A New Life: My Last Breath
Chapter Seven
Fears of the Past
Inuyasha growled to himself and whipped around.
"What's taking so long?!" he yelled, making the two other people wince.
"We're going as fast as we can Inuyasha." Miroku said calmly.
Inuyasha ran back and hit Miroku on the head.
"What was that for?!" Miroku yelled. Inuyasha crossed his arms.
"We don't have time for slow pokes like you." Inuyasha murmured. He turned to Sango. "Let's go. We have to find Naomi and kill that bastard Sesshomaru." Sango nodded as she hopped on Kirara (Why do they call her Kilala in the English version?). The giant neko youkai walked forward as Inuyasha stood beside her and looked back. "So, you coming or what?"
Miroku nodded, determained and hopped on Kirara behind Sango as she took off into the air.
Inuyasha was way ahead of them, soaring through the air.
He had better not hurt her. He thought bitterly. If he does, it will be his dark day.
Inuyasha landed after a few hours. Kirara made a soft landed beside him as she two of the climbed off.
Miroku shuddered. "I sense something evil." he gasped as he felt tugging at his feet. "What the--?" he looked down and gasped.
"Quicksand!" they all yelled at the same time.
"It's not ordinary quick sand." Miroku murmured. "It's the shinjitsu no sha. The sand of truth."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha yelled as the sand dragged him further in. He raised an eyebrow as he saw that the quicksand was red, red like blood. Not like a dirty brown colour like sand usually was. but red.
"It is supposed to show a person it's worst fears." Miroku explained. "Fears of the past, or fears of the present, fears of the future." he gulped. "It could be anything."
"But it's not real ne, houshi-sama?" Sango asked, she was up to her shoulders in it.
"Not physically." Miroku said. "But mentally, it's the worse experience of a life time. Many people die in this sand because their worst fears over come them. That's why the sand is red."
"It's sticky thought." Inuyasha choked as the sand reached his chin. "I can usually get out of quick sand. How come?"
"This sand is jynxed." Miroku said as his whole head went under the sand. Inuyasha strugged to keep his head out of the sand.
"Houshi-sama!" Sango yelled. She looked up at Kirara who managed to pull her tiny body out of the quicksand along with Shippo.
"Sango!" Shippo yelled.
"Kirara, help me out!" Sango yelled as she pulled her hand out of the sand and grabbed onto Kirara's paw, when she had transformed into her youkai form. But she slipped and dived under the blood red sand.
"Sango!" Inuyasha yelled. It was no use. Soon, his head also went under the sand.
It was weird. It was as if he really wasn't there. It was as if his body was flying freely. But he could not breathe. It figured because it felt like he didn't need to breath. Which was weird. He looked around and saw Sango and Miroku, blissfully unconcious. He called to them, but nothing came from his mouth.
At the moment he had tried to use his vocal chords, he felt his air go, and he blacked out too.
When he woke up, he wasn't floating anymore, he was in a forest. He could smell the scent of grass when it had just rained. The birds were chirping above him and he could feel hot sunshine of his face.
The place seemed familiar. He turned his head as he heard someone in the bush. He peered by the bush and saw the person walk out.
"Kikyou...." he whispered. Then widened his eyes.
It's supposed to show a person's worst fears. Fears of the past, present, or future....
The scene, the horrifying scene of 50 years ago when Kikyou had first pinned him, when it all had started. When both of them had been so blind.
She didn't say anything. She looked at him coldly while blood stained her white miko suit. But she ignored the blood. She held a bow tightly in one hand, and used the other hand to with draw an arrow. Inuyasha gulped.
Kikyou - no! He opened his mouth, but no words came out. His throat, it was parilized as well as his body. I can't move. I can't tell Kikyou to stop, and I can't get away.
He gasped as Kikyou placed the arrow between the string, pull, and fire the arrow.
"Inuyasha?" Sango murmured as she looked around. "Houshi-sama?" she stopped. Where had they gone? They were with her just a while ago before they were dragged in the sand.
She heard footsteps behind her. Her hand stretched out behind her and wrapped around the handle of her hiraikotsu. Her body relaxed when she saw who it was.
It was Inuyasha with Miroku, and trailing behind him was.....Naomi. Sango gasped.
"Naomi-chan. You're here." she said, speechless. Was this real? She pinched her cheek. It gave a slight shock of pain. Was it real though?
Naomi nodded and smiled as she hugged Sango. Where had she come back from? The thoughts left her head once she felt Naomi's body droop in her hands. She looked at her hands and saw....blood. Naomi was on the floor dead.
She looked around and also saw Miroku and Inuyasha sprawled on the floor, a familiar looking cut on their backs.
She looked yonder and saw a familiar shadow. The figure stepped forward and Sango gasped.
Kohaku.
His eyes were lifeless. He brought down his weapon and stared at Sango with harsh, empty eyes.
This can't be! Sango thought, he eyes furiously rolling aorund in her head. Kohaku is no longer in Naraku's control, so why?
Three words floated around in her head.
Past, present, and future.
Was this what Miroku was walking about?
She didn't have time to figure it out, as Kohaku ran forward, and stabbed Sango in the heart.
Miroku kept his guard up. He had heard many tales of the shinjitsu no sha. But had never conquired them in his life before. Everything was fake. He had to keep in mind. But what if Sango and Inuyasha thought differently?
He had to keep in mind that everything here was completely fake. A trap. If only he could explain more to Sango and Inuyasha before getting dragged into the sand.
To tell them that you must overcome your fear to flee the sand.
He wondered what their visions would be. The most obvious vision for him would be his kazaana. He was prepared of it. He had many experiences with his air void, both real and both fake. But the shinjitsu no sha always had some twist to it. Some shocking twist.
He looked around him. Though it was fake, it all seemed to real to him. The scenery, the smell, the things around him felt real, and the fear was defiantly real.
He wondered how Shippo and Kirara were doing. While he was under the sand, he could see Sango holding onto Kirara's paw, but she had fell in while Kirara and Shippo managed to get away.
People died on this ground because they had let their fears get the better of them. He was worried about Sango and Inuyasha. Even for himself. It depended on how much self confidence one had, and when it came to the kazaana, he was hopeless.
He started to walk. Taking each step very cautiously. Anything could happen in these lands. He winced. Up ahead from him were old skeletons. The scent of decaying flesh invaded his nostrils. It was nauseating. He narrowed his eyes and Houshi ran away from the rotting bones.
He stopped and took a sharp gasp for air. So those were the people who had died here, letting the fears get the better of them. They call it sand of truth, but it might as well be the sand of death. Very few have survived from here. He was afraid he might not make it.
Especially the three of them. Because real horrors lied in their pasts. If surviving this was possible, then they had awesome mental abilities.
He jerked his head up. He saw someone up ahead, waving their arms and running towards him.
"Houshi-sama!" the voice called. A girl's voice. A voice he recognized. It was dark where he was, but he could see the figure so clearly. A girl with a boomerang on her back with a small cat perched on her shoulder.
"Sango?" he murmured to himself. No, it can't be. Sango wouldn't appear to me in the sands. But it seemed to real.
"Houshi-sama!" she called again and ran into his arm. "I was so scared Houshi-sama."
Miroku winced as he grabbed Sango by the shoulders and jerked her away from him.
"Doush tou Houshi-sama?" she asked.
"Are you Sango?" he asked softly. Sango slapped him across the cheek. Miroku let go of her and rubbed his aching cheek. The pain felt like Sango's alright.
"Of course I am Houshi-sama." She said dully. Kirara let out a playful mew. "Who else would I be?"
"But how did you get here?" Miroku asked, setting down his hand.
"Kohaku." Sango said sadly. "He attacked me and I ran away before he could kill me. Then I found you."
"Inuyasha wa?" Miroku asked. Sango shrugged.
"He must still be under the spell."
Miroku nodded. He suddenly felt a slight itching on his right hand. He ignored it at first, but the itching grew furious. He pulled off the beads wrapped around his hands, resisting the itch.
"Get away Sango!" Miroku screamed as he started running away from her.
"Houshi-sama!" her voice called from a distance. Miroku let out a groan as a bright glow escaped from his hand, and his kazaana started to activate.
I can't stop it.He thought. I can't stop it. He sighed. At least I'm far enough that I won't suck Sango in.
As if on cue, he felt a sudden pain in his hand and saw the void grow and take over his entire palm. He let out a battle yell as he raised his hand. He heard a shrill shriek from a distance. He gasped as his body was petrified, his hand straight up in the air.
His eyes bulged out of his sockets as he saw Sango come flying through the sky, Kirara trailing behind her.
"NO!" she shrieked in a voice that he never heard come from her mouth before. So much fear overclouding his sight, but he couldn't stop it. It took one second, maybe less.
The wind stopped. He dropped to his knees and stared at his hand.
"Oh no." he breathed. "I sucked Sango in."