DISCLAIMER: As always, I don't own the original story of the Inuyasha series nor do I own the characters and I don't own the Chinese fairytale that I'm basing this story on. But as far as I'm concerned I do own the idea of mixing these two things together :).
'...Italic...': thoughts
"...": spoken words
-.-.-.-.-: time gap
-- capslocked words --: noises
-by Kittymui-
Crumbling wall of pride
::DREAM SEQUENCE::
Sesshoumaru opened his eyes and found himself in a small clearing of a forest below a dark sky without the moon or stars.
'Where am I?' he thought fuzzily and looked around him.
Nobody was there.
But when the demon lord tried to move, he found himself incapable of doing that. At the same time, a shock of pain shot through the left side of his body.
When he looked carefully at his own body, he found an arrow at his left shoulder, pinning him against a tree behind him.
Then in a flash, the small clearing was suddenly filled with people.
A girl equipped with a bow was facing him at a distance and a group could be seen standing next to her. She had drawn an arrow and was pointing its head at him.
Her long brown tresses made a wave in the air as she let go of the string and fired her arrow.
-- FWISSHHH --
The sound of her arrow flying through the air echoed in Sesshoumaru's ears as he watched its rotating silver head coming at him with great speed.
He cursed inwardly, realizing that he was being completely powerless for the first time in his entire life. There was no way he could dodge the incoming arrow and both his arms were disobeying him, as if they were paralyzed.
As the demon lord occupied himself with his shameful fate, he did not notice that a girl had left the group and was running towards him.
-- TSJAK --
With his numb mind, which could lose consciousness any moment now, it took Sesshoumaru several seconds to realize what had happened.
He cast his eyes downwards and widened them when he saw locks of raven-black hair.
Kagome had clung to his chest and caught the silver arrow with her own body.
Sesshoumaru watched how she slowly looked up at him with her beautiful navy orbs that were becoming hazy.
He could feel her trembling against his chest. "K-Kagome...!" he gasped in shock.
But not long after that, the girl closed her eyes and let go of his haori.
"Kagome!!!" he cried as he watched her collapse to the grass near his feet.
His eyes darted towards the female archer, whom he recalled to be one of Kagome's siblings. He tried to growl but ended up panting. "H-how could you!?!"
The woman just stood there with wide eyes filled with shock.
The group beside her, however, quickly made their way to the injured girl at his feet. They started to panic, but one of the girls shushed them all and gathered Kagome in her arms. "We have to bring Kagome back home first!! Now get ready to leave immediately!" Sesshoumaru heard her say.
She summoned her white wings and ordered the rest to do so as well.
But Sesshoumaru didn't care about them all; his eyes were only fixed on the unconscious girl that was about to be taken away from him.
He used the last bit of his strength to raise his heavy arm and reached out to her.
Just when he thought he could touch her face, the girl who carried her rose to the air using her wings and disappeared into the black nothingness above him.
"NO-O-O-O!!!!!" he roared.
And everything became dark again.
::END DREAM SEQUENCE::
Sesshoumaru slowly opened his eyes.
"Yo, you're awake?" a familiar voice asked.
The demon lord scanned his surroundings and found himself sitting against the base of a tree near a burning campfire in a small clearing.
His eyes traveled to the person sitting next to the fire and narrowed as he recognized his half-sibling. "What are you doing here?" he groaned, emphasizing the 'you' word with annoyance.
"You better stay still until you've completely healed, you're still too weak to move you know," Inuyasha warned.
Sesshoumaru growled at the pain coming from his stomach and shoulder. Although Kikyou's purifying arrow got rid of Naraku's poison, the hole in his abdomen wasn't to be underestimated. "Where's that wench of yours??"
"Don't call her that!" Inuyasha snapped, throwing a small branch into the fire. "She's gone away to cool off I guess."
The demon lord slightly raised a brow at his hanyou brother.
"Don't give me that look!! It's your fault to begin with!! If you hadn't been so stupid to be pinned down like that, I wouldn't have to ask her to remove the arrow!" he spat.
Sesshoumaru's ears twitched. He would definitely have killed the hanyou for insulting him like that, had he added the last part of his sentence a little later.
Although not showing it, he was quite surprised to hear that. What was his moronic brother thinking?
"Don't get any stupid ideas in your head!" Inuyasha snapped. "I did it because of Kagome."
The demon lord became even more surprised. 'Kagome?'
"She seemed kind of...sad...when she told me she left the castle," he explained. "...as if she didn't want to leave at all."
A moment of silence fell between the brothers as they both gazed into the calm flames.
"Why did she leave anyway? And where is she now?" Inuyasha finally asked.
But the demon lord didn't reply as he drifted into deep thoughts.
::FLASHBACK::
"Well...she...she left milord."
"WHAT!!!?" he cried.
Without hesitation, he jumped out of his bed.
He fell to his knees at first because of the pain coming from his abdomen, but he quickly forced himself to straight up again. "What happened?" he demanded with a low growl.
The green servant hesitated. "Milord...I don't know exactly...but I did saw Rin talking to the girl before she...disappeared."
Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "Get Rin," he ordered and sat down again on the edge of his king-size bed. "And get me my clothes and armor."
"Yes milord," Jaken nodded and excused himself of the room.
Shortly after that, the black-haired girl entered the chamber. "You called for me Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"Rin..." the demon lord began without turning to her. "What did you do?"
"M-me? Nothing," she replied quasi-innocently.
This time Sesshoumaru turned to look at her with a hint of red in his eyes.
Rin immediately felt weak at his icy glare and collapsed to her knees. "I-I just told her the truth. That everything's been a mess since she came...Sesshoumaru-sama has already been injured so many times because of her!" she confessed.
At the same time, Jaken arrived carrying the things Sesshoumaru requested.
The girl dared not to look up as the sound of the demon lord putting on his clothes and armor could be clearly heard in the silent room.
After shifting his swords behind his yellow sash, he turned and started walking towards the exit.
Just before he reached the open doorway, Rin's voice stopped him.
"Why?!" she cried. "I've been following Sesshoumaru-sama for 15 years now and I wasn't able to compete with a girl who had just entered your life a couple of weeks ago? Why!!??"
Saltiness filled the air and Sesshoumaru knew the girl had started to cry.
"I..." she sobbed. "I...I really lo"
Her sentence was cut off by the demon lord's low voice.
"Leave."
Without sparing her another glance, Sesshoumaru walked out of the room.
:: END FLASHBACK ::
What she did was wrong but...
No matter how angry he was at Rin, somehow, he could never stain his hands with her blood.
"Yo! I asked you something!!" his half-brother's voice rudely interrupted his thoughts. "Where is Kagome now??"
Sesshoumaru looked up at the sky. "She's home..." he responded dully.
Inuyasha widened his eyes. "What?! You mean...back to the moon??"
"Shut up Inuyasha. You're noisy," the demon lord growled irritated.
The hanyou stood up angrily and stomped his way to his half-brother.
"How could you let her go like that?! Weren't you supposed to protect her?!" he cried as he grabbed Sesshoumaru by the collar of his haori.
The demon lord scowled. "This Sesshoumaru protects no one," he replied coolly, denying the fact that he wasn't able to protect her because a mere arrow pinned him down.
"I've had it with you!!" Inuyasha growled and let go of him. "If you want to play cool, fine by me!! Just don't regret it!"
After he said that, he turned around and walked away, leaving Sesshoumaru behind.
-.-
Inuyasha stomped through the forest. 'Damn that Sesshoumaru! What was Kagome even thinking when she stayed with him?!' he thought to himself.
His inward complaining ended when he felt another presence.
An unknown yet calming scent filled his nose as he pondered about the identity of the approaching individual.
"Who's there?" he demanded vigilantly.
The sound of footsteps became gradually louder as a shadow appeared between the trees. It didn't stop walking and eventually came into the pale moonlight.
The end of her thick, loose braid of black hair billowed one last time on her chest as she came to a halt in front of Inuyasha.
The hanyou widened his eyes. But before he could say anything, the woman in white already beat him to it.
"I'm looking for Sesshoumaru, the demon lord of these lands, do you know where he is right now?" she asked.
Inuyasha couldn't believe his ears. It was the voice he never thought of having the chance to hear again. It was a voice similar to Kikyou's but filled with warmth and gentleness, just like in the past. "I-if you walk into this direction, you'll arrive at a small clearing with a campfire burning in the middle," he pointed at where he came from.
"Thank you," the woman smiled and passed him by.
'This isn't a dream...that's really Kikyou...right?' Inuyasha wondered bewilderedly.
It is then that he decided to turn around and stop the woman. "Kikyou!" he called.
Much to his surprise and shock, the woman indeed halted her step and turned to him.
"Do I...know you?" she asked with a puzzled look on her face.
Inuyasha swallowed hard. "Y-you're...Kagome's eldest sister...right?"
The woman gave him a surprised look. "Y-yes...but how did you"
"Kagome told me about you...that you looked just like a person I know...the one who tried to kill her before," he explained hesitatingly.
-.-
Kikyou widened her eyes. 'The one who tried to kill Kagome...? A woman who looks just like me...?' she thought shocked.
But before she could say anything in response, the sound of a soaring arrow interrupted the conversation.
-- FWISSHHH --
She watched with shocked eyes how an arrow flew towards her with great speed.
But in a blink of an eye, the dog demon in red placed himself in front of her and slashed the arrow in two with his clawed hand.
"Kikyou!! Come out!!" she heard him growl.
'Kikyou...?' she thought puzzled as she realized he wasn't talking to her.
A black-haired woman dressed in white and red came from behind a tree. "Step aside Inuyasha," she warned as she placed another arrow on her long wooden bow.
Kikyou's jaw almost dropped when she realized that the woman who stood in front of them resembled her like two drops of water.
"No Kikyou! Enough is enough!" the hanyou refused.
The archer scowled. "What has gotten into you Inuyasha? Can't you see that the woman behind you is just another cursed one like Kagome?! She's going to take you away from me!!"
"It is you who have been blinded by sorrow and wrath all this time. Ever since you've been revived, those were the only feelings residing in your body of earth and soil," Inuyasha reasoned. "It hurts to see you like this. That's why I'm not going to step aside this time Kikyou. I won't let you destroy the other part of your incomplete soul."
Both Kikyou's widened their eyes in surprise. But the one with the bow and arrow in her hands spoke first. "What are you saying?!" she snarled.
"I know it sounds ridiculous but please listen to me," he began. "The Kikyou I once knew was filled with kindness and love, but because of Naraku's evil scheme we ended up hating each other. After you sealed me with your arrow, you died filled with sorrow and regret. Ever since you were revived by that miko, you've never showed that kind and loving side of yours again."
Inuyasha took a short pause and continued. "That's why I believe it is possible what Kagome said before. The part of the kind soul you once had, have reincarnated and become Kagome's eldest sister. And the other part of your soul, the one filled with sorrow and regret, remained inside your ashes until you were suddenly brought back to this world. Until Naraku died, I could understand why you were filled with wrath and anger. But now that Naraku's dead, why can't you be like who you were before? Why??"
The expression on the archer's face changed to an awkward one. "Inuyasha...s-stop that nonsense at once...!"
In the meantime, the Kikyou from the moon pondered about the hanyou's story. 'Could it be true...? That my soul and hers were one before? Kikyou...and Inuyasha were love in with each other once...right?'
The more she thought about it, the more things began to make sense. Why she wasn't able to choose whom to fall in love with. Why she was forced to marry the one she didn't love. And why the Kikyou on Earth couldn't love the one who loved her back.
'It's our punishment...is this the only way for us to atone for our sins...?' she thought sadly. 'But...why do we both have to suffer...?'
And then she finally decided something. Without further thoughts, she stepped away from Inuyasha's protection and walked forward.
"What are you doing?" the hanyou asked surprised.
Kikyou saw that the woman in front of her had raised her arrow to point at her.
"Don't come any closer!!" she warned.
But Kikyou knew the woman was wavering as she noticed the uncertainty in her voice. She slowly raised her hand towards the arrow and pushed it aside together with the bow.
Without further thinking, she suddenly wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tight. Then, she turned her face to whisper in her ear.
"Release your wrath and sorrow...and live freely...I will be the one atoning for our sins..."
Kikyou had hoped her words would reach the woman. And she knew she had succeeded the moment she heard the clattering sound of the bow and arrow falling onto the grass.
-- CLATTER --
She slowly released the Kikyou from Earth from her embrace and took a small step backwards.
When she looked at her, she realized that the cold expression she had before had melted completely.
Two streams of tears could be seen on both her cheeks as she backed away from her.
Without a word, the woman turned around and ran into the woods.
"Kikyou!!" Inuyasha yelled and ran to the winged one's side. "What did you do?" he asked worriedly.
Kikyou only gave him a warm smile. "Go to her."
"B-but you" the hanyou argued.
"Trust me," she cut him off.
He hesitated for a moment but eventually returned a smile. "Thank you. I don't know what you did. But somehow I get the feeling I should say that. Please give Kagome my regards."
With that said, the dog demon dashed into the woods, into the direction where his Kikyou went.
Kikyou (from the moon) looked at the direction where the two disappeared and formed a sad smile on her face. 'Live Kikyou...live the life you wanted to...and be happy for the both of us...'
And then she turned to walk into another direction. The one Inuyasha had pointed to before.
-.-
The light emitted by the burning campfire guided her way through the forest and eventually, Kikyou arrived at the small clearing.
And there he was.
The demon lord was leaning against a thick roots of an old tree and had his eyes closed.
"Sesshoumaru," she called out to him as she approached him.
At first she thought he was sleeping, but the frown on his face proved otherwise.
"Why are you here?" he asked coldly, without opening his eyes.
Kikyou's eyes slowly drifted to the fabric covering the demon lord's left shoulder that carried some dried bloodstains. "You haven't completely recovered yet, have you?"
There was a short silence before he responded. "If you came here just to tell me that...leave."
"It's Kagome..." she said with a serious expression on her face.
Upon hearing her name, the demon lord slowly opened his eyes. "What about her?" he said with a tone that couldn't sound more indifferent.
Kikyou scowled. "How can you act so coldly as if it doesn't concern you at all?!"
-.-
Sesshoumaru's ears twitched at the woman's angry outburst.
What's the point in concerning? The outcome won't change.
'She's gone...and she won't be coming back...' he concluded inwardly.
But the winged one's next words made him snap back into reality again.
"I can't believe I couldn't even fulfill her last wish."
He turned to her fully. "What do you mean? Haven't you healed her after you took her away??" he asked with a frown.
The woman averted her gaze. "The visible ones were of course healed in a second...but Kagome's suffering because of the wounds in her heart...something we couldn't even heal with our powers." she spoke sadly.
But when she saw the bored expression on Sesshoumaru's face, hers reddened in fury. "I can't believe you're actually doubting my story!!"
Sesshoumaru chuckled. "You winged ones from the moon were the ones not keeping your word to begin with. How can you expect me to believe whatever you tell me? Even if it's about Kagome," he said while turning away.
"You're impossible!! You know what? You're totally unworthy of my sister's feelings towards you!!" she snapped angrily.
Although he didn't show it, the demon lord was quite surprised to hear this. But he still had his doubts.
"Then why didn't she use the Shikon no Tama to come back to me?"
Not long after he asked that, he saw her throw something to the grass in front of him.
Sesshoumaru slowly picked it up to have a closer look.
He widened his eyes when he realized what he was holding in his hand and quickly turned to Kikyou. "How?!!" he snarled, as he shifted his eyes from the broken marble in his hand to the woman.
To his surprise, two streams of tears could be seen on the winged one's cheeks.
"She wanted to be with you...but our father threatened to send countless armies after her if she did that. They even planned using the Shikon no Tama to erase her memory so that she would forget about you," she explained sadly. "That's why she chose to break it...in order to retain her memories of you...She couldn't choose to be with you knowing you both would be pursued forever."
For a moment, Sesshoumaru truly didn't know how to react to this and could only stare wide-eyed at the two halves of the jewel in his clawed hand.
And silence fell between the demon lord and the winged one.
-.-
"She's dying Sesshoumaru," Kikyou finally said after a short moment. "She's been locked up inside her chamber ever since and now she's refusing to eat or drink..."
She dried her tears with the back of her hand and scowled. "I came because I thought you were the only cure for her agony. Even if you don't have any feelings for her...can't you just fulfill her last with and go see her for the very last time?!" she argued.
When she received no response, her lips curled into an awkward smile. "But I guess I was wrong..." she chuckled wryly. "A proud demon lord like you would never allow himself to have a drip of compassion for such an insignificant girl. Let alone fulfilling her wish before she dies..."
With that said, Kikyou gritted her teeth in anger and turned to leave.
But not long after she took her first couple of steps, a low growl coming from behind her halted her.
"Do not...mock my feelings for Kagome..."
Kikyou turned around to the growl, only to find the demon lord grabbing the tree for support and pulling himself to a standing position.
His eyes were filled with anger as they locked themselves with her dark gray ones with determination.
"Take me to her."
Oehhh!! Things are getting really excited here!! Hope you have enjoyed reading this chapter because I had a very tough time writing it (writer's block). But here it is finally and I'm happy announce that the next chapter will be the FINAL one :). But it will take some time to be written since I'm having some deadlines next week. Plus I want to finish this story with a beautiful ending so I'm going to let my muses take their time :).
Lots of greets,
Kittymui
Next FINAL chapter: Words of the heart
-.-.-.-.-
Dum-dum-dum-dum!! Probably the chapter you've all been waiting for...or not :P. The two of them are leaving for Celes...but will they arrive there in time? Will Sesshoumaru be able to pull back Kagome, who's standing at the open gate leading to the afterlife? Please look forward to the final chapter!!
-.-.-.-.-
REPLIES TO REVIEWS:
Wake-Robin: Hehehe thanks for reviewing! I guess the only thing you can do is wait...and read :).
Rhexi: Thanks! Don't worry about that, I don't mind at all :). I'm glad you're back and still reading my story!
Angelic 0263: Thanks!! I'm glad you liked it!! Yup, just wait and find out :).
serenity2222: Hehehe sorry for the continuous cliffhangers but I guess that's my way of signaling the end of the story :), please forgive me. Why her father is so cold? Well, he doesn't know Sesshoumaru in person and had only heard from Kikyou about it. So hence the prejudices.
Jirurianu: Hahaha, just one chapter and everyone started to call him evil. Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad to hear you liked it!
anime-lavuh: Yup Kagome is dying, there's no denying that. I hope Sesshoumaru will arrive on time too...euhh what am I saying? I'm the one to decide whether he would make it or not haha...never mind...
Dorie: Thank you!
Kirei Baka Kasumi: Thanks for telling me!! I'll try to post the final chapter as soon as I have time!
rubychik09: Haha don't worry, here's another update :). Hope you liked it as well! Hahaha thanks for the hints, is this the outcome you've been waiting for?
aznchicki: Hahaha thank you very much!! I'll update as soon as possible!
Dove of Night: Am I happy to hear that :)! Thank you very much for telling me, it's very encouraging indeed!
Kyia Star: Thanks! How did you like the meeting I arranged between the two Kikyou's? Hope it wasn't too euhm...idealistic?? And thanks for telling me about the 'Kururo having holy powers' issue, if I didn't explain it in this chapter, it would become a small mystery.
Muki: Oh my, I have to be proud for making my readers cry? Actually I feel guilty instead hehehe. But anyway, thanks for reviewing! I'll try to update asap.
INUGIRL: I'm trying! I'm trying!! I'm really doing my best!! -glares at muses-
mushy moo moo: Hahaha well I'm not afraid because I will always finish stories I have started. I'm glad you like my story so far :).
Darkmoonswolf20022: Thanks thanks! I'll update as soon as I can!
DarkAngelB: Well, they do have their reasons for being so over-protective. Their daughter has lost her wings and they blame the demon lord for it. Plus, so far they haven't met him in person, they only heard things from Kikyou about he being very proud and cold. Well, you're intuition was right! Kikyou did run into her other self :). But things were a little bit different than you had described in your review, I hope you liked the way I ended their meeting hehehe. And thank you very much for such a nice long review!!
Guardian-of-the-night: I must thank you for reviewing another chapter of mine hihihi. I'm happy to hear that my story makes you think that way. How did you test go? I hope it went well :).
ISpikedThePunch: -bows deeply- Thank you so much!! It is very encouraging! I'm happy to know that you like my story so far! I'll try to update as soon as possible!
stoictimer: Hahaha thanks!! I'm glad you liked it!!
Shiroi senshi: Yeah I totally agree but I also believe that he still have his reasons for being so over-protective :) (crap...I was the one making him that way haha). Thanks for reviewing!!
Shadow-Demon14: I'm glad to hear that!! Thank you!!
Mistress Koishii: Thanks!! I'm glad you liked the chapter and understood the king and queen's selfish acts :)!! Hope you liked this one too!!
Why?What?Shutup: Hehehe this one's a huge cliffie too, sorry about that!! Look forward to the next chapter ne?
Jupiter's Light: Thanks I will!!
dragon of hope: Keep waiting because there will be more :). No really, thanks for your review!!
CryingDeath: Thanks for telling me! I will continue to write, will you continue to read? -looks sheepishly- and review? Hehehe :).
trivia: So short, yet so strong and encouraging! Thanks for your review :)!
Posted: 26 September 2004
Last Edited: 26 September 2004
Spelling check: YES