Lyrics by Breaking Benjamin, the song Dance with the Devil
Dance with the Devil
Here I stand, helpless and left for dead.
Close your eyes, so many days go by.
He gasped for air, his lungs burning with the rush of wind suddenly flowing through his chest. The breath of life.
He was finally able to open his eyes. He stared up into the vast clear blue sky, white puffy clouds passing over the sun, and its light disappeared for a second, shadows chasing close behind, then the light reappeared, blinding him, chasing away the shadows.
He pictured Kagome in his minds eye. Black feathers flashed in his mind and he winced. His hand shot up to touch his chest. His claws found the holes torn into his yukata…and he tightly gripped the cloth in his hand, remembering the pain that had exploded through him… the pain that Kagome had caused him. He cursed to himself, closing his eyes against the image of Kikyo's arrow piercing his heart, and Kagome's fingers cutting through his skin.
"Inu…yasha," a voice hissed around him. He sat up suddenly, his body stiff and tense, using his elbows to prop himself up. He was still on the cold, stone floor of the ruins he and Kagome had ventured into…how long has it been now? How long has it been since Kagome had…black feathers flashed in his minds eye. He winced at the images of that…evil angel, which took the form of his Kagome. He sat up now, leaning over his legs. His eyes spied the black feathers, glossy and glowing in the sun's radiance lying around him. His claws reached out towards one. He pinched one between his fingertips, surprised to find that it was warm. He breathed in its evil, icy scent and caught a hint of Kagome, lost amongst the frost.
"Inuyasha," the voice called in a rough whisper. He turned slowly to stare at his reflection in the black mirror. He stood, slowly, his eyes glaring at the demon staring back at him, a smirk on its face.
"Who…are you?" Inuyasha asked, standing straight to glare down at the sitting image of himself. Even though he saw his features in his reflection, he didn't see his half demon dog ears. His reflection had red streaks across his cheeks, blood shot eyes, and piercing blue pupils. He didn't wear a red yukata, either, but a black one instead and a silver breastplate protecting his chest, silver and black gauntlets were wrapped around his wrists and shins. His long white hair was tied back into a pony tail.
And he knew that he was staring at his true self, what he was supposed to born as: a full bred demon. The demon spoke, a grin on his lips. "I am you. What you want. You're darkest and deepest desire."
"What happened to Kagome?" Inuyasha demanded.
"Ah. Yes. The human. You always seem to fall for human women," the demon grinned, cocking his head to the side, as if mocking Inuyasha. Inuyasha growled. The demon just laughed. "She turned to her bitter darkness, because of you."
Inuyasha stood in a silent shock. His eyes widened at the thought…because of him?
"You're so clueless, half breed," the demon laughed mockingly as he stood, brushing his pants off. "I'll fill you in: Everyone has darkness in their heart, no matter how hard they try to deny it. Kagome saw her darkness, but tried so desperately to hide her desire. The more and more she tried, the more and more it consumed her. Because of her thoughts of you, she let the darkness overwhelm her. She refused to fight it now. There's no escaping it now."
Inuyasha ignored the demons taunts and stepped closer to the mirror, so that he saw his breath spread a thin mist across the glossy black surface, across the demons face. "Tell me how to get her back."
"Get rid of that Tetsusaiga, and you'll find out," the demon suggested, arching a brow, a grin twisting on his lips. Inuyasha's hand automatically gripped the tattered handle of his sword, hesitant. From what he already knew, this sword was protecting him from that demon that stared back at him, that demon that lay dormant inside him, for now. Before he could continue his thoughts, the demon interrupted him. "That's exactly it, Inuyasha. Tetsusaiga prevents you from becoming what you desire the most. The darkness within your heart, me, is the only one that can help you obtain the blood of a full demon. No more chaos. Just blissful power and control."
Easy to find what's wrong, harder to find what's right.
Inuyasha hesitated, thoughts of his past slaughter, his preying on humans, flashed in his mind, making him wince. Blood soaked in. Sooner of later, his own claws could turn on Kagome… "Stare into the darkness of your heart, Inuyasha. The blood will no longer soak in, but slide right off. Just think about it. No more hesitation, just instinct."
Inuyasha stared at the demon, his pupils thinning. The demon smirked, victorious. "That's it. Invite the darkness…become the darkness," he soothed.
His sight became glazed, and he stared through a thin misty veil. He watched as visions of his future victories over the weak and the powerless unfold before him. His stomach clenched at the thought of meaningless slaughter. This is what it meant to become a true demon, a full breed. In this future, he didn't see Kagome by his side. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo had dissolved into thoughts of the past. This wasn't what he wanted. He wanted Kagome…
He willed himself back, the mist lifting, as he watched his demon pulling itself from the black glass. Then he realized the most important mistake that he could be making…he'd be putting Kagome in her grave if he followed through with this.
This was the darkness within Kagome: himself.
He blinked back the coldness seeping around him. He pulled away, taking a hazardous step away from his demon that reached intently towards Tetsusaiga. Instinct made him grab the demons throat with his claws in a powerful grip. "I see through your lies," he growled through clenched teeth as his anger boiled over. He clenched his free fist into a tight ball, and with no thought, swung. His knuckles caught his demon in the face, driving him back into the black mirror until his fist caught cold glass, shattering the mirror to a million fragments, brilliant crystallized shards rained down over him.
He pulled away, picking black shards from his skin. He glanced around through the rain of black shards, and a sudden thought came to him, his heart pounding furiously in his chest. He pinched a shard between his fingers and stared at it, remembering the last time that Kagome had been under the spell of a black shard again…could this be the work of another tainted shard? Could it be that Kagome herself was tainting the sacred jewel?
I believe in you, I can show you that I can see right through all your empty lies.
A cold dead wind pressed around him, blowing his hair and clothes about him. He turned, smelling Kagome's death scent filling the stone room. His eyes fell upon a descending Kagome, her black wings spread out behind her, scattering an array of glossy black feathers about the room. But she looked different. Instead of her regular school girl uniform she wore skin-tight black leather, and silver armor. A beautiful, fragile, warrior angel.
"And you still refuse to be with me," she said bitterly as her dainty feet, covered by leather boots, tapped against the stone floor. She stood facing Inuyasha, her face set in a scowl, as her black wings settled around her like a cape. Demonic ears replaced her human ears, and thin pupils made her features stand out in a sinister way. When she spoke, she bared her demon fangs. "If you won't be with me…then I'll be damned if that Kikyo will have you. Prepare yourself Inuyasha. I'm going to send you to where you should've gone fifty years ago, but this time, by my side."
"Kagome." He said her name in a hushed tone; his stomach curling with contempt towards himself. Why didn't he see this before? He could feel the deadly rage seething from her in undulating waves, mixing with a bitter sorrow and an icy jealousy. He stared dead in her eyes as he gripped the handle of Tetsusaiga. He watched as she spread her wings and opened her arms, ready for his attack. He pulled the blade, scabbard including, from its string that wrapped around him.
Instead he threw it aside. "I won't fight you."
Trembling, crawling across my skin.
Feeling your cold dead eyes, stealing the life of mine.
I believe in you, I can show you that I can see right through all your empty lies.
Hold on. Hold on.