Disclaimer: not in the mood for this right now.... Inuyasha is not mine. Happy? I'm not...
Just watched Troy. So please forgive me if some Trojan words slink through this chapter and into the world I've so mercilessly created. Forgive. And one word to a certain reviewer, who did not sign their review, and said Naraku deserves to die... Perhaps in your eyes. But in mine, death should not be given. Naraku does not deserve death.
No one deserves death. It is too good a haven for us.
And so it begins anew...
Forever
Chapter 7: Renewal
Kagome POV
I cried. I wept. And he wept with me. I told him of Naraku, his plan, his treachery.
As we sat in the hut, embracing, Inuyasha told me, promised me, that he would kill Naraku. That he would destroy the demon, shred every piece of his flesh for so much as looking at me.
No man should die for a woman.
No man should die of another man's weapon.
No woman should lose her man.
And so I wept harder. Inuyasha wiped my tears away, repeating the words he didn't realize were the reason for my tears.
"I shall destroy him..."
It was happiness, perhaps, that had taken me captive when Inuyasha had returned. But now that wave had passed, and I was once again in the middle of the calm sea.
Silence.
No sound dared to break the thin layer of building fear, the silence that dominated death. It was the calm before the storm. And what a storm it would be... Inuyasha would let out his full power against Naraku, now that he knew where to find the demon.
In a month Naraku would return for me, holding the entire Shikon Jewel. He would be powerful, more so than he'd been before.
Inuyasha would fall.
I would die then, for I would have no further reason for life.
I saw the unseen cloud reach through the sky above me, hiding the sun. Dark clouds, gray clouds. Clouds of grief. But they'd not rain. No, they were but a taste of the horror that would come. I gazed at the water again, the deep blue water darkening with fear, preparing courageously for battle.
My boat was trapped in this unmoving water. Only small ripples shook it lightly.
The water deepened in its richness, and became no longer blue. It lost its joy, its happiness in battle. It lost its sanity.
A streak of red, a fading drop of crimson merged with the water. And then the sea was filled with blood. Whose blood?
My breath froze. I froze.
Before my ship, before my mast, within my sea, was he.
Inuyasha.
An arrow pierced his back. Naraku's arrow. And Inuyasha's blood stained the waters of the sea.
I looked up at the clouds as the silence was ripped. The clouds gathered in the west, and became a chariot. A dark chariot, pulled by darkness. And who to drive the evil but the devil himself?
Naraku.
Inuyasha
She was sweating in his arms, tears dried, lips cracked. He hugged Kagome, shook her lightly, and tried to comfort her.
And then she awoke.
Her eyes were afraid the moment they locked with his, tears on the verge of spilling.
"Shhh..." muttered Inuyasha, stroking her nose. "You're alright..."
She grasped his hand lightly, and brought it away from her face. Kagome stood, and left Inuyasha sitting on his bed. She stood by the doorway, her back to him. Without glancing back at Inuyasha, she spoke.
"You will die."
And with those words, Kagome was gone.
Kagome
Those hadn't been her words. Yet she'd willfully spoken them.
It was that cursed dream. That foresight. That... that pain.
She sat by a tree in the forest, leaning against its thick trunk for support.
Kagome couldn't imagine having a loved one prepare for war. She couldn't feel what women must have felt thousands of year before her existence, in every empire, in every world.
What was it like, to know your husband was leaving forever? What was it like to bid goodbye to your dearest brother as he left to certain death? How painful was it to pray for a son that had gone to war, knowing he would die no matter what?
And Inuyasha would surely die of her hand. Not her hand directly, as he'd died of once before, but her hand through Naraku. She should have just let him stay dead, let him be at peace. Shield him from the battles he would have to face in life.
She hugged her knees, chin resting on them, deep in thought.
Naraku would return for her, stronger than ever. He would use her to capture Japan, destroy all the villages. He'd use her innocence to shield his own greed.
How many lives would it take to destroy Naraku?
One? Ten? A hundred? A thousand?
He would not fall to men, not to mortal men. Nor to demons. Not common ones, at least... What of priests? Exterminators? Stronger demons? They could create an army to destroy Naraku...
How silly. One army of the strongest of the strong, against one demon.
But it would be hard to bring the brave and strong together. Only fools would challenge Naraku's power, only fools would stand before his might and spit.
Only fools...
Kagura
Naraku's castle was vast. Its winding halls were a maze built to capture unsuspecting prey. One could walk through the corridors for an eternity and still be lost after the end of time. Even spirits were trapped here. Even spirits...
It was Naraku's maze, Naraku's trick. But Kagura knew it well. Almost too well.
She escaped the maze in a quick step, angrily stalking to the center hall. As she reached it, Kagura turned to her right and continued her trek through the palace.
Naraku was seated in his throne, gazing at a bowl of liquid before him.
A bowl of red liquid.
He didn't look up as Kagura entered, nor did he react when she kneeled before him. Oh, how Kagura hated kneeling before that wretched creature, how she hated serving his likes.
But he'd created her, and could have just as easily destroyed her.
"You called?" said she, standing up once more.
Naraku didn't respond. He continued gazing at the red liquid, a smile growing on his face.
"It is the blood of a great demon I defeated once," he said at length, bidding Kagura to near the bowl he cradled on his lap.
"He had the gift of foresight. It was in his blood. Come... look. What do you see?"
Kagura glanced in the blood. Her expression flashed anger for a moment, resentment, and then became at ease again.
"Well? What have you seen in his blood?"
"Death." Kagura growled. "His death."
Inuyasha Three days later
He was well. Inuyasha's wounds had healed miraculously. But that was no surprise. He was a half-demon.
Kagome hadn't spoken to him for three days. He hadn't said anything, he hadn't done anything... then it was something he would do. Only a fool couldn't have read Kagome's expression that day. Only a fool wouldn't have connected her fear with the future.
And Inuyasha was no fool.
What still bothered him, however, was what she'd seen. What he'd done.
And so Inuyasha made the first of his many mistakes.
He confronted her.
It was nightfall. Inuyasha strode quietly through the village, to find Kagome staring at the crescent moon, sighing at the stars at the summit of a hill. She lay on the ground, amid a sea of flowers. So heavenly she looked, like a fallen angel...
"Join me?" She whispered, and Inuyasha realized she'd noticed his presence.
Without a word spoken, Inuyasha lay down on the ground beside her, watching the stars.
"They tell a story." She said, referring to the stars.
"Tell me their tale." Replied Inuyasha, not ripping his gaze from the sky.
"The constellations... they foresee all, and know all. Have you ever heard of Achilles?"
Inuyasha nodded.
"They say he was the strongest warrior that ever lived. He had no weakness, but his heel. And so the killed him. The stars tell his story. It is a sad story, a tale of sorrow."
She began to tell him of Hercules, Hermes, and other legends he'd never heard of. Until he decided to interrupt.
"What did you mean?" he asked abruptly.
Kagome turned and looked at him questioningly.
"Three days ago," he continued, "When you said I would die."
She stiffened at the memory. Kagome stood slowly, and began towards the village. Her voice was cold when she spoke, like ice.
"You will."
That's all for today, folks! Yeah, I made a few references to Achilles and the like... you know, from Troy... and legend. But I love the last words:
"...and they shall say, 'I lived in the time of Hektor. I lived in the time of Achilles.'"
That was touching...
Just watched Troy. So please forgive me if some Trojan words slink through this chapter and into the world I've so mercilessly created. Forgive. And one word to a certain reviewer, who did not sign their review, and said Naraku deserves to die... Perhaps in your eyes. But in mine, death should not be given. Naraku does not deserve death.
No one deserves death. It is too good a haven for us.
And so it begins anew...
Forever
Chapter 7: Renewal
Kagome POV
I cried. I wept. And he wept with me. I told him of Naraku, his plan, his treachery.
As we sat in the hut, embracing, Inuyasha told me, promised me, that he would kill Naraku. That he would destroy the demon, shred every piece of his flesh for so much as looking at me.
No man should die for a woman.
No man should die of another man's weapon.
No woman should lose her man.
And so I wept harder. Inuyasha wiped my tears away, repeating the words he didn't realize were the reason for my tears.
"I shall destroy him..."
It was happiness, perhaps, that had taken me captive when Inuyasha had returned. But now that wave had passed, and I was once again in the middle of the calm sea.
Silence.
No sound dared to break the thin layer of building fear, the silence that dominated death. It was the calm before the storm. And what a storm it would be... Inuyasha would let out his full power against Naraku, now that he knew where to find the demon.
In a month Naraku would return for me, holding the entire Shikon Jewel. He would be powerful, more so than he'd been before.
Inuyasha would fall.
I would die then, for I would have no further reason for life.
I saw the unseen cloud reach through the sky above me, hiding the sun. Dark clouds, gray clouds. Clouds of grief. But they'd not rain. No, they were but a taste of the horror that would come. I gazed at the water again, the deep blue water darkening with fear, preparing courageously for battle.
My boat was trapped in this unmoving water. Only small ripples shook it lightly.
The water deepened in its richness, and became no longer blue. It lost its joy, its happiness in battle. It lost its sanity.
A streak of red, a fading drop of crimson merged with the water. And then the sea was filled with blood. Whose blood?
My breath froze. I froze.
Before my ship, before my mast, within my sea, was he.
Inuyasha.
An arrow pierced his back. Naraku's arrow. And Inuyasha's blood stained the waters of the sea.
I looked up at the clouds as the silence was ripped. The clouds gathered in the west, and became a chariot. A dark chariot, pulled by darkness. And who to drive the evil but the devil himself?
Naraku.
Inuyasha
She was sweating in his arms, tears dried, lips cracked. He hugged Kagome, shook her lightly, and tried to comfort her.
And then she awoke.
Her eyes were afraid the moment they locked with his, tears on the verge of spilling.
"Shhh..." muttered Inuyasha, stroking her nose. "You're alright..."
She grasped his hand lightly, and brought it away from her face. Kagome stood, and left Inuyasha sitting on his bed. She stood by the doorway, her back to him. Without glancing back at Inuyasha, she spoke.
"You will die."
And with those words, Kagome was gone.
Kagome
Those hadn't been her words. Yet she'd willfully spoken them.
It was that cursed dream. That foresight. That... that pain.
She sat by a tree in the forest, leaning against its thick trunk for support.
Kagome couldn't imagine having a loved one prepare for war. She couldn't feel what women must have felt thousands of year before her existence, in every empire, in every world.
What was it like, to know your husband was leaving forever? What was it like to bid goodbye to your dearest brother as he left to certain death? How painful was it to pray for a son that had gone to war, knowing he would die no matter what?
And Inuyasha would surely die of her hand. Not her hand directly, as he'd died of once before, but her hand through Naraku. She should have just let him stay dead, let him be at peace. Shield him from the battles he would have to face in life.
She hugged her knees, chin resting on them, deep in thought.
Naraku would return for her, stronger than ever. He would use her to capture Japan, destroy all the villages. He'd use her innocence to shield his own greed.
How many lives would it take to destroy Naraku?
One? Ten? A hundred? A thousand?
He would not fall to men, not to mortal men. Nor to demons. Not common ones, at least... What of priests? Exterminators? Stronger demons? They could create an army to destroy Naraku...
How silly. One army of the strongest of the strong, against one demon.
But it would be hard to bring the brave and strong together. Only fools would challenge Naraku's power, only fools would stand before his might and spit.
Only fools...
Kagura
Naraku's castle was vast. Its winding halls were a maze built to capture unsuspecting prey. One could walk through the corridors for an eternity and still be lost after the end of time. Even spirits were trapped here. Even spirits...
It was Naraku's maze, Naraku's trick. But Kagura knew it well. Almost too well.
She escaped the maze in a quick step, angrily stalking to the center hall. As she reached it, Kagura turned to her right and continued her trek through the palace.
Naraku was seated in his throne, gazing at a bowl of liquid before him.
A bowl of red liquid.
He didn't look up as Kagura entered, nor did he react when she kneeled before him. Oh, how Kagura hated kneeling before that wretched creature, how she hated serving his likes.
But he'd created her, and could have just as easily destroyed her.
"You called?" said she, standing up once more.
Naraku didn't respond. He continued gazing at the red liquid, a smile growing on his face.
"It is the blood of a great demon I defeated once," he said at length, bidding Kagura to near the bowl he cradled on his lap.
"He had the gift of foresight. It was in his blood. Come... look. What do you see?"
Kagura glanced in the blood. Her expression flashed anger for a moment, resentment, and then became at ease again.
"Well? What have you seen in his blood?"
"Death." Kagura growled. "His death."
Inuyasha Three days later
He was well. Inuyasha's wounds had healed miraculously. But that was no surprise. He was a half-demon.
Kagome hadn't spoken to him for three days. He hadn't said anything, he hadn't done anything... then it was something he would do. Only a fool couldn't have read Kagome's expression that day. Only a fool wouldn't have connected her fear with the future.
And Inuyasha was no fool.
What still bothered him, however, was what she'd seen. What he'd done.
And so Inuyasha made the first of his many mistakes.
He confronted her.
It was nightfall. Inuyasha strode quietly through the village, to find Kagome staring at the crescent moon, sighing at the stars at the summit of a hill. She lay on the ground, amid a sea of flowers. So heavenly she looked, like a fallen angel...
"Join me?" She whispered, and Inuyasha realized she'd noticed his presence.
Without a word spoken, Inuyasha lay down on the ground beside her, watching the stars.
"They tell a story." She said, referring to the stars.
"Tell me their tale." Replied Inuyasha, not ripping his gaze from the sky.
"The constellations... they foresee all, and know all. Have you ever heard of Achilles?"
Inuyasha nodded.
"They say he was the strongest warrior that ever lived. He had no weakness, but his heel. And so the killed him. The stars tell his story. It is a sad story, a tale of sorrow."
She began to tell him of Hercules, Hermes, and other legends he'd never heard of. Until he decided to interrupt.
"What did you mean?" he asked abruptly.
Kagome turned and looked at him questioningly.
"Three days ago," he continued, "When you said I would die."
She stiffened at the memory. Kagome stood slowly, and began towards the village. Her voice was cold when she spoke, like ice.
"You will."
That's all for today, folks! Yeah, I made a few references to Achilles and the like... you know, from Troy... and legend. But I love the last words:
"...and they shall say, 'I lived in the time of Hektor. I lived in the time of Achilles.'"
That was touching...