Chapter 15
"Well, That Didn't Work"
"Seriously, Inuyasha, the blanket is completely unnecessary! It's not even that cold outside!"
"Drop it, Kagome," he grumbled, as Sango walked beside him.
"I would! But you won't let me!" She didn't understand the premise behind the mandated blanket. It wasn't like she'd been cold or had even mentioned it, but he was insisting on the blanket.
"Stop trying to wriggle out of it!" He growled at her, and she huffed but settled down. He wasn't looking at her. "That's an old yukata," he stated plainly, like a simple fact, and it explained everything.
But she still didn't understand.
Her face must've betrayed that, because he glanced down at her, looked away, making a face that clearly showed his displeasure in an almost silent snarl, before a blush broke out across his nose.
"It's old, Kagome," he emphasized. Right, it was old. She blinked up at him. "The material is thinner than it used to be," he blurted out, still not making eye contact.
Oh.
She squeaked, before drawing the blanket up over her shoulders again.
"Is it bad?" She asked.
"I doubt Inuyasha would let you out if he thought it was indecent," Sango answered, and Inuyasha shot her a quick glare.
"Keh, none of these perverts need to be looking," he grumbled, and she watched him for a moment as they started up the stairs to the shine. Letting her head fall onto his shoulder, she watched the villagers move about their daily lives, picking up the pieces from the storm that had blown through the small village.
Inuyasha shifted his grip so that her head rested higher, more on his collarbone than his shoulder. It was barely even a movement that would be considered jostling her, but it was enough to draw her closer. She took a deep breath through her nose and let it out slowly.
While she had every reason to be afraid, because—it was honestly easier just to call it Hina at this point—Hina—who wasn't actually Hina—seemed to be able to mask itself from everyone looking for it.
Sango walked beside them silently, and Kagome reached up to fist her hand in the folds of his haori to help ground herself. He glanced down at her, but she refused to be forced into giving up her comfort when she seemed to have so few.
He said nothing, and continued to climb. They were halfway at this point, and halfway to seeing Kaede. Forsaking the blanket, she shifted quickly to wrap her arms around his neck.
"Kagome?" He asked as she buried her face into his neck, and he resettled his hand on her lower back to help support her.
"Are you okay?" Sango asked beside her. "I can take the stitches out, if it's too much for you."
"Fine," she squeaked out. She wasn't fine. She was way far away from fine. If fine was even an option for her anymore. "I'm fine."
Inuyasha snorted at that.
She knew that Inuyasha would try to keep her safe, but there were no guarantees. Not against an enemy that they couldn't see, couldn't track.
Voices drifted down from the shrine, and she picked up Miroku's familiar tone as he spoke to someone else, presumably Kaede.
"What the fuck happened here?" Inuyasha shouted, and Kagome raised her head to survey the damage, except there was none. Miroku and Kaede stood beside Kikyo's gravestone and—oh.
It had been broken in half, and there were deep scourges in the earth in front of it.
"Inuyasha," Miroku started, glancing at Kaede before starting towards them. "It would appear as though Lady Kikyo's marker took some damage from the storm." Kagome watched Miroku casually glance in her direction before looking back at him. "We were just discussing the best way to repair it."
The really great part about traveling with someone for months is that you know that person inside and out. All their little quirks and weird mannerisms, there's nothing to hide anymore, and Miroku was hiding something.
Inuyasha growled lowly as he stared at the marker.
Of course—right—she shouldn't be selfish, even though she wanted to be.
She wanted to be selfish and demand that he keep her safe, but he needed this too.
He loved Kikyo—still loved Kikyo, and she respected that. If there was one thing that Inuyasha was, it was loyal and steadfast to a fault.
And Kagome loved him for it, but despite how much she loved him, he loved Kikyo more, and he needed this.
She took a slow breath to calm herself.
She was awake.
This was real.
"You can put me down if you want," she said, swallowing down the words she wanted to say instead. "It's okay."
It wasn't okay. But she was awake, and this was real.
"You're not supposed to be on that foot."
"I can lean on Sango," she countered. "You should go look at it."
"Is there something wrong?" Miroku asked, stepping closer to them. "How are you feeling, Kagome?"
"Okay," she said, giving him a half-smile that barely quirked the corners of her mouth.
"Perhaps I could take you inside, and help you find somewhere more comfortable," Miroku offered, motioning to the shrine's storage room. "Kaede and I were about to go inside ourselves. I thought that Inuyasha might wish to discuss repairs instead."
Kagome felt the tiniest twitch of his fingers against her.
He did. He did want to go, but she was holding him back.
"It's okay—if you want to go." She looked up at him, and she could see the muscle in his jaw jumping. He was fighting himself, and he shouldn't be. She shouldn't be so greedy when it came to him; she shouldn't depend on him so much, should she? "Sango and Miroku can—they can take me inside, right?" She looked to Sango, who nodded, even though she gave her a strange look.
Inuyasha's hands tightened their grip, but he never looked away from Kikyo's grave.
She hoped, really, really hoped that he wouldn't, that he would stay, but she knew deep down that he would let her go.
And she had no reason to be upset about any of that.
Kagome pulled her hand away, trembling, from where it gripped his haori. She took a slow breath through her nose to calm her heart rate.
"If you would like to talk to Kaede about the marker, I will take Kagome inside," Miroku offered. Kagome glanced at him, before turning back to Inuyasha. His jaw muscle was flexing wildly.
"It's okay, Inuyasha. I'll—" she swallowed. "I'll be inside."
She pulled her hand away, reaching slowly out towards Sango. Her arm extended as an invitation for her to help her stand, so she wouldn't be on her bad foot. Sango slipped her arm around her neck, slowly pulling Kagome out of his grip. His face suddenly snapped towards her, lingering for just a moment, before he looked over at Sango and then Miroku.
"I'll just be a minute," he said, and he stepped closer to Miroku, bodily shifting her over to him. "Don't let her walk on that foot."
Miroku took her as gently as he could, blanket and all, and held her close.
"We'll be inside. Take your time."
His eyes snapped towards the marker, and Kagome looked away as Miroku turned towards the shrine. Her hands pulled the blanket closed as Sango moved ahead to open the door, jogging up the steps to slide the door open.
"Was there any other damage?" She found herself asking.
"Fortunately, no. Lady Kikyo's grave seems to be the only thing disturbed."
Kagome made a noise of assent, and she picked at the seams along the hem of the blanket.
Miroku stepped up into the shrine, as Sango was lighting a candle. There was a low table against the wall, shoved into the corner and had a few boxes piled on top of it.
"I believe there are some cushions in the other room," Miroku told Sango.
"Just set me there," Kagome said, pointing to the table. "It's okay, really."
"And let our friend have my head for leaving you unguarded," he made a scoffing sound, emphasized to sound like a familiar hanyou.
"It's okay," she stated, a weak smile breaking out across her face, "he's not thinking much about me at the moment anyway."
He probably forgot that she existed entirely.
He always did when it came to Kikyo after all.
"Found them!" Sango said, returning into the room with two cushions.
"Perfect timing, Sango," Miroku cheered as Sango settled the cushions against the wall, allowing Kagome to use it as a support.
Miroku lowered to his knee, letting Sango help settle her onto the cushion as he finished lowering her onto the cushion. It was not as smooth as a transition as Inuyasha.
Once she was sitting, leaning back against the wall, Miroku leaned back slightly to look outside.
"I'm sure that Sango won't mind keeping you company?" Miroku asked, glancing over at her.
"Never," Sango said with a grin as she made sure the blanket was wrapped around Kagome tightly, before sitting sideways on her own cushion. Sango grabbed her hand, forcing her head up to look at her.
"You okay?" Sango asked, eyes darting outside for a moment.
"Yep!" She said with too much fake cheeriness. Sango winced, squeezing Kagome's fingers.
"No one would blame you if you weren't, you know," she said, lowering her voice. Kagome stared at the open door, wishing that it was closed.
"It's fine," she said, knowing full well that he could hear them if he wanted. "It would be strange if he didn't—" she swallowed thickly, "it actually makes me feel a little better. It means this is real."
Sango rubbed her other hand along the back of the hand she already held, and Kagome shifted her gaze to the floor.
Something banged to the floor in the other room, and a muttered curse came from Miroku.
"Everything okay?" Sango called.
"Fine! Fine, uh," there was a brief shuffling sound, "there was, uh, I mean, uh," he grunted slightly, "I've got it. Don't worry."
"Well, I wasn't worried until you said that," Sango retorted, glaring at the doorway.
Miroku's face reappeared with a black smear across his cheek.
"It's fine," he said quickly. He glanced over his shoulder. "Just shout if anyone comes in."
"Miroku," Sango growled.
"It's fine. I'm handling it!"
Sango huffed beside her, starting to rise, but Kagome gripped her hand fiercely. She couldn't be left alone. Contact was the only thing reassuring her that this was real. She hadn't broken contact with anyone, and this was her only confidence that what she was witnessing was reality.
"Don't go," she whispered, clutching her hand. Sango relented, relaxing back against the wall.
"Sorry," she whispered, patting the back of her hand lightly. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."
Miroku made a noise on the other side of the wall, and then reappeared in the doorway.
"Everything okay in here?" He asked.
"Everything okay in there?" Sango asked, and he glanced over his shoulder.
Sango raised an eyebrow at him, and he rubbed the back of his head.
"Nothing I couldn't handle—or fix."
Sango glared, and Miroku swallowed nervously.
"Well, I'm going to keep researching. Call if you need me!"
He darted back around the door, disappearing from view.
Sango huffed again, clearly irritated with Miroku.
"Where's Shippo and Kirara?" Kagome asked suddenly, leaning away from the wall. They'd been in the hut earlier, but she hadn't seen them this morning.
"We sent them out to help with moving some of the stuff with the village. Shippo thought going out with Kirara and supervise repairs was a good idea."
"Is he afraid of me?" Kagome whispered to her. "Because I almost purified Inuyasha?"
"He's worried about you. He's not afraid of you though. No one is afraid of you, Kagome."
Kagome hummed her answer, and she looked down at her bandaged foot, wiggling her toes slightly. Her entire body was sore, and she was so tired.
"Are you tired? Do you want to lay down for a little bit?"
Kagome leaned her head forward, shaking it.
"No sleep. I can't risk it."
"You have to sleep eventually. It's not healthy to be awake for so long."
"But not right now," she countered.
Sango frowned at that, but she didn't press the matter further.
Inuyasha was taking a long time, and that made her worry a bit. Had something happened to them? She stared at the doorway leading to the outside, but she didn't hear anything out of sorts outside.
"Kagome?" Sango asked. "Do you want me to get Inuyasha?"
"No!" She hissed. "No, it's fine. I'm fine."
"I'm sure he won't mind."
"No, he's got," she winced, "he's busy."
Sango crinkled her nose at that, but didn't press the matter further.
Inuyasha watched Miroku carry Kagome inside before walking over to Kikyo's grave.
Why couldn't her grave be left alone? Why did every bastard and their brother feel the need to desecrate it?
Kaede was staring at her sister's marker, and he exhaled through his nose, arms sliding into his sleeves.
"How is Kagome?" Kaede asked, not bothering to look away from the marker and the disturbed earth.
"I don't even fucking know," he answered. "She's barely slept, and she puked everything up this morning."
"Not surprising considering the events of last night," Kaede answered. "Did she share anything else?"
"Yeah," he answered, unsure if he should tell her everything. "But this first."
Kaede sighed.
"It would appear another seeks to disturb my sister's rest."
"Yeah, this wasn't done by wind. Any ideas?"
"No," she answered. "But whomever it was, they were strong enough to cut through the stone. Do ye smell anything?"
He knelt down where the claw marks in the ground were, sniffing each one, searching for any clues, but there was nothing.
"There's no scent to follow."
"Could it have been washed away by the rains?"
"Maybe, but there's literally no scent trail. There should still be something." He looked up at the marker. "And these marks look like they're done by a completely different creature."
"Do ye think there was two?"
He looked at the ground around the grave, but there were no footprints other than their own.
"It doesn't even look like there was anyone here other than us." He frowned. "Asshole that did this somehow covered their tracks."
Kaede hummed; her one good eye narrowing slightly.
Kikyo's remains weren't even there anymore; it wasn't like there was anything left to steal, not like there had been with the witch Urasue.
Kikyo was already resurrected, so what was the purpose? He knelt in front of the broken stone, which appeared to have been cleaved in half.
The cut looked even enough. He might be able to set it upright so it at least looked halfway normal. Respectful.
He had loved Kikyo. Loved her as much as he was capable of loving anyone at the time. And he was well aware that the version of Kikyo up and about currently was not the same person; she was a shadow, a partial copy of the woman she once was marred by dirt, and time, and hate.
He had loved her, and a part of him always would love her in some way, but now,—now, he mostly just felt pity and responsibility.
Miroku had told him once that his sense of duty was going to get him killed, and maybe that was true, but the other truth was that it had gotten him out of a lot of jams, especially where Kagome was involved.
He picked up the fallen chunk of stone, carefully setting it on top of the piece still sunk into the soft earth.
"Until we can get it mended," he explained.
"My sister would be thankful," she added. He made sure the structure would remain standing before he let go and stepped back. "Inuyasha—wait!"
His muscles froze him into position, and he watched her eyes narrow as she stared at the side of the grave marker.
"What is it?"
"Come here and look for ye self."
He let go, waiting for a moment to make sure that the stone remained standing and moved to Kaede's side.
There, in a sprawling, ragged carving, were two things.
The first a rugged carving of a flower at the top of the stone.
The second, and perhaps most disturbing, were to words carved down the side in the same manner.
Kikyo walks.
"What the fuck does that mean?"
"Ye took the words right out of my mouth," Kaede murmured, staring at the message. "It would appear someone knows my sister has been resurrected."
"So why fuck up her grave?"
"Excellent question." Kaede stared for a moment longer. "It almost seems as if they are angry."
"What? Like the message is a warning? I already fucking know that she's not here. We've fucking met in case you haven't noticed."
It was his fault that she was brought back anyway. The fact that he'd almost cost Kagome her life in the process still made his stomach sink and roll nervously. He hadn't even known then how much he—he—well, he hadn't realized how dissimilar the two were until that moment.
Kagome had forgiven him fully and completely for it, and that perhaps was the most telling difference between the two.
Though he'd never really talked to Kikyo about it, so he really didn't know how she felt about the whole being resurrected thing.
Judging from her actions though, he'd wager that she wasn't exactly thrilled.
"So ye think that they are angry about the grave existing? Interesting."
Not fucking really.
This didn't make any fucking sense, and the more he thought about it the less sense it made.
"Who gets fucking pissed at a grave?"
Well, he did. But in all fairness, he had issues when it came to his father. Not the same thing.
"A good question, Inuyasha. Who indeed?"
"Fucking repeating my question isn't helping, hag." He crossed his arms, his claws pressing into his skin slightly. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to distract him.
He sighed, irritated by everything. How had things gotten so fucking complicated so quickly?
He exhaled quickly, the air coming out in almost a snort.
"Kagome wants her stitches out." The words came out in a rush, and he could've smacked himself for it.
"And ye or Sango could not have done it?"
"I asked, but she said she wanted to apologize to you. For earlier. Sango brought your basket."
"There is nothing to apologize for."
"Keh, I told her that, but you know Kagome," he let the sentence drift off.
"Aye, I do. I will speak with her, but know Inuyasha that I hold no grudges against her. She is obviously troubled by current events."
He grunted his agreement, turning towards the shrine as Kaede walked beside him.
Kaede walked in first, and he noted that Kagome's head snapped towards her, eyes widening, before she appeared to be consciously trying to calm herself.
Wiping his feet, he stepped inside, walking past the others to sit on Kagome's empty side.
He flopped down next to her, and she quickly wrapped her arm around his, and he almost called her out on it, except that he could feel her hands trembling as they clutched his arm.
"You good?" He asked, and she nodded, leaning to bury her face into his shoulder. His eyes flicked up to meet Sango's, who gave Kagome a sad look. Clearly, this was not the direction that she'd hoped things would go. "You still want Kaede to take the stitches out?"
She jerked, hesitating, but nodded again.
She was taking deep, ragged breaths, but she seemed calm enough.
Kaede sat in front of her, carefully rummaging through her basket.
"Are ye sure, Kagome? I would not wish to bother ye further."
"It's fine," she squeaked, drawing his attention back to her. "I'm okay."
Inuyasha looked up at Kaede, who met his gaze with a questioning one of her own.
"May I have the arm, child?" Kaede asked, and Miroku had appeared to stand in the doorway of the other room.
Kagome took several deep breaths, face still buried in his shoulder, before slowly unwrapping her arm, holding it out to Kaede as it shook violently in the air. Kaede took it carefully, holding it so that the light shined on the stitches, before taking her thin blade and pressing the dull side against her skin.
Kagome whimpered and jerked slightly, but enough that Kaede pulled the blade away, looking to Inuyasha.
"I'm sorry," she cried. "I know it wasn't—I'm sorry!"
"It doesn't have to be me that does it, child."
"No, I'm just being stupid!" But her subsequent sobbing against his shoulder defeated her words, making his ears flatten against his head. "I shouldn't be afraid of any of you. It was just some dumb ghost!"
He looked up to Sango, whose gaze shifted to Miroku, and he followed suit, before they all turned to look back at the girl crying on his shoulder.
"Kagome," Kaede started. "Ye are not stupid. Ye have had a traumatic experience, to say the least. It is okay to need time to process—"
"No, I shouldn't need time!"
"Kagome," he started, and she shifted slightly. "What do you need?"
She tensed slightly, and her fingers tightened around his arm.
"Hold—?" Her voice broke, quiet and just barely audible above her own breathing.
It took him a moment to realize what she wanted, and he fought back the blush that tried to appear on his face. It was a simple request, and one that didn't bother him at all.
Or at least it wouldn't if there weren't so many eyes watching him.
Kagome started to pull away from him, and he realized that he hadn't answered her.
"Idiot," he grumbled, dragging her into his lap. She squeaked and sniffled before curling up against him. "Why didn't you just say so in the first place?"
She sniffled again, and he gently took her stitched arm by the wrist, loosely holding it before he stretched it out towards Kaede.
"Is this okay?" Kaede asked, and Kagome nodded, still halfway buried in his shoulder and arm.
At least this way, he was able to control the trembling of her arm as Kaede sliced through one of the stitches. She was crying again but didn't move as Kaede worked.
Thankfully, there weren't many, and Kaede worked quickly enough to slice through them before Inuyasha pulled Kagome's arm back towards him, plucking the strings out with his claws as Kaede put the knife back into her bag.
When he was done, Kagome wrapped her arm back around his, holding him close. Both Miroku and Sango exchanged a worried glance at the girl, before Miroku moved back into the storage room.
"Are you going to be okay, Kagome?" Sango asked, and Kagome nodded against his shoulder, face still hidden.
"Miroku and I will keep searching for an answer," Kaede said as she turned to enter the same room.
"I'll help," Sango offered. "You'll stay with her?" She asked, glancing down at Kagome. He gave her a short nod, and that seemed to appease her as she stood and disappeared around the corner.
He was actually surprised that no one had said a word about his current position with Kagome in his lap, but he also supposed that Kagome was the reason for that. The girl was currently semi-calm, and he didn't want to disturb her any more than what was necessary either.
"How's the arm?" He asked.
"Fine." Her answer was so short that he could almost have taken it as an insult, but opted not to. It was nothing for her to be a little snippy with him at times, but he distinctly felt that this was not one of those times.
"You can't be comfortable like that," he stated, looking at her as she was seated partially in his lap, partially on his thigh, curled up around his arm, and clinging to it like it was the only thing saving her. Using his free arm, he easily dragged her fully back into his lap, and pulling her one hand away from him, and shifting it to his haori front, so that she could fist her hand into it like before. It had seemed to help her some. Besides it wasn't like he minded that her knuckles dragged against his flesh every so often when he breathed just right or something. Not that he was actively trying to do that now, but if he happened to do it—well, who was he to judge?
Kagome went completely rigid at the shift, and he sighed.
"Relax, would ya?" He murmured quietly, and the tension slowly seeped out of her frame, and she let herself lean against him more and more, her head eventually resting against his chest. He'd wrapped his arms around her, now that one was being clung to like she was a frightened kitten.
Her feet rested on the cushion, and she had her head ducked in underneath his chin.
Scrolls were rolled open, and he listened as they murmured among themselves, making notes and discussing what they'd read or found. None of them sounded like good news. None of them sounded like good options either.
This is what he got for leaving her alone; he should've known better. Kagome found trouble faster than anyone he'd ever known. Kikyo, when she had the completed jewel, didn't attract this much trouble.
Her head slowly dipped down, and he looked down at the top of her hair as she slowly fell asleep, only to jerk awake, hand white-knuckling his coat.
"It's okay," he murmured, and her head snapped towards him, eyes wide and afraid. "You're okay."
She stared at him, blinking once, before looking to the door, and then at the storage room.
"Sango?" She whispered.
"In there," Inuyasha nodded towards the storage room, and she stared at it. "You can hear them talking?"
She gave him a small nod before she sighed and her shoulders sagged.
"Take a nap, Kagome."
"No sleeping. Not until this is done."
"You can't stay awake forever."
"That's what Sango said."
Her eyes narrowed as if daring him to try and make her sleep.
"Do you think that I'd let anything happen to you?"
That made her soften the glare into an almost grimace. But it was also a legitimate question.
"But you haven't sensed anything before—"
"So?"
She huffed, slumping sideways into him, knocking her head against his sternum before she turned her face partially into his chest.
"You don't know what it's like—I—I can't—I can't go through it again." Her voice was low and muffled, but he heard her loud and clear. "I don't know if I'll make it back out." Both of her hands held onto his fire rat.
"I'm here," he stated simply. "I'll wake you if you get restless," he promised, and he felt like he was talking to Shippo in some ways.
"I don't want to hurt you," she said, flinching at the memory of it.
"You can't hurt me," he scoffed.
"I burned you." Her finger scratched lightly at his kosode, and he let out a slow breath.
"That wasn't a big deal. I've been through worse."
"But—"
"Stop it," he groaned. She fell quiet, only turning herself slightly more to bury her face completely into his chest. The talking in the other room paused for a moment, and he glared at the wall, daring them to comment on it.
As if feeling the weight of his glare, they continued talking to each other.
She reached up, dragging the blanket back over her exposed shoulder.
"You won't leave?"
His hand slid up her back, holding the blanket and her in place against him. He reached over with the other to fix the blanket back over her feet before returning the arm back around her waist and hips.
"I'm comfortable," he mumbled. "You?"
She nodded slowly.
"Then why would I get up?"
He leaned his head back against the wall and felt her hands hold onto his haori as she tried valiantly to not fall asleep.
She fought it for a long time, each moment her fingers slackened their grip, and then she would jerk slightly, as if reminding herself she was supposed to be awake.
But the times between became longer and longer, until her hand rested against him instead of gripping the cloth, her body slumped against him completely boneless.
Fucking.
Finally.
"Inuyasha, we—" The monk stopped his yelling at the sharp and short growl that came from Inuyasha. He came through the doorway, stopping mid-stride as he looked at Kagome. "Is she asleep?" He whispered.
"Yeah, you fucking dumbass," the hanyou hissed.
If they woke her, he swore that he would punch Miroku in the face for each of them.
But as Inuyasha tucked her closer, he noted that Miroku sighed in relief, a small smile playing across his face.
"I'll make sure we stay quiet," he said, ducking back inside the room, whispering, loudly too, that Kagome was finally sleeping and that they should be as quiet as possible.
Idiots.
Every single one of them.
Bellflower.
Kagome jolted, hands immediately scrabbling for something to hold and squinting at the invasion of daylight.
She'd fallen asleep!
Was this real?
Was she really awake?
She couldn't push herself away; she was trapped, struggling against everything.
"It's okay, Kagome," Inuyasha's voice broke through the fear. "It's just me."
Her hands clutched at his fire rat, trying to catch her breath. His arms had her pinned against him, and the air thinned as she tried to rationalize everything.
"Kagome, breathe," he held her tighter, and she managed a few gulping breaths before her lungs stopped burning.
Curling into him, her fingers curled tightly into his haori as she buried her face into his neck, breathing in deeply.
"You okay?" He mumbled out the question into her hair. She slid her arm up around the other side of his neck to hold herself steady.
"This is real?" She mumbled, leaning away a little as he shivered against her.
"Yeah, you're fine, Kagome," he whispered in her ear, his hand shifting to her upper back. "How do you feel?"
"I—I don't know." She was tired and hungry, and her brain wasn't quite working completely up to speed. "Sango?" She asked, leaning up slightly to look around.
They weren't in the hut, so—oh right, the shrine. They'd gone to the shrine to talk to Kaede and do research.
"I'm right here," Sango said, walking out of the other room. "I heard you talking," she said, squatting down in front of them. "You okay?"
No. She wasn't fine.
"Obviously, she ain't. Have you lot found anything useful yet?"
"We've been looking, but it's looking more and more like an Amanojaku is the culprit. Kaede is checking to make sure that we have everything for an exorcism."
"I thought exorcisms were exorcisms," Inuyasha commented as Kagome slumped back against him.
"Amanojaku need something different apparently," she said with a shrug. Kagome felt his thumb lightly rub in a pattern along her hip; it was soothing.
"Of course they do," he growled. "And they're sure this is it?"
Sango glanced over her shoulder at the room.
"It seems like the most likely option."
He growled, arm shifting to wrap higher on her waist.
"How much longer until we get rid of this fucker?"
Sango shrugged again.
"Another hour or so? Kaede and Miroku are looking over the procedure." Sango looked over at Kagome. "Do you want anything to eat? I'm sure everyone could do with a short break for lunch soon."
She wasn't hungry at all. Well, that was a lie. She was hungry, but she didn't want to eat anything until the entire mess was over and done with.
"I'm not hungry," she told them, and Sango exchanged a look with Inuyasha over her head.
"I'll go down and start cooking. Come down in a bit?" She asked, and Inuyasha gave her a quick nod.
"I'll drag those two down with me," he said with a nod at the other room.
"Good." Sango stood, heading out the door and down the steps. Kagome held onto her handful of clothing, still not entirely sure that everything happening was real.
She couldn't do the torture again. She wouldn't make it out. She couldn't do it again.
"Inuyasha?"
He hummed a response, making his chest vibrate under her cheek and fingertips.
"What if they're wrong? What if this doesn't fix it?" She took a steadying breath. "I'm so tired, and I can't—I can't—"
"We'll figure it out. We always do."
She nodded, but a deep seated urging made her feel like this went a lot deeper than they thought, but she'd take whatever hope was currently being offered to her.
Inuyasha leapt up the last few steps, landing in the courtyard. It had been unceremoniously quiet all day. Nothing weird or out of the ordinary had occurred, which put everyone else at ease. Kagome, however, only felt like this was a build up to the exorcism itself. No way this thing went gently into that good night. Nothing was ever that easy.
She'd made it a point to stay in contact with Inuyasha all day, and he hadn't seemed to mind the sudden occupancy of his lap. Or at least he hadn't said anything about it.
The only thing he'd complained about was her lack of appetite after he'd shoved a bowl of plain rice at her, and she'd barely managed to eat half of it. It was all that she could manage before her stomach gave the warning blip that anything else might tip the scales not in her favor.
He carried her up to the shrine, where Miroku and Kaede had spent the rest of the day making preparations. Stepping inside, the center of the shrine had a handful of candles lighting up the space.
The exorcism had to be done at midnight in a shrine or "sacred space."
"You okay?" He asked, and she looked up at him, watching his eyes dart over her.
"I just want this to be over," she murmured. Sango stood at the doorway, watching and dressed in her slayer gear. She wasn't taking any chances either.
Kagome wasn't sure if that made her feel better or not.
It was quiet as they worked, and Inuyasha stepped into the small space.
They'd left Shippo and Kirara down at the hut out of fear that they'd risk harming them in the exorcism, and there was always the possibility of something going wrong. But it made her feel better to know that they were out of harm's way.
Inuyasha, however, insisted on coming along, and for that, Kagome was glad.
"We are almost ready," Kaede said, reading over a scroll with Miroku, who pointed out a few things.
"Put Kagome here," Miroku directed. "The time to start is soon."
There was a cushion placed in the center, and Inuyasha lowered her down onto it.
"You won't be able to stay for the process," Kaede told him, and Kagome panicked.
"What? No!" She reached her hands back to grab at him, to keep him close and near.
"Inuyasha is part demon, Kagome. We do not wish to purify him in case something should go wrong, and we have need of his skills."
"But—!"
"You're going to be fine. Nothing is going to happen." Inuyasha rested a hand on her shoulder, and she gripped his sleeve fearfully, afraid to pull away from him and risk it all.
She was awake. This was real.
She'd fallen asleep earlier, but nothing bad had happened, so it was real. She was awake.
Something shifted in her peripheral vision, and Kagome turned towards it, jolting at the sight of a small boy, crouched in the corner.
What was he doing here? Why wasn't he out in the village?
She almost called out to him, but then she looked up at Inuyasha from where he knelt down beside her. Sango leaned against the wall by the door, where the boy would've been in full view of her, but she'd said nothing.
No one else could see him or even sense him.
The boy was hunched over in the corner, face hidden, but at the sound of her shaky inhale, his head snapped up to look at her with strange glowing eyes that distinctly reminded her of the way a cat's glowed in the nighttime.
"Did someone die here?" Kagome asked, staring at the boy. "Like a little boy?"
Kagome's eyes quickly darted to Kaede as she tilted her head slightly as she tried to remember.
"There are rumors that a young boy was sacrificed to ensure the shrine's preservation against storms and natural disasters. My sister told me the story ages ago when I was but a little girl."
"W—what? Sacrificed?" Kagome swallowed the lump in her throat as her gaze wandered over the boy's form.
His clothes were dirty, and so was he, but he was covered in blood. Covered in it. Everything except his face.
He grinned, tipping his head back so she could see the slice made clear across his throat.
It was so deep. Deadly. She could make out the ligaments and the pieces of his windpipe within the musculature.
"Aye, it's called hitobashira. It's not a practice that I approve of, more superstition than anything else, but it was and is, unfortunately, not an uncommon practice either."
"And they call youkai demonic," Inuyasha scoffed. "You humans," he muttered.
"Why do ye ask, child?" Kaede asked, as she and Miroku sifted through the materials they'd prepared.
The boy still held eye contact with her and pointed to the ground where blood pooled and ran between the floorboards. She felt her hands trembling as she gripped the fabric of the yukata.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, shifting into her peripheral vision, but she couldn't look away from the dead young boy.
"Why do ye ask?" Kaede repeated, still searching through the scrolls they'd brought in.
"I thought that—weren't people usually buried alive for that?"
"Kagome," Inuyasha's voice was firm, commanding her attention. His hand wrapped around her arm, just above her elbow, but she couldn't look away. She wanted to, but something would happen if she did. She just knew it.
"Aye, but sometimes the sacrifice, like a child for instance, would be killed and buried to prevent the family from trying to save him. Some believed the blood would purify the land, ensuring its protection. It's nonsense, but at the time, it was a strong belief."
She wanted to cry, feeling the tears pricking at the backs and corners of her eyes. He was so young. Sota's age, maybe a little younger.
"Kagome," Miroku's voice was calm but insistent. The sound of scrolls shifting around on the table stopped completely. "Why are you asking about hitobashira?" He took a couple steps towards her. She reached her hand out blindly to grip Inuyasha's arm in return, ensuring that he was here with her. That she wasn't alone. That he wouldn't leave her behind when all this went to shit. "Kagome, what do you see?"
The little boy slowly opened up his mouth.
Dirt poured out onto the floor, and it didn't stop.
Her mouth felt dry, like it was dirt that was falling out of her mouth instead. She was pretty sure she was actively crying now.
"I'm pretty sure I'm staring at him," she whispered.
Before anyone could react, the boy had slithered in front of her, making her squeak and scramble backwards, only to crash into Inuyasha.
"What is it?" His knuckles cracked, and he swiped the air in front of her blindly. He struck the boy across the temple, making him jerk slightly, but little else. The boy's glare shifted away from Kagome, and he focused solely on Inuyasha.
"No!" Kagome shouted, lunging towards the boy as he moved, a large clawed hand pierced Inuyasha's throat as she shoved him away a moment too late. Blood sprayed across the floor and her face as Inuyasha fell back, hands at his throat as blood sifted through his fingers.
"Fuck," Inuyasha coughed, blood trickling down his chin. Kagome was already beside him, trying to see the damage that had been done. She didn't have anything to help, everything was in the hut, and she couldn't just leave them here. What was she supposed to do?
"Inuyasha!" Miroku shouted, his staff swinging through the air randomly as he guarded Kaede.
"Where is it?" Sango appeared at her side, sword drawn, eyes darting around as she looked for the intruder. "Kagome! Do you see it?"
Kagome looked away from Inuyasha, searching the shrine for any signs of the boy, but it was empty. No one else was there except for them.
"I—I don't see anything!" She shouted, scouring the space, but there was just no sign of it.
Look at you.
A loud thud came from behind her, but before she could make a sound, fingers closed around her throat and sent her flying across the shrine, slamming into the wall.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted.
Such a mess.
The young boy smiled, rows of sharp, needle like teeth shining back at her as his hand gripped her throat once again, dragging her up the wall.
"Kagome!" Sango shouted, spinning on her heel to look back around the shrine.
"Where did she go?" Miroku shouted.
"Inuyasha, can ye smell anything?"
"I can't smell anything over my fucking blood!" The front of his haori was covered in his blood, and the stain grew as more blood poured down his chest. He had one hand pressed to his throat and the other ready to strike.
You let that dog put his hands all over you. Disgusting.
"Let me go! Inuyasha!" She kicked her feet out, striking his side, but the creature wasn't phased by them at all.
"Miroku, finish the seals!" Kaede shouted, and Kagome watched him run for the doors. "We cannot let it leave!"
It's adorable to watch them. They think they have a chance.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, pushing himself off the floor.
"What do you want?" Kagome asked, and the face turned back towards her, eyes blacked out completely, as the claws on its hand sank into the tender flesh of her throat.
My bellflower.
"I don't know what that is!"
"Kagome! Where the fuck are you?" Inuyasha snarled.
My bellflower is the only thing that matters!
"I'm going to fucking destroy you, you bastard!" Inuyasha leapt through the shrine, passing within feet of her.
"And I told you that I don't know what that is!" The creature pulled her away from the wall snarling and then slamming her back into it.
She yelped and kicked out at the figure in front of her. Her head already spinning, and she wasn't sure if it was from being knocked around or the lack of air reaching her lungs.
There is only one way to get my bellflower back.
Kagome clawed at the wrist holding her up as it dragged her closer and closer, the great maw opening wider and wider.
She fought against it, cutting her palms on the sharp teeth as it drew it her in.
"Inuyasha!" She screamed, only to see in the growing blackness that no one had heard her. "Inuyasha?"
And then, there was simply nothing else.
She was gone! Just fucking gone!
It was just like before, but he couldn't find a trace of her in the small space. It wasn't like there was places it could hide an entire fucking body.
That stupid fucking fuck of a fucker; he was going to rip him to pieces when he found him.
The smell of blood tainted every whiff he got, and it was impossible to track anything.
Miroku put up the last of the ofuda locking them all inside, including the thing that had Kagome.
But it didn't do him any fucking good if he didn't know where to look!
Both Kaede and Miroku looked just as lost as he did. They obviously didn't feel a single thing, so whatever it was could hide from reiki users as well as demonic senses.
What the fuck was this thing?
And then, there she was, kneeling down on the floor at the front of the shrine.
"Kagome!" He shouted as Miroku's staff swung out in front of him.
"Something isn't right," he mumbled, eyes watching Kagome's form.
"What are you fucking talking about?" Inuyasha shoved the staff aside, intent to go and see what the fucker had done to her. "It's fucking Kagome!"
Kagome slowly pushed herself up, rising to a standing position. She blinked once, before turning her head to look at them.
Hello, friends, Kagome said, an eerie smile spreading across her face. Miss me?
A/N: Sooo, there's that.
The scene with the little boy was actually one of the first scenes that I wrote for this story, and it creeped me out so much that I knew that I just had to wait until the right time hit to use it. Some of you are putting some of the clues together, and it's making me so happy to read your postulations on what this thing is and why it's after Kagome. So far though no one has gotten it.
So I hope you enjoyed this little chapter. I'm already 8K into the next one, if that gives you any inkling of what's to come.
But this little piece was nominated for Best Drama at Feudal Connection, so thank you to whomever nominated me. I'm so glad that there's so many of you who look forward to this story (and all of them really)!