Chapter 22: Disaster!
Hojo felt weightless as he began to feel his senses coming back to him, able to feel something very soft under his fingertips, soft whispers were tickling his ears, mystifying him, he could hear, no… feel their presence in the room, that… light and lifting feeling coming back to him whenever that class priestess was around. His eyes fluttered open, slowly focusing onto Kagome's face. Then he realized exactly where he was… Kagome's house. The smells of the shrine, the incense and old parchment was light in the air in the living room, but still distinct enough as though trapped by the fibers of the couch he was laying on. He looked around slowly, then sighed, "Kagome… did I pass out in front of the shrine, because that was one hell of a dream," He watched her expression, sighing as she saw her expression relax, a soft smile crossing her lips.
"Thank Kami your alright, Hojo," she said in a soft tone, "I was wondering about what happened back in Inuyasha's time, why were you clutching your head like that?" she asked, tilting her head as her ears flicked up, twitching in concern.
His eyes widened. If Kagome's transformation was real… then the well… and… Naraku… all real! As if to answer his thoughts, the dull chuckle rumbled in his mind and the cold presence seemed to creep up his spine and once more into his brain. "very observant, Hojo, I'm surprised you thought that I would be a figment of a mere dream…" it whispered, making his face pale, and his eyes bug out as Kagome looked away quickly, cold and shivering.
Hojo looked up in alarm, straightening up and slamming back against the cushions of the couch, his breathing shallow and his heart racing. "No… this cant be possible… he… your still here!" his mind whispered in disbelief. He ran his hands angrily through his hair as he whispered, "Kagome…" then he was gone, his eyes glazing over and a wicked smirk taking shape on his once placid face, his fingers curling into fists of rage as he got up and began to pace, "hmm… now that I have you… what to do with you…" the now colder version of himself whispered, his hand sweeping out, a ball of miasma quickly forming in his palm. It was uncomfortable, and hard to control with this body, and it seemed more acrid in this world than his. "hmm… interesting, your world seems to contain much more evil than even my own…" He purred, his eyes seeming to gain a glimmer of delight as he surrounded the hanyou with a curtain of miasma, forcing her back into a corner, gagging.
Kagome was shocked, to say the least, and this event told her one thing… Naraku was alive and well, and he had to have possessed Hojo, or maybe he was Naraku's incarnation or something… she couldn't think right now, she was to confused, she could feel the little newcomer in her belly rolling around as though he were suffering. This made her not just mad, no, not mad. Fury of an unbelievable proportion swept over her, her fangs showing in a snarl through her coughing, "Naraku!" she gagged, "What the hell! I though I purified you!"
Hojo laughed cruely, sending shivers violently up his captive's spine. "well… you did purify me, but you missed a spot, the point of my transformation into Naraku, I still remained there, waiting for some fool to come and touch that spot… and this idiot did… he didn't feel the dark energy resonating from that wretched point in the world…" he said his voice so cold he should have been breathing clouds of vapor into the air with each word.
Naraku smirked now, but Hojo was screaming, raging and thundering in the back of his mind, feeling surges of hatred toward this cruel… personality that had entered his mind. "No!" he screamed in desperation, "Please! Let her go!"
Naraku laughed even louder now, now seeming amused. "your friend doesn't really like watching you die, Kagome…" he purred, looking around. He could not sense anyone around in the general area around this structure, so he had time. But, did he want to make this quick, or make this bitch pay for the unbelievable pain she had inflicted upon him by tearing him from his body by giving her a slow, painful death from suffocation? He smirked as he slammed a fist hard to her gut, then pulled back, "accept it, and if you do escape… your child will not survive…" he purred to Hojo, just to feel him writhe and scream in despair and agony for his best friend.
Kagome decided that this was quite enough, and decided to run for help, and that's precisely what she did, taking a deep breath, holding it and using her arm to shield her mouth from the acrid fumes, she darted through the thick clouds of miasma, and bolted out the window, the glass shattering brilliantly around her as she rolled on the flagstone ground, feeling a shard of glass lodged in her side. She began to run, tearing out towards the wellhouse, Hojo flying out the door and sprinting after her. She just kept running, flinging herself into the well, not even noticing the blood that soaked through the crotch of her jeans. She hit the ground on the otherside after the otherworldly journey to the past with a loud thud, a groan, then she faded, her eyes closing as the world closed around her, leaving her in darkness.
Kagome woke several hours later with a groan, feeling herself wrapped up in a tight blanket, looking fearfully around, her eyes wide and worried, then she felt the pain, not from her side, but from her stomach. She groaned in agony with the white hot pain, "Inuyasha!" she cried, looking desparately for her mate.
The half demon in question was not long in sprinting into the room and pulling her into his lap, cooing to her, "Shh, mate… shh… I've got you… you're alright…" as he stroked her head, cradling it to his chest, as though it were something extremely fragile that might be broken in an instant.
Kagome whimpered as she nuzzled into his chest, taking in his deep, woodsy scent, and began to slowly relax. "Inuyasha… Hojo… he's… he's been possessed…. B.. by Naraku…" she felt tears of pain searing down her cheeks and dripping onto her mate's bright red haroi.
Inuyasha instinctively stiffened at the name, "what!" he said, totally shocked. Naraku! Alive? Absolutely im-fucking-possible! He was growling now, but a whimper from Kagome silenced it in an instant, "Kagome… when you came up from the well… you were… were…"
Kagome looked up, her tears still running down her cheeks, "Still what... Inuyasha? Tell me, please?" she begged, looking up at him, both of their faces full of worry.
Inuyasha gulped, then closed his eyes as his hands balled into fists, then he buried his head into her shoulder and began to weep, sobbing into her shoulder. Kagome was simply flabberghasted by this, having never really heard or seen Inuyasha in such a state. She reached around and gently rubbed his back, trying to soothe him, "Inuyasha… its alright, please don't cry…" she begged fruitlessly, the sobs going uninterrupted as two pairs of footsteps reached her ears, making her head snap up as Sango and Miroku came, followed by Kaede soon after.
Sango was weeping, burying her face against the monk's shoulder, a tear leaking from his eye as he held her around the waist, rubbing her side in an attempt at comfort. "It's alright, Sango… just let it out…" he whispered as he pulled her into a hug, his eyes closed as he let his face take on a look of deep meditation, taking in a deep, shuddering breath, then slowly letting it out.
Kagome simply looked confused, looking to Kaede, who shook her head. Shippo was nowhere around, he hadn't been around for several days, she surmised from the smell of things, the fox's piney smell very faint in the house when compared to her companion's trademark scents. "Miroku… Kaede… can you tell me what everyone is so sad about?" she asked, her expression looking clearly confused as she looked up from Inuyasha's shoulder, eyes questioning.
Miroku simply shook his head, looking to Kaede, who took a deep breath and started into the room, taking a slow seat next to the grieving hanyous. Kaede's face was taut, as though fighting tears herself. She truly wished this hadn't happened to such a sweet girl as Kagome. Her expression held strain as she spoke, feeling her control getting dragged down with Kagome's expression of dawning realization and utter horror. "Kagome… ye see… ye had a… a miscarriage… you expelled the child while ye were unconscious… it did not survive…"
Wow… There's a downer…
Kyd Fizziks
