May 1-5, 2004

Nube

by Goddess of Anime

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha... yet. holds up a prayer bead neclace and grins evilly Here doggie, doggie, doggie! Come here....

sighs I'm a little down and I'm afraid that'll be reflected in this chapter. Read at the bottom as to why I'm upset. Here you go. Chapter 8. And I remembered what I was going to do with Shippou. Now all that leaves is Jaken and Kirara and Kouga....

Little note: Anyone who even bothered to read this far derserves to get a gift. If you've read and reviewed then you deserve to be showered with gifts and have your stories reviewed. You're that nice.

Scroll 8: Elf

Slowly, Butterfly gracefully climbed up the aged tree, fingertips gently pressing against the bark for support. Butterfly hadn't made a sound, only the soles of her feet and tips of fingers was touching the tree, hair flying behind her like a copper-coloured banner. For a moment she stopped and pressed her ear against the trunk and then continued upwards. The images the tree was passing on to her were sorrowful. The images formed a sad story of love gone awry.

Watching this sight Rin remained silent, hoping that she could see the secrets that Butterfly could. Only when Butterfly delicately settled on a branch that Rin dared to talk. "Can Butterfly teach Rin to climb trees?" Eyes closed Butterfly shook her head no. It was simply a skill that only people from direct elfin ancestry could teach.

The wind caressed her cheek, chilling her. Butterfly pressed the palms of her hands against the branch, asking for more of the story. She felt addicted to it, like as if she needed to hear every detail. It replied by sending the rest movie-like story, for it could not say words. Butterfly hid her wan face behind her hands, a single sliding down her cheek.

....she watched longingly, but knew it wasn't meant to be. She may have been attracted to him physically, but she didn't love him. Her heart was already snared by another long ago.

Tears studded her eyelashes as she howled in anguish and relief at the heavens. Only now was her mind at peace, and so was the mind of her child's. Her love's child, not her could-have-been-lover's.

I don't love any man, she whispered to the child in her womb. I only love you. Her face glowed then as she smiled happily, though her eyes were sad. She laced her fingers over her stomach and knew that this was the end. The end of her old ideas of life and the beginning of her new ones.

Butterfly sobbed and scrubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Willingly she asked the tree if this was true, or if it was the future. It did not know, for the future could be in the next second. A grin cracked her somber expression. The tree was back-talking, and it made her feel like laughing.

Then she remembered about Rin.

She looked at the horrified expression plastered on Rin's visage. "Rin-" she began.

"Butterfly's an elf!" Rin shrieked, fear cast in her brown doe eyes. Butterfly's eyebrows perked up in curiosity and puzzlement. Swiftly she leapt off the branch and approached Rin. Rin put up an arm protectively. Butterfly gently pushed Rin's arm down and forced Rin's closed eyes to open and meet her own. "If I were fully elf wouldn't I have ruined her mind as soon as those words left your lips?" Rin retaliated. Butterfly gripped her shoulder and tried to look as calm as she could muster. "Well?"

Rin broke away and ran off to seek refuge from Sesshou-maru. Butterfly watched sadly as Rin ran away from her and then narrowed her eyes in focus, staring into the river. Ripples parted the still water, bubbling over with hot water. Impulsively she silently dived into the cold and hot waters, engulfed by years of pain, betrayal, love, and loneliness.

What is it? she thought, slowly opening her eyes. What is it that I'm feeling?

An unbearable pain in her chest spurred, moving and spreading its tendrils so that they fused together and tightly clutched her insides. Even though it was searing her from the inside it felt rejuvenating. She slowly recognized the feeling. It felt bitterly good. She felt the longing for blood-shed.

Her eyes shot open and her mouth twisted into a terrible grin. Water rushed past her teeth and stabbed her lungs. Desperately she clawed at the surface, but couldn't break it. I can't die, I can't die, I can't die. I CAN'T DIE! she chanted, trying to break the surface.

Spots danced in and out of her vision, first bright and slow. Now they were dull and frequent. Not now. Please not now, she pleaded silently to no one in particular. A thin trail of crimson blood swam slowly to the surface and then expanded into swirls of bright red as it wove its way to the bright light.

Guess death has won this time, she thought.

This was a battle that she could not win. And this battle cost her the war.

Slowly, reluctantly, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to gulp in the intoxicated water. As soon as the water had settled in her stomach she began to float to the bottom, looking like a fallen angel.

The shivers kept on crawling under her skin, striking as it pleased. Kagome locked her arms around Inu-Yasha's neck tightly, burying her face in his mane of white hair. "Inu-Yasha?" she asked, voice muffled. "Go to the river. Someone has a Shikon shard."

His direction shifted slightly, slowed down by the action. But that didn't keep him like that for long. Kagome lifted her head up and peered over his shoulder, dizzy from the trees running past them in an orderly manner. The wind passing by them blew her ebony hair out of her face, leaving fierce brown-hazel eyes to melt the still air.

Suddenly she jerked forward and found herself standing on the ground on unstable legs. The shivers attacked her skin viciously, reminding her that she had to mind the shard or else they would never calm down. With a shaking finger Kagome pointed at the still water. "Un-under there." Even her voice trembled.

Inu-Yasha cast her worried glance, and then stared at the water. He suddenly turned around. Kagome watched in disbelief. "Wh-where are y-you going?" Her teeth chattered now. Inu-Yasha's golden eyes met hers. They were met with such anger and power that she thought he could look into her mind if he pleased. She placed her hands on her hips and gently she pushed that feeling aside, forcing herself to look at him. "Why are you go-going?"

"This isn't a human or a regular half-demon," he hissed, blood-lust, anger, and vengeance flashing in his eyes.

Kagome's arms flopped to her side. Her fighting stance had crumbled under his one look. "Wh-what is it then?" Inu-Yasha's expression was blank, but his voice betrayed him. "She's an elf." He spat out the last word like as if it were the most vile thing he had ever heard. He pressed on, blinded by fury and hatred.

"Do you know why everyone hates the elf race so much? They betray everyone. None of them can seem to even trust their own. They are shape-shifters and are bloody brilliant at doing it. They will kill anyone in a heartbeat, not even thinking if it could have been their own kind."

At the end his voice trembled, revealing something darker and emotionally painful. Daringly Kagome asked, "What does this have to do with you?"

He laughed mirthlessly, eyes clouded.

"One killed my mother."

"What?"

"Yeah. One killed her. In front of me. Never bothered to do away with me. Thought I was some dirty half-breed who couldn't think. They're fucking racists. If a half-breed is born into a clan they dispose of the child as soon as they turn 7."

"God. That's horrible, Inu-Yasha. Why didn't you say anything before?"

He shrugged and sniffed. "You never asked."

Silence hung over them like a damp blanket. Without a word Kagome kicked of her sneakers, peeled off her socks and removed her pants. Inu-Yasha watched, jaw hanging and eyes bugged. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm... gonna... save her," she grunted, her hair in a strangled ponytail.

Before Inu-Yasha could talk to her, before he could even swear, Kagome had dived in a way that was obviously well practiced. As soon as her blurry shadow was out of sight Inu-Yasha groaned and tugged off the layers on his upper body. The chilly october air finally got to him.

If someone was to say that the water was any better they would be lying. It was worse. Every time Kagome moved or stopped she was attacked by chills. Her eyes stung from looking through the gloom for so long. She pressed on, diving deeper.

Go to the surface and take a breath, her logical voice reminded her.

But Inu-Yasha won't let me dive back down, her stubborn one parried.

Why am I talking to myself? her actual voice asked. The other voices died down as she brushed the hair-like strands away from her. They tried to curl around her wrist but she swatted it aside and kicked herself to the bottom, ignoring the tightness in her chest and the bubbles quickly escaping past her lips.

Soon her eyes were fixed on a body, a girl's body. Her hair was coppery and flowed with the currant. Kagome suspected that the coldness of the water had made the girl pale, but that didn't seem to be the case. Both glassy eyes looked up and through her, as if caught in between a horrific moment and a blissful one. It was like a bad dream, or a really good horror movie.

Choppily Kagome grabbed the girl around the waist and pumped her legs in an upright position. The water did most of the work, helping them float up. Water rushed past her mouth as she put her arm up, willing it to feel air.

All she felt was cold water.

With all the strength left in her she pushed herself to the surface. She looked up and saw that she was so far away. She flexed her fingers and stretched them as far they could go. Fingers met her own and trailed down to her wrist and grasped it firmly. As tightly as she could she wrapped her fingers around the other's wrist gratefully.

Forcefully she was pulled up, her lungs bursting. She gulped the air hungrily and sputtered the excess water. Kagome rolled onto her side, curled in a tight ball with her hair digging into her face. She hacked up pieces of water plants and muddy glup. Her throat hurt.

Slowly she lifted herself up, using a tree trunk as support. Her arms and legs were covered in little bumps and her teeth ground against one another, giving a jack-hammer effect in her head. "Is-is sh-she o-o-okay?"

Inu-Yasha shook his head and tears stung Kagome's eyes. All that work for nothing.

Maybe if she had just dived in maybe she would have been alive. Forcefully she pulled her pants on and stuck her feet back into her sneakers, making squishy noises. She ripped the hair-band out, her head pulsing with a searing ache as her hair was pulled at the roots.

Mutely she cursed at herself, waiting to get back to the other two. Unexpectedly Inu-Yasha handed her his haori. Kagome looked at him curiously. "You're shaking," he pointed out. Kagome looked at her legs and saw that her knees were painfully banging together.

Gratefully she wrapped the haori around her small frame, feeling immensely warmer.

Carefully she climbed onto Inu-Yasha's back, feeling instant heat. She buried her face in his silk hair, feeling lighter suddenly.

Rin scrubbed off the tears with her hands. "Rin's sorry!" she wailed. Awkwardly Sesshou-maru patted her head. She hugged his midsection, sobbing quite loudly. Gently he pryed her off of him, asking her sweetly where Butterfly was. Rin answered honestly, though she was vaguely puzzled as to why he cared.

She lengthened her strides, hop-skipping every now and then so as to keep up with him. She ran ahead a little, squinting in front of her. A strangled sound between a cry and a breath caught in her throat. "Is Butterfly dead?" she trembled, gripping Butterfly's cold hand. She looked so pale that she could have made death look like it was blushing.

A faint pulse thrummed in her wrist, but her chest didn't rise and fall in breath. Rin placed her palm above Butterfly's mouth, tickled by a slight puff of air. "Butterfly's okay," she said, smiling at Sesshou-maru. Sesshou-maru helped Rin get Butterfly into a sitting position.

Butterfly groaned in displeasure. "Fuck off," she whispered, limp in their hands. Rin looked a little cross, and looked like as if she was about to say something but was stopped by one look from Sesshou-maru. Butterfly's eyelids flickered, and opened. She looked up angrily. "I said 'Fuck off'."

Discoordinated, she stood up on her own, ramming her hand into her half-dry hair. She felt numb, except in her left leg. It was on fire. She seethed as she shifted her weight to the other foot. Butterfly resisted adjusting her now skin-tight outfit, feeling uncomfortable just thinking about it. Her eyebrows knitted in concentration as she tried to look around. Where is he? And that wench too?

"Why did you dive in?"

Butterfly's head snapped in Sesshou-maru's direction. "What?"

"Why did you dive in?"

"I don't know. It was an impulse. I had to." She shrugged it off, noting that he actually sounded cross with her. "But someone saved me. Some wench and her lap dog." She growled in frustration and shook her hair. She couldn't think clearly.

Without warning she leapt from tree to tree, gone in the canopy.

Lap dog.... Sesshou-maru mused, grinning and shaking his head. He stopped himself. That was the first time, in years, that he had smiled, ACTUALLY smiled. It felt oddly good.

Butterfly, you're something different....

Nervously Sango played with a stray strand of hair. "Where are they?"

"You mean you don't know?!" Kouga snapped.

"Yes! That's exactly what I'm saying! They were right behind us...." she trailed off, close to tears. Miorku wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing it reassuringly. Sango giggled.

"What?" Miroku asked.

"You didn't grope me." She laughed harder. Miroku frowned. "Why's that funny?"

"I don't know. It just is."

Miroku moved away from her, in deep thought. Kouga watched and inwardly grinned. If he hadn't known any better he would have thought that they actually liked one another.

Shippou sat on the ground, having a broody and glum look to him. He was happy to be away from Kaede and that hut, but he didn't want meet Kagome in risk that she could be angered.

"They're coming," Kouga announced, tone clipped and clipping off everyone's trail of thought.

Everyone turned in the direction that Kouga was staring at. In the trees Inu-Yasha and Kagome emerged. Kagome was a mess. Her hair was a mass of wet tangles and was dripping her own little little rain puddle. "Hey," she said, managing a shaky smile. "Is everyone okay?"

Kouga shot Inu-Yasha a disgusted and accusing glare. "What happened to you?" he asked Kagome. Kagome shrugged and rewrapped the haori around her. "Nothing life-threatening." She then included, "Inu-Yasha, don't...." Inu-Yasha looked slightly disappointed, but moved closer to her all the same.

"What are you doing here?" Kagome asked, though that was redundant.

"For your well-being," he said, eyes taking on a dreamy look.

A vein in Inu-Yasha's neck throbbed. He pulled out Tetsusaiga, raising it in attack. Slowly it bowed, bending him back as well. Dammit! Still too heavy.... He seethed. As quickly as possible he sheathed his sword, looking beyond ticked.

"Um, maybe we should sit down," Kagome said nervously, ready to calm down her impulsive friend (let's guess who it is....).

Panting Butterfly was swinging upside-down on a branch. Damn. Didn't think I'd tire so easily after that. She swung herself in an upright position, blood suddenly rushing out of her head. Stupid dizzy spells.... she cursed, wiping the sweat off her brow.

Butterfly shivered and felt the tension in the air. She looked down. Someone was directly below her... she didn't bother. Her energy was precious and so was her mental stability, which hasn't been too good lately. It's been Mood-swing City for her. Her emotions ranged from sincerely calm to violent anger spasms. It left her to wonder what she was truly feeling.

With no warning a clear thought on Sesshou-maru sneaked pass the jumbled ones: He's unbearable; he's annoying; I want him.

Her eyes bugged. Where had this thought come from? This was only temporary. She was only staying in Sesshou-maru's home until she found out the news about Zane. Right?

Yeah, right.

Butterfly slapped herself mentally. It's all temporary, stupid. I can't stay, unless I wish to be dead. Besides, Zane needs me more. So stop talking to yourself already! It's been proven that you're insane, no need for further proof. But what about Sesshou-maru? I can't run off every time. He's probably worried. Wait, when did he start to care about me?

She was now, officially, in a state of total confusion..

(O).(O) Wow.... That was a long chapter. 6 pages again?! sweatdrops And there's one little thing: Chapters will take awhile to be written and posted up because I have a huge project due on how the concious and unconcious states of mind work. takes a swig of soda Whew. I have a lot left to do and only 3 weeks to left till due date so be kind to me.

A/N: I am aware that the ending was messed up! But I've only just finished my homework and couldn't think of anything better, and I'm not planning to go over that for a little while. I'm satisfied with it for the moment and will fix it when I see fit. Okay? Good. No? Well, too bad for you!

Who is Zane? How will the encounter with Kouga go over? What's up with Shippou? Will Butterfly ever NOT be confused? That's for both of us to find out and then know.

PEACE. SMOOCH LOVE YA ALL! (I think....)

nube= hell