A/N: I'm going to have to wear a bullet proof vest considering the plethora of curses and warnings I received for the last chapter. And when I say curses and threats, I MEAN curses and threats. (such as saying they'll stop reading if Kagome is truly dead and that they'll track me down and murder me. Some of them even came close to flames.) Well...that wasn't inspiration...but I thank most of you all...to an extent. Others, I'm biting my lower lip so that I won't start yelling. It's my plot...my playground...and I'm controlling. Muaha. It's either, you trust in my ability as a writer...or you don't. Up to you all. ^_^

It's my birthday! (Jan 30th) ^_^ I'm so happy! Hope you guys all like this chapter!


Anyway, semi-song chapter. It acts more like dividers in this chapter. I don't recommend listening to the song, but just read the lyrics and you'll know what I mean.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Yea? Yea.

Behind the Masquerade

Till Tomorrow

~

When every moment gets too hard
The end of the road can feel so far
No matter how much time we'll part
I'm always near you

~

His eyes widened at the scene, his heart almost stopping in its beating. He had seen the huge smoke rise towards the sky when he had gotten near the kingdom, and it had been a quick thirty minute flight by horse. But nothing compared to seeing the heartbroken civilians try to quench the fires burning through a quarter of their town. Some were just too despaired to do anything other than kneel before their fallen loved ones. Others looked lost and dazed, as if wondering what had happened and what they had ever did to deserve such a fate. Some children were running around screaming and crying, trying to find their mother and allow her to hold them to her breast. It was chaotic, even more so than the battle.

Getting off his horse, he didn't realize the animal was galloping off, perhaps back to its master at the battle. He just stared at the people, watching them throw water onto the homes. Corpses were littered on one side of the town with whole streets demolished and charred timber lying around on the ground.

Dawn was slowly beginning to show itself, but it was as predicted, a gray morning. It complimented the mood of the Komiya kingdom well, although it was anything but cheery. This was bad. Did the wolves take over the castle yet?

He looked towards the gigantic structure and it only seemed to glare back at him with darkness covering it. It sent a cold shudder running through him. His own home seemed so desolate and forbidding, and nobody was even going through the smashed gates he saw at the end of the road.

But then again, if the wolves had captured the castle, wouldn't the village gates have been locked, more citizens killed, and the castle patrolled by soldiers? He narrowed his eyes. He definitely didn't like the situation right now. Walking towards the castle, he suddenly squinted his eyes when he saw a tornado sprinting through the road from the castle, blowing people over and everything.

Miroku opened his eyes wide when he realized that it was something that had been in the castle. Gulping and adopting a serious expression, he stepped in the front of the tornado's path, holding out his staff in a halting manner. He just hoped the thing would stop and not plow through him. That would hurt.

The tornado seemed to skid to a stop, the winds dispersing as a wolf appeared from the whirlwind. He was dressed in expensive war armor and was glaring at the monk through sky blue eyes. Miroku noticed that he looked more impressive than the other soldiers he had fought against and he realized that this was probably the leader of the group that had come to ambush the Komiya kingdom.

But why was he running away?

"Get the fuck away, you peasant monk," the wolf-prince hissed, baring his teeth as he held up his claws in hostility. "Or I'll kill you."

Miroku decided it was better for the wolf to think he was a peasant. If he knew he was a cousin of the prince of the Komiyas, Miroku didn't think he would spare any blood relatives. "I shall submit to your request, if you will tell me why you are running away from the castle?"

Kouga frowned even more, looking back swiftly to make sure the thing wasn't following him. "Your prince is a fucking maniac." Stepping up towards the monk, he pushed the human away. "He's a damn psychopath killing animal." With that said, Kouga started to run again, the tornado moving off into the distance at an incredible speed.

Miroku gazed after him, realizing that at the speed the wolf was going, it was no wonder they had easily gotten to the kingdom in time. But what the wolf said meant more to Miroku than what he thought the wolf had thought it would.

Damn psychopath killing animal…? Shit…

"Inuyasha…you damn bastard…" Miroku muttered angrily, running towards the castle. He knew it. He just knew it. Something had happened to Kagome that prompted Inuyasha's youkai blood and now he was out of control, probably killing anyone inside that castle. It would be dangerous to even go inside the grounds, but Miroku knew he had to. He had to stop Inuyasha before his murdering rage extended out to the civilians.

I just hope it's because she's injured…please don't say she---Sango would be heartbroken.

Dashing through the gates, Miroku's face almost turned pallid at the corpses littering the entrance. He tried to ignore them. But the way their lifeless eyes seemed to stare at him made goosebumps appear on his arm. He quickly started rubbing his limbs as he ran around, looking for Inuyasha. How could he even live in this place anymore? It was like a horror house…there was blood splattered on walls and appendages lying around on the ground. Miroku didn't think he could ever walk the corridors without thinking about all the carcasses that use to be there.

He knew…something had happened here. Something had occurred that would change everything. He hadn't seen the bodies of Lady Komiya, Kikyou, Rin, or Kagome yet. That was a good sign. But how could they have escaped when practically everyone else who hadn't fled from the castle before, were brutally murdered? He couldn't even tell which had been killed by the wolves and which had been slaughtered by Inuyasha himself. All he knew was, he had to find Inuyasha and soon.

He wasn't sure how he could subdue the demon blood inside Inuyasha or even stop his cousin from killing him, but he knew it was his duty as a semi-prince of the Komiya kingdom to protect the town from further harm. They had endured enough pain for one day. Everyone would grieve for a long time.

Suddenly, screaming was heard from a room he had been heading towards. Eyes widening at the shock of someone being alive and the possibility of what could be in there with the someone who had survived, Miroku turned into the room without faltering.

He acted instantly when he saw the purple stripes on Inuyasha's face and the bloodied extended claws on his fingers, which were currently wrapped around Kikyou's throat as he lifted her from the ground. She looked horrified and petrified at the same time, her gray eyes finally betraying an emotion other than her stoical gaze.

"INUYASHA!"

This caught the full-demon Inuyasha's attention, and his rugged ears swiveled over to the monk before snapping a crimson gaze to the person too. He bared his fangs that had extended and were sharp and hanging over his lips. His blue pupils seemed to sharpen more as Miroku lifted his weapon while Inuyasha dropped Kikyou, who by now had marks on her neck and was wheezing as she sucked in much needed breaths.

With one hand up at her throat, she slowly moved away from Inuyasha and towards Lady Komiya and Rin who were huddled in a corner of the room. They too looked terrified, although Lady Komiya had seen this side of Inuyasha before. She knew what he was capable of and she knew that soon, he would slay his own mother as well if someone who was powerful didn't come to save them.

"Miroku…be careful…" she whispered, but this drew Inuyasha's attention to her and he slowly began to walk towards Lady Komiya.

Knowing that if he didn't act quick, Inuyasha would murder his own mother, Miroku lunged at Inuyasha, praying to Buddha that something would happen and he would still be alive and with his head on his shoulders by the end of this. He fought full wolf demons before and he hadn't felt as frightened as he did now. When Inuyasha lost all sense, he was only a killing beast, and Miroku knew he couldn't differentiate between ally and foe.

"SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Inuyasha didn't seem to hear as his scarlet gaze narrowed and he pushed Miroku away before deciding to leap at Miroku, claws out and ready to tear his cousin to pieces. Thanking the lords that Inuyasha made his attacks rather obvious when he was in his full demon stage, Miroku stepped out of the way as Inuyasha flew past him, his talons penetrating through the wall and appearing on the outside corridor.

Then the full demon twisted his hand around, pulling his claws back in a destructive manner, and causing the wall to almost blow up as the rubble fell. He pounced at Miroku again at a heightened speed, a guttural growl making its way out from his throat. Miroku opened his eyes wide as he side stepped again, barely escaping Inuyasha's swipes. He whacked the demon over his head at the momentum, and Inuyasha went crashing to the ground, his face almost skidding across the ground.

Miroku would have winced, but he knew Inuyasha hardly felt pain at this point. The demon just jumped back up, almost as if he hadn't felt anything, before lowering himself into another pouncing position. His limbs bent down as he extended both his claws outwards, looking every part the predator. Miroku knew he was in trouble. Inuyasha would soon lose interest if he didn't grab a hold of his cousin, and then he would attack the women in the corner.

They couldn't risk trying to flee either because that would only excite the untamed part of Inuyasha. The feral demon would give chase relentlessly; at least until he had clawed through their flesh and made sure his preys were dead.

Miroku sidestepped again as Inuyasha lunged, shouting at the same time, "What the hell happened, Inuyasha!? Why are you like this?! WHAT'S WRONG?!" Miroku hardly had any more words to say as Inuyasha suddenly used his impetus from the last lunge to leap at Miroku at an impossible rate.

Miroku's violet gaze widened as Inuyasha caught him around the neck, slowly squeezing the life out of his own cousin. "In…u…ya…sha…" Miroku rasped, dropping his staff and using his hands to claw futilely at the demon's arms. Inuyasha only replied with an animalistic snarl, squeezing harder. Miroku saw bright dots dancing before his eyes.

"STOP! STOP IT, INUYASHA! YOU'RE KILLING YOUR OWN COUSIN! STOP IT!!!" a girl screamed from the corner and Inuyasha immediately dropped Miroku, due to the interruption. He smirked in a feral manner when he saw a girl stand away from the rest of her group, a terrified yet determined look on her face. He forgot about the man on the ground, who was breathing in and out hard as he tried to rid of the darkness he had seen before.

"I don't know what happened, but Inuyasha, you have to----KYAAAA!!"

Miroku watched as Rin started screaming, while Inuyasha lunged towards her with his claws reached out. He really did want to move and save the girl, but his muscles would not shift and he could only watch as Rin lifted a feeble arm up to her face, looking away and waiting for the fingers to rip her apart.

Then Miroku witnessed a miracle as a blur appeared in front of Inuyasha, a snarl almost as bad as Inuyasha's on the other person's usual impassive face. Inuyasha was forced to slow down before he crashed dangerously into the new opponent, but it didn't stop him from trying to tear the man apart.

The man however, only replied nonchalantly as he himself swung claws at Inuyasha, "You will not kill Rin and you will stop your aggravating killing spree…hear me, Inuyasha?"

This angered Inuyasha however and the demon continued to assault, his moves now entirely too predictable for his opponent. "Your persistent attacks are boring me," the adversary whispered, creating a whip of light energy from the tip of his fingers. "If your perseverance continues, I'll be forced to kill you."

"No! Don't kill him…he's just---please, Sesshoumaru, don't kill him," Rin begged from behind her protector, tears in her eyes by now. She didn't want to see an older brother kill his younger brother because the younger was out of his mind right now. Lots of people had died enough.

The expression on Sesshoumaru's face was unwavering, but he retrieved his energy whip as Inuyasha leapt at him again. Moving with the agility only a pure-breed dog demon was capable of, he appeared behind Inuyasha and grabbed the demon's arms and locked them to his side so that he wouldn't attack his older brother.

"Stupid half-breed, listen to me and listen to me well," Sesshoumaru hissed, but still with the ever coolness he had in his voice. "I'm only not killing you because Rin asked, but your behavior so far is not befitting of a prince. Just because a wench of yours died doesn't give you the right to attack everybody else in your family."

He let his half-brother go and Inuyasha jumped away, before turning around to growl like an animal at Sesshoumaru again. He didn't have any recognition in his eyes whatsoever and Miroku was wondering whether the words even reached the hanyou gone full demon. But his blood turned cold when he realized what else Sesshoumaru had said.

Just because a wench of yours died…

A wench? Oh lord…he couldn't mean…Kagome…?

Miroku quickly crept over to Lady Komiya and Kikyou who looked a bit concernedly at him before moving to look at the battle between Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha again.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "Do you even remember Kagome?"

At the girl's name being spoken out loud, Inuyasha looked hesitant, as if somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered someone like that. Kagome…Kagome?

"If you attack me once more though…I'll be happy to send you seeing Kagome right now…" Sesshoumari said, before taking out something from his waist. He held it out towards his younger brother, narrowing his eyes in just the slightest. "Or, you can take it and you'll remember her."

The full demon still looked tentative, as if a part of him was begging him to take the sword while another screamed that he was supposed to be like this. His whole soul was supposed to be a killing machine with no feelings whatsoever. But that little part of him…screaming to take the sword…

"Catch it, whelp," Sesshoumaru muttered and threw the sword in its scabbard at Inuyasha, who only watched it fly through the air as if it was in slow motion. Something similar to gold flickered behind his orbs and he extended his hands out, ready to catch the sword although he knew he would be weak if he did so.

Do you want power…or a simple girl…?

He caught the sword in his hands and immediately everything rushed back to the surface, his real emotions and his control. The demon blood ebbed away, his long fangs retracted to its normal size, his claws shrunk, the jagged purple lines on his face disappeared and the golden color of his eyes rushed back out, washing away the crimson.

There was silence for a while, as everybody stared at the hanyou, who was only staring at Tetsusaiga in his hand and the blood coating his claws. Miroku figured he must be wondering what happened as he watched his cousin look around with wide, terrified eyes, looking at his mother, Rin, his fiancée who had marks on her throat, Miroku and then stopping at Sesshoumaru.

"I…I didn't…" he began shakily, the words he was trying to find unable to come to him as he lifted his blood-coated claws to his face. "I…killed them…?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "Enemies and allies alike. Although most of the servants in this castle were already killed."

"How'd you get here in time?"

"I'm a full-demon."

Something flickered within Inuyasha's depths as the words 'full-demon' reached him. "How did my murdering stop?" Inuyasha muttered in an insecure voice, clenching Tetsusaiga tight in his hold.

Sesshoumaru looked slightly annoyed, or as annoyed as he could look. "His little wench---" He motioned to Miroku, who frowned at the title his other cousin was giving Sango. "---found father and I, and father said you must have thrown away Tetsusaiga. He had it made because he knew that when you went to war, you'll let your demon blood take over and that sword would be the only thing keeping you sane. Heh…you lose control…just because your bitch is dead…"

Inuyasha was quiet, his bangs covering his eyes as his body shook. He slowly attached Tetsusaiga back to his side, but his hands were clenched in their blood, shaking into angry fists. But the anger was only directed at himself…and only himself…

"I let her die…" he whispered in a taut voice. "I really let her die…" he repeated, standing there for a moment longer before bolting out the door, rushing to some place to think by himself.

There was silence in the room, a thick, uneasy tension that caused most the people inside to look around edgily. What had happened? What did Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha mean? Then there was a voice that dared break the pressure and ask the one question everyone wanted an answer to.

"Who's…dead…?" Rin whispered, directing her question at Sesshoumaru, who looked at her through his cold golden eyes.

"Princess Kagome." He answered, in an indifferent tone. Rin was quiet for a while, before a tiny, almost inaudible whimper escaped her lips while Sesshoumaru continued to stare at her. He didn't miss the watery glaze that was taking over Rin's eyes as she collapsed against the wall, her eyes wide and blank.

Lady Komiya gasped, a hand up at her mouth as her eyes widened in disbelief. Kikyou only looked down at the ground, her hands in fists as she suddenly whipped her furious gaze up at Sesshoumaru, her rage burning in her eyes as she hissed, "You're lying."

Sesshoumaru continued to look emotionless as he replied with finality, "She is."

"She isn't," Kikyou whispered defiantly, gray eyes narrowing, as if daring Sesshoumaru to say otherwise.

He didn't really care. "She is dead and it's up to you to accept it. Kagome's gone. Her body is a few doors down, I'm sure you'll notice she's about as dead as a rock when you see her. I'll go inform my father about this. We'll hold her funeral tomorrow morning. Goodbye," he said in a detached manner, strolling through the door apathetically, ignoring the tears falling down Rin's and Lady Komiya's cheek and the fury in Kikyou as she got up to check if what he had said was true. It couldn't be. Her irritating little sister couldn't be ridded of this easily…never this easily.

Miroku stared at the two woman, hugging each other as they cried for the death of a good friend and someone they knew. He heard the strangled gasp from Kikyou down the hall, and he could feel his own grief take over, knowing that what Sesshoumaru had said was true. Only Kagome's death would push Inuyasha over the edge and into full-demon mode…only someone close to him.

She is dead and it's up to you to accept it.

What if they couldn't accept it? …What if Inuyasha couldn't accept it…?

Kagome's gone.

~

I'll be the shelter in your rain
Help you find your smile again
I'll make you laugh if you have a broken heart
Wherever you are

~

He ignored the sand running through his feet as he ran away from the burning town, the blood-filled castle---everything. His feet touched the first icy cold water of the morning and he shuddered as he waded out further, causing water to fly everywhere in his haste. The ocean was so frosty, but it didn't seem to matter as he dunked his hands and arms under the water, trying to wash out the smell of so many wolves' blood with a hint of some humans and other demons.

He nearly whimpered as he watched the ocean water grow darker in color, the blood washing off slowly but still caking his fingers like a glove. He clawed himself, almost wanting to make his own blood run over and cover the others'. It was overwhelming…how many people had he killed to have the scent so attached to him?

He lifted his right hand to smell it, but there was still the stench of blood---thick, unrelenting---seeped into his skin. His hand was almost cleaned, but the smell wouldn't go away. He could sense it and it wanted it off. It was on his body, everywhere…even in his hair.

Without a second thought, he submerged his head underwater, running his hands through his silver hair and trying to rid the red coating that too. The ice felt like it was pricking at every part of his skin, but he didn't care. He wanted the blood gone…and most of all, he wanted his memories gone.

Gasping as he emerged from the water, he covered his face, trying to rid the anguish that had taken a hold of his heart. It hurt so much, yet he didn't want to understand why it did. He had let someone die, and only then, he had realized how much he cared about her.

Immersing into the water again, he rubbed furiously at his arms, his legs, his clothing, his hair, his face---just about everywhere he could get his hands on. He didn't want to think. It would confuse him and only make him feel worse than he already was. Her death repeated in his mind, those eyes still haunting him, her whispering his name before she took in her last breath and the way she closed her eyes, forever.

"Kagome…" he muttered, as he allowed his head to surface slowly, his golden eyes pained.

"I'm sorry I didn't protect you…"

~

So many people come and go
Nothing can change the you I know
You'll never be just a face in the crowd

~

She looked around at the whiteness everywhere. Where was she? But most of all, why was she here? …Who was she?

She clutched her head, ignoring the foggy whiteness around her for a moment. It was hard to even think here. All she wanted to do was to keep walking to some place where it wouldn't hurt to think and she could rest. She was tired. Very tired.

She took one step, but something inside her stopped her movement. She had to remember before she continued on. She was forgetting something important and even if it was making her feel hurt, she had to remember.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to remember just what it was that was stopping her from reaching eternal peace. A very, very faint image of something golden flickered in her mind. Gold? What was so important about gold? Was she obsessed with treasure? Only treasure was gold…

A word seemed to hit her in the back of her mind that was associated with the gold, but she couldn't grasp it. She knew she knew what the word was, but it wouldn't come and she nearly winced when it pained even more while she tried to think about it. Things here didn't want her to memorize anything and the more she tried, the more it hurt.

Opening her eyes, she could see a light glimmer somewhere in front of her. It seemed to call out to her, as if promising that if she reached it, she would be in serenity. She wouldn't have to remember anything…she'd start a new life…she'd leave her old life behind.

She took another step.

No…

Something inside her called to her, in a form of a wispy voice.

If you go…you won't ever remember…

"I want to forget…" she contradicted the voice, and was surprised at her own voice. Was this how her voice sounded like? "I don't even want to remember my name."

But do you want to forget about something else…?

"What something else?"

The light twinkled even more, as if a bit angry she was resisting it. She took another step---one step closer to peace and tranquility. She tried to quench the voice, although she knew it had some sense in it that she couldn't achieve.

That's for you to find out…are you ready to forsake everything for a little peace? To forget? I thought you were stronger than that…

She stopped in her steps. "I am strong," she said rebelliously, frowning at the voice's accusation at her for being weak. She knew she was strong. She had to be…right?

Could have fooled me…you're just not ready to face your demons…you want to forget them.

"Demons…?" she muttered, moving her hands up to her head again. Demon…demon…why did that voice's words resound so tortuously in her mind? Was there something too important for her to forget? What could possibly be so important she would abandon the peace so close to reaching?

Walk on…if you want to put everything behind you…walk on then.

She wanted to scream as two sides of her raged a mental war. If she stayed back, she would be tortured with never remembering and hurting if she tried to reminisce. If she moved on, she would forget something she had a feeling was important to her. But she couldn't decide which fork in the road to take, and the only way out of this misty place was that light.

She took another step towards it, her eyes watering as she tried to push the nagging feeling into the crevices of her mind. If it hurt so much to recall her memories, then her recollections must be too painful to handle. She had a feeling she couldn't handle anything more. If she remembered, she knew her own soul would be torn apart, scattering into the winds.

Silver. There was a flicker of silver in her mind, and she dropped onto her knees in pain. It did hurt to even remember one tiny, insignificant thing as silver. Had she been a greedy person? Why was she thinking about silver and gold at a moment like this? And why did it hurt so much!?

Not all treasure is silver and gold…

The voice whispered one last time, before she felt it disappear. She collapsed onto the misty floor, sweat running down her forehead. She didn't understand what the voice meant, but she just knew, if she even tried to penetrate through the mental wall in her head, she wouldn't survive the torment.

"Silver…and…gold…" she whispered breathlessly, trying to defy the light sparkling like a new born star. It wanted her to go there, she knew that, but she knew she could never turn back if she touched it. She continued walking towards the light, reaching out towards the luminosity.

Please…someone save me…

Someone tell me who I am…

Someone tell me what to do…

What is silver and…gold?

~

'Cause I'm never gonna walk away
If the walls come down some day
All along when you feel the pain
I'll be there when you call my name

~

A/N: Yea, you all probably know the allusion I stuck in this chapter. It's from a movie…and it's my favorite movie of all times.

Anyway...you're all still left in the dark (although light is shining through, I tell you!) and everything just leaves you guessing...is she really dead or will some miracle that's not Sesshy and the Shikon come? Trust me, or not? It's one of the themes in this story too...