Namida no Eien-Tear of Eternity
The fragile, frail woman sat up from the bed, looking questioningly at the tall blur before her, shaking her awake. She blinked... once... twice... three times, failing every attempt to clear her vision. She swallowed and looked to what was would be the floor.
Link's voice cracked through the silence, "Daijoubu?" he spoke rather timid, fearing that she would unleash her fury on the next human being that breathed near her. The purple tear glowed and shimmered like an evening star on the table next to the mug of still steaming potion, reminding him of her deity. She snapped her head up to Link and three sparkling tears slowly trudged down the slope of her face. Her eyes cleared and she blinked at him innocently. The woman clamped her eyes shut and then rubbed them, squinted and looked around again.
Link gazed into her eyes and saw a reflection of his worried face peering back at him like a mirror. He saw her look him over and then smile, placing her hands in her lap.
She opened her mouth slightly and took in a fresh breath of air, exhaling it slowly...
"Y-yes... I think I will be fine..." she replied in the smallest of voices.
Link stumbled back and grinned brightly.
'Wow...' he noticed the mug of tonic that the Sprout had so willingly given him this morning and he reached over for it and held it.
"Here... It's uh... for you..." He stammered nervously. He was at a loss for words... Its wasn't everyday that a goddess fell into his hands... He knew it was her...
"Arigatou..." She dipped her nose closer to the intoxicating smell.
"May I ask what it is? It smells heavenly.." She stared up at him with great big smiling grey-brown eyes.
Link blushed furiously, but tried to hide it with a wide smile at her, "It's a tonic for your wounds..."
She looked up at him confused, "Wounds?" Then she looked down..
She was in a cloth, forest green tunic that went to the middle of her thighs. Her arms were bandaged in many places and the neckline went into a low V, with a small collar at the top that folded beautifully across her collar bone. The top was almost sleeveless, as they came to the middle of her shoulder. The middle of the tunic fit nicely around her waist, following the soft curves of her body. On the corner of the bed, lay a pair of leather boots that V'd all the way to the bottom of the toe, giving her ankle a sort of collar. (HA! Check that out! They measured her feet! lol)
She peered back at him giving him sweet eyes. Even though she had been to hell and back again... she still had a reason to smile... because she wasn't alone anymore.
"Drink your tonic before it gets cold.." Link spoke softly.
She snapped back to reality and giggled slightly, taking a sip of the honeyed potion. She finally allowed the mixture to penetrate her lips and pass over her taste buds, to slide down her throat in syrupy sweet pleasure. Her eyes fluttered and she smiled. It tasted sweeter than the first honey and felt more soothing than a hot bubble bath in the winter. She licked her lips and sighed with contentment.
"Wow..." she smiled in wonder at the rich taste, "...how'd you make this?" she said dreamily.
Link blushed, feeling his cheeks burning, "Well, just a couple of leaves, honey and water." he replied, scratching the back of his head.
"Wow.." she said again, licking her lips and taking in the sweet nectar in her mug. She looked up to him.
"Here, do you want some?" she held the mug out and offered.
Link shook his head, "Nah. I made it for you, and besides, you need to do every thing you can to heal those wounds."
She looked down and chewed on her lip, taking another sip of her miracle tonic, marveling at the magnificent taste. She paused for a second, in thought and placed the cup back on the nightstand, holding out her hand to Link.
"The name's Kagome!" she smiled wide and giggled.
Link smiled a small smirk and took her hand, kissing it, he replied in a formal manner, "Link... pleased to meet you."
Kagome gasped and blushed furiously, "You too..."
'Oh my goodness...' she smiled and bore into his eyes kindly.
The Hyrulian teenager looked straight in to her grey-brown pools. Full of unknown words... so much emotion and yet, sadness hidden in those depths.
'Eyes such as yours should never hold gloom within them...' he thought, mentally writing that one down. (HEY! It could be a pickup line:P)
...she was missing something...
He looked down to the floor and back to her, searching for the right question, but not finding the right way to say it, "Miss Kagome, why where you crying?" he looked at her... waiting for a reply.
"What do you mean? When?" she tilted her head to the side and her hair flopped that way. She placed the half-empty mug of tonic on the nightstand, (or is it half FULL? MUHAHA) and placed her hands in her lap and felt the softness of her tunic.
Link looked down at her hands and contemplated with himself as to what he should do... he needed to talk to her, yet he didn't know how to put it.
'Miss Kagome... when I found you, you were injured, and crying...no...I can't do that... will she suspect? I don't know what it was... but there was something that lead me to her, some aura... a presence that held her voice and carried it to me. Everything happened for a reason... but I can't find out what.. maybe She has answers...' (And what i mean by "She" is that he is talking about a certain person! Juss so's ya know)
Link stood up and held his hand out to her, "C'mon," he smiled, "I have a better place for us to talk..."
Kagome looked at his hand and blushed, but she politely brushed her palm with his and stood up slowly. Her knees were quick to give out and she stumbled into his chest. (How cliché! but its adorable!) He held her waist for support, and began to lead her out of the house...
"Are you okay, Miss Kagome?" he mumbled.
She looked up at him and smiled, "I'm fine now... and please... just call me Kagome, no need for formalities." she giggled.
They reached the balcony and Link looked down to the ladder, and then to the grass below him. He began thinking of ways to get her down without hurting her.
Should he get on the ground and then she jump?
No... he would pull something..
Should he just wait until she is walking better to go and talk?
No... he needed to talk to her and he had questions... questions that needed answering...
He finally received a pang of idea and he took action.. He bent low to about her waist level and motioned for her to climb on.
"Go on, trust me..." he knew that this would be the first time to show true to her... so he had better make a good impression, "...I have an idea."
Once her felt the weight of her body on his back, he placed one foot on the ladder step and both hands on the balcony floor, he then swung his foot around and placed it on the step below his other foot. He felt her tense and cringe, and her grip on his tunic became back-breaking.
"Don't worry, I won't let you fall."
She relaxed and released her white knuckled grip on Link's tunic, and released a breath she didn't know she was holding.
The ground was becoming comfortably nearer as link descended down the ladder, and Kagome's breath became slower and even. Link's feet finally reached level ground and she slid slowly down the slope of his back to the silky soft grass. Link still kept a protective grip on her waist, while he walked back up to the hill that led to the entrance of the Lost Woods. The small cave-like gateway had hanging, sagging moss clinging to the tops and vines hugged the sides, and disappeared into the depths, like long snakes that were searching for their next meal.
"What is this place?" A small, petite voice mumbled beside him, gazing in awe at the mouth of the entrance.
Link stared ahead, "Lost Woods... famous for just that."
He felt her flinch beside him.
"But don't worry, I know this place like the back of my hand!" he chuckled and ventured forth, being ever so wary of Kagome's injuries. He felt her giggling body close to him and he smiled, as he stepped into the tunnel and out into an open area with four tunnels, one north, south, east and west of them. Link smirked and continued on, taking the northern passage. (And I don't know the exact directions to the forest temple! So don't email me:P)
"Hey Link..." mumbled the tiny voice of Kagome.
Link looked down to her, "Hm?"
She peered ahead of her, "Where are we going?"
He looked back up, "To Saria... she is the sage of the Forest Temple. She'll have answers..." he stopped abruptly, not wanting to give out that information.
"Answers to what?"
Link flicked his eyes over to her, "You'll understand when we get there.."
Kagome fell silent and leaned her head on Link's shoulder for support and closed her eyes. When he turned, she opened her eyes a crack and kept up with him, determined not to slow him down.
'Who's Saria? Why have I been brought here?' she opened her eyes a little, looking solemn.
It doesn't make sense...'
She stole a glance up to Link, noticing the way that his elven ears beautifully molded... the way that the tip of his ear barely touched the outline of the band on his hat. The perfect way that his blond hair peeked from the inside, splaying all over his face, giving him a wild natured look. And the way that his soft, but determined clear blue eyes melted with his well defined facial features. And the way that she felt with his strong, protective arm wrapped comfortably around her waist...
She mentally slapped herself.
'How can I think this way? I love Inuyasha... I... love Inuyasha...' she bowed her head, knowing that she was lying to herself.
'NO! It isn't a lie! I love Inuyasha!' she almost stumbled on her thoughts. How could she love Inuyasha when all she did was hurt her? Everything that he did was thrown back at her and slapped in her face. Why she ever returned from her time back to him, she didn't know. (You go gUrL! lol!)
'Kikyou... that witch...' she hissed inside her mind, and then gasped.
'Oh no! I've-I can't feel jealousy for them... Kikyou was Inuyasha's first love and I can't change that... all I can do is feel happiness for them and hope that he never forgets about me.' she felt the bubbling tears rise and begin to spill over, splashing on the soft ground.
Why was she crying again? Why did she always have to cry?
She shook with soft sobs and Link turned in alarm.
"Kagome... what's wrong?" he questioned with concern.
Her face tilted to meet his and she looked to him with sparkling, sad eyes. Her mouth opened, slightly, as if to say something, but she stopped and she shook violently and took a deep breath. He supported her back as she fell to the ground with loud cries that rang throughout the forest. Her face buried into his chest and her tears stained his green tunic, and she wrapped her arms around his torso. (I promise, she'll stop crying, eventually, but right now she is in a really bad time! But it'll all change!) Link reluctantly, and slowly began folding his arms across her back and rubbing it soothingly. He brought his hand up to her head and began stroking her hair and cooing to her.
"Everything will be okay... shhh...please, Kagome, tell me... what's wrong?" he mumbled softly.
Kagome's body shivered and shook and she hiccuped with such great force that it lifted her shoulders. Her nose turned red and thick tears ran across her chin, falling on his tunic. He held her until her sobbing and shaking subsided slightly, rubbing her back and stroking her raven hair. He tilted her head to him and slowly wiped them away and remembered...
The purple tear...
He allowed one of the clear tears to fall and slide inside the palm of his hand. He watched familiarly as the tear glowed and shimmered a pale purple, just like the last one, and then began glowing brighter and brighter, until it was a glowing lighthouse in the palm of his hand.
"Kagome... look... these are your tears... do you know what this means?" he watched in disbelief as the tear began to harden into a fine jewel, still keeping its glowing properties...
"Tears of Eternity..." he whispered... "Gods..." he held the tiny jewel close to his face, inspecting it.
Kagome looked at him, confusion and skepticism edged her eyes... 'Why are those MY tears? What are they?'
"Link..." she hiccuped, "...I'm confused... what am I?"
Link smiled at her and held her by the shoulders, gently, "There is nothing wrong with you..." he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, then opened them back up again, "We finally found you, after eons of waiting... come... Saria will tell us everything.."
"B-But Link, I'm not so sure I wanna know... I'm scared, what do you mean, you've been looking for me? I don't even know where I am! A-and how have you been searching for eons!" she lowered her voice, "I'm only 17!" she gasped and covered her mouth, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell..." she whispered as she dried the remains of her tears.
Link gathered her up and wrapped an arm around her waist, beginning the rest of the walk to the Forest Temple, "Don't worry about it... Saria studied the history of the three goddesses all of her life, and as a sage, it is her obligation to know about them and also the history and creation of the Triforce."
Kagome decided to keep her mouth shut... all of these things that Link said... they didn't make sense to her... she had never heard of them... sages, the three goddesses, the Triforce... all alien to her. But it'd be better just to follow him and not ask anymore questions.
They had walked through the last tunnel and had reached a large maze that twisted and winded around in squared circles. Kagome looked at Link in and raised a thin eyebrow.
"And just how are we going to be able to get through here? Do you know this maze like the back of your hand?"
Link laughed, "Actually, no."
Kagome paled, "Awww! It's gonna take forever to get through here!"
Link laughed again, "Hey! I didn't say that I didn't have a quicker way!"
He beckoned her to climb on his back and he walked up to a strong hedge. Testing it, he slapped the brambles and he pulled at it.
"Oh no... you're not thinking of--" she began.
"Hold on!" and he began scaling the hedge, laughing when he heard her thrilled squeal. Hand by foot, foot by hand, he grabbed at the hedge and pulled himself to the top with a grunt. He smirked as he looked out to the tops of the maze, where once, he fought beasts and contraptions to reach the temple and purify the depths. The memories brought slight tears to his eyes as he thought of his close friend say her last goodbye as she disappeared forever into the bright green light.
"Don't worry Link... We'll always be friends..."
He held the tears inside of him and backed away to the edge of the top of the shrubbery and got a running start, jumping to the next top, hearing another thrilled scream from the woman on his back. He held her legs and continued jumping form one hedge to the next. Her shrill screams turned into cries of laughter as he jumped from the second to last hedge and jumped down to the ground. Being careful not to drop her, he leaned down and allowed her off his back. He turned quickly and held her waist, but, surprisingly, she politely turned him down.
"Let's see if I can make it all the way..." she said, staring up at the stairs that towered before them, smiling determinedly.
Link stole a skeptical look at her before nodding and motioning his hand, "Ladies first.." she smiled back at him and began the journey, but Link stayed close behind her, so close that she could feel his breath trickling down her neck. It sent shivers down her spine and she almost lost her balance, but she regained and treaded on...
Step...
Step...
Step...
Each step, she was growing stronger. More and more energy was filling her body and her confidence was building higher and higher, like the steps that clapped under her bare feet. Still, Link stepped in rhythm with her and stayed fast behind her, if she ever fell.
'It's a long way down there and it would kind of hurt to hit the bottom.' he kept telling himself that, that was the reason he was protecting her so much. That the reason that he was protecting her was because she was a goddess.
'Yeah... that's it...'
Of course that wouldn't explain why he so formally introduced himself and that he blushed and grew excited when he was around Kagome. He just tried to ignore those things because he still kept telling himself that he had to be with Zelda... it was his destiny. To be king of Hyrule... joy... He had tried to be enthusiastic about the royalty situation around Zelda, but it just wasn't his thing. He needed to be everywhere... do everything... smell everything... taste everything... BE everything... not just sit somewhere, all day, doing nothing but tending to the needs of other people, and sit on a throne, wearing a fancy hat and looking pretty.
'I mean, jeez, it's the humane thing to do, but I don't want to hear about how much I suck as a king, and how much someone's grandma needs a remedy from some far off uncharted oasis in Gerudo Desert, and that I have to find it in AND bring it back in 2 days, 23 hours, and 59 seconds, or grandma's dead as a doornail. It's just not my style.'
Kagome stopped.
Link almost tripped over her in his day dream state of mind. She had stopped right in the middle of the sanctuary. Link walked beside her and followed her eyes to where they grabbed at. He looked up. The pedestal of the Triforce stood shining strongly. (OK! this is where I come in...first of all...i haven't played this game since 2 years ago .. ...and second of all...i hadn't even gotten the chance to beat the game! so don't sue if I am just making things up, k? Okay! just had to clarify that!)
"Wow..." she whispered, awe struck. A large statue of a girl with hair curling behind her ears, a headband and a tunic, similar to the one she had on now, stood smiling brightly above a huge metallic ornament of three golden triangles shimmering in all their glory. Hovering slightly above the triangles, there was a glowing green crystal, wrapped in a golden swirl that curved around, and inside the jewel and came around,forming a point at the bottom of it. It glimmered and turned as it hovered under the statue. Kagome walked up to the statue and got a closer look.
"Link," she felt the triangles smoothness and they each glowed a different color as her fingers trailed them.. green... blue... and red, "this is... the Triforce." the middle of the Triforce glowed violent purple and a small wind cascaded down on them, flushing under her tunic and around her hair. The wind was playful and spunky and just as Kagome looked around, the small girl from the statue appeared standing beside her, smiling brightly. She was only about half the size of the statue, but it did her justice.
"Hello! My name is Saria!" her cute voice soared into Kagome's ears and she looked over to Link, but she didn't have to look far, for Link was standing close beside her, giving the largest grin she could have ever imagined.
"Hey Saria... it's been a long time..." Link said in a cheeky tone. The small girl looked over to him and smiled brighter than the sun in June.
"LINK!" she ran and hopped into his arms, burying her face into the fine folds of his tunic. Link held her and twirled her around, laughing when she gave a shrill giggle of pleasure...
Kagome stood aways from them as the seemingly long time friends joined together once again. It was a happy scene... it made her smile, something she felt she had not done, genuinely, in months. Except for the wistful, hopeful smiles she sent Link in their first meeting. But even those, were just hopeful smiles, nothing more, nothing less. She hugged herself, smiling, and waiting for the return of Link and Saria from their long awaited "play-time." She laughed when she heard the little seven year old girl squeal in delight from being tickled senseless by Link. Kagome wasn't ABOUT to interfere, she knew what it was like to almost never see anybody again. It hurt. It hurt badly... she knew that she didn't want any pain like that to happen to Link again. So she just waited, watching mirthfully at their glee.
She began to wonder about the purple tears that she had cried, but they were clear on her face...
'Why did they turn purple?' she began looking around for something that would make her eyes water. She looked up. The sun shone brilliantly through the sponge-like holes from the trees. Kagome looked up at them, staring intently at the sunlight that beamed through those cracks. She kept her eyes wide open.
Twitch...
Twitch...
Twitch Twitch...
'Must ...not ...blink...' she glared at the sun until her eyes burned and thin tears flowed slowly down her cheeks, she caught one and held it in the palm of her hand and waited. Sooner than soon, the tear began transforming into the purple bubble of florescent light. Brighter and brighter it got until she was sure it would blind her. It began hardening and forming the dazzling jewel that was forged before her in the deepest parts of the Lost Woods by Link. She held it in her two fingers, examining it and turning it. She faced the Triforce and a sharp pull on her hand was strong enough to pull her closer to it's shining face. In the dead center, a small notch was carved into the middle area, where, supposedly there was no triangle. But curiosity got the best of her and she soon gave up on trying to ask before she did. She settled the small stone inside the groove and stood back, prepared for the worst, as it began glowing...
HAHA! a cliffie! (sigh) my first one to dish out! BWAHA! I am really excited about starting the next chapter! It's going to be all about what's going on with kagome, and what she is gonna do about it and all that gunk... oh yah... review cuz reviews make me happy, they give u short updates! WELL BUH BYE!
KagomeInuyasha09