Chapter 12
"Seas the Day"
She was gone.
Gone!
Just fucking gone!
He'd scoured the entire shrine, the grounds, and the woods beyond, searching for anything, anything, that would show where she'd literally fucking disappeared to. But there was nothing. Not a fucking hair or footprint outside that house.
But the house was sealed. No one should've been able to get in. Nothing should have been able to enter.
So where the fuck was she?
He ducked back inside, and pressed his nose into the carpet. He just needed a trace of whatever it was that took her.
But spirits didn't have scents to follow, and the bigger question was how did it get Kagome out of the house?
Because she definitely was not here.
He'd checked behind every single door in this place, under tables, in any possible place that she could conceivably and inconceivably fit.
But she was no where in that house.
So what was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to find her if there was literally not a fucking trace of her outside this house?
He clenched his hands, trying to calm himself down enough that he could think straight.
Where could she have gone?
Wait.
He moved his nose back to the spot he'd just left, and sniffed at it again.
There.
He caught a faint whiff of something not native to the house. He had no clue what the fuck it was, but there was something else here.
Now the question was where did it go?
The sun was bright and blaring, even behind her closed eyelids, and her head felt like someone had actively tried to split it open.
In short, it was not pleasant.
0/10.
Would not recommend.
Leaves and branches greeted her overhead and momentary, she thought that she was outside, laying in the umbrage of the Goshinboku. But there were too many branches and too many different colors of green, and the shape of the leaves was wrong.
Her stomach rolled, and she was infinitely glad it was empty at the moment, as she groaned.
"Ugh," she moaned, rolling slowly onto her side to look around.
Roots dug into the sides of her ribs, and she slowly propped herself up with an elbow to garner a look around, which amounted to one singular problem for her.
She had no clue where she was.
Or how she'd gotten there.
Sitting up, she winced as she shifted, well, everything.
Her entire body felt sore, but one look at the legs explained the soreness.
Her legs were covered in mud, and it was obvious that she had been running for a while. A large scratch ran up her unbandaged arm and her nails were clearly broken on the other.
What the hell had she been doing?
Her clothes were filthy, and her mouth was so dry that it hurt to swallow.
"Hello?" She called, but her voice was raspy and her supposed shout was barely louder than her normal volume. Clearing it only made it ache worse, and she glanced around the trees to see if there was a stream or river nearby.
Using the tree as a crutch, she climbed, painfully, to her feet, staggering a step as she tried to figure out which part of her feet ached the least.
The answer was none.
She tried to find a sign or direction that would lead her back, but there was so much debris around her that it was hard to tell which way she'd come from.
There were several broken branches scattered around her, almost like something had run around in circles, attempting to confuse her and hide their trail.
So in other words, she was completely and utterly lost and had no clue how to figure out where she'd been or which way to go.
She took a couple miserable steps forward, hissing and wincing at the sharp zaps of pain roaring up her legs at the moment. Letting out a small cry, she staggered forward, struggling to keep herself upright.
"Come on," she muttered to herself.
Where was she?
Bigger question: when was she?
Scarier question: was this even real?
She'd been having lots of dreams that had felt real but really weren't.
There were lots of things that had seemed real and then weren't.
She just needed to find some water. That was an easy step one.
And then Inuyasha.
Or anyone really.
Hissing at the pain that roared up her body as she tried to walk through the thickness of the forest, driving herself onward, even as her body struggled and shook under her own power.
Her body felt drained, like all the energy and vigor had been sucked right out of it, leaving her weary and weak. Things she couldn't afford to be at this particular moment.
If she was still on the shrine grounds, the woods would end eventually. She would find a way out, and then she'd at least know the answer to some of her questions. If she wasn't, then the notion that she'd somehow managed to make it all the way out of Tokyo on foot, and into the woods without being stopped by anyone was a scary idea. What was probably more terrifying was the idea that she could make it through the well and have no recollection of what had happened or how she'd gotten there. Or that whatever had taken her could travel through it as well.
She could really use a nap.
Kagome dragged herself through the trees, trying to figure out where home was, or at the bare minimum a general direction for help. However, the leering face of the sun slowly began to skin beyond the tree tops, and that slow panic began to set in. She had nothing to defend against the cold, youkai—men. Sango lectured her regularly for her openness with people. Men were dangerous in this era—like they weren't in hers—slavers, rapists, bandits, and so on. The dangers here, though the close to the same in hers, were not always so easily avoidable.
She had the clothes on her back, and while that might have worked for Inuyasha, that would not work so well for her.
She continued onwards, hoping to find a fresh water source before it fell completely and entirely dark.
Inuyasha was at a loss.
He'd scoured—scoured—the entirety of her home and the shrine grounds. Her mother and grandfather had not returned, which was fine. It was better this way, kept people from muddling scents around, but fuck if it wasn't hard enough already.
So there was only one place that he was left with.
Which was why he was leaping through the well with pretty much nothing except for the trace of a smell that only existed in one small place in the house.
And nowhere fucking else.
He touched the earth, crouching to leap up—there!
His muscles froze, jerking to a stop under their fluid motion already started, and he sniffed the air furiously, nose moving as he inhaled so much air it made him lightheaded.
Her scent!
Muted and muddled but there. Like she was only here for a moment. Only touched the earth for a moment and nothing else.
It was wrong though. It was still Kagome, but just—wrong—off.
But if she was here, maybe she was at Kaede's or with one of the other idiots.
He leapt and didn't stop leaping until he reached the hut, throwing the mat aside so harshly, he was actually impressed it hadn't come loose entirely from the wall.
"Kagome!" He roared, pissed off to no end that she would run away to Kaede's without saying a word and after he'd already told her to not go outside.
It was like she didn't listen to a word he told her.
But the hut was empty. He sniffed the still air, but no sign of Kagome.
The hag, however, was bobbling back towards her home at a snail's pace, talking with Miroku of all people.
"Kaede!" He shouted before letting the mat fall back into place, running the few leaps to land right in front of her and Miroku.
"Inuyasha?" He asked. "What's happened?"
"Where's Kagome?"
"Kagome?" Miroku's head tilted in his own question.
"We have not seen Kagome since yesterday."
"Inuyasha, what happened?"
He let out a growl as he looked around for something, a sign that she'd been here, but there was nothing. Just like at the shrine. She had to be somewhere though. And he'd smelled her on this side of the well, and she was the only thing that could come through the well other than him.
"What makes ye believe Kagome is here?"
"I could smell her, hag, but—" He sniffed the air again, trying to find something that would lead him in the right direction.
"But what?" Kaede pushed. His hands flexed into fists, releasing and clenching over and over as he tried to figure out what to do or when to go, but nothing came up.
"It's—It's wrong, or something—I don't know!"
"How is her scent wrong? Is she sick?"
"No!" He cranked his brain into overdrive trying to get the right words out. "It's like she—it's like —" He clicked his tongue against his teeth. "It smells like Kagome-miasma."
"You think that she was in miasma?" Miroku asked, his hand tightening around his staff like it usually did when he was concerned.
"No, it's like—it smells like if Kagome made the miasma."
A moment of silence between them, and his ears flickered towards the forest and then back towards the men working the fields.
"That—that doesn't make any sense," Miroku started, eyes wide.
"That would be impossible for her," Kaede agreed.
A sharp roar and Kirara landed beside them with Sango sliding off.
"What's happening?" She asked, glancing between all of them, a smile on her face. "Is Kagome here?"
"That appears to be the question of late," Kaede said. "Ye are sure, Inuyasha?" She asked him.
"I know what I smelled. Like I said, it's wrong, but that's what it is."
"No one doubts your nose, Inuyasha," Kaede said with a wave of her hand motioning for them to follow, "but it does us little good to merely speak about it. Come. We shall go to the source of it."
He followed her with a low growl.
"Kagome's missing?" Sango asked, eyebrow raised at him.
"No!" Inuyasha snapped, irritated at the insinuation that he was somehow inept at caring for her.
"Then where is she, Inuyasha?"
He growled at her, fangs bared, but the slayer merely reached back for her Hiraikotsu, fingering the handle.
While the sits were unpleasant, that fucker actually hurt.
"Where is she, Inuyasha?" Sango repeated.
"Here—somewhere," he mumbled.
"Right, so you don't know where she is," Sango corrected, still looking every bit like she was going to wallop him with the giant weapon.
"At least I know when she is!"
"How long has she been missing?" Kaede asked, refocusing their attention where it would be most helpful: finding the currently missing girl.
"Since this morning. I've been looking around the grounds to see where she was, but haven't found a trace of her anywhere."
"How did she disappear?"
"Fuck if I know!" He yelled, already starting to pace. "All I know is that I tell her to stay in the house that has your fucking ofuda on it," this time the finger pointed directly at Miroku, "and when I get back she's gone!" He snarled, loudly and sounding every bit the dangerous animal he could be.
"And your sure that Kagome put them up properly?" Miroku asked.
"I felt her fucking reiki, Miroku!" He roared, and even Miroku put his hands up as a measure of appeasement.
"It was only a question, Inuyasha," he said, hands still up and waving submission, "I know Kagome has the ability to do it. But if those ofuda were in place, then a spirit should not have been able to get inside or be inside her home."
"Did she go outside?"
"How about we ask some fucking important questions? Like how the fuck did she get out of the well? How did she mask her entire scent from me? What the fuck is this thing, because it sure ain't a fucking ghost!" This time he spun towards Kaede. "Is it?"
"Aye, Inuyasha may be right. A human spirit should not be able to do any of those things."
"So then what the fuck is it?"
"Aye, that leads into the second part of the problem. I am afraid I do not have an answer for ye. Nothing of the sort has ever appeared here before. I have never even heard stories of such a thing."
He growled, still pacing the area, as he tried to figure out where she might have gone.
"I'm gonna check the well again." He leapt off before anyone could stop him. He didn't want to hear their suggestions on what it might have been. It wasn't youkai; he would've felt something, sensed something, and he'd never heard of anything that could do this sort of thing before.
Had it been after the shards? Everything and everyone else seemed to be after them, so it was plausible, and she usually wore then around her neck for safekeeping.
But again, he hadn't sensed anything, so what was it after, if not the shards? What else did she have to offer?
He reached the well and set out to sniff the ground, and the wood, searching for her scent anywhere that might tell him at least a direction of where she'd gone. He just needed a starting point, something, anything to give him somewhere to go. If he could just find a scent, even that one that was hers but wrong, that would work too.
But, damn, there was literally nothing.
"Anything?" Sango asked.
Growling, he shook his head, squatting on his heels as he stared at the trees.
Where would she have gone? If she'd gone off into the forest, even his, alone—he shook his head. He couldn't think like that.
"So which direction should we go?" She asked as Miroku's staff announced his impending presence.
"We split up," he said, standing. "You take the monk and Kirara," he pointed to the area south of the village, "I'll take the north and the west."
"You don't think that she'd have gone east from here?"
He shook his head.
"Humans can't really travel that way for long. And even at her slowest, she would've already had to reroute another direction. If she did go that way, one of us would still find her."
"Okay, let us get our things from the village and we'll head out."
"Already done, Sango," Miroku said as he held out her bag to her. "I had a feeling that we would be heading out soon."
She took the bag, tying it to keep it secure, before climbing onto Kirara.
"We'll come for you if we find anything," Miroku said. "If we find nothing, we'll return here in three days. We will wait a day and then come for you."
"Stay safe," Sango added.
Inuyasha gave a curt nod and leapt away into the trees, running along the ground. Even though it wasn't the fastest, it was the best way to catch her scent as he moved.
The north and the west were the easiest to traverse and the most likely direction for her to go.
The south was harder, more difficult for her to travel by foot.
He ran in a wide zigzagging pattern, trying to catch any glimpse that she'd gone this way at all.
Maybe he should've gone back to her time. Just to double check.
No, he knew that she was here. Knew it in his gut that she wasn't there anymore.
She was here, and he would find her.
Clouds covered the moon, blocking the light from helping her see anything, which was why she didn't see the twig she'd impaled her foot on. So add a limp on top of everything else.
Kagome took a gimping stride, holding onto the nearest tree for support. She took another step, the ground missing underneath her foot and sending her tumbling down in a sprawl right into a shallow stream lined with river rock.
Landing on her side, she gasped at the shock of water and the blow of her side against the hard stones; the depth the water was not enough to soften the blow at all, or if it did, it wasn't by much.
Cold, frigid water went right down her throat and up her nose and she barely managed to lift her head above water enough before she started choking and sputtering up water.
Her clothes were soaked through completely, and the breeze only magnified the coolness of the air.
She'd been gimping along all afternoon and well into the night. If she was still on shrine grounds, she should've found the end of it by now, or heard the sounds of civilization.
Which meant that she probably wasn't home.
It also meant that she was probably through the well, judging from the amount of stars that she could see through the trees.
Great.
And she had no clue which direction Kaede's village lay.
But Inuyasha should be on his way to find her, because she had to leave a scent trail. So as soon as he realized that she was missing, he would start searching and the moment he came through the well, he would find a trail and come after her.
He would find her.
Inuyasha always found her.
And then they would figure out what had happened and everything would be okay.
She shivered as another breeze blew, wincing at the rawness of her throat, before opting to solve at least one problem with the cool water from the stream.
She'd worry about parasites and disease later.
Groping around blindly, she splashed through the water searching for the bank, digging her fingers into the soft earth.
Taking the win, she pulled herself up and over the bank, crawling on her hands and knees to find something to help her block out the harshness of the wind.
Settling down against the nearest tree, she curled herself up in a ball, dragging her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. The tree broke the gusts enough that the sharp chill was mitigated some, but she still really wished that she had something, anything else to help.
Her wet hair dripped down her face, and she shivered violently as another breeze brushed by her.
By the time morning came, Kagome felt pretty sure that she would never be warm again. She'd managed to doze off and on but had shivered the entire night.
If—When Inuyasha showed up, she felt pretty sure she'd look like a wet rat from her exploits.
She sat in the sun, hoping that it would warm her, but there was little warmth to be gained from it with the wind shifting direction every five minutes. It might've also been because her body literally ached so badly that she was afraid she'd collapse if she tried to walk any further.
Her stomach growled, but the stream next to her was too shallow to hold any fish in it. But maybe if she followed the stream for a bit, she'd manage to find a village? That seemed plausible and then she could start backtracking her way to Kaede's.
Staring at the ground, she sneezed as another gust of wind came through, ripping through her still damp clothes as she sat back against the tree. The long scratch on her arm looked red and angry. Definitely not a good sign. She didn't even want to look at her foot.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she walked in the stream?
The cool water might numb it a bit too, come to think of it.
She was about to move to the stream to start hobbling her way to the next village, when the long, serpentine body of the shinidamachu skimmed by right in front of her face. Another came twirling around the trees, and then another, and another.
Oh no.
The exact person that she never wanted to see.
"Girl." Kikyo's address was calm, even, and Kagome hated that she was even more of a mess than she usually was. "Inuyasha is not nearby."
"I know," Kagome growled out, trying to find that inner peace that Miroku always rambled on about, because right now that inner peace really needed to plaster itself across her face and become outer peace.
Kikyo raised her hand, flawless and clean, and one of the shinidamachu ran its belly along her fingertips, like a pet.
"Tell me, girl," Kikyo started. "Do you remember anything at all?"
"About what?"
Kikyo's eyes narrowed slightly, as if trying to determine a lie, before deciding that Kagome must have been telling the truth after all. Taking a metered step forward, Kikyo waited for a moment.
"If you do not remember, then it is of no consequence to you after all."
"What? What happened?" She scrambled forward a step on her knees. "I don't actually know how I got here."
Kikyo made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
"You are out of your league, little girl, and you don't even know it." Kikyo stepped past her, bow and arrows over her shoulder as she walked, sweeping past her with complete ease and contempt.
"Can you at least tell me the direction of Kaede's village?" Kagome asked, calling out after her, and Kikyo paused, turning her head just enough to look at her out of her peripherals.
"I do not meddle in the affairs of the living," she stated plainly over her shoulder as her little insect friends darted her away onto the other side of the stream and into the trees.
"Since when? And by not answering, you're meddling, you meddler!" Kagome yelled after her, leaning away from the tree to do so. "I'm so gonna tell Kaede on you when I get back," she muttered
Using her anger as fuel, she pushed herself to her feet, feeling the ache in her legs return full force, with the added fun of something twitching in her lower back too.
What was one more pain to add to the list?
She slid back into the water, hissing at the cold against her feet. Maybe she could find a nice village with some warm tea and a fire. Actually it wouldn't be so bad if she could just get a fire going, but there was literally nothing on her except for her pajamas and those were trashed, so fire starting equipment was not an option. And without it, she had no hope of making a fire on a good day when all the parts of her body functioned normally.
Limping her way through the water, she didn't make it as far as it felt like she should have. Her arm was throbbing, and her foot sent sharp pains up her shin each time she put any weight on it. Most of the mud was gone though, so she had that going for her. She looked up at the sky, searching for any sign of smoke, but it was clear.
That meant no villages nearby.
Crawling onto the bank, she curled up in a patch of sun, greedily soaking up whatever heat it had to offer, feeling very much like Buyo on a windowsill.
A short rest and then she'd continue on again.
Bellflower.
Do you remember me?
Because I remember you.
Fuck!
Fucking fuck of fucks—how could she have gotten this far without leaving a trail of anything behind?
She had to come this way.
It was the only option. He'd been running all morning and all night, and there was no fucking trace of her at all. Pausing at the river, he splashed some water on his face before drinking a few handfuls.
A large trout swam by, and he contemplated it for only a moment before snatching it out of the water and slicing its belly open with more fervor than was really necessary.
Honestly, how fucking hard was it to find someone like her? It's not like she knew how to hide her scent, even Sango's shit let the barest of trace through, but this was like she just poofed out of the well and into nothingness.
He tossed the innards off to the side and skinned the damn thing and picking the bones out in one clean go before practically shoving the whole thing in his mouth.
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve before glancing at the sun. Two more days before he agreed to meet Sango and Miroku back at the village if he hadn't found anything by then.
Standing back to his feet, he started the search up again.
Maybe the wolf prick had found her.
As much as it galled him to think of Kagome being rescued by the likes of him, it was better than considering that she might be out there alone and afraid.
Or worse, hurt.
He grimaced, pushing his body to run further and faster.
He genuinely hoped that Sango and Miroku were having better luck that he was.
She woke as a loud clap of thunder rolled overhead, drowning out the sound of her own stomach singing the song of its people. She blinked blearily up at the sky, now tinged dark and malevolent. Lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a loud crack that made her squeal and run for the cover of the trees.
Wait, bad idea.
The resulting cacophonous boom exploded the tree a few feet from her. Splinters rained down on her and a large branch fell over her as she tried to hide in the roots of another, only having trapped herself as the tree toppled over on top of her with a low groan and high pitched snap.
The sudden onslaught of rain only made her position worse.
Ears still ringing, she struggled to claw her way out of the muck and mire and free herself of the tree languishing over her.
After several minutes, she'd only manage to dig herself a shallow hole, which sounds like it should have been a help, right? Dig a little ditch, do a little shimmy, and viola! She'd be free!
However, the more she dug, the more the tree sank down on her. The pressure was already starting to become uncomfortable.
Several branches hung down over the ground, blocking her view of everything around her. She paused allowing herself a moment to catch her breath, and then attempt to figure out a better way, because what she was doing wasn't working. If anything, it was only making things worse.
At least the branches were blocking the wind now. Not so much the rain, but she'd take what she could get.
After a very long time of waiting, the tree didn't appear to be getting any heavier and the discomfort never grew any worse, which was a relief. However, she couldn't figure out a way to slide herself out and into freedom. She couldn't even shift her legs into a more comfortable position as she'd dug her toes into the soft and mushy earth to try and give her leverage to shift forward.
As the rains continued, she heard the small stream next to her begin to churn and roar as the water rolled off the already soaked land and into its channel.
She'd just have to wait for the rain to cease and then she could start again.
She'd figure it out.
Without Kikyo's help.
She was going to be fine. Once the ground dried out a bit, she'd just wiggle herself free and keep following the river.
She just had to wait.
Did you know that I loved you?
From the moment, the very first moment I every laid eyes on you, I knew that we were meant for each other.
I knew that I loved you in an instant.
She snapped her head up choking on water. She choked and sputtered it back up, feeling the warmth seeping out of her nose.
The rain poured down on top of her.
She must've dozed off at some point, but the rain hadn't stopped and the water beneath and around her was only continuing to rise. It had risen to a point that she could no longer lower her head to rest, because the water now covered her arms in the small pit that she'd dug herself. The pressure of the tree had not lessened or increased, but she desperately wanted to stretch her legs. She was tempted to try, but the fear that the trunk would sink even further stopped her.
She was trapped.
The stream sounded louder now. She tried to see through the branches to gauge how high the water had risen in her time asleep, but there was nothing to see except leaves and more leaves.
The rain didn't seem as though it would stop anytime soon either.
Which meant the water would only rise higher and higher.
She already couldn't lay her head on her arms, and she didn't know the area. The small little piddling stream already sounded like the river in Kaede's village, and that really wasn't a comforting thought.
So the question became if she risked waiting and the water rising too high or if she risked trying to escape and the tree trunk crushing her. The branch that had fallen first was also not helping her situation, pinning her hip down into the mud as the trunk sat heavily on top of it.
And possibly the absolute worst of it was that the rain didn't make anything warmer.
Lightning struck overhead, and she jerked from the sudden flash of light and then the roar of thunder that vibrated the air around her.
No, the rain wasn't stopping anytime soon.
And that scared her.
He could smell the rain on the horizon.
Not good.
Leaping up into the higher branches, he could see the black clouds rolling across the land. It was a large storm and one that would probably run for days. He could see the lightning, flashes of light in the clouds as it moved, darkening the land.
He grimaced.
She was out there somewhere.
He'd never hoped that she was with the wolf more in his life.
The storm looked bad; it smelled bad, one that would last for a few days at least.
He leapt back down, feeling the urgency of locating her. He could find shelter somewhere here. There were a few villages within running distance, but this area was mostly wooded.
A familiar white serpent skimmed by on the edges of his vision, bringing him to a complete halt.
Maybe—
Maybe she'd seen something.
He blanched inwardly at the idea of Kagome being with Kikyo, but maybe she'd seen her in passing.
It would be something at least. He'd at least know what direction to search—or not to.
He changed his direction, turning towards Kikyo, hoping he would gain some insight.
Coming to a sliding stop, Kikyo merely looked at him, nonplussed at his sudden presence.
"Kikyo," he breathed, taking a moment to catch himself from the nonstop running.
"It's good to see you, Inuyasha," she said, allowing the smallest of smiles breaking out on her face. "It has been some time since we talked."
"Yeah," he grimaced. It had been a while since they'd seen each other, and there was some guilt over that, more than anything else. "Well, uh—" he fumbled over his words, struggling to figure out how to broach the sensitive subject with her. He knew that she didn't like Kagome. It was obvious enough that even he'd noticed. He didn't quite understand the why behind it, but he knew there was some dissonance there.
"It is good to have some time alone with you. Normally, you are followed by my reincarnation. It makes it difficult to have a proper conversation."
"I know, but—"
"I do not understand why you allow such frivolity to trail after you. Surely, you could do much better than a shamed slayer and her shameful monk."
"Kikyo," he growled out. He wasn't here to allow his friends be slandered like that. Least of all by her, she wasn't exactly the best judge of characters considering her ties to Onigumo. "You don't know them."
"I know the girl though," she remarked, voice cold. "Her feelings were once mine. And I have found in my time that like calls to like. Why else would we be bound together so tightly?"
"Yeah, well," he stammered, "have you seen her?" Yeah, that was a totally smooth segue.
"Is she lost?"
He huffed. She was being difficult, on purpose.
"She went missing yesterday. I'm looking for her."
"All the way out here?"
"We don't know where she is. Have you seen her?"
Thunder rolled off in the distance, dragging their attention off towards the north and away from the girl at the heart of their conversation.
"I should take my leave."
"So you haven't seen her?" He asked, needing the clarification. She stared at him for a beat before turning, her serpents swirling after her.
"Goodbye Inuyasha," she called out to him, dismissing him entirely from their conversation.
Thunder rolled again.
Damn.
There wasn't much time left now before the storm hit. He leapt off in the direction that Kikyo had come.
He'd search another day and turn back if he found nothing.
The rain pelted his skin as he ran through the trees, feeling the initial sprinkle of water and then the torrent downpour. Lighting struck close and frequently as he ran through the trees before realizing that this was relatively pointless. He couldn't smell a damn thing in all this rain, and at the rate it was raining, he could barely see anything as he passed. It would be entirely plausible for him to run right past her and never know it.
His clothing clung to his skin, and his hair was a dead weight behind him. He shook once, but the effort was futile in clearing his vision and his clothes.
There was so much water.
Running further in only revealed the damage that the storm was causing. He paused as he reached a stream that had overrun its banks, swollen and encompassing the ground surrounding it, before leaping away to continue his search.
The water was high. Really, really high. Her shoulders felt tight from supporting herself on her elbows to keep her head above the water.
Night had fallen, and the only source of light was the lightning strikes that illuminated the woods around her.
She was convinced now that the stream had escaped its bounds and was flooding the surrounding area.
Her muscles shook from being in one position for so long, and her left leg threatened to cramp up on her each time she attempted to shift it even the slightest amount.
The situation was becoming dire to say the least.
She could really use some help right now.
Mostly she just wanted someone to tell her that she was going to be fine, because right now, she was tired, wet, and in pain, which wasn't improving her mood or her opinion on her survival rate.
A harsh billow of youkai ran against her senses, enough that it made her skin crawl and her reiki want to spark against it. It felt dark and feral, eager to kill anything it could get its hands on.
Lightning flashed and the trees blew violently in the wind. For a second, she thought that there might have been something out in the trees, but when lightning struck again a few minutes later, there was nothing.
It must've been a play of the shadows and the light. She hadn't heard anything other than thunder and rain, and the lapping of water against the trunk and her own body.
A loud roar sounded off to her right, and she turned towards the sound. That—that was just thunder right? That was just thunder and not some youkai that she couldn't even fight off at the moment.
It was just thunder. It was just thunder.
Lightning flashed, a tree broke off somewhere in the distance.
It was just the wind.
Just the wind. That was all.
Lightning flashed again as a tree went flying across her range of vision.
That was definitely not the wind.
Kagome took a careful breath before letting it out slightly. She didn't want to let anything know that she was here. And alone. And essentially powerless.
She just had to stay quiet.
Another tree snapped somewhere, and she whimpered before she could stop herself, slapping her hand over her mouth. The water splashed around her, and she tried to see what was out there.
Please.
Please, don't let whatever it is find her like this.
Better yet, please just let it be Inuyasha throwing a temper tantrum.
Please.
A very distinctive roar sounded from her left this time, and she whipped her head towards it, narrowly avoiding poking her eye out on a twig.
In the flash of light, she saw it through the narrow branches.
A great paw swiped down in the earth sending waves splashing against her chin, blacker than the darkness surrounding it.
The mouth opened as another flash struck and she saw the cavernous maw that could possibly swallow her whole. When the light faded, she could still see it, darker than the night and the storm, like a shadow in the night.
Her reiki sparked, almost painfully, like something was goading it just under her skin.
She didn't need the lightning to see the red eyes, glowing in the night and the wind and the rain, look directly at her. It had felt and seen the blip of light from under the trees, and it would come looking for her.
The time of waiting was over. She fought against the weight of the tree, clawing her way through the water and mud, but the weight of the tree only grew heavier and heavier, pushing her deeper and deeper into the soft earth and pinning her down even more.
Kagome struggled, mostly in vain, to free herself.
The ground shook, and she looked up, trying to see through the night and rain. She waited, holding her breath, for something to illuminate the woods around her. She needed to know where the bear youkai was, and she really hoped that it was in the same place it had been before.
It stayed dark for a very long time as she waited to for some sort of sign that she wasn't in perilous danger.
When lightning finally flashed, she realized that it was not where it was supposed to be. Or at least, not where it had once been.
She looked around for as little as she could see as she tried and tried to pull herself free with absolutely nothing changing.
The distinct thuds of feet, large feet, hitting the earth behind her, made her pause and she craned her head as far as it would go only to see the bear standing up to its full height as lightning struck behind it, illuminating the outline and the length of its teeth as it roared.
The weight of the tree and the branch disappeared, and she only made it one scrabbling crawl before a clawed foot pressed her back down into the mud and water. She screamed, the sound cut off as her face was forced underneath the water as she thrashed against it.
No, this was not how she was going to go down. This was not going to be how she died!
The bear's foot jerked, a sharp blow to her back that forced the air out of her lungs, and sent her head reeling.
For a moment, it felt like she was floating freely in the water, the weight of everything dissipating in the stillness and the quiet.
Oh, Bellflower.
What have they done to you?
The pressure on her back slacked enough to allow her to break the surface, gasping for air as something splashed into the water behind her a good distance.
Coughing and hacking up what little water she'd inhaled, she crawled pathetically towards the cover of the trees and out of the path of the newly formed river.
A sharp roar, tinged with pain, made her turn around. She couldn't see anything, and the rain and wind bordered on deafening.
Where was it?
Why had it let her go?
Frantic splashing sounded from where she'd just been, and she ducked herself behind the tree.
"Kagome?"
Inuyasha's voice carried over the wind and rain, and she let out a sob to hear it so close.
"Kagome!" He shouted.
"Inuyasha!" She choked out, and there was a slight pause before she heard him run towards her.
Clawed hands gripped her arms as she trembled in relief at being found.
"Are you hurt?" He asked, and she jerked free to wrap her arms around his neck, no matter how badly that hurt and how dirty she was, because he was here. "Come on, woman, we need to get you somewhere dry." He slid his arm under her knees, lifting her up out of the water, but he didn't make her give up her hold around his neck.
"We really need to stop meeting like this," she managed to choke out as he started to run. The chill of the wind made every muscle twitch and tighten as he ran through the forest.
"Hold on. There were a couple villages not too far from here."
She nodded, clinging to what little warmth he gave off under his rain soaked clothes as she finally drifted away.
What can I do to help?
I would do anything for you.
I would kill anyone for you, Bellflower.
Even her.
Kagome woke slowly and sluggishly. Her body ached and throbbed, and she honestly wished she was still asleep.
"Ah, you're awake!" A woman spoke as she pressed a hand to Kagome's forehead.
"Wha?" She mumbled, trying to rise up from where she was laying. Her arms shook at the effort, and the woman gently pushed her back down onto the bed, tucking the blankets back in.
"You've been asleep for a while. We were getting worried." The woman smiled, resting a hand on her shoulder.
"I—I don't—" Her brows furrowed as she tried to piece together exactly what had happened. She remembered the bear, the tree, the rain; she remembered—Inuyasha! "Where's Inuyasha?"
The woman frowned.
"I don't know anyone by that name."
Kagome opened her mouth to explain and then hesitated. How had she gotten here? Where was Inuyasha? Surely, he wouldn't just abandon her here, right?
"Who—who brought me here?"
"Oh, my husband found you while he was gathering firewood." She looked over at the door briefly. "It was a good thing too. This rain has been awful. He said you were nearly washed away in the river. You were lucky."
Kagome stared at the woman.
"There—there wasn't anyone else?"
"No, he said you were starting to be carried away by the waters, so he pulled you to safety and carried you here. You've been asleep for a couple days now."
She didn't understand. She'd seen Inuyasha. He was carrying her. He'd found her, defeated the bear youkai, and he was taking her somewhere. What had happened?
She managed to get herself up to her elbows this time.
"Oh, no! You must get some rest. You're still too weak."
"I have to go. Inuyasha—something's wrong." The woman kept pushing against her shoulders, but Kagome turned steady herself against the woman's hands. It shouldn't have been this hard.
"You should stay down, dear. It's not good to be up and about in your condition."
"Doesn't matter," Kagome mumbled, vision blurring as she tried to stand. Her limbs felt heavier than normal. "He'd come for me."
The mat across the door shifted, as Kagome stumbled to her hands and knees. She hadn't even looked to see if she was even dressed before tossing the blankets aside. But she was. Still in her muddied clothes, now dry and dusty.
"It would be wise to listen to my wife," the man said. For a brief moment, she'd hoped that it was Inuyasha, but the man was too broad for that. Not that he was fat, but just—solid. "She speaks good sense."
"But Inuyasha—I have to—" Her head hurt so bad.
"He would want you to rest, to get better. I'm sure of it." The man knelt down on one knee beside her, a hand on her shoulder. "This is not the way to do things."
"No, I have to go—Inuyasha—"
The man's hand slid off her shoulder, wrapping around her throat and slamming her back down into the floor.
Kicking her legs out did nothing, and her fingers couldn't pry his hand off her neck, where the pressure was already cutting off her air, leaving her wheezing.
"Please!" She gasped, trying to break his grip. Her knee connected with his side or leg, whatever, it hit him, but he barely even winced.
Kagome searched for the woman, catching sight of the silver above her head.
"Watch your fingers, dear," she cooed, as the cool metal slid effortlessly across the delicate skin of her throat.
His hand released her, and her own hands flew to the split skin, feeling blood pumping out of the gaping hole. Choking on her own blood and spit, she looked at the two people who had promised her rescue, safety, protection.
Why?
"See," the woman said, smoothing her hand over Kagome's bangs and forehead. It was bright red, and her eyes watered, blurring the image of the smiling woman. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"
Kagome gasped and coughed, blood spraying across them, but they didn't seem to mind that she was drowning in herself.
"It'll all be over soon, bellflower."
"Just relax."
But Kagome, above all else, didn't want to die.
What will it take, Bellflower?
For you to believe me.
What do you need to be whole again?
He'd given up. She wasn't out here. Even Kikyo hadn't admitted either way to seeing her. Besides, he was already going to be late rejoining Sango and Miroku, and he was showing up empty handed as well. Nothing to show for his efforts at all.
And the stupid fucking storm was still raging, making the ground and the trees slippery as fuck. He'd already almost taken himself out in a slide across muddy leaves and water.
Not to mention that he couldn't smell or hear a damn thing out here. The rain muted or drowned out everything else.
He hoped that she was safe. That she'd found somewhere to hide until the storm passed. Somewhere warm and dry.
Maybe Sango and Miroku had found her.
He leapt off, running through knee deep water, a sharp snap of reiki blipped across his senses, and he nearly tumbled face first into the water to try and search it out.
He knew that reiki from anywhere.
She was here.
He was close!
"Kagome!" He shouted, straining to hear a response. All that answered was rain and wind.
He ran a distance further, trying to spot the wayward miko, as a loud roar echoed far off.
He growled.
Odds were Kagome was wherever danger was.
When he landed in the bear's midst, the first thing he noted was that there was no clear sign of Kagome.
"Hey, fucker!" He shouted, and the bear roared his response. "Where's Kagome?" He snarled back, brandishing his claws. He wasn't about to draw Tetsusaiga, not when he didn't know her exact location. It was too risky. His claws and fangs were warning enough.
One that went unheeded.
The bear began to turn, and Inuyasha was ready, prepared, and eager to fight. He'd wanted one for a while, and this little asswipe was the perfect fodder for his anger and irritation. He cracked his knuckles, before launching himself at the bear. He landed a punch that made it twist, but it recovered quickly. Too quickly in his opinion. But that didn't stop him from using his own youki to rip into the bastard, sending the bear sprawling into the water. Taking a moment, he looked up for any sign of his missing miko, but again the wind and rain hid everything.
"Kagome!" He shouted, ears and eyes swiveling around to try and find the poor girl. He didn't see anything or anyone. "Alright, you fucking piece of shit, where is she?" He landed a punch directly to its spine. "I know that she's here! I felt her! Now," he dug his claws into the soft flesh of the bear's neck, digging them in as the creature roared and thrashed, "where the fuck is she?"
Thunder and lightning flashed and rolled before he had a chance to move, momentarily distracting him, and the bear tossed him off easily.
Landing with a splash, he snarled before launching himself back at the bear. He had purpose; he was a hanyou on a mission, and if this prick knew where she was, or if he'd done something to her, then he wasn't going to walk away from here.
Inuyasha landed blow after blow against the creature, feeling it thrash and writhe as it tried to pry him off, but it couldn't reach him.
"Where is she?" He asked again, but the bear only twisted its head, snapping its jaws menacingly enough before Inuyasha gave up and slashed the major arteries in its neck, letting it fall forward and slump into the water.
He leapt off, darting around the clearing, looking for her. She had to be nearby; he felt her. He felt her reiki; she had to be in trouble. Her reiki didn't just flare like that for no reason.
"Kagome!" He called out as he ran past the trees, looking for any sign of her.
But she wasn't anywhere.
Damn.
Again, it was like she disappeared back into thin air. But she had to be here! So where—
He turned back from where he'd come, leaping off towards the fallen bear youkai.
There was only one place that he hadn't looked.
One place he hadn't even considered.
Flinging the carcass to the side, he gaped for a moment at the still figure of a girl face down in the water. He panicked for a moment, before his body leapt into motion without thought. He grabbed her body, dragging her up and out of the water, and onto ground.
She'd been under water for so long. How had he missed her? Why didn't he look? The bear had been so obviously focused on something, and he'd been too angry and frustrated to notice. He didn't bother to drag her further out of the water than necessary.
"Kagome?" He asked as the rain fell over them both.
Kneeling down, he listened over the sound of the wind and rain, fingers hovering over her mouth, begging to feel the soft exhale of her breath.
There was nothing. It was still, and her chest didn't move at all.
"Kagome, you need to breathe," he told her, shifting to shake her a bit. Her head flopped slightly, and he shook her harder. "Breathe, Kagome!"
But the girl remained still and not breathing.
Time was running out.
It had been so long already.
He could still hear her heart, that meant there was still time. He just had to get her to breathe.
Flipping her over, he scooped her up, one arm supporting her chest, as he landed a few firm blows between her shoulder blades.
"Kagome! You stupid bitch! Fucking breathe! It's not that fucking hard!"
She hung limply over his arm, still and quieter than before. He put her back on the ground, rolling her onto her back. Maybe he could push the water out of her lungs?
He gave her a couple lurching blows into her ribs, trying to compress her lungs to force the water out. She just had to breathe.
Problem was that she wasn't, and her heartbeat was already fading.
The death of one girl is hardly worth noting.
I have done so much worse—but I will do better now. For you, Bellflower, because you ask.
What will you have me do? What will earn your trust?
"Fuck! Fucking hell, bitch! I swear, if you fucking die on me, I will fucking steal the fucking Tensaiga from my fucking fuck of a brother and resurrect you so I can murder you myself!"
He gave a sharp jab to her ribs, trying to help her, encourage her to spit the water out of her lungs and back onto the ground where it fucking should be. He planted his hands on either side of her, fingers sinking into the soft earth. His arms were trembling.
"Would you just fucking breathe already!?" He snarled.
It was the fire in the shrine all over again. She was dying, actively dying right in front of him. Again.
And he couldn't do anything about it. Again.
Leaning over her still form, he slid his arms under her back, pressing his forehead against her sternum. The water leaked into his sleeves as he let out a keening whine.
He'd failed her again. Failed her miserably and completely.
Her chest spasmed, jerking slightly underneath his touch.
Lifting his head, he watched her face turn into a grimace.
"Kagome?" Her face slacked, and in his panic, he grabbed her shoulders, shaking her into spitting the water up, and he saw the faintest movement of her mouth.
Many things happened at once.
"Kagome!"
Water and maybe something else, erupted out of her mouth, volcanoing enough that it splashed against her cheeks and chin. Each breath tried to drag more of the water back in, and he rolled her onto her side, letting her spit up the water, ejecting it out of her lungs.
She took a rough, shuddering breath, the first she'd made in a long time.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, rolling her onto her back as she continued to sputter and cough. She cracked her eyes open, her gaze roving over him. "Oh thank fuck," he muttered.
"Inu—" a harsh rasping cough interrupted her speech. "How?"
He couldn't help himself. He—he needed to feel her, and he dragged her up against his chest. She was solid, yielding to the touch of his fingers, as she continued to cough weakly.
Her hands limply clutched onto his fire rat as he shifted his grip, one hand sliding up to hold the back of her head. She was cool to the touch; something he was eager to remedy, but he wanted—needed—a moment with her.
"You can't fucking do that," he muttered, and she sagged limply against him.
"Sorry," she mumbled. "Didn't mean to." She shifted slightly, turning her head towards him, but letting it rest on his shoulder. "You left me. Where did you go?"
He jolted at the admission; he had left her behind, hadn't he?
"Your grandfather was hurt. I went to help is all."
"Grandfather was hurt? When?" She started to push away, and he held her tightly against him.
"Old man's fine. Don't worry about him. I need to get you somewhere dry." He shifted his hold on her slightly to help her stand. "Think you can ride on my back or do I need to carry you?"
The wind shifted, and she shivered.
"Hold on," he said, making sure she was stable sitting up, and then stripped off his haori. "It's soaked, but it'll help cut the wind some. Inside should still be a little warm though." He quickly draped it over her shoulders, and she slowly slid her arms through the sleeves, staring at the red fabric.
For a moment, he grew concerned that something might have addled her brain while she was underwater.
"Kagome?" He asked, dipping his head lower to peer into her face as she stared at the sleeves of his robe and her own hands.
"Where are they?" Her gaze came up to meet his.
"Where's who?"
"The man and the woman," she said, and he leaned back to look at her, his dark brows furrowed and he scowled at her question.
"Who are you talking about?"
"You—there was a hut, and the woman—" She shook her head slightly as if she was trying to figure out how to explain. One hand reached up to touch her throat, face grimacing as she obviously remembered something unpleasant.
"Kagome—" Her eyes snapped to him, wide and afraid, as she clutched her throat with both hands.
"There was a hut! She—the woman—she said they found me, and her husband—I was with you though—I remember you coming to find me. You killed the bear! You killed the bear! And then—" She stared at him, eyes darting in every direction, and she tried to piece together whatever she'd experienced, letting out a sputtering cough in the process. "Why did you leave me alone? She—the man—they—I don't understand. It felt like—like—!"
Inuyasha reached out and dragged her back against him, and she went willingly.
"This is real? Right? This is real?" Her hands shook, trembling in the rain. "There was so much blood."
"If this isn't real, you've got some real shit dreams, Kagome," he said, and she let out a sobbing laugh as she clutched the fabric of his kosode at his shoulder blades.
"Tell me about it."
Another blast of lightning hit not too far off, and he glanced up at the sky.
"That's our cue to get the fuck out of here," he said. "Now, do I need to carry you or can you ride on my back?"
"I don't know," she mumbled, lurching to the side slightly as she tried to pull away from him. That pretty much gave him his answer.
"Yeah, you're gonna fall off, aren't you?" He mumbled as he slid his arms under her knees and another around her back, starting to lift her up off the muddy ground.
She hissed and whimpered, shoving his hand away.
"What the fuck?" He asked, recoiling away from her, shifting quickly to hike his haori and her shirt up to take a look at her back. She squirmed, trying to get away from him, but he'd already seen the yellow and purple bruise across her entire back. "The fuck! How are you even upright?" It looked painful enough, and he pulled the cloth back across his skin to hide it from view.
Okay, this was going to cause some problems. He couldn't carry her the normal way, and she wouldn't make it riding on his back as she was. And he wasn't going to let her sleep it off out here.
"You hurt anywhere else I need to know about?"
"Nothing bad," she mumbled, flinching when thunder rolled loudly overhead.
"Where else, Kagome?" He asked.
"My foot," she said, shifting her leg slightly. He moved, grabbing her ankle and lifting it up to see a neat round hole puncturing the ball of her foot. Well, now she sure as fuck wasn't walking anywhere. "And here," she said, raising the sleeve of his haori enough that he could see the bright red skin surrounding the mark on her arm.
"Shit, Kagome. That already looks infected." He sniffed at her arm, but he couldn't smell anything in all this rain. He growled, and she pulled her arm away, letting all the fabric fall back over it. "Okay, we're heading back to Kaede's. That shit needs to be looked at now."
He just needed to figure out how to carry her back. The logistics weren't great. Another flash of lightning and roll of thunder just made him say fuck it and grab her.
"Put your arms around my neck," he ordered, and wrapped an arm around her thighs as he hoisted her up with his other arm around her hips. He shifted her for a moment, before turning and heading back towards Kaede's village. She whimpered as he hit some rough steps, sliding slightly in the water and mud, even though he never fell.
Kagome dozed off only to jerk awake.
"You can sleep," he told her.
She hummed, tightening her hold slightly.
"No more dreams," she mumbled.
The rain continued to fall around them with thunder and lightning echoing around him, lighting up the dark skies.
I would rain death and destruction down upon any of those you name.
She is only a plaything. A toy I have not grown bored with yet.
Destroy her.
As you wish, my love.
Kagome let out a low groan as she came around to consciousness. Everything hurt, and her head was pounding behind her closed eyes. She didn't even want to attempt sunlight or candlelight at this rate.
No, consciousness was not for her.
"Kagome?"
That sounded an awful lot like someone who wasn't Inuyasha, but she couldn't quite place the voice initially.
Ugh. She'd risk it. Just to be sure.
Cracking her eyes open, they watered at the strain of trying to make out shapes in the dimmed room.
"How do you feel?" She asked. A woman's face moved in front of her field of vision, and Kagome had to squint to make out her features.
But her efforts to speak fell short as she broke into a fit of coughing, making the burning in her throat worsen with each rasping cough.
"Well that answers that, doesn't it?"
The face disappeared, and Kagome blinked a few times, seeing the thatched roof come into focus. It was old, dilapidated, falling apart at the seams, but it was keeping them dry for the most part.
"Where?" Kagome rasped out.
"I don't know, Kagome. You tell me."
She recognized that voice, and it sent her scrabbling backwards into the nearest wall and into another coughing fit.
"Kagome, you should rest."
"How?"
"How what? How did we get here?" Kagome blinked several times to try and clear her vision. "How did you wind up here?" Kagome winced as she shifted away from Hina, who sat near the door. "What do you want to know, Kagome?"
"Why are you here?" Kagome asked, staring at the face of her once-upon-a-time best friend. Hina stared out the door for a moment, before letting out a slow sigh.
"I came here to help you, believe it or not."
Kagome let out a scoff, and narrowed her eyes at the girl as she shifted to get into a better position.
"I did, honest."
"How, pray tell," she let out a hacking cough, "was anything you've done helpful?"
"I was trying to make you realize it on your own." Hina pouted at her, irritated. "You used to be smarter than this. You've gotten dumb in your old age, Kagome."
"Realize what?" Kagome asked, hands fisting, preparing to fight off whatever came towards her.
Hina smiled at her.
"That you're dead."
A/N: When I realized that I would be nearing Halloween with this thing, I really wanted to make a post on Halloween, because this story is pretty much Halloween the entire time. So you guys should all be impressed that I managed to somehow get a 10K word chapter out in a couple weeks along with everything else that's happened in the past few weeks.
Thank you guys for your support and well wishes! My dog is doing really great, actually probably a little too good because she keeps trying to rip her own stitches out doing things that she's not supposed to, but c'est la vie, right?