Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, as much as I'd like too.
This is the second chapter to The Choices We Make. I'll try to update as quick as possible, and since it's Thanksgiving Break I should be able too. But when school starts back, I'll probably only be able to update once a week, because my school is like in love with giving out homework. I just want to say thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoy writing it. :)
Her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton and her head was pounding.
And yet, she wasn't awake.
She was on the verge of waking up, with her mind registering halfway that she should be awake. But her body wasn't letting her, and as much as tried to open her eyes, they stayed glued shut stubbornly.
Her mind was hazy, shrouded by a thick fog, and she couldn't think at all.
She remembered she had been running, but away from what she didn't know.
She had been crying, she could tell that, because her throat still felt raw.
And she remembered pitch black flowers that spewed out some thick powder, and after that she couldn't move. But that was all her cloudy mind would allow.
She tried opening her eyes again, and this time she was surprised to see that she could crack them open slightly.
The light was much too bright and it intensified the headache she hadn't realized she had. She shut her eyes again quickly.
She gently jiggled her arms and legs, to make sure she could move. She could. She breathed a deep sigh of relief.
For some reason her body had needed to move, almost as if she had to somewhere to go, or something to do. She just couldn't remember. And that thought annoyed her endlessly.
She checked to see if she could move her head, and was rewarded with a razor-sharp pain in her neck. She yelped in surprise and stopped moving her head.
She put her hand behind her head to feel her neck, and found that when she pulled her fingers away again that they were covered in blood.
She pushed her sore body up into sitting position and twisted and turned gently until most of the kinks were worked out. What had she done to get so bruised and torn up? And suddenly she was sick, so sick it hurt. She gagged then threw up again and again, until she was crying from her raw throat and her clenching stomach. She scrunched her hands tightly in the cool dirt as her stomach clenched again and again but she had nothing left. He head was hammering and her eyes were burning. What was happening?
And then she suddenly remembered. Remembered everything. Inuyasha jumping from the tree to land in front of Kikyo. Him asking to go with her. Kikyo saying yes. Her running away as fast as she could. Tripping. Flowers. Black as the night. A demon roar. Inuyasha in danger. And she was paralyzed unable to do anything.
Now she was crying for another reason. What if he was dead? What if the demon had killed him already? Would Kikyo be killed too?
Kagome knew Inuyasha would never run, even if he would undoubtedly lose. And he was facing the demon Kikyo had been unable to kill on her own.
She was suddenly filled with anger at herself, at those stupid flowers, at Inuyasha for never listening and running off, and the stupid master that she had heard moments before she passed out.
She wiped her tears from her eyes and stood up, shakily on her feet. She was hit with another wave of sickness and waited until she was done throwing up bile.
She felt worse then she had ever felt before, like she had been beaten senselessly and then had food poisoning. Her body ached so horribly, for a moment she wanted to lay back down.
But Inuyasha needed her. He would die if she didn't go back. He would fight until he was so tired and injured that he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. And no one would be there to take care of him.
She made herself think of all the horrible things that could happen to him so she could stay standing. She tried to walk but she had no idea where she was going and her legs were so weak she sank to the ground before she got anywhere.
She gagged and her stomach squeezed tightly and her head thumped hard.
She hit the ground weakly with her fist, and frustrated tears leaked from her eyes. What the hell was wrong with her?
"It's the effects of the poison." said a sweet voice behind her, like a child's voice.
"That's why you feel sick and can't walk. I was hoping by now it would have spread to your heart and I wouldn't have to deal with you being able to move. I always like watching them right before they die. It's the most painful part."
Kagome turned around slowly, her neck screaming in pain. Fresh blood trickled down her neck, like warm water.
There was a tiny girl standing in a tree above her. She looked like a child, with long blonde pigtails and blue eyes.
She was even dressed like a child, in a tiny flowery dress.
"Who are you?" Kagome asked. Her voice was hoarse from crying.
"Me? I'm Hana. But that doesn't really matter because you'll be dead in a few more minutes, so why don't you just try to relax. Maybe it won't hurt as much that way."
"You're the one who makes the flowers? You're the master of the demon!"
Kagome was surprised. She had expected someone cruel looking and harsh. This girl looked sweet and cute. How could she own such a dangerous demon?
The girl looked at her murderously.
"I'm getting tired of these stupid questions. No one else ever asks questions. They just beg me to give them the antidote. And I never do. That's the fun part. So beg."
"Not until you answer my questions. How do you control the demon?"
Hana sighed and sank back into the tree. "I don't really control him. He's almost impossible to control really. I just tell him what I want him to do, and if he's in the mood he does. That's how it goes when you're the master of an almost undefeatable demon."
"Then he would attack you wouldn't he?" Kagome asked.
She was doing her best not to beg for the antidote like everyone else had, but she knew it would be useless.
And she had to get to Inuyasha, to tell him it was stupid to fight.
If she made it to him before dying that is.
Hana looked angry again. "No he doesn't because I take care of him. He attacks everyone else. Just like he is your stupid friend. By now he's probably dead." she snapped. "Now just shut up and die already."
Kagome froze. Inuyasha was already dead? And she was wasting time asking questions that she thought would help, but was getting no where.
She pulled herself to feet, screaming in agony. It hurt so bad, maybe she should just accept her death. It would be easier.
But she couldn't leave Inuyasha. She had to warn him.
She started to walk, screaming at her body to move faster. She had to find him. She had to get to him. It was all that mattered.
"Are you stupid? You're the stupidest girl I have ever met. Your only spreading the poison faster. You'll die before you get to him you know? It's useless."
"I have to warn him. I can't let him die. Because….. I love him." she whispered.
Then she pushed her body on, crying and screaming the whole way.
'Just wait Inuyasha, I'm coming for you.'
The demon's tail, thick as a tree, with a wicked sharp stinger glinting on top, hurtled through the air towards Inuyasha.
He yelled in anger and surprise and threw himself backwards, right as the tip of the scorpion demon's tail embedded itself deep into the hard ground, spraying debris and acid into the sky.
Some of the thick green liquid landed on Inuyasha, eating holes through his clothes and burning his face and hands.
He hissed in pain and wiped the acid off his face.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Kikyo limp towards the tree, clutching her arm tightly to her side. She looked scared. He had never seen her look scared. And that made him even more furious.
The scorpion monster ripped his tail out of the ground, and flicked it back over it's head, where it hovered dangerously, ready to strike.
Inuyasha reached for his Tetsusaiga at his side, but his hand barley brushed it before the demon's eyes narrowed and it's tails whistled through the air again, moving so fast, he could barley see it.
The tail thumped into the ground loudly beside Inuyasha, sending him and dirt flying into the air.
He landed on his feet, skidding backwards, and he wiped the blood from his eyes, that was leaking from a wound on his forehead.
He moved his hands slightly to the left, where his sword was resting and he saw the demon's tail tense.
"Afraid of fighting fair?" he shouted.
The demon laughed deeply, and narrowed it's black eyes. "I like to play with my food a little before letting them give up."
Inuyasha growled angrily.
"I'll just kill you without my Tetsusaiga." He jumped up quickly, a flash in the sky, and flew towards the demon.
"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" he shouted, while slicing his hand down through the air, straight towards the demon's ugly eyes.
He was barley above it when it's claw sliced through the air and ripped open his clothes and a deep gash in his stomach.
He soared through the air, flipping and somersaulting, and crashed loudly into the nearby trees. The tree he crashed into cracked loudly down the middle, then collapsed to the ground, Inuyasha falling with it.
He jumped to his feet quickly, ignoring the pain, but the demon was already swinging it's tail towards him again before he was even to his feet.
He rolled out of the way as the tail implanted itself into the base of a thick tree.
The demon ripped it out quickly and flung it at Inuyasha again, right as he was preparing to throw himself at the demon.
He bounded out of the way, and fell to a stop in front of the demon, breathing deeply and bleeding from his stomach heavily.
His body was tiring, and his stomach was throbbing painfully.
Every time he made a move, the demon was already there, swinging it's tail or it's claw. Almost as if it could read his mind.
"Bingo." the demon hissed. Then it looked almost as if it was smiling. "You can draw your sword now."
Inuyasha was filled with fury. This bastard didn't give him permission to draw his sword. He could draw it any time he wanted.
He pulled it from his side furiously, and ran at full speed towards the demon as soon as it had elongated. He would take out it legs, then it couldn't move, and he could cut it into pieces slowly.
He swung his sword out towards the demon's thick legs, to see it swipe through air. The demon laughed from behind him. "You'll have to be better then that Inuyasha. I know exactly what your going to do when your going to do it. I'm undefeatable."
"I'll kill you with my Wind Scar you bastard." he shouted at it, already in the air and swinging.
He watched as the yellow blades of energy blasted through the ground, ripping thick, jagged holes, and waited for it to collide with the demon in front of him.
The demon wasn't moving. In fact, it was staying completely still, watching the energy intensely.
'You'll regret just standing there' he thought, waiting for the demon's head to whip around to face him, moments before being cut to pieces.
But it didn't. Then Inuyasha was watching in shock as an invisible barrier started to absorb the blow, like a straw sucking it in.
Everything was dangerously calm for a few moments. Then the barrier glowed bright yellow, and his Wind Scar was being shot back out at him, twice as powerful.
He wouldn't have time to move. He was going to get hit by his own blast.
"Ironic isn't it?" the demon hissed around its laughter. Suddenly it's head snapped up and its beady eyes narrowed to slits.
Inuyasha didn't realize he was being lifted into the air until he was looking down and could see the Wind Scar ripping trees from the ground and cutting lines in the dirt, but not slicing him to pieces.
He looked up and saw Sango holding tightly to his hakama, a look of fierce determination on her face. Kirara rose higher, to escape the demon's sharp claws and brutal tail. Then she swung him up to where he could grab onto to Kirara and pull his body on to what little room was left on the demon slayer's pet.
Three furious faces meet his. "Inuyasha, how could you be so stupid? Do you know how worried we were about you? We woke up and you weren't there and there was a demon roaring in our eyes, and of course we all thought the worst, because your always rushing off into situations where you can get yourself killed without the slightest thought that we'll be worried about you because we care about you because your to stubborn and pigheaded to worry about anyone else, not to mention poor Kagome who probably came after you because she was worried and now you probably don't even know where she is, because when someone presents with you a problem you have to solve it even if you could die trying because you never listen and you never think and……." she finally stopped when Miroku put a hand gently to her shoulder and squeezed. She sucked in a deep breath and wiped the tiny tears that had formed at the corner's of her eyes.
"What Sango is saying is that sometimes you can't just go running off into battle Inuyasha. We're all here for you, so you can tell we can help you. It's not like any of us are incapable of fighting."
Inuyasha was silent, staring at the three eager faces in front of him. "So what, you guys think I can't handle some stupid demon on my own?" he snapped finally.
Sango blinked and opened her mouth to say something, but Miroku covered it quickly with his hand.
"It's useless my dear Sango." he sighed, shaking his head.
"I can hear you, you know." Inuyasha said angrily.
"Hello! Is anyone listening to me?" Shippo shouted.
They all turned to stare at him. "I was saying, there's still a demon down there that we need to kill."
Everyone looked down. The demon was still standing below them, looking furious that he had been forgotten.
Suddenly, Sango was all business. "Kirara, drop." she ordered. The demon-cat obeyed and sank a few feet out of the sky, close enough that Sango could attack.
She pulled the giant boomerang off of her back and twirled it around her head, trying to find a spot to hit.
Then it suddenly flew from her hands and spiraled towards the demon's thick tail.
It never made it to it's target. Instead, the demon snatched it out of the sky and squeezed it between a meaty claw, causing a splinter to appear down the middle.
"Kirara raise!" Sango shouted, but the large cat didn't move fast enough. The demon's tail shot out, striking the cat in the side and causing the companions to tumble off the side, as Kirara was thrown into the trees. They landed sharply on the ground and Miroku groaned in pain. Shippo transformed back from a giant, pink bubble and floated down to join them.
"Yeah thanks for catching us." Inuyasha growled.
The boy just shrugged his tiny shoulders.
Inuyasha stood, raising his fist, to thump in his head when Miroku yelled "Watch out!"
Inuyasha turned quickly to see the demon spit acid from it's mouth, falling like green rain. It hit him dead on before he could leap away and he yelled in pain as the as the acid scalded his exposed skin.
He pulled the Tetsusaiga from its holder on his side, but it was too late. The demon had already read his mind and discovered what he was about to do, and Inuyasha could see the barrier, glimmering in place.
He cursed loudly and drew his sword anyways, thinking thoughts that didn't involve the barrier. If he was lucky, the demon wouldn't dig to deep.
Then he made a signal. One so small, he was sure the demon wouldn't have noticed. But he saw Sango nod and Miroku move a finger and Shippo twitch his tail. They saw. Kirara appeared from the sky suddenly and Miroku and Sango jumped on, followed soon by Shippo.
If they had understood, they would all be screaming loudly in their heads, distracting the demon, so Inuyasha could move in.
It was working. The demon was whipping his head around and around watching the great cat circle him.
"Your plans are useless. I know what your thinking." he shouted happily.
'Then you should know that it's too late now.' Inuyasha thought, just as he brought down his glowing red sword on the demon's barrier.
At first nothing happened. But then the barrier shimmered and warped and shrank smaller and smaller until it disappeared.
And right as it did, Inuyasha swung his Tetsusaiga, feeling it sink through the scorpion's soft chest.
But when he looked up, it was no longer a demon. Instead he was looking face-to-face at Kikyo, his sword sunk deep into her upper body.
She stared at him, eyes widened in surprised, for what felt like an eternity before sinking to the ground, blood gushing from the whole in her torso.
"Kikyo." he whispered.
He had to find her, to make sure she was still alive, that he hadn't killed her. Nothing else mattered. He darted towards the trees, ignoring the yells of his friends. He could see the blood on his hands. He had to make sure it wasn't hers. Not hers.
She was there. Waiting for him. Her eyes were full of fear. He had to keep her safe. He sighed in relief and pulled her close to his chest, burying his head into her neck.
She was safe. He hadn't killed her. Sango and Miroku rushed towards him, shouting angrily. But he didn't hear them. He was relieved to be able to see her in his arms, feel her heartbeat against his own. She was alive.
He heard a crunch, so soft that he almost thought he was imagining it.
But when he turned around he knew he wasn't because standing in front of him was Kagome, blood dripping from her neck into her already red shirt. Her face was pale, and covered in a sheen of sweat and she was breathing hard. Every step she took, she would bend over and clutch her stomach and scream, but she wouldn't stop. She kept walking until she was only a few feet in front of him.
She opened her mouth to speak but instead of a soft feminine voice, it was replaced with a deep, whispery one.
"It humors me Inuyasha how you could so easily forget about the one who loves you most when this shell of a women is around. Funny, how you can love someone who is no longer alive, when this one here, is so madly in love with you, someone who is living and breathing. You didn't think of her once when I was fighting you, not even when your friends mentioned her name. because this one was here. The one that is so much more important. Well, now they will all to get to watch you die, just like you deserve."
Inuyasha had turned when he heard the voice, but had been so shocked he hadn't moved. He had killed it. He had killed the demon, felt his sword in it's chest.
But he hadn't checked. He had ran off, in search of Kikyo. Just like the demon knew he would.
It smiled then threw its tail through the air one last time.
Inuyasha could only watch as it plunged towards him, seconds from piercing through his heart. He closed his eyes, waiting for the pain but felt none. Then everyone was screaming, and he knew he had been hit.
But why didn't he fell pain?
He opened his eyes, and the sight he saw he would never forget.
Kagome, blood-soaked, pale, and bent, like a broken doll that didn't look quite right, with the demon's sharp barb protruding from her chest.