Chapter 15: The Fall Out
A/N: Alright here we go again. Next chapter next chapter. They're coming up really fast aren't they? Anyway here it is. (By the way it has not been read over. Sorry I don't have the time)
Disclaimer: I only own Tetsuya and Kimiko. So there:P
The Fall Out:
"You failed me."
"… I'm sorry."
"You didn't even wound him."
"… I know."
"You know? Then, do you know how many people will die today because of what you've done? Or rather… what you haven't done?"
"… I'm sorry."
"You betray them."
"…I know."
"And you betray me."
"… I'm sorry."
There was a tired sigh. "I know you are." And then a pause, "Tell me what happened."
"… I… I don't know."
"Did he hurt you?"
"No."
"Did he hurt anyone else?"
"No."
"And you're alright?"
"Yes…" She said softly before hesitantly meeting his eyes, ashamed and guilty and young looking. "Naraku… I'm so sorry."
"I know… but just… just go to sleep for now. We'll…" he looked at her tiredly, trying to hide that he was upset. "We'll deal with this… in the morning. Good night, Sayuri."
"Good night, Naraku."
Kagome replayed the conversation over and over in her mind as she walked down the dimly lit hallways. It had happened about an hour ago, and only mere minutes after she had returned from the "battle" with Inuyasha. She had been dreading every moment of waiting to see him. She could practically see the look on his face already; she knew he would be disappointed in her. And she hated it.
Only after Kagura had finally been able to explain that the man who was slain in the road was only a lifeless duplicate of Naraku, and not the real thing, had Kagome been able to calm down. Though she was still shaken by the idea of Naraku practicing that kind of magic. She hadn't known that he had those kinds of powers, and now that she did, she wondered what else she didn't know about him… and then felt guilty for wondering.
The jumble of pent up emotions inside her only served to sharpen her feeling of uneasiness. As it was, it had taken her a full half hour to come out of the shock of seeing the puppet being beheaded, and to be honest, she was still a little shaken… she was shaken about the whole thing. For a moment on the road she thought that she had lost him… him, the one connection to herself… the one who knew who she was, the one who cared the most about her, and the only person she could really trust. If she ever did lose him, she knew that she would have lost herself… lost all her chances at ever finding the memories of her past. And at the moment, nothing was more precious than her past. Without it, she didn't have the faintest inkling as to who she was… and that was the most frightening thing on Earth.
"You should be in bed right now."
Kagome blinked and looked up… strangely unsurprised. There was a tall figure standing in the dimly lit hallway, midnight shadows clinging thickly to the folds of his navy blue kimono and his eyes. "Tetsuya…" She said softly, looking at him as if he were a dream. "I couldn't sleep."
He stared at her for a long time, or at least he seemed to be, the dark shadows were so thick around his eyes that she couldn't see them. But that wasn't what bothered her. What bothered her was his silence. It was long, and deadly… cold. It unnerved her.
Then, he stepped into the light of a nearby torch, the shadows shrinking away and clinging now to his knees, which were still shrouded in darkness. She could see his bright eyes with perfect clarity, now and she almost wished he would move back into the shadows again. Because they were more unnerving than the silence. Their bright green intensity seemed to be boring into her with an incredible force. She wondered maybe if he was trying to look through her. Or maybe he was just trying to freak her out, in which case he was doing a great job. "He killed my mother." He said suddenly, his voice hard.
Kagome blinked, caught of guard for what had to be the billionth time that day. "Wh-what?" She whispered, her voice coming out weaker than she intended. For some reason, the only person she could think that he was talking about was Naraku.
"About Inuyasha." Tetsuya said curtly, his expression gradually turning into a glare. "Did you even try to fight him today?"
Kagome stared in shock. "Yes…" She said, sounding unsure, even to herself. " Of… of course I did."
"Really?" Tetsuya asked cutting into her stuttering tone with sharp clarity. He was looking at her seriously, as if prompting her to be honest with him. "Did you try your best to defeat him today?"
'No.' " I - "
"Please, Sayuri," He said quickly, cutting her off, "just tell me that you at least tried." He said. His tone was still deadly serious, shooting down any hope she had left that this was some sort of cruel joke, Tetsuya had never acted like this before. He was being… mean. "Just tell me." He said, his voice becoming faster and less cold. "Just tell me that you did and I'll…" He faded, his voice wavering. "It will be ok… if you just tell me you tried to kill him." He said, somewhat weakly. "It'll… It'll be ok… if you did."
She opened her mouth to say yes. Of course she had. But something about the way he was looking at her kept her from lying. She couldn't lie. Not to someone like Tetsuya. "No." She said softly, a little afraid of his reaction. "I didn't."
He blinked those hard green eyes and looked at her, for a moment his face growing stony before he made a visible effort to relax again. "Why?" He asked, his voice too soft for her to barely hear.
"I… I don't know." She said lamely. "I couldn't." She said, stepping closer to him, getting the feeling that somehow he was drawing back from her even though he wasn't moving. "I couldn't do it when I saw him…. I was scared." She tried to defend herself, which for some reason, just made her feel worse. "And… its just that…" she tried to express something to him… something she hadn't been able to get across to anyone, not even Naraku. "I just couldn't… see any… evil… in him."
"You couldn't see… any evil." Tetsuya echoed slowly, his face almost blank.
She could feel the tension. "I tried to." She said quickly, stepping closer to him so that now they were only inches apart. "I tried to! I tried!" She insisted. "I wanted to see the evil, but, Tetsuya, he didn't do anything to me. He never hurt-"
"Do you know who Inuyasha is?" Tetsuya asked suddenly, cutting her off as if maybe he had never been listening, as if maybe he had stopped listening to her before she even had had her chance to try and explain. His copper-green eyes were challenging her to understand… they angry. "Do you know what he's done to people!"
"But he didn't do anything to anyone today!" Kagome said suddenly, as if somehow, that would justify that she had let him go.
"He killed my mother!" Tetsuya roared, for the first time since Kagome had met him, he was completely enraged. "He murdered her! In her own home! I listened to it! I listened to him take everything I had away from me, and you just let him – you! You! … " His voice cracked and he trailed, at a loss for words but still fuming with rage, and also… unspeakably sad. "You let him…" He whispered, his voice shaking. She could tell from the way it had cracked when he had been yelling at her, and how it had sounded when he had whispered just then that he had allowed himself to cave in on the inside. Cheerful, helpful, strong Tetsuya had come within inches of losing it. Maybe he already had.
She could see the little boy inside the man… he was looking out at her from inside those furious green eyes, pleading to her to help him somehow with the pain…the incredible pain. He was the little boy who was still hiding in a closet, listening to the sounds of his mother being slaughtered… by Inuyasha. Slowly the horror sunk in. The day when Tetsuya told her about his mother returned to her slowly… "killed by a demon"… She felt her lips part a little as she stared at him… she hadn't realized that Inuyasha had been the demon… "Tetsuya, I'm…" she reached out with her hand to touch his shoulder before hesitating and then letting it drop. "I'm sorry."
There was a long silence. Kagome felt the guilt begin to seep into her body... and it hurt her. "I'm sorry." She whispered again. "I'm sorry." She couldn't seem to say anything else. Every time she opened her mouth the words just popped out, unable to b controlled. "I'm sorry." And she hated herself for it, because she knew that this time sorry wasn't enough.
Finally Tetsuya inhaled deeply, closing his eyes tightly and clenching his jaw shut as if to keep himself from saying anything more. Finally he exhaled, seeming to relax. "It's… ok." He said slowly. "It's not your fault." When he opened his eyes the little boy was gone. And now all that was there was the man, the shielded, protected man, who didn't want her help.
She could tell he didn't mean it. She could tell from the way he looked at her that he blamed her. He blamed her for everything, and he wasn't ever going to forgive. How could he? She had let the man who had killed his mother and his father get away… again. "Tetsuya," she started, but was cut short as he turned away from her and strode down the hall. As she watched him go, her mouth opened and then slowly closed again as she tried desperately to say something to him.
"I… I'm sorry!" She finally blurted out as he rounded the corner in the dim light. She ran after him, the guilt driving her to catch up and say something; do something; anything that could possibly allow him to begin to forgive her. Anything to help that little boy who was still crying in a closet… listening. "Tetsuya!" But he was gone. Only a long stretch of empty hallway was there for her. She felt an acid-sick feeling spread through her stomach and then condense inside the back of her throat, making her want to throw up. "I'm sorry…" She said weakly one more time before turning and trying to find her way back to her own room.
… Meanwhile …
'Damn that Naraku…' Inuyasha cursed to himself as he tore through the forest, his feet barely touching the moist carpet of crushed leaves and pine scented soil. 'If he thinks that this is the end of it… he's wrong… he's dead wrong! I won't let it end this way.' He grit his teeth together to try and contain his anger, feeling the way the grinded fiercely in his skull. 'I won't…'
"Are you sure it was a good idea to leave Miroku behind?" Sango asked worriedly as Kilala pulled up beside him, the heat from the cat-demon's flames making the skin on his face tighten with the heat. However, they also served as torches to help light their way, although Inuyasha didn't need it. He was too mad to need to know where he was going. So what if he hit a tree? He'd go through it. He didn't care about the pain… Fortunately, though, Kilala's orange flame danced on the tree trunks and forest floor around them, and the rest of the world was lost in thick shadows; the moon could not pierce through the thick net of leaves above them.
"We didn't have a choice." Inuyasha said bluntly, running a bit faster, the cool wind he created smoothing across his face and plastering back his silver hair. "He's still unconscious from the venom."
That didn't help. The slayer was worried. She was very worried.There was a long period in time in which all that could be heard was the rushing of air and the rapid tapping of Inuyasha's toes hitting the leaves beneath him. Then finally, she spoke up again, her poison-shielding mask, a piece of carefully-crafted iron that fit over her nose and mouth, muffling her voice and making it sound deeper than it really was. "But what if-"
"He'll be fine, Sango." Inuyasha interrupted forcefully, somewhat to her annoyance. "I asked that little girl, Kimiko or whatever her name is, to take care of him." She could tell he was impatient, but that didn't mean she wasn't just as irritated at the way he had snapped at her. He of all people should understand what it was that she was feeling, he worried more about Kagome than she or Miroku worried about each other combined… at least when she was alive he had. Then she suddenly realized that Kagome was alive, and she could have slapped herself for falling back into the old habbit of thinking that the girl was dead… she was alive…and they were going to find her soon.
Inuyasha knew Sango was worried about Miroku, and so was he… a little. But mostly all he was worried about now was Kagome… As it was he could barely hold onto the few traces of her scent that he could detect. But he wasn't going to let himself loose it, he was never going to let himself loose it. He was going to find her. He didn't care what he had to do.
…Back at Naraku's Palace…
The single shaft of silver moonlight streamed through her window and washed Kagome's face with a pale, white glow, illuminating specs of feather-dust that floated lazily through the air. She stared at the large semi-circle that loomed gracefully up in the sky, so still and serene… so… peaceful… so the exact opposite of what she was feeling inside.
How had she allowed herself to mess up so badly? To mess up everything? She turned over on her cot, her stomach still churning in her gut, constantly reminding her that she had let everyone down. That she had let the murderer of Tetsuya's mother get away… she had let the slaughterer of her own people get away…
She frowned and turned her face down into the pillow, her fingers gripping into the softness as she mentally pummeled herself, suppressing a scream.
"He killed my mother! He murdered her! In her own home!"
Kagome cringed… she had let everyone down… and they had been counting on her… how could she? By now the guilt was crushing her, threatening to suffocate… to strangle her… And as if that wasn't enough, she as also thinking about the fact that with Inuyasha still alive, she and Naraku could never be together…
She felt the guilt, still festering inside her start to carve out a hollow place in her heart. It ached so badly she wanted to cry again. But the tears did not come… she was too tired to cry again. Maybe she was all cried out.
And as she lay there, painfully attuned to her own pain, she became aware of a feeling that someone was watching her. Slowly she lifted her face out of the pillow and turned to look over her shoulder… but there was no one. She shook her head, shaking off the nerves, and buried it in her pillow once more. If only she could just get to sleep…
… Somewhere Deep Inside the Castle…
Naraku's room was quiet and strange feeling. The electric energy in the air made the tiny hairs on the back of Kagura's neck stand as she entered. A cool sweat broke over her head. And she was stirred by a feeling of… restlessness. She frowned a little as she recognized what was putting her entire body on edge. Anxiously she shifted, drawing her fan and holding it against her chest. Something was going on. And she had a fairly good idea of what it was. But she hoped that it wouldn't go wrong… she just hoped desperately that just this once… something wouldn't go wrong.
"Kagura." A cool voice made her jump in surprise. She whipped around to see Naraku sitting on the small wooden step in front of his sliding door. His now slate blue eyes were more intense than usual… maybe it was because of the way the steel blue moonlight reflected off the silvery baboon pelt wrapped loosely around his shoulders. He met her stare grimly.
"Master." She bowed slightly, her hair falling towards the floor as she acknowledged him properly, all the while trying her best to hide the bitter resent she felt towards him.
"We wait for your sister, Kagura." Naraku ignored the suspicious look that Kagura was giving him with her sharp scarlet eyes. "Very soon we shall move again."
"Move?"
"Yes… because of Inuyasha." Naraku said, the corner of his lip twisting downwards in disgust. "He is following the girl's scent… and I cannot hide it from him."
"He seems more determined that usual to track us." Kagura said, raising an eyebrow at her master while trying to hide a smirk. "He has never been able to hold onto a scent for this long before."
Naraku didn't reply. He merely sat there, brooding, his face a sickly pale.
"Perhaps it was not such a good idea to provoke him with the girl, after all." Kagura said still with a smirk, eyes now dancing. Instantly she regretted it. "AH!" In a matter of seconds she was collapsed on the floor, choking on her own breath, her body was shuddering violently. Her fan skidded away from her reaching hand, which trembled like spiders. "What are you-?" She gasped, trying just to breathe without the pain.
"Do not mock me, Kagura." Naraku said icily. She looked at him, her hand clutching at her chest where the sudden and unbearable pain had come from. Her scarlet eyes widened when she saw… in his hand was a soft, pulsing heart. Her heart. Thin trails off blood leaking from the tissue and staining the flesh on his hand. And Kagura found herself powerless to do anything except stare in shock. Her heart… he was holding her heart. It was right there… just beyond her reach. Her freedom. The only thing that kept her bound to this monster… the only god damned thing… but it was still in his hands.
Then she managed to notice a small puncture wound in the upper left-hand chamber, the moonlit blood pumping from it steadily, no doubt an injury he had just inflicted on it to cause her pain. "Let me remind you, sorceress, that I still hold this." Naraku said, indicating to the pulsing flesh in his hands. "And I can dispose of both you and it at any time I like." He was standing over her now, his shadowy figure blocking out the light… it scared her shitless, but she would never let him see. "Do not test me." He said darkly.
"As you wish." She gasped raggedly, the pain still screaming. "Master Naraku." And just like that the pain was gone.
"Inuyasha is too close." Naraku said, turning away and sitting down again on the wooden step. "We must move the castle again… tonight."
'Damn…' Kagura thought bitterly to herself as she took her fan from the floor and pushed herself to a shaky stand. 'So much for hoping something goes right…'
… Back in Kagome's Room…
It was there. That feeling that she couldn't get rid of. Something felt… wrong. What was it? Kagom kicked the soft sheets from her body in frustration and stood up. It was this room… there was something in this room… she couldn't' shake the feeling that something in the room was wrong… very wrong. What was it? Was someone in there with her? She stood slowly and turned in a small circle, watching the shadows carefully for any movement. She tried in vain to shake it off… but she couldn't. It was gnawing inside her stomach… and it was getting stronger… but what was it! She felt herself begin to panic.
…And Back to the Two Energizer-Bunny-Runners…
"Inuyasha are you sure you know what you're doing!"
"Dammit! Yes, already! How many times are you going to ask me that!" He yelled in frustration. Inuyasha had been able to track Kagome out of the woods and now was running through a wild meadow, his feet kicking up the soft soil like a jackrabbit digging itself a den. But her scent was still so faint… he wasn't even sure if it was real anymore… maybe it was only a figment of his imagination. But damn it if he wasn't going to let that get in his way. He wasn't going to let anything get in his way.
"I'm worried!"
He fought down a harsh growl, raking through his mind, trying desperately to think of what Kagome would say to him if she were there right now. Probably something along the lines of: "calm down, Inuyasha. Sango's your friend remember? And besides, you can't reallyblame her for worrying, can you?" But it was so much easier to listen to her when she was actually there.
"Then just go back if you're worried about that lecherous bastard!" He snapped angrily. "I'll find Kagome on my own!"
Sango gritted her teeth. When he put it like that, it made her feel as if she were cheating out on her best friend… but Miroku was still sick and paralyzed. He was unconscious… at least they knew Kagome was alive, now. Or at least she had been earlier that morning. But Sango wasn't even sure Inuyasha knew where he was going anymore.
Then it suddenly came to the distracted slayer's attention how heavily Kilala was breathing. Beneath her the demon was begging to shake slightly, her muscles no doubt were aching. Sango couldn't blame her either, they must have been running around the countryside like this for at least six hours now. (A/N: See I told you, Energizer-Bunny-Runners… the two of them!) And she had ridden Kilala the entire way… it was the only way for her to physically be able to keep up with Inuyasha. Sango stroked the cat-demon's neck with worry. It wouldn't be long before her beloved Kilala would need to rest… or else she would collapse into the ground, twitching. Inuyasha however, showed no signs of dying down any time soon. Or ever for that matter. "Inuyasha!" She called out irritably. "Slow down!"
"Can't!" Was the rough reply.
"Do you even know where you're going anymore!" The Slayer demanded angrily.
He threw an annoyed look at her over his shoulder, his golden eyes making her stomach twist in fear for only a moment. "For the last time, dammit! YES!" He roared angrily. "And if you ask me that question one more time I'll – OOPMH!"
Sango blinked in surprise as Inuyasha's body jolted and then ricocheted off nothing. Kilala halted abruptly and watched as well as the hanyou's body traveled in a long airborne arch and then disappeared in the chest-high grass with a solid 'thud'. Sango stared for a few moments before slowly dismounting Kilala, her hands lingering on the cat-demon's back as she looked at the patch of grass in which Inuyasha had disappeared. It was suspiciously still…
"…. Inuyasha?"
…In the Rainy Village…
It was dark, and the stars were bright. Half a moon hung over the little damp village in the valley. A frog hidden in the brush croaked quietly, chirping in a rhythm that stirred Miroku from his poison-induced slumber. Though he was still drowsy… his limbs thick-feeling from the venom of the Samyosho.
His violet eyes slowly drifted open and he peered wearily at a straw thatched ceiling, thick with shadows of the night, making it even harder for him to clarify exactly where he was. "Hmm… curious…" he said softly to himself, realizing he must have been in some sort of hut. Then, something small moved from his right, barely stirring in the shadows. He tried to roll over to see it more clearly but his body would not respond. Apparently he was still paralyzed. "Sango?" He called quietly, his voice raspy. "… or possibly, though slightly less preferred: … Inuyasha?"
There was a silence. And then: "They're not here right now."
Miroku blinked at the unfamiliar voice. Soon a pair of bright green eyes were gazing into his, steadily and unafraid… and innocent. He recognized vaguely that the young sound present in the person's voice must have meant that it belonged to a child… how strange.
"Hello?"
"Hi."
The silence was thick… maybe hew as dreaming. "Who is this?"
"My name's Kimiko. The funny man with the ears asked me to take care of you while they went somewhere."
"Funny man… with the ears?" Miroku echoed softly. Didn't most men have ears, funny or not? Perhaps the child was referring to a stand-up comedian or something of the sort with unfortunately grotesque and disfigured ears…. though that would be a rather peculiar quality with which to be identified… especially by a child… but, oh… wait… "You mean Inuyasha?" The dazed monk asked, getting no response.
"He hasn't told me his name."
Miroku smirked. Definitely Inuyasha. Then he sighed, tired. Damn the venom had slowed his senses… imagine… he had been thinking of a comedian with disfigured ears…
"The funny-looking man said they'd be back by morning."
"Morning? What time is it now?"
"Night time."
"… How old are you?"
"Seven."
"Hmm…"
"Are you feeling any better?" The green eyes blinked.
Miroku considered before answering. "I'm feeling good enough to be awake, I imagine."
The silence was his only response. The child was not impressed. "Hey, Mr.?"
"Yes?" he asked, closing his eyes in an attempt to go back to sleep.
"If you die… could you try and wait until morning to do it?" She asked quietly. "I don't want the funny-man to get mad at me… he's mean."
Miroku laughed quietly, ignoring the pain in his chest as he listened to the girl. "Yes…" he said after a while. "I imagine… that I might be able to wait until morning."
"Promise?"
"(sigh) Promise."
… Inuyasha and Sango…
"Inuyasha?" Sango called out, wondering if maybe he had passed out of exhaustion. Beside her, Kilala sniffed the air lightly and cocked her head.
Then Sango heard it. Soft, maniacal laughter…the grass which was cloaking Inuyasha's body stirred a bit.
"I-Inuyasha?" She asked, now nervous.
"Heh… heh heh heh… Ha! Ah ha ha Ha HA! YES!" The silver haired hanyou finally leapt up, emerging from the ocean of yellow-colored grass, his eyes wild and excited, the Tetsuigia fully drawn (and now officially back in order).
Sango raised an eyebrows, slightly surprised, but mostly unsure and cautious. "Great…" She said slowly after a while. "He's finally lost it…" If she could barely deal with a sane Inuyasha… she had no idea how she was supposed to be able to handle an insane Inuyasha.
"Don't you see, Sango!" Inuyasha demanded, his eyes still wild with excitement. "It's a barrier!" Slowly the blade in his hand turned a crimson red. "It's his barrier! I told you I knew where I was going!" he said triumphantly before slicing through the invisible wall. Sango blinked as the air became tinged with blue and seemed to wrinkle before dissipating in the air. A dark castle suddenly appeared in front of them, a sickeningly strong demonic aura suddenly washing over her, making her cough a little, despite her poison-shielding mask. "Come on!" Inuyasha called as he raced inside, mane of silver hair flying out behind him.
Sango stared after him a while before jumping back onto Kilala's back and rushing after him. "Yeah," She said softly to herself. "He knew exactly where he was going… that's the reason why he had to run face first into it to find it…" Kilala made a slightly annoyed noise in agreement. But at least they were closer to Kagome now… and maybe they could kill Naraku this time. Sango's fingers wove tightly into Kilala's mane and a surge of energy rushed through her veins. Maybe this time she could avenge her family… and save her little brother… and finally kill that monster who had taken so much from them all.
'Hold on Kagome….' Inuyasha thought to himself, the sword in his hand humming with energy. 'I'm coming.' He shielded his face with his sleeve as a burst of thick purple miasma gushed up into his face.
… Back In Naraku's Room…
Suddenly the demon prince froze, his slate blue eyes grew wide. Kagura felt her own body go on edge as she noticed her master's reaction. "That wretch…" he said softly as he looked out the window uneasily. "He's broken through my barrier…"
Kagura braced herself against the wall. She knew that they were leaving… now. "Do you mean to move the castle along with everybody inside it?" She questioned Naraku, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the idea. He had never done that before.
Naraku turned and smiled that wicked smile at her, his slate blue eyes toying. "Come now, Kagura." He said, his voice unbearable for her to even hear. "You of all people should be comfortable with a little bit of flying."
… And now to Kagome…
In her own room, Kagome was having a nervous breakdown. At this point the feeling was infecting every corner of her mind. She jumpier than she had ever been in her entire life. And she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her… or possibly even following her around the room, looming up behind her back, reaching for her. But whenever she turned around there was no one there. No one she could see anyway. What was wrong with her? Suddenly the under-cellar room shot into her mind with frightening clarity. She could remember exactly the way she had felt when she had first awoken down there… panicked. What if that thing was coming for her again? What if this time she couldn't get away? She shook the thought away. It wasn't going to happen.
"Stop freaking out…" She told herself quietly, rubbing her palms up and down her crossed arms. She was freezing. And she couldn't stay here. She had to get out of this room. Wouldn't that help? Or was it safer in here? "Ok, Sayuri, calm down." She told herself firmly. "Just… Just get it together… Just go the kitchen and get a snack or something…" She swallowed for the dryness. Ok. Good plan. Hopefully she wouldn't run into a certain red haired cook while she was there. She wouldn't know how to look him in the eye if she did.
Kagome sighed, making her way over to the closet to get her blue robe, noticing how icy cold the wooden panels were on the soles of her feet. It was enough to make them ache. Hopefully the robe would warm her up, and hopefully that alone might serve to calm her down a little. She couldn't seem to figure out what it was that was unnerving her so badly. Shaking her head, she opened the mahogany doors with the little iron handles and reached in to pull out her robe, her hand brushing against the cold blue materials. And then Tetsuya's dead body fell out on top of her, pinning her to the ground.
A/N: Ok I know I know I said that Inuyasha and Kagome would be together in the end of this chapter. But it was just so damn long! And plus… I luv cliffies. :D! I was going to keep going with the chapter, but instead I think I'll let this one sit for a while and get some reviews (possibly flames for the breaking of an unofficial promise) and then I'll post the next chapter, which is already written by the way. (Well most of it anyway). HAHA! JUST KIDDING! This is what I was going to say… but then I decided not to. Because you know, I promised and all. But this was such a gooood cliffie! So do me a favor and just go get a glass of water and drink it in the kitchen or something, because then at least it will sort of be like the chapter ended here… only it won't have… ok?
… Inuyasha…
The miasma, at the moment, was doing nothing extremely damaging to his body. But it would be soon if he stayed in it long enough. At the moment it only felt as if there were a severe, raw burn eating away at the back of his throat (A/N: Think fifteen of those Listerine paper-thin packets all at once). It did nothing to hinder him now… but it was only the begging. He had a feeling he would be there for a while.
Behind him Sango and Kilala were slowing, the demon cat was already exhausted from having flown around for the entire day nonstop and she was also still recovering from Kagura's attack earlier that morning. The demon would be fine for now… but he wouldn't be able to depend on her for as long as he would have liked. And Sango? … Sango was only human. A tough human… but still human. And if anything happened to her, he knew of a certain religiously perverted someone who would have his head jammed on his "holy" seven-ringed staff before Inuyasha could blink. But he had other things to worry about. Like finding her.
"Kagome where are you!" No answer. He was almost to the castle now, anxiousness driving him to go faster. "Kagome!" 'I'm almost there… Kagome…'
Suddenly there was a huge groan. Followed by the deafening sound of cracking wood and ripping earth. Ahead of them the castle began to shake. The stonewall around it was down in a matter of seconds, with a horrible cracking sound making his ears ring. Inuyasha instinctively pinned the silver ears down, trying to block out the noise. But it didn't help anyway. Before him the castle was bursting into a column of thick, purple miasma.
"Damn it!" Inuyasha cursed angrily as he stopped for a moment, his feet digging into the soft soil.
"Inuyasha!" Sango started, alarmed, as she came up from behind him on Kilala.
"I know…" Inuyasha said darkly. "They're moving the castle again…"
"What… what should we do?" Sango asked, a bit of worry evident in her voice.
"We do what we planned to do in the first place, dammit!" Inuyasha responded hotly, turning on her as if she had suggested to him that they go back. "We're going to save Kagome! I don't care if wants to move the entire island of Japan!"
…Naraku and Kagura…
"Are you sure you should do this without waking the girl?" Kagura asked in a voice of mild curiosity and disinterest. Purple fountains of miasma were gushing out of the floorboards now.
"She won't know what's happened until tomorrow. And in which case I will have thought of something to tell her."
"This may frighten her a bit." Kagura said, watching as the castle began to shake.
"That is none of my concern."
… To Kagome… and well… that… you know…
It was heavy… and it was stiff. It was staring at her. And she stared back.
All she could do was stare. She stared at the far-away copper green eyes which were staring back at her lifelessly… empty. Thick locks of red hair were falling into her face. But they were stringy… and moist. For the moment she was stunned. And Tetsuya was dead. When it hit her she gasped, her hand instinctively moving to cover her mouth, but finding that it, along with the rest of her body, was being crushed to the floor by Tetsuya's corpse… unmoving… unseeing… and very dead… she could smell it.
"Oh my God…" She said softly, turning her face to the side and closing her eyes tight. "Oh my God!"
She scrambled out from underneath the weight, feeling dirty and tainted… his body had been on hers… it had been crushing against hers… and it was so cold… cold and soft feeling skin that was rotting, and beneath were hard, brittle bones… the corpse was disgusting feeling, filthy… and dead. It had been on her. Frantically she got as far away from the body as she could, practically running into the corner wall. Once there she pressed her body up against the cold wood, as if trying to go through it. "Oh my God… Oh my God… Oh my God…"
She felt herself sinking to the floor, her body still pressed into the corner. She could feel the body in the room with her, no matter how tightly she closed her eyes she knew it was there. She could feel it. It was almost as if Tetsuya was watching her… staring at her… with those lifeless green eyes… she opened her own momentarily as she realized that that was the feeling that she had been experiencing all night… she just hadn't known what it was before.
Slowly she began to think, and that's when she became afraid. It didn't make sense… none of it made sense… what had happened to him? How had he ended up in here with her? In her closet! She felt suddenly sick as the turned and looked at the still body on the other side of the room, his face was pressed into the wood… but he was still watching her. Somehow.
She took a deep breath of filthy air and swallowed hard. The sick feeling wasn't' going away… how had he gotten in there? How long had be been in there for? Finally she wasn't able to hold it back anymore. She felt a violent shudder move through her entire body, her emotions snapping her bones and penetrating into her mind, forcing their way out all at the same time. That was it. That was all she could take. It was her limit. Kagome closed her eyes as tightly as she could against the shaking and the nausea, bit her lip one more time to try and hold it all back, and then she screamed. She screamed and screamed and screamed… she screamed until the back of her throat was bleeding and raw, tears were ebbing out of her eyes and streaming down her cold-sweat face. And all the while she could feel Tetsuya watching her… staring at her… copper-green eyes wide… and dead.
She had to get out. She wasn't even aware of when she had stopped screaming. But that was the first thing that popped into her mind. Out. She needed out. She needed away from the body… the rotting, cold, dead, crushing body. But it was lying in her way… it was blocking the door… she would have to move it… to touch it to get it out of her way… and she didn't know if she could handle that.
… With Inuyasha…
Inuyasha heard the scream. He heard the scream and he knew it was her. Something inside him snapped. And he was a mixture of emotions, of anger that she was screaming, that Naraku might have been doing something to her to hurt her… he would kill him.
Anxiety that he wouldn't be able to get to her in time… just like last time. When he had lost her…
Triumph that he finally knew where she was… that he knew she was alive…
Worry that she was afraid… that she was in danger
And guilt. Guilt because he should have been there for her. He should have been protecting her. He should be with her right now.
Sango watched as the hanyou's ears perked and his attention snapped in a certain direction. She was guessing he had heard something. Something she couldn't hear. Meanwhile her vision was begging to get fuzzy. Things were started to blur slightly, the borders of earth and air started to melt into one… and her head began to ache.
"Inuyasha!" She called wearily after the disappearing silver figure in the poison purple mist. But it was no use. He was gone.
…And Kagome…
She stared at the still body, as if half expecting it to reach out suddenly and grab her. A wild and crazy smile spread over Tetsuya's dead body. She had edged her way around the room, so that she was in the corner closest to the door. It was only inches away… but so was the body… and she couldn't get around him.
The fear was building up inside her. A fear that she had never. Electric and consuming, crazy fear… but paralyzing. She couldn't move. She was too afraid, but on the inside she was going crazy. Her hands were shaking, her skin was white… almost as white as him.
"Ok…" She said slowly, but then shut up, somehow feeling that her voice was breaking the silence and putting herself in danger. That somehow the silence would make her the focus of the room… of the only thing living in the room… of the thing that had yet to die, and so therefore must be killed… like Tetsuya had been killed. 'Just… focus on the door…' she told herself firmly, trying her hardest to push away the fear. But it could not be pushed back. It was slowly eating at the back of her mind, like a maggot, and it was threatening to drive her insane. Her eyes flicked back down to the body and were caught there. 'Don't look at him!' She shouted desperately to herself, and her eyes snapped back to the door, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that he was watching her… smiling at her…
'Just look at the door…' She told herself, inching forwards, refusing to look down… but knowing that he was there… waiting for her to get close enough. 'Just look at the door…' She repeated, her fear a sick tightness in her entire body… she was going to throw up… or faint… or pass out… and he was watching her. 'Just look at the door…. Just look at the door… Just look at the door… Just look at the door… just look at the door… just look at the door… Just-'
She tripped over something. She knew what it was. It was hard and soft… and it moved against the floor. The fear gripped her, and suddenly she was lunging for the door, screaming again, crying again, stumbling over something as she moved forwards toward the door… she knew what it was. She yanked the sliding door open with a slam, and fell into the hallway, something thumping behind her. She quickly stood, her legs and arms sickeningly twisted and urging her to go… to move. She stood and grabbed the handle to the door, slamming it shut behind her to lock the body in the room, away from her. But something stopped her. The door stopped. It jammed. Automatically Kagome looked down before she could stop herself, looking to see what it was that had jammed the door. It was a hand. Large white fingers crushed in the doorway… and that lead to an arm… and to a face… that was looking up at her… staring at her. Kagome screamed, and she left the door open. Knowing that now the body wasn't closed away inside the room, it was open. And the body was free to follow her, to chase her…
"Naraku!" She screamed as she ran down the hall, blindly, that blood-chilling fear clutching into her shoulders with painful force and forcing itself down on her, making her unaware that she was heading in exactly the opposite direction of Naraku's room… and instead directly to his gardens. "Naraku!" She screamed, her voice desperate, unrecognizable, though she didn't know that at the time. "Naraku!" She screamed, not hearing the sob in her voice. The tears streaming down her face. But no matter how far she ran she would never get away from those eyes… she would never get away from that face.
Then it happened. As she was running, something flew up into her face, choking her, making her stumble. Burning the back of her throat, still bleeding from when she had screamed. She coughed, the blood in her mouth now, and she spat it out, feeling it dribble down her chin. She entered the garden through the back way… unaware of where she was, unaware even of how she had left the castle in the first place. Clouds of purple mist were still gushing out into her face, choking her.
"Naraku!" She screamed, tearing through the carefully designed sand, her footprints kicking and smearing into the wave-like designs. "Naraku!" CRACK! Kagome screamed as she turned around, a dead tree falling near her. She watched in shock as a small pink blossom floated down into her palm and disintegrated into gray ash and dust, and then fluttered away as it tickled her palm. "The Kwanzan Tree…" She said softly to herself. Staring at the charred skeleton of wood and reaching, empty branches… all that was left of the beautiful, fragrant tree that Naraku and she had sat under only days before. That had sheltered them… gone.
Suddenly she realized what it was that was choking her. It was miasma. Tons and tons of miasmas, bursting up through huge jagged, rips in the ground… like some giant had clawed at it… It burned like acid in her lungs… making her dizzy… her tears stinging viciously, biting into her flesh… there was a loud hissing noise from her left, making her jump and whip around. Behind her the pond was dissipating, its water bubbling up like a boiling pot and then vanishing, thin white skeletons of fish bones lay in the bottom of the now empty stone basin. Kagome stared in horror.
"Naraku!" She cried, looking blindly through the miasma to try and find him… everything would be alright… if she could just find him. But she was so dizzy… and so sick… she could barely breathe. Before she knew it she was on the ground… the world spinning… she could barely see anymore… blinded… "Naraku…" She whispered desperately, trying her best not to pass out… not to die… like those green eyes…
She seemed to lie there forever, drifting, burning… the acid slowly gnawing away at her flesh… slowly licking away the layers of her skin… it hurt so badly… if only she could just get it over with… if she could just find Naraku. She wouldn't have to die… Then a thought struck her, struck her like a sledgehammer strikes a splint into a log… a kind of numb thought… slow at first and then brought back with a fierce reality. "I think … I'm going to die…" She said slowly, her voice rasping. The acid was burning at her still… killing her still. Trying hard to stop from inhaling it, Kagome buried her face into the dirt. But that didn't help. The ground was infected, dampened with the same searing miasma. It was hopeless, she decided, on the verge of tears… she was going to die, again. She had never even gotten the chance to find her memories… she had never had to chance to remember who she was… or be in love with Naraku.
'Naraku…' She thought weakly as she resided herself to death, the pain was unbearable. 'Why won't you come and save me?'
A rough hand reached around the back of her head and grabbed her by the face. She tried to gasp in surprise, but some sort of cloth was being pushed into her mouth and over her nose. It was a strange hard cloth… and yet… strangely supple… familiar… It was wrapped around her body as well. She froze as she felt someone's weight come pressing down on top of her, the torn and tattered muscles in her body aching under the weight. Confused and slightly frantic, she turned her head to look over her shoulder. What she saw shocked her to the point that she almost screamed again… almost. There he was, lying on top of her… glaring at her through the purple mist. "Inuyasha?" She muttered, spitting the cloth out, and staring at him dazedly. "What… are you doing here?"
"Don't speak." He grunted, his amber eyes were squinting against the stinging purple mist. "I've got you."
Suddenly it occurred to her exactly what he was doing, he was shielding her… with his body. She was horrified. "Stop!" She said, trying to push him off of her, weakly shoving at him. "You'll die! Stop!"
"So will you."
"You don't have to go with me!" She shrieked, choking on miasma… it was tearing her up inside… literally. And what was she doing? She was telling the enemy to escape? "Go!" She yelled, ignoring her thoughts, something inside her was too afraid… to frantic… petrified that he should stay there with her… she had no idea why. "Go away! Please! Go! Get out!"
The young man above her did not budge, if anything, he pressed her into the ground harder. Could he even hear her? Was… was he even there? Her head was spinning now. She could barely make anything out. She could barely see his face. "What's w-wrong with you!" She demanded, frustrated, and too weak from the miasma to pus him off. "INUYASHA LEAVE!"
The hanyou only flinched, his silver ears flattening against his head.
"G-go-oh…!" She slurred her words together… disoriented now… the pain was starting to fade. She tried to focus on his face as it began to spin around in her vision… blurry. Somewhere inside herself she knew it was the miasma. She shouldn't have been talking so much, she was only inhaling more. But she couldn't help it. She couldn't stand the thought of him dying there with her. "Leave me here!"
Suddenly the young, silver haired man, who seemed to have ignored her up till this point, turned on her. He was furious, his amber eyes, about the only thing she could recognize anymore, glared down at her with a fierce intensity. "Dammit Kagome!" He roared suddenly, shocking her into silence. "You may not remember who you are," he started angrily, "but I do! And I don't care if you don't remember me! I'll be fucking damned if I ever let anything happen to you again!" With that he pressed her head into the ground with his hand, his claws firm on her head as he put his own into the ground just beside hers. They were so close that their noses were brushing… and his eyes were already closed. As she slowly drifted to unconsciousness… the last thing she was thinking about… was the way his face had looked when he had yelled at her… it had made her feel weird… it had made her feel safe… even though he had been screaming at her. It had made her feel so…
A/N: DAMN THIS WAS LONG! And no I haven't re-read it! This is all just me cramming in hours. (its almost 2:00 a.m. now… im so caffeine needy! Anyway the point is you should forgive if its badly written! I Don't care! I've stayed up all night long writing this and I'm not ever re-reading it again! SO there! And remember guys… review!
xox nanirain