly parted. Apparently to prepare for their adorably sick get together with the Shikon no Tama, he thought in disgust. The fire was going out as well, how pathetic! His eyes darted around the cave and stopped upon a small, moving black object in one corner of the cave ceiling. He stared at it and got an evil idea.
"Demons…of the shadows…come forth. Devour my flesh and in return…grant me your powers…" Onigumo groaned as a large group of demons rose from around him and began to rip through his burnt flesh. "Yes…give me the power to punish them…the power…"
