A/N: Ack! So many delays...so much to do. I've become so lazy! Actually, I've been working on my original works because I am attempting to get some of them published. Keep your fingers crossed, my darling readers, for I might actually become a professional by summer's end! Also, I'd like to thank everyone for reading Breaking the Rules which has been very successful. It was a pleasure writing it, and I hope you will continue reading my other works--including my brand new series beginning with my beloved Unexpected! (Yes, I have no shame when it comes to self-promoting!)
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. All I own is a bar of soap I carved into his likeness using my brother's pocket knife, for which he was rather miffed.
Curse of the Gypsy
Chapter 7
It felt like an electric shock had rocketed through her body from the second his lips touched hers.
Kagome had been kissed before. Kouga and Hojo, her two more aggressive pursuers had both, on a few occasions, taken the liberty to kiss her. Kouga, who had been her most likely of suitors had done so several times. If she had been asked before then what she thought of the practice of kissing, Kagome would have said that she liked it just fine. But this was unlike anything she had felt before.
It felt like fire in her veins despite the icy prickles that ran up and down her spine, making her shiver. She tingled from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes. It was funny that one kiss could do such things to her. Her, Kagome Higurashi, Loach of her clan. The girl who had faced demons, bandits, town Elders, and angry villagers armed with nothing but her bow and her wits; the girl who had commanded her people with love and compassion since her childhood, should feel her knees buckle with one kiss from a thief. A thief of all things!
What would her father say?
A second later, all thoughts of her father were brushed from her mind as Inuyasha continued to kiss her. But then something raced through her, and it wasn't something pleasant. Like a jolt through her bones, Kagome felt the pain in the back of her head.
"Ah!" she yelped, pulling back and holding her head in hands.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha moved to touch her, but she flinched back.
"Don't…. come near me now!" she snapped, voice harsher than she would have liked. She backed up from the cart, eyes closed tightly against the pain in her head. It was throbbing now, causing her entire body to feel the ache. Even her teeth ached.
"What's happening?" Inuyasha asked, hovering within a few feet range. He didn't want to get to close in case she got afraid but he wanted to be near enough in case she needed help.
"Oh… God," Kagome said between deep breaths. The pain was easing now, but she saw the pictures flashing before her eyes. The trees, tall and luminous and forever. The arrow, sharp and straight and foreboding. The Jewel, shining and powerful and whole. And she saw the shadow, the creature of darkness with the glowing red eyes. They were memories of who she was.
"Kagome," Inuyasha said again. He was really panicking now, but he tried to keep his voice steady. "Tell me how to help you."
But when Kagome looked up at him, something in him-- something buried beneath the layers of anger and bitterness and resentment-- told him that he was not looking at Kagome. Her eyes were all wrong. Eyes that should be as blue as the midnight sky were suddenly a roiling gray color that was almost silver.
"Help?" she said and he winced. It sounded like she was shouting though she hadn't spoken louder than she normally did. Yet her voice was not alone. It was as if a chorus of voices was speaking through Kagome. She was no longer clutching her head; in fact her arms were at her side and she stood ramrod straight, like a soldier waiting for the signal of attack.
The hairs on the back of Inuyasha's neck were standing on end and he hunched into a defensive position out of instinct, ready for anything that was to come. There was something frightening about the girl now, and something eerily familiar. Suddenly, there was noise coming out of the forest behind him and Inuyasha whirled around.
Sango, astride Kirara, broke into the camp. Her skin was flushed and she was panting as if she had run as far as the demon she was riding. "Kagome!" she called. The girl who was Kagome looked over at Sango and frowned. A pair of horses followed Sango into the camp, these bearing Miroku and the healer, Kaede.
"Quickly!" Kaede announced, urging her mount forward. She and Miroku rode right past Inuyasha, who watched them with confusion. They got closer to Kagome, even as she backed away from them. Finally, with a sigh, she stopped her retreat and accepted what was to come.
Kaede reached into the pocket of her vest and withdrew something that glinted in the light. Inuyasha noticed that it was Kagome's gothic cross, the one that contained the half of the Jewel. The old healer dismounted from her horse and approached the girl, holding out the cross. Kagome didn't move, only watched them with silver eyes.
It was when Kaede got within a few steps of Kagome that the girl began to shake violently. Miroku leapt from his horse and moved forward, stopping a foot away, but ready to catch her when she fell. And fall she did, when Kaede was close enough to slip the cross over her neck. Kagome's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell into a dead faint.
Inuyasha made to go forward, but was stopped when Sango placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and she shook her head. "You shouldn't go near her for a few hours," she whispered. "She's be unconscious for a while."
He watched Miroku sweep Kagome into his arms and toward one of the tents, Kaede following him. "What happened?" Inuyasha asked.
"Kagome has episodes," Sango explained quietly. "Kaede put a spell on that cross she was holding so that every time Kagome has one, it would glow. We came back as fast as we could." Sango looked over at Inuyasha. He looked back at her steadily. "Be happy she didn't hurt you."
With that, she left him to follow after the other two. Inuyasha stood alone in the open. Confusion clouded his gaze, and an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.
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Kagome tossed and turned in her sleep. Kaede sat by her, gently wiping the sweat from her brow and looking on worriedly. Miroku sat not to far away, a pensive look on his face. Sango had left a few moments before, to inform the rest of the clan of Kagome's state.
"It's been weeks since she's had one of her episodes," Miroku whispered to the healer. "And the ones before haven't been this bad."
"It's because she's growing older," Kaede answered. "Her curse is growing more severe with time."
Miroku bowed his head, eye never leaving the young Loach. "It's not right," he said fiercely. "There has to be a way we can help her."
Kaede only shook her head. "The curse can't be lifted by any of us. You know the stories as well as I do."
"But they're just that! Stories! This is our Kagome," he said passionately. "This is a girl who dances and rides horses and takes care of lost souls. She's not a warrior maiden from 500 years ago!"
"You're too young," Kaede said with a wan smile. "And the curse is too old." Miroku opened his mouth to reply, but what was the use? There was no way he could change the old woman's mind or her belief. "You should tend to the boy," Kaede whispered. "I'm sure he's confused."
"Do you think he triggered the episode?" the boy asked with suspicion.
"It's likely," Kaede said honestly. "Though I doubt he knows that, or even how he did it."
"I think I'll talk to him," Miroku said with a nod. He got up and left the tent, but not before looking over his shoulder and saying, "If only to get some answers."
Inuyasha was seated on the back of the cart, feet pulled up beneath him. His face betrayed his pensive attitude and he looked increasingly worried. Miroku strolled up alongside him, without the hanyou giving any notice.
"What are you looking at?" he asked, happy to notice that it made Inuyasha jump, startled.
"What the hell!" he growled. "You don't sneak up on a person like that!"
"Shouldn't you be able to smell me before I get within distance?" Miroku asked, casually seating himself on the ground next to the cart.
"Usually I can," Inuyasha growled, more to himself that the other boy. "I'm just distracted is all."
"Um-hm," Miroku said with a nod. "Are you worried about her?"
"Aren't you?" he shot back.
"Of course," Miroku said easily. "Which is why I come to you."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"What happened?" Miroku asked easily. "Kagome hasn't had an episode in weeks, but today's was severe compared to the last few."
"I-I don't know!" Inuyasha said defensively. "I didn't do anything to her. We were just talking and then...she went all..."
Miroku nodded his head. "What were you talking about?"
"Stuff!" Inuyasha answered indirectly. "Nothing I want to get into at the moment."
"Private stuff, huh? That could be what caused it..."
"Caused what?"
"The episode," Miroku said with a frown. "Kagome suffers from a rather distasteful illness. Her powers get away from her at times, that's all." With that, Miroku got up and wiped his hands on his legs before heading back to the tent.
"Wait a second," Inuyasha called, getting to his feet. "Kagome said she didn't have any power."
Miroku shook his head and smiled ruefully. "Are you kidding? She's more powerful than all of us, put together! She just… can't control it well."
With that, Miroku left a shell-shocked Inuyasha and returned to the tent.
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She was running through the forest.
No, she wasn't running. She was being carried; someone else was running. The trees blurred past as they picked up speed, trying to outrun the dark shadow leering behind them. It was something dangerous; she knew that instinctively because of the hush that fell over the forest and the feeling of dread growing in her stomach.
Kagome was vaguely aware that she was bleeding. The coppery, sweet scent of blood wafted to her nose and the warm, sticky feeling of it was coating her stomach and hands as they clutched at an open wound. There was no pain though, as if she was distanced from it.
Suddenly, they came to a stop so jarring that Kagome nearly tumbled from her position, riding on the back of someone else. She slowly became aware of other things around her as well. They had stopped beneath the branches of a huge tree, wide and open and peaceful. Her fingers brushed something hard on her stomach, something long and thin and smooth. The shaft of an arrow. But the head was embedded in her stomach, causing the wound, making her bleed.
Kagome also noticed that her other hand was clutched around a thin chain, almost a rosary chain. On it was the Jewel. It was whole! Glowing brightly, beautifully, as if calling her. Which in fact, it was. She felt the dull throb in the back of her head, the voice of the Jewel, begging her for its release.
The dark shadow leered closer over her and she thought she faintly heard someone calling her name. She felt herself being laid down at the base of the tree, like an offering on a shrine to some long forgotten God. Vaguely, she focused on a pair of eyes that looked intently at her. Gold and heart-broken.
Then the shadow fell over them and the eyes were gone, replaced by another pair of eyes. These were red and glowing with malice, but as a shadowy arm reached for her, a kind of barrier protected her. A shimmering violet veil drew up around her, protecting her as long as she stayed beneath the branches of the tree. But each time the shadow struck at the barrier, she saw it failing.
She had only seconds to react before it was all over. Still, she felt no pain, even as she grasped the shaft of the arrow and pulled it from her body. She heard the noise, the sound of tearing skin and tissue, felt the gush of blood that quickly followed, but she was still too detached to feel pain. The arrowhead, stained with her life's blood, glistened sharply in the failing light of the barrier. She barely had the strength to raise the arrow and the Jewel in her other hand, but she did it.
Then she rammed them together with all the strength left in her body. She felt the crack, and then it split in a great burst of light. The throb in the back of her head became almost too much, even as her eyes fluttered close and her arms fell over her dying body. The Jewel lay in two in the palm of her hand.
One half rolled down her lifeless fingers until it came to rest in a puddle of her blood, sinking lightly into the crimson liquid. The barrier was broken and the creature of shadow reached for the Jewel only to find one piece left. When the shadow eased toward the piece lying in her blood, he found that he couldn't touch it. It glowed, brighter than when it had been whole, the light scorching the dark creature who tried to touch it. Taking that half would destroy him.
The shadow crept back, howling in pain and anger, clutching the half-Jewel to him as he fled. There would be time to get the other half, all the time in the world in fact. Humans could come and go, but he would not. He would remain forever. He never gave a second look at the dead girl he left behind. He didn't notice that the other one who had been at the tree, the young man who had carried her while she lay dying, was still alive. Left behind to care for the gypsies who came to claim the body of their fallen, and protect the half of a jewel that lay in her blood.
Kagome jerked away, tossing the blanket that covered her body to the side as if it were trying to strangle her. She was wide-eyed and covered in a sheen of sweat. Kaede was nearby, with a cup of herbal tea at the ready. Kagome accepted it graciously and gulped it down, not even caring that it burned the roof of her mouth.
"What did you see?" Kaede asked. Kagome looked around, but saw that no one else was in the tent with them. She could, however, hear the sounds of people walking around outside. The rest of the clan had returned to the camp. "They were too worried about you, they couldn't stay away," Kaede explained.
Kagome frowned. "I had the same dream I always do," she said quietly. "Except…"
"Except what?" Kaede asked. She leaned forward enough to place the back of her hand to Kagome's head. There was no fever, no sign that she had ever been ill.
"There was someone new in it this time," Kagome said thoughtfully.
"Really?" Kaede asked, now giving Kagome her full attention. "What happened?"
"In my dream, I always start out under the tree…" Kagome said with a thoughtful pause. "But I never knew how I got there or how I was hurt, but this time… I saw who brought me there."
"Who?" the old woman questioned, her brow furrowed in thought.
"A boy," Kagome said in a soft voice. "He carried me to the tree, where I could be protected long enough so that the shadow wouldn't get me until I was dead."
"A boy? How strange!" Kaede said with a sigh. "I've never heard about Kagome, the one in the stories, having a husband. It's quite perplexing."
"I don't think they were married," Kagome said thoughtfully. "I don't think he was human." This made the old woman start. "He ran too fast to be human, and he carried me the entire way."
"Interesting," Kaede muttered, looking at Kagome strangely. "You are holding something from me," she observed. "Speak."
"Do you remember if the story of the Shikon Jewel mentioned of that who would stand with the daughter of the clan?" Kagome commented.
"I remember."
"Perhaps he was that, the one who would have stood beside her against evil," Kagome cracked her knuckles anxiously. "But she died before they could stand."
"Is that what you saw?" Kaede asked beseechingly.
"I believe so," Kagome responded.
Kaede was silent for a few moments. "I find it hard to believe that the daughter of our clan would stand with a demon."
Kagome smiled somewhat wistfully. "Love knows no race, Kaede. If she found love, with any creature, then I wish she could have found happiness."
"That is why she was reborn again," Kaede said with a smile. She reached over to run her weathered hand over Kagome's soft cheek. "So that she can find happiness in you."
Kagome smiled. "Then I should keep my heart open, to find my love."
"That you should."
"And if I have found him already?" Kagome asked. "What should I do then?"
Kaede was silent a long moment, studying the petite girl sitting before her. There was a nervousness in the tension of Kagome's body, but there was a calm look in her eyes. Something that had not been there before. "Then you should tell him all, about the curse and what is to come. For both your sakes."
Kagome nodded, getting to her feet slowly. Strength had returned to her limbs and her head was once more clear. She drew the blanket off of the grown and hung it around her shoulders. Drawing a steadying breath, she took the first step out of the tent to face the worry of her family.
A/N: Gah! I can't believe that took so long! I'm really, really bad! I'm sorry! I throw myself at your mercy. I promise the next chapter will be out sooner than this one. Honest!