To Hawking (and anyone else thinking similar things):
My spelling of Kirara is correct, I spell it the way it is supposed to be in Romaji, because I watched the entire anime in Japanese. Even though it is written as Kirara, "r" in Japanese is pronounced differently from "r" in English; it sounds more like an "l" but it's written as "r". Japanese language do not have "l" in it.
On a side note, my spelling of things such as Tessaiga is also the Romaji way. The English translation spelt out the whole thing, even though Romaji would not have; writing it as "Tetsusaiga", when it is supposed to be a silent "tsu". Ryokossei is a silent "tsu" too.
Thank you Very Much to all the reviews, I'm touched by the overwhelming response.
Terms to know:
youki: demonic energy
jyaki: evil demonic energy
Update: May 5, 2008
This chapter has been edited.
Chancery
- Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends. J.R.R.Tolkien (1892 - 1973), The Lord Of the Rings, Book Four, Chapter One
Chapter 2
Kagome!!
"Kikyou!!" Inuyasha yelled as he bounded after her swiftly retreating form. He was so absorbed in following her that he failed to notice the receding grayness around him. He was only intent on one goal: to save Kikyou.
Soon he found himself in a small clearing where Naraku's tentacles held his Kikyou in the air as the dark hanyou laughed tauntingly at him.
"You BASTARD!!" Inuyasha roared as he charged head-on without another thought, severing the tentacles flying at him along with the one that held his former love.
In moments, all that was left of Naraku was the wooden doll with which he created the puppet of himself. Before the puppet disintegrated, Naraku's fading voice left him with a troubling message.
"So, you have traded one miko for another ... I will take good care of the one whom you have abandoned."
Inuyasha looked at Kikyou, confusion written all over his face. "What did he mean?" He wondered aloud.
"It is nothing, my love." She soothed, walking closer. "You only need me. Come to hell with me, as you promised."
"Yes, Kikyou, but first I must gather the Shikon no Tama and destroy Naraku. Please, will you spare me some time?" Inuyasha's tortured voice pleaded with her, he could not just abandon everything that he had been working for. He had started to view this quest as his duty, just as going to hell with Kikyou was his duty. He had commuted himself to do both, and could not just abandon one for the other.
"Then I will wait, if you must, Inuyasha. I shall wander this troubled land until you are free to be with me for eternity." Kikyou said coldly, turning to leave.
"Wait, Kikyou! Join us, you'll be a great help and I'll be able to finish this faster. Kagome won't mind, neither wil-- Kagome!!" He was suddenly reminded of Kagome's strange absence. Immediately, he lifted his nose to the wind and tried to sniff out her scent.
He felt his body turn to lead, his heart turn to ice, as he distinguished the heavy scent of Kagome's blood. In fact, he was shocked he had not notice sooner, it was everywhere!
"KAGOME!!" He howled in fear as a sharp stab of pain laced through his heart. Faster than the eye can follow, he raced off in the direction of the scent of her blood.
Left to eat his dust, the dark miko's hand tightened around her bow in anger as her eyes narrowed in malice. The abused wood in her hands squeaked angrily in retaliation, before finally losing the battle and snapped in half.
"You will pay for daring to leave me, my dear Inuyasha."
- - - - -
Inuyasha stared in stubborn disbelief at the blood soaked earth and the lake tinted pink with Kagome's blood. He could not believe that he had stood so close to where her body must have been, and had not noticed her injury.
His eyes narrowed in seething hatred when he caught the foul, lingering traces of Naraku in the air mixed in with Kagome's sweet blood, barely noticeable amid the stench of blood and death.
Falling to his knees in agony, he clawed at the red-tinted earth mindlessly.
/Kagome, Kagome, Kagome, KAGOME!!/ He chanted in his mind as a single hot tear made its way down one deathly pale cheek. /No, you can't be dead. You can't leave me, you said you'll always be with me. No! NOO!! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS!!/
/I have failed you, just like I failed Kikyou. I'm so sorry ... please don't leave me. I need you .../
In his anguish, he failed to sense the slight youki of the soul stealers, nor did he hear the soft 'thump' as Kikyou landed behind him.
"Inuyasha, you do not need my copy. I am here." Kikyou tried to persuad him in a deceptively loving tone.
Crazed with his rage and heartache, Inuyasha whipped around to growl accusingly at Kikyou.
"You! You set this up with him, didn't you! Where is Kagome!! Give me back my Kagome!!" Inuyasha's vision clouded with red, his mind hazed over with animalistic instincts; he could no longer see the clay doll whom he claimed to love, all he could see was an enemy who had tricked him into failing. An enemy who caused him to lose the most important, precious being in his life.
For the first time since her death and resurrection, Kikyou felt true fear. She was utterly afraid of this crimson-eyed Inuyasha with jagged youkai markings who pinned her with a stare full of hate and blood-lust.
"Inuyasha?! What is wrong with you! I am Kikyou, the one you love! Forget about my reincarnation, she is nothing! I am the one who matters! Have you forgotten the love we have shared? The promise you made me? Come with me, Inuyasha, so we may be together for eternity!" Kikyou cried, growing desperate as his feral growls increased in volume.
"Give. Me. Back. My. Kagome." He snarled with deadly precision, advancing towards Kikyou with deleterious intent.
"I don't know where she is! Naraku took her, go hunt him if you must!" Kikyou decided it was too dangerous to try to convince Inuyasha in his current state. She called upon her soul stealers who immediately wound around her to lift her away.
"This is not over, Inuyasha. I will never let my reincarnation have you, you are mine."
- - - - -
Inuyasha crashed through the forest, following the faint scent of Naraku and Kagome's blood. However, it only seemed to go in circles, infuriating the raged youkai even more.
By now, Kirara and her riders had reached the deafening noise Inuyasha made as he left a trail of destruction in his wake. One look at his scarlet orbs, and they knew something had gone terribly wrong. When they were suddenly thrown into gray nothingness, they had worried something would happen. However, when they were released from the gray into the forest once again to be greeted with the visage of a red-eyed Inuyasha, they started to fear for the worst, especially since Kagome was nowhere in sight.
"Kagome!!" Shippou wailed from Sango's shoulder, tears surging into his bright green eyes and overflowing from the sides as Kirara growled softly in comfort.
"I hope Kagome-chan will be alright." Sango murmured in a pleading voice as she clutched Kirara's back in pain, she did not think she could handle losing another sibling. She had grown to view and love Kagome like a sister during their travels together.
"Me too, dear Sango, me too." Miroku whispered. /For all our sakes, I hope you are well, Kagome-sama./
- - - - -
As the shard hunting group worried for the welfare of a very important member of their team, their noise and scent alerted a passing taiyoukai.
/What is that baka up to now./ Sesshoumaru mentally growled as he ordered Jaken to stay with Rin. After leaving the usual death threats, he disappeared off to seek the hanyou.
- - - - -
When Sesshoumaru arrived in front of Inuyasha, he was rather surprised at the sight that greeted him. Not that his facial expression ever changed, mind you.
/So, his demon blood has taken over his mind, again./
Sesshoumaru leveled his half-brother with a frosty gaze, waiting for him to make the first move. He did not have to wait long.
"Sesshoumaru..." Youkai Inuyasha growled in warning, flexing his claws. "Get out of my way!" He lunged at the taiyoukai, bringing his improved youkai claws up in a deadly swipe.
Sesshoumaru, being the agile and mighty taiyoukai that he was, flashed out of his way with ease to counter with an attack of his own claws from behind. Inuyasha wasted no time in engaging him in battle, choosing instead to leap out of the way of Sesshoumaru's attack and continued to track Kagome.
Slightly puzzled, Sesshoumaru watched him go as he turned to regard his traveling companions who had landed some ways away from them during their brief acrimonious encounter. Regarding them with a questioning gaze, he stood where he was in silence. The great lord would not stoop so low as to require from humans.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, our friend Kagome-sama has gone missing. We are not sure what happened exactly, but now Inuyasha has gone into youkai rage and we do not know how to help him." Miroku tried to explain in as placating a voice he could master, with as little tremble in his voice as possible. He had heard much about this ruthless youkai who destroyed everything and everyone who dared to stand in his path, and his past encounters with him had not been pleasant.
/I see, all this over a mere human girl? Indeed, how you have fallen, Inuyasha. Father would have been proud./ He thought cynically, thinking back to when their father had fallen hard for the human princess who was Inuyasha's mother. It was the turning point in his life which lead to the great Inu no Taisho's ultimate downfall, in Sesshoumaru's eyes.
Then, the wind shifted slightly, and brought the nauseating sweet scent of a human's blood, a lot of it. Sesshoumaru disappeared in a blink of an eye, leaving the confused humans to grab on to Kirara's back as she lurched in the same direction.
"Kagome's blood ..." Shippou whispered in terror, clutching on to Sango's shoulder with a white-knuckled grip. All three of them paled, as Kirara tried her best to fly to the source of the sickening scent even faster.
- - - - -
/It would seem that Inuyasha had failed to protect the miko who followed him./ Sesshoumaru's non-existent esteem of his half-brother dropped even lower. /Such a worthless hanyou, not even being able to protect those he chose as his pack./
Picking up a newer, more prominent scent of Naraku coming from the direction he left his ward, his eyes flashed momentarily red as he disappeared again before the others got there, with one thought on his mind.
/If you dare touch her, I will tear you apart piece by miserable piece./
- - - - -
Kirara arrived soon after the taiyoukai left so abruptly, her riders swallowing hard at the blood covered clearing.
"Oh...Kami-sama..." Miroku's knuckles turned white as he tightened his fist around his staff. Sango had ran off to empty her breakfast into a nearby bush, while Shippou had promptly fainted. He would have acquired a nasty bump on the head from a close encounter with the hard ground as he fell from his perch on Sango's shoulder, had Kirara not caught him.
Then Kirara seemed to sense something off in the distance, and set off with a soft growl of command to her human companions. After a short walk, they arrived at another clearing. This one had a broken bow resting on the grassy floors.
"Kikyou." Sango growled, her dislike of the undead miko multiplying countless times as it turned into burning hatred. If she had been youkai, she would have followed in Inuyasha's footsteps and went into youkai rage. As it was, she was near exploding with pent up aggression.
"Sango, save your anger for later. Right now, the most pressing issue is locating Kagome-sama, and controlling Inuyasha before he hurt someone or get hurt." Miroku said calmly, but with an undertone edge of steel.
Here's what happens with everyone else while Kagome's busy dying and Naraku busy ... saving her? Well, Sesshoumaru's now in the fray, and everyone can guess what the 'she' of his thoughts were, right? It should be more obvious now after the edition.
After reading my old writing over ... I feel like some of the language is kind of in the tone of a parody at moments. I think I read too many cliche fics and didn't even notice when I was feeling sarcastic while writing. XD
I forgot if Miroku calls Kagome "Kagome-sama", or if he calls Sango "Sango-sama" or "Sango-chan" in the anime. If anyone remembers, can they please let me know so I can change it to the correct way of address? I just remember that Sango calls Miroku "Houshi-sama" and Kagome calls Miroku "Miroku-sama". Do they all call Shippou "Shippou-chan" or does Miroku call Shippou something else? I know Inuyasha just say Shippou or sometimes brat etc.
Reviews are highly appreciated.
- Kura
