To those I couldn't reply to:

YASHA101: Well, I hope that you still continue to read this. Just because I wrote that some people were flung about the plane doesn't mean that they died. If you read on, you may just figure out who is still alive. Besides, how can I kill off any of the main characters right away? As for the rafts, the passengers were buckled in when the plane began to nosedive. There was really no time for them to get on rafts or any other rescue device. Personally, I hate deaths as well, but some stories need deaths to progress. After all, how can you have a survival story if there isn't some tragedy involved? Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing. Glad you liked it ... somewhat ...

inu+kaglover4ever: Sheesh, okay, okay! Sorry it took so long to come out. I was debating on which direction to take it. But I hope this suffices and holds you over until the next update. I'm happy to see that you're enjoying it so much. lol.

Somewhere Beyond This

Chapter 9: Missing

There was a strange throbbing sensation. I couldn't exactly pinpoint where it was coming from, but I knew it was there. It was like a dull ache that refused to go away, even after a period of time had elapsed. And then there was the burning. My chest felt as if it would explode, as if fire was eating away at me from the inside out.

A black void had consumed my vision, leaving me alone to dwell on the pain around me. Or was it within me? I could no longer tell. I couldn't think straight and my body refused to move. It seemed as though I was paralyzed, strapped to something soft and cool.

Wait ... soft and cool? Don't get me wrong, the brush of chilled blankets comforted the flaming aura surrounding me. But at the same time, I knew that it wasn't exactly as painful as it should have been. After all, I was in great agony ... wasn't I?

"Breathe, damn it!"

Someone spoke. A male voice. It was familiar too, but I just couldn't place where I had heard it before.

A thrust was given to my chest, over and over again. Feeling began to return to my body and I felt cool water coming to the base of my throat.

"Don't you die on me!" the person shouted again. His warm lips began to caress mine in a kiss, and I tried to fervently return the gesture, but it was of no use. It was only a second later that I realized he wasn't kissing me. In fact, he was breathing air through my mouth directly to my lungs.

He was trying to save my life.

"Come on, Kagome," I heard him plea as he removed his lips from mine and began putting pressure against my chest once more. His voice softened a degree, as if losing hope.

And then I felt a wave of determination flow through me. I would live, if only to see the man behind the voice and to reassure that concern in his tone. I fought through the blackness, finding the will to move my limbs and felt water begin to burst forth from my throat.

Suddenly, I felt the haze fade from my mind at the same time I coughed, the salt water spewing from my mouth onto the ground beside me. The man's voice had quieted and the thrusts were no longer present. A hand circled my neck to support my head, helping me sit upright.

"Easy," someone mumbled. "You okay?"

I struggled to nod, but I was still trapped in the darkness. Wanting to see the person behind the alluring voice, I slowly opened my eyes. My vision swirled as I blinked repeatedly, coughs still reverberating from my throat.

Amber. Such an intensity of color mixing with the shadows in the distance. The eyes of my savior were outlined by a silver mane of hair, brushing softly against his cheek as the breeze touched us. I smiled, glad to be able to put a face to the voice, glad that I was out of the darkness.

And then my fantasy came crashing down.

"Inuyasha?" I mumbled, finally coming to reality and realizing who my knight in shining armor was.

The concern disappeared from his eyes, replaced by a cold mask of emotionless facade. "Keh," he growled out, quickly setting me down upon the ground once more. "'Bout time you woke up."

He stood up and moved away, leaving me to watch after him. Who the hell did he think he was? "Wait," I called out hoarsly, quickly sitting up on my hands and knees. Glancing down, I realized that the soft and cool blanket I had felt before was not a blanket at all. Rather it was sand. Looking about my surroundings, I realized we were on a beach. A deserted beach, might I add. But I suppose that would have something to do with the moon hovering overhead.

My eyes slid to the vast ocean as it lapped gently against the sand, its waves crashing in the tide. As far as I could see, no civilization was apparent. Tearing my gaze away from the beauty of nature, I glimpsed Inuyasha walking away from me. "Wait," I yelled again, standing up and running towards him. "Inuyasha!"

He glared at me from the corner of his eye. "What?" he grounded out, not taking the time to slow down.

"What's going on?" I asked, pushing a stray lock of hair out of my eyes. "Where are we? How did we get here?" My throat ached from the salt water and I had trouble forming coherent words.

It sounded like some kind of grunt came from his throat. "Would you stop with the questioning already?" he demanded, obviously annoyed with my curiousity.

I frowned. "Well, excuse me for waking up to find you hovering over me like some protective dog, on a beach, at night, in the middle of nowhere!"

He stopped dead in his tracks, causing me to almost collide into him. A sigh escaped his lips as he turned around to face me, his hand massaging his forehead. "Look," he began, his brows furrowed. "I know just about as much as you do. The plane crashed into the ocean and we all got thrown from it. You were close by so I grabbed your sorry ass and swam to the nearest shore."

The anger that had lit within me moments before completely dissipated at his confession. "You saved me?" I whispered, my expression softer. He crossed his arms and looked away. "Why?"

"Would you rather have drowned?" He peered at me, already know my answer.

I turned my head away from him. After five years of bickering between us, when it came down to it, he would save my life, even if it meant risking his own. "Thank you," I mumbled quietly.

"Keh," was his only response. I could have sworn I saw a blush cross his cheeks, but with the shadows created by moonlight, I couldn't be sure. "Let's go."

I stared in shock as he turned around and began walking along the beach once more. "Wait, what? Where are we going?"

"To find the others," he replied over his shoulder. I bit my lip as I fell into step behind him, not wanting to question his words. But the nagging thought at the back of my mind demanded an answer.

How did he know that the others were even alive?

I shuddered and shook my head to get rid of the awful thoughts. I had to keep positive, otherwise, I didn't think I'd be able to survive.

We trudged down the length of the beach, trying to steer clear of the water. I wrapped my arms around myself in order to keep warm. The cool breeze we had felt moments earlier suddenly felt like ice against the wet fabric of my clothes. My jean shorts kept rubbing against my thighs, causing my skin to turn red with irritation. Probably should have worn comfortable pants instead. Oh well, there wasn't much that could be done about it now.

"Inuyasha?" I mumbled hesitantly, watching his back. He didn't turn to look at me, but I assumed he was listening. "Where are we going?"

"Down the beach a ways," he replied nonchalantly.

I peered at him with confusion and hurried to keep stride with him. "Why?" I probably shouldn't have asked, considering how annoyed he was already, but my curiosity got the best of me.

He folded his arms, keeping his gaze straight ahead. "When I pulled you to the surface, the currents took us away from the crash site."

I looked towards the direction we were headed. "So, you're hoping to find survivors near the coast of the plane?" When he didn't respond, I knew I was right. There could be a chance that my friends and my brother had survived. That was my only concern at the moment.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour of walking, we got to the edge of the coast, only to be met with the bright glow of flames dancing upon the ocean. "Oh no," I mumbled, my eyes wide with fear and shock. The plane was on fire, sending smoke into the midnight sky.

I froze. We were on that only moments before. All of our friends. My teacher, my classmates, my best friend, my boyfriend, my brother .... all of them ...

How could everyone have survived? Not to mention the other passengers apart from our group.

"We have to save them," I cried out, running to the water in an attempt to swim to the burning piece of metal.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled behind me, grabbing my arms to hold me back from making what could have been a fatal mistake.

I struggled against him. "Let me go! They need our help!"

"Damn it, woman! Would you just listen to me?" Something in his voice called to me and my struggling ceased. I felt my eyes sting with forthcoming tears.

"What is it?" I demanded, turning around to face him. "What could be more important than our friends' lives?"

He sighed and nodded his head in the direction behind us. I peered over his shoulder and my breath caught in my throat. People we scattered about on the beach, some laying down, a few sitting upright. However, there were only a handful of people who had been on the plane. What were the chances that my friends were among them?

"Souta!" I screamed, pushing out of Inuyasha's grasp and running towards the small crowd. My eyes searched fervently among the bodies, trying to find the dark-haired kid who I called my brother. "Souta!" I screeched again, feeling tears roll down my cheeks. I had to find him, I just had to.

A woman was sitting in the sand, her blond hair thrown over her shoulder as her eyes stared longingly at the fire in the middle of the ocean. "Excuse me," I called, crouching down beside her. "Have you seen a little boy with dark hair?"

She slowly shook her head, as if in a daze, before returning her gaze to the crash. She had lost someone dear to her, I could tell. But she shed no tears, too shocked to do much of anything at the moment. I presumed we all were. I got up and began searching the beach once again, calling out my brother's name.

"Kagome!" a woman yelled to me. I immediately whipped my head around to find Sango running towards me, arms wide open. We embraced in a tight hug. "Oh my gosh, I'm so thankful you're okay. I was so worried."

"Me too," I said quietly through my tears, putting her at arms length. Her clothes were wet, her hair a mess, and a few scratches on her arms and legs, but otherwise she appeared to be fine. "Have you seen our classmates?"

She nodded quickly. "They're over there," she said, pointing to the left of us. I turned to run off to them, but was stopped when she gripped my arm. "Kagome," she mumbled, catching my attention. "Some of them are still missing."

My heart missed a beat. My breath caught in my throat. Everything seemed to fog over as I tried to comprehend what she had said. Some of our friends on the plane were still missing. And even though I had said 'classmates,' she clearly understood that my brother, Kohaku, and Shippo were included in that category. We're they dead? We're they alive? We're they drifting in the ocean some miles away already? The uncertainty was tearing me apart.

"Souta?" I mumbled, unsure if I wanted to hear the answer. She released my arm and glanced over at where everyone was. I turned around, knowing she was following, and dared to gaze upon the familiar faces.

Miroku sat against a large boulder, his face twisted into a painful expression. His leg was crooked, bent in a sickening way. It was broken, that much was known, but otherwise he looked fine. "Sango, tend to Miroku's leg," I told her, knowing she wanted to be with him. An image of them kissing at Yura's party came flooding back and I felt my stomach churn with nausea. It was only a few weeks ago that we had been having the time of our lives.

I watched as my best friend tended to his wound, whispering comforting phrases into his ear. He would be alright for the time being. A cloth of some sort had been wrapped around his leg to control the bleeding. I turned my attention to the rest of the survivors. Rin, Sesshomaru, Yuka, and Ayumi seemed to be fine. They all sported bumps and bruises, but otherwise they were alright. "Rin," I called, coming to kneel beside her. "Are you okay?"

She coughed in response and looked at me, confusion in her eyes. "Are you talking to me?" Her voice was raspy from drinking in mouthfuls of seawater.

My brows furrowed. "Of course I am!" She didn't seem convinced.

"Who are you?" she asked hesitantly, appearing to shy away from me.

I gently pressed my hand on her shoulder. "Rin, its me, Kagome," I tried to persuade, smiling slightly to assure her I meant no harm. "Don't you remember?"

The young girl, who I called one of my best friends, shook her head and pushed away from me, out of my reach. "I don't know who you are, lady, but leave me alone! Mama told me never to talk to strangers."

Ignoring the moans and cries for help around me, I knelt down and peered at her curiously. "Rin," I addressed her again, tears coming to my eyes. "How old are you?"

"Seven and a half," she said proudly, smiling and nodding curtly.

I was speechless, to say the least. I stood up and backed away, holding a hand over my mouth to try and muffle the pained sobs. Tears fell down my cheeks, blurring my vision of the bubbly girl and her confused look. "Kagome?" I turned to see Sango walking slowly towards me, her eyes shifting between Rin and me. "Whats wrong?"

She came up beside me, close enough to hear me whisper. "She's forgotten," I mumbled almost incoherently. "She doesn't know anything."

My friend quirked an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Kags?" she asked sternly, putting comforting hands on my shoulders.

"Rin thinks she's a child," I said a little louder, removing my hand from my mouth. "She must have bumped her head and has some kind of amnesia."

Sango released me and stood still, her eyes widening in shock. "Oh my gosh," was all she could say, glancing over at our best friend.

I shook my head. "There isn't anything we can do about it now," I persuaded, swiping away my tears. "Check on the other survivors. Some are injured and if you see my brother, let me know immediately." Although it took a moment for her to comprehend what I had said, Sango nodded affirmatively and strided towards the collection of strangers, their numbers totaling as three.

Fear gripped every nerve in my body. There was still no sign of Kohaku, Souta, Shippo, Mr. Totosai, Eri, Kouga, or Kikyo. I looked around quickly, my eyes shifting between the faces of the survivors.

"Let me go!" someone screamed from behind me. I whipped my head around to find Yuka staggering towards the ocean with Ayumi's arms locked firmly around her waist. "Eri! Please, no. Eri!" Yuka yelled out into the dark depths of the sea, screeching her friend's name.

I watched as she collapsed to the ground. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she clutched the sand into her hands, searching the burning plane as it sunk deeper into the ocean. "She's gone," Ayumi cried, holding Yuka close to her chest. "Oh kami, she's gone." They sat there and cried together, grasping one another for what little comfort they could bring.

Eri's shining face came back to me and my heart skipped a beat. Eri ... wonderful, happy, go-lucky Eri was gone, killed in a plane crash. I felt the tears well up behind my eyes and roll down my flushed cheeks, but I didn't make a sound. I turned away from the mourning duo and concentrated on the task at hand.

There were still others missing. My eyes scanned the collection of people. We were lucky that we had survived. Was it too much to ask for the others to have survived as well?

Tearing my gaze away from the beach, I looked longingly towards the ocean. The waves crashed upon the shore as the fire died on the water's surface, dragging the plane further down. Debris from the crash began floating towards us, landing upon the sand in bits and pieces. A breeze brushed over me and I glanced to my right.

Inuyasha stood a few feet away, his amber eyes trained on the sea before him. No doubt he was hoping to find Kikyo in the mist of the ocean's wrath. I sighed. I knew what it felt like. Your heart is split in two when you can't find a loved one. I returned my gaze to the water. They were missing and the possibilities of where they were was endless. Did the sea swallow them whole? Did the fire burn them to a crisp? Did the impact of the plane kill them instantly?

I took a deep breath and sighed again. There was a hollow feeling in my chest, as if someone had carved a hole where my heart used to be and tore all emotions away, leaving me numb from the loss. I closed my eyes and whispered into the night air, "where are you, Souta?"

A/N: I was going to make this chapter filled with more, but then it would have been too long. Hope you liked and please review!