I'm back with another update to this awesome fanfic (my favorite so far, although maybe not my most popular) and this one kind of made me mad to write, but I had to because I had to do something about the issue of Kikyo… I know, she always seems to be getting in the way.
But I have some important information! In the manga that follows the end of the episodes, Kikyo finally dies for good!
Woo-hoo!
The Eternal Bond, Trust ch7
The following morning was a sullen one, and Inuyasha had purposely avoided the insistent questions of Sango and Miroku, not really knowing how he could explain this nightmare to them. The best way he could put it was: horrible. Annoyed by their pestering presence, Inuyasha had relented his iron will slightly and told them that Kagome was attacked by Naraku, but judging by their skeptical glances they kept sending his way, they sensed there was more.
And indeed there was plenty more.
Ever since they had arrived at the hut the previous night, Inuyasha had not left Kagome's side, only exiting the room once when Sango threw a fit at his presence when she was changing Kagome's bandages. Besides, Inuyasha was not sure he could stomach the idea of witnessing Kagome's injuries, with the knowledge that they had resulted from his failure.
In a way, that was what they symbolized. He hadn't been quick enough to reach her, hadn't stayed back in the village with her when he should have. The guilt he carried now in his chest was an enormous weight, and it only grew every time he laid his eyes on Kagome.
Yet somehow despite that setback, Inuyasha never failed to find her scent the most comforting thing he had ever beheld, and he felt torn with indecision, not sure if he should leave or stay, but always deciding to remain in the end.
Damn that woman and her charm!
Now here he sat, his back leaning against the wall with Tetsaiga propped up beside him, ready if needed. The ever growing sun peeked in through the small window, and Inuyasha shaded his eyes, aggravated at the brightness of the room. He scooted over to a place where the rays did not hit him directly in the face, and sighed, his mind wandering in the quiet atmosphere.
He was definitely uncertain over what Kagome thought of him now. Did she truly believe it was him attacking her? Did she make the same mistake Kikyo did, and throw whatever faith she held in him to the wind?
A familiar surge of anger flooded his veins. His life was repeating itself, one mistake after another. Resting his eyes on Kagome's unconscious form, though, his mind begged to differ. She's one thing that isn't a mistake in my life, he thought absentmindedly.
Inuyasha wanted to reach out and hold her, like he had done last night, but he forced his desires down where they should be and firmly stayed rooted to one place.
However, it did not take him very long to realize that his desires would not go away.
He only needed the little persuasion for him to slip and just allow himself some respite, allow himself to tightly hold her delicate figure to him in order to reassure his strained mind that she was alive and actually there, after everything that could have gone wrong last night.
The change in her scent was what did it, as Inuyasha sensed her shift into a dream. Kagome began to stir in her sleep, and she rolled over so that her expression was viewable to him. The fearful look on her features was a sharp twist in his heart.
Silently, Inuyasha moved to kneel awkwardly to the side of Kagome, and he lay a hesitant hand on her warm, soft cheek. Her clouded features cleared, and she drifted out of her restless slumber and into a deeper rest.
Satisfied for the moment, the half demon relaxed, his muscles that had anxiously bunched up loosening. But he froze up again when he heard footsteps close to the door and in one swift leap he was back to his former post on the wall.
Miroku walked carefully in and glanced first at Kagome, then at Inuyasha. As his gaze turned to the dog demon, it became curious and questioning at once, and Inuyasha almost groaned at the comprehension of the monk's arrival.
"I'm not going to say anything." Inuyasha growled warningly at Miroku who, unfazed, walked across the room and joined him against the wooden boards. Setting his staff down horizontally before him in a routine fashion, the monk crossed his legs in a meditating stance and once again turned his violet eyes to the suspicious Inuyasha.
"I suppose you will not answer any of my questions, but that does not stop me from voicing them."
Inuyasha snarled formidably and started to rise when Miroku shot a hand out in a signal for him to stop. The half demon looked down at the hand, and eventually slid back down to his spot on the floor, his golden eyes piercing.
"Just hear me out, Inuyasha. There is nothing more I ask of you." Miroku sighed, retrieving his hand and dropping it limply into his lap. "From what me and Sango surmised, Kagome seems to have been attacked by Naraku. However, we both know for a fact it is more than that."
At this statement, Miroku continued to keep his gaze trained on the composed Inuyasha, whose handsome features were hard in concentration.
"I cannot even begin to guess as to what has occurred, and I realize I won't know until you or Kagome is ready to talk about it." There was a small pause as Miroku searched for the right words to continue, and Inuyasha remained grimly silent throughout.
Suddenly Miroku said, "I am truly sorry Inuyasha."
Taken aback by his words, Inuyasha blanched and questioned rudely, "What?"
The now guilty faced monk stared right at Inuyasha. "I-I did not fulfill my promise to watch her."
Apprehension filled Inuyasha's brain and he huffed indignantly at Miroku. "Feh. I wasn't blaming you." He replied hurriedly, and Miroku smiled at the half demon's hidden meaning. In his own unique way, Inuyasha had just reassured him that he was forgiven.
Inuyasha gave him a sidelong glance that clearly asked, are you done? Understanding that all he really wanted was to be alone, Miroku stood up and quietly exited the room.
Outside an eager Sango approached him and questioned, "What did he say?"
Miroku closed his eyes. "Nothing we did not already know, Sango dear. However, I am positive there is a deeper reason for Inuyasha's guilt besides his inability to reach Kagome in time."
Sango nodded absentmindedly, all the while wondering, what could have happened as to make Inuyasha so miserable?
The monk reopened his eyes and found Sango's attention to the sky, her expression distant. Grinning mischievously, Miroku sidled closer and his hand drifted out. The demon slayer was rudely interrupted from her thinking by a caressing hand on her rear and, doing the very best imitation of a tomato Miroku had ever seen, Sango whirled around and collided the palm of her hand with his cheek at an alarming force.
It stung more than it should have, and the side of his face turned a brighter red than Sango's blush. Miroku gingerly rubbed it, a sheepish look upon his features. "Ah, always worth the pain."
She made a disgusted grunt and stormed away, determined to have a go at him with the Hiraikotsu if he followed.
And, of course, he did.
Within minutes, he had more bruises on him than just the one forming on his cheek.
The night overcame him before he even knew it, and soon Inuyasha was sitting in a patch of moonlight. No one had come into the room since Miroku had left, and Inuyasha hadn't heard a single sound outside the hut (except for the usual twitter of birds and such).
Not really caring what they were up to one way or another, Inuyasha breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. This room had fast become a torture chamber for him and his clattering thoughts. All day he had done nothing but ponder over his situation, over and over again until his thoughts jumbled into a sort of chanting that would not cease.
Scratching his nose, Inuyasha stood up and gave Kagome one last longing glance before heading out into the darkness.
The crescent moon hung low in the sky, and covered the land in a pale light. Directing his walking to the trees, the dog demon stopped momentarily at the edge of the forest. Inside, he could hear the rustling of nocturnal demons and their nightly doings.
He moved forward, not noticing which direction he was going in, just understanding that every step took him farther and farther away from the hut. A little voice in the back of his head whispered for him to go back, but he didn't hear it or chose to ignore it. Going back would mean he would have to once more be reminded of last night. He didn't want to, feared what would happen in the future, if everything would truly be normal again.
This is stupid, he reprimanded himself, cursing his being for his own cowardliness.
His feet reached the roots of a large tree and Inuyasha lifted his head and stared right up into the boughs of Goshinboku. What? How did I get here? He mused, realizing that he had unconsciously been heading here the whole time.
For a long while, he just inspected the tree. So, out of this enormous forest you're the only one that survives to the modern era, eh? Damn long time for just a dumb tree…
But, you're not just a worthless lump of wood, are you? The sacred tree… the tree that always seems to be tied into my life. I was sealed here fifty two years ago. As if moving of their own accord, his claws reached out and traced the outline of where he had been for almost half a century.
And it's where I met Kagome for the first time.
"Inuyasha…" an emotionless voice whispered, and Inuyasha snatched his hand away from the trunk as if he was burned.
How did he not detect her scent sooner? The smell of soil should've been easily noticed. Above him, a sinuous soul stealer weaved through the branches overhead and then glided back. Almost dreading the outcome, Inuyasha slowly swiveled his neck to the side and he glanced back at the priestess mere feet behind him.
"Kikyo?" he breathed, feeling vastly uncomfortable under her impassive gaze. Yet today there was another air to her, her chocolate eyes beseeching and searching into his own. Not sure what she desired or if he should even stay to hear it, Inuyasha warily turned his whole body around to face her.
What could she possibly want to talk with him about?
He did not have to wait long for his question to be answered for it was Kikyo who plunged right into the topic. "Naraku. He attempted his act fifty years ago again, did he not?"
Instantly Inuyasha's brow creased at the mention of last night yet again, and a swift urge to check upon Kagome again surfaced. "Yeah," he confirmed.
"I see…" Kikyo's mouth thinned and for a moment she appeared deep in thought, mulling over his answer. "How did…" she stopped, knowing she was treading on thin ice in this subject. "How did my reincarnation react to this?"
The mention of Kagome once again emphasized the small voice in his head that was pressuring him to leave, that this was not a good idea to be here. Instead, he concentrated on Kikyo's question. There was no right response to it for now, he had been pondering over the same question all day. "I… don't know. She hasn't woken up yet."
Kikyo did not remove her gaze from his face, and waited before she replied, "I suppose this poses a problem between us."
Inuyasha's eyebrows screwed up in confusion. "What?" he unthinkingly said.
A tiny, bitter smile crawled it's way onto her sad expression. "Our relationship after the incident fifty years ago… I am not blind. I realize that it is completely based on guilt."
The dog demon was speechless, and therefore did not pause her in her admittance.
"However, this repeated assault has now affected Kagome, and I do not possess the knowledge of her current state of feelings."
Inuyasha vaguely comprehended that this was the first time Kikyo had ever referred to Kagome by her name. He started to cut Kikyo off but was silenced by her following statement.
"Once she has regained consciousness, come find me. I will be waiting." Kikyo gracefully turned on her heel and walked away, her soul stealers gliding their slender forms hauntingly behind her.
The clearing fell silent and the glow that was caused by the souls Kikyo housed faded off. Inuyasha was left standing alone in the open space, a night breeze playing with his thin strands of silver hair, it's color enhanced by the moonlight reflecting on it.
He sighed, long and weary after an enlarged period of silence and, too, strode off, back to the hut and back to Kagome, feeling somewhat disturbed by the presence of Kikyo and by being with her when he should've stayed with Kagome.
And despite the turmoil in both the hanyou's and former priestess's mind, the mark remained in it's proper place, forever engraved onto the sacred tree's mighty trunk, and forever engraved into the lives of it's victims.
Well! How did you think of it? I thought it was pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.
I am so sorry about such a short chapter. Really. School's been a bitch, and we had six weeks tests this week so it's a miracle I even wrote this much… but good news! I passed all of them so I'm not grounded from my computer!
(Which would be bad for you and me)
So… check out the next chapter next weekend!
I promise… absolutely SWEAR I will write lots and lots of Inuyasha/Kagome fluff to make up for this chapter!
Thank you all my awesome reviewers for your continued support!
-kikyohater92-