The Scent of Despair
Written by Catrina Winner
Author's Note: Since school has started again (and my classes are… well, insane… so I may not have as much time to write. But check my profile and add yourself to my mailing list at catwinner@earthlink.net and I'll keep you guys updated on the next chapter's progress!)
I love you reviewers out there! You made me so happy! So, again, another chapter for you!
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Chapter Twenty-Four
Kagome looked down at her sleeping brother's face. His countenance conveyed an innocence that made her sigh quietly. Everything had been going wrong for the two of them recently. There was little she could do about the circumstances at the moment, making her feel helpless and lost. All the weight of the world had been transferred to her shoulders and she had no hands to balance it.
Her mother and grandfather's ghostly appearances had put to rest many of the misgivings she had held about their deaths, though part of her was still feeling it was her fault. Destinies could be changed, couldn't they? Both of them had seemed happy enough during their short talks and though Kagome still couldn't believe they were gone, she was accepting it. However, losing Inuyasha was still tearing her apart inside. No matter where she looked at home there was something to remind her of all the fun times they had experienced together. With only she and her brother left alive (or so it seemed), Kagome felt isolated and lonely.
The night was a dark, frightening one. Wind screamed along outside and rattled the entire house. A perfect time for thinking of failures and crying yourself to sleep, Kagome thought bitterly. There was so much she had personally failed at for herself and family.
For the first time in those past days, Kagome leaned against her brother's bed, listening to him breath, and thought about the hanyou. Inuyasha had been something of a guiding star to Kagome. She had followed him blindly into many dangers she had never allowed herself to comprehend, in order to keep her sanity. There was nothing normal about demons and the way the two of them dealt out death with what was a (supposedly) impassive attitude. But the hanyou was much more sensitive than he wanted to let on. Everything he had killed was inherently "evil". Kagome couldn't remember when he hadn't spared someone that was only "confused", save for his demonic trances. She couldn't help but remember him desperately trying to remain the "tough guy" throughout their quest, keeping himself as aloof as possible. But it hadn't worked. The two of them had grown close quickly and they were going to be together… forever.
There has to be something in this whole experience… Destiny isn't that cruel. Besides, I could change it. I could change it somehow. If I tried or… or… her thoughts trailed off as Sota rolled over and whimpered quietly under his breath. Kagome smoothed his hair and tucked the covers to his chin again. She quietly slipped out of his room, leaning back against the doorframe with tears in her eyes. Kagome again found herself alone in what had suddenly become an enormous home.
Inuyasha, where are you? I'm scared… she slid down the door and settled on the floor, hugging her knees. Before, the hanyou had always rushed to her aid when she was in some peril, whether or not he deemed it important. If Kagome was frightened, he was there. But now, now there was no one… Just a cat, a boy, and Kagome. She wanted her old Inuyasha, the gruff half-demon with a heart of gold. Sometimes, Kagome felt as if he were just outside her window now, waiting for her to get outside and back to the Sengoku Jidai.
The miko nearly leapt out of her skin at the sound of the wind tripling in force. The moment the roar ended, she heard what sounded like shattering glass coming from downstairs. Her heart was pounding in her throat as she stood up slowly, grabbing the nearest thing she could – a broken roller-skate. With ever mounting apprehension, she tiptoed down the stairs towards the now-silent living room.
Moonlight poured in from the broken window, shining from the jagged shards on the floor and in the sill. Kagome swallowed hard and lifted the skate, searching the room rapidly with her eyes. The small statuettes, intended to protect the shrine, glared menacingly from the corner they sat in, eyes gleaming in the moonlight. A dark shape moved from besides her, meowing. Kagome sighed in relief as Buyo approached her. He seemed totally unperturbed by the noise and broken window.
Animals are supposed to have a sixth sense for things like this, right? Kagome asked herself. Then again, she wasn't sure if Buyo could qualify for anything like that, being a huge, lazy bum. As she mulled this over, the cat in question perked up his ears and trotted happily to the broken glass, sniffing around. Then he hunched himself down, preparing himself for a fantastic leap onto the sill that was currently littered with shards of the window and opening to the outside night world.
"Buyo, no," Kagome hissed as loudly as she dared. The cat's ears flicked backwards in her direction, but he seemed to have otherwise not heard her. With a bit of sliding, Buyo was on the window, looking outside. Then he vanished into the night with a plaintive mew. Kagome stared. Her heart pounded in her throat when she realized she would have to journey into the dark to bring Buyo back inside. Whatever had broken the window was probably outside, waiting for her.
She whimpered and dropped the skate onto the floor, pressing her back up against the wall. Kagome was always brave in the face of danger, wasn't she? She was a powerful miko and no broken window she frighten her… Right?
Taking a deep breath, Kagome inched her way to the front door, painfully aware of the noise she was making. Her feet scraped against the floor and her breathing was so thunderous it almost drowned out her thoughts. She grabbed a flashlight and pushed the door open, slowly. She felt as if hundreds of years had passed by the time she had the front door wide enough for her to slip through.
Both feet on the porch. Turn the flashlight on. Jump three feet in the air and crash nosily into a folding chair on the way back down because the motion-sensor light comes on… Great, she thought, struggling to her feet again, Not only do they know I'm here, but they'll have no problem seeing me standing under this light. She bolted into one of the bushes, rustling her way into its heart, trying not to whimper as the branches cut into her skin.
The light from the porch bathed the surrounding area in an eerie glow. Kagome felt her skin prickle at the hoot of an owl somewhere overhead. There were no stars out tonight and huge black clouds snuffed out the moon as she looked upward. The darkness was so complete she was afraid to shatter it with her flashlight, even, and stayed hunched in the bush for a long time, staring into the black. Finally, the light on her porch clicked out and plunged her into the night. She waited until her eyes were slightly adjusted and rustled her way from the bush, trying not to jump at every imaginary shadow and shifting leaf.
The wind howled past her, making her ears sting. Kagome felt a raindrop on her skin (it made her jump and whirl around, looking for some huge monster) and thunder growled somewhere to the east. Hesitantly, she turned the flashlight on and shone it about her property. She inched around her home to the broken window. With a bit of an unsteady laugh, Kagome found that a tree branch had been blown up against the window, shattering the glass, in the midst of the wind's anger.
From the constant rain in the past few days, Kagome could make out Buyo's chubby footprints leading away into the dark and towards the well house. Her confidence reinforced (though the storm was gaining strength and she couldn't stand to be outside when it broke), Kagome marched bravely to the well, nearing it for the first time since her brother had dragged her away.
She pushed open the door and found herself heading immediately towards the well itself. With little hesitation and a pounding heartbeat, Kagome clutched at the Shikon Jewel and peered down into the opening. A searing pain flashed over the hand holding the Jewel and she cried out, falling backwards in shock. A round imprint had been burned into her skin and the Jewel was glowing a blood red.
No! Kagome thought, staring down at it. It's only supposed to be that color when it's impure… I don't want you to do anything, you stupid rock! Just stop it! Stop it!
"Stop it!" her voice broke whatever power the jewel had been exercising and it settled down to its near-transparent pink color. Buyo's cold nose poked her hand and Kagome looked down at him, scooped him into her arms, and set off towards the house again, trying not to think about what had just occurred.
She was, admittedly, terrified. The Shikon Jewel was supposed to be dormant now. If its powers could be activated, the well should be able to transport her into the Sengoku Jidai. But she could sense that the well was closed. None of it was happening like it was supposed to.
Buyo traipsed happily up the hallway as she closed the door and locked it. Grabbing a garbage bag and duct tape, Kagome sealed up the window as best she could, ignoring the tears leaking from her eyes. On her way back upstairs, lightening flashed all around the shrine, thunder shrieked, and rain began to pound onto the roof. Kagome scooped Buyo up and brought him into Sota's bedroom. Her little brother was awake and staring, frightened, out his window.
"Kagome…" he said, slowly, when she entered. "I think I saw something… out there."
She did her best to be brave, though her heart had picked up its pace again (at this rate, I'll have a heart attack, she thought bitterly) and smiled at her brother. "I'm sure it's just something the wind picked up. A stray branch broke one of the windows downstairs and whatever you saw may have been me, anyway. Buyo got out and I brought him back in… You know, so he wouldn't get caught in the storm."
Sota shook his head. "No, Kagome… It was this huge thing, with
big, shiny eyes. And it was looking in
my window!"
Kagome bit her bottom lip. "Sota… it was just your imagination. There are no monsters outside tonight. But, I'll sleep in here if it make you feel better." Her brother nodded and extended his arms for Buyo. Kagome dropped her load onto Sota's legs and heaved a sleeping bag out from his closet. With a yawn, she almost was almost asleep before her mind poked one final question into her mouth. "Hey, Sota," another yawn, "what color eyes did your monster have?"
Sota, sleepily, shrugged and turned over, "Golden…" he mumbled, then they both fell into a fitful sleep.
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The small wooden house stood on a lonely hill.
Beside it was a huge, beautiful mansion.
Children ran laughing through the hallways and gardens, never nearing
the wooden house. It was a spooky place,
one for ghosts and other terrible beings to live in.
But inside the house there was only one being, one not so dreadful as the children would have liked to believe. The demon's eyes were closed, his sides rising and falling steadily in an enchanted sleep. He was a fairytale monster, all alone inside his walls.
A raven-haired beauty and his own looming death haunted his dreams. But he never awoke, not now.
The sun set behind the tired building. A woman called the children in for dinner. She was young, her hair a reddish black, and had an easy smile. She never looked up at the building, never had to. Her parents had warned her it wasn't the time nor the place to be curious. Her children's children's children would be the only generation to see, first hand, whatever was inside the wooden house. This woman knew and she would soon tell her oldest son, who would tell his children, who would, in turn, tell their children. As it had been for years upon years.
And inside the hut, the slow, steady breathing of the half-demon was all there was to be heard.
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And – poof! Another chapter. Sorry if it makes little sense, etc., but I've been sick. Very sick. Reviews are a good cure, I've heard!
Anyway, remember the mailing list! And thank you for reading/reviewing. We're almost to the final plot twist! The story should end at (about) thirty chapters.
Review please! Hope you enjoyed it.