"Wash It All Away" Evanescence
"You hold the answers deep within your own mind.
Consciously, you've forgotten it.
That's the way the human mind works.
Whenever something is too unpleasant,
to shameful for us
to entertain, we reject it.
We erase it from our memories.
But the imprint is always there."
Chapter 17....
"Memories"
The rest of her journey went well enough. She past through forests without running into any demons. She slept 5 hours every night, half the night listening, and checking for demons, and other fiends. Every now and then she would open one eye to check her surroundings.
She past 2 villages indicating her that she was close to Kaede's village.
Now all was left, was to pass through the thick demon infested forest, then she would enter Inuyasha forest, from there she would make it to Kaede's hut in no time...
In the last village she came upon, Kagome left the horse behind. She told the villagers she would one day return to claim it, for she could not ride the steed through the thick forest she was to journey through.
Now Kagome walked in a narrow path, from where she could spot the dark forest. She felt a gust of wind that sent her hair standing.
'I have a bad feeling about this' she thought as she came closer and closer to the entrance of the forest.
Finally... she reached the entrance. She stopped and stared at the tall trees that seemed almost alive. She clutched her bow....
'this is it.... this forest is the only thing standing between me and my friends... oh man I'm so scared. But if I take another path... It would take days till I get there. Ok.. chill out kagome... 6 hours surviving in there.. How hard can that be...' with that thought she made her way inside.
'This forest is untamed and untouched by human hands, well I don't blame them, only an idiot would go in here... and I'm that idiot.' she thought.
Tall, thick shrubbery's stood in Kagome's path, as she struggled to remove them.
The forest was dark, the tree's canopy blocked most of the sun's light, making it seem like night has fallen. Kagome could only imagine how this forest would look like if it was nighttime even that thought gave her chills.
3 hours later... Kagome removed more shrubs that stood in her way, some where as tall as her, proving more difficult to move. She received several cuts, and scratches from the sharp edges of the shrubs.
The kimono she wore was torn in several places, and her face had long cuts, from whence trails of blood flowed.
She did not want to admit it, but she was lost. Her only option now, was to keep going forward, hoping she would enter Inuyasha forest soon.
Later…
Kagome was now a complete wreck, blood was visible through her white upper Kimono.
She had gotten hit by a plant with a sharp thorn, if it went deeper, it would have fatally injured her.
She was tired, she had been walking through the forest for 6 hours now, and still no sign of Inuyasha forest.
She was getting exhausted, from hours of walking.
She found a sitting area, under a tall tree.
She sat and took a break. From her small pack, she took out food, and began to consume it.
'Its getting darker by the hour... I have to get out of here, before night falls.' she thought as she finished eating, and stood up.
She began to walk again.
Slowly the sky began to darken, until she was encircled by darkness.
Her only light was the small light the moon illuminated, making her see the outlines of her surroundings.
Another hour passed as she made her way through the dark forest. Suddenly all sounds came to a halt, followed by the deafening silence. She heard not the swaying of the trees, the chirping of crickets, not a sound was to be heard.
'It's quiet...too quiet' she thought, becoming uneasy. She stood in a clearing, clutching her bow tighter, and listening , and watching for any quick movement.
She heard the swift movement, she was not alone, something or someone was here with her.
THERE... footsteps, it was quick, but she had heard it. She prepared her bow and arrow, and quietly listened for the intruder.
Silence... THERE... she hastily let go of the arrow, hoping it had hit her target. But nothing was heard, it seemed she had missed, for there was no scream of pain, nothing. She aimed again at nothing, trying desperately to hit the target. She had wasted 3 arrows, and was down to her 4th one.
"come out, you coward" she shouted.
"hahaha" a female voice chuckled.
" who are you" Kagome asked curiously, still not letting her guard down.
Slowly an outline of a woman began to emerge from the dark forest, and into Kagome's view.
"so... you have survived.... young Miko" an amused voice called out, as an outline of a woman began to emerge from the dark forest, and into Kagome's view.
Realizing who it was, Kagome raised an arrow, and aimed it at Kagura, Who stood still, observing Kagome amusingly, as if enjoying every moment of it.
" hmmm... I see, you are returning to Inuyasha... poor girl, you are wasting your time on that pathetic hanyou" she sniggered.
" There is no one here to return to" Kagura harshly uttered.
"wh....what are you talking about." Kagome asked.
" do you wish to know... what your dear Inuyasha has been doing, while you we're away" Kagura chuckled, as Kagome stared at her confusedly, bow and arrow still aimed at Kagura.
"hmhmhmhm...." Kagura laughed.
" while you we're away, he has spent his entire time at Kikyo's side." she sardonically spat.
"Liar...." kagome cried out, as tears began to form in her eyes.
" You we're but an instrument to him, now that he has Kikyo, you have become worthless, even your friends abandoned you. I can't blame them, after all Kikyo is far more superior than you. You are just a forgotten memory." Kagura mocked.
"shut up....SHUT UP" Kagome screamed, trying to block her mind of Kagura's voice.
'lies... she's lying... it can't be true... they would never replace me for Kikyo' she thought, desperately holding onto the little hope she had left. Memories of her and Inuyasha's happy moments flashed through her mind, memories of his confession, Sango and Miroku fighting, and memories of Shippo's whines, and complaints.
'no... they will never forget me' she thought.
"I...I'll make them remember" Kagome confidently said, letting go of the arrow, as it swiftly flew towards Kagura with great light and speed..
"hahahaha" Kagura chuckled as she caught the arrow in midair, and snapped it in two.
"Imprudent human... you cannot defeat me, your jewel fragments had made us stronger." Kagura sniggered.
" I cannot let you interfere with Naraku's plans... now you'll die... permanently" Kagura bitterly spoke, as she lunged for Kagome.
"AHHH" kagome screamed, as Kagura pierced her right shoulder.
Blood flowed freely down her kimono, as Kagome quickly ran to avoid Kaguras attacks.
Kagura lifted her wind fan thingy, and prepared to kill Kagome with her wind attacks.
Kagome searched desperately for a way out, knowing she could not defeat the demoness.
She spotted a small gap next to Kagura, and she desperately waited for her chance to escape.
'wait for it' she thought, eyeing the demoness lift her fan, waiting for the perfect time to escape.
'There' Kagome ran right in front of Kaguras wind tornado and moved just in time to escape the dangerous wind that would have cut her to pieces.
Kagome ran through the shrubs clutching her right arm, as blood still flowed in large amounts.
She could hear Kagura knocking down trees that stood in her way, just for the fun of it.
"hahahaha…." Kagura chuckled.
" do you wish to play this game again… I warn you wench this time you will not escape" Kagura threatened, removing more pesky obstacles that stood in her way.
Kagome ran, faltering now and then, but she forced her body to keep moving.
Even through all her wounds, and her loss of blood she still refused to give up.
She was so close, so close to returning to her friends, and she would not let Kagura get in her way.
'I came too far to give up now, just when I'm so close' she thought.
'Kagura… let her be an evil voice rang through Kaguras head.
'But she will return to Inuyasha, we cannot let her escape' Kagura argued.
'That is an order Kagura. Kikyo will dispose the wench herself' Naraku ordered.
'You trust that Miko' Kagura questioned.
'Kikyo will not allow the wench to return to Inuyasha' Naraku spoke.
'Now return to the castle for I have another task for you' he ordered.
Kagura hesitated before releasing her leaf, hopped on it, and flew away with an annoyed expression.
Rain began to pour heavily on her, as it washed some of the blood from her body and face.
She was breathing hard, and her body was slowly giving into exhaustion.
She had been running none stop, and it seemed Kagura had stopped pursuing her, or perhaps waiting for the perfect time to strike.
Suddenly she caught sight of something. She weakly ran towards it, and slowly placed her hand on the object.
'the Goshinboku Tree… that means I'm close to Kaedas village.'
Without hesitation she ran to the direction of the village, and ignored the pain in her body.
'Almost there… just a little more' she thought as she made it to the hill.
She stood on the hill overlooking the village below. For a moment she just stood there gazing at Kaedas hut.
She envisioned them sitting around the fire, waiting for her. She smiled at the thought of Shippo running to her arms.
Her best friends Sango and Miroku embracing her, and telling her how happy they are to see her.
And… Inuyuasha, she loved how unpredictable he was.
Perhaps he would be angry at her for losing the shards, or he'll be so happy to see her back again.
Doesn't matter anymore she was back and she couldn't wait to be in the presence of her dear friends.
She ran towards the village, soaked in rain, and her blood.
But it didn't matter to her, being with her friends was her only objective now.
Being with her friends, and being with Inuyasha again.
She was almost there, almost home.
Suddenly she stopped… she sensed something, or rather someone.
She stood right in front of Kaedas hut.
'NO… they couldn't have' she thought. Immediately Kaguras words came crashing down on her.
" There is no one here to return to"
" do you wish to know... what your dear Inuyasha has been doing, while you we're away"
" while you we're away, he has spent his entire time at Kikyo's side."
" You we're but an instrument to him, now that he has Kikyo, you have become worthless, even your friends abandoned you. I can't blame them, after all Kikyo is far more superior than you. You are just a forgotten memory."
'They wouldn't… they would never replace me for Kikyo' she thought, but in the deepest recess of her heart she knew Naraku and Kagura were right. Kikyo was better, and stronger. She will always remain a flawed copy of Kikyo, and she will always be second best.
Memories of Inuyasha's betrayal ran through her head, memories she desperately tried to erase.
"You hold the answers deep within your own mind.
Consciously, you've forgotten it.
That's the way the human mind works.
Whenever something is too unpleasant,
to shameful for us
to entertain, we reject it.
We erase it from our memories.
But the imprint is always there."
She saw them kissing in the forest, she heard his vows and promises to Kikyo. No matter how much he betrayed her, she kept her promise to him. She promised she would stay with him no matter what, and even though he hurt her so many times she still stood by him. But how long can she keep it up, how long will she last hurting herself, just to be with him.
Now she was afraid of what awaits her through those doors.
Slowly and anxiously she advanced to the small hut, until she stood just mere inches from the blinds that separated her from her companions.
She could feel the presence of her incarnate.
Kagome softly touched the blinds as if the mere touch would burn her flesh.
Slowly and quietly she moved the wooden object, just small enough for her eyes to peek at whatever lies ahead.
Thunder & lightning clashed overhead as Kagome's eyes met with the sight before her.
What she saw shattered her last hope, and the last remaining happiness she had left.
Meanwhile...
Inuyasha laid unconscious as he saw more of her pain, pain that he caused. He was experiencing her pain through her memories as if he was there. He saw what she saw, he heard what she hears, and he heard her thoughts. Most of all he felt her pain, mental and physical pain. For every time Kagome felt pain he felt it as well.
Kagome made sure that he experienced every single pain that she felt, all the pain that he caused her.
So what did Kagome see, and will Inuyasha understand the pain he caused her… Sorry I left you all in a cliff hanger… I couldn't resist.
"Lies" Evanescence
Bound at every limb by my shackles of fear
Sealed with lies through so many tears
Lost from within, pursuing the end
I fight for the chance to be lied to again
You will never be strong enough
You will never be good enough
You were never conceived in love
You will not rise above
Chapter 18 Preview….
Kagome runs away from the sight she saw, and Kikyo persues the already beaten, and weak girl… Will Inuyasha come to her rescue, or will he come too late, and not even know of the girl's fate.
Chapter 18: Missing…
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