A Tragic Love
Disclaimer: A Short Story: Snippity Snippett lived in a small gray house with a gray fence and a gray car. He always wore a tall hat with a little hole in it, which he got by a 45 magnum that was shot directly at his face (the guy had bad aim). But he liked how it looked because he was a loser with bad taste so he wore it anyways. He never had a girlfriend so his VCR and the local video store was his best friend. He wore a long mustache which he braided at its ends and it was sad but his face was started to resemble his gray house—dull, unattractive, and ugly. And since his life was boring and his VCR was broken, he decided to sign on fanfic and for the hell of it he decided to pretend he owned Inuyasha. No sooner did he write the words, a couple of ninjas slammed through his door in complete black. In shock, he raised his hands in the air and told them to take whatever they wanted but not his life. They shook his head and before they could jump on him like a rabbit in mating season, Rumiko Takahashi blasted emerged from the fog of destruction and looked at him with a smile on her face. Not knowing who it was, he told her to help him but she just walked up to him and smoothly ripped out her silver 45 magnum and took it off safety, facing it directly in front of his face. He cried out in pain but it was no use, she pulled the sweet trigger and blasted his head right off his neck. Rumiko Takashi blew away the fumes coming from the gun and with a smile kissed his decapitated head. With that she left. No body messes with her...
Remember this story is a fabrication and all characters were made up by my twisted mind except for the true author of Inuyasha--Takahashi Rumiko, which I mean not to make any offense of because I think she kicks ass and I'm basically depicting that...
Ch.20: 'Til Death Do Us Part (Part 1)
-- The saga is coming to a close...boohoo...I know it's so sad...anyways as you can see, I decided to break it up into two parts...I don't know...I thought you guys might get bored scrolling down for so long...so too bad if you wanted one chapter! I just wanted to say that I'm starting on my next story but I wont post it until this is done...I want to work one story at a time...I usually don't but what happens is I never finish either of the stories...so maybe this way I can discipline myself to finish one story...okay enough with my blah blah...here's Chapter 20...part uno..
7 years ago...
The house was small and very simple but it was theirs. They had struggled all their lives, working long hours and sleeping very little to buy house they could call home. Thankfully, after years of hardship, they found a house in their budget. It was a fixer-upper of course—the fence had missing wooden panels, the paint was peeling, the windows were broken from years of flying baseballs, and the grass was reduced to weeds. But, when they saw the house, they didn't see these details, they saw the future. Upon arriving at the house, the couple and newborn little baby boy saw what the house could offer—their mind open to all kinds of opportunities. It was mere minutes before they decided to sign. Before long, they walked through those falling steps with a single suitcase and called it home.
It was months before the house was decent but through their suffering, they bonded as a family unit. The sigh never escaped their lips—they were happy just to be together in their simple little home. The husband worked all night as a security guard at a plastics factory while his wife stayed at home with the baby but managed to create a small business on the side making embroidered blankets. They were happy and content with their lives, not wanting more than they could afford.
Before long the house grew as a home. The couple replaced windows and doors whenever enough money was gathered. And as this house grew so did their little baby boy whose striking raven hair was the talk of the neighborhood. His mother and father loved him, being careful not to spoil him. But it was difficult because all they wanted to do was give him everything he ever wanted even though they could not afford it.
The happy family relied on each other and knew that all they needed in life was each other. Thus, they would have never guessed that in just a matter of years their lives would be changed forever. You see, fate acts in mysterious ways and sometimes by the hand of fate, one must lose everything to gain something. The family was made up of good people, which makes us wonder, why do bad things happen to good people? We cannot change our destinies and sometimes this destiny comes with an ultimate price. With the good comes the bad in order to retain the balance in the world. Thus, good people must suffer in order to compensate for the incredibly bad and the incredibly good.
Unfortunately, this family was sacrificed in order to maintain this balance in the world. It will be through this family that the bad in the world will be destroyed.
It happened all too quickly—one minute they were there and the next they were gone.
It was a hot blistering day. The sun's touch was strong and deadly. The neighborhood was bursting with untamed energy, people happy to be outside on such a sunny day. Children were swimming, the adults basking in the afternoon heat, and the dogs were lying on their bellies exhausted. All was normal in neighborhood. No one would have expected the tragedy that lay just moments after their peaceful venture.
The heat too much, the happy family decided to stay inside and cool their tired bodies. The husband had just arrived home that early morning, his back aching and his eyes dry from being up all night. But upon seeing his wife and his healthy ten year old boy, the color returned to his face and he forced a smile from his weary face. His little boy greeted him with a hearty hug and his wife kissed him lightly on the lips, patting his head and helping him to the weathered couch they bought at a garage sale.
He steadily descended towards the cushions whose stuffing was pouring out from years of weighted torture. His gentle wife turned on the stove to heat up the kettle, eager to warm up her husband's body with tea. He smiled at her as she returned to his side, running her fingers through his hair and whispering sweet nothings in his ear.
"Darling, I was thinking that maybe it is about time we have another child," she said sweetly. She had wanted to ask him for many weeks now but could not sum up enough courage. She was worried he would protest, already too tired from his job just supporting herself and their only child. So she was surprised to see his mouth curve into a smile.
"I think that sounds like a good idea," she embraced him then and they held like that for some time. The boy looked at his parents and smiled, running to hug his parents as well. They returned his hug and his wife looked towards the kettle in confusion. 'That's odd, the kettle is taking awhile to heat up,' she thought to herself but her mind was quickly distracted by her husband's giggles. She begged him to stop and when she did, she looked at he son lovingly. He returned the gaze.
"Mommy, I want to show Daddy the picture I made in school today!" he exclaimed jumping up and down.
"Go and get it honey," she turned to her husband, "It's so cute. He made a giraffe but it looks like a boat!" The couple laughed and waited for their son. He returned with a frown on his face.
"Mommy, I can't find it! I've lost it!" he shouted. His mom reached over to hug her son with her free hand.
"Oh, I know where it is. Go out in the car. I remember you showed it to me there. Maybe you left it there by accident."
Her little boy's face brightened and he quickly exclaimed, "Oh right! Okay, I'm going to get it!" He ran out quickly, leaving his parents to cuddle on the couch. The little boy went out and ran towards his mother's Dodge that was ready to give way. He looked inside and saw it on the seat. He reached inside, prying the windows open with his small arms. The windows steadily rolled down and he grabbed the picture by its corner.
KKKKKAAAAAABBBBBOOOOOMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The little boy flew from the side of the car and hurled through the street and landing on the sidewalk opposite their house from the explosion's immense impact. The house was engulfed by a fury of flames and sparks. Slowly the one explosion shifted into multiple bombs of flames as the house slowly disappeared. The sides of the house caved in while the remnants of furniture flew in the air like popcorn in the microwave. It was not long before fragments of the house was being hurled into the air and landed all throughout the neighborhood.
The explosion sent a shockwave so fierce it was felt four blocks away like an earthquake. The ground shook and people hurried to their safe houses or under their tables for security. Others in pure stupidity ran out the door and watched as the small house across the street was slowly being eaten by flames. Everyone stood in horror, clutching to one another in comfort. Those who knew them were crying and screaming for someone to call the police.
No one quite noticed the little boy in the grass just a couple feet away, his head down and his body blackened by the smog and smoke. He lay motionless, unconscious from the powerful throw. It was a miracle he had awakened just moment after the freak accident to a swarm of newscasters, helicopters, police, and firefighters. He stared at the flames in confusion and from the fear, he quickly hid from view. He had landed right inside a crevice that was three feet below ground level that usually contained water. Fortunately, it was so hot that day the water had dried out. If not, he would have drowned in an instant. He sat in that darkened crevice, looking up every so often to see what was happening. He was too afraid to approach the mass of curious bystanders swarming around the safe haven of his crevice that he cried and called out to no one in particular.
He did not know how long he sat there petrified. But soon the night turned into morning and after some moments the crowd parted and the only ones left were firefighters and policemen and a couple camera men who were in the process of leaving. The little boy, confused and afraid, crawled out of the crevice and eased his way towards the house in curiosity. He looked down at himself and wandered what had happened to him. How had he ended up in a crack in the ground? And where was his family? He ran to the house but in constant alert. He was stopped by a voice coming out of the house. He hid by the rubble and listened to the man in the blue shirt.
"Shit, the family was in here..." he said wearily.
The man who stood next to him had no hair and wore a stripped shirt. He looked at the mountain of debris that was left of the house and shook his head, "It looks like a lose wire set it off...blew the god damn house to bits and the family with it. I swear these older homes need to be checked."
"Did you find the bodies?"
"We found two bodies...its strange..."
"What is?"
The striped shirt man shook his head and crossed his arms, "The bodies were intertwined...a married couple..."
"I guess it's true then...'til death do us part..."
The little boy began to cry silently and tears flowed from his eyes and he moaned for his mom and dad in despair. He wanted to run then and never return. He wanted to die so he could be with his mom and dad.
"They had a son, right?"
"Yeah..." The little boy froze when he heard them talk about him and listened, holding back tears.
"I bet his little body's burned to ashes...poor little kid...I think he was only ten or something." They both shook their heads in dismay.
The little boy heard someone else's footsteps and turned to see a team of investigators by his side, digging through the rubble in concentration. He quickly rose from behind what appeared to be part of his bedroom wall as he guessed from the dinosaur prints and slowly slid into the shadows of the trees in the corner which were partly burned. He turned and climbed over the decaying fence, burned from the impact and saw that the side of the neighbor's house had been hit from the house's explosion. He shook his head and retreated to the neighbor's years whose pool had some of his half- burned toys and pieces of their house. Again he climbed to the opposite side fence and kept at it until he grew exhausted but by this time he had reached the end and found a deserted street. He raced through it, tears sliding down his cheeks and disappearing into the thin air. Before long he was met with two bright lights and when he opened them he was in a house without any memory of what had happened to him and who he was. The first figure he saw was that of Damaru dressed in a red gown. She smiled to him and he smiled back.
-- Damaru patiently watched Kagome slide out of the room and take one last look at Inuyasha before finally leaving out of the double doors of the hospital. Damaru stared at the doors gradually slide close before momentarily walking inside Inuyasha's room. Except for the lamp at the side table, the room was completely dark. Damaru stared at her son for some time, watching his chest rise and fall and then his body shuffle and turn. The memory of him as a child jumped into her mind and she was left wondering whether she had made the right choice...in keeping him as her own.
After some time, Damaru proceeded inside the room in silence but it was not long before she stumbled on an object on the ground. She caught hold of the bed before kissing the floor. She held back her yelp and looked down to see what she had hit. To her shock it was a toy train that was all too familiar. She had found it in Inuyasha's pocket the day he had stepped into her life. It was worn out and beaten by years of abuse and one of its wheels had broken off but it held within it memories of his childhood and that was all that was important. Unfortunately, Inuyasha doesn't remember that childhood. Damaru sighed and stuffed it into her jacket pocket.
She watched him stir from the slight noise but he did not wake. He was reaching R.E.M. now and in moments he would be deep in sleep dreaming of vague memories of his past. Damaru sat by his bedside and fell asleep. It was nearly three in the morning.
--
Helpless and frightened, little Inuyasha raced through the streets in a panic, his impressionable mind going in fast circles, wondering what had happened and wanting to see his mommy and daddy again. He had only wanted to show them his drawing, he muttered to himself, tears racing down his face and flying through the air as he continued to push himself forward. He did not know where he was going and alas he did not care.
He was too scared to stop but too tired to keep going. He darted through the streets in a blur and wished for a car to end his misery. His death would bring him to heaven and he would be reunited with his mom and dad. Without them, he knew, he could not survive. How could he? They were the only family he had. He had no one else—he was all alone in his big world.
After, what seemed like years, of running, his vision turned blurry from the exhaustion taking over his body. He had always been so energetic, how come his strength was leaving his now? He needed to keep going, he told himself. He was running not only from the police but his life. He felt as though invisible devils were chasing after his helpless body, ready to catch him and force him to confront reality. But he was not ready to confront reality; he still had enough energy to run from it. Mommy, he continued to scream in his mind. He was running, he knew, to search of her, believing what the policemen had said was a lie, a horrible hoax. His parents were teaching him a lesson, he thought. He needed to be a better person; a good little boy.
"I promise mommy, I won't do anything bad ever again if you just come back!" he screamed in the streets still running away from nothing. But there came no answer. He stopped then in the middle of the street and looked up to the oncoming raindrops which sprinkled over him, light fog beginning to appear. Soon his tears had collided with the rain and the two were undistinguishable. So, he cried some more as the rain thickened and slid down his face, covering his body. Heaven was crying too, mourning the loss of innocence.
It was then that Inuyasha turned to two beaming lights coming towards him. The rain had blocked their view and in a matter of moments, the car had hit him. But it was not enough to kill him, only to askew his memory so that everything before the incident was a blur, passing through his mind on random occasions. But the pieces to the puzzle in his mind never fit properly so he dismissed these past memories as dreams. Even as he dreamed of a stranger, the face of his deceased mother, smiling at him in his dreams, he merely believed her to be an angel, one he made up. True, she was an angel but hardly made up.
Damaru, unable to have her own children, saw the body, hardly hurt from the hit on the ground, tears still in his little eyes. She cradled him in her arms for some time, shocked from hitting the child and demanding her driver to find some help. As she waited, she lifted him onto her lap and watched as his tiny chest rhythmically fell and descended. She thought it was a strange happening, to hit a little child and have it only to be mildly bruised. But in reality, it was a plain miracle. She noticed his deep black hair, like her own and convinced herself that they were somehow connected. This could be fate, she thought, sending her a son. It was then that she carried little Inuyasha and brought it inside the limo, caressing his little body so that it clung to her damp red gown.
In the care of her house, a doctor arrived to see the child. He concluded little damage was made—merely a bruise to the side. He said it was a miracle and she agreed. It was only moments after the doctor had departed that she turned on the television set to the news of a freak explosion, which killed a family—a woman, a man, and their little son. No evidence was found of the little boy's body but they concluded he was engulfed by the flames and killed instantly. The picture of the family appeared before the screen and Damaru let out a concealed shriek from the shocking revelation that the child that was supposedly dead was the same child that lay unconscious just a few feet away were the same. Was he a ghost? She wondered. But she knew better and touched his hand then. Like magic, her touch awakened him. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled, not a bad thought escaping his mind and looked up at the beautiful woman dressed in crimson before him. She smiled too and told him she was his mother.
It was a difficult task to convince her husband about taking in the child and pretending it was their own. But, he gave in, knowing that his marriage was already falling apart and that they could never conceive of one on their own. He ordered her to keep him in doors until the news had passed and the hysteria had calmed. And so she did, keeping him inside and shutting him from the outside until he reached the age of twelve.
In order to keep Inuyasha a secret, the couple did not legally adopt him. They merely pretended that Damaru, out of the grace of God, had conceived a child. Thus, she was also locked up inside the mansion until a matter of months passed to make the story believable.
Angry from years of imprisonment, he rejected the love of his parents and confided only in himself to keep him from going insane. Not knowing how to socialize, he was rejected by others of his same age and found his only friend in a mouse that he found inside the cellar. Hated by his classmates because his family was rich and powerful, he began to hate himself and his parents for keeping him hostage against his will in the confines of the mansion. He had watched, from the prison cell of his bedroom window, the children playing on the street. He had asked his mother if he could play with them but she denied it and his anger for her grew. Inuyasha interpreted his mother's love as her evilness and thus he resented her for being such a bitch. He made little contact with his father and when he did his father would look at him in such a way that disturbed him. He looked at Inuyasha as if he was not his own, little did he knew it was the truth. But he believed that his mother's long midnight hair was a characteristic he followed and thus the thought he was an outsider never crossed his mind.
He lived life in the dark. He played by himself at recesses and found that his only company at lunch was his own shadow. It brought tears to his eyes but he kept them concealed and pretended he didn't care, even though it was slowly eating him up inside. Finding out he had a learning disability worsened the situation. His classmates not only hated him for being rich but now they mocked his stupidity. Even the most simple of problems caused him migraines. When his parents found out, they moved him to another school, a special school, and consequently, his anger and hate for them increased. He believed his parents resented their stupid son. Little did he know that they were just happy to have a son even though his blood was foreign to theirs.
He caused havoc in this school, preying on weaker students in order to make himself feel better. He liked knowing he was stronger than them. But it came with a price. Of course he didn't cause it but he believed he did. It was then that his father died and his anger towards everyone doubled. But it was when his mother remarried that he shut her out of his life for good. But, it was not Damaru's choice to marry again. She would rather live life in misery than be married again to another man she did not love. But she was forced to marry her husband's brother in order to continue the line. He was much older than her-self but that mattered little concerning money. Her husband's brother was old now and still had not married, it seemed only reasonable to force her into marriage with him and continue the legacy of the Bakemono family. But Inuyasha hated his uncle on his father's side and often turned to his mother's brother for comfort. He was a good man who had always thought of Inuyasha as his own. Too bad he died before Inuyasha's thirteenth birthday.
--
Kagome tiptoed towards her room, taking off her shoes. But, out of some deep curiosity, she stopped in front of her parent's bedroom and peaked inside, careful not to make a sound. At first, she saw nothing except for the enormous bed that lay in the center, elevated from the rest of the room, thin tapestry intertwining across and draping onto the floor. The room was dim except for the soft light that appeared from a bolted lamp on the wall from within the bed made of tapestry. In time, she saw a figure bolt upright from inside the bed, her silhouette creating her outlines so that she was familiar. Meiwaku sat there for some moments just staring straight in front of her. Kagome thought then that maybe she had heard her. Easing off the double doors, Kagome watched her mother from afar. But it was not long before Kagome again returned to the peephole of her door. Her father had entered into the room, probably from the bathroom.
She watched the unhappy couple for a few moments, her father, in his silk pajamas, sat at the foot of the bed, both hands steadily grasping the end of the bed and her mother still on the bed in silence. They did not speak for some time, merely staring at the wall beyond. Kagome wished she went into her parents' bedroom more often because the curiosity of what they were staring at was eating at her.
It was her father that spoke first. His eyes never leaving that spot on the wall that was obscured from Kagome's vision. Kagome noticed then, the sadness in her father's eyes which had always haunted him. His face was a wrinkled mess, lines encircling his chiseled features. He was probably really hot once. But in time, age had eaten at his good features. His heart, not in the right place, had made him older than he was. Gray hair was beginning to appear from underneath his coconut brown. He had suffered a lot in his years and it showed clear across his face now, even though he had tried hard to conceal it.
"I'll pack and leave tomorrow," were the only words that escaped his lips before her mother reached over to the overhead light and tugged on the string that created darkness. Kagome did not know this feeling that was erupting inside her. Was she feeling sorry for her parents? She backed off from the door which was psychologically beginning to radiate some intense heat. Shaking her head, she picked up her shoes and walked into her room in despair. In a matter of hours, she was able to lose both her mother and her father.
True the man was never there and often scolded her just as horribly as her mother, but he was still her father regardless of his actions, which meant that she loved him. She clung onto her pillow and tried to cry tears of sadness but she was wasting her time. Why wasn't she crying? Wasn't she supposed to feel sadness right now? Kagome threw the pillow across the room and slump onto the floor and watched her curtains swirl around in a frenzied dance by the wind that blew fiercely through her window. The curtains, eager to dance in freedom, were restrained by the pole which held them back from chaos. It was moments before a figure appeared before her. Kagome watched as the figure walked towards her and collapsed beside her. She took her hand and ran her fingers through his hair.
--
"Father, I can't believe you kill people for money..." Sesshoumaru said, turning his head in shame from his father. He had watched the man's lips turn from a hideous grin into a despicable smile. He didn't have any respect left for the man who was surprisingly crueler than he had thought. He had lived under the same roof as the devil himself.
His father stood then, a smile still plastered on his face and approached his son in enjoyment. He rather loved to watch his son squirm before him even though his cowardice was disappointing. Yet, in time, he would be able to undo the values Rin had instilled in him. What a little disturbance she was...stealing his son's heart with her good ways. Where did she come from? Oz? He quickly took out an object from his pocket and looked at it for a moment before lighting it. He had a long day—he needed some good old fashion pot.
"Father, you're smoking..." Kouga was watching his father in horror. Even he never touched the stuff and there he was staring at his father smoking a joint like he did it everyday of his life.
"Want a puff?" he asked, taking it out for a moment to release the fumes circulated inside his throat. The burn felt good but the good part was about to come. Already he was feeling it and he smiled as he walked up to Kouga.
"What? You don't smoke?"
"I don't smoke weed."
"You're such a lame ass wimp." Clearly his father had a masculinity complex. It wasn't enough to kill people; he had to smoke pot too.
The smell of pot was beginning to infiltrate the room. Sesshoumaru watched his father clearly distraught by what he was seeing. He was finally witnessing his father as he truly was—a pot smoking psycho killer with masculinity issues. He backed away, pulling Rin with him.
Rin watched the family falling apart before her eyes and it saddened her to know that this was what Sesshoumaru had to live with. She didn't see a family—she saw a group of strangers clinging together for the sake of money and power. She turned away and wished this was over.
"Father, we have to leave..." Sesshoumaru said, interrupting the silence. He turned to his mother in pity. The woman was near tears as the revelation she was witnessing. She didn't have a family anymore. She was much alone as Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru walked up to her and took a thumb to clear her tear-streaked cheek. Wiping it away, his mother looked up at her eldest son with fear in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Sesshoumaru..." she reached over and kissed her son on the cheek before turning to his fiancé and doing the same. "I'm sorry..." she whispered in Rin's ears. Rin looked at her in sympathy and just nodded, "No, I'm sorry..." she said.
"Good-bye father," Sesshoumaru said, taking one last look at his father who was still smoking his weed.
"I'll see you real soon," he said. Sesshoumaru smiled and shook his head, "No, you won't."
Kouga watched his brother leave and ran to him then, "What's going to happen, Sesshoumaru..." he asked in confusion. He could no longer think and feel. He just wanted to end this misery creeping through his body.
Sesshoumaru looked at his brother and saw the sadness behind his eyes, "You have to get away before he gets you," he whispered. Kouga, ready to hug his brother, was caught by a glimmer of silver. He turned his head and watched as his father, with one quick sweep, retrieve a revolver from inside his coat pocket. His eyes were filled with menace as he pointed it straight at Sesshoumaru.
"Think you can just leave. Think again," he said. Still aiming at Sesshoumaru who was stricken with fear, he pressed his finger firmly on the trigger and in moments the gun's aim was redirected—pointing straight at Rin. Sesshoumaru, sensing his father's trickery, jumped in front of Rin as she screamed in fear.
Click. The trigger was pulled and through a blaze of fury it ravaged through the air and in a matter of moments someone was on the ground. But, it was not Rin and it was not Sesshoumaru.
"Mom..." Kouga whispered.
--
3:20 a.m. Sora Hospital
Damaru woke up from the noise coming from Inuyasha's bed and was shocked to find him ripping off the wires that were connected to his body. Worried and confused, Damaru reached over to cease her son's fury. He continued to tear it off his body as his mother tried to take hold of his hands. But it was no use; she was no match for his strength. In a matter of moments, he was free from his life support wires. Damaru watched her son in bewilderment.
He was filled with rage.
--
3:10 a.m. Sora Hospital
Inuyasha bolted from his slumber and was confronted with darkness. Afraid at first, he searched in front of him but in a matter of moments his eyes adjusted and there beside him asleep was his mother...or was she his mother?
Sitting on his bed, he tried to retrace the dream he had just experienced. Taking a hand, he scratched at an itch in the back of his head. But he did so more out of irritation than from an itch. What had caused this sudden burst of irritation?
Inuyasha stared at the woman who claimed to be his mother and remembered the dream he had just woken to.
--
He stood alone, in the darkness, cuddling himself in a fetal position. The darkness was cold but he was too scared to release his grasp from himself and find warmth. So, he rolled up in a ball and remained as such, his eyes bolting from side to side, eager to find a source of light to comfort him from his fear of the dark. Although the temperature was bellow zero, beads of sweat began to form from his head and in moments were streaming down his face. The fear was causing him to sweat and the longer he sat there in the emptiness, the more his fear increased until he could no longer handle the pressure residing his body. Eager to let go, he undid the knot he made of arms as he unlaced them from his legs. The task was hard because his body seemed as though it was no longer attached to his mind and so the longer he willed his body to undo itself, the more it persisted to remain tied together. Anger and fear surfacing, he wrestled with himself on the floor of darkness until finally his mind exploded from persistence and his body began to unwind and he lay there motionless for a moment until from a distance in the halo beyond came a white figure floating towards him. He squinted his eyes and watched as the ghostly figure gradually descended from the bleak dark nothing until she was just inches away from his head.
Inuyasha looked at her with sadness. He knew her, he thought. She looked so familiar but no matter how hard he tried to remember, the memory was gone and so she remained floating just inches from his body, a sad smile across her delicate face. She was colored a pale brown but her hair...it almost disappeared into the deep black of the same color. Slowly her body descended onto his and he continued to peer into her eyes which contained the universe, planets encircling her iris. She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the forehead. He shut his eyes from the kiss and when he awakened he was in a house, battered and broken but oddly comfortable.
He traced the house, walking from the living room to the kitchen, trying to remember where he had seen it before. He picked up objects now and then but it was no use—he could not remember. Then, from behind, he heard a voice and turned to see a little boy. Inuyasha stared at him for a few seconds and realized it was himself.
He bent over and the little boy approached him, "Hello. Do you want to play?" he asked, taking out a toy train from within his trouser pocket.
Inuyasha immediately recognized the toy train as his own and smiled, taking it from the little boy and examining it, "Sure. What do you want to play?"
The little boy's smile slowly faded and backed away, "I have to go," he muttered.
"Why?" Inuyasha asked, still holding the toy train.
"My mom is calling me..."
Inuyasha scanned the room and carefully searched his surroundings and listened closely but he could not hear anyone calling.
"I don't hear anyone."
The boy backed up again and shook his head, "I have to go," he repeated.
"Kid, listen, there's no one calling you." Inuyasha reached over to yield the boy from going away but upon his touch he started a fire and before long the boy was covered in flames. However, it didn't seem to hurt the boy. He remained standing before Inuyasha, continuing to tell him he needed to go to his mother.
"She's calling me; my mom is calling me..."
Inuyasha continued to watch the flames engulf the little boy and it was then that the noticed he was surrounded by flames him-self. He did not feel the heat. It was the crackling that awakened him nerves to the flames around him. Fearing he would catch on fire, he backed away from the flames but realized he was trapped within a circle of flames and the boy and he were in its contents.
The boy still in flames stared at him in curiosity, "Try to remember..."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked but his question would never be angered because at that instant, the little boy was finally submerged into the flames and then he was gone.
Moments after, Inuyasha was confronted by two figures from within the flames. They stood in the flames as though it was merely water, staring at him as they embraced.
"Mom...dad..." Inuyasha muttered.
--
Inuyasha stared at Damaru but remembered only his own mother. Her face was so clear in his mind now. He had repressed her memory for so long that her vision was haunting his mind. She was a kind woman and remembered that even though they did not have enough money, they were happy.
He watched Damaru struggle in her own dream and shook his head, "You lied to me," he whispered.
It was as though the incident that lay so deep inside his mind was coming to life before his eyes. The house exploding, the policemen, him running in the streets, and finally being hit by a car. Was this all part of his punishment? He asked himself. They had taken away his parents, his home, and his childhood. He was forced to live in a house that was, in reality, never his own. While all the other boys got to play in the street, he was forced to watch from a second story room. They had lived out his own childhood while he rotted from within the prison he thought was home.
His childhood was an unhappy one. Everyday he wished he was someone else's child, leading someone else's life. How ironic to realize that he was someone else's child truly playing the part of a stranger's life...
--
Damaru was struggling in her own memories...as her mind traced the day she gave birth to Kagome...
It was a fluke, she had thought that day. She couldn't have children! But, in reality, she couldn't have children with a Bakemono. Even her body was rejecting his love. Her body, she guessed, only belonged to the one man she loved. She was told as a teenager that she could not have children, a secret she concealed from her husband. She was sworn into secrecy by her parents. If the Bakemono family knew she could not have children, they could never marry. So, she kept it a secret and watched with fear as her husband grew frustrated from trying to have children. Pretending not to know why, she asked him if she could see a doctor. He brought her to one and he told her what she already knew.
So when she heard she was pregnant, she knew in an instant it was her lover's baby. Not only did she and her husband have separate beds but she knew that her Kagome was given to her by the grace of her love for Sora. Sora, of course, did not find happiness in the news. Being married him- self, he could not expect his wife to accept a baby. But, he knew that Damaru could not possibly keep the baby with her. Her husband knew nothing of her affair while his own wife came into the marriage knowing that he had a lover. Little did she care, just as long as she got money from the marriage. Abortion, of course, was not a choice. Damaru, by a pure miracle, was given a baby, she refused to kill it. She would rather have her alive and not be able to see her than have her dead. Sora, driven by his love for Damaru, accepted the baby and brought it into his home...
--
Flashback (a really long time ago)
"You expect me to raise this child as our own! We have our own daughter to worry about! How dare you, Sora!" Meiwaku screamed, throwing random objects from the counter. Sora, holding Kagome in his arms, looked down at her asleep and sighed.
"Meiwaku, we have to keep this child. Damaru cannot keep it."
"Fuck Damaru! I don't give a damn if her husband forces her to leave!"
Sora was over come with anger but maintained his composition, not wanting to harm Kagome.
"You don't make the decisions in this house...I do. I say we keep her and that's it."
Meiwaku threw the vase clear across the room and walked up to her husband in rage, "You think you can control me, Sora? Fine, I'll keep this bastard child but if you for one minute think I will treat it like my own, you are dead wrong."
Sora, feeling powerless for the first time in his life, took a hand from underneath the baby and slapped his wife so hard in the face, he broke a tooth.
"Do what you must."
Meiwaku clutched her battered cheek and continued to smile, spitting out a tooth, "How do you know I won't go and tell her husband about this."
"He would never believe you. You're a Higarashi, remember?" he said flatly.
"I am quite persistent, Sora," she looked up at him and stood up, "I will take care of this child but you must promise me one thing..."
"What?" he asked, caring little for her broken jaw.
"You can never see her again." Sora looked down at the baby and nodded.
"Fine."
It was on that day, Sora vowed never to see Damaru again, asking her, as his last wish, to leave from the town. She could not bear to leave her only love but if he requested it, she knew she had to do it. She had already asked so much from him. It was her turn to sacrifice. But her husband had refused to move and she didn't have a reasonable explanation as to why they should leave. So she stayed inside her house for months, imprisoning herself. If she was let free, she would surely find a way to see Sora. So she lived with her own personal torment—locking herself in from the man she loved. She ate little and it wasn't very long before her husband saw the change in her mood. She was constantly grouchy and ill-tempered. She would rather sleep the day away even upon his insistence that she should get some fresh air. So, gradually, their marriage crumbled.
Ten years passed since she let herself out. Her cheeks lost their shimmer and she fell to sickness from lack of activity. She was bedridden for years, wondering what had happened to Sora and if her Kagome was well. Damaru often had dreams about her and sometimes Kagome would come to her in her sleep. Unable to take the pain of not seeing Sora any longer, she called for the driver and demanded he bring her to the Higarashi house. He insisted they not drive that night because it was going to rain. But, in the end, she got her way and they drove out in the pouring rain. But, it was the rain that caused his vision to blur and hit the little boy standing on the street.
--
Kagome continued to stroke the boy's hair as he cried beside her. Kagome did not know why he was crying but it saddened her to the point where she felt her own tears flee her eyes. She watched Kouga toss beside her and could not help but put an arm around him in comfort. Unable to speak, the two sat there in silence, only the sound of Kouga's crying in the air.
"Kagome...I'm sorry," he said between gulps and tears. She put a finger to his mouth to quiet him and they sat there for some time. She liked the quiet. It soothed her.
"It's all gone." --
Sesshoumaru still lay gasping, holding his mother tightly in his arms, her head propped up against his leg. He knew she was not breathing; the bullet wound was just above her heart. He tried to piece together the massacre that had happened moments ago. His mother had jumped in front of him as a human shield just as the bullet had ejected from the gun and was flying in midair. Too shocked, Sesshoumaru stood and watched his mother let out a small shriek before finally collapsing onto the marble floors and soaking it in her own blood. She had wavered first, probably shocked herself from both the pain and the act. His mother looked down at the wound and then to her husband, blood trickling down her thin lips. She watched the blood from her bullet wound gradually filter through her cotton top and then explode through body. It was then that she fell to her knees and in moments was on the floor. Sesshoumaru ran to her side and watched his mother die in his arms.
He could not understand why she had saved him. He thought she had always hated him. But, he saw now that a mother's love was too deep for even him to see. He was blind all his life. Now, as she was dying, he finally realized how much she had loved him. He cursed himself for thinking she was like his father. His poison had penetrated through her body and she was decomposing like himself. However, this last act of hers would redeem every wrong deed she did. She had set it all right and restored the balance.
Watching her on his lap, the people around him seemed to disappear and all that was left on this earth for just a fraction of a minute was his mother and him.
She reached over to him and told him she was free. He nodded and it was then that her stare grew still and her expression was blank. He reached over and closed her eyes and set her on the floor, still covered in her splattered blood.
His father, unable to cope with what he did, stared at the sight, gulping down his sorrows. What had he done? He asked himself. But, he knew all too well he had just murdered his wife. His aim was for his son's fiancé. How could he have known she would play hero and jump in front of them. It was unbelievable in his mind. He looked up at his son; trying to release the horror of his wife's stilled state. Sesshoumaru's eyes were flaming with anger and although it was wholly inappropriate, his father grimaced at the sight. It was too surreal to witness this burning sensation inching its way inside his son's body.
"Father, what did you do?" Sesshoumaru asked. He was shaking convulsively now, rage intertwining between his limbs and arteries until that succeeded in infiltrating his heart. He watched as his father, the gun still pointed at him, let out a small laugh.
"I ended her misery..." he simply replied. He lowered the gun and threw it backwards so that it melted into the darkness. Sesshoumaru, over the brink with anger, approached his father and stared at him for a second before sending a punch across his perturbing face. Shocked, his father, was thrown back but retained his balance, and in response sending a punch to his son just under his bellow.
Sesshoumaru, shocked not from the blow but how much it hurt, clenched his fists to repay his father with double the force. Yet, his fist was intercepted by his father's fast reflexes. Holding the fist in his hand, his father twisted his hand backwards so that Sesshoumaru eased his ways slowly to the ground and onto his knees, grunting from the pain surging from his fist. Sensing his son was struggling, his father sent another blow to his face with his free hand, sending Sesshoumaru's head back and drawing blood from his nose, which was probably broken.
But Sesshoumaru still had some fight in him and with his other hand punched his father in the groin, sending him to the floor, releasing the grip he had on his son's hand. Sesshoumaru looked at his battered hand and realized it was broken. Having to use only his left hand now, he walked over to his father and began kicking him on his sides. Every kick, made his father moan from pain.
"Sesshoumaru, leave him," said a voice from behind. Sesshoumaru turned to see Rin watching him with fear in her eyes. She had witnessed the beast inside of him unleashed and she was scared to think this might just be the real him. But, she pushed away her fears because she knew she still loved him. She fell in love with his good side and the farther they were from his father, the stronger his good side will become.
Sesshoumaru looked at her for some time and shook his head, "I can't let him live after what he did to my mother."
"It won't help anything if you kill him."
"It'll make me happy."
Rin turned away from him, not recognizing the man she was seeing, "I see. Then, you have become what your father has always wanted—a killer."
Sesshoumaru turned to his father then and sighed as he watched the pathetic man wiggle and squirm, blood flowing from his mouth. He smiled then, looking at his son, his teeth colored in blood.
"Do it, Sesshoumaru. You know you want to."
Sesshoumaru bent down close to his smiling father and stared at the man in pity. "No father, I will not kill you. I want you to live so that this day will haunt you every day of your life. I want you to live so that you will die in misery all alone..."
"I won't be alone. I'll have Kouga..."
"No, you won't. I want him to be as far away from you as possible."
"You can't do that..."
"Watch me." With that, Sesshoumaru stood up and held out his good hand to Rin who accepted it. They walked out the door of the mansion of death and did not turn back.
The last thing they heard were the screams of his father, broken mentally and physically on the floor, "SESSHAMOURU! COME BACK HERE YOU—YOU BASTARD! YOU COWARD! COME KILL ME LIKE A MAN! SESSHOUMARU!!" --
Watching his family crumble, Kouga slowly backed away out of the house in deadly torment, not knowing where he was going but realizing he needed to get out of there before his own anger overpowered him. He had witnessed his own mother die before his eyes by the hands of his own father. The death was unclear now, even though it just happened a few minutes ago. How could it have vanished from his mind already? But, he had willed it out of his mind and even as he was racing through the streets, he was pushing it further from his memory.
He searched through the wind, desperately trying to find his last thread of hope. Life, as he knew it was over. There was no home left to go to and no family left to see. He needed some sense of guidance, an ounce of hope. He stopped suddenly and was surprised to see he was standing just across the Higarashi house. Subconsciously, he was seeking her. He looked up to her room and was sad to see her light was not on but her window was open. He approached the gates and punched in his personal code. The towering iron gates slowly opened and led him in. Slowly, he made his way to the side entrance of the house until he was directly below her balcony.
He smiled remembering that just months ago he was serenading her in this very spot; unfortunately she also set his shoes on fire. She sure was feisty. He drew closer and watched her curtains float in the wind. He reached up and held onto the side of the house, propping his feet onto the gate of ivy and then gradually climbed the side of the house until he placed his feet onto the bottom window covering and continued as such until he felt his hands wrap around the gates of the balcony.
Jumping onto the balcony, he immediately saw a small shadow of a figure sitting on the floor staring directly in front of him. Seeing her, he could not help but cry.
--
"Get away from me!" yelled Inuyasha. "I don't need you! You lied to me! You lied to me all my life!"
Damaru tried desperately to comfort her son in hopes of calming him down. She raised a hand and placed it on his shoulder only for it to be shoved away violently. Shaken, Damaru backed away but pushed her-self. She didn't want to lose him to the memories he regained and the mistakes she had made.
"Touch me and I swear to God I'll rip your arm off!" Inuyasha screamed, spit landing on Damaru's crying face.
"Inuyasha, please don't push me away. You always push me away..." she said, her voice trailing.
"Why do you care?"
"Because I'm--"
"My mother?" he asked, laughing. "Don't give me that crap! I always felt bad pushing you away and hating you, but luckily I don't have to feel that way anymore!" Inuyasha knew the words he was spitting was hurting her and he tried to control himself but his anger was just too overpowering. It was as if his actions surpassed his mind. He looked at her and wanted to hug her but every action was violent and every word was cruel.
"I didn't mean to do this to you. I just wanted a son..."
"And I wanted a mother..."
Damaru gazed at him, sorry across her face. She hadn't meant to hurt him like this. She shouldn't have done what she did but her selfishness was overbearing.
Inuyasha leapt from his wire encrusted bed and walked towards the chair which had a pair of pants and a shirt, reserved for him in case he had woken up. He put them on as his mother watched him with tears in her eyes, her heart crumbling.
She hadn't felt this horrible since the very last time she had met with Sora. It was nearly five years ago. She had summoned all her courage that day to speak to him and tell him what was in her heart before she moved from town and never saw him again. To her surprise, he was willing to meet and so it was within his office that she kissed him one last time before departing. But, her heart had been broken twice that day. It was the same day her brother had died—murdered possibly by the man she loved.
Inuyasha headed towards the door and without turning around said, "Don't try to track me down. I don't want to be found and I don't know where I am going..."
Actually, Inuyasha did know where he was going...to be with the person he knew would not lie to him... --
A/N: Snap! I finished another one! Okie, the story comes to a close in the next one! Shit that was long, huh?? Sorry...see that's why I needed to break it up into 2 chapters...aren't you glad now? I mean if I didn't, you'd still be reading the story instead of me blabbing! Anyways...drama gets heavy everyone so I'm just warning you!
And of course a SPECIAL thanks to all those that reviewed! Keep R&R-ing! Buhbyes for noW!
--co Tsukino
Disclaimer: A Short Story: Snippity Snippett lived in a small gray house with a gray fence and a gray car. He always wore a tall hat with a little hole in it, which he got by a 45 magnum that was shot directly at his face (the guy had bad aim). But he liked how it looked because he was a loser with bad taste so he wore it anyways. He never had a girlfriend so his VCR and the local video store was his best friend. He wore a long mustache which he braided at its ends and it was sad but his face was started to resemble his gray house—dull, unattractive, and ugly. And since his life was boring and his VCR was broken, he decided to sign on fanfic and for the hell of it he decided to pretend he owned Inuyasha. No sooner did he write the words, a couple of ninjas slammed through his door in complete black. In shock, he raised his hands in the air and told them to take whatever they wanted but not his life. They shook his head and before they could jump on him like a rabbit in mating season, Rumiko Takahashi blasted emerged from the fog of destruction and looked at him with a smile on her face. Not knowing who it was, he told her to help him but she just walked up to him and smoothly ripped out her silver 45 magnum and took it off safety, facing it directly in front of his face. He cried out in pain but it was no use, she pulled the sweet trigger and blasted his head right off his neck. Rumiko Takashi blew away the fumes coming from the gun and with a smile kissed his decapitated head. With that she left. No body messes with her...
Remember this story is a fabrication and all characters were made up by my twisted mind except for the true author of Inuyasha--Takahashi Rumiko, which I mean not to make any offense of because I think she kicks ass and I'm basically depicting that...
Ch.20: 'Til Death Do Us Part (Part 1)
-- The saga is coming to a close...boohoo...I know it's so sad...anyways as you can see, I decided to break it up into two parts...I don't know...I thought you guys might get bored scrolling down for so long...so too bad if you wanted one chapter! I just wanted to say that I'm starting on my next story but I wont post it until this is done...I want to work one story at a time...I usually don't but what happens is I never finish either of the stories...so maybe this way I can discipline myself to finish one story...okay enough with my blah blah...here's Chapter 20...part uno..
7 years ago...
The house was small and very simple but it was theirs. They had struggled all their lives, working long hours and sleeping very little to buy house they could call home. Thankfully, after years of hardship, they found a house in their budget. It was a fixer-upper of course—the fence had missing wooden panels, the paint was peeling, the windows were broken from years of flying baseballs, and the grass was reduced to weeds. But, when they saw the house, they didn't see these details, they saw the future. Upon arriving at the house, the couple and newborn little baby boy saw what the house could offer—their mind open to all kinds of opportunities. It was mere minutes before they decided to sign. Before long, they walked through those falling steps with a single suitcase and called it home.
It was months before the house was decent but through their suffering, they bonded as a family unit. The sigh never escaped their lips—they were happy just to be together in their simple little home. The husband worked all night as a security guard at a plastics factory while his wife stayed at home with the baby but managed to create a small business on the side making embroidered blankets. They were happy and content with their lives, not wanting more than they could afford.
Before long the house grew as a home. The couple replaced windows and doors whenever enough money was gathered. And as this house grew so did their little baby boy whose striking raven hair was the talk of the neighborhood. His mother and father loved him, being careful not to spoil him. But it was difficult because all they wanted to do was give him everything he ever wanted even though they could not afford it.
The happy family relied on each other and knew that all they needed in life was each other. Thus, they would have never guessed that in just a matter of years their lives would be changed forever. You see, fate acts in mysterious ways and sometimes by the hand of fate, one must lose everything to gain something. The family was made up of good people, which makes us wonder, why do bad things happen to good people? We cannot change our destinies and sometimes this destiny comes with an ultimate price. With the good comes the bad in order to retain the balance in the world. Thus, good people must suffer in order to compensate for the incredibly bad and the incredibly good.
Unfortunately, this family was sacrificed in order to maintain this balance in the world. It will be through this family that the bad in the world will be destroyed.
It happened all too quickly—one minute they were there and the next they were gone.
It was a hot blistering day. The sun's touch was strong and deadly. The neighborhood was bursting with untamed energy, people happy to be outside on such a sunny day. Children were swimming, the adults basking in the afternoon heat, and the dogs were lying on their bellies exhausted. All was normal in neighborhood. No one would have expected the tragedy that lay just moments after their peaceful venture.
The heat too much, the happy family decided to stay inside and cool their tired bodies. The husband had just arrived home that early morning, his back aching and his eyes dry from being up all night. But upon seeing his wife and his healthy ten year old boy, the color returned to his face and he forced a smile from his weary face. His little boy greeted him with a hearty hug and his wife kissed him lightly on the lips, patting his head and helping him to the weathered couch they bought at a garage sale.
He steadily descended towards the cushions whose stuffing was pouring out from years of weighted torture. His gentle wife turned on the stove to heat up the kettle, eager to warm up her husband's body with tea. He smiled at her as she returned to his side, running her fingers through his hair and whispering sweet nothings in his ear.
"Darling, I was thinking that maybe it is about time we have another child," she said sweetly. She had wanted to ask him for many weeks now but could not sum up enough courage. She was worried he would protest, already too tired from his job just supporting herself and their only child. So she was surprised to see his mouth curve into a smile.
"I think that sounds like a good idea," she embraced him then and they held like that for some time. The boy looked at his parents and smiled, running to hug his parents as well. They returned his hug and his wife looked towards the kettle in confusion. 'That's odd, the kettle is taking awhile to heat up,' she thought to herself but her mind was quickly distracted by her husband's giggles. She begged him to stop and when she did, she looked at he son lovingly. He returned the gaze.
"Mommy, I want to show Daddy the picture I made in school today!" he exclaimed jumping up and down.
"Go and get it honey," she turned to her husband, "It's so cute. He made a giraffe but it looks like a boat!" The couple laughed and waited for their son. He returned with a frown on his face.
"Mommy, I can't find it! I've lost it!" he shouted. His mom reached over to hug her son with her free hand.
"Oh, I know where it is. Go out in the car. I remember you showed it to me there. Maybe you left it there by accident."
Her little boy's face brightened and he quickly exclaimed, "Oh right! Okay, I'm going to get it!" He ran out quickly, leaving his parents to cuddle on the couch. The little boy went out and ran towards his mother's Dodge that was ready to give way. He looked inside and saw it on the seat. He reached inside, prying the windows open with his small arms. The windows steadily rolled down and he grabbed the picture by its corner.
KKKKKAAAAAABBBBBOOOOOMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The little boy flew from the side of the car and hurled through the street and landing on the sidewalk opposite their house from the explosion's immense impact. The house was engulfed by a fury of flames and sparks. Slowly the one explosion shifted into multiple bombs of flames as the house slowly disappeared. The sides of the house caved in while the remnants of furniture flew in the air like popcorn in the microwave. It was not long before fragments of the house was being hurled into the air and landed all throughout the neighborhood.
The explosion sent a shockwave so fierce it was felt four blocks away like an earthquake. The ground shook and people hurried to their safe houses or under their tables for security. Others in pure stupidity ran out the door and watched as the small house across the street was slowly being eaten by flames. Everyone stood in horror, clutching to one another in comfort. Those who knew them were crying and screaming for someone to call the police.
No one quite noticed the little boy in the grass just a couple feet away, his head down and his body blackened by the smog and smoke. He lay motionless, unconscious from the powerful throw. It was a miracle he had awakened just moment after the freak accident to a swarm of newscasters, helicopters, police, and firefighters. He stared at the flames in confusion and from the fear, he quickly hid from view. He had landed right inside a crevice that was three feet below ground level that usually contained water. Fortunately, it was so hot that day the water had dried out. If not, he would have drowned in an instant. He sat in that darkened crevice, looking up every so often to see what was happening. He was too afraid to approach the mass of curious bystanders swarming around the safe haven of his crevice that he cried and called out to no one in particular.
He did not know how long he sat there petrified. But soon the night turned into morning and after some moments the crowd parted and the only ones left were firefighters and policemen and a couple camera men who were in the process of leaving. The little boy, confused and afraid, crawled out of the crevice and eased his way towards the house in curiosity. He looked down at himself and wandered what had happened to him. How had he ended up in a crack in the ground? And where was his family? He ran to the house but in constant alert. He was stopped by a voice coming out of the house. He hid by the rubble and listened to the man in the blue shirt.
"Shit, the family was in here..." he said wearily.
The man who stood next to him had no hair and wore a stripped shirt. He looked at the mountain of debris that was left of the house and shook his head, "It looks like a lose wire set it off...blew the god damn house to bits and the family with it. I swear these older homes need to be checked."
"Did you find the bodies?"
"We found two bodies...its strange..."
"What is?"
The striped shirt man shook his head and crossed his arms, "The bodies were intertwined...a married couple..."
"I guess it's true then...'til death do us part..."
The little boy began to cry silently and tears flowed from his eyes and he moaned for his mom and dad in despair. He wanted to run then and never return. He wanted to die so he could be with his mom and dad.
"They had a son, right?"
"Yeah..." The little boy froze when he heard them talk about him and listened, holding back tears.
"I bet his little body's burned to ashes...poor little kid...I think he was only ten or something." They both shook their heads in dismay.
The little boy heard someone else's footsteps and turned to see a team of investigators by his side, digging through the rubble in concentration. He quickly rose from behind what appeared to be part of his bedroom wall as he guessed from the dinosaur prints and slowly slid into the shadows of the trees in the corner which were partly burned. He turned and climbed over the decaying fence, burned from the impact and saw that the side of the neighbor's house had been hit from the house's explosion. He shook his head and retreated to the neighbor's years whose pool had some of his half- burned toys and pieces of their house. Again he climbed to the opposite side fence and kept at it until he grew exhausted but by this time he had reached the end and found a deserted street. He raced through it, tears sliding down his cheeks and disappearing into the thin air. Before long he was met with two bright lights and when he opened them he was in a house without any memory of what had happened to him and who he was. The first figure he saw was that of Damaru dressed in a red gown. She smiled to him and he smiled back.
-- Damaru patiently watched Kagome slide out of the room and take one last look at Inuyasha before finally leaving out of the double doors of the hospital. Damaru stared at the doors gradually slide close before momentarily walking inside Inuyasha's room. Except for the lamp at the side table, the room was completely dark. Damaru stared at her son for some time, watching his chest rise and fall and then his body shuffle and turn. The memory of him as a child jumped into her mind and she was left wondering whether she had made the right choice...in keeping him as her own.
After some time, Damaru proceeded inside the room in silence but it was not long before she stumbled on an object on the ground. She caught hold of the bed before kissing the floor. She held back her yelp and looked down to see what she had hit. To her shock it was a toy train that was all too familiar. She had found it in Inuyasha's pocket the day he had stepped into her life. It was worn out and beaten by years of abuse and one of its wheels had broken off but it held within it memories of his childhood and that was all that was important. Unfortunately, Inuyasha doesn't remember that childhood. Damaru sighed and stuffed it into her jacket pocket.
She watched him stir from the slight noise but he did not wake. He was reaching R.E.M. now and in moments he would be deep in sleep dreaming of vague memories of his past. Damaru sat by his bedside and fell asleep. It was nearly three in the morning.
--
Helpless and frightened, little Inuyasha raced through the streets in a panic, his impressionable mind going in fast circles, wondering what had happened and wanting to see his mommy and daddy again. He had only wanted to show them his drawing, he muttered to himself, tears racing down his face and flying through the air as he continued to push himself forward. He did not know where he was going and alas he did not care.
He was too scared to stop but too tired to keep going. He darted through the streets in a blur and wished for a car to end his misery. His death would bring him to heaven and he would be reunited with his mom and dad. Without them, he knew, he could not survive. How could he? They were the only family he had. He had no one else—he was all alone in his big world.
After, what seemed like years, of running, his vision turned blurry from the exhaustion taking over his body. He had always been so energetic, how come his strength was leaving his now? He needed to keep going, he told himself. He was running not only from the police but his life. He felt as though invisible devils were chasing after his helpless body, ready to catch him and force him to confront reality. But he was not ready to confront reality; he still had enough energy to run from it. Mommy, he continued to scream in his mind. He was running, he knew, to search of her, believing what the policemen had said was a lie, a horrible hoax. His parents were teaching him a lesson, he thought. He needed to be a better person; a good little boy.
"I promise mommy, I won't do anything bad ever again if you just come back!" he screamed in the streets still running away from nothing. But there came no answer. He stopped then in the middle of the street and looked up to the oncoming raindrops which sprinkled over him, light fog beginning to appear. Soon his tears had collided with the rain and the two were undistinguishable. So, he cried some more as the rain thickened and slid down his face, covering his body. Heaven was crying too, mourning the loss of innocence.
It was then that Inuyasha turned to two beaming lights coming towards him. The rain had blocked their view and in a matter of moments, the car had hit him. But it was not enough to kill him, only to askew his memory so that everything before the incident was a blur, passing through his mind on random occasions. But the pieces to the puzzle in his mind never fit properly so he dismissed these past memories as dreams. Even as he dreamed of a stranger, the face of his deceased mother, smiling at him in his dreams, he merely believed her to be an angel, one he made up. True, she was an angel but hardly made up.
Damaru, unable to have her own children, saw the body, hardly hurt from the hit on the ground, tears still in his little eyes. She cradled him in her arms for some time, shocked from hitting the child and demanding her driver to find some help. As she waited, she lifted him onto her lap and watched as his tiny chest rhythmically fell and descended. She thought it was a strange happening, to hit a little child and have it only to be mildly bruised. But in reality, it was a plain miracle. She noticed his deep black hair, like her own and convinced herself that they were somehow connected. This could be fate, she thought, sending her a son. It was then that she carried little Inuyasha and brought it inside the limo, caressing his little body so that it clung to her damp red gown.
In the care of her house, a doctor arrived to see the child. He concluded little damage was made—merely a bruise to the side. He said it was a miracle and she agreed. It was only moments after the doctor had departed that she turned on the television set to the news of a freak explosion, which killed a family—a woman, a man, and their little son. No evidence was found of the little boy's body but they concluded he was engulfed by the flames and killed instantly. The picture of the family appeared before the screen and Damaru let out a concealed shriek from the shocking revelation that the child that was supposedly dead was the same child that lay unconscious just a few feet away were the same. Was he a ghost? She wondered. But she knew better and touched his hand then. Like magic, her touch awakened him. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled, not a bad thought escaping his mind and looked up at the beautiful woman dressed in crimson before him. She smiled too and told him she was his mother.
It was a difficult task to convince her husband about taking in the child and pretending it was their own. But, he gave in, knowing that his marriage was already falling apart and that they could never conceive of one on their own. He ordered her to keep him in doors until the news had passed and the hysteria had calmed. And so she did, keeping him inside and shutting him from the outside until he reached the age of twelve.
In order to keep Inuyasha a secret, the couple did not legally adopt him. They merely pretended that Damaru, out of the grace of God, had conceived a child. Thus, she was also locked up inside the mansion until a matter of months passed to make the story believable.
Angry from years of imprisonment, he rejected the love of his parents and confided only in himself to keep him from going insane. Not knowing how to socialize, he was rejected by others of his same age and found his only friend in a mouse that he found inside the cellar. Hated by his classmates because his family was rich and powerful, he began to hate himself and his parents for keeping him hostage against his will in the confines of the mansion. He had watched, from the prison cell of his bedroom window, the children playing on the street. He had asked his mother if he could play with them but she denied it and his anger for her grew. Inuyasha interpreted his mother's love as her evilness and thus he resented her for being such a bitch. He made little contact with his father and when he did his father would look at him in such a way that disturbed him. He looked at Inuyasha as if he was not his own, little did he knew it was the truth. But he believed that his mother's long midnight hair was a characteristic he followed and thus the thought he was an outsider never crossed his mind.
He lived life in the dark. He played by himself at recesses and found that his only company at lunch was his own shadow. It brought tears to his eyes but he kept them concealed and pretended he didn't care, even though it was slowly eating him up inside. Finding out he had a learning disability worsened the situation. His classmates not only hated him for being rich but now they mocked his stupidity. Even the most simple of problems caused him migraines. When his parents found out, they moved him to another school, a special school, and consequently, his anger and hate for them increased. He believed his parents resented their stupid son. Little did he know that they were just happy to have a son even though his blood was foreign to theirs.
He caused havoc in this school, preying on weaker students in order to make himself feel better. He liked knowing he was stronger than them. But it came with a price. Of course he didn't cause it but he believed he did. It was then that his father died and his anger towards everyone doubled. But it was when his mother remarried that he shut her out of his life for good. But, it was not Damaru's choice to marry again. She would rather live life in misery than be married again to another man she did not love. But she was forced to marry her husband's brother in order to continue the line. He was much older than her-self but that mattered little concerning money. Her husband's brother was old now and still had not married, it seemed only reasonable to force her into marriage with him and continue the legacy of the Bakemono family. But Inuyasha hated his uncle on his father's side and often turned to his mother's brother for comfort. He was a good man who had always thought of Inuyasha as his own. Too bad he died before Inuyasha's thirteenth birthday.
--
Kagome tiptoed towards her room, taking off her shoes. But, out of some deep curiosity, she stopped in front of her parent's bedroom and peaked inside, careful not to make a sound. At first, she saw nothing except for the enormous bed that lay in the center, elevated from the rest of the room, thin tapestry intertwining across and draping onto the floor. The room was dim except for the soft light that appeared from a bolted lamp on the wall from within the bed made of tapestry. In time, she saw a figure bolt upright from inside the bed, her silhouette creating her outlines so that she was familiar. Meiwaku sat there for some moments just staring straight in front of her. Kagome thought then that maybe she had heard her. Easing off the double doors, Kagome watched her mother from afar. But it was not long before Kagome again returned to the peephole of her door. Her father had entered into the room, probably from the bathroom.
She watched the unhappy couple for a few moments, her father, in his silk pajamas, sat at the foot of the bed, both hands steadily grasping the end of the bed and her mother still on the bed in silence. They did not speak for some time, merely staring at the wall beyond. Kagome wished she went into her parents' bedroom more often because the curiosity of what they were staring at was eating at her.
It was her father that spoke first. His eyes never leaving that spot on the wall that was obscured from Kagome's vision. Kagome noticed then, the sadness in her father's eyes which had always haunted him. His face was a wrinkled mess, lines encircling his chiseled features. He was probably really hot once. But in time, age had eaten at his good features. His heart, not in the right place, had made him older than he was. Gray hair was beginning to appear from underneath his coconut brown. He had suffered a lot in his years and it showed clear across his face now, even though he had tried hard to conceal it.
"I'll pack and leave tomorrow," were the only words that escaped his lips before her mother reached over to the overhead light and tugged on the string that created darkness. Kagome did not know this feeling that was erupting inside her. Was she feeling sorry for her parents? She backed off from the door which was psychologically beginning to radiate some intense heat. Shaking her head, she picked up her shoes and walked into her room in despair. In a matter of hours, she was able to lose both her mother and her father.
True the man was never there and often scolded her just as horribly as her mother, but he was still her father regardless of his actions, which meant that she loved him. She clung onto her pillow and tried to cry tears of sadness but she was wasting her time. Why wasn't she crying? Wasn't she supposed to feel sadness right now? Kagome threw the pillow across the room and slump onto the floor and watched her curtains swirl around in a frenzied dance by the wind that blew fiercely through her window. The curtains, eager to dance in freedom, were restrained by the pole which held them back from chaos. It was moments before a figure appeared before her. Kagome watched as the figure walked towards her and collapsed beside her. She took her hand and ran her fingers through his hair.
--
"Father, I can't believe you kill people for money..." Sesshoumaru said, turning his head in shame from his father. He had watched the man's lips turn from a hideous grin into a despicable smile. He didn't have any respect left for the man who was surprisingly crueler than he had thought. He had lived under the same roof as the devil himself.
His father stood then, a smile still plastered on his face and approached his son in enjoyment. He rather loved to watch his son squirm before him even though his cowardice was disappointing. Yet, in time, he would be able to undo the values Rin had instilled in him. What a little disturbance she was...stealing his son's heart with her good ways. Where did she come from? Oz? He quickly took out an object from his pocket and looked at it for a moment before lighting it. He had a long day—he needed some good old fashion pot.
"Father, you're smoking..." Kouga was watching his father in horror. Even he never touched the stuff and there he was staring at his father smoking a joint like he did it everyday of his life.
"Want a puff?" he asked, taking it out for a moment to release the fumes circulated inside his throat. The burn felt good but the good part was about to come. Already he was feeling it and he smiled as he walked up to Kouga.
"What? You don't smoke?"
"I don't smoke weed."
"You're such a lame ass wimp." Clearly his father had a masculinity complex. It wasn't enough to kill people; he had to smoke pot too.
The smell of pot was beginning to infiltrate the room. Sesshoumaru watched his father clearly distraught by what he was seeing. He was finally witnessing his father as he truly was—a pot smoking psycho killer with masculinity issues. He backed away, pulling Rin with him.
Rin watched the family falling apart before her eyes and it saddened her to know that this was what Sesshoumaru had to live with. She didn't see a family—she saw a group of strangers clinging together for the sake of money and power. She turned away and wished this was over.
"Father, we have to leave..." Sesshoumaru said, interrupting the silence. He turned to his mother in pity. The woman was near tears as the revelation she was witnessing. She didn't have a family anymore. She was much alone as Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru walked up to her and took a thumb to clear her tear-streaked cheek. Wiping it away, his mother looked up at her eldest son with fear in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Sesshoumaru..." she reached over and kissed her son on the cheek before turning to his fiancé and doing the same. "I'm sorry..." she whispered in Rin's ears. Rin looked at her in sympathy and just nodded, "No, I'm sorry..." she said.
"Good-bye father," Sesshoumaru said, taking one last look at his father who was still smoking his weed.
"I'll see you real soon," he said. Sesshoumaru smiled and shook his head, "No, you won't."
Kouga watched his brother leave and ran to him then, "What's going to happen, Sesshoumaru..." he asked in confusion. He could no longer think and feel. He just wanted to end this misery creeping through his body.
Sesshoumaru looked at his brother and saw the sadness behind his eyes, "You have to get away before he gets you," he whispered. Kouga, ready to hug his brother, was caught by a glimmer of silver. He turned his head and watched as his father, with one quick sweep, retrieve a revolver from inside his coat pocket. His eyes were filled with menace as he pointed it straight at Sesshoumaru.
"Think you can just leave. Think again," he said. Still aiming at Sesshoumaru who was stricken with fear, he pressed his finger firmly on the trigger and in moments the gun's aim was redirected—pointing straight at Rin. Sesshoumaru, sensing his father's trickery, jumped in front of Rin as she screamed in fear.
Click. The trigger was pulled and through a blaze of fury it ravaged through the air and in a matter of moments someone was on the ground. But, it was not Rin and it was not Sesshoumaru.
"Mom..." Kouga whispered.
--
3:20 a.m. Sora Hospital
Damaru woke up from the noise coming from Inuyasha's bed and was shocked to find him ripping off the wires that were connected to his body. Worried and confused, Damaru reached over to cease her son's fury. He continued to tear it off his body as his mother tried to take hold of his hands. But it was no use; she was no match for his strength. In a matter of moments, he was free from his life support wires. Damaru watched her son in bewilderment.
He was filled with rage.
--
3:10 a.m. Sora Hospital
Inuyasha bolted from his slumber and was confronted with darkness. Afraid at first, he searched in front of him but in a matter of moments his eyes adjusted and there beside him asleep was his mother...or was she his mother?
Sitting on his bed, he tried to retrace the dream he had just experienced. Taking a hand, he scratched at an itch in the back of his head. But he did so more out of irritation than from an itch. What had caused this sudden burst of irritation?
Inuyasha stared at the woman who claimed to be his mother and remembered the dream he had just woken to.
--
He stood alone, in the darkness, cuddling himself in a fetal position. The darkness was cold but he was too scared to release his grasp from himself and find warmth. So, he rolled up in a ball and remained as such, his eyes bolting from side to side, eager to find a source of light to comfort him from his fear of the dark. Although the temperature was bellow zero, beads of sweat began to form from his head and in moments were streaming down his face. The fear was causing him to sweat and the longer he sat there in the emptiness, the more his fear increased until he could no longer handle the pressure residing his body. Eager to let go, he undid the knot he made of arms as he unlaced them from his legs. The task was hard because his body seemed as though it was no longer attached to his mind and so the longer he willed his body to undo itself, the more it persisted to remain tied together. Anger and fear surfacing, he wrestled with himself on the floor of darkness until finally his mind exploded from persistence and his body began to unwind and he lay there motionless for a moment until from a distance in the halo beyond came a white figure floating towards him. He squinted his eyes and watched as the ghostly figure gradually descended from the bleak dark nothing until she was just inches away from his head.
Inuyasha looked at her with sadness. He knew her, he thought. She looked so familiar but no matter how hard he tried to remember, the memory was gone and so she remained floating just inches from his body, a sad smile across her delicate face. She was colored a pale brown but her hair...it almost disappeared into the deep black of the same color. Slowly her body descended onto his and he continued to peer into her eyes which contained the universe, planets encircling her iris. She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the forehead. He shut his eyes from the kiss and when he awakened he was in a house, battered and broken but oddly comfortable.
He traced the house, walking from the living room to the kitchen, trying to remember where he had seen it before. He picked up objects now and then but it was no use—he could not remember. Then, from behind, he heard a voice and turned to see a little boy. Inuyasha stared at him for a few seconds and realized it was himself.
He bent over and the little boy approached him, "Hello. Do you want to play?" he asked, taking out a toy train from within his trouser pocket.
Inuyasha immediately recognized the toy train as his own and smiled, taking it from the little boy and examining it, "Sure. What do you want to play?"
The little boy's smile slowly faded and backed away, "I have to go," he muttered.
"Why?" Inuyasha asked, still holding the toy train.
"My mom is calling me..."
Inuyasha scanned the room and carefully searched his surroundings and listened closely but he could not hear anyone calling.
"I don't hear anyone."
The boy backed up again and shook his head, "I have to go," he repeated.
"Kid, listen, there's no one calling you." Inuyasha reached over to yield the boy from going away but upon his touch he started a fire and before long the boy was covered in flames. However, it didn't seem to hurt the boy. He remained standing before Inuyasha, continuing to tell him he needed to go to his mother.
"She's calling me; my mom is calling me..."
Inuyasha continued to watch the flames engulf the little boy and it was then that the noticed he was surrounded by flames him-self. He did not feel the heat. It was the crackling that awakened him nerves to the flames around him. Fearing he would catch on fire, he backed away from the flames but realized he was trapped within a circle of flames and the boy and he were in its contents.
The boy still in flames stared at him in curiosity, "Try to remember..."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked but his question would never be angered because at that instant, the little boy was finally submerged into the flames and then he was gone.
Moments after, Inuyasha was confronted by two figures from within the flames. They stood in the flames as though it was merely water, staring at him as they embraced.
"Mom...dad..." Inuyasha muttered.
--
Inuyasha stared at Damaru but remembered only his own mother. Her face was so clear in his mind now. He had repressed her memory for so long that her vision was haunting his mind. She was a kind woman and remembered that even though they did not have enough money, they were happy.
He watched Damaru struggle in her own dream and shook his head, "You lied to me," he whispered.
It was as though the incident that lay so deep inside his mind was coming to life before his eyes. The house exploding, the policemen, him running in the streets, and finally being hit by a car. Was this all part of his punishment? He asked himself. They had taken away his parents, his home, and his childhood. He was forced to live in a house that was, in reality, never his own. While all the other boys got to play in the street, he was forced to watch from a second story room. They had lived out his own childhood while he rotted from within the prison he thought was home.
His childhood was an unhappy one. Everyday he wished he was someone else's child, leading someone else's life. How ironic to realize that he was someone else's child truly playing the part of a stranger's life...
--
Damaru was struggling in her own memories...as her mind traced the day she gave birth to Kagome...
It was a fluke, she had thought that day. She couldn't have children! But, in reality, she couldn't have children with a Bakemono. Even her body was rejecting his love. Her body, she guessed, only belonged to the one man she loved. She was told as a teenager that she could not have children, a secret she concealed from her husband. She was sworn into secrecy by her parents. If the Bakemono family knew she could not have children, they could never marry. So, she kept it a secret and watched with fear as her husband grew frustrated from trying to have children. Pretending not to know why, she asked him if she could see a doctor. He brought her to one and he told her what she already knew.
So when she heard she was pregnant, she knew in an instant it was her lover's baby. Not only did she and her husband have separate beds but she knew that her Kagome was given to her by the grace of her love for Sora. Sora, of course, did not find happiness in the news. Being married him- self, he could not expect his wife to accept a baby. But, he knew that Damaru could not possibly keep the baby with her. Her husband knew nothing of her affair while his own wife came into the marriage knowing that he had a lover. Little did she care, just as long as she got money from the marriage. Abortion, of course, was not a choice. Damaru, by a pure miracle, was given a baby, she refused to kill it. She would rather have her alive and not be able to see her than have her dead. Sora, driven by his love for Damaru, accepted the baby and brought it into his home...
--
Flashback (a really long time ago)
"You expect me to raise this child as our own! We have our own daughter to worry about! How dare you, Sora!" Meiwaku screamed, throwing random objects from the counter. Sora, holding Kagome in his arms, looked down at her asleep and sighed.
"Meiwaku, we have to keep this child. Damaru cannot keep it."
"Fuck Damaru! I don't give a damn if her husband forces her to leave!"
Sora was over come with anger but maintained his composition, not wanting to harm Kagome.
"You don't make the decisions in this house...I do. I say we keep her and that's it."
Meiwaku threw the vase clear across the room and walked up to her husband in rage, "You think you can control me, Sora? Fine, I'll keep this bastard child but if you for one minute think I will treat it like my own, you are dead wrong."
Sora, feeling powerless for the first time in his life, took a hand from underneath the baby and slapped his wife so hard in the face, he broke a tooth.
"Do what you must."
Meiwaku clutched her battered cheek and continued to smile, spitting out a tooth, "How do you know I won't go and tell her husband about this."
"He would never believe you. You're a Higarashi, remember?" he said flatly.
"I am quite persistent, Sora," she looked up at him and stood up, "I will take care of this child but you must promise me one thing..."
"What?" he asked, caring little for her broken jaw.
"You can never see her again." Sora looked down at the baby and nodded.
"Fine."
It was on that day, Sora vowed never to see Damaru again, asking her, as his last wish, to leave from the town. She could not bear to leave her only love but if he requested it, she knew she had to do it. She had already asked so much from him. It was her turn to sacrifice. But her husband had refused to move and she didn't have a reasonable explanation as to why they should leave. So she stayed inside her house for months, imprisoning herself. If she was let free, she would surely find a way to see Sora. So she lived with her own personal torment—locking herself in from the man she loved. She ate little and it wasn't very long before her husband saw the change in her mood. She was constantly grouchy and ill-tempered. She would rather sleep the day away even upon his insistence that she should get some fresh air. So, gradually, their marriage crumbled.
Ten years passed since she let herself out. Her cheeks lost their shimmer and she fell to sickness from lack of activity. She was bedridden for years, wondering what had happened to Sora and if her Kagome was well. Damaru often had dreams about her and sometimes Kagome would come to her in her sleep. Unable to take the pain of not seeing Sora any longer, she called for the driver and demanded he bring her to the Higarashi house. He insisted they not drive that night because it was going to rain. But, in the end, she got her way and they drove out in the pouring rain. But, it was the rain that caused his vision to blur and hit the little boy standing on the street.
--
Kagome continued to stroke the boy's hair as he cried beside her. Kagome did not know why he was crying but it saddened her to the point where she felt her own tears flee her eyes. She watched Kouga toss beside her and could not help but put an arm around him in comfort. Unable to speak, the two sat there in silence, only the sound of Kouga's crying in the air.
"Kagome...I'm sorry," he said between gulps and tears. She put a finger to his mouth to quiet him and they sat there for some time. She liked the quiet. It soothed her.
"It's all gone." --
Sesshoumaru still lay gasping, holding his mother tightly in his arms, her head propped up against his leg. He knew she was not breathing; the bullet wound was just above her heart. He tried to piece together the massacre that had happened moments ago. His mother had jumped in front of him as a human shield just as the bullet had ejected from the gun and was flying in midair. Too shocked, Sesshoumaru stood and watched his mother let out a small shriek before finally collapsing onto the marble floors and soaking it in her own blood. She had wavered first, probably shocked herself from both the pain and the act. His mother looked down at the wound and then to her husband, blood trickling down her thin lips. She watched the blood from her bullet wound gradually filter through her cotton top and then explode through body. It was then that she fell to her knees and in moments was on the floor. Sesshoumaru ran to her side and watched his mother die in his arms.
He could not understand why she had saved him. He thought she had always hated him. But, he saw now that a mother's love was too deep for even him to see. He was blind all his life. Now, as she was dying, he finally realized how much she had loved him. He cursed himself for thinking she was like his father. His poison had penetrated through her body and she was decomposing like himself. However, this last act of hers would redeem every wrong deed she did. She had set it all right and restored the balance.
Watching her on his lap, the people around him seemed to disappear and all that was left on this earth for just a fraction of a minute was his mother and him.
She reached over to him and told him she was free. He nodded and it was then that her stare grew still and her expression was blank. He reached over and closed her eyes and set her on the floor, still covered in her splattered blood.
His father, unable to cope with what he did, stared at the sight, gulping down his sorrows. What had he done? He asked himself. But, he knew all too well he had just murdered his wife. His aim was for his son's fiancé. How could he have known she would play hero and jump in front of them. It was unbelievable in his mind. He looked up at his son; trying to release the horror of his wife's stilled state. Sesshoumaru's eyes were flaming with anger and although it was wholly inappropriate, his father grimaced at the sight. It was too surreal to witness this burning sensation inching its way inside his son's body.
"Father, what did you do?" Sesshoumaru asked. He was shaking convulsively now, rage intertwining between his limbs and arteries until that succeeded in infiltrating his heart. He watched as his father, the gun still pointed at him, let out a small laugh.
"I ended her misery..." he simply replied. He lowered the gun and threw it backwards so that it melted into the darkness. Sesshoumaru, over the brink with anger, approached his father and stared at him for a second before sending a punch across his perturbing face. Shocked, his father, was thrown back but retained his balance, and in response sending a punch to his son just under his bellow.
Sesshoumaru, shocked not from the blow but how much it hurt, clenched his fists to repay his father with double the force. Yet, his fist was intercepted by his father's fast reflexes. Holding the fist in his hand, his father twisted his hand backwards so that Sesshoumaru eased his ways slowly to the ground and onto his knees, grunting from the pain surging from his fist. Sensing his son was struggling, his father sent another blow to his face with his free hand, sending Sesshoumaru's head back and drawing blood from his nose, which was probably broken.
But Sesshoumaru still had some fight in him and with his other hand punched his father in the groin, sending him to the floor, releasing the grip he had on his son's hand. Sesshoumaru looked at his battered hand and realized it was broken. Having to use only his left hand now, he walked over to his father and began kicking him on his sides. Every kick, made his father moan from pain.
"Sesshoumaru, leave him," said a voice from behind. Sesshoumaru turned to see Rin watching him with fear in her eyes. She had witnessed the beast inside of him unleashed and she was scared to think this might just be the real him. But, she pushed away her fears because she knew she still loved him. She fell in love with his good side and the farther they were from his father, the stronger his good side will become.
Sesshoumaru looked at her for some time and shook his head, "I can't let him live after what he did to my mother."
"It won't help anything if you kill him."
"It'll make me happy."
Rin turned away from him, not recognizing the man she was seeing, "I see. Then, you have become what your father has always wanted—a killer."
Sesshoumaru turned to his father then and sighed as he watched the pathetic man wiggle and squirm, blood flowing from his mouth. He smiled then, looking at his son, his teeth colored in blood.
"Do it, Sesshoumaru. You know you want to."
Sesshoumaru bent down close to his smiling father and stared at the man in pity. "No father, I will not kill you. I want you to live so that this day will haunt you every day of your life. I want you to live so that you will die in misery all alone..."
"I won't be alone. I'll have Kouga..."
"No, you won't. I want him to be as far away from you as possible."
"You can't do that..."
"Watch me." With that, Sesshoumaru stood up and held out his good hand to Rin who accepted it. They walked out the door of the mansion of death and did not turn back.
The last thing they heard were the screams of his father, broken mentally and physically on the floor, "SESSHAMOURU! COME BACK HERE YOU—YOU BASTARD! YOU COWARD! COME KILL ME LIKE A MAN! SESSHOUMARU!!" --
Watching his family crumble, Kouga slowly backed away out of the house in deadly torment, not knowing where he was going but realizing he needed to get out of there before his own anger overpowered him. He had witnessed his own mother die before his eyes by the hands of his own father. The death was unclear now, even though it just happened a few minutes ago. How could it have vanished from his mind already? But, he had willed it out of his mind and even as he was racing through the streets, he was pushing it further from his memory.
He searched through the wind, desperately trying to find his last thread of hope. Life, as he knew it was over. There was no home left to go to and no family left to see. He needed some sense of guidance, an ounce of hope. He stopped suddenly and was surprised to see he was standing just across the Higarashi house. Subconsciously, he was seeking her. He looked up to her room and was sad to see her light was not on but her window was open. He approached the gates and punched in his personal code. The towering iron gates slowly opened and led him in. Slowly, he made his way to the side entrance of the house until he was directly below her balcony.
He smiled remembering that just months ago he was serenading her in this very spot; unfortunately she also set his shoes on fire. She sure was feisty. He drew closer and watched her curtains float in the wind. He reached up and held onto the side of the house, propping his feet onto the gate of ivy and then gradually climbed the side of the house until he placed his feet onto the bottom window covering and continued as such until he felt his hands wrap around the gates of the balcony.
Jumping onto the balcony, he immediately saw a small shadow of a figure sitting on the floor staring directly in front of him. Seeing her, he could not help but cry.
--
"Get away from me!" yelled Inuyasha. "I don't need you! You lied to me! You lied to me all my life!"
Damaru tried desperately to comfort her son in hopes of calming him down. She raised a hand and placed it on his shoulder only for it to be shoved away violently. Shaken, Damaru backed away but pushed her-self. She didn't want to lose him to the memories he regained and the mistakes she had made.
"Touch me and I swear to God I'll rip your arm off!" Inuyasha screamed, spit landing on Damaru's crying face.
"Inuyasha, please don't push me away. You always push me away..." she said, her voice trailing.
"Why do you care?"
"Because I'm--"
"My mother?" he asked, laughing. "Don't give me that crap! I always felt bad pushing you away and hating you, but luckily I don't have to feel that way anymore!" Inuyasha knew the words he was spitting was hurting her and he tried to control himself but his anger was just too overpowering. It was as if his actions surpassed his mind. He looked at her and wanted to hug her but every action was violent and every word was cruel.
"I didn't mean to do this to you. I just wanted a son..."
"And I wanted a mother..."
Damaru gazed at him, sorry across her face. She hadn't meant to hurt him like this. She shouldn't have done what she did but her selfishness was overbearing.
Inuyasha leapt from his wire encrusted bed and walked towards the chair which had a pair of pants and a shirt, reserved for him in case he had woken up. He put them on as his mother watched him with tears in her eyes, her heart crumbling.
She hadn't felt this horrible since the very last time she had met with Sora. It was nearly five years ago. She had summoned all her courage that day to speak to him and tell him what was in her heart before she moved from town and never saw him again. To her surprise, he was willing to meet and so it was within his office that she kissed him one last time before departing. But, her heart had been broken twice that day. It was the same day her brother had died—murdered possibly by the man she loved.
Inuyasha headed towards the door and without turning around said, "Don't try to track me down. I don't want to be found and I don't know where I am going..."
Actually, Inuyasha did know where he was going...to be with the person he knew would not lie to him... --
A/N: Snap! I finished another one! Okie, the story comes to a close in the next one! Shit that was long, huh?? Sorry...see that's why I needed to break it up into 2 chapters...aren't you glad now? I mean if I didn't, you'd still be reading the story instead of me blabbing! Anyways...drama gets heavy everyone so I'm just warning you!
And of course a SPECIAL thanks to all those that reviewed! Keep R&R-ing! Buhbyes for noW!
--co Tsukino