Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any other characters you might
recognise. If I didn't own them, then I would to a lot of bad stuff to
them, as evident from my fic. So yeah... I don't own 'em.
Thanx a lot for the reviews, it compelled me to finish this chapter in record time. See?? I'm easily encouraged so don't stop reviewing. Thanx again.
Chapter 2: Living Alone
There was uproar in the quiet village of Kaede's. The half-demon Inuyasha is dead. The news travelled like wildfire and by midday that day, every one knew about the tragic incident. That is, not everybody thought it was a tragic incident.
"Good riddance, I'd say. About time someone took care of the likes of him."
"Heard he died of poisoning, how lame is that?"
"Poisoning?? The half-breed died of poisoning??? I could've done that."
The people were shocked that Inuyasha had been killed of poisoning. The demon who was sealed to the tree because killing him was close to impossible. Then again, Kikyo had refused to kill him. Only sealed him, giving him another chance at happiness.
Miroku and Sango spent a busy day trying to find a secluded place for Inuyasha's burial and trying to make sure that the news of their protector's death does not leave the village. It would not be wise to have Naraku find out that his little scheme worked.
The burial was short and private. His grave was dug on a hill facing the village, under a tree he liked to sit on and watch the ungrateful people of the village and protect them from any possible attacks.
Miroku put a spell on the tree, which would protect the grave once the gang leaves to hunt for the rest of the jewel shards. It will refuse access to anyone who searches for the grave with evil in his heart. That rules out the possibility that Naraku or any of his minions would attempt to resurrect him and get him on their side by altering his memories. Far shot, but possible.
Kagome was a different story. She had stopped speaking. Accept for the single tear that rolls down her cheek, Kagome looked like a puppet, informing people of the death in a dead monotone voice. Her eyes were glazed and her smile had lost its radiance. Sango tried to take her to have a bath at a hot spring, since Kagome loved hot springs so much. Instead, Kagome got even more depressed and looked so broken that Sango burst out into tears.
Miroku tried to cheer her up by talking non-stop about nothing in particular. IT didn't work. In the end, Sango, Miroku and Shippo gave her a group hug that lasted pretty long. Kagome looked better but was still very distant.
Her condition was bad; the rest of the group took turns keeping an eye on her. At nightfall, she was nowhere to be seen. It was Shippo's watch and when they found him looking for her in the forest and then running back because he heard something. Miroku immediately ran into the forest looking for her and calling her. Sango searched the area on Kirara's back. Five minutes later, she found Kagome heading towards the well.
Kagome heard the familiar voice calling for her. She burst into a run and reached the well just as Kirara landed and Sango headed towards her. She felt like a criminal, all her friends were looking for her, keeping an eye on her. With one last look at Kirara and Sango, she jumped into the well and welcomed the familiar bright vortex.
She reached the well in her modern times almost immediately, but she didn't leave it. She remembered Inuyasha giving her his fire-rat shirt and telling her that it will provide some protection since she's human and thus weak. It was their second encounter with Yura of the hair and he was already worried about her safety.
She remembered the nights she waited for Inuyasha to jump out of this very well and try to talk her into going back after they just had a fight. No one will be coming to get her now. No one can. Kagome took out Inuyasha's clothes that she had taken with herself. When Inuyasha was being readied for burial, they had removed his signature red outfit and put on a white one. She had removed his beads with a heavy heart. She won't have to watch her mouth anymore; she can say sit all she wants and no one will throw a steady stream of curses her way. She took the beads out and rubbed them between her thumb and forefinger. She enjoyed the feel of them in her hands. They felt like Inuyasha. They had been worn by him ever since she first met him. She brought them close to her face and inhaled deeply. Even after washing them, they still retained the musky, and soothing, scent of his. She never figured out how he managed to smell so good without using any scented herbs or perfume, since it didn't exist. He always smelled of musk and earth. The kind that you smell just after a rain. She will never forget that scent. This was the only scent that excited her and calmed her at the same time.
She picked up her bag, which contained Inuyasha's clothes, and she had brought his tetsusaiga too. She didn't want Sesshomarou getting his hands on HIS sword. Nope, not going to happen. She looked at her watch; she had been sitting in the well for over an hour. She could almost hear Miroku and Sango yelling into the well for her to come back. It hurt her deeply to leave them like this, but she couldn't possibly stay back in a place where every stone every leaf, reminded her of Inuyasha. Every tree that Inuyasha perched on, every stone that he had thrown at her, and missed. She had always had a sneaky suspicion that he missed on purpose. Well, she won't get to find out now, would she?
She climbed her way out of the well and made her way to the house. She did it automatically, the legs doing the walking, the mind thinking of all the times he had pulled her into his arms and showed his relief at seeing her again. She started sobbing halfway through the courtyard and fell on her knees and cried. She cried for all the times they had spent together. She cried for all the times that Inuyasha had told her he'd protect her always. Liar! She thought to herself. Liar! Liar! Liar! She chanted to herself as the sobs became uncontrolled and she found it hard to breath.
She landed on her knees and threw the bag away from, as far as she could. It landed a few paces away from her, which aggravated her condition. She screamed and heaved the bag and threw it again. It landed a little further. She took the beads and threw them away. They landed near the door to her house with a loud clatter and slid up to a woman's feet. She bent down and picked up the beads, at once recognizing them and made her way to the distressed girl in the middle of the courtyard. She thought that Inuyasha had probably told her that he's going to go with Kikyo and Kagome had taken off his beads in answer. That's the only thing that could possibly distress her so much. And then she had heard her daughter screaming 'Liar' into the night air.
Kagome looked up to see her mother's loving yet concerned face. She composed herself, as much as she could anyway, and smiled at her mother. Her mother gathered her in her arms and spoke soothingly to her.
"Oh honey, everything will be alright." She spoke in Kagome's ear and stroked her hair to calm her down. Kagome didn't know how to tell her, so she kept quiet and nodded weakly.
"I'm tired Mum, I'll see you in the morning." The words barely left her mouth and she headed towards the house, picking up her bag in the process and went to her room.
Kagome's mother looked at the well. If what she thought was true, then Inuyasha should be coming back to get her in two days time. She smiled to herself as she fondly remembered the half-demon who had stolen their hearts. Hell, she wouldn't even mind if in a few years time, Kagome comes home and tells her she's marrying him. If the Kikyo business is sorted out that is.
Kagome closed the door quietly, not wanting to wake anybody else up. She needed a little time alone. She went to her dresser and started brushing her hair. Inuyasha's hair were so long and lovely, and he didn't even care for them. He always hated her for fussing over them, but they were just so beautiful. Not like Kagome's. Plain black. What a way to promote individualism.
She gave up on fixing her hair, everything here too screamed of Inuyasha. The broken alarm clock still sat on top of the cupboard. She smiled at the memory. The way Inuyasha had visited her once night and freaked out when the alarm clock had rung. He had broken it in an attempt to stop it and had run away when she stirred.
She changed into her pyjamas and tried to get to sleep. She couldn't. She decided that it was too cold and took out Inuyasha's red shirt and draped it at herself. Even when she was standing, the shirt reached till her knees and it smelled just like him. It inadvertently calmed her and she slept in that shirt weeping about the loss again.
She was running in the dark. All she could hear were Inuyasha's battle cries and Miroku's "Wind Tunnel", somewhere else she heard hissing and then a distinct Boomerang went whipping past her, missing her by inches. She ducked and noticed that she had her bow and a quiver of arrows. She kept running towards Inuyasha's battle cries and was devastated to find that they had turned to screams of agony. She saw a body on the ground at the distance. Upon reaching it, she found that it was Inuyasha's and he was lying at the feet of the snake demon who had killed him. Kagome readied her bow and arrow and was about to shoot when she realized that her fingers were glued to the arrow, she couldn't release it. Crying in frustration, she tried to pry her fingers off of the arrow and watched the snake demon disappear.
She ran to Inuyasha's body and her fingers were released from the hold of the arrow. She moved his head to her lap and cried over his death. She looked up when she heard someone approach. Sango and Miroku were standing behind her, looking down at her. "Inuyasha, he's..." Kagome couldn't finish the sentence, afraid that saying it out loud would make it real.
"Dead?? Yes, we know." Sango answered coldly. Kagome gave a questioning look and then looked at Miroku for help.
"Of course he's dead Kagome," He answered looking back at her, his eyes unusually cold, "You could have saved him but you didn't."
Kagome was shocked and she managed to find her voice to defend herself, "My fingers were stuck to the arrow, I tried, I really did."
"of course you did," Sango said sarcastically, "of course you did, but he's dead. You didn't succeed. He saved your life with his," She drew in a breath and her eyes flashed with raw hatred, "and you LET HIM DIE??" she screamed the last words and then turned around and walked away.
"He's not the only one you're allowing to die," Miroku said that in his eerily calm voice and walked away, leaving a very distressed Kagome hugging a very dead Inuyasha.
Kagome woke up sweating and crying. Her clothes were sticking to her and Inuyasha's shirt was half on the floor. She got up and went to the washroom; she took a change of clothes and took a quick shower.
"YOU LET HIM DIE???" Kagome nearly jumped at the ferocity of the voice in her dream. Did she let him die? She wondered as she studied her tear- stricken face. Did she? Could she have saved him? Not being able to look herself in the eye anymore, she looked around the many items that lined the shelves and lay hidden in the cupboards. Did she? Could she? The questions repeated themselves mercilessly in her mind until her eyes fell on her grandfather's razor. "Did I let him die??" Her hands reached over to the razor and her fingers relished the feel of cold metal. "Her hands reached over to the razor and her fingers relished the feel of cold metal. "YOU LET HIM DIE!!!" This time it was a statement, not a question. Kagome's eyes filled with tears as her right hand grasped the metal tightly and cut her left wrist in one swift movement. "I let him die." She looked at all the blood seeping from her hand and onto the floor. She welcomed the cool feeling wash over her body as her left hand sliced her right wrist. Staring at her wrists, she thought of all the blood that Inuyasha had lost when he was fighting for his life. She looked at the bathtub and saw Inuyasha sitting on the edge, his hands crossed in front of his chest.
"Inuyasha," she called weakly. Inuyasha looked up with hatred in his eyes. Kagome shivered at the look of unbound anger directed at her, "Inuyasha, why...?"
"Why? Don't ask me 'why'. You were the one who could save me but didn't. You had the bow and arrow; you could have burnt the demon to a crisp. Instead, you just stared at him. You didn't warn me, you stared at him, at me. You killed me Kagome. You killed me."
"NO!" she screamed, shaking her head and pounding on the bloody floor, "NO! I DID NOT KILL YOU. I DIDN'T," then she added in a hoarse whisper, "I didn't kill..."
Kagome lost all coherent thought and collapsed on the cold bathroom floor in her own pool of blood.
She was distantly aware of banging on the door and shouts of worry. Someone was calling her name. She tried to get up to answer the person calling her, but realized she was incapable of movement. She heard the bathroom door break and someone come inside. Her mother started crying and her grandfather called 911 (A/N: I'm not sure if Japan has 911).
Kagome registered being lifted and rushed to the car, but she gave in to the cool darkness before she reached the hospital.
Thanx a lot for the reviews, it compelled me to finish this chapter in record time. See?? I'm easily encouraged so don't stop reviewing. Thanx again.
Chapter 2: Living Alone
There was uproar in the quiet village of Kaede's. The half-demon Inuyasha is dead. The news travelled like wildfire and by midday that day, every one knew about the tragic incident. That is, not everybody thought it was a tragic incident.
"Good riddance, I'd say. About time someone took care of the likes of him."
"Heard he died of poisoning, how lame is that?"
"Poisoning?? The half-breed died of poisoning??? I could've done that."
The people were shocked that Inuyasha had been killed of poisoning. The demon who was sealed to the tree because killing him was close to impossible. Then again, Kikyo had refused to kill him. Only sealed him, giving him another chance at happiness.
Miroku and Sango spent a busy day trying to find a secluded place for Inuyasha's burial and trying to make sure that the news of their protector's death does not leave the village. It would not be wise to have Naraku find out that his little scheme worked.
The burial was short and private. His grave was dug on a hill facing the village, under a tree he liked to sit on and watch the ungrateful people of the village and protect them from any possible attacks.
Miroku put a spell on the tree, which would protect the grave once the gang leaves to hunt for the rest of the jewel shards. It will refuse access to anyone who searches for the grave with evil in his heart. That rules out the possibility that Naraku or any of his minions would attempt to resurrect him and get him on their side by altering his memories. Far shot, but possible.
Kagome was a different story. She had stopped speaking. Accept for the single tear that rolls down her cheek, Kagome looked like a puppet, informing people of the death in a dead monotone voice. Her eyes were glazed and her smile had lost its radiance. Sango tried to take her to have a bath at a hot spring, since Kagome loved hot springs so much. Instead, Kagome got even more depressed and looked so broken that Sango burst out into tears.
Miroku tried to cheer her up by talking non-stop about nothing in particular. IT didn't work. In the end, Sango, Miroku and Shippo gave her a group hug that lasted pretty long. Kagome looked better but was still very distant.
Her condition was bad; the rest of the group took turns keeping an eye on her. At nightfall, she was nowhere to be seen. It was Shippo's watch and when they found him looking for her in the forest and then running back because he heard something. Miroku immediately ran into the forest looking for her and calling her. Sango searched the area on Kirara's back. Five minutes later, she found Kagome heading towards the well.
Kagome heard the familiar voice calling for her. She burst into a run and reached the well just as Kirara landed and Sango headed towards her. She felt like a criminal, all her friends were looking for her, keeping an eye on her. With one last look at Kirara and Sango, she jumped into the well and welcomed the familiar bright vortex.
She reached the well in her modern times almost immediately, but she didn't leave it. She remembered Inuyasha giving her his fire-rat shirt and telling her that it will provide some protection since she's human and thus weak. It was their second encounter with Yura of the hair and he was already worried about her safety.
She remembered the nights she waited for Inuyasha to jump out of this very well and try to talk her into going back after they just had a fight. No one will be coming to get her now. No one can. Kagome took out Inuyasha's clothes that she had taken with herself. When Inuyasha was being readied for burial, they had removed his signature red outfit and put on a white one. She had removed his beads with a heavy heart. She won't have to watch her mouth anymore; she can say sit all she wants and no one will throw a steady stream of curses her way. She took the beads out and rubbed them between her thumb and forefinger. She enjoyed the feel of them in her hands. They felt like Inuyasha. They had been worn by him ever since she first met him. She brought them close to her face and inhaled deeply. Even after washing them, they still retained the musky, and soothing, scent of his. She never figured out how he managed to smell so good without using any scented herbs or perfume, since it didn't exist. He always smelled of musk and earth. The kind that you smell just after a rain. She will never forget that scent. This was the only scent that excited her and calmed her at the same time.
She picked up her bag, which contained Inuyasha's clothes, and she had brought his tetsusaiga too. She didn't want Sesshomarou getting his hands on HIS sword. Nope, not going to happen. She looked at her watch; she had been sitting in the well for over an hour. She could almost hear Miroku and Sango yelling into the well for her to come back. It hurt her deeply to leave them like this, but she couldn't possibly stay back in a place where every stone every leaf, reminded her of Inuyasha. Every tree that Inuyasha perched on, every stone that he had thrown at her, and missed. She had always had a sneaky suspicion that he missed on purpose. Well, she won't get to find out now, would she?
She climbed her way out of the well and made her way to the house. She did it automatically, the legs doing the walking, the mind thinking of all the times he had pulled her into his arms and showed his relief at seeing her again. She started sobbing halfway through the courtyard and fell on her knees and cried. She cried for all the times they had spent together. She cried for all the times that Inuyasha had told her he'd protect her always. Liar! She thought to herself. Liar! Liar! Liar! She chanted to herself as the sobs became uncontrolled and she found it hard to breath.
She landed on her knees and threw the bag away from, as far as she could. It landed a few paces away from her, which aggravated her condition. She screamed and heaved the bag and threw it again. It landed a little further. She took the beads and threw them away. They landed near the door to her house with a loud clatter and slid up to a woman's feet. She bent down and picked up the beads, at once recognizing them and made her way to the distressed girl in the middle of the courtyard. She thought that Inuyasha had probably told her that he's going to go with Kikyo and Kagome had taken off his beads in answer. That's the only thing that could possibly distress her so much. And then she had heard her daughter screaming 'Liar' into the night air.
Kagome looked up to see her mother's loving yet concerned face. She composed herself, as much as she could anyway, and smiled at her mother. Her mother gathered her in her arms and spoke soothingly to her.
"Oh honey, everything will be alright." She spoke in Kagome's ear and stroked her hair to calm her down. Kagome didn't know how to tell her, so she kept quiet and nodded weakly.
"I'm tired Mum, I'll see you in the morning." The words barely left her mouth and she headed towards the house, picking up her bag in the process and went to her room.
Kagome's mother looked at the well. If what she thought was true, then Inuyasha should be coming back to get her in two days time. She smiled to herself as she fondly remembered the half-demon who had stolen their hearts. Hell, she wouldn't even mind if in a few years time, Kagome comes home and tells her she's marrying him. If the Kikyo business is sorted out that is.
Kagome closed the door quietly, not wanting to wake anybody else up. She needed a little time alone. She went to her dresser and started brushing her hair. Inuyasha's hair were so long and lovely, and he didn't even care for them. He always hated her for fussing over them, but they were just so beautiful. Not like Kagome's. Plain black. What a way to promote individualism.
She gave up on fixing her hair, everything here too screamed of Inuyasha. The broken alarm clock still sat on top of the cupboard. She smiled at the memory. The way Inuyasha had visited her once night and freaked out when the alarm clock had rung. He had broken it in an attempt to stop it and had run away when she stirred.
She changed into her pyjamas and tried to get to sleep. She couldn't. She decided that it was too cold and took out Inuyasha's red shirt and draped it at herself. Even when she was standing, the shirt reached till her knees and it smelled just like him. It inadvertently calmed her and she slept in that shirt weeping about the loss again.
She was running in the dark. All she could hear were Inuyasha's battle cries and Miroku's "Wind Tunnel", somewhere else she heard hissing and then a distinct Boomerang went whipping past her, missing her by inches. She ducked and noticed that she had her bow and a quiver of arrows. She kept running towards Inuyasha's battle cries and was devastated to find that they had turned to screams of agony. She saw a body on the ground at the distance. Upon reaching it, she found that it was Inuyasha's and he was lying at the feet of the snake demon who had killed him. Kagome readied her bow and arrow and was about to shoot when she realized that her fingers were glued to the arrow, she couldn't release it. Crying in frustration, she tried to pry her fingers off of the arrow and watched the snake demon disappear.
She ran to Inuyasha's body and her fingers were released from the hold of the arrow. She moved his head to her lap and cried over his death. She looked up when she heard someone approach. Sango and Miroku were standing behind her, looking down at her. "Inuyasha, he's..." Kagome couldn't finish the sentence, afraid that saying it out loud would make it real.
"Dead?? Yes, we know." Sango answered coldly. Kagome gave a questioning look and then looked at Miroku for help.
"Of course he's dead Kagome," He answered looking back at her, his eyes unusually cold, "You could have saved him but you didn't."
Kagome was shocked and she managed to find her voice to defend herself, "My fingers were stuck to the arrow, I tried, I really did."
"of course you did," Sango said sarcastically, "of course you did, but he's dead. You didn't succeed. He saved your life with his," She drew in a breath and her eyes flashed with raw hatred, "and you LET HIM DIE??" she screamed the last words and then turned around and walked away.
"He's not the only one you're allowing to die," Miroku said that in his eerily calm voice and walked away, leaving a very distressed Kagome hugging a very dead Inuyasha.
Kagome woke up sweating and crying. Her clothes were sticking to her and Inuyasha's shirt was half on the floor. She got up and went to the washroom; she took a change of clothes and took a quick shower.
"YOU LET HIM DIE???" Kagome nearly jumped at the ferocity of the voice in her dream. Did she let him die? She wondered as she studied her tear- stricken face. Did she? Could she have saved him? Not being able to look herself in the eye anymore, she looked around the many items that lined the shelves and lay hidden in the cupboards. Did she? Could she? The questions repeated themselves mercilessly in her mind until her eyes fell on her grandfather's razor. "Did I let him die??" Her hands reached over to the razor and her fingers relished the feel of cold metal. "Her hands reached over to the razor and her fingers relished the feel of cold metal. "YOU LET HIM DIE!!!" This time it was a statement, not a question. Kagome's eyes filled with tears as her right hand grasped the metal tightly and cut her left wrist in one swift movement. "I let him die." She looked at all the blood seeping from her hand and onto the floor. She welcomed the cool feeling wash over her body as her left hand sliced her right wrist. Staring at her wrists, she thought of all the blood that Inuyasha had lost when he was fighting for his life. She looked at the bathtub and saw Inuyasha sitting on the edge, his hands crossed in front of his chest.
"Inuyasha," she called weakly. Inuyasha looked up with hatred in his eyes. Kagome shivered at the look of unbound anger directed at her, "Inuyasha, why...?"
"Why? Don't ask me 'why'. You were the one who could save me but didn't. You had the bow and arrow; you could have burnt the demon to a crisp. Instead, you just stared at him. You didn't warn me, you stared at him, at me. You killed me Kagome. You killed me."
"NO!" she screamed, shaking her head and pounding on the bloody floor, "NO! I DID NOT KILL YOU. I DIDN'T," then she added in a hoarse whisper, "I didn't kill..."
Kagome lost all coherent thought and collapsed on the cold bathroom floor in her own pool of blood.
She was distantly aware of banging on the door and shouts of worry. Someone was calling her name. She tried to get up to answer the person calling her, but realized she was incapable of movement. She heard the bathroom door break and someone come inside. Her mother started crying and her grandfather called 911 (A/N: I'm not sure if Japan has 911).
Kagome registered being lifted and rushed to the car, but she gave in to the cool darkness before she reached the hospital.