My one excuse for not updating as fast as I would have liked would be:
I changed host families.
And since most of you don't know what it's like to live in another family for four months alone in another country with different customs, I shall be happy to educate you!
It's pretty danng awkward the first few weeks. That is, unless you're bumble. I get used to families and they get used to me around the third day. But still, I had to pack up all my crap from my second host family, say goodbye - while trying not to cry- to my second host family, and then unpack AGAIN. All in the same night!
And for those of you who think that is a piece of cake, let me remind you that even though you've been with a family for so long and you feel comfortable with them, you still do not belong. I mean, sure, I know where everything is and I talk easily with everyone, but I am not exactly one of the family. I will never be able to re-create the feeling of being content and at ease with another family other than my real one. Just the way it goes.
Enough of my incessant chatter!
And before I let you read, I would like to dedicate this chapter to psychochick32! She helped me develop Broken Clay Pots into a story that has actual purpose! Woo, thanks a ton! You rockk!
[You want to check out her stories, especially 'Pack Law.' This story got 3rd place in Best Drama June 2008, 3rd in Best In-Character Fiction June 2008 and 3rd in Best Au/AR Third Quarter 2008! Congrats psychochick32!]
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
--Chapter Thirteen--
"Sango? Isn't that Kirara?" Sango looked up from her work to follow Miroku's pointed hand. A large shape in the sky was flying towards them at a furious speed, the beast's paws seeming to hit some invisible surface in the air as it propelled its large body towards them.
"Kirara?" Sango stood up from her sitting position on the dirt ground, her sword falling unnoticed to the ground with a sharp clatter. Placing a slim hand over her brow to shield the bright sun from her vision, she focused her eyes on the approaching beast. After noticing the animal's striking red eyes and its flaming black paws, the exterminator nodded. "It's her," She confirmed.
As Kirara's form because clearer and she dove into the village, Miroku frowned. "Then where's Kagome? Knowing Kouga, I would've bet that he'd have been the first one back."
"That is, if he accepted our proposal," Sango reminded him.
Kirara landed clumsily with tired limbs in the middle of the village. Her chest was heaving heavily as she forced air in and out of her lungs hastily. When Sango ran up to greet the feline, Kirara growled low in warning. Stopping, the exterminator watched with wide eyes as her companion gestured wildly with her large head to her back.
"You want me to get on?" Sango asked slowly, her voice reflecting her confusion.
"I think something's happened," Miroku said grimly while Kirara continued to impatiently motion for the demon slayer to get onto her back.
"I agree." Sango turned back to quickly grab her sword and Hiraikotsu, slamming the blade harshly into it's sheath at her waist and throwing her large bone boomerang over one shoulder. Climbing onto the feline's back, she silently thanked the gods that she was already dressed for combat fighting.
"I'm coming with you," Miroku declared suddenly, climbing onto the feline's back, behind the demon slayer. Riding with Kirara and Sango sure does have its perks, Miroku thought wickedly as he wrapped his arms around Sango's slender waist as a way to keep his balance on the demon.
The exterminator nodded wordlessly, accepting the monk's decision. All she was focused on was finding the young girl, and making sure that she was all right.
"Go, Kirara!" Sango urged the demon cat. "Take us to Kagome!"
At her mistress' command, Kirara pushed off the ground in a powerful lunge and took to the sky in a hasty pace.
/----------
"I thought I smelt a cat," Kouga sneered irritably.
Rushing in might not have been a good idea, Kagome decided, her eyes astutely sizing up the demon in front of her. The creature was taller than any tree, completely enormous in its size. It had long pointed fangs the size of a man and massive nails that dug into the ground as it stood there, analyzing the two humans with piercing crimson and cerulean eyes. The demon had torn apart a large herd of cattle with its razor sharp claws just moments before, devouring the domestic animals within seconds. The livestock's blood stained the lush ground at their feet and dripped slowly from the tips of two sharp-tusked teeth that were longer than the rest. The priestess and the wolf had arrived just as it had turned its attention to a nearby village where the inhabitants were screaming in panic for their lives.
Kagome's gaze ran skeptically over its entire body before pausing at its pointed black-tipped ears and stubby tail. "It's a lynx," She stated curiously. She had learned about them from Eri's cousin, who had gone to Canada for a two-week vacation. Supposedly the girl had seen a lynx, a predatory animal that lived only in Alaska, Canada, and some parts of the United States.
"A what?" Kouga's tone was uninterested and bored as he stood before the feline in the air of wolfish confidence.
"A lynx. It's a part of the cat family," Kagome told him slowly, her mind trying to come up with the reason a demon lynx was ravaging through the countryside. I thought they weren't able to live in this kind of climate...
"It doesn't matter what it is," Kouga replied dauntlessly, crouching down into a threatening crouch. "It's what it's gonna be when I'm done with it that counts!"
Kagome continued to watch the giant feline; her interest peaked. Wordlessly she observed, as the lynx's eyes seemed to see something that they couldn't. Her senses went on alert when the sides of its mouth went up in an almost sardonic fangy grin.
There's something about those eyes, Kagome deliberated, her gaze stuck on its intense ruby-red orbs. It's like it's waiting for... Realization struck harshly, causing adrenaline to rush through her veins, slightly coursed with controlled panic.
"Kouga! Stop!" Kagome shouted as the wolf demon shot forward confidently, blind with the promise of an easy victory.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Kouga threw the priestess a confused glance over one shoulder. Why she would tell him to halt his attack on a weak feline was beyond him.
The demon's attack came swiftly, and Kouga didn't understand what had happened before he came face to face with wildly bright eyes. Barely having a second to react, the wolf demon threw himself to the side, somehow missing the open mouth that held spears for teeth that had been aimed for his legs. Kouga's body hit the side of the feline's face before dropping gracelessly to the hard ground. He bounced back up again onto his feet, holding his ground cautiously.
"Heh heh heh." The lynx pulled back its head to stare down at both opponents with menacing glowing eyes. The quiet laughter had come from its throat, although the creature had barely moved its lips.
"What the fuck?" Kouga's wolf instincts were suddenly on alert, his azure blue eyes fixed intently on the demon. His limbs tingled anxiously, screaming at him to run, to get away as fast as he could. But his over-confident self pride wouldn't have that.
It's just a weak cat, it goaded him softly, loving how the determination in his heart strengthened. You can kill that stupid feline with one small kick. Don't listen to Kagome; she just doesn't want you to get hurt. But you won't get hurt, no, you won't. Prove it to the human girl that you are capable of protecting her.
"Don't worry, Kagome," Kouga shouted at her, smiling cockily. "This cat's gonna be dog-food when I'm done with it!"
"Heh heh heh."
That laughter is coming from the lynx… "Kouga, wait," Kagome said cautiously. She knew they would have a better chance of killing it if they waited. Knowing what this demon was capable of was a better plan instead of just blindingly running into battle with it.
Kouga turned towards the young girl, frustration marking his bronzed features. "Kagome, I —"
"The priestess is right." The voice came from in front of them, its soothing tone hitting a cord in the wolf demon.
Kouga's head snapped back around to glare at the lynx. "What, you can talk now?" He demanded hotly, trying to mask his surprise.
Those wild eyes that were half crazed focused on the wolf demon, dark humor displayed in their vivid depths. "It's quite easy to see that you are one to just rush into battle. I can also tell you are the most vulnerable just before you attack, since you have no weapons as superior as my claws and acidic saliva. A lesser demon than myself would have been able to see that, Wolf Prince," The lynx lulled softly, ignoring Kouga's question.
Kouga paled slightly at the title. How the hell does he know about that? "You got some history or something with me, cat?" The wolf leader demanded, sneering the name.
The lynx laughed softly, amused. "I, Toshiro, would never have such ties with a wolf."
"Toshiro, huh?" Kouga addressed the demon feline, his control coming to an end. "You should stop introducing yourself and just fight me!"
Toshiro suddenly chuckled again; his eyes alight with sardonic pleasure. "I guess your brisk confidence and willingness to get things accomplished are what drove your comrades to you," He mused quietly. "It's just too bad you weren't such an inspiration to them or they would've stayed by your side instead of joining those other tribes. Maybe then they wouldn't have died by Kagura's hand that night."
Kouga clenched his teeth together and glared dangerously at the cat, fighting the urge to attack blindly like he had first done. The pain and guilt of that night ran lithely through his conscience, torturing him agonizingly. How does this bastard know all of this?
"And I can even say that you are just boiling inside at the thought of that woman being with another man," Toshiro went on, his voice smooth as velvet and deep. "She seems to mean a lot to you, am I right, Kouga?"
Shaking with rage, Kouga hollered furiously, "How the fuck do you know all of this?"
As Toshiro laughed silently in response, Kagome's gaze never left the lynx's form. How and why he knew all that information about Kouga was not something to be ignored. No one could've just heard about that. This demon was not ordinary, and Kagome was determined to find out his hidden talents.
Kagome suddenly gasped, her intake of air unnoticed by the two others. Slightly panicking, the priestess realized she couldn't see out of her right eye. It was if someone had placed a veil over her eyes, blocking her vision. All she could see was black through one eye.
"Kagome…"
The black she was seeing out of her right eye became suddenly heavy, and she was abruptly thrown through the black void, towards an opening that she could only sense.
"Kagome..."
A pinpoint of light was what greeted her when she finally came to a stop, and with a calm composure, she was sucked through, seeing only bright light…
"Sora?"
/----------
The first thing Sango saw was blood. Bright crimson fluid that tainted the green landscape that surrounded the small village, marking the quiet area with the screaming evidence of death. The victims of these crimes were carelessly cast aside, their hideously mangled corpses left to be viewed upon by the Gods themselves. Disemboweled calves and half-eaten heifers seemed to stare up at her, cold bottomless eyes boring into hers. She would give the peaceful animals their justice, Sango decided, her eyes gazing over the hordes of carcasses stiff with the appalling curse of death. These creatures did nothing to deserve this.
"I see them!" Miroku took one hot hand off Sango's waist to point towards an open clearing.
Perceiving the disturbing scene before her, Sango urged Kirara to land with a slight clenching of her thighs. Kagome and Kouga were alone, challenging the mountainous demon that seemed to enjoy their company immensely with dark intentions.
Kirara plunged downwards with astonishing speed and landed awkwardly on exhausted legs just a few yards away from where the real action was taking place. A few trees blocked the priestess' and the wolf demon's current situation from the monk and exterminator.
Sango promptly dismounted Kirara with Miroku just a few seconds behind her. "Kirara, get out of here!" The demon slayer ordered her faithful companion.
She didn't wait for Kirara's response on her demand; instead, she bolted away from the demon cat with Miroku on her heels towards the site where their assistance was needed.
/----------
"Kagome!" Sora appeared in front of the girl, seeming to be smiling toothily.
"Sora?" Kagome looked around her, not quite surprised to be surrounded once again by blinding white nothingness.
Sora walked over to Kagome's side and sat down faithfully. Bestowing the young priestess with intelligent black eyes, the panther said, "Kagome, focus. I know you can see them."
The girl sighed, closing her eyes. With an effort, she attempted to clear her mind of all thoughts and emotions. When she felt as blank as the world around her, she once again opened her eyes.
"Do you see them?" Sora asked patiently.
Kagome nodded. Her eyes were pinned in front of her where a bright blue wolf was fighting furiously with an almost transparent dark green lynx. The wolf was snarling angrily at the feline, while the lynx only sat back with an amused almost-smile in its bored face and interest deep in its bright eyes.
"Now, Kagome," Sora started, determination leaking into her proud voice. "That wolf is no match for this lynx alone. You will have to somehow help him. I can help."
"I'll be able to see this dimension and reality?"
Sora dipped her head in response. "I know you can do it," She said gently at the doubtful tone in Kagome's tone.
As Kagome opened her mouth to respond, but her attention was caught by a very familiar deep purple rodent and a small but lithe magenta pink cat. The two small creatures seemed to be hiding on the sidelines of the fight. Kagome came to the conclusion that they were behind something since the other two fighting hadn't noticed their presences.
But she was wrong.
The lynx gave an all-knowing smile and began to circle the wolf entertainingly, a sardonic streak of pleasure in its crimson and cerulean eyes. The wolf reacted by backing up to allow space between them, not liking the triumphant look in the lynx's expression. The threatening feline stopped when the wolf was right in front of the two animals hiding in the bushes, blocking the viewers from the action.
The wolf lunged, its bright fangs gleaming dangerously as it neared the lynx's throat. But the cat dodged it effortlessly, landing a powerful paw on its opponent's side. The cat's claws slashed smoothly through skin and muscle, leaving deep wounds on the wolf's body. The hurt creature fell to the ground with a dull thump, unconscious. With a victorious grin, the feline darted past the wolf's form towards the two unsuspecting creatures in the sidelines...
"NO!"
It was if time had stopped for Kagome alone. The White World was shoved into one side of her vision while reality became visible in her left eye. Toshiro was drawing slowly nearer to her companions, acidic saliva sliding down his gleaming fangs in anticipation.
Seeing only black rage, she drew her sword and from her frozen position, sprinted towards the attacking feline. When she darted in front of the giant cat, intercepting its course, she leapt blindly. The great lynx let out a furious roar when her blade struck true and it sliced cleanly through the skin and muscle on Toshiro's chest.
"Kagome!" Sango and Miroku leapt out of the bushes and ran to her side.
"Are you guys okay?" Kagome demanded between heaving breaths. She was doing her best to keep her rage under control.
"Yes, we're fine," Miroku answered, slightly unnerved. "Thank you, Lady Kagome."
The priestess only nodded stiffly towards the two before turning around and facing her opponent. "Miroku, see if you can do anything for Kouga. I think Toshiro has poisonous claws," She instructed the monk, her eyes never leaving Toshiro's furious but deathly calm gaze.
Miroku didn't waste any time in running to Kouga's side and inspecting the deep gashes in the wolf demon's skin. Running his hands softly over the deep abrasion's that were bleeding both red and acidy green liquid, the monk grimaced. "Kagome, I don't know if I can do anything to help these wounds!"
"Do as much as you can," Kagome told him.
As he began to half drag Kouga off the battlefield, Kagome turned to Sango. "Sango, I —"
She was cut off by a soft tone. "Heh heh heh. It seems you are quite the peculiar girl, little priestess."
Turning to him with burning brown eyes, she stated calmly, "I'm going to kill you, Toshiro, for attempting to attack my friends. You will not walk away from this fight."
Bright crimson and cerulean eyes met her dangerous glare with dark amusement, not one flicker of pain in their depths. It was if the deep cut in his chest didn't affect him at all. "It seems you have turned into quite the killing machine, little girl. Tell me, did his death do this to you?"
"… Tell me, did his death do this to you?"
His question hit her dead-on, causing her mind to whirl uselessly and her pulse to quicken. She fought violently against the on-coming attack of pain, keeping the memories at bay.
Despite her spinning head, she kept her glare steady and calm. "Do not try and attempt to distract me with petty past memories. I assure you, you will fail in doing so."
The lynx let out another rumble of entertained laughter despite the heavy flow of bright red blood pouring from the wound Kagome had inflicted. "It is quite apparent that you loved this hanyou," Toshrio pointed out, sneering the name 'hanyou' softly.
"I love you. I love you as a half-demon, Inuyasha…"
Of course I loved him… "Hm. Are you finished yet, demon?"
Toshiro took a step towards the reluctant priestess who refused to break under the sorrowful memories he was reminding her of. Deathly calm eyes narrowing, the lynx broke farther into the dark whirlpool of her precious memories. He shifted through minor and major memoirs that she all held dear to her heart, feasting his dark humor on the more agonizing memories that had nearly crushed her once.
A small sarcastic smile snaked its way across his thin lips, his half-crazed eyes glowing with easy victory. "Were you both… lovers?" His tone was soft and almost gentle, lulling her almost kindly into deep memories that she had forced under lock and key…
"Ahh… there must be some misunderstanding…" Inuyasha started forward towards the two Thunder Brothers, irritation and confusion making his handsome features dimly sarcastic. "Lemme get this straight: you and I are supposed to be lovers?"
Panic coursed through her veins at his out-right denial, knowing if the Thunder Brothers didn't believe that the hanyou loved her, then her plan would fall right apart. And then she would be chopped into little pieces for the bald brother's hair growth stew!
Clenching her fists together and sending Inuyasha a look that demanded that he follow along, Kagome shouted, "This is no time to get all shy!"
Manten grinned wickedly at her words and gave the priestess an affectionate noogie, saying something about her being a 'little vixen.' Kagome played hesitantly along, giving the bald demon an innocent puppy-dog look. She even added a few childlike blinks to add to the effect.
Down on the ground Inuyasha clenched his fists in irritation, glaring up at the young girl. "You actually think I'd hand over the jewel shards as a ransom to get you back?!"
Kagome leaned forward angrily, scaring the demon that had just been trying to kill her not one hour ago. Chocolate brown eyes meeting molten amber orbs dangerously in a battle for control, Kagome hollered back, "Of course you would! Because that's what a lover would do!"
Inuyasha clenched his teeth in pure irritation. "But we ain't lovers! And without love, the whole argument kinda falls apart!"
"So now some little gems are more important then me?" Kagome countered furiously. "How dare you say that after all we've been through together?! In the mean time, you better admit to yourself how much your really love me!"
She clenched her teeth against the powerful emotions that ran through her veins in remembrance. Above all the sorrow and pain and guilt that the memoirs inflicted, Kagome felt fury. Plain, black fury. How dare this creature just snoop through my memories like they were some sort of book?! And then attempt to drive me to the brink of insanity with my own memoirs that had once threatened to engulf me in my own self-pity?!
"How dare you say that after all we've been through together?!..."
"Shut up!" She hissed dangerously, her chocolate brown eyes reflecting murder and the welcome satisfaction of blood spilling between her fingers at the lynx's expense.
Toshiro's mouth widened farther to reveal more of his gleaming fangs, darkly enjoying the pain that rolled off her in waves. "I see, little priestess. You were in love with him, but… he didn't return your feelings, did he?"
His husky tone was one that should've belonged to a gentle doctor or trusted person in the Modern Era, not to a memory-reading demon who longed to make his opponent break by means of reminding him or her of their darkest memories. The kindness his voice was only surface deep, underneath lurked his sardonic pleasure and his humorous appetite for pain and suffering.
"I told you to shut up, Toshiro!" Kagome shouted uncontrollably, her small frame suddenly tense with unfavourable emotions that she had not let loose since his death. Wrath swept through her veins like an unforgivable fire, scorching through the guilt and the pain, only to leave an unquenchable urge for revenge. Death would befall upon this creature, and she would be sure to deliver it.
"Hmm… and she had such a beautiful name too… Kikyo… Kikyo…" Toshiro whispered thoughtfully to himself, bright eyes devouring the anger and bitter resentment in the girl's gaze. "And she was powerful… I wonder how you even thought yourself worthy of his attention when he had someone like her…"
"You're pathetic, Kikyo," He lashed out, hoping his words hurt her as much as her betrayal had hurt him.
From her position on the ground, Kagome glared irritably at the dog-boy who was still pinned with an arrow in his chest to the Tree of Ages. "I'm not Kikyo!" She shouted before standing once again on her feet. "Look, I'm telling you, I'm not her!"
The young girl proceeded to walk forward towards the strange boy with dog-ears, climbing up on a giant root in order to be eye to eye with him. "Whoever her is!"
Inuyasha matched her irritated glare with one of his one. "And I'm saying you gotta be her! 'Cause if you're not, there's no way you could smell so…" His voice trailed off as he leaned in closer to smell her scent.
His golden eyes revealed his shock. "You're not her."
At the boy's awkward withdrawal, Kagome leaned in closer and said matter-of-factly, "I know! My name is Kagome. Ka-go-me!"
Inuyasha leaned away from the face that reminded him so much of her. "You're right. Kikyo was cuter. Much cuter."
She bit her tongue from lashing out blindly, tasting the sweet coppery tang of her own blood. His words drew an excruciating long scratch down the center of her control, and in the rush of dangerously emotions, she began to tremble faintly. She bowed her head, denying him access to direct feedback as to how much his words had taken a toll on her. She remained frozen, her brown eyes forcefully closed underneath the curtain of her raven bangs.
"He only wanted you as a shard-detector, no?" The lynx went on, his voice sultry sweet. "But you made his friendly attentions into passionate hints with your run-away imagination, and therefore, when time came for him to tell you that you were no more to him, you were heart-broken."
Oh, Inuyasha… Was I really just a shard detector to you…?
"Hmm… Love. What a pathetic human emotion."
"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru started in his emotionless tone. "Your patience with this creature is astonishing to me."
At Inuyasha's silence Sesshomaru played mindlessly with some silver strands around his pointed ear. "You protect her. Indulge her. Even seem to love her."
The hanyou's face reflected his hesitation. "Uh…"
Sesshomaru drew a graceful hand through his glistening silver locks, pinning his half-demon brother with a cold golden stare. "Certainly these feelings of mercy of yours are not something I inherited from our great and terrible father.
"It must have been that mother of yours. That human mother."
"Humans are stupid, fragile creatures. And since they cannot stand the solitude of being alone, they invent such feelings as love. Mindless and worthless; humans are just as the animals they butcher."
Her eyes suddenly opened to stare blankly at the ground in front of her feet, not seeing anything but the memories that haunted her mind and the rage that still consumed her and kept her within its scorching depths, promising pain and torture to the one who had inflicted this. His words were like a sharp knife to her heart, slowly and deliberately drawing its edge down the sides of the living organ. It demanded pain; it demanded sorrow.
"He was right to leave you…"
She clenched her teeth harder against his words.
"You're nothing but a human girl…"
Tears began to well up in her innocent chocolate brown eyes. "So I should just… give up hope?"
Inuyasha took his eyes off his older brother's true form to glance back at the strange girl. His mouth suddenly gaped open, his face showed his internal frustration and helplessness at seeing a girl's tears. "Wha… what are you doing?! You're not crying, are you? No crying!" He shouted angrily.
Kagome drew a half-hearted glare towards the hanyou. "Oh, should I laugh?" She yelled back sarcastically.
"No!" He countered just as irately. "You should shut up and let me protect you!"
"And therefore… weak."
Something in her just snapped. It was if the weight of guilt and pain and sorrow had suddenly became too much to bear, and she had given in to her dark fury. Her head jerked up at his soft word, brown eyes menacing and cool and yet the promise of slaughter dancing tauntingly in their fathomless depths. Her hand went directly to her sword.
She had thrown an attack at him before the lynx had even noticed.
Toshiro was thrown back as the purifying blades surrounded him, engulfing his vision in nothing but bright light. He let out a loud roar filled with disbelief and fury as the spears from Kagome's sword cut through the matted brown hair and thick skin all over his body. He landed with a hollow thud against the hard ground; his limbs flailing uselessly as gravity took sarcastic pleasure in pulling him futilely towards the earth's solid surface.
Without breaking her furious gaze with the wounded lynx, Kagome nodded her head to the shocked exterminator. "Sango, go with Miroku and take Kouga to see Kaede. He'll need special treatment for his wounds."
The demon slayer nodded feebly. "But Kagome – "
"I'll be fine," Kagome cut her off brusquely. "I'll meet up with you later."
"I'll send Kirara back for you," Sango told the young priestess, her voice letting her reluctance to leaving be known.
Kagome only nodded. "Go."
It was as if Kirara was waiting in the bushes nearby. At Kagome's dismissal, the demon cat jumped out from inside the forest to appear by the exterminator's side. She nudged her mistress' hand gently, letting her know that she was not alone.
Sango wasted no time in helping Miroku load the wounded wolf into Kirara's broad back. Both exterminator and monk had a difficult time trying to lift the muscular Demon Tribe leader, but in the end they were successful.
Kouga's eyes opened as both Sango and Miroku joined him on feline's back. The sharp pains that dominated his thinking process were quick to remind the wounded wolf demon where he was and what had happened. He looked out over the cat demon's side as Kirara took to the skies.
"Where's that bastard?" Kouga demanded hoarsely as he searched the ground below, pain contorting his tenor voice.
Sango placed a comforting hand on the restless demon's shoulder. "Kagome's taking care of him now."
"We're taking you to Kaede's village for your wounds," Miroku added evenly from his position behind the exterminator.
Whaa…? "What did you say about Kagome?" Kouga's confusion reflected in his tone. He attempted to turn around to face Sango, but the pain was too intense. Wincing, he stayed facing forward.
Miroku sighed. "She's changed a lot since you've last seen her."
My Kagome… taking care of demons? His thoughts were confirmed when his azure blue gaze located the young priestess below him. From their position high in the sky, he could see the fire blazing with deep hatred and bitter resentment in her once innocent brown eyes, all focused on the wounded demon fighting for consciousness on the ground not fifty feet from her. From what he could see, she had already done a great job in bringing the lynx down. The great demon's body was covered in deep gashes and long scratches that oozed out bright red blood and pooled underneath its enormous body.
"What… the fuck…" He couldn't go on. The pain was suddenly too much, coupled with the knowledge his Kagome was not the once sweet girl he had fallen desperately in love with. The priestess' eyes had not held once ounce of sympathy or guilt at what she'd done to the other demon. She had turned into something else… something he wasn't able to comprehend.
His Kagome was a cold killer.
And she killed with no regrets.
/-----------
Kagome's footsteps were light as she walked languidly towards the fallen demon. Her face was blank except for the anger that burned in her deep chocolate eyes. Her hair swirled around her slim shoulders in the light breeze that picked up, making her long raven locks dance gracefully around her slender form. She seemed almost calm, but inside she was seething with unwanted emotions that demanded pain and revenge.
She lazily dragged the tip of her blade along the dirt ground, eyes covered by dark bangs. "You underestimated me, Toshiro," She stated calmly, her voice gentle despite the anger that she had displayed.
"Heh heh heh…" The lynx managed to lift its head to look at the approaching priestess, his voice hoarse due to the numerous slashes that covered his large body. "You are deeply corrupt inside your heart. It seems you are not the once naïve child you were when you first dropped through that well…"
"What the…" Kagome's eyes widened as she took in the sight of a green lush forest and untouched wilderness where her family's shrine used to stand.
I could be wrong… but Toto, I think we're not in Tokyo anymore.
A small smirk found its way onto Kagome's lips, although her eyes remained hidden behind her raven bangs. "Your technique is good, Toshiro," She muttered.
At the demon's silent confusion, Kagome lifted her head to stare with scorching brown eyes at the feline who regarded her with a cool crimson and cerulean gaze. "Your means of making your opponent vulnerable by reminding him or her of dark memories is very affective. It must have worked well to your advantage in the past. However…"
She gave him a small pitiful smile, stopping not twenty feet from the lynx. "You regard humans as insignificant beings, quite disposable at your hands. And even though you knew by most of my memories that I was a priestess, you thought indifferently about this… That was your downfall," She said simply, her voice soft.
Still holding her gaze, Toshiro drew his limbs close into his wounded body. He braced each of his enormous paws against the ground before pushing himself up off the blood-soaked ground. His breath came raggedly and unevenly, his chest expanding painfully with every breath. He stood at his full height, giving the priestess his undivided attention.
Kagome nodded serenely towards the creature. "I see you are still able to stand, Toshiro."
"Heh heh heh…" His eyes were heavily guarded against her blistering gaze. "And in return, little priestess, you have confirmed my thoughts.
"You cannot stand the very idea of relying on someone else."
His truthful words hit a tender spot in her cold heart, although she gave no sign of it in her burning eyes. She kept her face blank, her gaze steady. Toshiro was not going to die with the satisfaction of knowing his words actually hurt her.
"You don't want to loose anyone close to you anymore…"
I want you to be happy. I want you to laugh a lot. I don't know what exactly I'll be able to do for you, but I'll always be by your side.
"And you don't want others to fear for you like in the earlier days…"
Inuyasha pulled Kagome into a hug, pain deep in his molten amber gaze. "I was afraid. I thought I was going to lose you. I was terrified."
"Enough," Kagome ordered firmly, her cool composure failing. His words played mercilessly with the underlying guilt that she had hidden the dark, along with her anguish and sorrow. These unwanted emotions ran throughout her body, her control slowly breaking. Her sword's tip dipped slightly, memories blinding her.
Toshiro's eyes fell on her sword, an amused smile playing with the corners of his bloodied lips. "Even though you will not admit it, my words are hitting their true mark"
At her silence, the smirk evident in his eyes sharpened. "Stupid weak human," He taunted lazily.
Without warning, Kagome threw her head back and laughed.
She let the bubbles of unrelenting laughter peel from her chest and fill the silent air with sarcastic intent. She shook uncontrollably with dark humor, her hands dangling limply at her sides. She laughed at the excruciatingly painful memories he was making her see; she laughed at the timing; at the irony of the situation; at how she had overestimated her own self-control. But most of all, she laughed at him. He, who believed he had the upper hand of the fight, only to shown how wrong he was. A human priestess had made him feel pain, made him feel useless. And now that she had even harbored feelings of pity towards the giant lynx, he had proved himself the very demon that Kagome saw in every opponent she faced with youkai blood.
He had taken advantage of her sympathy, and tried to turn the situation around to his liking.
Oh, how Kagome laughed at that. He, like many other useless demons, had used human emotions against the very beings that had held them. Humans, he had said, were weak due to their emotions.
But feelings like anger and revenge were not weak.
It was just too bad he didn't realize that in time.
Her laughter was cut off as abruptly as it had started. Her eyes gleamed with the wild promise of slaughter and agonizing vengeance as they met his triumphant gaze dead on. A feral smile worked its way across her lips, her face shining with ultimate confidence. Her hand swung gracefully to place the glowing sword in front of her, its tip pointed threateningly towards the lynx.
"Your time has come. Say hi to Inuyasha and Kikyo for me," She stated simply, her voice cool.
And she let herself go. She allowed the dam that blocked her inner emotions break, smirking sardonically as fires of excruciating pain, unbearable guilt, and immense fury swept dominantly through her body. Her body was suddenly on fire, the heat and grief horrendously sharpened to a knife's lip as the edge cut through her heart agonizingly. The sphere of spiritual energy reacted to her pain and expanded rapidly, out of control.
The globe of priestess powers continued to grow until it expanded itself to the full length of her lean body. Her skin seemed to gleam as brightly as her sword's blade, spiritual powers flowing evenly through. Toshiro's gaze narrowed at her sudden display of severe strength, making the young girl smirk triumphantly to herself.
And then it burst. The power buzzed through her veins without control, filling her to the limit with immense spiritual power that had flown through ancestors of hers for centuries. Her blade brightened considerably, starting to shake violently in her hands as the power that was being concentrated into the weapon intensified significantly.
With great effort, she lifted her sword in a mock salute before swinging the glowing glade towards her opponent, screaming a wild battle cry as a great flash of a bright lightning bolt shot out from the end of her sword.
Toshiro let out a deafening roar as the electrical charge of spiritual energy hit him square in the heart, his body suddenly forced to stand on its back legs. He arched his back into the pain, his howl breaking the silence that had befallen the area. His holler of pain was still audible in her ears long after his great body was shrouded in bright light and his very form dissipated into millions and millions of dust pieces.
Kagome took a heavy breath, watching the remains of the lynx being carried away by the unforgiving wind. Her sword fell from her hand, clanging loudly on the hard ground at her side as her physical energy suddenly vanished. She fell reluctantly to her knees, her breath coming raggedly as her body fought for consciousness.
The young priestess took once look at her hands before falling flat on her face in the dirt. Hmm, I'm not glowing anymore, she thought fuzzily before letting herself be swept away into nothingness.
Let's review for bumble, because lots of reviews make bumble all fuzzy inside.
And, she just might write faster!
PS, psychochick32, where did you go? =] I missed you last chapter!
love bumble, xxx.