Plea of a Fading Soul

Sorry I left you dangling, heh. So, what did ya think? Was the last one a good chappie or no? Sorry these past chapters have been short. And sorry the ending of the last chapter was painfully predictable, as some of you figured. But hey, I don't like character death. Okay, moving on. I know you all want me to shut up and get on with chapter twelve. The last chapter. Mwahahaha! How will this turn out?

PS: Bleh! Stupid ruler!

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Chapter Twelve
Meiko's Heart

Kagome's eyes slowly flickered open. For a minute, all she could see was a dazzling white light, and she wondered momentarily if she were in heaven. But she couldn't be in heaven, because she could hear screaming. Surely nobody screamed in heaven. Someone was calling out her name, and they sounded so terribly afraid. It was almost as if they were screaming themselves to death. A male voice, one she recognised. It took her a minute to put a name to them, but then inwardly she smiled. Inuyasha.

Someone else was screaming too – calling out another name. Calling out 'Meiko' in fury and pain. Meiko? Who's Meiko…? She thought, dazed. Then she glanced down and she saw that there was ash on her clothes. And she could smell burning flesh.
Kagome gagged, bile rising in her throat. She wasn't in heaven. She was in a cave, and a girl with blonde hair was standing in front of her, clutching hold of a burning ball of miasma that had originally been aimed at Kagome's heart. Wait, a blonde girl? Didn't she have black hair a minute ago?

The older girl had tears streaming down her face but she was smiling nastily. The miasma was burning her hand, and Kagome discovered that that was the source of the ash. Two of the girl's fingers had burned away completely. It looked like Meiko was struggling to hold onto the 'bullet' but she was so far succeeding in keeping it away from its target.
Oh, Meiko, why?

Kagome glanced up. Kikyo was softly saying her name, her face completely blank except for wide eyes filling with tears. She wasn't imagining it. The miko was crying. Crying with regret that it was not her who had been attacked.
And Inuyasha was darting across the cave, reaching out for Kagome. Kanuono didn't even notice, didn't care. He was glaring at Meiko, uncertain whether to be furious or upset.
Because the orb was killing her. It was only a matter of time.

Meiko felt the electricity of the miasma infect her soul, the shouki running up through her veins and conquering her entire body. Her arm wavered and she fell to her knees, the miasma no longer directed at Kagome. If she let go now, it would strike the wall.
Kikyo bowed her head, staring down at the floor as relief swept through her. But Inuyasha was still running, his face so deathly pale that Kagome thought he was injured in some way. But no, he was still in one piece. On the outside. Inside he felt shattered like the Shikon no Tama. Kagome…
He recalled the surge of energy he'd felt upon instinctively moving to protect Kikyo, and he hated himself for it. If it wasn't for Meiko, the odd girl before him, Kagome would be dead.

Kanuono completely ignored everyone else in the room for a minute – he was just staring at Meiko, uncertain of what to do. He wanted to kill her for her treachery. He wanted to disintegrate her into a million pieces. But then he wanted to hold her and tell her it was all right, that whatever it was that was wrong would pass.
He raised his arm, spreading his fingers out wide as if to hurtle a second miasma bullet at her, but nothing came. He just reached out for her.

Meiko smiled, then – a genuine smile – and she reached back, blood staining her perfect lips. "K-K-Kanuo–" Her eyes widened before the miasma disappeared from her hand completely, shrinking to the size of a marble before it vanished. She pitched forward, a film clouding over her eyes. The shouki was in her body. She'd been completely defiled. And now she was just a rotting corpse on the floor.

Kanuono simply stared. He didn't move, he just kept staring at the dead girl. In the chaos she had morphed back to her blonde form, long golden locks spread out around her as if she were an angel. The burning smell did not subside. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, her lips curled into a smile.
She didn't move. Didn't breathe or sit back up like Kanuono had earlier after pulling himself back together. Was she really… gone?

Sounds came back to him then. He and Meiko were not the only ones in the room and he looked up to see Inuyasha fumbling to get Kagome down from the wall. Kanuono turned numb inside. No, not numb. Hollow. Cold. Empty. Meiko was gone.
Anger surged up inside of him. Rage made him blind to anything but the fact Meiko was dead. And they would pay.

He was behind Inuyasha in less than a second, gripping hold of the hanyou's hair and tugging so the boy fell to the ground with a roar of fury. Kagome let out a squeal, and Kikyo jerked forward, opening her mouth in defiance.
Kanuono placed his foot on Inuyasha's exposed neck, his eyes wild. "You have two seconds before I crush you, hanyou. Any last words?" he spat, trembling with rage.

Kagome shook her head, tears streaming down her face. Kikyo stared, lost for words.
As Kanuono stared down at his own image, his expression didn't waver nor soften. He felt no remorse. He would kill him now; he would get it over with. He didn't care if this finished him, he had to kill the boy before–
"I'm not afraid of you," Inuyasha smiled, speaking in a velvety, soft, purring tone, eyes narrowed to the point of slits.

Kanuono let out a growl, but the pressure on Inuyasha's neck didn't cease.
The hanyou stared up at Shadow Man, uncaring. His eyes were almost daring Kanuono to stamp hard down on his neck. Do it. Go on, do it! "I'm not afraid of you," he said again. "You can do what you want to me and Kagome now. But I'm not afraid of you anymore."

Kanuono began to tremble, uncertain of what he should do. What was his line? To laugh insanely? His judgement had disappeared completely. He gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing.
Inuyasha was continuing in that soft tone that frightened the hell out of everyone who could hear it.

"Oh sure, I was afraid of you once. You were turning Kagome mad – anything that hurts her and drives her insane like you did… you really got to me. You got to both of us. But not anymore," he smiled, grinning from ear to ear.
Kanuono jerked backwards but he still did not remove his foot. He felt hot all of a sudden, his palms sticky, sweat dripping down his face, eyes wide… and he felt as if he were going to throw up. The hairs on his arms and back of his neck were standing on end and he was flinching away from the hanyou on the floor.

Is this what fear feels like? He wondered, before glancing up at Kagome. The girl's expression was stern, defiant, and completely in tune with Inuyasha's. She, a girl he had tormented for so long, was causing terror to rise up inside of him.
"So you see?" a sweet voice below him rang out. "You have no power over us anymore, Kanuono. All you are is a monster without a purpose."

"Because all children grow out of monsters sometime," Kagome put in, her own voice sweet as sugar. "And when that happens…"
"The monsters die," Inuyasha and Kagome said together, both smiling in a way that made Kanuono want to turn on his heel and run. He took a few stumbling steps backwards, and Inuyasha felt the weight removed from his throat. He sat up, laughing.

Kanuono retreated into the darkness and found his control was slipping. All of his power was ebbing away in one moment and in an instant, Kagome and Kikyo were no longer bound to the walls but on their own feet, Inuyasha helping both of them to stand.
A silent scream escaped Kanuono's throat and he reached out for Meiko, dropping to the floor as his body began to dissolve around him.

Kagome leant against the wall and helped Kikyo along beside her, while Inuyasha turned to watch his enemy's demise, eyes dark and unforgiving.
Kanuono made to retch but couldn't. His body was slowly disappearing behind him, turning to ash and disintegrating with every passing second. He tried to whisper Meiko's name, tried to say he was sorry, but it was no use.

In a few moments, all that was left was a pile of ash, and a hanyou staring at it with eyes of liquid gold.

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Kagome adjusted the blanket over the figure's head, smiling brilliantly. "You can see now, right?" she said, hoping that it was so as she fell into time with the girl's strides.
The figure nodded, holding a covered pot in one arm, the other held down at her side.
Inuyasha, behind them, sniffed. "Why do we have to make such a big fuss of this…?" he groaned, putting a hand up to his head.

Kagome shot him a look that read 'shut up, you idiot!' but the girl beside her just laughed. "I figured you would say that," she said, her voice emotionless.
The miko on the girl's left looked hurt for a minute, unsure of what to say, unsure of how her new friend was reacting to this, but she just sighed. "Don't listen to Inuyasha, he's a jerk."

"Excuse me?"
Again Kagome heard that tinkling laughter and she smiled. "Sure you'll be alright?" she asked. The girl nodded back, manoeuvring the pot close to her side as she adjusted the blanket with her left hand. The right one was useless. It was covered in burns and was mutated beyond belief. She had no fingers on that hand anymore.
But she was alive. That was all that mattered.

She came to a halt, suddenly, grinning. "Here." She announced, placing the pot on the floor of the hilltop.
Inuyasha grunted and Kagome helped remove the blanket from around the girl's head. Blonde hair spilled onto the girl's shoulders and Meiko raised her head, eyes bright. Then she glanced down at the pot. "Ready?"

Kagome nodded. Inuyasha shrugged, turning away, gripping hold of Tessaiga absently.
Meiko took a deep breath, eyes wet, and then removed the lid of the pot. A cloud of ash swirled up into the air like a mini-cyclone, arcing back and forth and dancing in the wind around them.

Meiko wavered and Kagome put an arm around the girl, pointing up at the sky. "He's saying goodbye," she told her, comforting her. Meiko nodded against the girl's arm, raising her eyes to the sky. They were filled with tears, but also… hope.

"He's free." She smiled. And in that moment, that was all she could think to say.

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Kagome brushed her fingers through long silver hair, sighing as she watched Inuyasha sleep in front of her. He'd spent all the afternoon complaining about giving an enemy a funeral, but secretly Kagome knew he was just tired. She nudged him but he didn't wake up, he just turned his face to the other side.

She sat back on the balls of her feet, brushing dust off of her uniform. Then she remembered the other day. She remembered leaving the cave after discovering Meiko was still alive. Because of course, the only way to have killed Meiko and Kanuono was to destroy the source of their power. Inuyasha and Kagome's fear had died, yet their love had not. And Meiko had sat up, breathing again. Disfigured slightly, yes, but still alive.

Kikyo had walked away, like she normally did. Tight-lipped without so much as a thank you. Kagome had almost forgotten she had seen the girl's tears. Inuyasha hadn't even attempted to go after her. Sure, he had watched her go, but he'd latched onto Kagome and hadn't left her side for the past two days. Touching, really.

Meiko had stayed in their company, treasuring Kanuono's ashes before setting them free upon the hilltop that morning. And now she was gone – doing whatever it was she said she was destined to do. She'd possibly become a village's miko now, but Kagome wasn't sure.
And now Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara were returning, relieved to hear Inuyasha and Kagome were no longer 'mad' and were their old selves again.

It was double for Inuyasha. He was still as stubborn as before. Kagome tapped him on the head before Kaede stepped into the hut, grinning. "I'm glad ye are safe," she said for the third time since they had returned, bringing in some kindling to start a fire. The girl sat on the floor nodded up at her, grateful. "You too, Kaede."
"I was uncertain of what had become of you two after that incident with the fog, but to see ye back live and well is fine with me." She began setting up the hearth, and Kagome decided to save the old miko time and retrieved the lighter she kept handy in her huge yellow bag.

The kindling and leaves lit with the help of the small flame and Kaede sat back, smiling.
Kagome did the same but stared at Inuyasha, noticing how softly he was sleeping. He looked so peaceful. So calm and untouchable. She brushed his hair out of his face, inspecting him so thoroughly that she was sure his face was etched into her brain in minute detail.

"Kagome, ye should rest." Kaede told her, warming her hands beside the fire.
Kagome nodded, yawning and laid down beside Inuyasha, tucking her body close to his. She hoped she wouldn't wake him and rested her head against her bag, glad to find that the top part was cushioned with the pillow she often carried around.

Her eyes slowly flickered shut. Kaede smiled as she noticed Kagome's breathing deepen. The girl had fallen to sleep. She turned away, grinning.
"Ye can stop pretending now,"

"Shit." Inuyasha whispered, eyes opening as he began to sit up. "I think she tangled up my hair," He ran one hand through it now, frowning.
Kaede chuckled and stood up. "I've started you a fire. Make sure it does not burn out of control." She made her way out of the hut then, lifting up the flap before going to do an errand somewhere in the village.
Inuyasha snorted. "Whatever,"

He looked down at Kagome, staring at her features and running a finger along her cheek before outlining her lips. Then he pulled away, groaning and raising a hand to his head. He felt really dizzy and disorientated. Maybe he should lie down…
The hanyou fell back down to the floor with a soft thud, staring at Kagome as he wove his body next to hers so they fit like two pieces of a puzzle. Like Yin and Yang.

It was over. The bad guys were gone and it was really over… Inuyasha smiled, content.
"'Night, Kagome." He whispered, shutting his eyes.
He hoped he didn't imagine it when she softly whispered 'goodnight' back in her sleep. And he hoped, with all his heart, that nightmares wouldn't interrupt her dreams anymore. And the monsters were really gone for good.

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Ack. Yes. Over. I'm going to be evil and do what I did with Flat Line, but… rate meh? Out of ten? I think I loved writing this, actually. I'm going to miss it now it's gone. But yes, Plea of a Fading Soul has now, well, faded. I think the chapters got better and better as they went through and I'm glad everything fit together snugly.
Still, it was possibly a predictable ending. My bad.
But it was fluffeh! Okay. My rants are over now. So is the story. I am sorry to break your hearts out here.
I hoped you all liked Meiko in the end. She was really quite nice after all, heh.

Okay. Thank you for staying with me, reviewing and favouriting this, guys. I love you all eternally and this chapter was dedicated to you! Now, who wants to stay put for some more fics, eh? New ones coming up soon… I guess.
You know this has been my longest running fic to date? Soul Stealer was only nine chapters long. I promise to make some other later ones longer. If you really don't mind my long fics.
So. This is the end. Sniffles. Goodbye all, for this fic at least!
The only think I can think to say is: KEH!
Hee hee! Hannah out.