The Moon Hides Its Light from Me

*~Faded_Moon~*

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Chapter 5

Running Into The Arms That Were Never Open

            After eating, Sango and Kagome went to wash up at a hot spring nearby and Miroku took this time to confront the still-brooding Inuyasha.

            "Inuyasha… you know very well that you have hurt Lady Kagome, yet you do nothing?"

            *mumbling* The monk sighed.

            "I cannot help you then. But what if- what if you turn human again?"

            "I DON'T KNOW!" exploded the now-angry hanyou.

            "Then I trust you to fix this. Gods help you if you don't…" and with that he left to go greet the girls who had returned from their bathing. Kaede came out of her hut and walked over to the group and handed Kagome some herbs for healing her cuts.

            The sun then began to set and along with that came everyone's gasps. Inuyasha felt himself being drained of power once again just as he had hoped for and feared at the same time. They retreated into Kaede's hut as he felt his claws retracting and his ears traveling down. Once settled in her hut, Kaede was the first to speak.

            "So it is true…"

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            Inuyasha glared at the ground, as if he were going to punish it for knowing his secret. He shifted uncomfortably under the intense stares of Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kaede. Although he was not a half-demon anymore, he could still sense that Kagome was looking elsewhere. He had to explain to her about his visit with Kikyo, but what would he say? He had run out of excuses for his actions.

            "Inuyasha needs to be guarded tonight." Inuyasha looked up at the voice. It was Kagome. He just gaped at her and she returned his stare with an ice-cold eyes.

            'Man, I didn't know I affected her THAT much. Why is she looking at me with those cold eyes? Its almost like Kikyo's…' he lost his trail of thoughts when he remembered his promise to Kikyo that he would find her again that night. He blinked. 'Wait… there's something else there… pity? Sorrow?' he sharply took in a breath. 'Love…?!'

            Inuyasha looked away as Kagome continued, "If any youkai come here, he won't be able to fight or protect himself."

            'Pro… Protect… my- myself? AGH!! I hate being human! Feh. Stupid weak human form! I need NO protecting!!!'

            "That is true, Lady Kagome." Miroku agreed.

            'NANI?!?! DON'T AGREE WITH HER!!! I DON'T NEED TO BE PROTECTED!!!'

            "Maybe we could take turns being on guard?" suggested Sango.

            'IIE!! IIE!! IIE!! IIE!!!'

            "In the meanwhile, we need to figure out what is causing this," sighed the overly exhausted young miko, "Kaede-sama? Have you any ideas about what is happening?"

            'FEH! FEH I tell you!! I can take care of MYSELF!!!'

            "Indeed, this is most unusual…" Inuyasha stopped fidgeting and arguing inside his mind to listen to what the elderly miko had to say. "I have never seen something like this happen, basically because this kind of… problem… doesn't happen."

            Inuyasha's eyes squinted into a short glare when she emphasized the word 'problem'. Feh-ing to himself, he shook his head, but looked up again as Kaede continued, "As of now, I am considering that it is a spell."

            "FEH! You old hag! If it was a spell then I would have known, besides I wouldn't let any old hag-of-a-witch cast any damned spell on me!!"

            "Inuyasha, it was just a consideration, but what your companions say is true, ye DOES need protecting and we need to find out what is wrong with ye." Kaede stopped as the group agreed silently, then said, "So… Inuyasha, I do not think ye will sleep much tonight."

            With that, she rose and went into the other room then came back with a large package wrapped in deerskin. Beaming, she set it down in front of the group and announced, "THIS will help us solve this mystery." She tugged on the leather rope binding the package. The package blew up, causing a great amount of smoke. The teenagers tried to beat away the smoke in a frantic action to see what was happening and breathe clean air. The smoke cleared up a bit and the group could now see that the items of the package were arranged in a linear fashion and that the package had many herbs, different lengths of vials, varieties of prayer beads, and a several thick scrolls.

            The youngsters gaped at the multitude of supplies in front of them as overly beaming, old miko instructed, "THIS is the Spell-for-Spell 1497!!!" [A/N: 500 years ago right? Tell me if ya think my math is horrible] Kaede explained to the confused group, "The villagers bought this for me, such kind people." She turned to the human Inuyasha, whose eyes were twitching and stated excitedly, "Come on Inuyasha, we better start testing you if we want to find out what is going on." She smiled giddily as she grabbed some herbs and started grinding them in a silver bowl, which obviously came as a bonus to the 'Spell-for-Spell 1497' because of the inscriptions on the side. The human Inuyasha started turning greenishly sick with fear, noticing how Kaede's face looked like it was her 6th birthday party and her father had just bought her a pretty, pink pony.

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            Sesshoumaru scanned the forest ground for signs of his brother as he flew overhead. The wind direction changed slightly, carrying the scent of Inuyasha, but not the regular Inuyasha, a human Inuyasha… mixed with something else… 'How many years has it been now, Little Brother?' the inu-youkai grimaced to himself, 'How many years has it been since I last saw you human?'

~FlashBack~

A small child version of Sesshoumaru is playing with a toddler form of Inuyasha in the garden of a large palace. Sesshoumaru stands at about three and a half feet and is wearing a white silk haori with dark blue sakura flowers dotting the hem of his sleeves and bottom edge. The child Sesshoumaru bends over, grabs a purple ball off the garden floor, and looks toward his little half-brother standing a couple of feet away. The toddler is wearing a mini light blue haori and stands two and a fourth feet tall. Sesshoumaru smiles and lightly bounces the purple orb to his little brother, who misses catching it and runs after the ball that is rolling away, laughing his innocent childish laugh. The two play this game for a while as the sun begins to set. Toddler Inuyasha has the ball and throws it toward his older brother with all the strength his little body could muster, which was still quite much considering he is a hanyou, and the purple sphere soars far over Sesshoumaru's head. The elder brother smirks and sees this as a perfect opportunity to practice his ability to fly that his father taught him recently. He takes off the ground with demonic speed and grabs the ball out of midair. Landing on the ground, he sees his younger brother squatting on the ground covering his ears. Sesshoumaru examines his half brother again, 'His ears are gone… and his hair…' Sesshoumaru watches intently as his sibling becomes human. Then, as mini human Inuyasha got up, Sesshoumaru looks toward the sky where the sun was setting over the ridge of the forest.

"Come on, aniki," persists the small boy, "I can still play!" Sesshoumaru blinks toward his younger brother and tosses the ball to him again. This time, the toddler moves too slow to catch the ball and it bounces off his head. The child Sesshoumaru laughs, "Inuyasha, you stupid human. You move too slow!" as his half brother rubs his head in pain.

Inuyasha stops, "But okaa-san said that I'm special because I can change into a human. Okaa-san said that it's good because I have a human heart just like okaa-san." Sesshoumaru laughs.

"Don't be stupid, ototo. Being human is being weak! Look at yourself, you can't even move as fast anymore!"

Inuyasha lowers his head so that his bangs hide his dark violet, almost black eyes, "Demo… okaa-san wouldn't lie to me…"

            Sesshoumaru continues to laugh at Inuyasha. Slowly, tears start welling up in Inuyasha's eyes and he starts wailing. Sesshoumaru tries to hide his snickers as Inutaisho runs out into the garden with Inuyasha's mother following not too far behind.

            "Inuyasha, son, why are you crying?" Inutaisho eyes Sesshoumaru nearby trying to suppress his laughter, "Sesshoumaru?"

            "Aniki said that being human is being weak…" the toddler sniffs as child Sesshoumaru looks at him with a smirk playing on his lips.

            "Its true, you can't even go as fast as you used to, you're pathetic."

            "Sesshoumaru! You will NOT speak to your brother like that!" Inutaisho whirls on Sesshoumaru.

            "But otaa-san… its tr-"

            "I will hear no more of this." He grabs Sesshoumaru's right arm and proceeds to drag him back inside the palace. Inuyasha's mother approaches the sniffling toddler and wraps her arms around Inuyasha comfortingly.

            "My Lord, please, don't be hard on Sesshoumaru. I think he-" she stops at the look on Inutaisho's face. She sighs and wipes Inuyasha's tear-streaked face as Inutaisho continues to drag in Sesshoumaru. The garden door closes on Sesshoumaru's last image of Inuyasha's mother holding her son in her arms, comforting the small human child, in garden bathing in the moonlight.

            ~End Flashback~

            'I never was allowed to see be anywhere near you or see you when you turned human after that…' Sesshoumaru sighed. 'There was so much innocence back then……'

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            Rin and Jaken finally reached the outskirts of a small village. They strolled by several huts closer to the edge of the village, looking for a place to purchase food. As they neared the main cluster of huts, the two came upon a group of small children around Rin's age. Looking at them with longing, Rin reminisced about how long it had been since she had last seen and been with children her age. To her surprise, one of a couple of the children noticed her.

            "Hello. Do you want to play with us?" one of the small boys asks. Rin looked at Jaken with puppy-dog eyes, pleading him to let her go play. Not being able to resist those eyes, Jaken reluctantly agreed. He noticed a place nearby where he could get food and indicated that as the place he would be at if she needed anything. Rin smiled her biggest kawaii smile, "Arigato, Jaken-sama!" and ran off to play.

            After playing for a while, the children's mothers started coming out for them, calling them to come home to eat dinner. The children that Rin became friends with so fast started heading home. Rin eventually was left standing there alone as her last newfound friend left for home.

            "Coming, okaa-san!" Rin watched her friend run toward an older woman who caught her son in her arms and took him inside. Her face showed nothing but loneliness and wanting. Slowly, she dragged her feet back to Jaken's side. The two started for a vacant area to sleep.

            After having set up a small camp, Jaken started to doze off when he noticed the small girl just sitting there.

            "Rin? What's wrong?" he questioned her with a bit of curiosity. She raised her sad eyes from the glowing embers.

            "What's an okaa-san?"

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            Miroku, Sango, Kagome, and Shippo were all sleeping huddled up in the far side of Kaede's hut, as far away from Inuyasha as they could. Kaede slept in the next room, muttering something about incantations in her sleep. Inuyasha, however, sat alert directly across the room from his companions. He winced as he remembered how Kaede made him swallow, eat, and apply all kinds of horrible-smelling herbs and potions. He even cringed at the thought of how he was knocked out by the last potion he had to take. It had smelled like rotting dung with dabs of burnt hair in it. Inuyasha shook the thought out of his head before he lost his dinner, again. He looked out of the doorway that was just a few feet away from his left side. The moon was starting to dip over into the sea of forests again as Inuyasha stood, 'Kuso! I only have a few more hours…' He walked quickly to the doorway, but looked back at Kagome's sleeping figure.

            'Please forgive me, Kagome,' the prayed as he went back to her and kissed her forehead lightly then walked out of the hut ever so swiftly. The sleeping miko's response was only snuggling closer under she blankets and slightly curling her perfect lips into a warm smile. He broke into a run as soon as he had crept out of the sleeping village. He couldn't help but think of Kagome as he ran.

            'Kagome… my angel, my true… friend… She demands nothing from me but to let her stay by my side. What kind of love is that?' He stopped for a few minutes to catch his breath then get a look around. He had to find her soul stealers, what other way was there to find a dead miko in a forest that large without a good nose or ears?

'Kagome, if only I had met you first… things would be different… I cannot return the full love you are giving me… CHIKUSO! I can't even protect you like I promised. I guess Fate has something else plan for you. All I can do now is help you find that path and get you to follow it.' A shining streak of white hovering above the trees caught his eye, and silently, he made his way toward the girl that had claimed his life so long ago…

'Now… Kikyo…'

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FOR ALL OF YOU THAT DIDN'T GET THAT: "I guess Fate has something else plan for you. All I can do now is help you find that path and get you to follow it"   THIS IS MAJOR FORESHADOWING!!! FORE-SHADOW-ING!!!! FORESHADOWING!!!! FORESHADOWING!!! FORESHADOWING!!!! Yea, I cannot express it enough… anyhow, just to make sure yall got that… back to the story…

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            A figure of a girl clad in a red and white kimono stood at the edge of a clearing in the middle of the forest staring up at the starry sky. Inuyasha clambered through the last of the undergrowth and found himself in that same clearing, the girl was across the field with her back to him though. A small, gentle breeze started traveling across the small field, lifting parts of Kikyo's hair into the air and blowing against her kimono, creating a wave effect. Inuyasha wanted take a deep breath of the air that brushed by him and his dead love, but he remembered that he had a human nose and she smelt of nothing more than earth and bones.

            "Took you longer than I thought…" She turned and gasped. "Inu-Inuyasha?" she couldn't believe what she saw, Inuyasha in his human form… when the moon was out.

           "If I am imagining this, or I am dreaming, wake me up now. It is cruel to torture a soul like that." she breathed. Inuyasha walked closer to her and she took a few steps back and placed a cold hand over her chest, where her heart would be if she had one. He came within an arms reach of her and took her into his warm arms, holding her close to his chest. She gasped, 'It really is him, but how..?'

            "The Shikon no Tama? Is it compl-"

            "No, Kikyo. This is something else; I believe it might be a spell. I've been changing into a human during the night even though the moon is out." He paused and looked up at where the moon was supposed to be, "Even though I can't see it myself."

            Kikyo buried her face into his chest, "I don't understand, Inuyasha. What are you trying to say? You are hanyou by day and human by night? It doesn't make sense."

            "Nothing makes sense anymore… but this…" with that, he kissed her, full and long, and the two were lost in their own world.

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            ~*~*~Back at the camp~*~*~

[Kagome's dream]

            Once again, Kagome stood at the edge of a forest near a cliff as the sun was setting. She looked around and walked toward the edge of the cliff to get a better look at the forest that lay over a hundred meters below. As she neared the edge, she heard someone behind her, Inuyasha. She smiled as Inuyasha came near her and held her around her waist, pulling her close.

            Sighing, she looked back toward the sunset, it was beautiful and she felt happy. Suddenly and rudely, she felt a gust of wind coming from behind her pushing her forward nearer to the edge. She turned around and saw Inuyasha turning human and behind him, coming out of the forest, was… Kikyo. She was glaring at Kagome and raised a hand pointing past Kagome whose back was facing the cliff now. Her hands instinctively clasped onto Inuyasha's clothes coming closer to him again, but when she looked up into his eyes, expecting a look of protectiveness, she saw him glaring at her with eyes full of hatred. Kagome gasped as Inuyasha grabbed her by her neck and lifted her off the ground. He walked closer to the side and flung her over the edge of the cliff. It seemed like an eternity as she fell for the first few seconds, she saw the hint of sorrow in Inuyasha's eyes though they were clouded full of hate that she knew possessed Kikyo. Then he turned and walked back toward Kikyo. Kagome continued to fall and the sunset and cliff disappeared from around her surroundings. Everything became pitch-black as she fell headfirst toward the never-ending abyss. She closed her eyes and tears formed in the corners of her eyes then flew off the tips of her eyelashes, making a trail of sparkling pearls after her.

            After falling for what seemed almost like forever to her, she opened her eyes once again and tried to scream, but nothing came out of her throat. Now panicking, she thought frantically, 'Oh my god… someone… ANYONE… HELP!! I don't want to be falling like this forever…'

            Like the answer to her prayer, a flash of silver flew before her as she felt herself being caught bridal style and squeezed her eyes tightly shut again. Then landing on the ground softly in the arms of her hero, she slowly opened her eyes to look around her. They were in an open field, full of lush green grass, flowers dotting the scenery, and trees growing around a clear blue lake. Then she turned her eyes toward the face of her savior. Tears had glazed over her eyes so she could only tell that he had silver hair and golden eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes again as he came in close and kissed her. Kagome opened her eyes, causing her tears to fall, and he wiped away her tears with the palm of his soft and gentle hand. Her conscious gasped. 'Sesshoumaru?!?!'

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            Kagome's eyes snapped open. 'Sesshoumaru…' she looked wildly around for any sign of Inuyasha's rivaled half brother. 'So he's the one that saved me…' She calmed down a bit when she saw her best friend, Kirara, Shippo, and the pervert monk sleeping peacefully nearby. Kagome raised an eyebrow when she saw that the lecher was no more than a few feet away from Sango, and his hand was even closer by two feet. Gently, she reached over to where Sango rested her Hiraikotsu and placed the oversized boomerang between Sango and Miroku's lecherous and wandering hand. She settled back down into a more comfortable position again, then she noticed it: Inuyasha was gone…

            'He probably went outside to sleep in a tree or something… that's usually him…' but something nagged at her in the back of her mind. She closed her eyes as parts of her dream flashed through her mind: Standing at a cliff… a sun set… Inuyasha turned human… then…

 'Kikyo…'

She jumped up and ducked quickly out of the hut. It was still early in the morning… almost dawn… Once again, she armed herself with her bow and arrows and started in direction she felt the hanyou's demonic aura pulsating and where she her soul reached for its missing part. She ran and ran, who knew what Kikyo might be doing to Inuyasha… worse, what she already did to him? Kagome only knew one thing: she had to save Inuyasha before Kikyo got to him and dragged him to hell with her.

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After following her instincts for the past ten minutes, she finally came upon the section of the forest that was a couple of hundred meters away from the Bone-Eaters Well. Kagome's eyes scanned the area for any signs of Inuyasha or Kikyo, and not surprisingly enough, there were some shimmers of light in the dim forest. Kikyo's Soul Stealers. She started toward the clearing between the trees, running faster than ever before. Just as she approached the clearing, she called out to Inuyasha, whose back was to her now, and jumped the last of the undergrowth to land into the field. Suddenly, just as she was in midair, she felt as if the whole world froze for a split second, and then fast-forwarded to the present again. Kagome stood up and looked around, confused.

'Inuyasha?' she looked behind her, Inuyasha and Kikyo stood in the clearing, Kikyo's back to her. Inuyasha was still holding Kikyo and looked as if he had not even heard her call. Kagome stared in disbelief, and then silently, she crept toward the field again. Again, she felt the strange sensations and when she turned around, the hanyou's back was to her again. Suspicious now, she closed her eyes and focused her miko energy and felt around her with her aura.

'A barrier…' she opened her eyes and looked into the field with a look of total helplessness. She held out a hand slowly and just as she touched the barrier, it disappeared. 'What am I going to do?' she retracted her hand and looked around her for some sort of solution when an idea dawned upon her.

'My arrows? They might work… but… it might not if its miko energy against miko energy.' She grabbed an arrow from her quiver, held the silver tip as if it were a knife, and started hacking away at the barrier. Scratches started appearing on the surface of the barrier and Kagome smiled in satisfaction then started working faster and hacked harder.

Meanwhile, Kikyo stood there in Inuyasha's arms, neither of them wanting to let go in fear of losing each other again. She had heard her, Kagome calling out Inuyasha's name in a frantic search to get to him. Kikyo smiled, it was a good thing she put up the barrier after Inuyasha joined her. But now, Kikyo watched out of the corner of her eye as Kagome hacked away at the barrier's surface. Even though Inuyasha could not hear or see her through the barrier, Kagome now proposed a possible threat of breaking through if she kept up that speed, though the dead miko doubted that she had the energy to do so. Kikyo closed her eyes and mentally called out to her soul stealers to carry out her next part of her plan. The silver youkai silently glided out of the field and its surrounding barrier to a nearby cavern with a cursed beast lying dormant within it.

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oOoOoOo.. WHAT?! Huh what?!?!?! This is probably gonna b the longest chapter I'll ever type… but it might not, depends on how many ideas I have :D soooo yeah, review review review!!! I'm expecting at least 10 reviews from this chapter (though that may b much considering its me… :\ ) if I don't get that amount then… well, I'm not going on until I get 10 more reviews!!! HO YEA I'M THREATENING YOU!!!! So HMPH!!!

October 21, 2003 is my 14 ½ bday!!!! So review please?? :D???