A/N: Hello, Hello, Hellooooo! alright! I promised that the eighth chapter was comming soon and lo and behold! Here it is! Only like a day after i promised to post i! YEY! Anyway, the thing you should realize about this Chapter, is that it happened a month before the rest of the story (yes i meant to write it that way, its like a flashback thingy, sort of ... kind of... yeah). This is about a month before Kagome actually wakes up. (Dont worry, next chapter will go back to where we were at the end of the Seventh Chapter). So don't freak out on me or anything, i hate it when people do that.
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Disclaimer: I own Tetsuya. That's about it. But he's not in chis chapter soit doesn't matter. Oh and i also own the littlegirl who offers the hat. Yeah, she's mine, but i think she'll bea one-time-apperance type of thing... or maybe not.Here's Chapter Eight for you.
Chapter Eight: Revenge Seekers:
(A month before Kagome woke up in Naraku's under-cellar room…)
The gentle gray rain fell steadily, just as it had been doing for the entire day before. The air in the valley's village was thin and cold and the light was a sort of watercolor gray. They had stayed overnight to keep themselves dry… but one of them had been awake and outside since before sunup, and he had been wet for hours on end…
When Miroku opened his violet eyes, Inuyasha was not there. The room was silent, save for the sound of the pattering of rainfall on the mud-roof. There was a fresh-feeling chill that pressed up against his shoulders as he moved the thin white blanket off of himself and sat up. It was dim, so he couldn't tell exactly what time it was, but Miroku had always been an early riser. He stood up and stretched, letting out a little groan, before bending down to the floor to fold up his bed, and store it in the corner of the small room. He noticed that the thin, white sheets had already turned cold beneath his hands.
Cautiously, he approached the foldout wall that divided the room into two halves. It was decorated with light pink cherry blossom trees and bright, orange goldfish with bulging eyes and fanning tails. "Sango?" He called, trying to gently wake the girl on the other side of the room. But only the rain and silence answered him. He sighed tiredly; it was more than likely that he was going to be leaving this house with a rather large red mark somewhere on his face. "Sango?" He tried one more time before pushing back the divider and entering the girl's side of the room.
Sango stirred a bit as the divider scrapped against the wooden floor. Frowning, she turned her face towards him, a few wisps of hair falling over her closed eyes. Kilala nuzzled against her neck affectionately and she almost smiled in her sleep. Miroku was about to call out her name, but, against his better judgment, he stopped to watch her; he was unable to help himself.
He took in everything. The way her long dark hair fell around her face and pooled on her shoulders. The way her delicate lips were parted ever so slightly in her sleep, and the steady rise and fall of her chest beneath the blanket. She looked so peaceful and beautiful, lying there in the gray light. She almost seemed to glow.
Miroku made his walked towards her silently and crouched down beside her, gently brushing away the stray tress of hair so he could see her face perfectly. He smiled a little at the touch of her smooth, white skin beneath his fingertips. She was so beautiful…
Miroku was sure that the whole household had heard the SLAP of Sango's hand connecting mercilessly with the side of his face, and would be coming in soon to see if everything was ok. Miroku sighed and pulled his hand away. A typical morning…
"Good morning, Houshi." Sango said crisply as she sat up and glared at him with her dark brown eyes. "What have you been up to?"
Miroku winced as he rubbed his stinging, crimson cheek. "For once, Sango, I was not-"
"Don't start." Sango said tiredly, as she pushed the blanket off of her body and stretched in the cold morning air. "It's way to early for your pathetic excuses..."
Miroku gave up and stood with a sigh, his hand still over his cheek. It was no use.
Sango sleepily opened her eyes to examine the small, scarcely decorated room before turning back to him with those steady, liquid brown eyes. "Where's Inuyasha?"
Miroku sighed, yet again, and rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm. "It seems he has gone once again…" He muttered tiredly.
Sango frowned a little as she looked at the curtain that led to the outdoors, as if she could see to the other side. She took a while to listen to the rain before speaking. "I'm worried about him, Hoshi." She said quietly. "Lately he's been doing this more and more…"
Miroku frowned. "Indeed…" he said quietly, his pitch-black hair falling into his violet eyes as he studied the floor. "Indeed he has."
Inuyasha had been in the rain for hours. What had started out as a cold chill on his skin had now turned into a stinging numbness. The steady rainfall had soaked his silvery hair to the scalp, while his blood-red kimono clung to his arms, chest and legs in wrinkly folds. His hands were cold and numb as they grasped the hilt of the Tetsuigia, his fingers wrapped tightly around the wrapped cloth. His knuckles were whitening as he held the blade directly out in front of him with both hands. His milk-white ears were pushed downwards, to keep stinging raindrops out, and his golden eyes were narrowed and cutting as he glared at the tree.
Letting out a grunt, the hanyou swung the blade around and sliced the massive tree trunk in half. It had been a huge tree, so big that it would have taken all of himself, Sango, Miroku and two other people to wrap their arms around its trunk, while holding each other's hands. The Tetsuigia's massive blade sliced it down as if it were a toothpick. As the tree began to fall, its dark green leaves fluttering desperately, the half-demon launched himself gracefully into the gray-morning air. The tree would crush him to the ground in a matter of seconds. Expertly, he raised the gleaming blade above his head. His eyes still harsh and piercing as he calculated the distance… it only took half a second. "WIND SCAR!"
His voice echoed through the entire forest, sending little dark-feathered birds flying in all different directions, out from under their leafy shelters, and into the rain. The tree was sliced neatly in half, and Inuyasha landed again on the ground, untouched, a half of the tree on either side of him, wallowing in the cold mud. The exhausted hanyou shoved his sword into the ground and kneeled in an icy puddle. He didn't care about the cold. He was already soaked to the bone. He was breathing hard and his heart was beating so quickly that he could feel it throbbing in his head. The air that he breathed was searing his lungs, and yet he continued to gasp it down, his shoulders heaving as he did so. He had been awake and training since 1:30 a.m. and in the gray dawn had been chopping down the largest trees he could find for five hours straight. Taking a final breath of air, he pushed himself up to his feet. It wasn't good enough. He had to get stronger.
He found the next tree, which was roughly the same size as the last, and took his stance again, locking his sword into position with a metal click. It had been a little less than a year… since Naraku had taken Kagome away from him… her face suddenly flashed into his mind, just as the day that she had left him. She was lifting her head up to look at him, just like she had the last time he saw her. Her beautiful face was streaked with dirt and tears, and her skin was a sickly pale color, her soft brown eyes were pleading... hoping that he would save her…
Inuyasha shook his head, trying to rid the image from his mind. Almost a year later and he was still furious. "Dammit!" He said maliciously to no one, as he drove the Tetsuigia into the trunk of the tree. It stuck firmly, and with his rage to help him, he brought the blade upwards, slicing the trunk of the tree in half. With a deafening crack, the tree split in two, each half falling in opposite directions, and crashing into the mud with a splash. Some of the water droplets landed on his face, but he barely flinched as he examined the remains of the giant oak tree. The inner wood was splintered and a light yellow color. He watched as the little bubbles of sap started to rise from the torn wood, their sweet and bitter scent playing at the edges of his nose. The roots of the tree were still firmly planted in the ground. Inuyasha studied his handiwork critically. It still wasn't good enough. He set his sword into the ground and leaned on the hilt, his head bent down and away from the rain. All he could hear was his breathing. All he could see was Kagome's face… "Stop it!" He told himself, angrily, his eyes closing tightly. "Stop thinking about her!"
His ears picked up the sound of a twig snapping. The silver dog-ears twitched and swiveled towards the noise, but he never lifted his head. He inhaled deeply. All he could smell was the sap from the fallen tree, the rainwater, mixing in with the silt from the forest floor, the mud resting beneath the puddles, the smell of damp wood, and… a girl. He lifted his head and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. It was a little girl, no more than seven. Her hair was cut short and fell around her chin in a straight, even line. Her head was covered with a large straw hat that she held on her head for protection against the rain. She looked up and out from underneath its rim to look at him with coppery-green eyes. "Hey Mr.," She said, her voice was young and sweet sounding.
"What?" His, on the other hand, was sharp and annoyed. It had rarely ever sounded happy or kind since… 'Stop thinking about it!' He told himself for the thousandth time, flinching visibly. If only he could stop thinking about it…
"Why are you standing out here, alone?"
Her words shot right through his chest and knocked the breath out of him. 'Why am I alone…'
"Are you sad about something?" Her concern for him was obvious and unhidden.
'Yes.' He couldn't bring himself to reply.
She watched him with her large coppery-green eyes. "It's raining you know… you might catch a cold or something." The little girl hesitated for a while before continuing. "Mr., are you sure you're alright?"
'No…I'm not …'he thought to himself, without once looking at her. 'I'm dying… I've been dying this whole time… without her.'
"Do you want my hat?" The girl pulled him back into reality. "It'll keep you dry." She said, taking off her straw hat and holding it out to him. She closed one of her eyes against the rain and held her little arm over her head, trying her best to keep from getting wet.
Inuyasha finally turned to look at the hat she was holding out for him, it was damp, and the sweet-smelling straw had turned several shades darker than it should have been from the rain. But she was still offering it to him. He followed her arm up to her face. She was cute... but still, he glared at her. "Do I know you, kid?"
The little girl was taken aback, and he instantly regretted what he had said. But he didn't apologize. He was always doing that… making people sad…
"No." she said quietly, holding the hat to her chest and crossing her arms over it protectively. "But I just thought… that you looked lonely."
'I am lonely.' "Don't be such a nosey brat! Keep your hat and get back inside out of the rain!" He said, picking up the sword and starting his training again. But she didn't move. He waited for her to turn around and leave him alone. But she didn't. He felt the annoyance bubble up inside of him. "Didn't you hear me, kid?" he turned around, sounding more and more aggravated. "I said, 'Beat it'!"
"Well…" the little girl said slowly, brushing her raven hair behind her ear, only to have it fall back into place again. "I think those people over there are waiting for you."
Inuyasha stopped and looked to where the little girl was pointing. Sure enough, a monk and a slayer were standing on the side of a puddle-filled road, watching him with serious brown and violet eyes. Inuyasha stared back at them for a long time, before grunting and sheathing his sword at his waist, letting his hands linger on the handle before slipping them over the woven cloth and letting them fall to his sides. "Thanks." He muttered.
The little girl smiled at him, and he walked past her without giving her a second glance. She reminded him too much of her…
"How did training go?" Miroku asked as Inuyasha approached. He could see the worry in both of his friends' eyes, and for some reason, that pissed him off.
"Fine." Inuyasha said roughly in reply, starting down the road, and trying to ignore the looks that he could feel them giving him.
"Inuyasha,"
He turned around to meet Sango's eyes, worry and concerned apparent over her entire face. He could smell it radiating off of both of them like heat. He also felt the inexplicable urge to slap both of them. How long would continue to worry about him then?
"Here," Sango said, offering him a large straw hat, to keep the rain away, just like the little girl from before.
Inuyasha stared at it for a bit before scoffing and turning his head away from it. "Keep it." He grumbled.
"Inuyasha-" Sango started, protesting.
"I said keep it.' He drawled, a bit of a growl rising in his throat. Sango sighed and she let her hand drop to her side, still holding its brim loosely by her fingertips.
They walked down the wet road for a long time in silence, listening to the rain slap against the dirt and pebbles, and rush along the ditches in small, rapid streams. All the while the rain fell relentlessly on Inuyasha. The icy drops of water streamed down his face and his back, soaking his sticking clothes through to his cold skin, and he ignored it. Just like he ignored the way the sand and mud from the road sucked at his bare feet and left his toes numb and aching red. In some way, the sharp cold distracted him from thinking about things that he didn't want to think about. He was almost glad for it.
Finally Miroku cleared his throat and began to speak. "Inuyasha…"
Inuyasha could tell by the tone of Miroku's voice, what the monk was about to say to him. "Don't even start with it, Miroku." He warned. "I don't want to hear it."
There was a long silence before Miroku replied. "I'm afraid you may need to hear it."
"Don't."
"I'll only say it once."
"No."
"She wouldn't want you to be doing this to yourself." The other man said forcefully and gently at the same time. It was annoying, how easily he made everything come across just the way he wanted it too. It was so very annoying…
"Shut up!" Inuyasha snapped in reply. "I told you I don't want to hear it!"
"It's true." The monk said, ignoring him. "We're only worried about you."
Snarling, Inuyasha rounded on Miroku and practically knocked him down into the dirt. It took all of his willpower to keep himself from becoming violent. "And what about her!" The hanyou demanded angrily, the rain and the cold still spreading down his limbs. "Why don't you think about her for once!"
"Inuyasha, we do think about her!" Sango said, jumping to defend Miroku, trying to sound understanding, when she didn't understand anything at all…
"Then why weren't you with me this morning!" Inuyasha's voice was rising in anger. "You two disgust me! Acting as if nothing's changed, when in reality everything has! Kagome is dead! And you've both forgotten about her!"
"Inuyasha," Miroku started, his voice also becoming angry, "you know we haven't forgotten about her. We keep her -"
"Don't start spewing that philosophical bullshit at me!" Inuyasha roared. "Because I don't give a damn about any of it!" He was up in Miroku's face now, the monk's violet eyes stared back at him with a strange, calm anger that only he seemed capable of. "All I want is Kagome's revenge." Inuyasha said, his voice low and dangerous. "That's all I care about."
"I know, Inuyasha." Miroku said, keeping his eyes locked with the angry hanyou's. "That's why I worry about you."
Later that night, Inuyasha was the first to fall asleep. For once, all of his vigorous training had exhausted him to the point of being able to slip into a restless slumber. Miroku watched his friend as he added another log to the fire. It had been a hard one to start, seeing as how everything was wet from the day-long shower, but eventually the three of them were able to light a campfire. They could have been quick about it, and used Kagome's "matches", but they never opened her bag anymore. Instead it dangled from Kilala's neck whenever they traveled. It was their reminder of what they had lost. It was too strange and too painful for all of them, to use a dead loved one's tools. It had been especially hard for Inuyasha. So they did things the old-fashioned way, as if they had never heard of "matches", or "flashlights", or "Ramen".
The snakeheads were charred and gruesome, leering at him through the fire from their stakes. He still remembered the way Kagome had shrieked when she first realized that they expected her to eat snakes and rats when they couldn't catch a fish or a pig. 'Ew! Totally, gross!' The fifteen year old's voice was still clear in his head. 'You guys aren't really going to eat that are you!'
Miroku allowed himself to smile in her memory. It was so rare, that anybody smiled when they thought of Kagome, because of how they lost her, even though she deserved so much better… Kagome would have wanted them to remember her in happiness… she deserved to be remembered in happiness… It was so hard for Inuyasha to understand that…
The young monk studied his surroundings carefully, the forest was dark and thick, the leafy trees stood erect and seemed to stretch into the sky for an eternity. Vines and ferns sprouted all over the place in a tangled mess, and wild fruits hung from nearby branches. A little family of speckled mushrooms were looking up at him from underneath a rock, and an owl was calling from somewhere in the dark mass of branches and leaves…
Eventually, Miroku's wandering eyes fell on Inuyasha. The hanyou's face seemed strangely angry and restless even when he was sleeping. The firelight shed strange patches of golden light over his face and lit his silver hair with an orange gloss. Miroku felt a wave of pity for his friend. He wondered if Inuyasha would ever be able to accept the death of Kagome…
"I want it too, you know." A female voice said suddenly, startling him out of his thoughts.
"Sango!" He said, surprised. "I didn't realize that you were still awake."
Sango rose up from the ground, and pushed herself up right so that she was facing the fire with Miroku. She bent up her knees from beneath her blanket, and rested her chin on her kneecaps. Her soft figure was illuminated with a gentle mixture of moon and firelight, making her seem thoughtful, and beautiful… and sad. He hated it when she looked that way. "I couldn't sleep." She said tiredly as she tilted her head to the side, letting her hair fall over her shoulders. "I can almost never sleep anymore."
Miroku did not know how to reply. So he didn't.
"I want it," Sango said, glancing at Inuyasha, "almost as badly as he does."
"Revenge." Miroku said, making Sango stare silently into the flame.
"Yes."
Miroku sighed, leaning against the damp tree trunk behind him. Its bark rubbed against his back, before he could settle into a comfortable position. "Revenge… it is a treacherous thing…"
Sango turned away from the fire, only to watch the way its golden light played over Miroku's handsome face. "What do you mean?"
Miroku's violet eyes wandered through the endless ocean of stars above him, before coming back down to Earth and resting on the two gruesome snakeheads, sitting impaled in the fire's core, roasting with gaping jaws and deadly fangs. "Look at those two snakes, in the fire." He said finally. "One of them was the other's mate."
Sango stared blankly at the fire. "How do you know that?"
"When a snake dies," Miroku said, still staring at the roasting heads. "And it does not return, the mate goes out looking for it. When it finds it, it wraps itself around the body of the dead one."
Sango frowned, slightly disturbed.
"Then the live snake tries to kill whatever killed its mate, by striking anything that passes it by. Revenge was ultimately what led to the second snake's demise, as I was what killed her mate, and it turned out that I was also perfectly capable of killing her a well."
Sango was silent for a long time. "I don't understand what you're trying to say."
Miroku nodded, as if he had expected her to be confused. She watched him carefully as he crossed his legs and let his golden staff fall a little to the side. He often held it loosely in his large, strong hands. "Revenge, while it often may drive a person to the ends of the Earth, is also known to be consuming. As time drags on, it turns into an obsession, and it can, at times, become true that the person is no longer acting for the sake of whomever he or she has lost, but just for the sake of being vengeful… because revenge is the only thing that drives them on. They lose their soul to their hate for whomever did them a wrong, and it is replaced with an unshakable bitterness. They're revenge transforms them into a soulless, hateful being… someone who can't even spare the time, to enjoy the rest of their life…"
Sango thought for a while, studying the snakeheads before saying with a cold determination. "I will not become such a person."
Miroku was silent for a long time, listening to the crickets chirping in the distance, and watching Sango as she stared into the fire before finally saying, "I fear, Sango, that you and Inuyasha are already well on your way."
A/N: Oh, gee, that's was nice ofMiroku wasn't it? And by the way, if any of you can prove that snakes don't actually do that, then be my guest. I just readthat they doin Huckleberry Fin. So I'm totally going with Mark Twain's word on this one ok?
REVIEWERS ROCK! (and remember, its ok to tell me that i stuck at this: Flames and all that good stuff are welcome,ok? ok.)
XOX Nanirain