Chapter Ten Strange Epiphanies
THREE DEMONS, A half-demon, and two humans sat beside a roaring fire in the middle of the forest. The kitsune was fast asleep in the human female's lap, a thumb stuck in his mouth securely. The woman was content leaning against the monk, and the firecat drowsily laid in his lap. With the wolf and the hanyou sitting in the trees as look-outs, they had reason to be at ease.
'Cheh...' Inuyasha snorted to himself. 'Look at those two... Don't they look like a cozy couple?' He sent a glare at Miroku and Sango. 'Don't they realize that there are things more important than their romantic issues?'
Koga's ears perked as he heard a sigh from a nearby tree. "Inuyasha, what's up..." Koga demanded quietly. He could sense the inner turmoil coming from the pup, and though he didn't like to admit it, he knew what the half-demon was going through. "Don't tell me you miss her, Inuyasha... You know exactly what you did to her, and you can't exactly expect her to forgive you right away..."
"Who are you talking about, Koga?" Inuyasha harshly whispered. "I have no reason to ask for forgiveness... She willingly stayed by my side, even when I told her I couldn't see her anymore. So I change my mind from time to time. You would, too, if you had the essence of twins within your grasp."
"Inuyasha, you're a pig." Koga closed his eyes. "I've always wondered why you were called 'Inu' when really, you're just a big, fat, womanizing pig." Laughing quietly, the wolf readjusted himself. "Don't deny it. Why do you think she's tolerated Sesshoumaru's presence so long?"
The hanyou didn't like the way the conversation was going. He instead turned on the wolf. "Why do you hang around with us, Koga? Don't you have a cave of wolves you could be taking care of and ruling over instead of messing around with us?"
Koga's eyes opened slightly to stare at Inuyasha. "You know exactly why I hang around you lollygagging losers. I have my own debt to Naraku to repay..."
Inuyasha began to retort when he caught the hint of female on the air. Female wolf, to be exact... "Ayame..."
Koga swore colorfully before climbing higher.
"Why do you run away from her, Koga? You made a promise, and it's obvious you have feelings for her..." The half-demon snickered as Koga made a face.
"The same reason you run from Kagome... They have ways of punishing us." His eyes bulged as he spotted the woman near the fire and the humans. 'She seems...different,' he suddenly thought. 'She's...not a girl anymore... And there's something in her scent that makes me worry, too..."
"Hey, guys, have you seen Koga?" Ayame asked in an unusually quiet voice. Her eyes were rimmed with tears and filled with pain. "I really need him at the moment..." She smiled as Shippo started at the sudden vocalization. "Sorry for waking you, kit."
"Yeah, he's just--" Miroku pointed up the tree Koga had perched himself it in at sunset.
With a curious expression, Koga jumped down near the princess. "Ayame, what's wrong?"
Gazing into his vivid blue eyes, she searched them for honest concern. "Koga, it's terrible..." She turned her eyes to the forest floor, fighting back the flood that threatened to burst its barrier. "My father...he's..." She choked on a sob, no longer able to hold back the emotion that hurled itself around inside her. In embarrassment, she covered her tear-streaked face and turned from the wolf prince. "He's gone! He just up and left, telling me to take care of the clan!" Crouching, she buried her face in her knees, holding herself. "And I don't think I can do it on my own... I don't know how to rule a clan."
Koga's heart went out to the girl as he knelt beside her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay, Ayame. We've all been through this." Standing her straight, he grasped her hands, giving her a sad smile as she still hung her head. "Ayame, look at me." His smile broadened as she looked into his eyes. "Come with me." She nodded and he picked her up, her face buried in his shoulder as he carried her away. "I might be back," he added to the troupe.
Inuyasha watched all of this transpire with curiosity about his own fate. 'Was I destined for a life of solitude? Kikyo's gone...Kagome wants nothing to do with me...' A sudden realization hit him. "Oh, my gods... Koga, wh... How could I have been so blind!"
Sango looked up with concern at the hanyou's murmurs. "Inuyasha, are you hearing voices?" She poked Miroku and gestured up Inuyasha's tree. "What is wrong, Inuyasha?"
The half-demon gave a strange look to the human couple as if he had just come across an epiphany. "I don't know when I'll return..." With that, he leaped from the tree into the starry sky.
"What did he mean by that?" Shippo rubbed his eyes and gazed into the direction Inuyasha had left. "Is Inuyasha okay?"
"I don't know..." Miroku replied. "I honestly don't know"
-
KAGOME WAS ONCE again sitting in the meadow, daydreaming about her old life, when she had no demons or shards to worry about, no real love life to speak of, and tons of homework.
"Okay, so I could do without that..." she mumbled as she let go of her knees and plopped back into the grass. Laying an arm across her forehead, she closed her eyes. "It is nice, though, just laying here... It's so peaceful, and so quiet..." She smiled. "Mom would love it here. She could dry her laundry outside all the time without worrying about smog or anything interferring with the smell of good ole fresh air..."
"Would she enjoy the smell of fresh human blood?"
Sitting straight in a flash, Kagome quickly surveyed the area. "Who's there? What do you want?"
"You already know... Do not act foolish, girl."
This had Kagome on her feet and in a quiet panic. 'It's okay, Kag. Settle down. It's probably Sesshoumaru playing a joke on you...' An arrow whizzed by her ear. "Or maybe not." With a whimper, she quickly dodged another arrow and concentrated on defensive maneuvers. She felt the sapphire bounce against her skin as she knelt quickly. Sparing it a glance, she noticed it was glowing brightly. "What is going on?"
Within the castle, a demon was tearing through the hallways toward the meadow. 'Kagome, please be safe... I'm coming!' He threw the door open to see Kagome standing tall with a holy arrow poised and ready to fire. Looking to where she was aiming, he saw a disgusting troll demon with his own bow and arrow, not to mention a nasty looking sword at his hip. "Kagome, get out of there!" He made a step towards her.
"Stay back, Sesshoumaru."
It was then he noticed the blue shimmer surrounding her entire being. 'The sapphire... I won't doubt your words, Mother.'
/Thank you, my son.../
However, he still couldn't help but worry when the troll released his arrow. The demon had impressive aim for his species, and it took everything in Sesshoumaru not to dash out and slice the arrow in half before it reached the miko. However, he realized he would've been in the way as Kagome let her arrow fly, splitting the troll's and continuing on. It struck him in the arm, and he reeled back in pain with a howl. The arrow began to burn his arm away, blinding the demon with agony and rage.
His eyes burned red with anger as he drew his sword and charged the priestess. "Die, wench!" he roared, rearing back and thrusting toward the young woman's heart.
Kagome stood paralyzed with terror. She hadn't anticipated the demon to engage close combat. An automatic reaction had her putting her hands up to attempt to block the blow. She waited, but it never came. There was no pain, no sound of flesh squelching beneath a blade or her own scream. Silence resounded as she opened her eyes and gazed about her. She saw on the ground a pile of flesh mutilated beyond recognition. "Did I do that?" she asked herself as the blue radiance began to fade. She glanced over to see a slightly dumbfounded great demon. "Sesshoumaru, what happened?"
'I have no idea,' he thought, standing in horror at the sight of the demolished demon. 'Did Mother leave this to me to give to my "cherished" in case I became like that pathetic troll? A crazed, blood-lusting demon?' He began to wonder if she had retained the ability to see one's path in the future. He sent a curious look to the miko. 'Did she know I would house a human?' Walking toward her, his eyes softened. "Kagome..."
"Sesshoumaru?" She wasn't quite sure why, but it was kind of awkward being hugged by the demon who had once thought nothing of killing her. He held her as if she was on the brink of death, and he didn't want to lose her. "Are you...okay, Sesshoumaru?"
"Kagome...for the first time in my life, I think I am." He gazed into her eyes before smiling that gorgeous smile he reserved for only her. Leaning down, he cupped her face and gently kissed her. "Kagome...I find myself thinking non-stop about you. You drive me insane, and I've come to discover that I like it." He kissed her again. "I've never felt this way about anyone in the many years I've lived." He held her hands as his face became distorted with both confusion and understanding. 'I love her, but why can't I say it?'
/'Because once you say it, you can never take it back... You will become ultimately attached to this human, and death itself will be hard-pressed to separate the two of you.'/
Sesshoumaru lowered his eyes at this thought. 'Perhaps it's for the better that she not know.'
"Sesshoumaru," Kagome began softly. "Don't push yourself too hard." She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. "Things like this take time, and from what I've seen, we need plenty of it." She smiled and squeezed his warm hands before releasing them. Turning away from the demon and walking toward the door, she began thinking. 'Sesshoumaru... I know how you feel, and I know how hard it is to tell them, but now isn't the time... This isn't meant to be. Until my fifteen birthday, we were separated by time and space. Now, I'm eighteen, and I've spent many years here in the past. I'll never know if my presence here has drastically changed the future or not, since I am in both timelines, but if I stay here with you, I know things in the future will change...completely.'
She had reached the palace entrance and gazed out into the world. 'Perhaps it's time for me to return to where I belong...'
'That is here, koi.'
Wincing, she held back tears. 'I hate it when you do that... Sesshoumaru, I can't stay.'
"I know, that is why I am letting you go." The previously mentioned demon stepped forward behind Kagome and laid a clawed palm upon her shoulder. "I will escort you to your portal and your world."
It tore him apart to say that. He didn't want her to leave him. He wanted her to always be by his side, to protect his lands with him, to bear his pups.
Kagome smelled the change in his mood from sadness to shock. "What are you thinking about...?" she asked, placing a comforting hand upon his.
"Nothing, Kagome..." For the first time ever, he was attached to someone...he needed someone to protect, to love, to hold. "When will we be leaving?"
Tears began to well up in her eyes. "As soon as is fit..." He tightened his grip on her shoulder, and in doing so, squeezed the tears from her eyes. "Sesshoumaru..."
"I understand, Kagome..." He embraced her, holding his arms around her tightly. 'I never want to let you go, Kagome.' He felt a tear fall on his arm.
"You have to"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NL: Yeah, I know...I'm glad I wanted to make this a sad chapter, 'cause I knew that when I got down to writing it, I'd be in a bad mood.
Kagome: NL, what's wrong?
NL: Nothin'...Honestly, I'm just being really emo, so don't worry about me.
Kagome: You're not the one losing your love again!
NL: Wanna bet? Okay, you guys don't wanna hear about my personal life, so here ya go with previews and review responses.
+
PREVIEW: Chapter Eleven, The Clearing
So Inuyasha ran off...and the rest of them follow...minus Koga and Ayame. They've got their own problems. Now the troupe has arrived at a large clearing full of rice paddies and oxen only to find Naraku's evil presence hiding somewhere with in it. Not only do Inuyasha and the others sense it, Sesshoumaru and Kagome arrive and discover the vile hanyou's youki as well. How will this chapter in their lives end?
REVIEW RESPONSES:
