Chapter 61
For one of the first times in his entire life, he let go. After all they had been through, after all he had done and felt, he broke the strict line of fate. When his fingers uncurled from Kikyou's, that had been his goodbye to her. But the goodbye didn't just hurt her, it hurt Kagome and it hurt him also. The horror of watching Kikyou plunge down still played over in the innocent miko's head, and the hanyou's heart ached remarkably.
Once upon a time, he had loved her, and she had loved him. That had changed, but Inuyasha refused to let go. That sliver of hope that was lodged within his heart just kept him on his knees at her feet. Now, he had cut loose, severing his heart in the process.
Inuyasha slumped down, fingers curling almost as if searching for the priestess' fingers still twined with his. A heavy growl ripped from his throat as he pressed his forehead to the bloody grass. It took awhile for him to raise his head again and slowly rise to his feet. The hanyou stumbled, legs weak and woozy, entire body numb. His amber eyes trembled, but made their way to Kagome where they locked eagerly.
Kagome was shivering, a blood drenched hand clutched at the fatal wound stretching over her shoulder. Kikyou's wound. She felt light headed, like she would pass into the other world any second now. Flakes of black were starting to crowd in her already blurry vision. The miko ignored it without a word as she rose slowly to her feet. Her knees slowly buckled, sending her forward and into Inuyasha's arms.
The inu hanyou looked down at her, lids hanging dangerously low. He tried to be strong, or at least look strong, but the pain sept through like water under a door. Inuyasha's head hung slowly, his silvery bangs hiding his eyes as slow tears swept down his cheeks, bathing him in the empty hole in his heart that Kikyou's loss had created.
Kagome's brows slowly curled towards each other and circled upward. She could plainly see the salty liquid that fell in thin streams down his cheeks. He was crying. He was sobbing out in the open, right in front of her, for the first time ever. And it absolutely broke her heart to watch those unhidden tears fall.
Inuyasha's arms were firm around hers, but they both seemed to sink an inch lower to the ground as their knees became weaker. Kagome had always leaned on him and used him as support. Now, it was obvious that he needed that more now than her. The miko willingly offered her shoulder for him to cry on.
Her hands fluttered up to stroke his burning cheeks. She wiped away the falling tears, but they only returned in thick sheets down his face. Kagome could feel her own honey-brown eyes starting to well up with the salty liquid. Her heart ached for him, and she could almost feel his pain. Witnessing something so horrible, something that she could have only wished for in dreams but as soon as the wish had been granted, she felt so dirty for even thinking such a thing.
"Ka…Kagome.." Inuyasha tried to speak her name. It came out choked and cracked as the miko tried to stroke away the warm tears that tickled his cheeks. It only resulted in heavy streaks of crimson blood across his features.
As the hanyou slowly began to slip away from his own sanity and happiness, the crooked stripes of magenta along the sides of his cheeks began to fade glumly. When he blinked, he felt the sting of salt, and a headache was starting to drill in his skull.
"Shhh…" Kagome tried to shush him, now wiping away the blood she had smeared over his wet cheeks. He raised his own hands to clutch hers weakly. He turned his bloodshot golden eyes to hers, his fingers giving hers a light squeeze. He couldn't manage her name, for his throat was tightened to the point where he could hardly breath. Even if he could speak, he couldn't tell her that everything would be alright because, truly, he didn't know.
"Inuyasha. Why did you let go of her? You didn't have to do that." Kagome questioned the crying hanyou, her hand gently twined with his. No. She deserved it. Inuyasha didn't even know how badly she deserved that death. The priestess had tried so desperately to tear them apart and send them to their deaths, and the inu half demon didn't even know half of it. And she didn't really care. He didn't need to know gruesome details, and she wouldn't dare clutter his mind any more with it.
Inuyasha answered by pressing his lips firmly onto the miko's. He kissed her apologetically, clawed fingers threading gently through the miko's raven tresses. He pulled back, taking in a tiny breath, and then touched his lips to hers once more. With the kisses, he was saying sorry in a million ways he could never express through words.
"Kagome…She…just isn't the girl…I used to know. Besides. I love you." He whispered as his lips departed from hers. For a moment they just stood their in shock, sharing each others pain and letting their love and hope rebuild itself. For just a few moments they wallowed in how wonderful it felt to kiss one another again. Do something they both thought they would never be able to do again.
The pain that rippled up and down Kagome's back and shoulder was almost too much for her to bear. She could feel Inuyasha's claws ripping through her flesh again and again until everything just became numb. The dark crimson blood coated every inch of pale skin on her hand, and stained around that hand that desperately tried to stop the heavy flow.
The hanyou could only stare hopelessly. He would willingly tear his own hear from his cheat and eat it then ever break her thin velvet skin and draw blood. If it wasn't for the way she still looked up at his with pain and love in her eyes, he would have curled up and died on the spot.
"I love you, too, Inuyash…." The miko's voice gently trailed off. Inuyasha stared, his eyes wide with tears and terror as Kagome's eyes rolled back into her head and her lashes fluttered closed. He muttered her name twice before the girl's knees buckled completely and she started to fall.
"Kagome!" He shouted her name again, his arms catching her around the waist as she sank down to the ground. "Kagome!" He called again with no response, her bloody fingers falling away from the deadly wound that could cause her a near death. Inuyasha's hand flew open the open gash, his heart sinking like a rock under the pressure and guilt as he felt her blood coat his fingers.
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry." He whispered, pulling her closer against him. She felt like a rag doll so limp in his arms as he buried his face against her blood speckled neck. He sank down to his knees, his shoulders heaving endlessy. Now, he could really cry…because there was no one there to hear it.
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Streaks of crimson and black dotted the shredded grass beneath their feet. The remainder of the Inu Tachi group had been plunged into battle for hours now and only managed to skim the chalk white skin of Naraku's new incarnation. And that was when the demon was teasing them by letting down his barrier for a split second.
"Make it a fair fight, damn you! Take down that damn barrier!" Miroku cried, having lost his nerve. One shaking hand clutched to the gash that spread across his forearm, the other hung limply at his side, clenched into a raging fist. "What pleasure do you get from an unfair fight?"
"Oh. I get plenty of pleasure just watching you perish helplessly. You're no match against me. But it's amusing to watch you try."
"Damn you!" The monk screamed again.
They hadn't managed to even really break the skin. Only a few droplets of inky black scattered the grass, from that single time. The hope of their survival was starting to thin as they all tired out. Already, Kirara's twin tails were starting to drag on the ground as she raced ahead of the injured Houshi to strike out at Sanraku. With a harsh blow, the neko was thrust back down where she lay for a moment, lips peeled back in a cringe of pain.
"Mir…Miroku." The slayer's voice cooed from behind him as a soft hand slithered up to take hold of his shoulder. "It's over. I…I don't think we can win this one."
It looked that way, as if they had already lost. They had failed one friend, and now they were failing another by not defeating this evil demon. Kagome was doomed behind that barrier, was she not? And how were the rest supposed to escape now with two of their four warriors already down.
Shippo lay, unmoving, against a tree. Sango cast him a worried look, but she knew there was nothing she could do for him at the moment. It hadn't even been that of a hard looking hit that had cast the kitsune back to the ground and unconscious. That just proved how strong this stranger was. How they couldn't escape from him.
"Don't talk like that, Sango. Of course we can…we can…" His voice trailed off as the rest of his confidence shattered. His once bright blue eyes clamped shut, his fingers tightening over the stinging and burning wound. The Houshi slowly bent his knees to let him sink down to the ground. Perhaps…he should just give up.
"Can what? You think you can defeat me? Best listen to your lover, monk. This fight has already been won." The demon scoffed.
"Houshi-sama…" Sango cooed again, her brows circled upward, the pain and tears welling in her brown eyes. A sudden anger bubbled to the surface. The chances were thinner than slim, but it just wasn't like them to give up. And she couldn't let her friends down just like that. With Kirara and Shippo down, and Miroku on the verge of breaking down, it was up to her.
The jaiji-ya bent back, swiping her boomerang shaped weapon, clutching the black strap before giving it a good heave towards the unexpecting enemy. Thin, black pupils cast to the bone carved weapon that came sailing towards him. With the raise of both his arms, extending and forming a point at the end with all his fingers, he knocked away Hairakostu as if it were a twig and reached out to crash his arm into Sango's leg, sweeping her right off her feet.
The slayer fell with a loud cry of pain as Sanraku's deadly fingers scratched against her skin, banging against the bone in her leg to buckle her knees and sent her downward. She could hear the frantic call of her lover as she collapsed, and soon felt his bloody hands clutching her shoulders as he begged to hear her say she was alright.
"I'm fine. I'm…Oh.." Sango muttered, grabbing painfully at the thickening strip of blood that seeped from the slit in her pale skin. Miroku rose his eyes to their unbeatable opponent, glaring daggers at the unbelievable creature as he maneuvered himself in front of the injured slayer. He vowed to protect her with his life, as Inuyasha had to Kagome. He wouldn't fail her like Inuyasha had. He was going to die to save her, not let himself die at her hand. No words he could ever say would express the hatred he felt for the demon right now. This battle wasn't over yet.
"Fine? Oh, well. I can fix that." The incarnation cackled, thin lips peeling back to reveal pearly white teeth. They looked like dozens of white dagger blades sprouting from his pale gums. He wasn't human…he wasn't anything. He was barely real at all.
A flicker of doubt and fear flooded the boy's face as Sanraku rose his pointed poles for hands. Red droplets trickled off the needle sharp end. And, for a moment, the two survivors accepted their fate as their eyes closed tightly. Sanraku chuckled at their demise. He was going to follow the plan as best he could with Kikyou's betrayal against them. The incarnation would follow his master's orders. Not because he had to, but because he wanted to. How else would he obtain the shards for his own.
Every demon sought power.
The sound of the blade-like edges of his arms sweeping through the air stung at the two's ears. They waited for the pain, the spatter of blood against the ground, but it never came. Only the sound of metal clashing with metal. The motionless lovers sat silently, the numbness starting to melt from their skin as a savior held off the demon they had thought to be their murderer.
Finally, Miroku spared a cautious blink. His lashes parted, blue eyes peeking out at the long blade that extended from pale hands that both clutched the hilt tightly. The edge pressed fast to Sanraku's hard scaled blade sided arms. His blue eyes snapped wide, trailing up and down the blur of red and silver and the shimmer of white, green, and black that draped over his shoulder in disbelief.
"Inu…Inuyasha.."
The hanyou's large blade shoved harshly against Sanraku's, sending the surprised demon backwards with an angry scowl. All of them were just too shocked to speak as one of Inuyasha's hands traveled down to rest softly on Kagome's back were she lay limply over his shoulder. The boy just wouldn't stay down, would he?
"Dammit, Miroku! I'm gone for one minute and you nearly get yourself killed?"
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Wow. You guys must hate me by now. I took SO long to update! Wow. I'm SO sorry. I got lazy, Okay! Jesus...And a huge dose of writer's block.
Kyome- Hm. Glad you liked it. I was pretty sure a bunch of you would. For the rest of you that do like her, I'm sorry. I never much liked Kikyou and I know I kinda made her a little more evil that she would have normally been. Maybe just a little. But this just shows what extremes Kikyou will go to to get Inuyasha. But who says she's dead? O.O Kidding. She's pretty dead to me.
xcurlyinuyashax- Whooooaa...spazz attack, much? Ouch. Ooooh...sorry...I didn't update as soon as you wanted me to, did I? Sowwy. Forgive me? And I didn't get that pic. Awww! You made a pic for me? I'm sooooo flattered. And that is NOT sarcasim right there. You could send it in your next review.
Akina315- Yup! I try to go for original. Glad you liked it. I figured no one had gone to the extreme of dropping Kikyou off a cliff as how Inuyasha picks Kagome. For him, it would the big pick because if he picked one, the other would die.
Interruption- Is that a good kind of speechless, or a bad kind?
kagome'sdouble07- Hm. Are you a new reviewer? I don't remember you. Hm. Oh well, If you are, thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you liked it! And if I'm having a little amnesia, sorry, and ditto for liking it part.
rika- Hm. -sets down mallet- I won't hit you. Only if you yelled your arse off at me for killing her. Sowwy! I knew some of my reviewers/readers still liked her. Yeah. She did deserve it. Just a bit? Yeah. But thanks for still sticking with me!
GoingGhost- Yeah! It was a pretty cool line. I tried to make up some catchy sayings. You're the first one to point out one you really liked. Thanks! It was still a slight cliff hanger. Kikyou did die at the end of it didn't she? That's sorta leaving you thinking "Did you catch herself on a lower edge of the cliff that was sticking out" or something. But, nuuupe...sorry.
silverkonekotsukari- Nahhhh. Inuyasha has suffered enough. He doesn't need the guilt piled up on him that his ex lover nearly killed Kagome while he was...dead...Oi. No. And Kagome's pretty forgiving. She'll let it go.
life-as-we-know-it- Kooooooo. I'm glad I have another reviewer who likes it! Yayness! Which parts did you cry at? Fwee! That was my intention! To make people laugh and cry while reading this thing. Have I really succeeded? YAY! Okay. Lemme warn you, and all others that this thing is almost over. Does it look likes it's going to end well? You'll just have to seeee!
little-miss-inu- Awww! I lube you! You make me feel so good, like the rest of you! This is really sweet. You know what...You guys are gonna flip. Check at the very bottom of the page for my secret just to make your guys's days!
Clover715- Yup! There's just no one else like Kagome for our near Inu. I'm so happy you liked it! I really am! Greatness!
Alexa- You ruuuuule! My god! Thank you! Do you seriously think I keep them the same way in the show/manga? Now that is a REAL compliment. I love you ALL!
Inuyashangel- Whhhoooooo. Another person rejoicing over Kikyou's death. I'm happy for you. Let's all dance! -dances-
Ookami-Inu hanyou- Okay, Okay! Here's the chapter, hope you had fun reading it! Though it was slightly depressing.
iluvrvs- Shpelcome! (your welcome)
And now for the specail surprisy thingy...
Drumroll, please!
I'M MAKING A SEQUEL!