"It's as if a giant Oni simply reached out and squashed it," said Sango softly. "Right into the ground."
Inuyasha landed on the ground in the centre of the village but didn't let Kagome down. When she looked at the ground, she saw the reason why: there was not a single inch of ground not covered in rubble; whether it be stones from the houses, splintered bits of wood, or… other things. She saw a small cloth doll, torn in half at the waist, and clutched at Inuyasha more tightly.
"Do you… smell anything?" she asked him as Kirara descended more slowly. From what she could see, he had a very odd look on his face, as though he couldn't quite figure out what to think.
He swallowed once before answering. "I… I don't know. I think… people did die here, I'm sure of it. But all I can smell is smoke."
"That's strange," said Sango, climbing off Kirara. "There's no evidence of fire…"
"Though if we look, I'm sure we'll find evidence of death," said Miroku grimly, stepping down as well. "Lots of it. Are you sure you don't smell anything, Inuyasha?"
"Look, if I did, I wouldn't be bloody standing around like this," Inuyasha growled. He was very put-off by this place. Aside from the all-pervading stench of smoke that all but blotted out anything else, the ground felt… weird. The rubble he was standing on had an almost soft feel to it, as if it were not wood and stone at all but something else… the fact that people had undoubtedly died here, and most likely been buried beneath the debris he was now standing on, did not help him any.
Kagome looked around. Considering that the nearest thing to her face right now was Inuyasha's hair, she felt that she was concentrating on the situation at hand remarkably well. Perhaps it was odd, for her to feel so distracted by it; it seemed almost to glow in the darkness, a bright, shining silver. She wondered briefly what he would do if she were to reach up and…
But that was absurd. Just look at where they were—in the middle of all these ruins, possibly already snared in one of Naraku's traps…
"Well," said Miroku, breaking the silence she hadn't noticed until now, "I suppose we'd better begin searching for clues."
This seems like a worse idea every second, thought Kagome, swallowing. "Inuyasha, put me down."
He glanced back at her, eyes narrowing. "Why the hell would you want me to do that?"
Kagome bit back an angry retort—can't he do anything without being rude?—and replied in a calm voice, "because, if there's something in this village, you'll need to be able to move freely, and you won't be able to if you're carrying me."
"Keh!" he said, not loosening his grip on her legs one bit. "And what do I do if whatever here attacks you? How do you suggest I protect you then?"
Kagome's eyes widened even as he turned his head again, leaving her to face a mass of silver hair. She tried to remember exactly what he had just said. Was he… could have been…
Inuyasha snorted quietly as his foot sank deep into the ground, and he pulled it out hurriedly, wincing at the feel of sticky wetness slightly below the surface of the rubble. Smoke was all he could smell, but he was sure he'd felt something down there that was shaped uncomfortably like a human… and Kagome wanted to be let down? Baka, he thought, almost angrily. She ought to learn to leave well enough alone. It's not as if I've ever had trouble carrying her before, is it?
But there were more pressing problems. Like why he couldn't smell anything but smoke. Now he knew it wasn't right; he couldn't even smell Kagome on his back, and he ought to have been able to no matter how saturated the air was. Something was amiss, and until he found out what it was, he wouldn't let Kagome off his back…
Why did his mind keep coming back to that? He growled, kicking aside a lump of wood as he sped up in his walking. Damn it, even my mind's going in circles! What the hell is going on here?
"Inuyasha," called Miroku, walking slightly behind him. "At least try to remain close to the rest of us. If something is here we should all remain together."
Inuyasha didn't reply, just kept walking at the same pace. Miroku sighed and glanced back at Sango. She at least didn't seem to be affected by the strange feel of the place; walking somewhat uneasily over the too-soft ground with Hiraikotsu slung over her back, she didn't look unnerved so much as wary. If something happened, she would be ready.
Kagome shivered as they passed what might have once been a hut. Now it was nothing but a mass of broken wood, sagging against the ground as if half-rotten. Now that they were out of the sunlight, it was getting cold. And their surroundings didn't help… she had the feeling that she would still be shivering even without the chilly breeze.
It's either too hot or too cold, she thought in annoyance, pressing her cheek against the red fabric covering Inuyasha's back. Can't the weather ever just stay in a happy medium?
Suddenly she shivered again. "Oh, great."
Inuyasha craned his neck to look back at her. "What is it, wench? You cold?"
She resisted the impulse to snap at him—of course I'm cold, you idiot!—in favor of more important things. "I can feel the aura of a youkai!"
Suddenly Miroku was beside them, looking around with his shakujou clutched in one hand. "Where?" he asked in a low voice, as Sango joined them with Kirara.
"Nearby," said Kagome, shivering again. Why couldn't she stop? It wasn't that cold, or that unnerving. "It's coming from near that hut!"
Sango began to take Hiraikotsu down from her shoulder, but before she could, something hissed through the air and slammed into her shoulder, knocking her off her feet. She struggled up, hearing Miroku shout her name and expelling a quick breath of disgust at the ground that seemed to be trying to suck in her hands. She sat up and watched with the others as a dark shape seemed to rise up out of the ground, black earth piling up on itself in a growing pillar of mud. A strange sucking noise filled the air, as if something was trying to take a deep breath through a thin reed.
"What the hell are you?" Inuyasha asked the shape as it grew and shifted, settling almost unconsciously into a fighting stance with Kagome still on his back.
The sucking noise began to break up into a strange, spasmodic noise. It took Kagome a moment to realize that the dark shape was laughing. Sango stood up slowly, trying not to reveal her disgust at the wetness now clinging to her hands. She didn't dare look down to see if there was blood on them.
"Idiots," said the voice from the shape. A pale sheen became visible from the top of the shape, slowly growing to cover the figure as its shape slowly shifted. "So you did come, after all." The ground beside it suddenly began to well up, the debris-strewn surface bubbling gently as it rose.
"I said, what the hell are you?" growled Inuyasha, his hand on the Tetsusaiga's hilt.
"I'd say it's the youkai that Kagome-sama just sensed," said Miroku tersely. "Remain on guard, Inuyasha."
"Keh! What's it look like I'm doing, bouzu?" Inuyasha yelled back angrily.
The pallor that had enveloped the thing suddenly receded, leaving behind what looked like a human… or would have if it weren't for the fact that it had no face. Kagome gasped, watching over Inuyasha's shoulder. The strange feeling she'd had earlier was receding, but it was rapidly being replaced by something else… the thing's youki, she realized now. So it is a youkai. She couldn't seem to stop shivering.
"If you'd rather fight amongst yourselves, it's no concern of mine," said the faceless creature, "but I will not stand idly by to watch you bicker. Which one of you is Inuyasha?"
"Who wants to know?" said Inuyasha, shifting Kagome on his back. Curse that smoke! He couldn't smell anything from this thing, couldn't tell whether it was another offshoot of Naraku… the mounding of the ground beside the thing was ominous, too… he couldn't see it well enough in the darkness to tell what was going on.
The thing laughed. Its voice was remarkably clear for a thing with no mouth. "I do, fool," it said. Suddenly it raised a hand. "Now I know who to kill."
Suddenly the pile of ground beside the thing was no longer in place. Inuyasha jumped straight up with enough speed to leave Kagome gasping for air, as the spot where he had just been standing exploded in a mass of flying dirt. Kagome caught a brief glimpse of a corpse within the blast, and narrowly avoided vomiting.
"Shit," Inuyasha cursed, drawing Tetsusaiga and transforming it in one smooth movement. Looking down, he was just in time to block another dark shape from hitting him in midair. Kagome yelped as she was nearly jarred off his back.
Teeth gritted in concentration, he managed to get his feet beneath him and pushed away from the thing, feeling it give way underneath him. He landed on the ground some yards away from where he had started.
"Duck, Inuyasha!" said Miroku, tugging at the beads of his rosary. The thing stood still, its faceless head turned towards Miroku as the wind of the kazaana began to rip at the ground around it. Inuyasha dodged out of the way, cursing, as Sango ran to get out of range.
The thing laughed. It wasn't moving; the winds of Miroku's kazaana seemed not to affect it. Reams of mud tore away from the ground beside it, streaming into the hole in Miroku's right hand, but the thing remained where it stood, laughing at him.
"Inuyasha," said Kagome, tugging at his sleeve. "Let me down."
"Hell no," he said, trying to sense the Wind Scar and failing miserably. Damn it! He thought fiercely. How am I supposed to sense for the kaze no kizu with this bloody smoke getting in the way? It interfered with everything, not terribly strong but strong enough to blot out anything else. Kagome pulled on his sleeve again, snapping his attention back to her.
"I said, put me down," she said, more insistently. "You can't fight with me on your back, we've gone over this already!"
"Keh! Stupid wench! I'll put you down when I know it'll be safe, and not before!" he said, trying to refocus his senses. It was quickly becoming obvious that the kazaana wasn't working. Maybe the winds could at least take away some of the damn smoke…
"Idiot!" she yelled at him. "You'll put me down now, before you get attacked again!"
Suddenly the ground beneath them exploded into streamers of dirt that reached upwards and wrapped themselves around Inuyasha's legs before he could move. Kagome shrieked.
"Shit!" Inuyasha tried to extricate himself, with no success. Kagome seized the opportunity: as soon as his hands left her legs, she scrambled down off his back and stepped back to see in full what was happening.
The living dirt was twining around Inuyasha's torso now. Kagome swallowed hard at the sight of what looked like a human arm traveling slowly upwards along his thigh.
"Inuyasha!" said Miroku, closing the kazaana hurriedly and running over.
The thing was still laughing. Sango swung Hiraikotsu off her back, taking a couple of running steps before throwing it hard. The thing dodged it, laughing, and sent a stream of mud at her. Kirara ran over beside her and she climbed on swiftly, catching Hiraikotsu as Kirara ascended slowly.
Inuyasha ripped his arms free of the clinging mud and grinned. Miroku's kazaana had done the trick, it seemed—the air was free of the scent of smoke. He could see the wind scar as clearly as he had ever been able to during a battle—a bright gash of swirling air, located just in front of the faceless being. Raising his arms, he had enough time for a triumphant smirk before he brought the katana down. "Kaze no Kizu!"
The thing let out a loud keening noise as the Scar swept over him, a noise quickly replaced by the same sucking sound that had been heard earlier. Through the glare of the kaze no kizu, Kagome could see the dark shape being broken into pieces, which were quickly dispersed as the remainder of the blast swept over the ground. She gave a triumphant yell. "You did it, Inuyasha!"
Unfortunately, it had no effect on the mud trapping Inuyasha—instead, the dirt immediately writhed its way along the blade, holding it in place. Another stream was suddenly sent at Miroku, and he jumped back uselessly with yelp, unable to fully avoid it—
Until Kirara swung down from above. Sango reached down and grabbed his arm, hauling his forcibly out of the way seconds before he was hit. He was hard pressed to keep his shakujou out of the way as he climbed on, but her managed it in the end—he straddled Kirara's back, holding Sango tightly from behind. He buried his face between her shoulderblades. "Ahh, Sango… you have saved me again…"
"No time for that," said Sango, leaning forwards. "Look!"
Miroku looked. Kagome was on her hands and knees, tearing at the dirt that was still trying to swallow Inuyasha. The hanyou was struggling as well, trying to break free of the mud trapping him and having no success. "What is this?" Sango said softly, horrified. "Inuyasha killed the youkai! Shouldn't the dirt be going back to normal by now?"
"Oh, shit," said Miroku in a moment of uncharacteristic profanity, as the mud behind Inuyasha and Kagome began to well up, swelling as if something just beneath the surface were trying to rise up. Kagome didn't notice at all in her frantic haste to get the still-moving muck off Inuyasha, but even from up in sky both Sango and Miroku could see the hanyou stiffen and try to turn.
"Kagome!" shouted Sango. "Behind you!"
"She can't hear you," said Miroku, his voice hurried, frantic. "Take Kirara down, quickly!"
"Kagome," said Inuyasha slowly. "Something's coming."
She looked up briefly. "All the more reason to get you out then, hm?" she said, her hands half-buried in the cold mud. She could feel… things moving inside it, and was too busy trying to quell her rising squeamishness to really pay attention.
"No, Kagome… MOVE!"
She looked up, startled at the sudden change in his tone of voice, and instantly screamed and jerked forwards as the cold feeling of mud spread across her back, trapping her against Inuyasha's back. She was dimly aware of him screaming her name as the faceless thing—no, a second thing, this one seemed different somehow—leaned over her.
"Idiot," it said, and she was sure that if it had a face it would have been sneering. "You can die now."
Kagome screamed, trying get out of the cold mud encasing her body. She could feel it spreading across her back, over her legs, up her arms—she could feel the stuff inside the dirt moving, and nearly fainted.
"Damn it! Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted. The thing was behind him—he could see it if he turned his head enough, but he couldn't tell what it was doing… Kagome's screams were filling his ears, and the smell of smoke was quickly returning. He struggled within his bonds, managing to get one arm out of the mud, and quickly pried the Tetsusaiga free. "Temee," he snarled, slashing blindly behind himself—he could feel Kagome pressed against her back, and knew he wouldn't hit her. The thing jumped backwards, wary of his blade.
The thing laughed. "Oh, Inuyasha, you are an amusing prey, aren't you? No wonder that spider wanted you so badly." It suddenly shot out a hand and grabbed Inuyasha's hair, pulling his head sharply back as Inuyasha winced.
"So it was associated with Naraku!" gasped Sango. She fumbled with Hiraikotsu from her perch on Kirara's back as the neko youkai began to descend. "This is one of his schemes!"
"Calm down," the thing whispered in his ear as Inuyasha snarled and tried to slash at it. He couldn't feel any breath coming from it—he could feel the smooth skin of its nonexistent face as plainly as if it were pressing against him. "This won't hurt a bit," it told him quietly. Slowly, using one finger, it traced four slow symbols on Inuyasha's forehead: wasuresaru. Inuyasha shivered slightly, then growled again and continued to struggle, the dark symbols plainly visible against his pale flesh before his silver fringe fell back into place and covered them.
"Something isn't right about this creature," said Miroku, watching closely as the creature bent over Inuyasha's head. "How did it resist the force of the kazaana? And how did it return after being destroyed by the kaze no kizu?"
"There'll be time for that later," shouted Sango, jumping down off Kirara's back as the neko neared the ground. She lunged at the creature, swinging Hiraikotsu. The thing jumped back, wary, and she advanced on it. Kirara landed on the ground and Miroku jumped down, holding his shakujou tightly in his fist as he ran towards Inuyasha and Kagome.
He started to dig at the mud, but stopped when the mass of mud suddenly gave way. Inuyasha fell forwards, stopping himself from falling at the last second and whirling to catch Kagome, who had long since fainted away.
"Kagome!" he yelled at her, shaking her shoulders slightly as she sagged in his arms. "Wake up, dammit!"
"Don't shake her," said Miroku. "It's only the shock. Focus on the problem at hand, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha lowered her slowly to the ground, then stood and glared over at where Sango was threatening the dirt-being with Hiraikotsu.
"What's your connection to Naraku?" she asked it. "The spider you mentioned earlier."
It shrugged casually. "Oh, that. Nothing really… it just asked me to dispose of you. Him in particular," it said, gesturing towards Inuyasha, who was striding slowly towards them with Tetsusaiga in hand.
"Move, Sango," he told her calmly, and raised the katana.
"Wait!" she yelled at him. "We need to find out what its purpose here was—ah!" She dodged out of the way as Inuyasha brought down the sword in one fast stroke, rolling as she hit the ground and jumping to her feet hurriedly behind him in time to watch the second youkai dissolve within the kaze no kizu.
"Damn it, what's wrong with you!" she shouted at him as soon as she had gotten her breath back. "Don't you realize the amount of information that we could have got out of…"
Her voice trailed off as the Tetsusaiga hit the ground with a small thud. Inuyasha followed suit within seconds, collapsing slowly to sprawl on the too-soft ground. A shout from behind her signaled Kagome's awakening, and moments later, the younger girl was on her knees beside Inuyasha, trying vainly to wake him.
"Wh-what happened?" said Kagome frantically, trying to turn him over. "Did something happen while I was unconscious? Why is he like this?"
"Well this is disturbing," said Miroku, walking over slowly. "I must assume that this has something to do with whatever that youkai was writing on him. It must have been his purpose from the start."
"Writing?" said Kagome, confused. "He wrote something? What did he write?"
Miroku knelt beside Inuyasha and pushed aside his bangs. He hissed in surprise.
"What is it?" asked Sango, coming over to look too.
"There is nothing here," said Miroku. "And yet, I could see that there was something earlier… This is a bad sign."
"Why?" asked Kagome, suddenly afraid. "What does it mean?"
Miroku stood up before answering. "Generally writing that vanishes after being written indicates a spell of some sort, in which the tangible evidence of its making fades once the spell has been been completed." He paused. "That this one has faded would indicate that the spell is now in effect."
"But… what will it do to him?" asked Kagome, looking down at Inuyasha. He didn't seem to be suffering any ill effects—aside from the unconsciousness, of course. His face was peaceful, relaxed almost.
"There is no way of knowing that at this stage," said Miroku grimly. "If I could read what he had written, of course, it would be another matter…"
"But it's gone," said Kagome softly, completing his statement. She looked down at Inuyasha, sadly. Her next words were a whisper. "What do we do now?"
Kaede sighed heavily. It was difficult to count all the times that the group had returned with one of them gravely injured, and most often it was Inuyasha who had fallen. But this time was different—look as she might, she couldn't find a single injury on his body. This fit in with Miroku's theory of a curse of some sort, and it disturbed her more than it would have had the hanyou been gravely wounded.
"You are sure that none of ye could see what this creature had written?" she asked them. All were sitting within Kaede's hut, including the now-whimpering Shippou. Kagome sat near Inuyasha's head, toying idly with a strand of his silver hair as he lay prone. Her now very dirty yellow backpack was lying on the ground near the wall. She shook her head in response to Kaede's question, as did the others.
"Kagome-sama was stuck behind Inuyasha," said Miroku, "and I and Sango were on Kirara—too far away to see clearly."
"So much has been said already," said Kaede. "But can thou give me the details of what happened during the fight? Thou hast said the creature mentioned the Spider."
"Yes," said Sango. "While it was putting the writing on Inuyasha, it mentioned that the spider wanted him."
"I noticed something odd," said Miroku, leaning forwards in his seat. "After it had placed the spell on Inuyasha, it didn't seem to put up much of a fight. In fact, I believe that it voluntarily released Inuyasha from his confinement."
"Indicating that the spell was its purpose right from the start," said Kaede.
"Also telling us that it was not a mercenary," said Sango. "It all but allowed Inuyasha to kill it; if it were hired it should have valued its life more."
"Unless the kaze no kizu didn't really work on it," said Miroku. "Remember, it came back after he attacked it the first time."
"No it didn't," said Kagome. She frowned slightly when Miroku and Sango stared at her with identical expressions of puzzlement. "You… didn't notice?" she said.
"Didn't notice what?" said Miroku, frowning.
"The one that put the spell on Inuyasha was a different one," said Kagome. "It… it felt different, somehow. I could sense it."
"Well that's news," said Sango, looking down at Hiraikotsu thoughtfully. "No wonder it was so wary of his sword… I was curious for a minute, because if it came back, it must have meant that kaze no kizu didn't work…"
"That also means that there could be more," said Miroku, his brow furrowing. "Or that there is something controlling them… they could be like Naraku's golems."
"You mean that there could be something controlling them from far away?" said Kagome. She hadn't even thought of that. The thought that this might be the case was not very comforting… what if there were more of them? If the thing hadn't been suicidal, they might not have beaten it, but it was raising so many questions now…
And what if whatever was controlling them decided not to bother with spells and come to kill Inuyasha? She had the awful feeling that they wouldn't be able to stop it twice. Especially if there were many of them.
"Hm." Kaede stood up. "Well, the most pressing matter at the moment is probably determining the nature of the spell that has been placed upon Inuyasha."
Kagome looked up at her hopefully. "There's a way to find out what it is?" If there was, then they could probably find a way to counteract it… Inuyasha probably wouldn't wake up until the spell had either run its course or been taken off, and just sitting back and allowing the spell to do its work was an idea that didn't appeal to her much.
"There are a few ways to uncover the purpose of a spell after its placement," said Miroku. "Most take some time, however, and quite a few are none too pleasant…"
"Is there some way we can prevent the spell from doing its work until we find a way to lift it?" asked Sango. This situation was making her uneasy. She was a taijiya, not some sort of youjutsusha, and all this talk about spells and curses was outside her experience. Why that thing had to be some sort of spellcaster she didn't know; this was the first time Naraku had ever done this sort of thing, and having him show new strategies and methods of fighting was something else that she didn't like. Did it mean Naraku was growing stronger again?
Kaede remained silent. Miroku paused for long moments before answering. "I may know of a spell that removes curses… but without knowing what that creature has cast, I have no way of knowing what my spell would do when combined with whatever is affecting Inuyasha. It could have the opposite reaction to what we desire; it could even kill him."
Kagome pressed her fist to her mouth, trying not to cry. What could they do? What if Miroku cast his spell and it… if it killed Inuyasha… she didn't know what she would do. And all through this, he still hadn't woken up. Maybe, just maybe, he knew what had been done to him—maybe he knew what the spell was. It would be a bit of along shot, as he'd never expressed any interest in the workings of magic, but… Kagome watched his still face, so calm in unconsciousness, and willed him to wake up.
Nothing.
"What is the spell?" Sango was asking Miroku. "Perhaps we could try it… doing something is better than nothing, at least."
"I believe it is called jokyokijutsu," said Miroku slowly. "I have never performed it myself, though I have heard of it."
"Jokyokijutsu?" said Kaede, staring down at Miroku with her single eye wide. "I have heard this before… though I can't recall where…"
"How does it work?" said Sango impatiently. "The sooner we do something, the better."
"For the most part," said Miroku, "it operates only on written spells; which suits our purpose, it would seem. However…"
"Well?" said Sango.
"I don't know all of the details of its working," said Miroku. "But I'm sure that if I could ask Mushin, he could tell me."
"Mushin-sama?" Sango frowned. "But isn't that a bit far?"
"It is," said Miroku grimly. "But it's all that I can think of at the moment."
"But by the time you come back, the curse on Inuyasha might be completed!" said Kagome. Would they never find a solution? Every turn they made, some new obstacle was in their way. Shouldn't Kaede know something? She was a miko, and she had experience… But Kaede was still silent, watching the proceedings without contributing any information. Perhaps, Kagome thought sadly, this is outside of her knowledge, too. I'm supposed to be a miko as well, and I have no idea of what's going on. Shippou was watching the proceedings with the same look of hopelessness on his face.
"It's our only chance," said Miroku. He stood up swiftly. "I might be able to create an ofuda that will slow down the curse on Inuyasha—that ought to be safe enough." He looked down at Sango. "Sango, may I borrow Kirara?"
Sango stood too. "I will go with you, houshi-sama." I can't stand this helpless feeling any longer, darn it!
Miroku looked at her, surprised. "Oh, Sango…"
She glared at him. "Don't be getting any ideas, houshi-sama! I'm going for my own reasons!" Sama is a bit much when it comes to him, she thought grumpily.
"Please, hurry," said Kagome.
"Of course," said Miroku.
It was the work of a few minutes for him to draw up a single ofuda. He allowed Kagome to place it on Inuyasha—anywhere would be fine, he assured her, so long as it was in contact with his body. After a moment's thought, she placed it on his chest, right in the middle of his red haori.
A few more minutes later, she, Shippou and Kaede were watching as the fire that surrounded Kirara's paws and tails receded into the darkening sky. Kaede turned and entered the hut to check on Inuyasha; Kagome remained outside for a little bit longer.
Please, Miroku, hurry up, she thought. I don't ever want to know what that spell was…
The village was aflame. Huts were burning, thick timbers blackening and growing brittle before falling to pieces with cracking noises. The air was filled with smoke, thick heat from the flames, and the sounds of screams mingled with the noise of the fire itself. If Inuyasha hadn't been to busy, he might have been annoyed at the wave of sound that roared within his skull, beating at his demon senses with furious intensity as if berating him for the crime he was committing.
The orange glow of flames shone softly off the walls of the hut he was entering. A grin crossed his face as he stared at it, at his prize: the Shikon no Tama. It was resting on a small deep violet cushion, where he knew it was kept—he'd seen Kikyou placing it there, time and time again, whenever she…
He forced the thought of Kikyou out of his head before it could cloud his mind with rage again. All that she was now was a reminder of his purpose here—to take the jewel. Then he would kill her, kill the bitch who had tried to slay him, and then he could leave this place forever.
She had betrayed him! Every time he thought about it, a cold, hard feeling rose in his throat. She had told him she would meet him, use the jewel to make him human, and then they could live peacefully together… no more violence, no more hatred for him; and she would be a normal woman for the first time in her life. When he arrived in the clearing to see her angry face and the arrows that stuck quivering in the tree near his head, his first instinct was to fall down and simply die right there. But a moment later it was swallowed by the anger… the irate, burning hatred that forced him out of the clearing, away from her, using youkai speed to take himself as far away as possible. And when the anger had receded enough for him to think once more, he had turned around and headed for the village to claim what was his. The jewel.
Striding forwards, he reached out and seized it up unceremoniously. The moment his hand closed around the cold glassy surface, he was moving… only he wasn't really. The world shifted and swirled around him, and a small voice spoke up in the back of his head: this isn't right. But it was lost moments later in the renewed rush of hatred as the world stopped moving and he found himself in the forest. He didn't even have time to regain his bearing before a voice cried his name, calling his attention. Even as he turned he felt the impact against his chest.
The blow knocked him back against the hard trunk of a tree. Goshinboku, he thought dazedly. It took a moment for the pain to set in. The jewel fell from his hand and he clutched at it uselessly, hardly able to lift his arm as a strange numbness swept over his body.
And then she was there. "Kikyou…" he whispered, forcing his eyes up to look at her. If he was going to die here, he had to see her still… not for the sake of the love that they had once shared, but to convey to her the hatred that she had brought upon herself with her betrayal. She was lowering her bow, glaring back at him with a fury that almost rivaled his own. As the edges of his vision frayed and the world began to come apart at the seams, she knelt to pick up the fallen jewel.
Something… was his last thought. Something's wrong…
:00:00:
Kagome drew her knees up beneath her body, heedless of the coarse wood rubbing against her bare legs. She was getting worried—never mind that Inuyasha hadn't woken up yet, he had begun to moan in his sleep and now was moving restlessly. It looked as though he was having some sort of nightmare…
She wished more than anything that she could simply reach out and shake him awake… but she knew that it wouldn't do anything. If they couldn't wake him up earlier, she wouldn't be able to now… But that didn't make it any easier to watch him suffer.
Determined to make a go at it, she rose up on her knees and reached out towards him. Placing a hand gently on his shoulder, she shook him lightly.
"Inuyasha," she said softly.
Suddenly he moaned, turning his head to the side, and she sat bolt upright as she heard his hoarse voice whispering… "Kikyou…"
He's dreaming… about her, she thought, pressing a hand to her mouth. But it's a nightmare… what can I do?
For a few more moments she sat and watched him as he turned his head back to its original position.
Suddenly, and without any warning at all, his eyes opened and she found herself transfixed by an amber gaze.
"You're awake!" she said, sagging with relief. "Oh, I was so worried…"
In an instant he was on his feet, glaring at her balefully. She paused, startled by his reaction. "Inuyasha, what…"
"Kikyou," he said, his voice thick with loathing. "What the hell did you think you were doing?"
Kagome sat, stunned. "Wh—Kikyou?" she said, unable to think of anything else.
"You bitch!" he snarled, flexing his claws. "I'll kill you!"
She scrambled to her feet, eyes wide as he prepared to strike. "W-wait! What are you talking about?"
"Shut up!" he said, amber eyes flashing coldly as he regarded her. "I don't owe you any answers! Do you think I'd still care for you? Well you pretty much gave up any claims on my affection when you tried to kill me!"
He thinks I'm Kikyou, thought Kagome dazedly, not moving. Again. She cringed as he began to move.
Inuyasha crouched, started his lunge—and then stopped abruptly, falling to one knee with a loud thud. Upon hearing it, Kagome looked up, startled.
"I-Inuyasha?"
He stared into the ground, managing to remain kneeling rather than falling over, panting slightly as waves of blinding agony slammed through his head. Wh-what…? was all he could think. What's… wrong with me?
"Are you… are you okay?" asked Kagome, stepping closer. He heard her soft footstep and lashed out immediately. She shrieked and jumped back.
Before she could try again, he was upright, swaying precariously on his feet, one hand to his head. "Don't come near me, bitch," he growled, snarling through the pain. "If you want to find another poor sap to deceive and betray, it won't be me!"
"Wait!" said Kagome in dismay, not quite realizing his intent until he had already turned towards the door. "I'm not…"
But her voice couldn't keep up with his youkai speed, however weakened he was, and she was left staring at an empty doorway in dismay, her words trailing off as she finished her sentence to no one. "I'm not Kikyou…"
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:0:
...Next chapter is in progress. But since I hardly expect to be putting out 26 pages each go, I've split up the current story into two chapters.
It should be clear by now that I'm really bad at updating, yes?
