Haunted
By $hAdOwCaT
Chapter 3: Haunting You
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------She could feel her vision growing blurry. The rain didn't help her lessening vision either. Dark blobs were all that her weary eyes could make out. She brought her hands to her eyes and rubbed them furiously. She removed her hands and tried blinking several times, but her vision hadn't improved. Flashes of bright light came from the distance, in the mist of a sea of darkness. But there was nothing comforting about these flashes. They made her very soul tremble. She shuddered and tried to straighten but her legs felt like jelly. Her knees buckled and she landed on the ground with a thump.
She put her hand on the ground to support her weight when it came across something warm and wet. Confused, she brought her fingertips to her face. Everything suddenly came into focus. She found herself staring at her fingers, which were covered in a dark red liquid.
Blood.
A gasp escaped her lips. Her hazel eyes darted to where she had felt the liquid and saw red clothing.
She screamed and fell backwards.
Her heart rammed against her ribcage almost painfully. She could feel her whole body tremble in shock. Gathering the remains of her strength, Kagome sat back up and the sight before her made her feel ill. She couldn't believe her eyes. There had to be some sort of mistake, her mind reasoned.
"I-Inuyasha?" her voice came out as a raspy whisper. "A-are you okay?"
There he was, lain on his back with numerous cuts and scratches on his body. His head rolled on his shoulder; silver bangs shielded his eyes. Tetsuaiga lay inches away from it's master's hand.
There was no reply.
Tears clogged her throat. Kagome forced herself to look away. She put her hand over her eyes in an attempt to get rid of the image she still saw and would never forget. A sob escaped her lips, followed by another, and another until she couldn't stop.
"This isn't happening. This isn't real. This isn't happening," she told herself over and over again. "Inuyasha is not dead. He's just fine."
"In the afterworld."
"No! Shut up! Inuyasha is alive. This isn't happening. I'm just imagining things that's all."
"No, your not."
"Yes, I am!" Kagome's voice trembled as she stole another glance at his slain form.
Oh God, she thought, he really is de-
"No, he's not!"
"Little one, is this what you want? To cry bitter tears over the dead body of the man you love? I change all that."
"He's not dead, I will prove it to you."
"Try as you might. It will do you no good."
She sniffled and gently nudged Inuyasha. Nothing happened. She held his hand and bit back a cringe as she noticed how cold it was.
"Inuyasha? Please speak to me."
She set down his hand and shook him by the shoulders. His head rolled to his other shoulder. His eyes were open, but something was different about time. Those amber orbs usually so vibrant and full of life looked dull and...lifeless. He was staring at something unblinkingly.
She bowed her head, struggling against her tears. She fell on his chest and cried.
"You jerk! Damn you, Inuyasha!" she cried. "Why did you have to go and die on me? You selfish arrogant asshole. Didn't it ever occur to you that I needed you? I hate you..."
"I told you it would do you no good. Didn't I?"
Kagome shut her eyes, but tears still leaked through them. She blindly groped for his hand and minutes later brought it her chest. Her whole body trembled. She didn't know how long she sat there, crying on his lifeless body as if it would bring him back. Suddenly her body felt as though someone or something was shaking it, violently.
Kagome...!
"No...leave me be. I'm trying to mourn here..." she muttered and smothered her face in his chest, not caring if his blood got on her skin.
Kagome...! Came the cries again.
"...no..."
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Kagome slowly opened her eyes. She could hear voices all around her but couldn't understand a word of what they were saying or even who the voices belonged to. She blinked several times and finally the world came into focus. Sango, Miroku, Shippo were hovering above her with worried faces. It was still dark out.
She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stifled a yawn. "Did I sleep too long? What time is it?"
Shippo looked as though he was going to pass out from relief. Miroku and Sango exchanged glances and sighed.
"You gave us all a scare, Kagome," Sango said with a concerned frown.
Not again, Kagome thought exasperated. This was the second time she had woken people up with her screaming. She had to learn to dream quieter...or something like that.
Miroku handed her a cloth. She gave him a strange look.
"What's this for?" she asked, confused.
"You were crying, I thought you might like to clean up," the monk replied.
Kagome kept her gaze to the ground as she numbly wiped away the tears. Something was very wrong. She kept having the same dream over and over again, and now her horrid dream was continuing each dream more horrific than the last. Most people didn't have nightmares that continued like this. And that voice...that voice wanted her to go with it. Go where? Wherever it wanted her to go, it couldn't be good.
"I'm sorry," she muttered.
Sango crouched down next to her. "It's okay. But Kagome, if something is wrong you know you can talk to us, right? We are friends."
She nodded, still refusing to meet anyone's gaze. "I know. Thank you..."
Miroku straightened and stretched. "It will be daylight soon. We'd all better be going back to sleep."
"Yes, of course," Sango returned her gaze to the young girl before her. "Would you like me to stay? In case you need company or need someone to talk to?"
"No, that's okay, Sango. I don't want you to lose sleep because of me. What if we find a demon with a jewel shard tomorrow and your not up to the fight because of lack of sleep? No, I don't want that to happen. I'm fine, really."
Sango didn't seem convinced. "Are you sure?"
She forced a smile, hoping that the demon slayer wouldn't notice how fake the smile was, and nodded. "Yes. I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
"If your sure." Sango gave her a hug and stood, over her shoulder she said, "I'll be just over by the fire if you need me, okay?"
"Okay, okay."
After the older teen had left, Kagome took in a shaky breath. She drew her knees to her chest and rested her chin on her arms. It struck her as odd that her sleeping bag was the furthest away from anyone's. Sango and Miroku were sleeping next to the open fire, which now had burnt out. Shippo, who usually slept with Kagome, had chosen tonight to sleep with Sango. While Kagome's stuff was underneath a large oak tree. And Inuyasha, well he just slept in a tree. And if there weren't any trees, he would sleep on the ground with the others.
They had made camp in the woods, after having gotten wind of a demon terrorizing an area further north. Rumor had it that this demon had in its possession, a shard of the Shikon no Tama. If the rumor was right and they were lucky, they would have another jewel shard of their own. That was, of course assuming, that Naraku hadn't already gotten his sticky paws on it.
She sighed. Her eyes felt heavy but there was no way that she was going back to sleep. Not a chance. She could still picture Inuyasha's lifeless body, bloody and battered. And it scared her.
"Kagome?"
Kagome opened her eyes, which she didn't even realized she'd shut, and found someone sitting before her. She blinked several times to realize that it was in fact Inuyasha. Her breath caught in her chest.
"I-Inuyasha," she whispered. "Is it really you?"
Inuyasha quirked a brow. "Of course it's me, Kagome, who else would it be?"
She lowered her head and muttered, "I'm sorry."
"Keh, well don't be."
She heard her sleeping bag make noise as Inuyasha scooted closer. The fabric of his kimono rubbed against her arm.
"Kagome, a-are you okay?"
Okay? Would she ever be okay? Kagome found herself wondering. It would be so easy to just put on a big fake smile and say 'yes, of course! Why wouldn't I be?' but in her heart she knew it was a lie. She didn't want to lie, but she didn't want him to worry either. He had enough on his mind, as it was, for starters his dead girlfriend who had been resurrected and wants him dead. And there was the Shikon no Tama and Naraku...why make him worry more than he had to?
She laid her head on her arms once more. "I'm fine," her voice came out as a whisper.
"Wrong. You're not okay. Don't lie to me, Kagome. I can see right through your pathetic lies. Tell me what's wrong. Now."
"I'm fine, really."
"You're a terrible liar, you know that?" he snapped. "Something is wrong. I don't know exactly what happened in your dream earlier, but I know it wasn't good by the way you were crying..." he trailed off.
Just as she was about to say something, Inuyasha continued.
"I hate it when you cry, you know that. I thought that you were cursed again. I tried to shake you, but you wouldn't wake up. I was afraid that I lost you..."
Kagome lifted her head and almost smiled at the scene before her. Inuyasha was staring at the sleeping bag material, his brow twitching slightly. He was tapping his index fingers together. He looked uncomfortable and nervous.
A silver colored dog-ear twitched on his head. Inuyasha slowly glanced at her from the corner of his eye, feeling heat in his cheeks. He gulped audibly. He had hoped that maybe Kagome had fallen asleep or was unconscious even while he revealed what he was feeling and then she would miraculously awake and not even know he had said a thing. But dammit, she did neither. She just watched him, unnervingly calm.
She averted her gaze. "That's kinda funny...because I thought the same thing about you..."
"Huh?"
"It's nothing," she said quickly. "We'd better get some sleep while we still have the chance. 'Night, Inuyasha. See you in the morning." With that, she laid down, bringing her knees to her chest.
Inuyasha blinked but rose anyway. He nodded. "Right. See you." He wandered back to the tree, which he had claimed as his bed for the night, a large oak with thick green leaves. Something didn't feel right about the calm around Kagome. It seemed almost forced. As though she was putting on a façade to hide her pain.
He paused and glanced over his shoulder. Kagome had stretched out and was staring at the night sky. It was obvious that she had no intention of going back to sleep. Inuyasha didn't blame her. If he had a nightmare as vivid as hers, he wouldn't dare go to back to sleep either.
Her nightmare...when her soft cries filled the cool air, he had been by her side in the blink of an eye. Tears poured through the corners of her closed eyes and pulled at his heart. Tried as he might to wake her, nothing happened. Kagome continued to whimper and cry. Her sobs sounded so painful, as if something horrible had happened to her to make her cry so. She mumbled in her sleep. Inuyasha had made out the phrases, 'This isn't happening', 'Yes, I am', and 'No, he's not'.One word had made his blood run cold, 'Inuyasha'.
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Author's Note: I wanted to skip the A/N for this chapter for dramatic effect, I may have just ruined the effect but I just had to say thank you to everyone that reviewed! This story is doing better than I had imagined! Hopefully ya'll enjoyed this chapter! I'm working on chapter 4 right now! So please review! Let me know what you think!
--$hAdOwCaT
By $hAdOwCaT
Chapter 3: Haunting You
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------She could feel her vision growing blurry. The rain didn't help her lessening vision either. Dark blobs were all that her weary eyes could make out. She brought her hands to her eyes and rubbed them furiously. She removed her hands and tried blinking several times, but her vision hadn't improved. Flashes of bright light came from the distance, in the mist of a sea of darkness. But there was nothing comforting about these flashes. They made her very soul tremble. She shuddered and tried to straighten but her legs felt like jelly. Her knees buckled and she landed on the ground with a thump.
She put her hand on the ground to support her weight when it came across something warm and wet. Confused, she brought her fingertips to her face. Everything suddenly came into focus. She found herself staring at her fingers, which were covered in a dark red liquid.
Blood.
A gasp escaped her lips. Her hazel eyes darted to where she had felt the liquid and saw red clothing.
She screamed and fell backwards.
Her heart rammed against her ribcage almost painfully. She could feel her whole body tremble in shock. Gathering the remains of her strength, Kagome sat back up and the sight before her made her feel ill. She couldn't believe her eyes. There had to be some sort of mistake, her mind reasoned.
"I-Inuyasha?" her voice came out as a raspy whisper. "A-are you okay?"
There he was, lain on his back with numerous cuts and scratches on his body. His head rolled on his shoulder; silver bangs shielded his eyes. Tetsuaiga lay inches away from it's master's hand.
There was no reply.
Tears clogged her throat. Kagome forced herself to look away. She put her hand over her eyes in an attempt to get rid of the image she still saw and would never forget. A sob escaped her lips, followed by another, and another until she couldn't stop.
"This isn't happening. This isn't real. This isn't happening," she told herself over and over again. "Inuyasha is not dead. He's just fine."
"In the afterworld."
"No! Shut up! Inuyasha is alive. This isn't happening. I'm just imagining things that's all."
"No, your not."
"Yes, I am!" Kagome's voice trembled as she stole another glance at his slain form.
Oh God, she thought, he really is de-
"No, he's not!"
"Little one, is this what you want? To cry bitter tears over the dead body of the man you love? I change all that."
"He's not dead, I will prove it to you."
"Try as you might. It will do you no good."
She sniffled and gently nudged Inuyasha. Nothing happened. She held his hand and bit back a cringe as she noticed how cold it was.
"Inuyasha? Please speak to me."
She set down his hand and shook him by the shoulders. His head rolled to his other shoulder. His eyes were open, but something was different about time. Those amber orbs usually so vibrant and full of life looked dull and...lifeless. He was staring at something unblinkingly.
She bowed her head, struggling against her tears. She fell on his chest and cried.
"You jerk! Damn you, Inuyasha!" she cried. "Why did you have to go and die on me? You selfish arrogant asshole. Didn't it ever occur to you that I needed you? I hate you..."
"I told you it would do you no good. Didn't I?"
Kagome shut her eyes, but tears still leaked through them. She blindly groped for his hand and minutes later brought it her chest. Her whole body trembled. She didn't know how long she sat there, crying on his lifeless body as if it would bring him back. Suddenly her body felt as though someone or something was shaking it, violently.
Kagome...!
"No...leave me be. I'm trying to mourn here..." she muttered and smothered her face in his chest, not caring if his blood got on her skin.
Kagome...! Came the cries again.
"...no..."
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Kagome slowly opened her eyes. She could hear voices all around her but couldn't understand a word of what they were saying or even who the voices belonged to. She blinked several times and finally the world came into focus. Sango, Miroku, Shippo were hovering above her with worried faces. It was still dark out.
She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stifled a yawn. "Did I sleep too long? What time is it?"
Shippo looked as though he was going to pass out from relief. Miroku and Sango exchanged glances and sighed.
"You gave us all a scare, Kagome," Sango said with a concerned frown.
Not again, Kagome thought exasperated. This was the second time she had woken people up with her screaming. She had to learn to dream quieter...or something like that.
Miroku handed her a cloth. She gave him a strange look.
"What's this for?" she asked, confused.
"You were crying, I thought you might like to clean up," the monk replied.
Kagome kept her gaze to the ground as she numbly wiped away the tears. Something was very wrong. She kept having the same dream over and over again, and now her horrid dream was continuing each dream more horrific than the last. Most people didn't have nightmares that continued like this. And that voice...that voice wanted her to go with it. Go where? Wherever it wanted her to go, it couldn't be good.
"I'm sorry," she muttered.
Sango crouched down next to her. "It's okay. But Kagome, if something is wrong you know you can talk to us, right? We are friends."
She nodded, still refusing to meet anyone's gaze. "I know. Thank you..."
Miroku straightened and stretched. "It will be daylight soon. We'd all better be going back to sleep."
"Yes, of course," Sango returned her gaze to the young girl before her. "Would you like me to stay? In case you need company or need someone to talk to?"
"No, that's okay, Sango. I don't want you to lose sleep because of me. What if we find a demon with a jewel shard tomorrow and your not up to the fight because of lack of sleep? No, I don't want that to happen. I'm fine, really."
Sango didn't seem convinced. "Are you sure?"
She forced a smile, hoping that the demon slayer wouldn't notice how fake the smile was, and nodded. "Yes. I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
"If your sure." Sango gave her a hug and stood, over her shoulder she said, "I'll be just over by the fire if you need me, okay?"
"Okay, okay."
After the older teen had left, Kagome took in a shaky breath. She drew her knees to her chest and rested her chin on her arms. It struck her as odd that her sleeping bag was the furthest away from anyone's. Sango and Miroku were sleeping next to the open fire, which now had burnt out. Shippo, who usually slept with Kagome, had chosen tonight to sleep with Sango. While Kagome's stuff was underneath a large oak tree. And Inuyasha, well he just slept in a tree. And if there weren't any trees, he would sleep on the ground with the others.
They had made camp in the woods, after having gotten wind of a demon terrorizing an area further north. Rumor had it that this demon had in its possession, a shard of the Shikon no Tama. If the rumor was right and they were lucky, they would have another jewel shard of their own. That was, of course assuming, that Naraku hadn't already gotten his sticky paws on it.
She sighed. Her eyes felt heavy but there was no way that she was going back to sleep. Not a chance. She could still picture Inuyasha's lifeless body, bloody and battered. And it scared her.
"Kagome?"
Kagome opened her eyes, which she didn't even realized she'd shut, and found someone sitting before her. She blinked several times to realize that it was in fact Inuyasha. Her breath caught in her chest.
"I-Inuyasha," she whispered. "Is it really you?"
Inuyasha quirked a brow. "Of course it's me, Kagome, who else would it be?"
She lowered her head and muttered, "I'm sorry."
"Keh, well don't be."
She heard her sleeping bag make noise as Inuyasha scooted closer. The fabric of his kimono rubbed against her arm.
"Kagome, a-are you okay?"
Okay? Would she ever be okay? Kagome found herself wondering. It would be so easy to just put on a big fake smile and say 'yes, of course! Why wouldn't I be?' but in her heart she knew it was a lie. She didn't want to lie, but she didn't want him to worry either. He had enough on his mind, as it was, for starters his dead girlfriend who had been resurrected and wants him dead. And there was the Shikon no Tama and Naraku...why make him worry more than he had to?
She laid her head on her arms once more. "I'm fine," her voice came out as a whisper.
"Wrong. You're not okay. Don't lie to me, Kagome. I can see right through your pathetic lies. Tell me what's wrong. Now."
"I'm fine, really."
"You're a terrible liar, you know that?" he snapped. "Something is wrong. I don't know exactly what happened in your dream earlier, but I know it wasn't good by the way you were crying..." he trailed off.
Just as she was about to say something, Inuyasha continued.
"I hate it when you cry, you know that. I thought that you were cursed again. I tried to shake you, but you wouldn't wake up. I was afraid that I lost you..."
Kagome lifted her head and almost smiled at the scene before her. Inuyasha was staring at the sleeping bag material, his brow twitching slightly. He was tapping his index fingers together. He looked uncomfortable and nervous.
A silver colored dog-ear twitched on his head. Inuyasha slowly glanced at her from the corner of his eye, feeling heat in his cheeks. He gulped audibly. He had hoped that maybe Kagome had fallen asleep or was unconscious even while he revealed what he was feeling and then she would miraculously awake and not even know he had said a thing. But dammit, she did neither. She just watched him, unnervingly calm.
She averted her gaze. "That's kinda funny...because I thought the same thing about you..."
"Huh?"
"It's nothing," she said quickly. "We'd better get some sleep while we still have the chance. 'Night, Inuyasha. See you in the morning." With that, she laid down, bringing her knees to her chest.
Inuyasha blinked but rose anyway. He nodded. "Right. See you." He wandered back to the tree, which he had claimed as his bed for the night, a large oak with thick green leaves. Something didn't feel right about the calm around Kagome. It seemed almost forced. As though she was putting on a façade to hide her pain.
He paused and glanced over his shoulder. Kagome had stretched out and was staring at the night sky. It was obvious that she had no intention of going back to sleep. Inuyasha didn't blame her. If he had a nightmare as vivid as hers, he wouldn't dare go to back to sleep either.
Her nightmare...when her soft cries filled the cool air, he had been by her side in the blink of an eye. Tears poured through the corners of her closed eyes and pulled at his heart. Tried as he might to wake her, nothing happened. Kagome continued to whimper and cry. Her sobs sounded so painful, as if something horrible had happened to her to make her cry so. She mumbled in her sleep. Inuyasha had made out the phrases, 'This isn't happening', 'Yes, I am', and 'No, he's not'.One word had made his blood run cold, 'Inuyasha'.
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Author's Note: I wanted to skip the A/N for this chapter for dramatic effect, I may have just ruined the effect but I just had to say thank you to everyone that reviewed! This story is doing better than I had imagined! Hopefully ya'll enjoyed this chapter! I'm working on chapter 4 right now! So please review! Let me know what you think!
--$hAdOwCaT