Chapter 15
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Mayumi's POV
Groaning softly, my hands clench at my sides, and I can feel the dirt under my hands from where we had landed.
Wait.
'I…I can feel the dirt!' I think to myself in shock, my eyes snapping open then to take in my surroundings from where I lay. Above me all I can see is blue skies and the walls of the canyon. 'Yua?!' I call out desperately, feeling anxiety course through me. She doesn't answer but I can feel her there, her signature still strong. Sitting up my mouth drops open as I look down at my-her-hands wide-eyed. When I had taken over to use our energy to save her from the fall, I hadn't intended on this happening. Had she allowed me break past her barrier to take over completely in her shock? That could be the only explanation for this to have happened!
"YUA!" Inuyasha's voice cries out, and I feel my heart race in my chest. My hand goes up over my chest with stunned realization that I could actually feel it beating.
I was alive.
"Yua!" Inuyasha calls again, kneeling down in front of me now. I look up into his amber eyes, and suddenly feel so overwhelmed. He was here, he was right in front of me…and I could touch him. Without a second thought I lurch forward into his chest, sobs of happiness catching in my throat as I feel him tense before finally relaxing and taking me into his arms. He was holding me! After fifty long years I could feel the warmth of his body again. "Hey…hey, stop crying. We'll get her back." His voice is awkward, and it hits me that he has no idea what was going on.
'Yua doesn't act like this.' I remind myself, drawing back then and wiping hard at my eyes with the heel of my hand. My heart feels like it's breaking all over again as I realize that he can't know it's me.
"I'm sorry. That last use of my energy took a lot out of me." I try to brush off then, his amber eyes watching me with concern now.
"I thought you were dead." He replied honestly, relief clear in his voice. I have to remind myself again that it's relief to see Yua safe, not me. Swallowing away the bitter taste, I nod and slowly move to stand. His hands instantly reach out to grip my elbows and help me up, touch tender as he does. Looking around then I can see the scattered remains of the clay soldiers.
"Shippo and Kaede?" I ask softly, frowning in concern before turning fully and thankfully seeing them both alive and well nearby.
"Shippo used his fox magic to bring them both safely to the ground. Everyone is okay." Inuyasha replies soothingly while he let's me go, and I feel myself warm remembering how that same voice would speak softly to me in the night, holding me to his chest protectively.
'This isn't permanent.' I have to stubbornly remind myself. 'When Yua has recovered she'll take back control of her body. I'm still dead, and that won't be changed.' Suddenly orbs of light, the lost souls of the warriors, began to lift through their shattered bodies all around us. Inuyasha turns sharply towards Kaede, moving over towards her as she observes. I quickly follow, Shippo coming and launching himself into my arms.
"I thought you were a goner!" He admits, his voice sad. "I'm sorry I couldn't get to you too." He adds regretfully, and I shake my head.
"You did excellently, little fox." I reply gently, but instead of looking proud, Shippo suddenly looks suspicious. I freeze a little in realization.
That hadn't sounded like Yua at all.
Shippo raises his nose to just under my chin, sniffing lightly as he does, before slowly drawing back. He still looks uncertain, but is satisfied that I no doubt still smelled like Yua.
"What is with these huge orbs of light?" Inuyasha asks, and I frown as I look to Kaede.
"Urasue must have imprisoned human souls to animate these clay soldiers." She wisely explains, and I have to refrain from nodding in agreement. There was no way Yua would have any knowledge of such things. She walks up to one of the broken soldiers, kneeling down and digging into the remains. "And here it gets worse. Human bones are baked in with the clay." She stands and opens her hand to reveal to us the pieces of bone in her grasp.
'Urasue…I remember that name from long ago.' I think to myself, the memory distant and foggy. 'She's powerful. Powerful enough to even raise the dead with a real body.' Frowning I look upwards, the mountain top still visible from where we stood at the bottom of this canyon. 'Kikyo's ashes…she really is trying to bring the priestess back to life.' I turn my gaze towards Inuyasha, worry deepening.
How was he going to handle it, if when we reach her lair we find Kikyo alive?
"Human bones?" Inuyasha reiterates with disgust, his eyes locked onto the remains.
"It is worse than I thought. Urasue's magic is fiendish! Using the bones and the souls of the dead. Now she possesses my sister's remains, and holds Kagome in confinement." Kaede quickly comes to the same conclusion, turning and quickly trying to make her way from the ravine. She doesn't make it far before she hunches over in pain.
"You're wounded, old woman." Inuyasha reminds her, a hint of compassion on his voice. "You wait here and I'll go and recover Kikyo's remains." He selflessly volunteers, and even I'm shocked as I look at him wide eyed. He gives me a questioning look when he catches me starring, and I quickly look away.
'He's changed so much since being reawakened by Yua.' I can't help reflecting.
"I believe we will shortly find ourselves face to face with my sister." Kaede replies, confirming what I already believed as well.
"What? But Kikyo is dead!" Inuyasha replies, bewildered.
"Urasue has all she needs to revive her, and if she succeeds, we shall face a formidable foe." Kaede continues solemnly. "We must find some way to stop this."
"Then we should get a move on." I speak up, frowning. Looking to Shippo the little boy still watches me with uncertainty. "Could you use your fox magic to carry me up if Inuyasha takes Kaede?" I ask him, and he nods.
"Sure." His reply is short and to the point. He knows something is up, and all I can do is hope that he keeps that to himself for now.
So that's how we found ourselves climbing up the side of the mountain moments later. I sat on Shippo's large leaf as it drifted upwards just behind Inuyasha and Kaede. I could feel my stress rising with each foot we climbed, knowing that at the top I would no doubt be face to face with the one woman I never wanted to see again.
Inuyasha's POV
My mind was spinning, Kikyo? Alive? Could Kaede be right? I frown deeply as I continue up the mountainside, my stomach twisting uncomfortably. I couldn't foresee what I would do when I saw her. Would I demand answers? Go straight in for the kill? What would Mayumi want me to do if she were here? I feel a stab of grief hit me hard, just barely refraining from looking back over my shoulder towards Yua.
I had honestly thought her dead when I had seen her body plummeting to the ground. She kicked out her energy just in time to stop her fall, allowing her to come gracefully to the ground before she passed out. I had actually been worried when I had reached her, fearing that she would still be seriously hurt. When her eyes had finally opened the sense of relief was overwhelming, and I just barely held back from pulling her into my arms.
Something was different.
I noticed it almost instantly when looking into her green eyes. They had been filled with wonder…amazement, and at first I tried to brush off her expression as being surprised she had even survived.
'That energy signature, though…the one she emitted just before falling. That felt like Mayumi's, not her's.' I frown to myself as we continue to climb. And then there was the way she had spoken to Shippo just after…
Kaede winces with almost every jump I make, making me feel slightly guilty. There really wasn't much I could do, and despite her discomfort she continues to urge me on. As we finally reach the plateau I can see a bright light up ahead. With my sensitive ears I could hear Kagome struggling, moaning and groaning as she laid in what looked to be some sort of trough. As I get closer I let Kaede down, finding that now I could see little orbs of lightly flying back and forth inside of the larger orb hovering over Yua's cousin's body.
Was that her soul?
Looking just beyond I find a pair of brown eyes I had never thought I'd have to stare into again, my mouth dropping open in shock at the sight of the previously deceased priestess. My former lover before Mayumi…Kikyo.
"There she is!" Kaede exclaims, equally as shocked even though she had predicted it herself.
"Ki-Kikyo."
"DO NOT CALL OUT HER NAME!" Yua's voice shouts at me at the same time, but it's already done. I look to her in confusion, before my eyes snap back towards Kagome's body as it pulses with energy. Suddenly a wind tunnel seems to appear surrounding her, Urasue standing nearby, pleased.
"Her soul is emerging!" Urasue states in victory.
"Kagome!" Yua cries out desperately, her cousin's soul rising high above us all.
"The minute you called Kikyo's name the girl's heart skipped a beat, releasing her soul." Urasue explains, and I watch horrified as the orbs containing Kagome's soul suddenly dive into Kikyo's prone body. She shifted with each hit, before rising into the air as the remainder of the souls plowed into her. Glowing brightly she slowly lowers to the ground, and I can't help holding my breath as I wait for the inevitable. I was stricken with so many emotions. Grief, amazement…anger.
"Kagome's spirit has entered Kikyo's body." Yua frowns as she comes to stand beside me. I stiffen, resisting the strong urge to wrap my arm around her and pull her protectively to my side.
There was no way I was letting history repeat itself.
Shippo runs up to where Kagome is laying unresponsive, his little face filled with fear. "Kagome, wake up!" He pleads, but Urasue laughs cruelly.
"Don't waste your time. You're pleading to a soulless lump of flesh, but I have no bones about having her later for dinner." Urasue responds, a large toothy smile on her face.
"You fiend, Urasue! How dare ye desecrate my sister's grave, and then use her remains?" Kaede demands, and I can't help looking back to Kikyo's glowing figure. She had her hands on her face, eyes now closed as she seems to frozen in time for a moment. I reach down for the handle of Tessaiga, flicking it loose with my thumb.
"It is wondrous, is it not?" Urasue replies confidently. "I used her remains and graveside soil to turn her into flesh and blood! As such, I am her creator, nay, her birth mother. This is her proof of allegiance to me, and she will obey my every command!" The demon witch goes on as Kikyo slowly steps over in her direction. "Now come, and use your powers to rid us of-" She gasps, stopping as Kikyo comes to kneel in front of her, hands on her shoulders. Without warning she uses her powers, Urasue's body catching fire as she steps back with a pained scream away from the reborn priestess. Her body burns before our very eyes.
"It really is her." Yua gasps from beside me, her wide green eyes taking in what was left of Urasue, before looking to Kikyo.
"It is." Kikyo's voice suddenly rings out as she slowly raises to her feet once more. Her brown eyes snap open, landing squarely on Yua. "I see you have also found a way back to this life, Mayumi." Kikyo states coldly, and I move slightly in front of Yua.
"She's not Mayumi." I argue.
"Are you so sure?" Kikyo asks calmly, and I pause in confusion, before looking over my shoulder towards Yua.
She looks…guilty.
"Wait…is that she's saying true?!" I ask desperately, feeling like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. Yua looks up to me, her expression filled with regret, before nodding. I feel like the very ground was ripped from under me.
"Mayumi?"
Mayumi's POV
As soon as Inuyasha utters my name I can't help the shiver that runs down my spine, warmth spreading in my chest. I slowly nod.
"I'm sorry for lying." I whisper softly, the look of utter shock on his face quickly turning to one of heartbreaking betrayal.
"So all this time…all this time you were here and you never thought to tell me?" He asks, his voice cracking slightly as he steps back away from me. I fight back the tears that burn in my eyes, shaking my head.
"It was for your own good. I knew if you had realized that Yua and I share a body that you would do anything you could to bring me back." The look in his eyes tells me I'm right. "It can't be done, and I didn't want to have you have to lose me all over again!" Inuyasha looks absolutely mind-blown as he stares at me with his wide amber eyes. "This is Yua's body, I'm just a passenger until my soul finally passes in peace."
"How are you here then?" Inuyasha demands, anger easily detected in his voice now. "Where is Yua?!" I'm slightly taken aback by the hostility, especially as he advances on me with his second question.
'He really cares for her.' "She's safe, tucked away for now. The fall traumatized her so much that she allowed me control for the time being while she recovers." I answer, my hands clenching tightly into fists. I so badly just wanted to reach out to him, take him in my arms, and it killed me to know that wouldn't be well received at the moment.
"It figures even after I kill you that you would slither your way back into his life." Kikyo's harsh voice comments then as her eyes narrow at me. I frown, snapping my gaze towards the priestess as anger slowly replaces the sadness I'm feeling.
"I wasn't the one always trying to get him back. You had proven time and again you'd never love him, not like I have." I reply evenly, watching with some satisfaction as her eyes widen briefly at my attack, before narrowing coldly once more. "He chose me, Kikyo, and you couldn't even love him enough to let him be happy."
"Enough. The both of you should have died the day I stuck arrows into each of your hearts." Kikyo bites out harshly, Inuyasha tensing beside me as he finally moves his intense gaze from me back to Kikyo.
"You may have pinned me to that tree for fifty years Kikyo, but as you can see I'm not that easy to kill." Inuyasha brags, brandishing the claws of his right hand. "This seems as good a day as any to finally get my revenge." Tears gather in Kikyo's eyes as her lips turn upwards in a snarl.
"I despise you, you vile beast!" She approaches us, Inuyasha grabbing onto my arm and shoving be back more. "You loathsome half-man!"
"You high-strung bitch." I hiss back before I could temper myself, and Inuyasha looks back at me a little surprised.
"Inuyasha, don't you remember when you said you wished to become human…for me?" Kikyo asks then, and I feel shock resonate through me.
'What?' I look up to him, confusion clear in my eyes. When had he ever desired to be human?
"Impossible!" Kaede interrupts. "He wishes to become a demon!"
"Clearly you didn't know him as well as you thought." Kikyo states as she looks directly at me with a look of superiority.
"Inuyasha? Is what she says true?" I ask softly, feeling my heart squeeze painfully at the idea that he would have done something so drastic to himself for this woman. He frowns, glancing towards me before looking back to Kikyo with a new level of coldness.
"I promised that before I met Mayumi." He replies cooly. "She accepted both my demon and my human side, and she didn't want me to change. That's why I fell in love with her, and out of love with you."
"You've never fallen out of love with me. I could see it in your eyes whenever we would meet." Kikyo replies, before gasping as red light suddenly spills from her shoulder. Stumbling a couple of steps she grabs onto the wound, blood already pooling around her feet.
"Clearly I did, or I wouldn't have killed you that day." Inuyasha snarls as his gaze rests on the newly formed wound. I blink in shock as the blood quickly soaks the white of her kimono on her left shoulder, and she starts to look weak from the blood loss.
He had done that for me?
"You were trapped under her spell, had been since the moment you met that witch!" Kikyo proclaims as she winces, landing on her knees as her legs gave out on her. "She took you away from me!"
"No." I frown as I step around Inuyasha to face Kikyo fully. "You chased him away yourself." Her eyes harden at that. "You didn't even love him by the time you killed me. You were just so hell-bent on righting this imagined slight against you, when our relationship had nothing to do with you in the first place!"
"I LOVED HIM!" Kikyo cries out, tears falling from her eyes. I frown more, a small part of me actually feeling bad for the girl as I shake my head.
"No, Kikyo…you loved the idea of him." I reply softly, her expression softening for only a moment, before going cold once more. "You need to give Kagome her body back. She's innocent in all this!"
"I need this body to get my revenge!" Kikyo replies, slowly standing once more. I watch her intently, shaking my head.
"Has your soul really been this tortured while living inside of Kagome? Is this why you never moved on?" I ask, taking a step forward towards her. Inuyasha utters a protest, but I ignore him. Maybe I could get through to her still. "Inuyasha is no longer either of ours…we both need to let him go so he can live his life."
"Stop this, Kikyo!" Kaede speaks up emotionally, approaching her elder sister. She grabs onto the front of her kimono, looking up at her with her one eye.
"Who are you?" Kikyo asks. It wasn't surprising she didn't recognize her younger sister.
"I am your younger sister Kaede. My looks have altered because fifty years have passed since your demise." Kaede replies, looking hopeful.
"Then explain why you would speak on Inuyasha's behalf." Kikyo demands, and I'm caught off-guard by the look she has in her eyes as she gazes down at Kaede.
'She doesn't even trust her own sister.' I think with a frown, glancing towards Inuyasha. He's looking straight ahead, tense and ready to move if Kikyo made one harmful act against Kaede. Suddenly she grabs the bow from Kaede's shoulder, and an arrow from her quiver before shoving her to the side. Kikyo pays Kaede no mind even as she falls to the ground with a pained cry, drawing back her arrow and taking aim directly at me.
'Fine, I'll play at your game.' I think to myself, glaring at her as I look from Kaede on the ground. 'Nobody gets away from treating my friends like that.'
"That's right. Shoot me." I egg her on, tapping into my familiar power. I felt energized as it flowed through my veins like electricity. "I'm ready this time." She lets the arrow fly, and I wave my hand to create a barrier with my aura. The arrow clashes against it, a great light shinning from the contact of our powers, before the arrow simply turns to dust. "You won't win this time, Kikyo. You caught me by surprise that day, but I was more powerful than you fifty years ago, and that has not changed." She snarls, turning towards Kaede.
"Another arrow, Kaede!" She orders, stomping towards the older woman. Kaede shakes her head, backing away.
"Inuyasha and Yua are not your enemies!" I feel a slight twinge of guilt as I feel Yua's presence flutter at Kaede mentioning her name, but I force her back down.
'Not yet, Yua. We aren't out of danger.' I call out to her, unsure if she even heard me.
"So says you! You have no idea what I have been through!" Kikyo shouts back, reaching for another arrow and turning swiftly to fire. Once again the arrow disintegrates as it hits my barrier. "Inuyasha promised me that day that he would leave you for me! Become human for me!" I blink in surprise then, looking towards Inuyasha in bewilderment. Inuyasha, meanwhile, looked confused. His amber eyes narrowed, before turning to me and shaking his head.
"No, I never said that." He promises, and I know I can believe him. He turns back to Kikyo. "I never once promised you I would become human for you after I met Mayumi! Nor that I would leave her!" My eyes widen in realization, the conviction so honest in Kikyo's eyes that I knew she truly believed what she said.
"I brought the Sacred Jewel to you in the meadow by the village that day! You struck me down and took it for yourself!" Kikyo goes on, and I frown even more. No…no that wasn't how it had happened that day. She hadn't even been injured when she had taken me down with the arrow. Inuyasha had only tried to steal the Sacred Jewel after to turn full demon so he could kill Kikyo, and had struck her down during their battle.
"Someone tricked you." I murmur softly, taking a step towards the woman even as she shoots another arrow at me. I wave my hand, easily blocking the attack, before continuing. "Kikyo, listen to me, you were tricked! That wasn't Inuyasha!" But then who was it?
'Naraku…' The name floats into my mind suddenly, and my stomach drops. Somehow I knew I was right, and Naraku was the mastermind behind all this. Ever since I had escaped him, he had been hell bent on getting me back.
Kikyo was the victim in all of this.
"Lies! All deceitful lies from an equally deceitful monster!" Kikyo cries out emotionally, before grabbing the quiver from Kaede instead of fighting her for each arrow. She shoves her out of the way, and the old lady lands close to Shippo and Kagome.
"What is going to happen to Kagome?!" Shippo's voice suddenly cries out as Kikyo delivers another useless attack.
"Kikyo's soul will not find any manner of peace as long as she harbours this hatred of Inuyasha." Kaede answers solemnly. "And until Kikyo's soul returns to Kagome's flesh, Kagome is doomed." My back straights as I hear this.
I couldn't let that happen to Yua. I wouldn't let her lose another member of her family.
"My spirit will not forget it's all consuming hatred so long as you both live!" She proclaims, letting loose another useless arrow. I easily deflect her attack, frowning all the more. "My spirit will not be freed until your deaths!"
"You must destroy my sister's body at once. This rebirth is nothing but a deceit of magic." Kaede instructs solemnly as she takes Kagome into her lap, looking down at her with a troubled eye. "Destroy her body and release the soul from within!"
"It's futile. I shall not return to that body until I've carried out my revenge on the traitors!" Kikyo denies, but this time I'd had enough. No matter how much I pitied her for her clearly tortured soul, she had to die once and for all.
"Inuyasha, let me handle this." I tell him, glancing and seeing him nod with a frown. I turn back to Kikyo, stretching my arms in front of me with the heels of my hands pressed together. "I'm sorry, Kikyo…for this…for everything you've clearly gone through." I murmur, before my energy quickly grows into an orb between my hands. I let it continue to grow, Kikyo's eyes going wide as she can obviously feel the power rising. Before she can react I release it, watching as it takes her over with a scream. A bright white light emits from her body, her soul once again returning back into Kagome's. As the bright light dissipates Kikyo's body has disappeared, and Kagome's chest begins to rise and fall once more.
"Thank god." I gasp, my legs shaking as I stumble slightly. Strong hands grip my shoulder, leaning me back against an equally strong chest.
"Hey, you alright?" His deep voice fills my ear, hot breath brushing against my neck. Gooseflesh dots along my skin, feeling like suddenly I was on fire. I nod, knowing I couldn't trust my voice in that moment to speak.
"I'm just glad she's gone." I murmur softly when I could finally find my voice.
"Fools." Urasue's voice speaks up weakly from her charred body. "She's not gone. She is still very much alive, kept animate because of the grudge she holds over the both of you. Even if the soul has mostly returned to the girl from whence it came, Kikyo's hatred of you both and her need for revenge must have absorbed into her very bones and the graveside soil itself. The once pure maiden is now a monster. A monster feeding on it's hared of you!" An unearthly cackles rises, before Urasue's body fully decomposes before our very eyes, her own ashes being carried off into the wind.
"What are we going to do?" I can't help worrying as I stand up on my own, turning towards Inuyasha with panic. His soft amber eyes look down at me calmly, hands grabbing my own and holding onto them firmly between us.
"You're really here…" He replies instead, completely ignoring my question. I blink slightly in surprise, before my stomach drops as I see the warm hope on his face. No…no I couldn't let him believe I was alive.
"I told you I simply borrowed Yua's body. This was always going to be temporary." I explain regretfully, feeling pain hitting me hard in the chest at the reality as well. Behind us Kagome begins to rise from her slumber, and I can hear her weak questions towards Kaede and Shippo that quickly follow. My time was drawing to a close here. She couldn't see me as Mayumi, she needed her cousin back.
"Does it have to be? Isn't there a way? Like what Urasue did to Kikyo?" Inuyasha asks rashly, and I gently tug my one hand free to cup the side of his face.
"No! Please don't wish something like that on me. Inuyasha, I love you, but I am at peace." I try to explain, but his gaze hardens as he jerks away from me.
"So you don't want to return to me? That's what you're saying?" He frowns deeply, his gaze now guarded. It breaks my heart.
"No, it's not that at all. I've died, Inuyasha, I cannot be reborn-not as I once was. Eventually, when Yua is ready, I'll fade from existence altogether."
"You both lied to me!" He shouts then, looking hurt.
"No, I lied to you. I asked Yua not to say anything to you because this was exactly what I feared would happen!" I point out sternly, even as my voice wavers. "I knew you'd try to find some loophole, some way of getting me back, and it's not possible! You just saw what happened to Kikyo!" I point out desperately. "I need you to move on, Inuyasha…for both of us."
"What if I don't want to?" He asks stubbornly, and I can feel Yua's presence growing stronger and stronger as I finally let her past the barrier.
"I think if you are being honest with yourself, you already have started." I reply knowingly, before closing my eyes as Yua's energy rushes over me, and I'm dragged back into the void of nothingness.
Taking the memory of Inuyasha's touch with me.
Yua's POV
Everything comes rushing in like a tidal wave as I come back into my body. With a loud gasp I stumble, just barely catching myself before hunching over and pressing my face into my hands against the blaring light of the sun.
That had been the weirdest experience of my life.
I had watched everything transpire from within, no doubt getting to know the full extent of what it was like to be Mayumi. I had a new found respect for her. It had been so difficult to have to sit back and watch my cousin lay there lifeless, unable to do anything.
Kagome!
I snap my head up, looking over towards my cousin as she starts to stir. Quickly rushing over I kneel down at her side, smiling with relief when she finally opens her brown eyes.
"W-what happened?" She asks softly, looking up to me confused. I look across from her towards Kaede, and the old woman gives a sad smile. I felt so badly for her, she just had to watch her sister come back to life, and Kikyo had treated her like utter crap! She had been so hell-bent on killing Mayumi and Inuyasha-
'Inuyasha!' I gasp, turning sharply back towards where I had just been standing. He wasn't there, empty space left where he had been standing.
"Give him time, child." Kaede advises wisely, her voice gentle. For some odd reason I feel tears burning in my eyes, chest hurting as I nod.
Why did it hurt that he needed time away from me? Why did I suddenly feel so anxious about it?
"Yua?" Kagome's voice speaks up softly then, and I look back to her. "I want to go home." She cracks out, tears forming in her own eyes. I nod, pulling her up to sit and wrapping her tightly in a hug.
"We'll get you home, Kagome. It's going to be alright." I soothe, rubbing her back as silent sobs shake her body. Looking over the top of her head I see Shippo, and I feel warmth surge through me as he looks at me with relief. He had been the first to be suspicious when Mayumi had taken over my body.
He had noticed I was missing.
'Why do I resent Inuyasha so much for not noticing until it was literally thrown in his face?' I frown in thought, feeling oddly disappointed and hurt.
"Let us move some distance from this place, and then make camp for the night. Inuyasha will find us there." Kaede speaks up, and I slowly let go of my cousin. I know she's right, but I was still reluctantly to just leave him somewhere out here. We all stand, me helping Kagome till she was steady on her feet, before gathering up our things. Once ready to move, Shippo bounds across to me, jumping up into my arms and pressing his little face into my neck.
"I'm glad you're back, Yua." He murmurs softly, and I feel tears of appreciation this time fill the corner of my eyes.
"Me too." I whisper back to him, hugging him to me tightly.
The sun has long since set by the time I see Inuyasha return to camp. Everyone has been sleeping for hours, but I couldn't, not until I knew he was alright. I sit up carefully from where I'm laying on the ground next to Shippo, Inuyasha's amber eyes snapping towards me as he catches the movement. His eyes soften for just a moment as he takes Shippo and I in, before hardening once more. Frowning, I slowly stand and make my way over to him. He clearly looks around the camp, before nodding his head to follow him out further into the woods. I do so without question, knowing he wasn't going to hurt me. When we're far enough away he stops, his back towards me still.
"Inuyasha?" I ask softly, feeling like I was walking on eggshells. Moments of tense silence passes, before Inuyasha finally speaks.
"How could you keep her from me?" He finally asks, his voice tight. Instantly I feel sick to my stomach.
"Mayumi…she-she asked me to. She made me promise-"
"I know, she told me." He snaps easily, still facing away from me. "You really didn't think eventually I wouldn't catch on? I'd been suspicious for weeks." He turns sharply then, eyes narrowed at me. I shrink back then, suddenly rethinking trusting him enough to follow him out here.
His eyes were so cold.
"I told her that too." I admit. "Back when I first figured out it was her."
"And when was that?"
"A few days after we first met." I admit, figuring there was no point in lying to him. His nose flares as he clearly tries to keep a hold of his temper.
"You still should have told me!" Inuyasha snaps angrily.
"What? And break her trust? You're angry because I was being loyal to her?" I ask in disbelief, eyes wide.
"You should have been loyal to me!" Inuyasha growls back lowly, the sound vibrating deep in his chest. There is a tense moment of silence where I have no idea what to say, Inuyasha breathing heavily before slowly releasing the tension from his body. "She said there is no way for her to be resurrected, not like Kikyo." Inuyasha goes on sullenly, frowning deeply. A wave of sympathy washes over me, taking out the anger I had felt rising.
"I know." I whisper softly, taking a tentative step towards him. "And I'm sorry that she felt the need to hide this from you. She was trying to protect you." Inuyasha snorts.
"Protect me? From what?" He questions in disbelief.
"From this grief, feeling like this all over again." I reply gently, stopping directly in front of him. I don't move to touch him, somehow I knew he'd need to be the first one to make the next move. He gazed down at me with unreadable eyes, before reaching out and cupping the back of my neck, pulling my forehead against his own in a now familiar and comforting gesture. I close my eyes instantly, just taking in his scent of pine and the warmth from his body as it radiates across the small space between us.
"I'm glad you're okay." He finally murmurs softly, and my eyes snap open to meet his own. Somehow I know he's talking about more than the fall into the ravine earlier today.
"I'm glad you're safe too." I finally whisper back, before watching as he closes his eyes and his entire body relaxes. I close mine as well once more, raising a hand to rest gently over his chest, his heart beating steadily under my palm. My entire world felt like it was shifting in that moment, but at the same time I had never felt so grounded.
I knew I was right where I belonged.
And there ya have it! The regular weekend update ontop of the update earned through reviews! Thanks again for your support and I hope to hear from everyone soon! Next stop, 200 reviews!
Seriously, you guys are the best :)
T.O.T.
