Yet another uber long chapter, this one setting the record at 17 pages. And all written in half a day. Hurray me! A lot of important revelations in this one, so be sure to pay attention.
Chapter 29: The Day of Many Truths
Chisaiga winked at him, half of it soaked red in the memory of battle. How it loved the smell and taste. How the moonlight bathed in the color now adorning its edge. Kokuei raised it high and admired it time and time again. In his mind, it was the most beautiful of weapons. Something he hoped to prize forever. And unlike the Tetsusaiga that had kept him at bay from within the hanyou, Chisaiga only strengthened his desire to kill. There were times when he could have sworn his eyes had been glowing red in battle. The savage desire to kill never left him even when he was giving a brain to reason with, and no amount of mental power could keep that at bay for long.
He didn't so much feel like a clone, nor did he feel like he was Inuyasha. He was just there, watching everything Inuyasha watched, physically feeling everything he had felt, and knowing emotionally what he had felt. Today it was like it had been a common dream, the one where you can't move and someone else controls you. He couldn't get out, no matter how hard he had tried. Sometimes the hanyou had slipped. He had lost the Tetsusaiga a few times, and at least the spirit of Kokuei was able to consume the body. Then, that Kagome girl would come into the picture, and something always pushed him back after that. All because of this wretched girl.
Kokuei remembered well, the hanyou thought quite often of the girl. Sometimes they were positive and sometimes negative, but still a great deal of thinking none the less. A great deal of staring too. His interest had been sparked in the miko long before he had been unleashed, mostly because it was something he felt certain would tear the hanyou apart.
His birth was still such a confusion to him. It was like he had been two people at first. During a transformation, the hanyou had so carelessly let his blood be spilt in great quantities on the ground. One way or another, Naraku had gotten a hold of it, and using his dark magic, he had summoned Kokuei back with it. It had merely shaken his spirit awake and commanded him do what was needed so that he could have his freedom. When Inuyasha handed his selfishness over, the part Kokuei needed most, so did he desist from a mere spirit and become of flesh and bone.
Naraku had no idea just what type of monster he had created.
And speak of the devil, his presence came ever closer. Kokuei looked up as Naraku appeared five feet in front of him. He eyed the clothes. For someone of his 'stature', the man didn't look so high-and-mighty now. The colors were duller, compliments of the dust from the inside of the castle. A few gray patches of dirt lay across his face and arms. Naraku spoke simply, "The plan has failed."
Kokuei sheathed Chisaiga. "Perhaps, but it doesn't have to be forever, does it, master."
The imitation hanyou brushed remnants of grass and dirt off his clothes as he stood. Naraku narrowed his eyes into space, "Indeed."
Naraku didn't much care for his reserved attitude. This creation was far too much like his enemy, even if he was wicked and had a thirst for the impure. "And this time," Kokuei did request, "I can take the miko, right?"
"As I recall, young apprentice. You were supposed to take the hanyou, were you not?" Naraku bluntly stated.
Kokuei leaned on the hilt of his sword. "Yeah well that Sesshoumaru bastard was harder to fight than you'd think. I had my hands full with him. Besides, it'll be more fun this way. What's a kill without a chase, huh?"
Naraku turned towards him, stepped forward so that he stood shoulder to shoulder, and leaned up to whisper in his ear, "Tell me, Kokuei. How would you define patience?"
"Huh?"
Kokuei started, held his breath as a paralyzing feeling went straight though him. He grunted with his mouth held shut against his teeth three times, then opened it to speak only to release a gasp. Naraku moved again, swift and quick, removing his hand from Kokuei's chest cavity. He grasped his shoulders and whispered to him, "Personally, I never cared for the thing."
With a hard shove, Kokuei fell to the ground. He looked up at Naraku in shock. Not so much in shock that he had been betrayed, but in that he hadn't been able to avoid it. "How did-?"
"Don't think your powers can work on me. I gave you your powers. I gave you life. And now I'll have nothing more of you," Naraku began to walk away, "You've tried my patience. I have no more use for someone so incompetent that he can't keep a pathetic hanyou from a pathetic miko."
Kokuei lips formed into a grimace, and he rolled to his stomach to watch his master fade away into the distance. As he disappeared, Kokuei felt his connection to Naraku being severed, along with the strings he had pulled to make the body becoming undone. "Damn you!"
He fell on the floor, struggled for the breath that was so easily evading him, but refused to let his mind give out. His blood began to pulse, harder than it had before. Kokuei grasped the Chisaiga, and it became faster. In a matter of half a minute, the corneas of his eyes glowed red. A hissing growl immerged from deep within his throat. Like the sound of pure death. His nails, so long and defined, itched for more blood. His senses picked up some movement, and he charged. Quite as lightning, he grabbed hold of a nearby deer. His claws ripped through and became drenched in his satisfaction.
As his senses feasted upon the death of the animal, Kokuei smirked into the moonlight, letting his eyes slowly regain their natural state. 'The world will not be rid of me so easily, master. Now that I am free of you, I will somehow regain the strength you are sucking away from me with each passing minute. I will have that miko's blood on my hands. I will have this land at my fingertips. Just you wait.'
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Inuyasha's protectiveness showed no bounds. As waves hastening towards pebbled beaches, he covered Kagome with this promise. That no one should know the beauty except those who walked upon the shores. The bitterness in his manner would not sway with this instinct. If anything, it only amplified it in the present situation.
On the way back to the village, Inuyasha had walked slowly. The others stayed rather far behind, due to the intenseness of his gaze. He had refused to let anyone take her away from him, even to put her on Kirara so they could go faster. However with some persuasion, they managed to let Kirara take her so they could tend to her wounds faster at the village, rather than having to travel a week to get back. And when they had passed an old miko setting up her camp, Inuyasha suddenly got a wild look in his eyes, and sped up to about twice the speed. The reasoning for this was still unknown.
The problem was she was not yet awake to ease his troubled mind, his furious state. What she had done continued to be his ghost. As she slept, he watched over her with rage burrowing into his features. The others came and went through the hut. Inuyasha had been anything but amiable when they had approached him. The dog-demon instincts folded onto his skin, the savage desire to let no one near his heart. Without reprieve, he growled at each and every one of them.
But he never did leave Kagome's side. They did not catch a glance of raw emotion. He was too bombarded with confusion and anger for any resemblance of weakness to come through. All he seemed to know now was the repentance Kagome had bestowed upon him in the Western Lands. They were not to know what had been eating away at him as he watched over her.
In the end, it hadn't mattered what he had done or gone through to keep Kagome happy, because she still wanted to leave him. Frustrated with her, yes, he was. But surmounting that, an anger arose, aiming at some undistinguished point. He couldn't blame Kagome for wanting to go home, and he couldn't blame himself for coveting her. So then who had he to fight with about this? The questions still prodded his heart. Why, Kagome, why does the sky fall today? Why, Kagome, why couldn't he catch the pieces? Why, Kagome, why wasn't it enough?
When she stirred, the hanyou's face had finally softened, as the exterminator had noticed when it happened. His muscles had to have been tired after the countless hours of scowling. She called to the others, who filed in and towards Kagome's side. They glanced at Inuyasha, who sat like a dog by the miko's feet, out of worry that he would chase them away again. But he didn't even notice them. That hanyou face, before deathly hateful, now looked on in dejection and overall concern.
Fluttering her eyes as they opened, she smiled at the relieved faces of her friends. A wave of gratitude washed over her, but she knew straight up that it was meant for someone else, but she couldn't see behind the mound of blankets piled on her to know he was there. "Where's Inuyasha?"
In an instant, he had crouched next to her on the other side of the futon, peering down with an unreadable curiosity. She smiled up at him, "Inuyasha… You came back for me. I am glad."
Before her eyes, his demeanor changed from unreadable to downright angry. He wrinkled his nose and grimaced just enough to release an ungrateful growl before rising and storming out of the room. Everyone's gazes followed him out. Her breath started out of confusion, "Inuyasha?"
"He's been like that all day," Sango said with a sigh, "I don't know what's gotten into him."
'Inuyasha…'
He sat on the roof of the hut. With his left knee tucked under his chin and his arms locking together, his amber eyes glared hard at the empty ground. One might have said that he was concentrating so hard in the foolish attempts to kill off everything that bonded her to the future. If only he thought hard enough…
"Gracious, Kagome-sama. You sure gave us a scare there," stated the monk, "But seeing you alive and well sure eases the tension."
"How are you feeling, Kagome?" innocent Shippou asked as he gripped her shoulder.
She smiled, despite her head throbbing with a headache. "I've been better, but I think I'll be okay."
"Shippou," Miroku came up to him, "I believe Kaede-sama wanted our help in the garden. Let's leave these ladies alone, shall we?"
The little kitsune scampered out of the hut followed by the monk, and the women could only make out the child's last remark, "Hey, Miroku. Since when do you leave ladies alone?"
The girls laughed.
Sango poured the medicinal tea into the cup by Kagome's bedside. "Thank God we were able to get there in time, Kagome-chan. If it weren't for Inuyasha and Kirara picking up the scent of burning youkai, we might not have made it."
Kagome took the cup into her hand, not even looking up at her friend as she lowered her nose to the heat of the tea. "… Yeah…"
The statement alone would have been enough to signal that all was not well. The melancholy on her features only emphasized it. Sango placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"
Kagome sighed and gave one unrequited smile to her friend, which was all too soon lost to the emptiness that settled over her. "Yeah, I guess."
"I guess? That doesn't sound too enthusiastic. What's up?" the exterminator crossed her legs and arms as she sat next to her.
Kagome rose from the bed slightly, and Sango reluctantly helped her into a seating position. The miko winced. The bruises might have hurt, but it was more that she had been lying there for a good whole day that her muscles were shot. Kagome explained, "It's just that… it was all so certain back there. I knew what my future was going to be. I was gonna be with my family again."
"You still miss your family, don't you. And after being told that it would happen, you got your hopes up," her voice didn't imply a question, but she had known it was the truth.
Kagome nodded, "It just all seemed so clear to me before. Now, what will become of me? What will I do?"
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" They heard a gruff and flabbergasted voice yell.
Moments later, Inuyasha came barging into the hut again. Apparently to Sango, the hanyou had heard every word of their conversation. One glare from him told her it was her cue to leave. Without another glance at her friend, Sango rose and made her way out of the door. Inuyasha suspiciously glared after her as she left, then let the newly assembled bead curtain fall closed. Kagome looked at him in guarded irritation, "What was that all about?"
He turned back to glare at her, "You! What the hell is wrong with you?"
Her eyes widened slightly, and her concern for the hanyou's behavior quickly died away, "I'm sorry, I wasn't under the impression that I did anything wrong."
"Just what is your game, Kagome? That's what this is all about, isn't it?" his tongue continued to spit out every insinuation he could think of.
"Game, Inuyasha? What are you getting at?"
"Come off it, bitch! Keep messing around with me, and I'll keep that promise I made the first day I met you to finish... you… off!"
She narrowed her eyes, "Is that a threat, Inuyasha?", though she knew wholeheartedly that it was an empty threat.
"Er… You… What a piece of work you are, you lousy, annoying, ungrateful… If we hadn't put up with your ranting and your stupid visits home…"
"Ungrateful?" she cried.
It was the word that stood out the most for her, "… How dare you say such a thing!"
He crouched about two feet away from her and shook his fist at her menacingly, "Do you even know how much this team has sacrificed for you to go home? Why do you have to be so fucking selfish?"
Mouth widely agape, she let out a half gasp, half laugh, "I… I'm being selfish? You're one to talk, you bastard!"
The words rolled of her tongue as spicy as pepper, and he caught every annoying whiff of it. She continued, "…All I wanted was to be with my family!"
"Oh, so we're not good enough for you, then! Someone as high-class as you can't afford to waste your time with two small demons, two humans, and a… worthless hanyou!"
His words were meant as a question, but it sounded a lot more like he was stating facts. Still, at the end of his thought, the so-attributed worthless hanyou, he wanted to know more than anything what she thought of that. Kagome fumed, "I didn't say that, baka! And don't you dare talk to me about not being good enough! Not when this pathetic human still recalls how many times you disappeared to find Kikyo!"
He fell back from the crouching position onto his ungrateful ass, and his eyes went wide. She got onto her knees and hovered over him, "You think I wouldn't remember? All the time, you've been running off, putting yourself and us into danger so you can rendezvous with your lover!"
He rose up too, and they stood on their knees practically at eye level with each other. "She's NOT my lover!"
"O-oh, that's rich! Wonder how she would feel about you saying that…"
At this point, their noses were about an inch away. Both of them glared hard without any signs of backing down. The fire in her eyes grew, "…Then again, why not just test that speech on me? Since you so often like to confuse me with Kikyo!"
"Since when have I confused you with Kikyo?" he snarled.
"YOU KISSED ME, BAKA!" she bellowed with her eyes squeezed shut, "Twice… Because you thought I was Kikyo. Because you're so deliriously in love with her that you wished it was her you were kissing instead of me!"
"URUSAI, YOU STUPID BITCH!" He screamed.
The raw anger in his voice, the way it shook her took her aback and he shook his head in rage as he went on, "You have no idea what the fuck you're talking about! You're just so damn stupid, I…"
"Then what am I supposed to think, Inuyasha?" she replied with hot tears pushing against her eyelids.
"BAKA! I DIDN'T THINK YOU WERE KIKYO!.!.!" his voice echoed off the walls of their small hut.
The words boomed through her ears, loud and unchanging even as the seconds passed again and again. His voice was so loud, as though the volume might further convince her. The silent upset, the wish that perhaps if he was great in words and not in sword, then perhaps she would know. Today he wore a sword in his mouth. So sharp and unforgiving it sliced through her heart and reveled in the blood.
But the words… The sword that had sliced through her emotions came back clean as before. Her wounds instantly sucked closed, the silent hope of her own pushing against her every muscle. She fell back, and sat down on her ankles, still looking at him with a beguiled stare. The anger had faded from her face. Not from his. He pushed his wrists into his temples and shook his head in frustration, "You're just so god damn stupid! Baka! Baka!"
The tears spilled onto her cheeks, aided by the confusion that billowed into her, and she yelled, "Then why me, Inuyasha? What do you want from me?"
His clenched fists only opened half-way. The edges of his claws poked lightly into his skin next to his eyes. It looked as though he was about ready to hack himself. His sinister growl came from deep within his chest. A primitive, blood-curdling thing, living, breathing, immortal. His claws shook until they could take no more of his pains, and he threw them off his head and into the wood of the flooring. They dug into it. When his voice did come back, it was just above a whisper, and so twisted dark it condemned the very air he breathed. It came through clenched teeth, "All I have EVER wanted was to make… you… happy."
A moment of silence followed. Some tenuous retribution that fell hard upon the girl until she couldn't feel her own body anymore. The heat caressed his throat with the unspoken, which whispered to her even now the mystery that had followed her for two years. The fiery spring within the dead of autumn. The wanton fabric of time closed in upon itself, sealing the fate of her heart, sealing the season as her judgment. The happy green of the summer gave way in an instant to the passion and fire of the autumn. Until she was overcome by the magic, and the fall fell upon her, damned her and saved her in one swift sentence. To think that a few words could imprison a woman for all her worth… and the three sweetest ones that she wanted to speak so often hovered so near it burned her.
Inuyasha broke the passion, "Baka… Baka! Baka! Baka! Damn you!"
Before she could blink, he had fled from the room, and she called back to him behind the falling bead curtain. "Inuyasha!"
She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the protest in her aching bones as she gave chase. The door whipped against her harshly when she exited. "Inuyasha!"
But he wasn't anywhere in sight. Sango came running up to her from behind the house, "Kagome-chan, what is it? Where's Inuyasha?"
Kagome could only idly shake her head. Inuyasha… had said he had wanted her to be happy. He said… that he knew it was her he had been kissing. He had known, all along. If he had known, why did he kiss her? Unless… No, it couldn't possibly be… could it?
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"Every story begins with a waiting."
He sped through valley and stream, through hills and rivers. To the untrained eye, it was a simply flash of red and white across the peaceful landscape. For those who knew, he was simply Inuyasha. The bad-ass hanyou who somewhere along the way had found a heart of gold. Though shunned by the earth, he fought for it still to this day. For the humans who feared him, for the youkai who hunted him. And for all those in between. He shook his head, "Keh, mother and her crazy mushy stuff."
"Every story begins with a waiting, my son. I believe you're waiting for something far too special for just any human or youkai. It all may seem bad now, but someday you will be rewarded with the same gift that I once received…"
The water splashed on his feet, cold and crafty. The dirt that followed stuck to the soles of his feet, and he paid it no mind. His claws made quick work of the branches that got in his way, as well as a few spider webs unceremoniously placed in his path.
"…Your life is the story of love, my Inuyasha. It was from the moment I fell in love with your father. And wherever this story takes you, know this... The world is not all bad. You will find along the way the one person that makes you feel so wonderful it will make all your struggles worth while. When you find the one whose happiness you would die for, then you'll have your happy ending…"
The hanyou released a saddened sigh. A realization hit him, one that he had been holding back for his whole life. The speech his mother had given him never held that fast to his thinking. He supposed it had always been there hinting at him, but it never was something he was willing to accept. How could he, when the world hated him? And despite what he now knew of himself, the insight came to him as almost tongue in cheek. That no matter what happened with Kagome, the old love that was Kikyo was truly lost to his heart forever. Now that there was Kagome, he couldn't ever forget. And he held back the icy feeling in his soul. "I've found her, mom. But I'll never get my happy ending. It doesn't matter to me anymore. All that matters is her."
He saw her in the distance, knew far away by the overwhelming stench of incense, and the memory of the tent they had passed on the way back from the Western Lands. Although he had run from the place under worry of what she might reveal, he now thanked the heavens that he remembered the place. In the middle of a large field, her camp was placed somewhat conveniently for him, without any kind of tree cover. She was sitting on a large boulder, grinding away with a crucible. He leapt next to the rock and grabbed it with his claws.
Saku looked up at the hanyou, who was panting hard after running so fast. "Inuyasha, what brings you here?"
"Remove it," he said darkly.
"What's that?"
"The barrier on the well. Take it off!" he commanded as patiently as he could muster, which wasn't much.
"Why, Inuyasha? Aren't you happy that Kagome is stuck with you?"
He nearly whimpered, but kept pursuing with the same determined endeavor. "She's not happy. I won't keep her away from her family if she can't be happy. Even if she never wants to come back here again, so be it! I just want her to be able to go home. So…"
He dug his nails once roughly across the hard rock, "… Fix the well."
When she looked at him with pity, he couldn't look at her. His head bowed forward and he stared at the ground. Perhaps it shouldn't have mattered to him that Saku no doubt knew of his devotion to Kagome, but he never felt quite so vulnerable than when he was standing in an open field alone begging an old woman to help Kagome.
"… Hm…." And the voice became dark, "You think it's that simple, half-breed."
Inuyasha's eyes shot wide open, and he found himself unable to lift his head. That voice was so dark, so very very familiar to his memory, he didn't want to believe he had heard it. The voice that wasn't Saku's continued from her vessel, "Hehehe. You really are a fool. I knew it from the moment I saw how you looked at that miko."
He was thrown back into the air. Something hard yet slimy had whipped against him with such force that even his body hadn't enough time to react. In less than a second, he hit the ground some twenty feet away and he rolled across the dirt and weeds. He rose from the ground, now brandishing his telltale grimace. He growled deep and low as the voice egged him on, "Did you not learn your mistake with Kikyo, Inuyasha? To think that you could have let this happen again… Baka, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha's knuckles cracked loudly, and the winds picked up in response. Swirling round and round him, telling that the Kaze no Kizu was there waiting for him, the answer slapped him in the face. His voice started soft but built into a scream. "Saku... You're…. You are…… Naraku!"
His response was this. A cracking of bone and muscle. The sight of an old woman twisting every which way into forms not humanly possible. The sound of flesh tearing open as something sprang from the back, then the thighs, then the chest. The woman known as Saku was gone forever, and the enemy known as Naraku was back.
"Hehe, so… what do you think? I am a shape shifter after all. And what better than to play the part of an innocent and helpful old hag."
"Naraku… temee…"
"You were so easy to convince. So sure that Kagome would leave your side forever, you were willing to do anything to make her stay with you. How pathetic…"
His blood ran hot as his enemy continued, "… I would never let that girl escape through that well. I can never let her become a threat…"
'A threat… What is he talking about?'
"Not to mention, Inuyasha, I so love to watch you squirm."
"Temee… I'll… rip you to pieces! You've tricked me for the last time, Naraku!"
A sound of screeching metal and out came the Tetsusaiga. Without warrant for introduction, the hanyou didn't hold back for even a second. "Kaze no Kizu!"
The writhing mound of pulsing flesh avoided the attack in the most unusual way, by shrinking down and changing into human form. Naraku pulled out his sword and in a second their metal clanged together. Inuyasha swung ferociously, but didn't have enough time or space to produce the Kaze no Kizu again. Not when Naraku was so close to him.
But after a few minutes, Inuyasha got his lucky break. He sliced off the left arm up to the shoulder. What he didn't think to expect was that he would change back into his monstrous form, starting with the limb that had been severed. Inuyasha was instantly enveloped by the slimy appendages and attached to Naraku's body. He felt himself being suspended in air, his sword also held strictly tight. He struggled against it, but could not swing the Tetsusaiga enough to do any sort of damage.
"Hiraikotsu!"
They both looked up, and Inuyasha saw the boomerang flying towards them, the monk's staff also attached. It sliced through Naraku's flesh, and Inuyasha was released along with Tetsusaiga. As he landed, he looked back as his team of friends came over the hill. First Shippou, giving a cheer, "Yeah! Take that, Naraku!"
Then, Miroku and Sango, who caught the boomerang as it came back.
Then, Kagome…
'…Kagome…'
"Go! Get out of here, now!"
As he recalled Naraku's words before the battle, the inevitable thought hit him. Kagome was in real serious danger if she stayed. "Run, you morons!"
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried as she was the first to run towards him.
He sensed Naraku's movement, and moved quickly to grab Kagome up from the ground. They sprang out of the way as one of the tentacles plowed into the ground where she had been running. He let her down a few feet away and positioned himself well in front of her. He didn't wait, and charged forward with his sword lifted high. "Kaze no Kizu!"
Parts of Naraku went flying, but Inuyasha continued running forward as he began to reconstruct himself, in the hopes that he could find a weak spot before he closed up again. His feet barely touched the tentacles as he climbed up the long limbs to Naraku's torso and head. He lifted his father's blade to strike him there, but Naraku's sword blocked the attack. Inuyasha pushed against him hard, hoping that with time the Tetsusaiga would break through. Naraku turned to look at Kagome, "Tell me, girl. How is it, to lose your entire family? You didn't think I'd let one of my enemies have that luxury, did you?"
"You… You're responsible for the well closing up?"
His red eyes fell to Inuyasha, and although his words were meant for the girl, his softer tone spoke to the hanyou. "Well, I wouldn't say I'm entirely to blame."
That smile invaded Inuyasha's senses until all he saw was red, and he growled loud enough for his friends many yards away to hear. Naraku smirked quietly, "Been keeping secrets, Inuyasha?"
He knew by that stare. "Don't you dare, Naraku."
"Why not? Afraid she'll hate you forever, hanyou."
'Yes'
Seeing as how the plan to overcome his sword wasn't working, Inuyasha leapt away, far enough away so he could try an even better attack. "Kongousouha!"
The diamond spears stabbed right through the enemy as planned, but Naraku's head just floated out from the mass of severed flesh. "You know full well that won't work, Inuyasha. A little desperate, aren't you."
"Keh, what do you plan to achieve? If I can destroy you, the well will open up again. It's only a matter of time before everything's back to normal," Inuyasha stated.
"Even if you could defeat me, who ever said it was the well that was broken?"
"Nani?" They all cried in unison.
"You can't have missed it, Inuyasha. I know you've seen it. In the midst of your waking or dozing hours, you have seen the girl… disappearing…"
He gasped. "… Yes, you have seen it, Inuyasha. But it was no trick on your mind. It was very very real. It wasn't the well that was destroyed. It was Kagome's time itself."
Kagome took a step back, "But… how?"
An image of Kokuei flashed through Naraku's mind. It had been the main reason why he brought Kokuei into existence. If he was to take down the miko, Naraku couldn't have her going back to the safety of her time, where he couldn't reach her. But Kokuei, he was different. A part of Inuyasha, though not a full part. If Inuyasha could go through the portal, then Kokuei could go part way, to where the two dimensions met. He spoke, "You're time is lost, miko. Through the magic of one of my minions, your dimension has been slowly eaten away. It barely even exists. Only in bits and pieces now. By right, you don't even exist. Therefore you can't go through the well because there is no other side."
"Wait a minute," Miroku stepped in, "If Kagome doesn't exist, then why is she still here with us?"
"You think you understand the fabric of time, monk? Hold your tongue," Naraku spat.
Miroku noted the irritation in their enemy's voice, but he didn't know that it was on account of the frustration that even Naraku had no idea how she had made it this far. He did have a sneaking suspicion though, that the answer to that puzzle lay in Inuyasha. And speaking of whom, the hanyou was next to snarl, "So you've destroyed the future, have you? Bastard… unforgivable!"
"Don't get to cocky, you pathetic hanyou! Not when it was you who asked me to do it!"
Inuyasha froze in mid-step, and his blood ran cold. The sound of something falling on the ground caught his ear, and he recognized it quickly as Kagome's bow and arrows. The knowing fear of what was to come, that sickly thing that had been haunting him for the past few months crossed his eyes. It seeped into him like liquid, poison, a vile death coming to lay waste on his unsettled stomach. Cautiously, he turned to look at the one who had been his reason to keep fighting. His pain and his joy. Guilt, thy name was Kagome. Her eyes fell to his, slowly being filled with betrayal, and his heart caved into itself. Her dagger eyes bore into him, damned him. Bruised by her gaze, her blood spoke to his. In it, he heard the words that were silent. Words of everlasting hate.
"That's right, miko. He came and handed over his own selfishness the minute he asked to keep you here. The bastard even paid me to do so. With his submission to his own greed, and my magic, I was able to annihilate your era. Inuyasha didn't tell you, did he, how he wanted to keep you away from them all. Heh, he talks so high and mighty, but he's nothing but a low-life coward after all."
Inuyasha's face fell back farther than he could describe. "Kagome, I…"
"Ah-ah-ah. Watch your opponent," his tentacles shot out again.
Inuyasha grabbed Kagome and flew out of the way. Once they landed, Kagome pushed him away. His dog ears twitched as he glanced back at her. She wrapped her arms around herself, clenching her fists and her teeth. Her entire body seemed to shake before him in the anger that covered her face. He wanted to reach out to her, take her in his arms and show her the reasons why he did what he did. No… it didn't matter why. He failed her. He betrayed her. He was just like the evil that he had been fighting all his life.
"Just like me, Inuyasha."
"Don't you dare compare me to you, you bastard! I'll take you down once and for all! You hear me? YOU WILL NOT LAY A FINGER ON KAGOME!"
He swung his sword from the air to the ground, and the flames of the Wind Scar came bursting forth. They ran rather quickly this time, but not nearly fast enough. Naraku chuckled, "Like the same thing will work again."
But it wasn't the same thing, as Naraku came to see.
In the middle of the attack, as the Kaze no Kizu skidded through the weeds and soil, leaving fire behind the five white scars, he saw behind the sword. The attacker, Inuyasha, glared at him with the fierceness he had always known. However, in a split moment, the moment that had stilled time back at the castle once again awakened. A flash of blue crossed his eyes, and then it was gone.
Gone… only to reappear in the Kaze no Kizu mid strike. The light became almost blinding, and he let out a yell of surprise as it approached him faster than he could determine. Naraku tried to move, but was suddenly shot through with pain as the power of the blue Kaze no Kizu hit his body full force.
And something else happened that Naraku did not expect. As though it had slipped out of his grasp, fallen away into the abyss of space, he felt the hold on the future finally slip away…
The entire group watched in shock as their powerful foe writhed in agony under the power of a blue Wind Scar. And then it vanished, a singeing Naraku remaining.
He panted hard, grasped his chest were the power had penetrated him. That was no ordinary wind scar. No, it was the one he had feared from the moment he saw Inuyasha back at Sesshoumaru's castle. 'Damnit,' he thought, 'He's too close to finding that piece of the prophecy. If he figures out what to do next… And… the well…'
What this group of heroes failed to see was that they had crippled the villainous hanyou more than ever before. He had to escape. "Until we meet again, Inuyasha. Oh, and good luck explaining this one to your miko."
The wind exploded, throwing the debris back at the party. They ran to cover themselves. "Kagome!"
She ran along with them, but the wind carried more than air. A rock struck her upside the head. Considering she still had the concussion from the last battle, her brain couldn't handle the stress, and she passed out again. "Kagome!"
Inuyasha was at her side as the winds continued to howl at him. He threw himself on top of her limp body and covered her head. When the winds finally calmed down, he looked up, and Naraku was gone again. "Damnit."
He got to his feet and sheathed his sword. He called to his friends behind him, "We have to get Kagome to safety, guys," and he turned, "Let's go to the-."
He stopped abruptly. All four of them stood not five feet away from him now, starring him down like that alone would kill him. All of them emanating the color of his demise. "You guys, I…"
"When Kagome-chan wakes up, God help you, she'd better finish this before I do," Sango fumed, her arms crossed over her chest tightly.
He turned to the little one, the kitsune, who had always been so innocent. "Shippou?"
His small cheeks were drenched in tears, but it was his eyes that had affected him so. The hue of green seemed a lot darker than it was before. And his mouth was trembling from behind his scowl. Inuyasha turned to Kirara, who was already growling at him. Lastly, he turned to Miroku. The monk had the face of someone trying to remain calm, but it wouldn't have fooled anybody. His voice was the only characteristic that managed to remain passive. "We'll take her. And you'd better be there when she wakes up, Inuyasha. That's all I have to say until Kagome-sama is through with you."
He relaxed a little but not much, and made a move to pick up the unconscious girl. Kirara's escalating growl stopped him. They all shoved past him to pick up Kagome and place her tenderly on the neko-youkai's back. The two humans got on with her, one of them sporting the kitsune on their shoulder. They took off without a word, leaving the hanyou alone.
Alone, just had he had always been… Just as he would be, when Kagome woke up again.
He took a step to begin his walk back, when a scent wafted to him. His ears perked up for the sounds of approach, but none came. The hanyou lowered his hands and tightened his fists, not at all willing to take any more hatred from anyone else. "I'm sorry, Kikyo. I can't go with you now. I need to get back to the others."
"You made a deal with Naraku?" her voice called behind him.
He turned and glared at her, though the sadness still dominated his gaze, "It's not like that. I didn't know it was him."
"But you knew you were tricking her," the dead priestess pointed out.
Inuyasha released the grasp he had on his own palm, and turned his cheek away. Kikyo went on, "What if I told you, there was a way?"
His eyes shot up to look at her. "What?"
"Mind you, it isn't an everyday thing. But I have stumbled across a bit of information. Whatever Naraku had used to deteriorate the future, I do not know, but it seems he no longer has that connection. As far as I can fair to guess, this magical minion of his must have been abandoned. If that weren't enough, when you used your Kaze no Kizu, you seemed to have inadvertently damaged the piece that connected to the time flow. This means that Kagome's time will return to normal. By a matter of hours, Kagome will be able to return."
His ears perked up slightly under the assumption that everything would be alright again, but she worked fast to correct him, "However, Naraku's meddling with time did do some irreparable damage. The well's portal, the connection between two worlds, is actually the most vulnerable point, for the bridges of reality are the most frail. Unfortunately, when Naraku did what he did, that bridge was ruptured. Now, listen carefully, Inuyasha. Now that time is returning to normal, the well will only let her through one last time, after which the bridge would break completely, and there can be no more time travel. Do you understand?"
The hanyou stood in silence. One last time. Kagome could go home, be with her family, start her life over again… and he would never see her again. Kikyo saw the conflict in his eyes, stronger than she had ever seen before, and it burned her. "Inuyasha, is that something you're willing to accept?"
"I… I…" he sighed and lowered his gaze to the ground, "I have to."
Kikyo turned away from the sadness vibrating off of him. It was more than enough to make her want to die again, to see the man she loved clearly pining for her reincarnation. She spoke to him softly regardless, "I will let Kagome know, since you no doubt don't want to. Whatever her choice is, let's just hope you can accept it."
And with that, she vanished into the air, one thought still enduring in her mind, 'Let's just hope I can accept your choice, too. As of now, seeing you looking at that girl like that, I don't know if I can.'
To be continued…
Okay, perhaps I should recap that. So, Naraku was Saku all along, who had disguised himself in order to use Inuyasha's selfishness with his magic to bring Kokuei to life. Kokuei, being part of Inuyasha, was able to only travel partially through time. Just up to the point where the two dimensions meet. Using Kokuei's powers, Kagome's reality had been destroyed, which is why Kagome had been disappearing… cause she didn't exist anymore. When Inuyasha attacked Naraku with his blue Kaze no Kizu thingy, the power that Naraku had over Kagome's time due to Kokuei's work had been broken. Therefore, time will regenerate, but due to the manipulation of time, the well has been damaged. It can only hold out for a little while longer until the portal dies away. Okay, was that clear?
So a few choice questions remain… Why didn't Kagome end up disappearing? What is this blue Kaze no Kizu and why is Naraku afraid of it? What is the prophecy? What will become of Kokuei now that Naraku has ditched him? Why he wants to kill Kagome so much?
So, yeah, Saku is Naraku… but I guess you all figured that out long ago. Ugh! Oh well. Saku is supposed to mean 'remembrance of the old lord', which was supposed to be my one hint, but I guess I failed.
Oooh, next chapter… next chapter… Ooooooo…. Kagome's reaction and decision, and some more goodness. So excited! So excited! Eeeeee…. etc etc.
Kawaii-CherryWolf: I hope this chapter cleared it up for you. If not, let me know and I'll explain it. Thanks for your input. (hugs)
kamira: Well at least this action worked for you. I was really worried if it was gonna be interesting or not, cause I really dread writing action. But fluff…. Ooh, the fluff… Must have it back. Soon, very soon… (hugs)
HelikaAkileh: Ugh… damn. I was so sure I had it write. Well then again I had been writing for about six hours. …And I just realized that I said 'write' just now instead of 'right' but considering we were just talking about this, it's too funny to change. Lol! (hugs)
Chiot Pelucheux: Oh, okay then. If you can't read it anymore, guess there's no point to write anymore. (yeah right, I love doing this way too much). Heehee! (hugs)
INUYASHALOVER45: explanation? I missed you! Waaaah! (sniffle) (hugs)
trekker4life: Yeah, seems like everyone's busy now. Getting back to school. I'm almost there. But thank God for the quarter system! Thanks for coming back. (hugs)
Lacey Beans: Yeah, I've been good. Heehee! And thanks for doing that for me. I think some of those were covered in this chapter, so it was good you revealed to me what I can do with it now. Lots to reveal in these few chapters. Hope it isn't too confusing. (hugs)
InuyashaGal: Kokuei: CUTE is it? We'll see about that! Just wait till I come after you with my baby Chi. Wow… Hey, what weirdo picked that name? Kelly: Haha, I'm priceless. (hugs)
NeuroticallyDignified: Hm, trying to get a visual there… Don't know how you managed, but bravo. Good thing I have a lot more chapters to smother with love. Enjoy! (hugs)
Laura: Yeah, but it's precious isn't it. Yes, I'm always making Kagome suffer. The poor thing. Oh well. (hugs)
Srg1: Chisaiga rolled off the tongue nicely. Good thing it's working. And while I really hate writing action, as long as it works for you, and I can have a bit of fluff, all is well. Thanks a million. (hugs)
Princess of stars: I rock and/or roll! Hurray! Of course you can hug me! Can't you see I'm a cuddle whore! Haha, or so I've been named. Oooh, getting teary eyed? I'm touched. (hugs)
Inubaby2: Ah! Big… quick… scary! Thank you! (hugs)
FanficluvInu7: I LOVE that song! It's been my main song for about 3 months now. A record. Usually I listen to a song about 70 times before I get kick of it. I'm over 100. (hugs)
Mental Mess: Why is that name so familiar? Oh man… uh… is that in Oregon or something, cause I don't know where I've heard it from? This is going to be bothering me forever. Ugh, too lazy to do research. Aaaah, jellyfish! Have I mentioned I have a phobia? Aaah! (hugs)