Um…took me a while to update, but we just got out of school for Spring Break, so maybe I'll get to finish this soon! DER! As per usual, I own nothing. Well, other then Jenahara, but I don't think you'd want her anyway. She's insane…
~~~
Long pale fingers brushed away strands of red hair. Jenahara scowled at the image before her. (Where is the damn mutt? I can not find him anywhere!) After Inuyasha had transformed into his full demon form and killed the demon slayer, the sorceress had been looking for him. Why couldn't she locate the hanyou? (Oh well…he is probably off hiding in a corner somewhere. Crying for that girl of his.)
"Jenahara."
The sorceress stopped as soon as she heard the voice. She had been so engrossed in searching for the half-demon, she had not even detected someone's else presence in the room. Who was it? At first, she could have sworn it was a woman's voice. But it sounded so smooth, calm and cold, it had to be Naraku. Jenahara turned, annoyance flashing across her face. She thought she had told the hanyou never to come here. It was her job to get revenge on Inuyasha. Hers alone.
Jenahara let out a startled gasp when she turned. She did not see the black haired hanyou known as Naraku, as she had first expected. Instead there was a woman. Her straight black hair was pulled into a low pony tail. She wore miko clothing, a white top with blood red pants. Anger was radiating from the woman, though when the sorceress looked into her eyes, she saw nothing but dark pools of emptiness. (Kikyo. What is she doing here? She may be an ally, perhaps coming to help me rid myself of Naraku, or even get revenge on that mutt Inuyasha.) The two women stood in complete silence for many moments. Finally, the fire sorceress could stand it no longer and decided to speak.
"Kikyo," she began her voice calm and smooth as she could possibly make it. "Why have you sought me out?"
The undead miko starred her, her cold eyes betraying nothing that she felt. "I have come to kill you, Jenahara," she answered.
The fire sorceress starred at her for some time. "Kill me?" she questioned, her voice not cracking although fear suddenly gripped her. "Why? I know your history with Inuyasha. I know that when you were alive you cared for the mutt, maybe even loved him. But I also know that he betrayed you, and you have been seeking revenge on him since you were brought back from the dead, trying to take him back into the depths of Hell. I very much doubt that any of those past feelings of caring and compassion have suddenly come back to you."
"Do not be foolish," she countered. "I still seek my revenge on Inuyasha. Which is why I have come to kill you. His life belongs to me, and he will die by my hand, not by Naraku's, and most certainly not by you."
(She does not want anyone else inflicting pain on the hanyou, only because she wishes to kill him herself. And it is she who thinks me foolish?) The miko reached behind her, pulling out her bow and a sacred arrow from her quiver. She aimed at the sorceress, prepared to take her out with one blow.
The miko never saw it coming.
~~~
Inuyasha growled as he ran his hands through the water once again. He couldn't get the scent of Sango's blood off of him. Tears were stinging his golden eyes, and the hanyou couldn't remember the last time he had cried. Maybe when his mother died…
But he couldn't help it now. How had all of this happened? One minute he was fighting demons for shards of the Shikon no Tama, and the next he was trapped, in some alternate world that seemed to be filled with his nightmares. According to the now dead demon slayer, Inuyasha had fought the group for the remaining shards of the jewel, sending Kagome into Kouga's arms, killed his own father, attacked Kagome in an attempt to kill her, and slaughtered Miroku in cold blood once he found out it was the monk who had the last shards of the jewel.
He knew he hadn't done any of that. He didn't remember ever collecting the entire Shikon jewel, and he knew he hadn't killed his father. It had been Sesshomaru who had murdered their father. He would never try to hurt Kagome, and he didn't kill the monk.
But he had killed Sango.
The hanyou tried to blame the demon slayer herself. If she had not attacked him, if she would have just _listened_ to him, then his transformation wouldn't have been triggered, and he would never have killed her. Of course, he couldn't convince himself of that. Sango had been his friend. A good friend, just as the houshi had.
(I kill them both. No! I killed Sango…but I didn't mean it. I was transformed. I had no idea what was going on. I didn't know…
*Get a hold of yourself! You didn't kill Sango, or any of the others. Don't you think you'd remember if you had collected the entire Shikon no Tama? And if you had killed Miroku, you would _have_ the jewel shard.*)
The hanyou thought about this for a few moments. That was true. If he had killed the houshi, then he would have something to show for it. He didn't have the jewel shard. If only he had thought of that before, maybe Sango would still be alive.
(This is all like a bad dream. An awful, horrible dream and I just can't wake up. If only it were that simple.)
~~~
(Kagome hasn't left Inuyasha's side in days, Sango is just acting weird, and Miroku is well…being the perverted houshi that he always is. Things are so wrong here. Why won't Inuyasha wake up? Will we ever find out what's wrong with him?) Shippo was so engrossed in his own thoughts of worry for his friends, he barely noticed Sango standing outside the door of Kagome and Inuyasha's room. In her hand she held a small blade. She watched as Kagome buried her face into her hands, crying and softly begging the hanyou to wake up soon.
"Oh," Shippo said as he bumped into her leg. He looked up, and saw Sango starring straight ahead. "I didn't know you were there. What's wrong?" he asked seeing the distressed look on the demon slayers face.
She let her eyes drift down, and let out an annoyed sigh. "What isn't wrong?" she questioned coolly. Sliding the blade back up the sleeve of her kimono, she turned and began walking away, mumbling something Shippo couldn't really understand.
The young fox demon turned his attention to the couple in the room. Kagome's unkempt hair was swirling around her face. Tears streamed down her pale cheeks, and her usual cheery expression, her eyes so full of life, were red from crying. Shippo wanted to reach out to her. But he didn't know what he could do. Kagome was in so much pain, and there was no way that any of them could help her. Unless they could get Inuyasha to wake up.
"Inuyasha," the young girl cried, hitting the hanyou over the chest with as much strength as she could muster. "How could you leave me like this? How could you abandon us?" she screeched. Her yells turned into sobs, and she buried her face into the half demons shoulder. "Why won't you come back to us? Please…just wake up. I'll do anything if you'll just wake up again Inuyasha. Please…please…"
~~~
Jenahara starred at the slain priestess at her feet. She shook her head almost ruefully at the sight. (Kikyo had been very strong, and would have made a powerful ally. If only she hadn't been bent on killing me. Stupid miko. Did she really think that she was stronger then me? Kikyo was just a body made of clay. I, was brought back and given my own body, not some prosthetic.)
Letting out a sigh, the sorceress flicker her wrist, and the bloodied body of the former miko was burnt to ashes. She then turned her attention to her pool of water, her looking glass into Inuyasha's mind, and began searching for the hanyou.
A wicked smile crossed her face when she saw him. He was sitting near a river, trying desperately to get the scent of the demon slayer's blood off of his hands. She laughed softly. (Poor little Sango. Dead to the real world, and even in the filthy mutts dreams.)
~~~
Inuyasha looked up sharply. The scent of the air was changing. A cold breeze began to whip around him as he turned. His golden eyes searched the clearing near the river, looking for what the cause of the change of scent could be. He saw nothing. The hanyou jumped to his feet. (Something is wrong here.) Running quickly, he jumped over the few sticks and logs which covered the ground, and ran towards the clearing. Once there, he knelt on his hands and knees, sniffing the ground for any strange smells which hadn't been there before. He smelt nothing new.
Angrily he stood. He clenched his jaws and began pacing back and fourth. "Damn it!" Inuyasha cursed loudly as he slammed his clawed fist into a tree. Gritting his teeth in pain, the hanyou brought his knuckle back to him, frowning as he saw the blood covering his hand.
(At least it's my own this time. Not Sango's, or Miroku's, or my father's. My own blood.) He watched as the small drops slid down his pale skin. The hanyou dropped beside the tree. He leaned his back on the rough bark, sighing with frustration as he flexed his hand. (What in the hell is going on? Sango said all of those things to me…but they can't be true! They just can't be. None of this would have ever happened if I had let her join us. Or Miroku. Hell, I wouldn't even be having to look for the jewel shard if it wasn't for Kikyo. Why did I have to fall in love with her? Why couldn't I have just killed her, taken the jewel, and become full demon?)
He dug the nails of his left hand into the soft ground beneath him. This was all some stupid woman's fault. All because he had to fall in love with a miko. Who was now dead. Technically, anyway.
"Inuyasha! How could you leave me like this? How could you abandon us?!"
The angry, tear streaked voice of Kikyo came into his mind. Then he blinked. No…it wasn't Kikyo. "Kagome!" he screamed loudly. He stood up, and began looking around desperately. (Maybe it was her scent I smelled.) "Kagome! Where are you?!"
He waited, and then there was nothing. (Stupid wench! If it wasn't for her then I wouldn't be here either. It's her and Kikyo. Or just Kikyo. Because Kagome *is* Kikyo.) He shook his head, defeated. He knew where these thoughts always led. (No, she isn't. Kagome is kinder, gentler, and more caring then Kikyo ever was. She shed tears for me. She helped me. If it wasn't for her, then I would probably be dead. She may even love me. And I may even…)
Suddenly, the yellow light which had bathed the hanyou in warmth was gone from the sky. He looked up, wondering what had just happened. His golden eyes wandered to the inky black sky, which was now dotted with brightly shinning stars. Growling in the back of his throat, he sniffed the air, trying to get the scent of whatever it was that had caused the change. He clenched his fist when he couldn't smell the scent. He couldn't _smell_ anything.
Inuyasha looked down at his hand, which was now streaked with dry streams of blood, and saw the useless human nails now replaced his before lethal claws. (No. Not now! I can't transform now!) He was always venerable when he was human, and now was not the time to have any weakness. Not when all of these things were going on. Who knew what was going to come and attack him. And, he didn't even have any of the others to protect him. As proud as the hanyou was, he always felt a bit safer knowing that he had Miroku, Sango, Kagome, and even Shippo there with him when he transformed into his human form. (But now none of them are here. Miroku and Sango are dead, and I don't even know where Shippo is.)
It was then that thought hit him. He was truly alone. If it had been fifty years ago, the prospect of being alone, away from the humans and demons and everyone else who persecuted him for being what he was, would have been welcome to him. But not the thought scared him. He didn't want to be alone. Inuyasha wanted his friends with him. He wanted the ones he loved by him.
(Kagome. I know where Kagome is. I can go to her!
*Are you insane? One, Kagome thinks you're an evil murderer. And two, she's with Koga! Or did you forget their session of tonsil hockey that we were so lucky to see?*
But it's Kagome. She cares about me. I know she does. And I know that she still has faith in me. Sango said so.)
He cast his eyes downward, feeling almost ashamed for thinking about the demon slayer. He closed his eyes, blinking back tears that he would never admit he had. "Kagome, I will find you. And I will show you that I am not evil. I know she will help me, she has to. I've got no one else left."
~~~
Do you realize how long it took me to write that chapter?
Koga- Yeah. To long.
Sorry people!
Kikyo- I can't believe you killed me.
Naraku- You can still be in Inuyasha's dream.
Kikyo- Lucky me.
Sango- I'm dead to. Dream me, _and_ real me.
Miroku- Well…look on the bright side!
Sango- What bright side? And why are you so happy? Your dead too.
Miroku- Only in the dream world. And the bright side is…you still get to be possessed by Naraku in the real world, so your kind of alive..
Sango-umm…and this is supposed to make me feel better how?
~~~
Long pale fingers brushed away strands of red hair. Jenahara scowled at the image before her. (Where is the damn mutt? I can not find him anywhere!) After Inuyasha had transformed into his full demon form and killed the demon slayer, the sorceress had been looking for him. Why couldn't she locate the hanyou? (Oh well…he is probably off hiding in a corner somewhere. Crying for that girl of his.)
"Jenahara."
The sorceress stopped as soon as she heard the voice. She had been so engrossed in searching for the half-demon, she had not even detected someone's else presence in the room. Who was it? At first, she could have sworn it was a woman's voice. But it sounded so smooth, calm and cold, it had to be Naraku. Jenahara turned, annoyance flashing across her face. She thought she had told the hanyou never to come here. It was her job to get revenge on Inuyasha. Hers alone.
Jenahara let out a startled gasp when she turned. She did not see the black haired hanyou known as Naraku, as she had first expected. Instead there was a woman. Her straight black hair was pulled into a low pony tail. She wore miko clothing, a white top with blood red pants. Anger was radiating from the woman, though when the sorceress looked into her eyes, she saw nothing but dark pools of emptiness. (Kikyo. What is she doing here? She may be an ally, perhaps coming to help me rid myself of Naraku, or even get revenge on that mutt Inuyasha.) The two women stood in complete silence for many moments. Finally, the fire sorceress could stand it no longer and decided to speak.
"Kikyo," she began her voice calm and smooth as she could possibly make it. "Why have you sought me out?"
The undead miko starred her, her cold eyes betraying nothing that she felt. "I have come to kill you, Jenahara," she answered.
The fire sorceress starred at her for some time. "Kill me?" she questioned, her voice not cracking although fear suddenly gripped her. "Why? I know your history with Inuyasha. I know that when you were alive you cared for the mutt, maybe even loved him. But I also know that he betrayed you, and you have been seeking revenge on him since you were brought back from the dead, trying to take him back into the depths of Hell. I very much doubt that any of those past feelings of caring and compassion have suddenly come back to you."
"Do not be foolish," she countered. "I still seek my revenge on Inuyasha. Which is why I have come to kill you. His life belongs to me, and he will die by my hand, not by Naraku's, and most certainly not by you."
(She does not want anyone else inflicting pain on the hanyou, only because she wishes to kill him herself. And it is she who thinks me foolish?) The miko reached behind her, pulling out her bow and a sacred arrow from her quiver. She aimed at the sorceress, prepared to take her out with one blow.
The miko never saw it coming.
~~~
Inuyasha growled as he ran his hands through the water once again. He couldn't get the scent of Sango's blood off of him. Tears were stinging his golden eyes, and the hanyou couldn't remember the last time he had cried. Maybe when his mother died…
But he couldn't help it now. How had all of this happened? One minute he was fighting demons for shards of the Shikon no Tama, and the next he was trapped, in some alternate world that seemed to be filled with his nightmares. According to the now dead demon slayer, Inuyasha had fought the group for the remaining shards of the jewel, sending Kagome into Kouga's arms, killed his own father, attacked Kagome in an attempt to kill her, and slaughtered Miroku in cold blood once he found out it was the monk who had the last shards of the jewel.
He knew he hadn't done any of that. He didn't remember ever collecting the entire Shikon jewel, and he knew he hadn't killed his father. It had been Sesshomaru who had murdered their father. He would never try to hurt Kagome, and he didn't kill the monk.
But he had killed Sango.
The hanyou tried to blame the demon slayer herself. If she had not attacked him, if she would have just _listened_ to him, then his transformation wouldn't have been triggered, and he would never have killed her. Of course, he couldn't convince himself of that. Sango had been his friend. A good friend, just as the houshi had.
(I kill them both. No! I killed Sango…but I didn't mean it. I was transformed. I had no idea what was going on. I didn't know…
*Get a hold of yourself! You didn't kill Sango, or any of the others. Don't you think you'd remember if you had collected the entire Shikon no Tama? And if you had killed Miroku, you would _have_ the jewel shard.*)
The hanyou thought about this for a few moments. That was true. If he had killed the houshi, then he would have something to show for it. He didn't have the jewel shard. If only he had thought of that before, maybe Sango would still be alive.
(This is all like a bad dream. An awful, horrible dream and I just can't wake up. If only it were that simple.)
~~~
(Kagome hasn't left Inuyasha's side in days, Sango is just acting weird, and Miroku is well…being the perverted houshi that he always is. Things are so wrong here. Why won't Inuyasha wake up? Will we ever find out what's wrong with him?) Shippo was so engrossed in his own thoughts of worry for his friends, he barely noticed Sango standing outside the door of Kagome and Inuyasha's room. In her hand she held a small blade. She watched as Kagome buried her face into her hands, crying and softly begging the hanyou to wake up soon.
"Oh," Shippo said as he bumped into her leg. He looked up, and saw Sango starring straight ahead. "I didn't know you were there. What's wrong?" he asked seeing the distressed look on the demon slayers face.
She let her eyes drift down, and let out an annoyed sigh. "What isn't wrong?" she questioned coolly. Sliding the blade back up the sleeve of her kimono, she turned and began walking away, mumbling something Shippo couldn't really understand.
The young fox demon turned his attention to the couple in the room. Kagome's unkempt hair was swirling around her face. Tears streamed down her pale cheeks, and her usual cheery expression, her eyes so full of life, were red from crying. Shippo wanted to reach out to her. But he didn't know what he could do. Kagome was in so much pain, and there was no way that any of them could help her. Unless they could get Inuyasha to wake up.
"Inuyasha," the young girl cried, hitting the hanyou over the chest with as much strength as she could muster. "How could you leave me like this? How could you abandon us?" she screeched. Her yells turned into sobs, and she buried her face into the half demons shoulder. "Why won't you come back to us? Please…just wake up. I'll do anything if you'll just wake up again Inuyasha. Please…please…"
~~~
Jenahara starred at the slain priestess at her feet. She shook her head almost ruefully at the sight. (Kikyo had been very strong, and would have made a powerful ally. If only she hadn't been bent on killing me. Stupid miko. Did she really think that she was stronger then me? Kikyo was just a body made of clay. I, was brought back and given my own body, not some prosthetic.)
Letting out a sigh, the sorceress flicker her wrist, and the bloodied body of the former miko was burnt to ashes. She then turned her attention to her pool of water, her looking glass into Inuyasha's mind, and began searching for the hanyou.
A wicked smile crossed her face when she saw him. He was sitting near a river, trying desperately to get the scent of the demon slayer's blood off of his hands. She laughed softly. (Poor little Sango. Dead to the real world, and even in the filthy mutts dreams.)
~~~
Inuyasha looked up sharply. The scent of the air was changing. A cold breeze began to whip around him as he turned. His golden eyes searched the clearing near the river, looking for what the cause of the change of scent could be. He saw nothing. The hanyou jumped to his feet. (Something is wrong here.) Running quickly, he jumped over the few sticks and logs which covered the ground, and ran towards the clearing. Once there, he knelt on his hands and knees, sniffing the ground for any strange smells which hadn't been there before. He smelt nothing new.
Angrily he stood. He clenched his jaws and began pacing back and fourth. "Damn it!" Inuyasha cursed loudly as he slammed his clawed fist into a tree. Gritting his teeth in pain, the hanyou brought his knuckle back to him, frowning as he saw the blood covering his hand.
(At least it's my own this time. Not Sango's, or Miroku's, or my father's. My own blood.) He watched as the small drops slid down his pale skin. The hanyou dropped beside the tree. He leaned his back on the rough bark, sighing with frustration as he flexed his hand. (What in the hell is going on? Sango said all of those things to me…but they can't be true! They just can't be. None of this would have ever happened if I had let her join us. Or Miroku. Hell, I wouldn't even be having to look for the jewel shard if it wasn't for Kikyo. Why did I have to fall in love with her? Why couldn't I have just killed her, taken the jewel, and become full demon?)
He dug the nails of his left hand into the soft ground beneath him. This was all some stupid woman's fault. All because he had to fall in love with a miko. Who was now dead. Technically, anyway.
"Inuyasha! How could you leave me like this? How could you abandon us?!"
The angry, tear streaked voice of Kikyo came into his mind. Then he blinked. No…it wasn't Kikyo. "Kagome!" he screamed loudly. He stood up, and began looking around desperately. (Maybe it was her scent I smelled.) "Kagome! Where are you?!"
He waited, and then there was nothing. (Stupid wench! If it wasn't for her then I wouldn't be here either. It's her and Kikyo. Or just Kikyo. Because Kagome *is* Kikyo.) He shook his head, defeated. He knew where these thoughts always led. (No, she isn't. Kagome is kinder, gentler, and more caring then Kikyo ever was. She shed tears for me. She helped me. If it wasn't for her, then I would probably be dead. She may even love me. And I may even…)
Suddenly, the yellow light which had bathed the hanyou in warmth was gone from the sky. He looked up, wondering what had just happened. His golden eyes wandered to the inky black sky, which was now dotted with brightly shinning stars. Growling in the back of his throat, he sniffed the air, trying to get the scent of whatever it was that had caused the change. He clenched his fist when he couldn't smell the scent. He couldn't _smell_ anything.
Inuyasha looked down at his hand, which was now streaked with dry streams of blood, and saw the useless human nails now replaced his before lethal claws. (No. Not now! I can't transform now!) He was always venerable when he was human, and now was not the time to have any weakness. Not when all of these things were going on. Who knew what was going to come and attack him. And, he didn't even have any of the others to protect him. As proud as the hanyou was, he always felt a bit safer knowing that he had Miroku, Sango, Kagome, and even Shippo there with him when he transformed into his human form. (But now none of them are here. Miroku and Sango are dead, and I don't even know where Shippo is.)
It was then that thought hit him. He was truly alone. If it had been fifty years ago, the prospect of being alone, away from the humans and demons and everyone else who persecuted him for being what he was, would have been welcome to him. But not the thought scared him. He didn't want to be alone. Inuyasha wanted his friends with him. He wanted the ones he loved by him.
(Kagome. I know where Kagome is. I can go to her!
*Are you insane? One, Kagome thinks you're an evil murderer. And two, she's with Koga! Or did you forget their session of tonsil hockey that we were so lucky to see?*
But it's Kagome. She cares about me. I know she does. And I know that she still has faith in me. Sango said so.)
He cast his eyes downward, feeling almost ashamed for thinking about the demon slayer. He closed his eyes, blinking back tears that he would never admit he had. "Kagome, I will find you. And I will show you that I am not evil. I know she will help me, she has to. I've got no one else left."
~~~
Do you realize how long it took me to write that chapter?
Koga- Yeah. To long.
Sorry people!
Kikyo- I can't believe you killed me.
Naraku- You can still be in Inuyasha's dream.
Kikyo- Lucky me.
Sango- I'm dead to. Dream me, _and_ real me.
Miroku- Well…look on the bright side!
Sango- What bright side? And why are you so happy? Your dead too.
Miroku- Only in the dream world. And the bright side is…you still get to be possessed by Naraku in the real world, so your kind of alive..
Sango-umm…and this is supposed to make me feel better how?