All I saw was darkness.
"Kimi-"
Huh? Was someone calling me?
"Kimiko! Wake up!"
Realizing someone was shaking me, I opened my eyes. I saw a big red and white blur in my face. After blinking a few times, I realized it was Inuyasha. He seemed worried.
Still feeling a bit disoriented, I slowly looked around to see my surroundings. It seemed the whole group was surrounding me, their expressions matching his. Something was wrong. however, it seemed we were not in danger. So what has them like this?
Seeing I was finally awake, Inuyasha slightly backed away from me. "Finally you wake up! We've been trying to wake you up for the longest!"
"Is something wrong?"
"You were talking in your sleep," Shippo said from on top of Kagome's shoulder.
"Talking? More like screaming!" The Inu huffed. "We all woke up in a panic! You kept saying 'Wait come back!' 'Who are you?!' 'Don't leave me!' "
Slowly sitting up, I tried to think of why I would be screaming that. Was I having a nightmare? Everything was really fuzzy, but I tried my best to recall what happened. "I remember this.. woman? ...No.. it was a man. He was beautiful; I never saw anything like him before."
Inuyasha seemed to get irritated, "You woke us up because you were dreaming about some guy?!"
"Calm down Inuyasha, it's not like she can choose what she dreams or does in her sleep. Do I need to remind you how many times you screamed for Kikyo in your sleep," Kagome glared at him.
This seemed to bother the Inu more and he stood up and began to walk to the other side of the camp.
Not letting the subject of my dream drop, Sango wanted to know more. "Kimi, this man. Did you see him before? Was anything happening? Did he say anything?"
"I-I don't think I ever saw him before. Though he did look like Inuyasha. At least, the same hair and eye color. His ears were like a human's but pointy, a blue moon rested on his forehead, and magenta lined his eyes and his cheekbones."
Inuyasha stopped walking and seemed to have froze. Actually, Sango and I seemed to be the only ones acting normal because the others froze as well.
Coming back to his senses, Inuyasha turned and walked back to us. Kneeling next to us, he looked at me with a serious face. "Did he say anything? Was anything happening?!"
Confused, I started to shake my head but stopped, "He.. he was crying. He was asking me not to die on him... Everything is really fuzzy... I can't remember it all."
Inuyasha seemed to be troubled by this. Sango seemed worried about the fact I was dying and the others seemed to be in shock.
"That's not possible. He wouldn't cry. He would be more willing to kill you than to cry for you."
I stared at Inuyasha even more confused, "This man, you know him?"
"He's my brother."
That surprised me a bit, but it does explain the resemblance. "You must be half-brothers then. He seemed to be full yokai."
He just nodded.
"If you do not know him, how is it that you are dreaming of him? And why would you dream he was crying because you were dying?" Everyone looked to Miroku, who apparently snapped out of it.
Sighing, I then made Shippo and Miroku make the same promise as the others. There was no way to explain this with a believable lie. Dancing around the question wasn't an option either considering this would only happen again. After they swore to never tell, I shared with them my story.
==OOO==
A few days ago, Miroku fought a mantis yokai and ended up damaging his wind tunnel. He had gone to get it repaired by Mushin, the monk who raised him, but the monk was possessed by a yokai. We later found out that the yokai was working for Naraku. After having his wind tunnel repaired, we thought it best to continue our hunt for Naraku and the jewel shards.
Currently, as we are walking Kagome is talking about "school" and how the others think she should give it up. She is also talking about comments her brother made about her "grades" and complaining about things he did or said.
I tune in and out, never fully paying attention. I don't understand fully of what she talks about, but I do know it is important for her. Even if most of the group disagrees that it is. From what she describes, her school can affect how well off she will be in her life in the future. Honestly, I can't fault her for taking it seriously while she is here. When everything is over, can we honestly say that Kagome will stay in the past? Will the well continue to let her travel back and forth? Or will it suck her up back to her time?
To tell her to give it up completely, in my opinion, is rude and says that you have no interest or care about her well being in the years to come. However, its understandable as to why they say such things. They have trouble grasping the idea, after all, Kagome is separated by centuries from us. Even I barely understand.
Deciding to tune out from her conversation completely, I begin to think of the man from my dream. Well, vision would most likely be the better term for it. I believe Kagome said his name was Sesshomaru.
Killing perfection. Perfection describes his looks accurately but the term doesn't seem to fit with what I saw. He looked vulnerable and hurt. Broken even. Yet, I can't expect to know the man from just a glimpse at the possible future. He could very well be a true murderous fiend. Only time can truly tell.
All of a sudden, a sense of dread washed over me, pulling me from my thoughts. Something is wrong. I don't know how I know, but I can feel it. I glance at the members of my group. Shippo and Kirara seem off. Inuyasha glances at me for a second and I instantly know he feels the same way.
As he sniffs the air, an injured man walks to us from the top of the hill in front of us. He struggles towards us and before we can even begin to run to his aide, he falls and tumbles down the hill. When he finally stopped rolling, he didn't move.
As we surrounded the man, Miroku checked for a pulse. "He's dead. He probably died when he began to fall."
I stared at his body to see his wounds. "No sword did this.."
Before I could finish, Inuyasha interrupted, "He's not the only one. The air is filled with the scent of blood."
Hearing this, they started running from where the man came. After closing his eyes, I inspected his wounds once more to make sure I was right. I then ran to catch up to them. No sword had killed this man. The weapon matches very closely to a demon hunter. I'm sure Sango noticed this too. I can only hope that this has nothing to do with Naraku or some type of plan to use her.
Arriving at the village, we knew we were too late. Dead bodies were everywhere and most of the houses were burned down. For a moment, flashbacks played throughout my mind. I shook my head of the images. Now was no time to think of the past.
"We need to look for survivors," Kagome yelled and began to walk forward.
Sango placed a hand in front of Kagome, stopping her. She then grabbed a rock and threw it at a hut, causing it to blow up. "Don't move! The area is full of traps!"
Miroku cursed, "Anyone that would help to bury the dead would be killed!"
That feeling of dread washed over me again. Something was wrong. Clearly, it was not bandits. They wouldn't use this type of weapon. Nor would they bother to set traps for anyone who helps the dead. No. Whoever did this has a goal. They would have to be trying to kill someone in particular. The fact we just so happen to be here in time for it is to much to be a coincidence. Someone is after us or one of us. My bet is that it's Naraku.
Inuyasha growled and dashed towards a building. He pulled out his sword and cut it down. "Come out!"
A shadow dashed out from within and stood in front of us. Sango and I stared in shock.
"No way he did this," Kagome stated, "he's just a little kid."
Inuyasha tried to interrogate him, but the boy remained silent. Irritated, Inuyasha started swinging his sword and I quickly snapped out of my shock.
"Inuyasha! Don't! That's Kohaku!"
"Wha-"
Seeing that Inuyasha was caught off guard, he decided to run from us. Growling, Inuyasha started to chase him, however, stepped on a trap and flew backward from an explosion. Hearing his name, Sango came back to her senses and ordered Kirara to change. As they began to take off, I jumped onto the big cat at the last second.
"Sango..," I adjusted myself to sit better on Kirara, "I know how you must feel right now.. but.. he can't be alive. Not on his own. Naraku-"
"I KNOW," she yelled. Tears started to fill up in her eyes, "but if there's a chance I can save him.. or let him rest in peace.."
I sighed in understanding. Nothing I say will make her turn around from this very obvious trap. I can only stay with her and do my best to protect her. Normally, I wouldn't have to worry about her since she can keep her own, but I can't risk that. Not in the state she's in.
As we started to close in on Kohaku, a barrier appeared. Allowing only Kirara and Sango inside, it sent me flying back and falling to the ground. Expecting the worst I closed my eyes and waited for the hard impact that never came. Instead, I felt arms wrap around me and pull me into a warm chest.
"Are you ok?"
I opened my eyes and looked up at a worried Inu. "Yeah. Hitting the barrier hurt, but I'm fine. Thank you for catching me Inuyasha."
As the others caught up, we had no choice but to wait for the barrier to go down or for Sango to hopefully walk out unharmed.
==OOO==
It wasn't long until the barrier came down. We had run to Sango, who then informed us that Naraku wanted to show her that he was using Kohaku as a puppet thanks to a jewel shard. We headed back to the village. I had tried to comfort her, but seeing that she needed to be alone, I stayed near the others. Kirara had managed to find all the traps without triggering them, allowing us to bury the villagers.
As we were burying the dead, Inuyasha made a comment that if Sango didn't kill Kohaku, he would. Then he had the nerve to ask her how she felt about that. She glared in response and walked away. For someone who claims his brother is heartless, Inuyasha doesn't seem all that different at times.
When the sun started to set, we called it a night. After eating, we prepared to go to sleep. However, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't stop replaying everything in my head. I started to imagine Kohaku killing the villagers. Sweet, innocent, kind Kohaku murdering innocent people that he never even knew. The image twisted my stomach into knots. The fact that Naraku was using him...
I opened my eyes when I heard Sango move around. I waited to see if she was having a nightmare or struggling to sleep just like me. Continuing to hear the movement, I was about to sit up until Inuyasha spoke up.
"What's wrong Sango?"
"Oh... I-I can't sleep."
"Sango... I meant what I said about Kohaku."
"Inuyasha! I already told you how I felt about this matter!"
"The truth is if I was in your position," he paused, "I don't think I could do it. Not to someone I cared so much about."
Apparently, Kagome also couldn't sleep because she sat up and joined the conversation. Deciding I wasn't going to sleep anytime soon either, I also sat up. Before I could say anything, Miroku also sat up on guard.
"We're surrounded," he stated as he began to grab his weapon.
Everyone rushed outside to prepare for whoever was approaching. Before long, Kohaku appeared along with dozens of yokai. Sango froze not knowing what to do.
"Heh, if I take out the ringleader, all of those yokai are toast!" Inuyasha charged forward to Kohaku.
Quickly pulling out Tessaiga, he began to swing. Kohaku dodged each swing with ease and wrapped the sword with the chain attached to his scythe. No longer able to use his sword to cut Kohaku down, he used the chain to his advantage. With all his might, he swung his sword causing the chain to pull Kohaku along with it and slammed him into the ground. After setting Tessaiga free, Inuyasha jumped up and prepared for the final blow.
Watching the situation unfold, I stood there not knowing what to do. Do I allow him to end it? Or can we actually save Kohaku?
Unlike me, Kagome already made up her mind. "INUYASHA, STOP!"
He slammed his sword down into the ground, missing Kohaku's face by a hair. Obviously struggling with what to do, the Inu result to punching the kid.
"You know what, I should die," Everyone froze in shock that Kohaku talked. "I killed my comrades and my own father. I also attacked my sister." Taking his scythe, he then stabbed himself in the back and started reaching for the jewel shard.
"If he does that.. He'll die," I stated as I continued watching. What do I do?
"Enough!" Sango yelled and threw Hiraikotsu at Tessaiga, reverting it back to its original form.
Using this opening, Kohaku fled onto of a yokai. Before anyone could react, Sango grabbed Tessaiga and flew after him on Kirara.
"Sango! What are you doing?!" Inuyasha yelled.
"We need to follow after them now! Before she gets herself killed!" I tied my katana so it would be strapped to my waist. "Inuyasha, can you track their scent?"
"Yeah, I can still smell his blood."
After Kagome got her bow and arrows, she climbed on Inuyasha's back. Shippo climbed onto Miroku. The two of us followed after them on foot, barely keeping up with Inuyasha's speed.
When we arrived at the castle Naraku has been hiding at, we heard Sango scream. Running in that direction, we saw Kirara collapsed on the ground and Sango laying at Kohaku's feet. As the others stopped to see Kirara first, I ran to Sango. Seeing that she was still breathing and she wasn't going to die, I then checked on Kohaku.
His eyes no longer seemed glazed over as in a trance. Maybe he's breaking through Naraku's hold on him. Watching him stare at Sango and shaking, I hugged him tightly; whispering soothing words. If Kohaku could be saved, I would do all I can to do so.
Kagome and the others surrounded Sango and relaxed seeing she was alright.
"He tried to trick Sango into hating her brother. The same way he tried to trick Inuyasha and Kikyo. But no matter what, Sango could never hate her little brother. She loves him so much," Kagome rubbed her hand through Sango's hair trying to soothe her.
All of a sudden, a purple smoke made a dome around us, blowing at a harsh speed.
"Foolish mortals! Now you can all die together in this sea of poison!"
As we looked around for a way out, Sango weakly took out a slayer mask and put it onto Kohaku.
Kagome took out her bow and aimed an arrow at a building. "There!" She let the reiki filled arrow go and shot Naraku through his right shoulder. Blowing up a good portion of the building with it. Dumbstruck, Naraku didn't move. She aimed another arrow and shot at him again. This time Naraku decided to escape at the last second, but not before a major part of him was destroyed.
The poisonous winds were replaced with two strong cyclones that were pulling the castle apart. As we all tried to hold on to something to avoid getting sucked up, Kohaku was lifted into the air and taken away with the villainous hanyo.
When the castle was fully gone, the winds subsided. Kagome went to Inuyasha's side and I stayed with Sango.
Seeing that she was trying to stand, "What are you doing? You're hurt. Sit down."
Hearing me, the others gathered around us. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered.
"We understand that Naraku was using your brother to give him the sword," Mirkou began.
"Exactly! I'll end up betraying you again!"
"Sango," I hugged her. "We are here for you. This isn't something you can do alone. We'll save him together. We'll defeat Naraku together. I promise."
Crying, she hugged back and nodded.
"Since that is settled. Let's tend to your wounds," Kagome brought bandages and salves towards Sango and sat by her side.
As we were tending to Sango, an image played in my head.
"Kimi? Are you ok," Sango looked at me worried. "You've been staring into space for a few minutes."
I smiled and nodded. "I just saw Kohaku and a girl in orange playing together. As they were playing, I sat against a tree watching them alongside a.. kappa?"
The possibility of Kohaku being himself again brought Sango to tears.
Inuyasha frowned. "A kappa?"
I nodded and shrugged. "I know. It sounds a little weird but that's what I saw. He looked upset and was waving a staff around. I seemed happy though, so I'm assuming all was- will be well."
Inuyasha grumbled and walked away. Does he not like kappas?