How did this happen...
Sounds reached his ears, but all he heard was the endless screaming...her echoing screams...
She looked at him...crimson trickled down her face...she wasn't afraid, her eyes held something even more horrible... trust, she had trusted him...
'Why...why couldn't she have just run away?'
The scent of her blood clung to his claws
'Did I do this?'
Terrible laughter erupted in the distance
"At last, the soul is mine!"
The girl closed her eyes never to open them again
"No! I won't let her die! I can save her!"
"Heh heh heh, InuYasha YOU are the one who KILLED her."
"NO!"
BBBBRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG
InuYasha's head shot up from his desk. Students were piling out of the classroomas the shrill bell continued to sound.
He slapped himself awake. 'What the hell was that?' His heart was still pumping wildly. He glanced quickly down at his hands, the blood stains were gone. 'Damn it...' The dreams were getting more and more desperate.
"You are the one who killed her."
InuYasha clutched his chest. 'I...killed...Kagome...'
He yelped and jumped up as a hand rested on his shoulder.
Kagome jumped back at his sudden movement. "I'm sorry! Did I scare you?"
InuYasha let out a sigh of relief and composed himself. "N-No I'm ok."
She smiled, "Well, come on, it's lunch time what are you doing in the classroom."
He shook off the dread that was escalating through his soul. 'It was just some dream...Genshiki's messing with me...that...that could never happen."
He looked back at Kagome's face, her soft delicate skin, her long ebony hair. Then he looked down at his hands, for a moment he thought he saw long, knife-like demonic claws. 'I would never hurt Kagome on purpose...outside my demon form...would I?"
"Let's go InuYasha!"
InuYasha nodded wordlessly and followed Kagome out to the courtyard, resisting the urge to embrace her protectively. Why were these dark fears returning?
"Hey! You gonna eat that?" Miroku eyed InuYasha's hamburgerhungrily.
"Mmmmhhh? Oh...here..." InuYasha handed over his tray listlessly. Everyone's jaw dropped. InuYasha giving up food! Miroku was so surprised he forgot the hamburger entirely.
It was a really nice spring day, the sun was shining and the sky was clear. Everyone sat out on the soft spring grass for lunch devouring the delicious hamburgers Kagome brought from home, everyone, except InuYasha.
"Hey? Are you alright?" Kagome scooted closer to the moping Inu and felt his forehead. "Are you sick?"
He shook his head and turned away, refusing to look her in the eye.
Sango's eyebrow raised slightly. InuYasha hadn't been this depressed since he and Kagome made up. Even if he still got a little prickled whenever a certainwolf came by.
"Yo Kagome!"
Sango sighed, speak of the devil. Unfortunately Kagome was DATING that wolf.
"Hey Koga," Kagome forced a smile and gave him a quick hug.
Miroku and Sango smiled politely. Koga was a nice enough guy, but neither of them could fathom why on earth Kagome loved such a stalker.InuYasha snorted and pretended to be extremely preoccupied with an ant on his shoe.
Koga nuzzled Kagome and only pulled her closer as she tried to inch away.
"Uhh, Koga can I get back to my lunch?" Kagome forced down the need to squirm.
Koga groaned, "Can't lunch wait?" He curled his arm around her waist
Kagome pushed him off, a little more forcefully than intended. "No, Koga, I'm not in the mood right now I..."
"Come on baby,don't be like that." Koga again pressed her against his chest. "Let's just go somewhere and we can..." Koga stopped, a low, menacing rumble sounded from the ground. "What the?"
InuYasha quickly turned away and silenced the snarl growing in his throat. "My...uh...stomach..." He said lamely.
Koga just shrugged. "Whatever, I'll see you later Kagome!" He waved and raced off.
"Kay bye!" Kagome smiled and waved back.
Miroku nudged Kagome as she sat down, "Uh Kagome?"
She turned, the creepy fake smile still plastered on her face"Yea, what is it Miroku?"
He stood and motioned for Kagome to follow him. She gave him a curious look but stood and walked with him anyway.
"Miroku!" InuYasha glared a warning. "Don't try anything..." he hissed.
Miroku grinned sheepishly. "Why InuYasha! It's nothing like that!"
Kagome's eyebrows raised and she made sure to point her rear away from the lecherous boy.
Miroku let Kagome to a shaded spot under a tree. Immediately he sat down with her and grew serious. "Kagome...do you really love Koga?"
She was taken back,"Of course I do... why wouldn't I?"
Miroku sighed, "It's just, I don't know, you never seemed to like him that way before. And you don't seem to enjoy being around him..."
Kagome stared down at the ground. 'I never showed any feelings for him...before?'
"It's true that Koga's love for you is genuine. But, are you truly in love with him? Is it possible that you are just too afraid to love someone who may not love you back?" Miroku understood what was going on. He, more than anyone knew what it was like trying to hide from true love.
Kagome stood and tried to compose herself. 'I am afraid...' She tried to silence the thoughts coming, but Miroku had been right on the mark. 'I'm afraid to really love someone, afraid that, he can never feel the same way.' She felt clouded images flood her mind. A young hanyou, shunned from humanity all his life, then betrayed by the woman he gave everything for. 'Is he...unable to love?'
"Kagome?" Miroku saw the pained look cross her face.
Kagome snapped back to reality. "What? Oh, um Miroku,"
He gave her a sideways look. "I just want you to know...there's more to him than you think."
Miroku sat up and casually strolled back over to the rest of the group.
Kagome sank back down to the ground. 'There's more to him than you think?'
Kagome...
'What?' She squeezed her eyes shut and hid her face in her hands. "Oh, no..not this...not now!' But the strange feelings started coming once again; Kagome could hear a soft voice calling her inside her mind.
Kagome...Remember Me!
'What, Remember who?'
Please...Remember me!
'Who are you!'
As soon as the vision had come, it was gone. Kagome slapped herself. 'I'm going crazy! I must be!' But, still the voice sounded so desperate, what did it mean? Why was this happening!
"Go away!" She prayed. "Stop torturing me!"
Even the night breeze felt cold and lifeless.
InuYasha cursed under his breath and leapt down from the tall pine overlooking Kagome's dorm room. How many times had he climbed that tree and sat on the jutting branch that had come to connect him to Kagome by leading into her room? How many nights had he come to bring her with him on some nightly romp and let his feet grow wings as he flew with her on his back? Or even, on some nights, he could just sit in the window of her room and watch her sleep, content to be her unknown guardian. But, tonight...
He took one last longing look up into starry sky. He couldn't do it. He couldn't sleep but he couldn't let her comfort him this time either. He didn't deserve it. He kept seeing the image of her, suffering, dying, him helpless to save her. InuYasha grimaced and slapped himself angrily. Why did he have to be who he was. He ran his tongue over his sharp fangs and felt his hard claws scraping the inside of his fist. He had the power to kill, he could protect, or he could destroy. So far, he'd done a good job devoting his life to the latter. 'I really am a monster.' He growled and flexed his fingers in frustration. Without thinking, he sliced into the branch that connected the tree to her window.
A sharp crack snapped through the silence. The branch sagged. InuYasha looked down, 'oh...crap' The brittle wood gave and the poor hanyou felt himself tumbling toward earth. He landed face first with a soft thud.
Kagome stirred and lazily opened her eyes, the pale light from the moon gave the room a misty glow. Something outside had woken her; a noise. She quietly moved towards the window. 'No,' She stepped back. She was just trying to make herself believe that her hanyou was coming for her. Kagome bit her lip and stared down at the cold floor. 'But he won't come for me anymore will he? I couldn't possibly expect him to.' She sighed and grabbed her coat. Then, on the way to the door, she paused. She quickly grabbed a bathing suit from the closet and tiptoed out the door.
InuYasha moaned and slowly pushed the heavy branch off his back. Dust settled all around him. Gingerly he touched a sore spot on the back of his neck. He could smell his own blood trickling from a deep gash. 'How'd that happen?' A thought creped into his mind and with a gasp he looked up. The branch! "No...NoNoNoNoNO!" He jumped up and tried desperately to get to the window without using the tree as a bridge. He couldn't reach it. No! He HAD to reach it! InuYasha screwed his eyes shut and pushed every muscle in his body, praying for the power to make a simple jump. He leapt again with all his power, the window came into view. But, as he reached toward it with all the strength he had left, the window fell away from his sight, it's dull light fading above him.
"NO!" InuYasha screamed into the night. He was falling. But, instead of his legs tensing to break his fall, his body went limp and he let himself hit the ground hard once more.
Kagome slowly slid into the steaming water of the school hot spring. The warm river felt good in contrast to the freezing night air and she felt her body relaxing. The hot spring had been there as long as anyone could remember. Most of the students used it as a sort of natural jaccusi on summer nights. Tonight, however, Kagome was alone. She pulled her long hair back into a bun and slid deeper into the inviting waters. She needed to forget everything. She wanted to. Life was just too confusing...she needed this, she need to let go, to just forget.
Remember Me...
Kagome dove under the surface of the bubbling water. 'I don't want to remember anything!' She refused to let herself drift again. She couldn't, she couldn't remember anything. She couldn't see his face anymore, or hear his voise, echoing, pleading for her to know something that she just didn't. She wouldn't feel the visions anymore, she wouldn't sleep. Because, when she slept, she dreamed.
InuYasha tasted blood oozing in his mouth and he spat angrily. It was over, he had just killed the only connection he had left to Kagome. He tried to breathe but it turned into a gasping sob. His chest hurt, his head hurt, everything hurt. Defeated, he let his instincts take over his conscious mind. He needed to wash his wounds, there was a hot spring on the other side of the campus. The warm water would help heal his gashes. Painfully, he trudged in that direction.
In absolute silence, InuYasha slid through the dense brush that outlined the peaceful spring. The sound of rushing water calmed his nerves somewhat, but as his anger slipped away, it was replaced with hopelessness. Like a ghost he crept near the bank, the blood from his neck began to drizzle down his back. His eyes were beginning to blur. Suddenly a splash in the distance interrupted the gentle sound of the river. InuYasha sprang back into the bushes and got down low, there was someone else here. He knew he should get away, if someone saw him in his true form...well, lets just say most people didn't often take the sight of a demon's claws and fangs too well. But, for some reason, InuYasha felt curiosity stirring. Who was out this late at night? Against his better judgement, he crawled toward the sound.
Kagome buried her face in her cold hands. Nothing could get rid of the voice inside her, it was like a nightmare. She wasn't hearing the sounds anymore, she could feel them. Deep within her something was trying to free itself. It wasn't a dream, these visions were real, they felt even more real than the forest surrounding her, than the water trickling across her skin. Something was going on, and the only key she had was the silver-haired man that linked all her nightmares together...InuYasha
"Ok..." she whispered into the night, "Let me remember... tell me what's happening to me."
Kagome closed her eyes and reached for the dreams of the man with the red kimono. She knew who he was, but something about him held a mystery. Slowly things returned, a well, a jewel, an arrow... random things trying to piece themselves together. She strained trying to hold the thoughts,
"There's more to him than you think"
'InuYasha...who are you'
Suddenly a jolt of pain shot through Kagome's head, the shock coursed through her and spread like fire. Her skin surged with white heat. Kagome screamed. She couldn't think, as she tried desperately to call back the memory that held the hanyou in her mind the fire only seared more into her.
"Stupid girl...will you destroy my plan before it is complete! You must not remember anything! I will make sure of that!"
Kagome was fading, the pain was too much. She could feel someone there with her; warm arms wrapped around her cold, limp body, then, it all went dark.
InuYasha sat, cross-legged on the hard floor of his room. He growled low and deep at noone in particular. Confusion clouded his mind like a fog. 'Genshiki...' He roared inside. 'I know you can hear me! What are you doing to Kagome. Why am I having these visions, why did you HURT HER!' He couldn't forget how she looked almost moments ago, her body was writhing and twitching in an endless spasm. It had scared him, more than he even knew. Adrenaline rushed through him and breathed life into his frozen body. He leapt to her side, he was feral with rage, even the almighty Genshiki fled at that moment. The rest was a blur. He easily made the nearly twenty story leap to Kagome's bedroom.
'What happened? Did I transform?' He ground his jaw in frustration. 'DEMON! Tell me what's going on!' There was no response... InuYasha snarled and smashed his fist into the wall, leaving a nice dent. 'STAY AWAY FROM KAGOME!' Suddenly he felt the familiar raw fierceness spark within him, his eyes blazed and he could feel his fangs and claws growing. He stopped instantly, his anger extinguished as his blood ran cold. 'Wha...what's happening to me?'
"Listen well, half-demon, be wary of your emotions. The girl has realized her connection with you. BUT, you must break my memory's curse or the final effect of my clever plot will come to pass. I have made certain she will not find the memories on her own again. I had miscalculated the power of the young miko, her bond to you will no longer be enough to help her. In fact, I will use YOU to finish this play I have started. I give you this final warning. If you cannot get the girl to remember you then she will die! If you fail, InuYasha, YOU will KILL her."
Kagome awoke in her bed, warm under a few added layers of blanket. She shook her head and tried to recall what happened. Someone carried her there... She stopped and a small smile appeared at the corners of her mouth. "InuYasha..."
InuYasha felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He spun around and grabbed the stranger around the neck, his claws poised for attack.
"Jeeze, Yash it's just me!" Miroku pulled the shaking hand from his throat.
InuYasha acknowledged his presence with a growl. He was sitting in the corner of the room, Genshiki's words sliced his chest over and over. The nightmare kept playing and replaying in his mind. "You will kill her"
Miroku saw the fear in his friends eyes. "Yash? What's wrong?"
"Feh, none of your buisness!"
"It's Kagome isn't it?"
Silence...
"InuYasha, I don't understand your apprehension. If you want her, take her back! Kagome loves you! Not Koga! She's only waiting for her feelings to be returned."
InuYasha snorted, he had almost forgotten the wolf, that was the least of his worries now, the damn monk had no idea.
"You'll have your chance InuYasha...soon. The winter ball is in three days, Kagome needs to remember and break the spell, if you want your chance to help her...this is it."
"I AINT goin to any dance Miroku."
The monk ignored him and instead placed a small black object in his hands. "You may need this."
InuYasha said nothing, he just stared out into the sliver of a moon outside. 'In three days, it will be a new moon...' Slowly he held up the object Miroku had given him. It was a small black mask.
A/N OMG that took so effing long to do! Gah! I hate school. And yes! I do realize this chappie was freakin weird. Dosen't it just wanna make you stab me! It's supposed to be HEAVY foreshadowing. Yes I am nearing the end! Keep reviewing! I luv you guys