A Deadly Curse

Chapter 2

Warning: major OOCness from just about everyone in this chapter! and

I don't own any characters. That's the only time I'm gonna say it, but it stands for every chapter before and after this.

Inuyasha had been gazing lightly at the embers of the fire for the second hour, (deep in thought about certain things), when the wind changed direction to the south, vanishing his recent thoughts. Her scent was carried on the cool moist breeze, toward his highly sensitive nose. It smelled lightly of dead things, but more strongly of clay and the forest she was condemned to walk until her souls stopped coming to her. It wasn't a pleasant smell; it made his nose wrinkle.

'Not like Kagome's scent….' Inuyasha made sure that everyone was asleep before he descended from his branch high in the dead limbs of an ancient pine. It's a wonder how the branch held his weight, but he was always light on his feet, a well-received gift from his demon side. His last thought forgotten, he entered the edge of the forest at a deliberately slow walk, but still… eager to get to her. Yeah, eager….

Inuyasha emerged into another clearing a little ways from camp and found her sitting under the black shadow of a humongous tree that seemed to rise strait up into the stormy clouds. She was waiting for him, he could tell, even though she would deny that accusation if questioned. Kikyou's empty, gray gaze met his own. Therefore, the confused hanyou took his seat beside the undead miko and thought of what to say. Nothing immediate came to mind, which was strange; they could always talk to each other.

The miko with the gray eyes laughed a short, mocking laugh after a while as if to say, "Look what's become of us."

"Is this how it's to be, Inuyasha?" Kikyou asked, her beautiful voice weighing every word as though it had significance. "We meet and say nothing, not even a comment on the pitiful weather? Is that girl so fascinating to you?" She was right, the weather was pitiful and Inuyasha was thinking about Kagome.

'Inuyasha, I need to know before I do this. All I want is to make you happy, even if it's with my other half. But, I must make sure that we still don't have a chance….' Her thoughts completely betrayed her presented attitude. Still Kikyou plowed on.

"Kikyou, you know that's not it. I've just had a lot on my mind lately, what with the Shichinintai and Naraku…."

"You were always pitiful at lying, Inuyasha; especially where my reincarnate is concerned."

"Damn it, Kikyou. Is that what you want to talk about? Kagome? She's just a stupid girl who happens to be able to see jewel shards, that's it. If she looks like you, what the hell!"

"Inuyasha, quiet fooling yourself. You keep coming back to me because you feel obligated to. You quiet feeling anything but pity for me along time ago." What Kikyou said actually had foundation it seemed. Despite that, Inuyasha was still angry. More to the point, his pride would not take it.

"Then why the hell do you keep coming around? If you knew I'd feel "obligated" to come then why do you keep showing up! " This conversation was going in the same direction that all their other conversations had. This was only the thirty-seventh billion one this year. However, this time Kikyou's reaction was different. She rose to her feet and took a deep breath, her bow still clutched tightly in her hand. One of her soul stealers swooped down and deposited a soul that entered through the fabric of her miko garb. Kikyou glowed in an ethereal light for a moment and then returned to her normal color.

"Inuyasha, this is the last time I come to you. I…we have both come to a point where neither of us finds anything worth forging in the other person. Maybe only one of us comprehends it, but it is there. Inuyasha…I suppose what I'm trying to say is…I…" It wasn't like Kikyou to hesitate; she was normally very strait forward with everything. The curious half-demon rose to his feet and took the couple of steps that were necessary to come face to face with the rarely distressed miko. Inuyasha pressed his fingers under her chin and brought Kikyou's face closer to his.

Inuyasha gasped at what he saw. Kikyou was possibly the closest to human he had ever seen her since she had been resurrected and made to live a tormented life as a creation of clay. Her eyes were on the verge of spilling tears and her bottom lip was shaking in suppressed emotions. Kikyou's famous gray orbs were alive like they never had been in a spectrum of emotions thought incapable of someone so dispassionate and cold.

"I love you with every particle of my broken soul, Inuyasha. It is because I love you that I cannot be with you. You have all you want in Kagome; I see that. She is intelligent, caring and tries to find the good in every creature, alive or undead. She may be clumsy and a novice archer, but at least she is alive. Warm, pulsing flesh and blood. I am cold and undead, a reaper of innocent souls." Kikyou's face had gone back to sans emotion. She broke from Inuyasha's embrace and put a foot of distance between them. She wouldn't meet his gaze either.

"You don't love me. You fear the day you are destined to die, because of your promise to follow me to hell. You would like to stay here with her. I understand this to be what you truly want." Now she did lift her eyes up to the half-demon who had remained uncharacteristically silent all this time. Inuyasha thought he could see where this was going, a direction he was not sure about yet…. Still, he kept quiet.

"Inuyasha, when I die you…I want you to promise Kagome as soon as she wakes that you'll never look back on what we had together. Promise her I…am no more to either of you." Kikyou plastered a fake, stone-cold façade on her face and stared at Inuyasha fiercely, just daring him to try to disagree, even as it began to rain. Silently Inuyasha pulled Kikyou under the shade of the generous acorn tree and just held her. Kikyou succumbed to his warmth and allowed herself to rest upon his shoulder, with her face buried in the folds of his haori.

"Your minds made up isn't it?" Kikyou nodded wordlessly into his chest. The rain seemed to get heavier and the air colder. "Strangely enough I don't feel angry, just sorta…relieved, I guess. Maybe you are right. Maybe I do love her, and maybe I don't love you in the way I thought." Those words stung Kikyou despite their ring of truth. At least they both knew the truth behind this twisted love triangle.

The two creatures spent only a few moments in each other's embrace before they broke the sweet contact for the final time.

"Do you promise, Inuyasha? You are free if you do. Free to go to her."

"Yes, I-" The wind changed direction and once again flooded his nose with a medley of scents, one of which was Kilala approaching with Sango, Miroku and Shippo astride. No Kagome, though. They broke the horizon of the trees, scattering Kikyou's soul stealers in all directions. Kilala touched the ground in a blaze of fire that didn't seem to be in danger of being extinguished by the rain. Shippo answered his question before he could even ask it.

"Inuyasha, Kagome-chan's missing! All her stuffs gone and the rain has washed away any foot prints and-"

"What he means to say is Kagome-sama must have left of her will. No kidnapper would think to pack her stuff for her, let alone her sleeping bag." Inuyasha growled low in his throat. He couldn't smell her scent in this crappy weather. Tracking was not an option either. She could be hurt, or worse, and all he could do was stand here and make assumptions about what happened.

"Kikyou-" Inuyasha was interrupted a second time. , this time by a powerful blast of miko energy coming from an indeterminable direction. It washed over them with such force that Shippo was knocked off his feet and sentenced to bonk his head on a thick tree root sticking up from the soil. A Miko's purifying energy was usually deadly to a youkai or half-demon but this time it was harmless; it only left behind a tingly sensation that lingered in the toes. Just as quick as it came it left.

Kikyou was the first to speak, "That was defiantly Kagome's energy. It came from that direction." She gestured to the unassuming west, a direction that looked as unsuspicious as the others did. It was clear that she was trying to be helpful, even though it was not her thing. She earned herself many weird looks from the rest of the group.

"Yeah, thanks, ya know, for what you said." That's all Inuyasha said before he leaped in the direction Kikyou had pointed. 'Any second I spend here could be a second too long.'

"You're welcome…." However, no one heard Kikyou's acknowledgment. They had already taken off in the search for their beloved friend. Kikyou placed her bow in its proper position and started her journey to the north, despite the rain.

Kikyou's directions paid off, because only after 30 minutes of seemingly futile searching, they found a clearing that looked like it had been blown apart with tremendous force. Even though the scene did not look good from above, maybe it would look better once closely inspected. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo landed with Kilala only moments after Inuyasha arrived. He was already busy trying to read the quickly eroding signs of the battle. Meanwhile, the others had fanned out looking for anything that could tell them that Kagome was alive.

Sango had taken to the parts of the bank that were not under water; the rain had caused the river to swell to enormous proportions covering some parts of the battle. She wasn't very hopeful on finding anything, but she would not give up that easily. If any signs could point to Kagome being alive then that was all the better. Shippo and Kirara were to her left rummaging through the broken plant and tree debris. Sango thought she heard Shippo sniffing back tears. She held her own back and continued her search.

Miroku did not like the way the trees around the newly made clearing had fallen. Undoubtedly, they had been squeezed by something powerful. The way the bark had snapped and splintered was his evidence. He parted the trampled bushes and made his way to the roots of a young sapling that had been ripped from the ground. Dirt still clung to the knotted roots; worms wiggled, partially exposed to the dawn air. A broken arrow shaft embedded in the upper trunk of the dismembered tree caught Miroku's attention. He yanked it out and immediately recognized it as Kagome's arrow.

"Inuyasha, I've found something!" Before Miroku could blink, a flustered Inuyasha yanked the shaft from his hand. He sniffed it and growled deep in his throat. Whatever he smelled, it was not good.

'At least it's quiet raining,' thought Miroku as Sango, Shippo and Kilala joined them. It had in fact quiet raining a little while ago. Nevertheless, it had taken its toll: Telltale signs of the battle were turned into gooey mud.

Inuyasha had begun the search again after discarding the broken arrow shaft. It didn't take him long to find something, but it was the last thing he thought he would find. A piece of the Shikon jewel shard. Something must have happened to Kagome if she could purify a youkai yet be unable to retrieve the jewel shard. A jewel shard left unattended was quickly snatched up.

"Did you find-" Sango's question was interrupted by merciless laughter, coming from a woman alight a giant feather. Kagura, the wind sorceress, had her fan that could wreak terribly destruction opened and covering the lower portion of her face, as if it were some sort of popular accessory. Her cold eyes portrayed a knowledge that she knew those before her would pay dearly to receive.

'I didn't even smell the wench! I should have!' Inuyasha silently berated himself for his carelessness. 'Not paying attention is what got us here in the first place! Don't drop your guard!'

"What the hell do you want?"

"I want to know what you're looking for. You look pitiful, stumbling around for something you obviously won't find." Kagura allowed herself a wicked grin.

"I ain't got time for your riddles, witch! Just spit it out!"

"Yes, if you know where Kagome is, please feel free to share." Sango didn't say anything during this whole exchange; neither did Shippo. They both seemed slightly out of it. Kilala was little again, just looking at Kagura.

"Of course I know where Kagome is, silly. All you had to do was ask! Didn't you know that?" Kagura then got a sickly smile on her face. She masked her face in a disgusting simper. "But one does begin to wonder. I mean, you were obviously good friends, right? But, then why did the girl flee? Was it perhaps because of that wretched Miko? Tell me I'm very eager to know."

"Cut the crap, Kagura!" Now Sango spoke up. "Just tell us where Kagome-chan is!" Sango was beginning to become alarmingly violent.

'Sango….'

Kagura snapped her fan back in a movement that caused the air to move and blow back her hair. Then with her other hand she tossed to the ground the broken half of a bow that once belonged to Kagome. Her smile was predominating on her face. "It was a very heroic battle, actually. I didn't expect so much from such a little thing! The odds were defiantly no tipped in her favor, I can tell you that much. That youkai took care of her in a snap." In addition, for good measure, Kagura snapped her fingers. "What I mean to say is, our dear Kagome is… dead. Right as she released her final amount of energy the youkai hit home with its' deadly fangs. The girl was burned to death by the acid in the youkai's poisonous venom. She screamed quiet vividly, as I recall."

Dead silence met this disgusting anecdote of death. Inuyasha clutched the broken half of Kagome's bow until his knuckles turned white. His head was bowed to hide the tears that were quickly rising to the surface. When he spoke, his voice was level and unfeeling; his eyes portrayed what he felt.

"You watched her d-die? You watched her die and didn't do anything?"

"Why would I want to? Really! Use your mind, it's very handy. Now, I believe, is the time for me to depart. My Lord Naraku has many things he wishes me to do in only a minimum amount of time. However, I'm sure he would allow me to extend our… condolences on your loss." Kagura's feather rose into the air, taking her, laughing all the while up, with it.

Sango prepared to attack, but Inuyasha intervened. "Don't, Sango." His voice was level, and unappealing.

"Inuyasha, she watched Kagome d-die! I can't let her get away with this. I need my revenge, and its right there!" Actually, it wasn't anymore. Kagura was merely a spec in the distance, a spec that was swiftly disappearing.

"I know. We will get our revenge. I-"

"You'll what Inuyasha? Save the day? Perform a miracle? If you hadn't gone to that damn woman then Kagome might not be dead! It's your entire fault; you've always been messing up Kagome-chan's life and now this time it's permanent." Sango had gone from sad to angry to homicidal, and it was all directed at Inuyasha. The half-demon in question felt he deserved every harsh word laid upon his ears.

"Sango, there's no need to become so verbal. I am sure no one regrets this more than Inuyasha. Right now we need to take time to gather ourselves, and then I think we should discuss returning to Kaede's village." Miroku's advice seemed to be taken to heart because the occupants of the group seemed to forget their squabble, and to remember more clearly the recent tragedy.

'Sango was right. If I hadn't went to Kikyou last night I might have been able to stop Kagome from leaving. But… would she have still left anyway, later on I mean? Why did she leave? Was it… me? Did she really hate me that much? I guess I was kinda mean…. No! That stupid wench should have just gotten over whatever the hell was bothering her! If she had just sucked it up, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place! She shouldn't even be allowed to be here. Look at all the lives she messed up!' Inuyasha's thoughts had taken a complete 180° turn for the worst. His irrational anger was explosive in his mind; it left no room for sound thoughts or grief of any sort.

"That baka…." Shippo was the first to look up, and he didn't like the look on Inuyasha's face. He was angry, Shippo could tell, but angry with whom?

"What, Inuyasha…?"

"Kagome, that's what! If she'd just stayed put, she wouldn't be dead and we'd be able to finish finding the rest of the jewel shards (which I might add is her fault in the first place)!" Miroku, who had just broken up a fight where Inuyasha was blaming himself for what happened, was mildly surprised at this turn of events. Sango just stared at Inuyasha as if he had grown another head.

"Inuyasha… did you ever stop to think-" But Miroku was interrupted by another angry out burst.

"- that Kagome is just a stupid little girl with no skills or talents, who always gets in the way, and hell! I don't know, maybe she deserved what she got! There's no telling with that witch…." Everyone was stunned into silence at this angry speech. They just kept staring, Sango with tear-stained cheeks and Miroku with a miserable expression. Shippo wasn't showing many emotions at all; his face was as blank as an unpainted canvas. Then suddenly a master painter put on the little Kitsune's face raging anger and the deepest betrayal.

"How dare you say stuff like that about Kagome? All she ever did was try to be your friend, Inuyasha, and fix the mistakes she caused. Most people would just ditch you, say it wasn't their problem. A stupid, selfish half-demon, they'd say, just let him rot for a hundred more years. She's probably the only human in the whole of Japan who'd put up with you and you'd just spit on her memory because of your stupid pride! She didn't deserve you!" Miroku, who seemed to be the only one keeping his head on, moved closer to Shippo. Kirara attempted to rub against Shippo's legs, almost knocking him over.

Inuyasha's smirk faded from his face, just as fast as it had come. "You're just a kid. You don't understand what you're saying." The truth is Inuyasha was quickly regretting the things he said. He'd die before he admitted it to those three.

"No, Inuyasha." This time Sango spoke "I think you're the one who doesn't understand." Her voice was icy, as were her eyes, as she picked Hiraikotsu from its resting place against one of the toppled trees, and began to step toward Kirara with a purposeful stride. Miroku regarded her in trepidation, as did Inuyasha.

"What are you doing…?"

"Leaving, Inuyasha, what does it look like? Kagome may have been able to put up with you speaking to her that way, but I will not stand here and listen to you, of all people, talk about her that way. Come on Shippo." Shippo gave one dark glare to Inuyasha before hopping into Sango lap. She was already sitting on the newly transformed Kirara. All eyes turned to Miroku.

"Sango, maybe Inuyasha didn't quiet mean what he-"

"Miroku, of course he did! He'd be the first to admit it, too! Are you coming, or not?" Miroku seemed indecisive, as he slowly looked from angry faces to a confused and depressed face.

"Did you really mean what you said, Inuyasha?" Miroku knew Inuyasha didn't mean what he said, but if Inuyasha would still insist that he meant every word (I mean he hasn't exactly said he didn't mean it) of what he said then Miroku didn't think Inuyasha was worthy of any friendship that was passed his way.

Inuyasha still would not meet Miroku's gaze. His heart was screaming no! as loud as it could, yet it was drowned out by his merciless pride and independent will. Quietly and numbly, Inuyasha nodded his head. He still did not meet anyone's gaze; he didn't think he could.

Miroku nodded his head in acknowledgment; it was all he expected. He saddled Kirara behind Sango without so much as a word to Inuyasha or anyone. Shippo seemed hesitantly pleased.

"Good bye, Inuyasha…." That was all Miroku got to say, as Kirara sprang into the air and rose higher, starting in well-rounded spirals, and then turning north, where Inuyasha was left far behind. Even his keen eyesight couldn't detect his former friends.

The half-demon in question just stood rooted to the spot, shock evident in his hansom features. Only several thoughts registered in his mind, running repeatedly through his mind like a broken recordOne of which was that he had screwed up big time.

The grown hanyou, who was so much like a little lost boy, cried for himself that day; cried for what he had lost and cried because he was all alone once again, only this time it was possibly irreversible and undeniably his fault.

"Isn't she so interesting to watch?"

"Um…yeah…."

"I know. How long does it usually take for the curse to take full effect?"

"A month. Two, just to be certain."

"That's not too bad." The snapping of a door could be heard and light filtered into the room casting faces into view. One was a man with a baboon pelt over his head and back, the other a beautiful young woman with long red hair. They both surrounded the blood red stone.

"I've informed them of the Miko's "death"." A smirk grew upon the face of the man known as Naraku. The picture in the stone had vanished, but Naraku still held onto it tightly.

"Wonderful, Kagura. Now get Kohaku, and prepare for your next task. It is a while in the making"

"Yes, Naraku." Kagura gave a short bow to Naraku and acknowledged the woman in the room with a slight dip of her head. Didain at the red haired woman was etched in every line of her face, but still she payed her respect.

Kagura slid the door shut behind her, casting the occupants of the room into semi darkness.

So, what do you think? Kinda long, I think. But I just kept on getting idea after idea. They won't stop coming! I dread getting writers block, but hey, it happens to the best of us, eh? Thank you oodles and oodles of noodles!

Squee-beepers