Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who voted for me in Round 1.
Round 2 just started, so if anyone of you still want to vote, be my
guest. Link is in my profile, as always.
Sorry to some who have been displeased with the plot thus far. There's slight fluff in this chapter, and then it gets oh-so-pleasantly ripped away.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, per se, I shall one day.
Behind the Masquerade
The Difference You Can't Find
A day had passed since the ball. Nothing exciting or extravagant had occurred, other than for a few of the guests asking Kagome to dance with her. Although she had consented to a few, she knew that she wasn't dancing with her soul, and as such, she didn't bother to dance with more men, especially not when the waltz song came on.
The next day had seemed ordinary, even if people were running left and right to get the wedding plans done. It didn't seem strange---really!---even if the Queen told the servants that Inuyasha was busy today and to bring further questions to Kikyou, her husband, or herself. Kagome just wandered around like a lost soul, making small comments about this particular plan or giving advice to what colors would match. However, most of the time, she looked at everything like the reaper would look at a passing train…as something that was foreign and unusual.
"Hey Kagome!" a voice called out cheerfully, for the first time that day, and Kagome turned around to see Sango coming up to her with a smile on her face. Kagome wondered just what Miroku had done to make her cousin this happy; Maybe she didn't want to know.
"Hi Sango," Kagome answered.
"Do you know where…he is?" Sango asked, still slightly edgy saying Inuyasha's name around Kagome.
"No," Kagome replied, before adding, "Why?"
"I haven't seen him all day, and I have something to ask him, but he's not even up in his room." Sango looked up thoughtfully, as her eyebrows came down in contemplation. "I've been looking around every crevice of this castle as well."
"He's probably just somewhere," Kagome said, although she remembered that she too hadn't seen the hanyou all day. That wasn't too suspicious however, was it? He was probably just hiding from all wedding plans because seeing as this was him, even Inuyasha would be frightened of holy matrimony.
"Well, whatever, I suppose. If I see him, then I'll see him. Bye Kagome!" Sango waved and floated down the corridor, most likely off to see Miroku or continue finding Inuyasha.
Kagome blinked for a while in the middle of the corridor, before she continued walking a few more steps to arrive at her room. Slipping in, her eyes fell upon the door connecting her room to Inuyasha's. However, Sango had said he wasn't in his room, so her eyes wavered over to the drawers.
Stepping over to them, she felt something nag at the back of her head. Opening them, she saw the rosaries from what seemed like a long time ago. Picking them up, she stared at the beads and rolled them around her fingers, her eyes apathetic. "Where are you…maybe you can help me escape from this nightmare…" she whispered, before suddenly feeling a cold and chilly wind blow in through the window.
Turning her head, she saw that her curtains were fluttering around innocently, caught in the night wind. Pushing the drawers closed while still holding the rosaries, she walked over to it and pushed the white curtains to the side, stepping out into the balcony.
The wind instantly tore at her, blowing harder and rushing into the room. Kagome felt herself take in a deep breath, before letting it go in one swift exhalation. Her eyes drifted to the heavens above and since clouds were still far off in the distance, the stars shone as brightly as thousands of tiny sparkles. She couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight, knowing that not many people stopped in their daily life to gaze and appreciate the wonder of nature. If she could, she would always stare up at them, but knowing that other matters were more pressing, she herself was one of those people who never stopped to realize the beauty around her.
Staring at the dark canvas for a few more minutes, Kagome's eyes were soon drawn to gaze over at other sights. Her eyes gazed over the bleak ocean, seeing the glistening of the waves reflected by the moonbeams. Her eyes washed over the village, seeing a few tiny lights flicker in the part of the town that hadn't been burned to a crisp. With time however, the village would recover.
Then suddenly, as if a disturbance to her observing, she heard a sound down on the grounds. Instantly responding to it, her eyes snapped down and she saw a figure wrapped in a cape, cursing under their breath, although she couldn't make out what they were saying. She recognized the voice however. "Inuyasha?" she whispered breathlessly, knowing that with his hearing, he could hear her, and if he looked up, he could see her with his eyesight.
However, the figure didn't respond, although they did look around warily, as if making sure there were no intruders. They looked up, and Kagome gasped when she noticed that the eyes weren't golden, but a brilliant violet shade. This wasn't Inuyasha, and nobody else but Miroku had such colored eyes. Yet, Miroku wouldn't be sneaking around at night, and definitely not this clumsily.
Without thinking, Kagome turned heels and fled out of her room, determined to see who it was down on the grounds. If it really was an intruder---especially one sent by Naraku---she would have to make sure the person didn't do anything to the people of the castle.
Fleeing down the stairs and nearly crashing into some of the maids, she bit her lips after a few minutes and ran towards the main door. Dashing out of the castle, her eyes darted around to look for a silhouette in the darkness, but to no avail. She gripped the beads in her hands tighter, and ran towards the main gate, seeing that the guards had fallen asleep. She would usually sympathize with them, but right now, she was angry that they had neglected their duty and failed to see who had just exited.
Now she had two directions she could take; One led to the village and the other led to the ocean. It all mattered what route the person had taken, and not able to read other people's mind, Kagome took one step towards the village.
Then, as if out of impulse, she gazed off in a scrutinizing manner towards the ocean. For some reason, the one step she took towards the village felt cold and distant, and something in her heart told her to go to the ocean. The village was quiet and dark, but somehow, Kagome could hear the call of the ocean summoning her with the crash of its waves. Subsequently, she could suddenly pick out a figure moving along the tide---something so small but stood out starkly against all things natural.
"Who are you?" she muttered out loud, before changing directions and following the person in the shadows.
---
"You understand your mission, do you not?"
"Yes, I do."
"You are to push her, but you are not to kill him."
"Yes, sister."
"Kill him, and he will kill you."
"I understand."
"Then go."
"Of course."
Kagura gazed at the long, sleek creature as it submerged into the ocean's water, its tail flipping up dangerously close to her before speeding off in a line of bubbles which appeared rapidly on the ocean surface. Her crimson eyes sharpened as the bubbles slowly popped and disappeared, more obvious bubbles appearing further away.
The wind youkai couldn't understand why Kanna had told her that Naraku had ordered her to tell the ocean youkai that information she had just relayed. Usually, the man presented himself a sinister threat so that the counterpart wouldn't deny his order, but not this time.
"Yes, Kanna?" she asked out of the blue when she felt her older sister by age slowly materialize behind her, standing out against the black backdrop in her white attire.
"Naraku wants you to follow him," Kanna whispered, holding her mirror in its usual place.
"Aren't you suppose to be at the castle?" Kagura said, changing subjects.
"Naraku called me," Kanna replied in a vague manner, as the girl's ebony eyes gazed indifferently at the wind youkai, waiting for an answer to the command.
Kagura looked out towards the horizon, allowing the wind---her in essence--- to wrap itself comfortably around her aura. The stern look in her eyes disappeared for a moment before they were back in place, as she took out a feather from her hair. "I'm going right now."
"Naraku told you to tell Kagome he'll extend the deadline till the wedding, but this is sent as a warning. He also tells you to make sure the minion doesn't kill Inuyasha…The thing doesn't listen sometimes," Kanna said, as she watched her sister transform her feather into the flying contraption.
"Wouldn't Naraku be watching anyway?" Kagura asked in a dry voice, knowing that Naraku would be watching everyone's move like a predatory cat. She got on her feather, ascending slowly into the air as she looked down at Kanna, waiting for an answer.
Kanna continued to stare at Kagura with the same calm look, as she answered simply, "No."
Kagura blinked slightly as she frowned, before brushing the answer off. "Whatever," she muttered, flying off in the direction the youkai had went, although her mind soon started kicking.
---
"How fucking annoying…" he mumbled in a snappish tone as he crossed the sand warily. The walk looked much too clumsy to be that of a normal human's, or it seemed as if the person was not capable of using the wonder of a human's leg. "At least no one found out…" he continued to mutter as he narrowed his eyes in an effort to make out any familiar structures in the dark. However, it felt useless. "How does Miroku survive like this…?" he whispered incredulously.
The whole world seemed to have been cast in an almost complete shroud of darkness, and what he could have usually seen a quarter of a mile ahead had been drastically reduced. Perhaps it was the helpless feeling which angered him, or perhaps it was the memories associated with it, but whatever the reason, he despised the new moon with a passionate loathing.
He had been walking for a good twenty minutes, and he bitterly remembered that it would have only taken him five minutes as a hanyou. "Dumb blood," he cursed, although of course, he wasn't cursing his mother or father for actually giving him this blood, but simply cursing his fate at having him be Inuyasha and not a random demon or human. His fate seemed to be dead set on making his life hell, and frankly, it was doing a darn good job at it.
Now, if Inuyasha had been the normal hanyou as he were, and not experiencing his monthly thing, the girl following him would have been heard or sensed already. However, seeing as he was preoccupied with his problems, the girl went unnoticed.
Inuyasha bit his lower lip as he forced himself not to accidentally trip over a simple thing such as a seashell. His legs felt so foreign and powerless at the moment that it almost felt like it didn't belong to him. However, coincidence as it be, he was too busy concentrating on where to step and in the absence of his attention, his cape flew from his body considering it had not been clasped on properly.
Out of pure impulse and reaction, Inuyasha twirled around to catch his cape before the wind took it far from his reach. This action however caused him to see a dark silhouette a good fifty feet away from him, but not completely invisible due to the moon light offering its help to the pitiful hanyou-gone-human.
His heart instantly skipped a beat in its music around the same time the shape froze when the cape rested at the person's feet. "Who's there?" Inuyasha shouted out, hoping the person was just an innocent trespasser who just happened to be behind him.
The person remained quiet and this only served to prove to Inuyasha that the person wasn't a mere trespasser. "You know, I can see you. If you don't answer, I swear I'll rip you apart," he threatened, although secretly he knew that was a statement backed up with nothing but thin air.
The form was silent for a few seconds, before an uneasy accusation came forth, "Inuyasha…? Is that you…?"
Although Inuyasha's hearing had dulled---almost like when someone puts cotton in your ears to prevent you from hearing---he could still distinguish the voice as Kagome's.
"Kagome…?" he asked uncomfortably.
"…Yes?" was the timid reply.
There was a moment's silence.
"…Fuck," he cursed with complete feeling, and turned to make a run towards the cliff, not wanting to have to explain everything to her.
However, Kagome seeing him turn to escape, instantly cried out, "Wait! Inuyasha! What's wrong?"
He didn't listen to her as he began to run away, not once looking back at the girl who was left stunned for a few seconds at seeing the completely new form of the hanyou. Yet, when she got over the initial shock, she quickly picked up the cape by her feet and ran after him. However, even as a human, Inuyasha could outrun the girl who was still crying for him to stop.
"Inuyasha!" she shouted out in vain, trying to keep up with him. "Stop running!"
If he had his normal dog ears, it would have been flat on top of his head to prevent himself from hearing her voice. But it was already taking all his effort to run properly---but oh so slowly---across the sand and away from her.
"KYYAA!" A shriek split through the air, and caused Inuyasha to instantly snap back his head to see what was wrong.
Kagome had seemingly tripped over something, and the nervous Inuyasha looked back towards the cliff before settling his eyes on Kagome. He could just be cruel and continue on, and leave her alone and possibly injured, but unfortunately, that little nagging feeling inside of him prevented him from even taking one step. Perhaps it was his weak human blood as well, but he wouldn't know.
Walking back to kneel down next to the girl who was looking at her red hand where sand had forced some of her skin to peel off, he took her hand gently. "You okay?" he muttered, knowing that his voice had lost its usual gruffness in it as well. He never felt so vulnerable.
She retracted her hand sharply and nursed it herself, muttering a faded, "Yes…"
Feeling slightly shunned, he was about to get back up and leave her, before it was her time to catch a hold of his hand.
"Don't…" she whispered, looking almost innocently childish up at him with her big, round eyes. In the dark, the azure color seemed to sparkle like sapphires caught in light, and he felt himself biting his lip to keep his thoughts in check.
"But you're okay," he resisted, looking away and refusing to keep eye contact with her. He knew his eye color was different, and his white hair was now black, and to have someone stare at you while you felt like a piece of meat being scrutinized by hungry dogs was an uncomfortable feeling.
"You're not," she insisted doggedly, not letting go of his hand until he kneeled down again.
"I'm perfectly fine," he claimed as he started to frown, feeling even more awkward as Kagome looked at him from head to toe.
"But---"
"I know."
"You're---"
"Not a hanyou."
"Why?"
"Because…"
Kagome continued to stare at him, fascinated at the completely new Inuyasha presented in front of her. If anyone had told her Inuyasha could warp into a physically opposite of him, she wouldn't have believed them, but here he was, looking like…a human! "You're a human…"
"No, I'm not. What ever gave you that idea?" Inuyasha snapped sarcastically, his eyes traveling down to the hand on her lap. It looked even redder and more sore now.
Kagome followed his eyes and saw that her hand looked horribly scratched up, and not wanting to be embarrassed, withdrew to hide them in her sleeves. "It's fine," she grumbled.
"No, it isn't," he said, and grabbed her lower arm before she could resist, pulling her kimono sleeve up to reveal her red hand. "Hold still," he muttered, and quickly tore a piece of material from his own fire rat kimono. Brushing the sand lightly off her hand, he made sure there was nothing left before tying the strap of material around her hand.
This caused Kagome to flush instantly as she took her eyes away from the sight of Inuyasha wrapping cloth around the scratch. Sure, it was a simple act most likely required from any male with manners, but it was Inuyasha and to have him show her such care and consideration was, well, extraordinary.
Inuyasha's eyes softened as he maneuvered his hands around her soft ones, going tenderly so as not to hurt her. After a few moments with a clumsily wrapped hand, he held hers for a few seconds more, seeing just how alike both their hands were when he was a human. A frown immediately arrived upon his face as he let her hand go and turned away, although he didn't make any moves to allow Kagome to assume he was going to try and run away again.
She lifted her scratched right hand up, staring down warmly at the piece of red cloth. Fingering it lightly, she could feel the ocean wind blow around the two of them as it began to pick up in speed. This went slightly unnoticed to the girl though as she looked from her hand to Inuyasha, who was stubbornly staring to his right. "Thank you," she said.
"Whatever," he grumbled, although Kagome could see a visible blush appear on his face. She smiled.
"Want to explain now?"
Inuyasha muttered some things under his breath before his amethyst orbs zipped to her own and burned deep into the sapphires. "I'm a hanyou. Hanyou have their monthly things."
Kagome stared naively at him, wondering just what he was referring to with his choice of words, before she slowly came to the conclusion and started blinking. "You turn into a human once a month…?" she questioned, not knowing that little fact about hanyou.
"Yea, whenever it's the new moon," he told her reluctantly, as if not wanting too many to know about that little detail.
This caused Kagome to look up, seeing that there was indeed no moon in the star-strewn sky. Gazing back at Inuyasha, her mouth was somewhat opened in surprise. "And I suppose you don't like that."
"Of course I don't like it!" Inuyasha snapped at her, before he looked away from her again, only occasionally glimpsing at her from the corner of his eyes. "I'm so weak, so useless, and I can't protect anyone in this state. I can't see properly, I can't hear, and I feel like I have been suddenly thrown into a shell I never belonged in. I hate being human. I'm so different."
There was a strained silence after Inuyasha's outburst where Inuyasha fiddled with the sand while Kagome stared down at her wrapped hand. The only noise to penetrate the silence was the crash of the waves not too far off---only five feet in fact---and a foreign cry.
"I don't see the difference…" Kagome whispered in a voice that broke the quietness, although Inuyasha didn't quite catch it. He looked confused for a moment at not being able to understand what she had just mumbled, before he just gave up.
"Will you leave me alone now?" he asked in an annoyed tone as he got up from his seated position, dusting the sand off his rear. He looked down at her, offering her a hand which she took gratefully with her left hand.
"No, I'm not going to lea---" she whispered while he heaved her up, but not quite entirely because she suddenly felt her hand go slack and her eyes go wide as she saw something tower over Inuyasha and herself.
Inuyasha raised his eyebrow, oblivious to the thing blocking out the light from the stars. "Wha---"
"DUCK!" Kagome screamed and in a responsive moment, grabbed at his arm with both her hands---her injured one included---and pulled down with all her weight. This caused him to come down when he had been helping her up, and although Kagome felt all the wind knocked out of her as he landed solidly on top of her, she could see that the grey, slimy, and snake-like tentacle with sharp knife-like razors at the end of it swipe at thin air where Inuyasha would have been.
While Inuyasha was trying to get off of her, her sharp eyes followed the limb as it retracted quickly into the water. "There's something in the water!" she shouted, as Inuyasha stumbled up while clutching at Kagome so that if the thing tried to attack again, it wouldn't try to get her.
"What is something!?" Inuyasha cried wildly, having not seen the thing.
Kagome kept her gaze trained at the ocean where bubbles had emerged from where the tentacle had dived under, and said in a loud voice, "A tentacle or a tail or something with what looked like sharp razors at the end of it."
"Kagome…back away from the water…" Inuyasha commanded as he held tightly onto the girl's hand, feeling his heart beating erratically and frantically.
Kagome felt herself breathing deeply as she did as she was told, both of them having their eyes directed at the ocean, which now didn't look so warm and inviting as it had a moment ago. She unconsciously slipped her hand into Inuyasha's and squeezed tightly, feeling as if her heart would beat its way out of her chest any moment.
"Kagome…run back…" Inuyasha further instructed.
She didn't listen to him this time as she whirled around instantly with a glare on her face, and was about to say that he was sprouting rubbish. But, something in the human Inuyasha's eyes caused her to stop her line in mid-thought as they stared at each other for what was simply two seconds.
However, these two seconds were all the creature needed as it chose to assault the two again, its long limb shooting out of the water as fast as lightning and flying straight for Inuyasha. It looked like it would run him through, before it chose to change its course and simply tear at the material across Inuyasha's back, before it coiled itself tightly around Inuyasha's ankle, its blades cutting into his leg.
Kagome screamed when she felt Inuyasha's hands abruptly ripped away, its warmth leaving her. "INUYASHA!" she yelled in terror as she watched the creature slam Inuyasha to the ground and drag him towards the ocean, as if he was prey.
She ran after it, the fear in Inuyasha's eyes repeating its image in her head as she watched him get pulled under the water. "No!" Reaching the water's edge a few moments later, she didn't even stop to think as she ran out into the ocean, her heart beating painfully. "Inuyasha!" she repeated, all set on diving under just to see where he had gone, before a sudden ripple emerged from the ocean's surface. She stopped in her advance, and a few seconds after, something came rushing out of the water, causing a tide to come up with it as water rained down upon the girl.
Coughing when some of the water went up her nose and into her mouth, Kagome hastily rubbed at her eyes to see through the mist at what had taken Inuyasha away. Her breath caught in her throat when she was forced to look a good twenty feet up in the air at a long, slithering snake-like sea creature, its slanted scarlet gaze staring straight down at her as it opened its mouth to reveal rows of sharp teeth. It had no hands and the thing she had mistaken for a tentacle had been in reality, his tail.
Her gaze immediately trailed to see Inuyasha dangling upside-down with blood running down his leg as parts of his pants along with his shirt was completely torn from his body. However, what caught her attention more than the blood, was the scar on his back, deep and jagged, and perceptible to even the weak of eye sight. Some words mouthed its memory in her mind as she stared at the scar.
Since I was only a young boy, I wasn't exactly graceful and I fell really hard…so hard in fact, that I made a deep and ugly cut in my back, which is now a scar.
"Inuyasha…" she whispered, feeling like something had just punched her in the guts. Things started to piece itself together in her mind, and she felt herself looking appalled. "It was you…"
"Little girl, you look so pale. Do I scare you?" the monster hissed in a low, rumbling voice, the mouth of teeth smirking as it swung the struggling Inuyasha to and fro.
"Let him go!" she screamed, ignoring his question when she saw the agony flash through his eyes. She was terrified---yes---but right now, she felt like she was in the twilight zone. Inuyasha was him? They had been one and the same? The water which was up to her waist didn't even compare to the coldness in her heart.
"This ugly little piece of shit?" the demon chuckled as it swayed Inuyasha to the side of him. "Lucky me found the hanyou in his monthly state…"
"He never did anything to you!" Kagome cried, clenching her hands into fists under the water, although inwardly she felt like she would collapse any moment. She willed herself to stay strong though, because right now, Inuyasha was at his most powerless state against a demon.
"Of course not, but Naraku doesn't need a reason to pick someone's death, now does he?"
If Kagome's heart had felt cold, it certainly didn't measure up to the frost that suddenly felt like it had been running throughout her body, through every artery, vein and capillary, and filling her with a sense of dread. Her pallid expressions only grew whiter as she realized why the demon was exactly here.
"Kagome! Run, damn you!" Inuyasha shouted, although his voice wavered as the demon continued to swing him from left and right, as if he was a rag doll. The blood he was losing made warning bells sound off in her head as she wondered just how deep this cut was. The fear was still evident in his eyes, but she really couldn't tell whether he was scared of his situation…or for her.
"I won't!" she answered determinedly, and held up a hand in grit, as she glared at the snake-like demon. "Don't make me kill you," she found herself hissing, as red hot liquid started pumping itself through her veins and her eye sight grew as crimson as the demon's eyes. "Because I swear to kami, I will."
The demon roared out in laughter as he continued to swing Inuyasha around carelessly, his smirk showing that he wasn't taking her seriously. "What can a feeble little human like you do to me?" His smirk got wider, as he felt himself circling around Kagome, almost like a predator.
Kagome felt something in her snap as her gaze fell upon Inuyasha again, his face scrunched up in torture. "Bastard," she whispered in a dark, soft voice, as sharp lavender light instantly shot from her hand, heading straight for the demon. Although it wasn't true to its mark considering how Kagome recoiled when she realized she had used her injured right hand, it nicked enough of the demon to send it roaring in pain as blood spurt from an area just below where its neck would have been.
"BITCH!" it bellowed and threw Inuyasha away towards the sand, where Kagome watched him skid along the darkened substance.
However, the instant she took her eyes off the demon, it shot its free tail towards her and twisted its way around her middle to plant its blades into her right shoulder, causing Kagome to scream in anguish. It dug deeper into her flesh and she continued to scream as the demon hissed, "Kill me now, huh? Let me see you try, you little worm…"
"KAGOME!" Inuyasha cried from his position on the sand, as he watched the scene in a horrified manner. The problem was, his leg felt like it had been crippled and when he had crashed into the sand, one of his shoulders had cracked. He couldn't move if he wanted to, but what was worse was that he was right here, watching it and not being able to do anything. It was worse than the time when he had come late to save her. However, the next moment, he felt something hit him in the head and his vision started blurring as the scene slowly faded to black.
"I'll kill you before you can even try to kill me…fuck Naraku," the demon said, and unraveled one of its coil in an attempt to slice Kagome through. The girl took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, ready to meet her real Death once more, but one precise command broke through her mind.
"Fuujin no Mai."
The next instant, Kagome could feel rough gusts of wind rush dangerously close to her and the ghastly screeching of the demon as Kagome felt its hold loosen on her. It caused her to drop into a deep part of the water, and plunging under, Kagome took into another sharp breath as she opened her eyes and saw portions of the demon fading away under water.
She struggled up towards the surface and broke through gasping, as she watched the almost ethereal procedure take place as the demon continued to deteriorate before it was nothing but dust flying off in the night wind. Kagome snapped her gaze to her left and saw Kagura seated calmly on her flying feather, glancing down at Kagome before moving her stare to the shore.
Kagome followed her and saw a limp Inuyasha lying face up on the sand. "Inuyasha!" she screamed and started swimming towards the shore, reaching it in a minute and then stumbling over to the human. "Are you okay?!" she shouted, grabbing him by the arms and gasping when she saw just how much blood was coming from his leg.
She didn't stop to think as she rolled up his pants and surveyed the damage, wincing when she saw that the blades had indeed cut deep into his flesh. She was about to tear her own kimono up to use it as a bandage, but she realized that hers was wet and could cause the wound to worsen with the salty water.
That was when Kagura came and kneeled down, handing over a roll of bandages and a cloth. "He needs it," she simply said, and although Kagome felt cautious, she took it anyway because Inuyasha's blood was starting to soak the sand.
"I hit him in the head, but don't worry, he'll regain consciousness sometime. He can't know about Naraku and all…" Kagura said as she idly watched Kagome wipe away some of the blood with the cloth given to her.
"Why did you help us if Naraku was planning to kill us," Kagome whispered coldly, feeling anger simmer inside of her. "Is this his idea of a warning?"
"Well, yea," Kagura answered frankly as she looked at the former hanyou from head to toe. "Naraku didn't know it was the hanyou's weak day today though. I guess you could say you're both lucky. Kanna told me he's not watching the both of you today either."
"He watches us?" Kagome gasped.
Kagura looked up, as if making sure Naraku wasn't listening or something. She leaned closer and said, "Kanna said he's not, and that's the only reason why I'm helping you clean his wounds for now. I trust her enough to think that Naraku isn't watching…" Her crimson eyes sharpened. "But right now is also the perfect time for you to know something really important about Naraku."
Kagome looked hesitantly at the wind youkai, who looked seductively dangerous in her own right. "What…?" she asked tentatively.
Kagura leaned towards Kagome's ear and whispered something, causing Kagome's eyes to widen to the size of plates. She clenched her fingers unconsciously into the cloth as she stared at Kagura who had pulled away, questioning warily, "Are you sure?"
"Almost. Not sure, but almost sure," Kagura answered truthfully, before raising an eyebrow. "But are you willing to sacrifice so much?"
Kagome looked down, her eyes soft but in a depressed manner. "I don't know."
Kagura chuckled a bit. "It's so much responsibility, isn't it? Naraku says he'll extend the deadline for the Shikon no Tama until Inuyasha and Kikyou's wedding…I suppose he'll come personally for it then. Believe me, he's the type for dramatic tragedies. You have until then to think about it." She got up from her position and looked down at the couple, one unconscious and the other looking pitiful. "Good luck," were her last words, before she was gone like the wind.
Kagome stayed there for a minute, a thousand thoughts running through her head all at once. Her chest seemed to ache again, and all of a sudden, her whole body felt drained of its energy. She finally blinked and saw Inuyasha in front of her, and slowly started wrapping the bandage near his ankle where his injury was.
If what Kagura told her was true, it was the possible third route she had been searching for. But she had never thought the third route would be so…trying. She really wasn't sure if she could walk down that third road…
Her mind eventually brought her to Inuyasha's current state, and she felt a pull around her chest again. Blinking her eyes furiously to avoid the wicked thing, she felt herself whisper, "Sorry Inuyasha…" He couldn't reply to it however, and that caused her vision to go as misty as it had been in the water.
He looked so unique in his human state, and although she wasn't accustomed to seeing him like this, she didn't think he was different. He had been defensive and said he was different and that he was weak, but she knew---and she believed---that he was no different in his human form than in his hanyou form…at least on the inside.
"Silly…" she muttered, feeling a sinful drop fall from the confines of her eyelashes. She hastily rubbed it away as she finished wrapping his wound. "You're no different…I don't see any difference…"
She tied a knot and looked down at her handiwork, lightly placing her finger over it as she gazed up at the peaceful and oblivious face of the man she cared about. She felt her body shudder in the cold, but mentally knew that she would not leave his side until he regained consciousness. She would never, unless he told her to.
"You tried to protect me…in both your human form and your hanyou form…how can you say you're different when your feelings are the same…"
A/N: This chapter was longer than I expected. ; Oh well. There you go…I hope you liked it. Remember, Round 2 is on. ; (Link is located in profile)
Sorry to some who have been displeased with the plot thus far. There's slight fluff in this chapter, and then it gets oh-so-pleasantly ripped away.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, per se, I shall one day.
Behind the Masquerade
The Difference You Can't Find
A day had passed since the ball. Nothing exciting or extravagant had occurred, other than for a few of the guests asking Kagome to dance with her. Although she had consented to a few, she knew that she wasn't dancing with her soul, and as such, she didn't bother to dance with more men, especially not when the waltz song came on.
The next day had seemed ordinary, even if people were running left and right to get the wedding plans done. It didn't seem strange---really!---even if the Queen told the servants that Inuyasha was busy today and to bring further questions to Kikyou, her husband, or herself. Kagome just wandered around like a lost soul, making small comments about this particular plan or giving advice to what colors would match. However, most of the time, she looked at everything like the reaper would look at a passing train…as something that was foreign and unusual.
"Hey Kagome!" a voice called out cheerfully, for the first time that day, and Kagome turned around to see Sango coming up to her with a smile on her face. Kagome wondered just what Miroku had done to make her cousin this happy; Maybe she didn't want to know.
"Hi Sango," Kagome answered.
"Do you know where…he is?" Sango asked, still slightly edgy saying Inuyasha's name around Kagome.
"No," Kagome replied, before adding, "Why?"
"I haven't seen him all day, and I have something to ask him, but he's not even up in his room." Sango looked up thoughtfully, as her eyebrows came down in contemplation. "I've been looking around every crevice of this castle as well."
"He's probably just somewhere," Kagome said, although she remembered that she too hadn't seen the hanyou all day. That wasn't too suspicious however, was it? He was probably just hiding from all wedding plans because seeing as this was him, even Inuyasha would be frightened of holy matrimony.
"Well, whatever, I suppose. If I see him, then I'll see him. Bye Kagome!" Sango waved and floated down the corridor, most likely off to see Miroku or continue finding Inuyasha.
Kagome blinked for a while in the middle of the corridor, before she continued walking a few more steps to arrive at her room. Slipping in, her eyes fell upon the door connecting her room to Inuyasha's. However, Sango had said he wasn't in his room, so her eyes wavered over to the drawers.
Stepping over to them, she felt something nag at the back of her head. Opening them, she saw the rosaries from what seemed like a long time ago. Picking them up, she stared at the beads and rolled them around her fingers, her eyes apathetic. "Where are you…maybe you can help me escape from this nightmare…" she whispered, before suddenly feeling a cold and chilly wind blow in through the window.
Turning her head, she saw that her curtains were fluttering around innocently, caught in the night wind. Pushing the drawers closed while still holding the rosaries, she walked over to it and pushed the white curtains to the side, stepping out into the balcony.
The wind instantly tore at her, blowing harder and rushing into the room. Kagome felt herself take in a deep breath, before letting it go in one swift exhalation. Her eyes drifted to the heavens above and since clouds were still far off in the distance, the stars shone as brightly as thousands of tiny sparkles. She couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight, knowing that not many people stopped in their daily life to gaze and appreciate the wonder of nature. If she could, she would always stare up at them, but knowing that other matters were more pressing, she herself was one of those people who never stopped to realize the beauty around her.
Staring at the dark canvas for a few more minutes, Kagome's eyes were soon drawn to gaze over at other sights. Her eyes gazed over the bleak ocean, seeing the glistening of the waves reflected by the moonbeams. Her eyes washed over the village, seeing a few tiny lights flicker in the part of the town that hadn't been burned to a crisp. With time however, the village would recover.
Then suddenly, as if a disturbance to her observing, she heard a sound down on the grounds. Instantly responding to it, her eyes snapped down and she saw a figure wrapped in a cape, cursing under their breath, although she couldn't make out what they were saying. She recognized the voice however. "Inuyasha?" she whispered breathlessly, knowing that with his hearing, he could hear her, and if he looked up, he could see her with his eyesight.
However, the figure didn't respond, although they did look around warily, as if making sure there were no intruders. They looked up, and Kagome gasped when she noticed that the eyes weren't golden, but a brilliant violet shade. This wasn't Inuyasha, and nobody else but Miroku had such colored eyes. Yet, Miroku wouldn't be sneaking around at night, and definitely not this clumsily.
Without thinking, Kagome turned heels and fled out of her room, determined to see who it was down on the grounds. If it really was an intruder---especially one sent by Naraku---she would have to make sure the person didn't do anything to the people of the castle.
Fleeing down the stairs and nearly crashing into some of the maids, she bit her lips after a few minutes and ran towards the main door. Dashing out of the castle, her eyes darted around to look for a silhouette in the darkness, but to no avail. She gripped the beads in her hands tighter, and ran towards the main gate, seeing that the guards had fallen asleep. She would usually sympathize with them, but right now, she was angry that they had neglected their duty and failed to see who had just exited.
Now she had two directions she could take; One led to the village and the other led to the ocean. It all mattered what route the person had taken, and not able to read other people's mind, Kagome took one step towards the village.
Then, as if out of impulse, she gazed off in a scrutinizing manner towards the ocean. For some reason, the one step she took towards the village felt cold and distant, and something in her heart told her to go to the ocean. The village was quiet and dark, but somehow, Kagome could hear the call of the ocean summoning her with the crash of its waves. Subsequently, she could suddenly pick out a figure moving along the tide---something so small but stood out starkly against all things natural.
"Who are you?" she muttered out loud, before changing directions and following the person in the shadows.
---
"You understand your mission, do you not?"
"Yes, I do."
"You are to push her, but you are not to kill him."
"Yes, sister."
"Kill him, and he will kill you."
"I understand."
"Then go."
"Of course."
Kagura gazed at the long, sleek creature as it submerged into the ocean's water, its tail flipping up dangerously close to her before speeding off in a line of bubbles which appeared rapidly on the ocean surface. Her crimson eyes sharpened as the bubbles slowly popped and disappeared, more obvious bubbles appearing further away.
The wind youkai couldn't understand why Kanna had told her that Naraku had ordered her to tell the ocean youkai that information she had just relayed. Usually, the man presented himself a sinister threat so that the counterpart wouldn't deny his order, but not this time.
"Yes, Kanna?" she asked out of the blue when she felt her older sister by age slowly materialize behind her, standing out against the black backdrop in her white attire.
"Naraku wants you to follow him," Kanna whispered, holding her mirror in its usual place.
"Aren't you suppose to be at the castle?" Kagura said, changing subjects.
"Naraku called me," Kanna replied in a vague manner, as the girl's ebony eyes gazed indifferently at the wind youkai, waiting for an answer to the command.
Kagura looked out towards the horizon, allowing the wind---her in essence--- to wrap itself comfortably around her aura. The stern look in her eyes disappeared for a moment before they were back in place, as she took out a feather from her hair. "I'm going right now."
"Naraku told you to tell Kagome he'll extend the deadline till the wedding, but this is sent as a warning. He also tells you to make sure the minion doesn't kill Inuyasha…The thing doesn't listen sometimes," Kanna said, as she watched her sister transform her feather into the flying contraption.
"Wouldn't Naraku be watching anyway?" Kagura asked in a dry voice, knowing that Naraku would be watching everyone's move like a predatory cat. She got on her feather, ascending slowly into the air as she looked down at Kanna, waiting for an answer.
Kanna continued to stare at Kagura with the same calm look, as she answered simply, "No."
Kagura blinked slightly as she frowned, before brushing the answer off. "Whatever," she muttered, flying off in the direction the youkai had went, although her mind soon started kicking.
---
"How fucking annoying…" he mumbled in a snappish tone as he crossed the sand warily. The walk looked much too clumsy to be that of a normal human's, or it seemed as if the person was not capable of using the wonder of a human's leg. "At least no one found out…" he continued to mutter as he narrowed his eyes in an effort to make out any familiar structures in the dark. However, it felt useless. "How does Miroku survive like this…?" he whispered incredulously.
The whole world seemed to have been cast in an almost complete shroud of darkness, and what he could have usually seen a quarter of a mile ahead had been drastically reduced. Perhaps it was the helpless feeling which angered him, or perhaps it was the memories associated with it, but whatever the reason, he despised the new moon with a passionate loathing.
He had been walking for a good twenty minutes, and he bitterly remembered that it would have only taken him five minutes as a hanyou. "Dumb blood," he cursed, although of course, he wasn't cursing his mother or father for actually giving him this blood, but simply cursing his fate at having him be Inuyasha and not a random demon or human. His fate seemed to be dead set on making his life hell, and frankly, it was doing a darn good job at it.
Now, if Inuyasha had been the normal hanyou as he were, and not experiencing his monthly thing, the girl following him would have been heard or sensed already. However, seeing as he was preoccupied with his problems, the girl went unnoticed.
Inuyasha bit his lower lip as he forced himself not to accidentally trip over a simple thing such as a seashell. His legs felt so foreign and powerless at the moment that it almost felt like it didn't belong to him. However, coincidence as it be, he was too busy concentrating on where to step and in the absence of his attention, his cape flew from his body considering it had not been clasped on properly.
Out of pure impulse and reaction, Inuyasha twirled around to catch his cape before the wind took it far from his reach. This action however caused him to see a dark silhouette a good fifty feet away from him, but not completely invisible due to the moon light offering its help to the pitiful hanyou-gone-human.
His heart instantly skipped a beat in its music around the same time the shape froze when the cape rested at the person's feet. "Who's there?" Inuyasha shouted out, hoping the person was just an innocent trespasser who just happened to be behind him.
The person remained quiet and this only served to prove to Inuyasha that the person wasn't a mere trespasser. "You know, I can see you. If you don't answer, I swear I'll rip you apart," he threatened, although secretly he knew that was a statement backed up with nothing but thin air.
The form was silent for a few seconds, before an uneasy accusation came forth, "Inuyasha…? Is that you…?"
Although Inuyasha's hearing had dulled---almost like when someone puts cotton in your ears to prevent you from hearing---he could still distinguish the voice as Kagome's.
"Kagome…?" he asked uncomfortably.
"…Yes?" was the timid reply.
There was a moment's silence.
"…Fuck," he cursed with complete feeling, and turned to make a run towards the cliff, not wanting to have to explain everything to her.
However, Kagome seeing him turn to escape, instantly cried out, "Wait! Inuyasha! What's wrong?"
He didn't listen to her as he began to run away, not once looking back at the girl who was left stunned for a few seconds at seeing the completely new form of the hanyou. Yet, when she got over the initial shock, she quickly picked up the cape by her feet and ran after him. However, even as a human, Inuyasha could outrun the girl who was still crying for him to stop.
"Inuyasha!" she shouted out in vain, trying to keep up with him. "Stop running!"
If he had his normal dog ears, it would have been flat on top of his head to prevent himself from hearing her voice. But it was already taking all his effort to run properly---but oh so slowly---across the sand and away from her.
"KYYAA!" A shriek split through the air, and caused Inuyasha to instantly snap back his head to see what was wrong.
Kagome had seemingly tripped over something, and the nervous Inuyasha looked back towards the cliff before settling his eyes on Kagome. He could just be cruel and continue on, and leave her alone and possibly injured, but unfortunately, that little nagging feeling inside of him prevented him from even taking one step. Perhaps it was his weak human blood as well, but he wouldn't know.
Walking back to kneel down next to the girl who was looking at her red hand where sand had forced some of her skin to peel off, he took her hand gently. "You okay?" he muttered, knowing that his voice had lost its usual gruffness in it as well. He never felt so vulnerable.
She retracted her hand sharply and nursed it herself, muttering a faded, "Yes…"
Feeling slightly shunned, he was about to get back up and leave her, before it was her time to catch a hold of his hand.
"Don't…" she whispered, looking almost innocently childish up at him with her big, round eyes. In the dark, the azure color seemed to sparkle like sapphires caught in light, and he felt himself biting his lip to keep his thoughts in check.
"But you're okay," he resisted, looking away and refusing to keep eye contact with her. He knew his eye color was different, and his white hair was now black, and to have someone stare at you while you felt like a piece of meat being scrutinized by hungry dogs was an uncomfortable feeling.
"You're not," she insisted doggedly, not letting go of his hand until he kneeled down again.
"I'm perfectly fine," he claimed as he started to frown, feeling even more awkward as Kagome looked at him from head to toe.
"But---"
"I know."
"You're---"
"Not a hanyou."
"Why?"
"Because…"
Kagome continued to stare at him, fascinated at the completely new Inuyasha presented in front of her. If anyone had told her Inuyasha could warp into a physically opposite of him, she wouldn't have believed them, but here he was, looking like…a human! "You're a human…"
"No, I'm not. What ever gave you that idea?" Inuyasha snapped sarcastically, his eyes traveling down to the hand on her lap. It looked even redder and more sore now.
Kagome followed his eyes and saw that her hand looked horribly scratched up, and not wanting to be embarrassed, withdrew to hide them in her sleeves. "It's fine," she grumbled.
"No, it isn't," he said, and grabbed her lower arm before she could resist, pulling her kimono sleeve up to reveal her red hand. "Hold still," he muttered, and quickly tore a piece of material from his own fire rat kimono. Brushing the sand lightly off her hand, he made sure there was nothing left before tying the strap of material around her hand.
This caused Kagome to flush instantly as she took her eyes away from the sight of Inuyasha wrapping cloth around the scratch. Sure, it was a simple act most likely required from any male with manners, but it was Inuyasha and to have him show her such care and consideration was, well, extraordinary.
Inuyasha's eyes softened as he maneuvered his hands around her soft ones, going tenderly so as not to hurt her. After a few moments with a clumsily wrapped hand, he held hers for a few seconds more, seeing just how alike both their hands were when he was a human. A frown immediately arrived upon his face as he let her hand go and turned away, although he didn't make any moves to allow Kagome to assume he was going to try and run away again.
She lifted her scratched right hand up, staring down warmly at the piece of red cloth. Fingering it lightly, she could feel the ocean wind blow around the two of them as it began to pick up in speed. This went slightly unnoticed to the girl though as she looked from her hand to Inuyasha, who was stubbornly staring to his right. "Thank you," she said.
"Whatever," he grumbled, although Kagome could see a visible blush appear on his face. She smiled.
"Want to explain now?"
Inuyasha muttered some things under his breath before his amethyst orbs zipped to her own and burned deep into the sapphires. "I'm a hanyou. Hanyou have their monthly things."
Kagome stared naively at him, wondering just what he was referring to with his choice of words, before she slowly came to the conclusion and started blinking. "You turn into a human once a month…?" she questioned, not knowing that little fact about hanyou.
"Yea, whenever it's the new moon," he told her reluctantly, as if not wanting too many to know about that little detail.
This caused Kagome to look up, seeing that there was indeed no moon in the star-strewn sky. Gazing back at Inuyasha, her mouth was somewhat opened in surprise. "And I suppose you don't like that."
"Of course I don't like it!" Inuyasha snapped at her, before he looked away from her again, only occasionally glimpsing at her from the corner of his eyes. "I'm so weak, so useless, and I can't protect anyone in this state. I can't see properly, I can't hear, and I feel like I have been suddenly thrown into a shell I never belonged in. I hate being human. I'm so different."
There was a strained silence after Inuyasha's outburst where Inuyasha fiddled with the sand while Kagome stared down at her wrapped hand. The only noise to penetrate the silence was the crash of the waves not too far off---only five feet in fact---and a foreign cry.
"I don't see the difference…" Kagome whispered in a voice that broke the quietness, although Inuyasha didn't quite catch it. He looked confused for a moment at not being able to understand what she had just mumbled, before he just gave up.
"Will you leave me alone now?" he asked in an annoyed tone as he got up from his seated position, dusting the sand off his rear. He looked down at her, offering her a hand which she took gratefully with her left hand.
"No, I'm not going to lea---" she whispered while he heaved her up, but not quite entirely because she suddenly felt her hand go slack and her eyes go wide as she saw something tower over Inuyasha and herself.
Inuyasha raised his eyebrow, oblivious to the thing blocking out the light from the stars. "Wha---"
"DUCK!" Kagome screamed and in a responsive moment, grabbed at his arm with both her hands---her injured one included---and pulled down with all her weight. This caused him to come down when he had been helping her up, and although Kagome felt all the wind knocked out of her as he landed solidly on top of her, she could see that the grey, slimy, and snake-like tentacle with sharp knife-like razors at the end of it swipe at thin air where Inuyasha would have been.
While Inuyasha was trying to get off of her, her sharp eyes followed the limb as it retracted quickly into the water. "There's something in the water!" she shouted, as Inuyasha stumbled up while clutching at Kagome so that if the thing tried to attack again, it wouldn't try to get her.
"What is something!?" Inuyasha cried wildly, having not seen the thing.
Kagome kept her gaze trained at the ocean where bubbles had emerged from where the tentacle had dived under, and said in a loud voice, "A tentacle or a tail or something with what looked like sharp razors at the end of it."
"Kagome…back away from the water…" Inuyasha commanded as he held tightly onto the girl's hand, feeling his heart beating erratically and frantically.
Kagome felt herself breathing deeply as she did as she was told, both of them having their eyes directed at the ocean, which now didn't look so warm and inviting as it had a moment ago. She unconsciously slipped her hand into Inuyasha's and squeezed tightly, feeling as if her heart would beat its way out of her chest any moment.
"Kagome…run back…" Inuyasha further instructed.
She didn't listen to him this time as she whirled around instantly with a glare on her face, and was about to say that he was sprouting rubbish. But, something in the human Inuyasha's eyes caused her to stop her line in mid-thought as they stared at each other for what was simply two seconds.
However, these two seconds were all the creature needed as it chose to assault the two again, its long limb shooting out of the water as fast as lightning and flying straight for Inuyasha. It looked like it would run him through, before it chose to change its course and simply tear at the material across Inuyasha's back, before it coiled itself tightly around Inuyasha's ankle, its blades cutting into his leg.
Kagome screamed when she felt Inuyasha's hands abruptly ripped away, its warmth leaving her. "INUYASHA!" she yelled in terror as she watched the creature slam Inuyasha to the ground and drag him towards the ocean, as if he was prey.
She ran after it, the fear in Inuyasha's eyes repeating its image in her head as she watched him get pulled under the water. "No!" Reaching the water's edge a few moments later, she didn't even stop to think as she ran out into the ocean, her heart beating painfully. "Inuyasha!" she repeated, all set on diving under just to see where he had gone, before a sudden ripple emerged from the ocean's surface. She stopped in her advance, and a few seconds after, something came rushing out of the water, causing a tide to come up with it as water rained down upon the girl.
Coughing when some of the water went up her nose and into her mouth, Kagome hastily rubbed at her eyes to see through the mist at what had taken Inuyasha away. Her breath caught in her throat when she was forced to look a good twenty feet up in the air at a long, slithering snake-like sea creature, its slanted scarlet gaze staring straight down at her as it opened its mouth to reveal rows of sharp teeth. It had no hands and the thing she had mistaken for a tentacle had been in reality, his tail.
Her gaze immediately trailed to see Inuyasha dangling upside-down with blood running down his leg as parts of his pants along with his shirt was completely torn from his body. However, what caught her attention more than the blood, was the scar on his back, deep and jagged, and perceptible to even the weak of eye sight. Some words mouthed its memory in her mind as she stared at the scar.
Since I was only a young boy, I wasn't exactly graceful and I fell really hard…so hard in fact, that I made a deep and ugly cut in my back, which is now a scar.
"Inuyasha…" she whispered, feeling like something had just punched her in the guts. Things started to piece itself together in her mind, and she felt herself looking appalled. "It was you…"
"Little girl, you look so pale. Do I scare you?" the monster hissed in a low, rumbling voice, the mouth of teeth smirking as it swung the struggling Inuyasha to and fro.
"Let him go!" she screamed, ignoring his question when she saw the agony flash through his eyes. She was terrified---yes---but right now, she felt like she was in the twilight zone. Inuyasha was him? They had been one and the same? The water which was up to her waist didn't even compare to the coldness in her heart.
"This ugly little piece of shit?" the demon chuckled as it swayed Inuyasha to the side of him. "Lucky me found the hanyou in his monthly state…"
"He never did anything to you!" Kagome cried, clenching her hands into fists under the water, although inwardly she felt like she would collapse any moment. She willed herself to stay strong though, because right now, Inuyasha was at his most powerless state against a demon.
"Of course not, but Naraku doesn't need a reason to pick someone's death, now does he?"
If Kagome's heart had felt cold, it certainly didn't measure up to the frost that suddenly felt like it had been running throughout her body, through every artery, vein and capillary, and filling her with a sense of dread. Her pallid expressions only grew whiter as she realized why the demon was exactly here.
"Kagome! Run, damn you!" Inuyasha shouted, although his voice wavered as the demon continued to swing him from left and right, as if he was a rag doll. The blood he was losing made warning bells sound off in her head as she wondered just how deep this cut was. The fear was still evident in his eyes, but she really couldn't tell whether he was scared of his situation…or for her.
"I won't!" she answered determinedly, and held up a hand in grit, as she glared at the snake-like demon. "Don't make me kill you," she found herself hissing, as red hot liquid started pumping itself through her veins and her eye sight grew as crimson as the demon's eyes. "Because I swear to kami, I will."
The demon roared out in laughter as he continued to swing Inuyasha around carelessly, his smirk showing that he wasn't taking her seriously. "What can a feeble little human like you do to me?" His smirk got wider, as he felt himself circling around Kagome, almost like a predator.
Kagome felt something in her snap as her gaze fell upon Inuyasha again, his face scrunched up in torture. "Bastard," she whispered in a dark, soft voice, as sharp lavender light instantly shot from her hand, heading straight for the demon. Although it wasn't true to its mark considering how Kagome recoiled when she realized she had used her injured right hand, it nicked enough of the demon to send it roaring in pain as blood spurt from an area just below where its neck would have been.
"BITCH!" it bellowed and threw Inuyasha away towards the sand, where Kagome watched him skid along the darkened substance.
However, the instant she took her eyes off the demon, it shot its free tail towards her and twisted its way around her middle to plant its blades into her right shoulder, causing Kagome to scream in anguish. It dug deeper into her flesh and she continued to scream as the demon hissed, "Kill me now, huh? Let me see you try, you little worm…"
"KAGOME!" Inuyasha cried from his position on the sand, as he watched the scene in a horrified manner. The problem was, his leg felt like it had been crippled and when he had crashed into the sand, one of his shoulders had cracked. He couldn't move if he wanted to, but what was worse was that he was right here, watching it and not being able to do anything. It was worse than the time when he had come late to save her. However, the next moment, he felt something hit him in the head and his vision started blurring as the scene slowly faded to black.
"I'll kill you before you can even try to kill me…fuck Naraku," the demon said, and unraveled one of its coil in an attempt to slice Kagome through. The girl took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, ready to meet her real Death once more, but one precise command broke through her mind.
"Fuujin no Mai."
The next instant, Kagome could feel rough gusts of wind rush dangerously close to her and the ghastly screeching of the demon as Kagome felt its hold loosen on her. It caused her to drop into a deep part of the water, and plunging under, Kagome took into another sharp breath as she opened her eyes and saw portions of the demon fading away under water.
She struggled up towards the surface and broke through gasping, as she watched the almost ethereal procedure take place as the demon continued to deteriorate before it was nothing but dust flying off in the night wind. Kagome snapped her gaze to her left and saw Kagura seated calmly on her flying feather, glancing down at Kagome before moving her stare to the shore.
Kagome followed her and saw a limp Inuyasha lying face up on the sand. "Inuyasha!" she screamed and started swimming towards the shore, reaching it in a minute and then stumbling over to the human. "Are you okay?!" she shouted, grabbing him by the arms and gasping when she saw just how much blood was coming from his leg.
She didn't stop to think as she rolled up his pants and surveyed the damage, wincing when she saw that the blades had indeed cut deep into his flesh. She was about to tear her own kimono up to use it as a bandage, but she realized that hers was wet and could cause the wound to worsen with the salty water.
That was when Kagura came and kneeled down, handing over a roll of bandages and a cloth. "He needs it," she simply said, and although Kagome felt cautious, she took it anyway because Inuyasha's blood was starting to soak the sand.
"I hit him in the head, but don't worry, he'll regain consciousness sometime. He can't know about Naraku and all…" Kagura said as she idly watched Kagome wipe away some of the blood with the cloth given to her.
"Why did you help us if Naraku was planning to kill us," Kagome whispered coldly, feeling anger simmer inside of her. "Is this his idea of a warning?"
"Well, yea," Kagura answered frankly as she looked at the former hanyou from head to toe. "Naraku didn't know it was the hanyou's weak day today though. I guess you could say you're both lucky. Kanna told me he's not watching the both of you today either."
"He watches us?" Kagome gasped.
Kagura looked up, as if making sure Naraku wasn't listening or something. She leaned closer and said, "Kanna said he's not, and that's the only reason why I'm helping you clean his wounds for now. I trust her enough to think that Naraku isn't watching…" Her crimson eyes sharpened. "But right now is also the perfect time for you to know something really important about Naraku."
Kagome looked hesitantly at the wind youkai, who looked seductively dangerous in her own right. "What…?" she asked tentatively.
Kagura leaned towards Kagome's ear and whispered something, causing Kagome's eyes to widen to the size of plates. She clenched her fingers unconsciously into the cloth as she stared at Kagura who had pulled away, questioning warily, "Are you sure?"
"Almost. Not sure, but almost sure," Kagura answered truthfully, before raising an eyebrow. "But are you willing to sacrifice so much?"
Kagome looked down, her eyes soft but in a depressed manner. "I don't know."
Kagura chuckled a bit. "It's so much responsibility, isn't it? Naraku says he'll extend the deadline for the Shikon no Tama until Inuyasha and Kikyou's wedding…I suppose he'll come personally for it then. Believe me, he's the type for dramatic tragedies. You have until then to think about it." She got up from her position and looked down at the couple, one unconscious and the other looking pitiful. "Good luck," were her last words, before she was gone like the wind.
Kagome stayed there for a minute, a thousand thoughts running through her head all at once. Her chest seemed to ache again, and all of a sudden, her whole body felt drained of its energy. She finally blinked and saw Inuyasha in front of her, and slowly started wrapping the bandage near his ankle where his injury was.
If what Kagura told her was true, it was the possible third route she had been searching for. But she had never thought the third route would be so…trying. She really wasn't sure if she could walk down that third road…
Her mind eventually brought her to Inuyasha's current state, and she felt a pull around her chest again. Blinking her eyes furiously to avoid the wicked thing, she felt herself whisper, "Sorry Inuyasha…" He couldn't reply to it however, and that caused her vision to go as misty as it had been in the water.
He looked so unique in his human state, and although she wasn't accustomed to seeing him like this, she didn't think he was different. He had been defensive and said he was different and that he was weak, but she knew---and she believed---that he was no different in his human form than in his hanyou form…at least on the inside.
"Silly…" she muttered, feeling a sinful drop fall from the confines of her eyelashes. She hastily rubbed it away as she finished wrapping his wound. "You're no different…I don't see any difference…"
She tied a knot and looked down at her handiwork, lightly placing her finger over it as she gazed up at the peaceful and oblivious face of the man she cared about. She felt her body shudder in the cold, but mentally knew that she would not leave his side until he regained consciousness. She would never, unless he told her to.
"You tried to protect me…in both your human form and your hanyou form…how can you say you're different when your feelings are the same…"
A/N: This chapter was longer than I expected. ; Oh well. There you go…I hope you liked it. Remember, Round 2 is on. ; (Link is located in profile)