In the Beholders Eye

Written By Sarga

May/June 2006

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters, I'm just taking a theme and running with it...

This chapter is dedicated to Dr. Doom, my fiancé's beloved hamster. He passed away this afternoon surrounded by family. Bright blessings, Dr. D. May your next life bring you many happy turns of the wheel.

- Sarga

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Chapter 25: Onwards and Upwards

Miroku was the first to awaken, the sounds of breakfast being cooked easing him from his slumber. Peering at the ancient monk, Miroku stood, rubbing sleep from his eyes lazily.

"Good morning Kigaro," Miroku whispered so as to not awaken his friends.

"Good morning, young monk," Kigaro replied, equally hushed.

"Tell me, Kigaro, Iyouko seemed to have a great distaste for your name. He seemed to think you were a difficult person to be around. His description of you seems quite the opposite of what we have seen." Miroku trailed off, hoping the old monk would continue.

"Indeed, he would." Kigaro looked as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. Mumbling something that Miroku heard as "Son-of-a-so-and-so doesn't like tea," the old man went back to preparing breakfast in silence. After a few moments, he turned back to the younger monk. "We both think the other killed her. Neither of us wants to take responsibility for our roles in her death." He smiled reflectively. "For a half demon like Iyouko, a single lifetime wasn't enough." Kigaro snorted in incredulity. "I'm a human and a lifetime wasn't enough. Not with her. Both of us wanted her for forever." Standing taller, Kigaro projected an image of his youthful self, proud and strong. The moment gone, the image lost, Kigaro looked back to the sleeping woman on his floor.

"She could be that for you, monk," Kigaro motioned towards Sango. Turning red, Miroku looked guiltily away from her sleeping form.

"We'd best be getting breakfast for the others," Miroku hurriedly busied himself, loudly preparing a meal for his companions. The commotion was enough to rouse them, and after a hearty meal they made their way out of the small hut.

Thanking their host for his generous hospitality and information, they set off on the path pointed out by their new beacon.

Like all good compasses, this one pointed North.

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Kagome, furious at Inuyasha for turning her into a hanyou, ran to their destination in silence.

Inuyasha, furious at Kagome for fearing his romantic advance, ran to their destination in silence.

For for an entire day they remained silent. Stopping only long enough to eat and sleep, the pair had maintained their icy walls the entire time. At the end of the second day, they were resting a short distance from the mountain before Kagome finally broke the silence.

"I still don't know why you were so angry with me. You were the one who...what would you even call that? Kiss?" She looked at her companion who refused to look up from his meal. "You were the one who kissed me. Plus, you turned me into a hanyou!" Kagome dropped her unfinished meat into her small bowl. "What could you possibly be angry at me for?"

Inuyasha looked sharply up at her, a pain buried beneath the anger. Without a word he dropped his own unfinished meal with disgust and stood. Inuyasha stomped away, ready to spend the night out of sight of the one person he felt the most pained by.

"Dammit! I asked you a question!" Kagome yelled after him, enraged. "SIT!"

Inuyasha felt the pull of the spell, and tried to resist. Failing miserably, he was thrown to the ground, his face imprinting itself in the forest floor. Now equally enraged, Inuyasha pulled himself off of the ground, the spell wearing off slowly. With an equal intensity to what Kagome had shown him, Inuyasha retaliated.

"STAY!"

Kagome, eyes wide in shock, could do nothing but comply. She saw as he bounded off, throwing back the occasional 'stay' for good measure. He wanted to be alone and she could not follow.

As she felt the effects of the spell wear off she felt her energy drain from her. The scent he had left behind was confusing, a mixture of anger, hurt, and something she did not expect. Desire.

Kagome felt her breath catch in her throat. 'Why is he so hurt? Does he find me that disgusting in this form, even though he seems to want it? And here I go and "sit" him when he's trying to escape before saying something hurtful. He should just say it and be done of it, hurt me once, cleanly and quickly. I can't stand any more of this stupid bickering.'

"Damn you!" Kagome screamed loudly after Inuyasha before stumbling her way blindly back to the fire. Kicking out the flames with dirt, Kagome gathered their belongings and wrapped them all in her pack. Hoisting the pack to her shoulder she leaped to the nearest tree branch and settled in for the night.

Kagome thought of the situation wryly. 'For some unknown reason, he's changed me into a hanyou. He seems to hate my new body, but he can't control his own reactions to it, not from my new senses. He wants me, but he seems to hate himself, and me, for it.' Kagome brought a hand to her forehead, hoping to rub some of the frustration away. 'All this doesn't matter though. Even in this new form I still love him. But he never really loved me, did he?' Kagome sat up and leaned back on the tree trunk for support. 'He always ran to Kikyo. Even now he runs. He can't stand to be near an abomination. I'm so much like his former love, yet a hated hanyou.'

Kagome closed her eyes, tears of frustration trailing down her cheeks. The ever present burning threatened to bubble forth, and she was loathe to push it back. Allowing it to teeter dangerously near the edge, she fell into a restless sleep.

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The stone was acting erratically, to say the least. Over the course of the day Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kilala had been sharply redirected three times.

"Either the protector has the ability to move at phenomenal speeds, or this thing is wearing out," Miroku sighed as they switch directions for a fourth time.

"I agree, Miroku, but we don't really have any other options, do we?" Sango looked at the stone in his hand with pursed lips. "Why don't we just wait in the nearest village for a day or so? We can see if there is a pattern to where the protector is going. Maybe we can just focus on one of his destinations rather than running between the two."

"That's assuming there are only two," Miroku responded.

"True, but we really need to figure that out. We won't get anywhere by running back and forth, zig-zagging and ending up no where."

"You have a point," Miroku nodded, a sly grin creeping on his face. "We should, perhaps, earn some more travel money. I could read some palms..."

"The only 'palm' you'll be reading is mine..." Sango shouted. "As it smacks your perverted cheek! We will not be 'earning travel money' while we're there!" Sango glared as Miroku looked with innocent doe eyes towards her.

"Over there," Sango instructed sharply to her mount. Kilala Veered obediently towards a small village, and Miroku almost fell off at the sudden motion. Grasping hold to the first thing he could lay his hands on, the monk regained his balance. It was not until he felt his hand-hold move that he realized what it was: Sango's chest. Which he had not let go of. Which he was currently lightly squeezing as he shifted.

It was very lucky for the monk that they were only seven feet from the ground. Any higher and the fall might have killed him.

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Kagome and Inuyasha stood at the golden expanse, its tall grass visually concealing what their noses revealed.

"They're waiting for us to go in. Just look at how still they are." Kagome pointed to the cluster that hid near the middle of the field. "They seem to be blocking the path to the other side."

Inuyasha nodded, flexing his fingers longingly. "We can get through them pretty quickly." He was aching to relieve the stress from the past few days.

The pair leaped into action, racing to the other side. Just as Kagome had predicted, the demons waited until they were both half way through before attacking. Although there were dozens in the ranks, only a scant handful actually ventured forward. Several leaped towards Kagome, the smaller of the pair, only to be torn easily apart by claws, hers and Inuyasha's.

Excepting the few who attacked, it seemed that the demons were wary, as if they had experienced a loss that they were not inclined to repeat. After slicing their way through a scant half dozen demons, the demons seemed to admit defeat.

Making their way easily across the remainder of the expanse, Kagome and Inuyasha could sense that they were not being followed. Rather than slow, however, the pair pressed forward, determined to make it to the stone fortress before nightfall.

Kagome and Inuyasha slowed to a walk as the trees became denser.

"I'm sorry," Kagome whispered to the silent hanyou at her side.

Inuyasha stopped.

"What?" He was not sure that he had heard correctly. Even with demon hearing, it was possible to mistake one thing for another.

Kagome responded louder, although not maliciously. "I said 'I'm sorry'." She stopped and faced her friend. "I know you don't deserve to be in this situation any more than I do." Kagome looked back to their path. "But I didn't put us here. You did. So you'd better stop blaming me." Kagome looked back to Inuyasha his stunned eyes showing the confusion that she could sense in waves from him. "You'd better face it, mister. Human or hanyou, I'm sticking with you. You'd better get used to it."

Inuyasha frowned and backed away slightly, turning his head towards their goal.

"You don't mean that, Kagome. I doubt you ever did."

Inuyasha's bitter words cut sharply at Kagome. Again she felt the raw anger, stemming from frustration, bubble from deep within. As he continued onward, Kagome let a little of the demon blood overcome her. A tinge of scarlet could be seen creeping in the edges of her eyes. Without the blade that sat at her waist, she would have been completely consumed.

Of course, to see it you would have had to have been looking at her. Inuyasha was not.

In a burst Kagome leaped at Inuyasha, tackling him easily to the ground. He did not believe her sincerity, her words were just that, words. But this, this would show him her intent.

The pair tumbled on the ground, narrowly missing the trunk of a large tree. Somehow, Inuyasha managed to get the upper hand. Pinning Kagome's arms to the ground, he growled dangerously.

"I thought I told you why you shouldn't do that, wench," he spat. His breath was ragged with an exertion that was not a result of his movement.

In another surge of rage, Kagome pushed back and the pair once again tumbled back, narrowly missing the same tree once more. This time, Kagome pinned Inuyasha solidly beneath her.

Growling low in her throat, Kagome responded. "That's why I did it," Kagome snarled. Inuyasha's lip curled into a sarcastic sneer.

"Right, so when you're human you fear the thought of being with me, but now that you're a hanyou you figure, 'Hey, might as well! You're only hanyou once!'" In another surge, he shoved her upwards, giving him the leverage to stand again.

"You bastard! Is that what you think? That I feared you? How many times did I save you from your demon side? Hmm?" Kagome stood from the ground, ignoring the dirt that stained her legs. "And all this time you thought I feared you? Are you crazy?"

Inuyasha scoffed. Circling her as she did him, Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. In barely a whisper, he let his words flow. "I never tried to kiss you when I was a demon."

She stopped suddenly, a realization dawning on her. 'That night, he saw my fear of the future. He took it as fear of him.' Kagome's expression softened, turning to one of compassion and understanding. "That wasn't fear of you, Inuyasha." She stepped forward, a small smile gracing her lips.

Then she was on the ground.

A high pitched squeal erupted from the creature that had knocked her down. The winged demon fell lifelessly to the ground as Kagome leaped to her feet, it's blood dripping from her claws.

Several more of the creatures swooped downwards, attacking the pair while they had been distracted. A demon clawed at Inuyasha, slicing his shoulder painfully. Kagome attacked the creature as it landed behind Inuyasha. Taring through another creature, Inuyasha ran towards Kagome.

Grabbing Kagome's hand, Inuyasha led her towards their goal. Running, hand in hand, they beat back the onslaught and made their way onwards and upwards.

End of Chapter

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Thanks for all of the reviews so far. I'll be posting a chapter or two a day over the long weekend, but the more reviews I receive, the sooner I'll post the completed chapters. So...

More reviews please!

- Sarga