Inuyasha

Coming of Age

((Author Note: Second to last chapter now. Warning I did not edited this one.))

Chapter 26

With Naraku gone the world seemed at rest. Birds sang their joyful songs as the snow fluttered down from the hazy sky. Villagers slowly worked on rebuilding their wreaked homes while they sang and joked with friends. The demons that dwelled in the mountains rested their weary bodies, leaving their human rivals alone just this one time. The world was almost like paradise.

Kikyo stepped lightly along the freshly snow covered ground. She casually brushed a few snowflakes from her eyelashes as she made her way up the mountain past. Where was she going? Well even she didn't know that. She was wandering across the land offering her help to those who needed it. As she walked something on the ground caught her eye.

"What's this?" she said as she knelt down to the faded colored red spot imprinted in the snow. Her hand brushed aside a few snowflakes before she touched the deep red spot. Her fingers rubbed together as she felt the stick substance, "Blood."

Her eyes slowly rose as her gaze followed the faint bloody trail. The bloody trail didn't seem like it went far and Kikyo began to follow it slowly. The trail took her up the mountain a few yards until the area opened up to a small area that was flat. There were signs that a field of flowers once grew there, but there brilliant colors were suppressed under the cold winter snow. Kikyo glanced around in search of the source of the bloody trail. At first there was no sign of anything around until she spotted a slumped over body barred under the snow. She quickly ran to the fallen body and pulled him it up from the snow. Her excitement soon faded as her hands pressed against the young mans face. His skin was deathly cold and there was no sign that he was breathing. She gently set the young man back in the snow.

"Dead...such a pity....hmmm?" Kikyo leaned over to study the young mans face. Her eyes grew wide as she stared at his face. Slowly she began to realize that he was the tiger she had met in the villager earlier.

"A pity that you were to fall...weak"

Kikyo suddenly felt her neck being crushed. Frantically her hands went to her throat to ease the pain, but something was blocking her from doing so. Her eyes fluttered to close, but she forced them to stay open as she tried to meet her attacker. Her neck felt like it was going to crush at any given moment.

"I am not weak!" Tora said as he finally released her from his grasp.

Kikyo fell against the chilled ground, coughing, "How..."

Tora shook the snow from his body as he sat back down in the snow, "How what?"

Kikyo rubbed her neck lightly as she slowly regained her composure, "It's impossible you survived that."

Tora smirked lightly as he leaned back in the snow. His wounds were still dripping with blood while his eyes seemed to gaze off into some distant land. "Perhaps I am not really fully here."

Kikyo raised her chin lightly as she stared at him, "You are like me then? A body that is not real and needs to live off souls in order to survive."

Tora chuckled lightly, "Close, but not really. I'm quiet the opposite."

"Then you sold your soul to hell. It's your body that is empty."

Tora nodded as his long hair fell over his eyes, "This ravage body feels everything it should yet deep down I feel no real emotions anymore. Feelings are slowly leaving me. I can myself forgetting those happy times and even the sad. And all for what?"

Kikyo was silent as she listened to him. She knew the feeling well yet it wasn't her place to interupt him.

"I did this for Kisho...to help him. I'm such a fool," Tora said as his fist hit against the ground.

"Why do you call yourself a fool?"

"I failed to realize it wasn't me that helped him. It was he who helped me."

Tora slowly began to get up and Kikyo quickly stood up as well, "Where are you going?"

Tora paused a moment as his hand gripped the old tombstone to support himself, "I'm going where my last senses can take me. If I die then so be it, but I was given a second chance to help and I'm going to continue to help. Evil may have died for now, but light can never exist without darkness. Sometimes the greatest lights..." Tora looked to Kikyo, "can be turned into a shadow of its formal self."

Tora slowly began to walk through the snow. As he did he changed into his tiger form. His orange self moved gradually through the snow while Kikyo was left to watch his fading figure.

"A new evil...but where?"