Kagome picked over her food a long time before finally laying
her fork down with a sigh and pushing the plate away. Taisrika
looked at her. "Are you not hungry?" She asked softly.
Kagome shook her head. "I can't eat. Not when Inuyasha's like that." 'And not while my stomach is churning like this.' She though silently. She's had her hair washed then brushed out and she wore a soft gown of mint green silk with her feet left bare to brush over the grass of the field the dining table was sat on. Taisrika nodded as if understanding her unspoken thought.
"I'm sure you are apprehensive. Very well then. Come. You can eat afterwards if you like." Taisrika rose and gestured for Kagome to follow as she moved towards the glittering doors. Kagome rose and went after her, a small shiver racking her body as Taisrika swung open the door to the room right next to Inuyasha. Inside was a low bed with a table at the head of it. A small wooden chair sat directly across from the bed and was bolted down as well as the table. The walls were polished smooth and clean. Kagome stared around.
"It looks so..bare."
Taisrika nodded. "The pain you will experience here will be great. You might try to..." She paused. "..eradicate yourself in order to escape the pain."
Kagome frowned and said nothing and Taisrika walked forward and set a candle on the bedside table. She pulled out a small, clear vial of dark blood then poured it gently over the candle before setting the flint and steal on the table as well. She stood up straight and looked Kagome in the eye.
"Light it when you are ready. I will know and will start the healing then." Taisrika gave her a final, pitying look then turned and walked from the room shutting the door softly behind her. Kagome heard her inter the room where Inuyasha's body lay. A soft scrape of a chair on the floor then creaking before silence fell. Kagome took a shaky breath then walked over and lit the candle. It flared bright gold and flickered, as if winking at her, then calmed to a steady soft flicker.
Kagome smiled softly. "Inuyasha." And that's when the pain started...and Kagome's screams echoed all through the tower..but not a soul heard save the Keeper..and Inuyasha in his dreams.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-" Kagome's wail continued on into the blanket of darkness. Inuyasha shot to his feet in fear.
"Kagome!? Kagome!?" He called her name and still the wail continued. "KAGOME WHERE ARE YOU!?"
"I told you." Kikyou suddenly appeared. Glowing soft white in the inky gloom around them. "She's taking my place. Would you like to see Inuyasha?" She held out her hand and a tiny window opened.
Kagome was through that window. Bronze chains so tarnished they look black twisted and writhed around Kagome holding her up. Deep, hateful red flames blazed around her as she twisted and fought, tears streaming down her cheeks. Blood ran heavily from the places on her bare arms and legs where the chains held. She lifted her eyes and they glittered and her chapped, peeling lips worked softly into one word: Inuyasha.
Inuyasha stared in horror. "KAGOME!!!" He moved towards the window, but it simply drifted back out of his reach so all he could do was watch, and scream. Inuyasha rounded on Kikyou. "Set her free!"
Kikyou smiled soft and lovingly. "Will you strike me Inuyasha? Will you kill me again?" When she saw him hesitate her smile grew. "Sit Inuyasha." Inuyasha gasped in shock as he hit the ground. Kagome..only Kagome. "Her soul draws nearer to me now Inuyasha. You and I will be together forever. Isn't that what you wanted my love? Isn't that what we both bleed and suffered to achieve. What is it if one other bleeds and suffers the same so that we may."
Inuyasha growled as he struggled to his feet. Rising from the sit command Kikyou had given seemed infinatly more hard that rising from Kagome's. "It isn't right. She...has done nothing. SHE IS INNOCNET!"
"Am I not Inuyasha!?" Kikyou demanded and pointed to Kagome who was now unconscious as more tainted chains slithered around her. "Why did you not choose her then Inuyasha! Your heart is mine! And without your heart to sustain us either she or I die. YOU chose me Inuyasha." Kikyou smiled. "YOU chose her death. YOU KILLED KAGOME! YOU CONDEMED HER! YOU GAVE ME HER SOUL!"
"NO!!! KAGOME!" Inuyasha moved and managed to dive through the window just in time so that it couldn't move, but fell just short of Kagome. And fell and fell and fell till he landed curled in darkness again.
'YOU killed her. YOU condemned her. YOU gave away her soul.' The words taunted him as he wept.
Kagome cried softly as she lay curled under the bed in fetal position. The room was a wreck. She had managed to destroy the bed blanket, put nail marks in the walls and the floor. Her hands hurt from beating the door and her eyes stung even as she cried. She had tried laying flat and that had worked for a moment then the pain twisted in her back and neck. She felt inside out. As if she had been skinned and hung on a hook. Everything hurt. Every part of her body screamed and cried for her mercy. And she ignored it.
That's where Taisrika found her when she entered. She looked at Kagome with a sad and loving look then picked up the candle which still stood standing on the table untouched and blew out the flame gently.
"Day 1 is over child." Taisrika's voice was soft and caressing easing away some of the left over agony. "Would you like food?"
Kagome shook her head. "No." Her voice cracked slightly.
Taisrika nodded. "Rest then. You will find me in the fields if you so need me." Taisrika hesitated then walked over and smoothed Kagome's hair as if she were a child. "You have a brave and loving heart. And a diamond will. You won't crack." She smiled her eyes misty. "And you'll outshine anyone else. Remember that."
Kagome looked up at her curiously. "What does that mean?"
Taisrika shook her head. "Sleep." She repaired the bed then helped Kagome to it before walking out. "You won't dream." She shut the door gently.
Kagome laid down and closed her eyes. The soft sent of apples and lilies drifted over her and she fell into an easy, dreamless slumber.
Kagome shook her head. "I can't eat. Not when Inuyasha's like that." 'And not while my stomach is churning like this.' She though silently. She's had her hair washed then brushed out and she wore a soft gown of mint green silk with her feet left bare to brush over the grass of the field the dining table was sat on. Taisrika nodded as if understanding her unspoken thought.
"I'm sure you are apprehensive. Very well then. Come. You can eat afterwards if you like." Taisrika rose and gestured for Kagome to follow as she moved towards the glittering doors. Kagome rose and went after her, a small shiver racking her body as Taisrika swung open the door to the room right next to Inuyasha. Inside was a low bed with a table at the head of it. A small wooden chair sat directly across from the bed and was bolted down as well as the table. The walls were polished smooth and clean. Kagome stared around.
"It looks so..bare."
Taisrika nodded. "The pain you will experience here will be great. You might try to..." She paused. "..eradicate yourself in order to escape the pain."
Kagome frowned and said nothing and Taisrika walked forward and set a candle on the bedside table. She pulled out a small, clear vial of dark blood then poured it gently over the candle before setting the flint and steal on the table as well. She stood up straight and looked Kagome in the eye.
"Light it when you are ready. I will know and will start the healing then." Taisrika gave her a final, pitying look then turned and walked from the room shutting the door softly behind her. Kagome heard her inter the room where Inuyasha's body lay. A soft scrape of a chair on the floor then creaking before silence fell. Kagome took a shaky breath then walked over and lit the candle. It flared bright gold and flickered, as if winking at her, then calmed to a steady soft flicker.
Kagome smiled softly. "Inuyasha." And that's when the pain started...and Kagome's screams echoed all through the tower..but not a soul heard save the Keeper..and Inuyasha in his dreams.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-" Kagome's wail continued on into the blanket of darkness. Inuyasha shot to his feet in fear.
"Kagome!? Kagome!?" He called her name and still the wail continued. "KAGOME WHERE ARE YOU!?"
"I told you." Kikyou suddenly appeared. Glowing soft white in the inky gloom around them. "She's taking my place. Would you like to see Inuyasha?" She held out her hand and a tiny window opened.
Kagome was through that window. Bronze chains so tarnished they look black twisted and writhed around Kagome holding her up. Deep, hateful red flames blazed around her as she twisted and fought, tears streaming down her cheeks. Blood ran heavily from the places on her bare arms and legs where the chains held. She lifted her eyes and they glittered and her chapped, peeling lips worked softly into one word: Inuyasha.
Inuyasha stared in horror. "KAGOME!!!" He moved towards the window, but it simply drifted back out of his reach so all he could do was watch, and scream. Inuyasha rounded on Kikyou. "Set her free!"
Kikyou smiled soft and lovingly. "Will you strike me Inuyasha? Will you kill me again?" When she saw him hesitate her smile grew. "Sit Inuyasha." Inuyasha gasped in shock as he hit the ground. Kagome..only Kagome. "Her soul draws nearer to me now Inuyasha. You and I will be together forever. Isn't that what you wanted my love? Isn't that what we both bleed and suffered to achieve. What is it if one other bleeds and suffers the same so that we may."
Inuyasha growled as he struggled to his feet. Rising from the sit command Kikyou had given seemed infinatly more hard that rising from Kagome's. "It isn't right. She...has done nothing. SHE IS INNOCNET!"
"Am I not Inuyasha!?" Kikyou demanded and pointed to Kagome who was now unconscious as more tainted chains slithered around her. "Why did you not choose her then Inuyasha! Your heart is mine! And without your heart to sustain us either she or I die. YOU chose me Inuyasha." Kikyou smiled. "YOU chose her death. YOU KILLED KAGOME! YOU CONDEMED HER! YOU GAVE ME HER SOUL!"
"NO!!! KAGOME!" Inuyasha moved and managed to dive through the window just in time so that it couldn't move, but fell just short of Kagome. And fell and fell and fell till he landed curled in darkness again.
'YOU killed her. YOU condemned her. YOU gave away her soul.' The words taunted him as he wept.
Kagome cried softly as she lay curled under the bed in fetal position. The room was a wreck. She had managed to destroy the bed blanket, put nail marks in the walls and the floor. Her hands hurt from beating the door and her eyes stung even as she cried. She had tried laying flat and that had worked for a moment then the pain twisted in her back and neck. She felt inside out. As if she had been skinned and hung on a hook. Everything hurt. Every part of her body screamed and cried for her mercy. And she ignored it.
That's where Taisrika found her when she entered. She looked at Kagome with a sad and loving look then picked up the candle which still stood standing on the table untouched and blew out the flame gently.
"Day 1 is over child." Taisrika's voice was soft and caressing easing away some of the left over agony. "Would you like food?"
Kagome shook her head. "No." Her voice cracked slightly.
Taisrika nodded. "Rest then. You will find me in the fields if you so need me." Taisrika hesitated then walked over and smoothed Kagome's hair as if she were a child. "You have a brave and loving heart. And a diamond will. You won't crack." She smiled her eyes misty. "And you'll outshine anyone else. Remember that."
Kagome looked up at her curiously. "What does that mean?"
Taisrika shook her head. "Sleep." She repaired the bed then helped Kagome to it before walking out. "You won't dream." She shut the door gently.
Kagome laid down and closed her eyes. The soft sent of apples and lilies drifted over her and she fell into an easy, dreamless slumber.