Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha, probably never will.
Hi again... yep, it's me, the mighty torturer! –Dogs bark in audience, reviewers give nasty glares-
All right then... let's... get on with the... the show?
Oh, and I don't really know how I came up with this... I guess it just... came to me. I just felt like writing. I don't really think when I write. I just... write. It's strange, but heck, it works!
Forever
Chapter 12: Calm before the Storm
Inuyasha
He was blind, deaf, mute... He couldn't think. Hard as he fathomed his actions, Inuyasha just... couldn't. His mindless fight was far from over... yet he knew very well that Naraku would lose, and he leave the victor.
Inuyasha's claws swiped Naraku's chest, ripping his cloak and leaving a nasty, bloody gash.
But he didn't stop. The smell of blood drove him on. Inuyasha pounded Naraku, slashed him, kicked him, beat him even when the demon lay crumpled on the ground. Hard as it was to contemplate his own movements, Inuyasha knew why he'd done them.
For had he looked in a mirror then, he'd have seen red eyes looking right back at him.
Kagome
She heard it.
The screaming, the slashes, the violent rips in the air. Agonizing silence filled Kagome's mind. She heard deeper sounds; Inuyasha's panting, Naraku's rasping.
They were in pain. Naraku was near to death. Inuyasha was full demon.
She felt the aura of Inuyasha's energy grow with each moment, until he reached the peak of his own powers. He'd beaten Naraku. He'd defeated the great demon that had hindered all existence. Inuyasha had destroyed the destroyer, had hunted the hunter, killed the killer.
Where was he?
Where had Naraku taken Inuyasha to battle? Would the hanyou return? Kagome decided Naraku's treachery was to pull Inuyasha into a separate dimension... and leave him there, to whither and rot on the weathered soil.
And kill her along with Inuyasha. Whether indirectly or directly, Kagome would die the moment Inuyasha ceased to exist. She'd been dead before; wandering after Naraku's possession of her body.
She was a puppet, a toy Naraku played with. She was a glove Naraku wore, then discarded.
Not ripping her gaze from that lone star, Kagome sighed.
It was ended.
But far from over.
Inuyasha
Ragged breaths resounded in the silence, filling nothingness with agonizing main. It wasn't one man's pain. This was no demon pain. It was the pain of a weeping heart, a bleeding love.
It was Kagome's pain, her suffering.
Inuyasha felt it. He felt her, and the very feel of her cool skin calmed him. He felt his power draining, but peace and serenity taking hold of his flesh again. He glanced down in disgust, grimacing at Naraku's crumpled form. The mighty demon was in a puddle of his own blood, bruises covering him entirely.
His power drained more, and more... too little of it remained for Inuyasha to be half-demon. He was much too... weak for that. His feet no longer held the strength to hold him up, and so Inuyasha crumpled to the ground. Sitting on his knees, Inuyasha threw back his head and gazed at that star.
A strange semblance surrounded him, mist clouding his eyes.
He'd worn himself out. Inuyasha thought one last thought as he sunk through the ground heavily. It wasn't Naraku's thought, nor was it his consciousness. Nay, 'twas his own mind speaking to him, reminding Inuyasha of the word he held most dear to his heart, the name of the one person he longed for.
Kagome...
Kagome
She was on her knees, stroking his hair. She knew he was just an image, just a faint memory, just a symbol of her lust...
But she felt Inuyasha's hair against her hand, his furry ears twitching in her caresses.
He was on Kagome's lap, eyes closed, sticky blood painting his face crimson. His bangs stuck to his forehead with the cruor matting them to his face.
His face... his sweet, bruised face seemed so... so tranquil in the silver light of that one star...
Kagome knew then that she would be with him forever, no matter what.
Forever...
An eternity, they said, was a curse that seemed at first to be a blessing. But Inuyasha... he could turn that around. With Inuyasha, anything was merit, a treasure not worth losing. A treasure worth fighting for. A blessing worth dying for.
Forever.
Forever.
Forever.
That one word, so strange yet so beautiful. That one word, three syllables that built the existence of intelligence, philosophy, poetry, music... Forever, eternity, was the foundation of thought, the base of the mind.
It was wonderful in a terrible way, beautiful in a hideous fashion, sweet in a bitter style. It was forever. No words to describe it. It was one, it build itself for nothing could live up to building it. Forever was hidden within its own walls, looking at the world from heights beyond the eye's reach, from depths below sight's grasp.
And she had forever.
She had Inuyasha.
Kagome lived.
Sesshomaru
A large demon, some ten meters in height and twelve in length, stood in the center of a certain clearing. It was an ash grove, the trees surrounding this gigantic fiend.
It was a bear.
His claws reached towards Rin, attempting to rip the little child to shreds. Jakken had fled, apparently; Sesshomaru caught no sign of the little imp.
Not that he cared about the little demon anyway.
Focusing his attention on the large bear demon, Sesshomaru estimated how much power he had remaining. Naraku had drained quite a bit from him.
Flashback
"I only want to borrow it!" mocked Naraku, waving Tensaiga before him.
"Give it BACK!" replied Sesshomaru, lunging for Naraku and his sword.
The demon merely chuckled and moved aside. But as Sesshomaru fell to the ground, Naraku held out a hand. His spikes caught Sesshomaru's stomach.
The demon's agonizing scream was unheard.
End of Flashback
Sesshomaru grimaced as the throbbing in his stomach returned. He was lying on his stomach, watching the scene of the bear demon and Rin's quarrel unfold. Surprisingly, the little human girl had some power to her. Her agility, in any case, was greater than the colossal demon's slow pace.
Rin ran about the demon, arms outstretched. She was grinning playfully, as if this was a game.
Sesshomaru smiled. The little girl had confidence.
But his smirk was wiped off quickly, as Rin tripped. The demon chuckled at her misery; a deep, rasping sound that came from deep within his throat.
Sesshomaru growled and drew his other sword. Hoisting himself up slowly, Sesshomaru stood, shaking weakly, holding his weapon. The bear demon finally noticed Sesshomaru's presence. He turned to him, small black eyes shining evilly.
Sesshomaru smiled slightly, and lunged.
A panic-stricken voice pierced the midnight air.
The bear demon had succumbed to Sessomuaru's blade.
Inuyasha POV
I opened my eyes. It was light again, though my vision was still clouded. I could make out a figure above me; a face. I felt a hand stroking my hair, and smiled instantly.
Kagome...
She'd come back. I'd come back.
It didn't matter anymore. We were together. Naraku was dead. We were together...
She whispered something to me, but I was too lost in gazing at her to listen. I heard her voice, but not the words. Not the sweet sounding words of a nightingale at dusk, but its voice, sound and clear in my mind, purifying me. I smiled lightly at her voice as she spoke those words again.
My vision cleared and I studied Kagome's face.
Those dark eyes glittered in the light of dawn, happiness playing in their depths. A smile etched her lips, stretching her expression ever so slightly. A few hairs fell down her face. I raised a shaking hand and pulled them behind her ears.
She smiled further, and I smelled salt.
Looking closer at her, I noted tears on her cheeks. I wiped them away.
Kagome embraced me tightly, muttering those words again.
This time I listened, and remembered them forever.
The tone of her voice as she spoke the magical words, the way her hands were pressed to my back, the way she nuzzled my neck lovingly as I held her against me... It was magic. It was pure joy. It was bliss.
Forever I remembered her words; forever I knew their meaning. And forever I remembered the way I said them back, my love coursing with a passion in my tone, just as Kagome's sweet voice had formed the words, just as her blessed lips had created each syllable.
They were pure words, calming words, serene words. They were Kagome's words.
"I love you..."
Awww... I liked this chapter... did you? Don't just sit there, review!
Tell me what you liked, what I should never repeat again in future chapters or stories etc. And what you want me to keep doing...
Hope you liked it!
By the way, just to let you know... Naraku's not.... well, perhaps it's best not to tell you, after all...
Till then, Review!