Chapter 20: Retrace: Purification
Kagome gasped. No, if I breathe in the miasma… She was cut off as she felt herself fall to her knees and saw Shippo fall of her shoulder and land in front of her.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha's voice yelled from behind her.
No Inuyasha, please don't breathe in the miasma! Kagome desperately wanted to call out as she turned in time to see Inuyasha fall to his knees next to her.
Inuyasha! Kagome thought as he inched towards her and held her in his arms, trying to keep her from breathing in anymore of the toxic fumes.
Glancing up, Kagome saw Alice stare at the two in horror as she realized she was the only one left standing. Alice please hold on a bit longer! Kagome begged silently. But she felt her heart fill with dread as she heard the smooth voice of Naraku echo throughout the room.
"Looks like it's just you and me now. But how long can you last?" Naraku taunted Alice.
Kagome looked up at Alice in horror as she closed her blue eyes shut and desperately fought to hold on. To her relief, Kagome noticed the miasma thinning and hope flooded through her veins. Come on Alice, just a little longer!
But to Kagome's disappointment, Alice gasped, suddenly unable to hold her breath any longer. No, Alice! Kagome thought as Alice fell to her knees, panting hard. Beside her, Inuyasha flinched and his golden eyes narrowed as he saw Alice fall.
"Damn," Sango muttered in frustration from where she lay near Kagome.
"It's over," Naraku finished as he proceeded towards Alice.
Alice! Kagome thought widely as she struggled to get up and protect her.
But Inuyasha was faster as he quickly jumped up in between Alice and Naraku, growling, "Not one more step."
In a flash, Inuyasha swung his sword down; only to have it reflected right back sending him to his knees. Inuyasha! Kagome thought as she stared at him in horror. As if things couldn't get any worse, Kagome saw Alice succumb to the miasma and slump down on the floor with her back towards Kagome.
Naraku, who also noticed this, grinned, "Those who go against me will die a painful death."
He then shot out one of his tentacles, easily knocking Inuyasha out of the way and redirected it so it was heading straight towards Alice.
Crash! In a flash of red, Kagome gasped as she saw Alice was saved from Naraku's tentacle and was in the hands of a Samurai.
"Naraku!" Yukimara yelled as Kagome turned her attention towards the other Samurai.
To Kagome's amusement, Naraku frowned at the new arrivals before replying, "How is it that you're alive, you're supposed to be dead? What is it that you want?"
"I will avenge my king, Naraku die!" Yukimara answered bravely before racing towards Naraku.
Stop Yukimara-san! You can't beat Naraku! Kagome desperately wanted to call out.
"Everyone use this passage to escape, we'll hold him off," the Samurai holding Alice instructed from where he stood next to a hole in the wall.
Kagome looked at the man in confusion before Naraku yelled furiously, "Foolish humans, die!"
"Alice!" Kagome managed to yell as Naraku let out another massive cloud of miasma straight towards the two.
However, before the deadly cloud hit, Kagome saw Alice drop from the Samurai's hands and plummet into the passage.
Her scream echoed the room, "No!"
Everyone stared in horror as the unfortunate Samurai fell to the ground and lay their motionless.
"Don't run away, we have to buy them more time," Yukimara ordered the remaining Samurai who immediately ran towards Naraku.
Anger and determination flowed through Kagome as she rose to her knees.
"Naraku, I'll never forgive you for this!" Kagome yelled as she aimed her sacred arrow at him and released it.
The arrow was instantly surrounded by a glowing pink light as it smashed into Naraku's barrier, threatening to pass through it.
"What? You still have enough power to fight?" Naraku questioned as he looked over at Kagome, surprise flashing for a moment in his crimson eyes but it was quickly replaced by hatred.
Kagome glared back at him before she felt one of the Samurai grab her arm and lead her to the passage Alice fell down moments ago.
After gathering everyone to the spot, Yukimara turned to face them saying, "This is it. All that is left is for you guys to escape and come back when you're stronger. Please, save the castle and the people!"
"Baka! You think I'd come all this way to just run away when things get rough?" Inuyasha snapped back.
Another cloud of miasma enshrouded the group as they gasped, breathing in more of the toxic fumes. Ugh! Kagome thought as she closed her eyes, pain creeping up her throat.
"I leave the rest to you," Yukimara rasped as he pushed Inuyasha into Kagome, which cause the whole group to fall into the blackness of the passage.
"Damn," Inuyasha muttered as Kagome closed her eyes tight, bracing herself.
/././././././
There was nothing but darkness that surrounded Kagome as she floated somewhere within her mind. It hurts… Kagome thought as she saw Naraku's impure miasma surround her I must've breathed in too much of the fumes… Hopefully everyone else is okay.
Minutes ticked by and Kagome only felt the pain grow worse as she curled up in a ball in an attempt to stop the pain from spreading. Please, make it stop… Kagome prayed as she closed her eyes shut.
Just then, the darkness that surrounded Kagome was instantly transformed into light. Kagome stared in amazement at a purifying light that she felt take away the toxins in her body.
"What is this?" Kagome murmured to herself as she held up a hand and turned it over in awe as the light gathered to it.
"I don't know who you are or why you saved me, but thank you," Kagome started before she saw movement in the corner of her eyes and turned to face the new arrival.
"Alice!" Kagome exclaimed before she smiled and waved her hand towards her.
Alice smiled back at Kagome, but that was as far as she could go before an impure light engulfed her.
"Alice!" Kagome yelled in horror as the purple light fully surrounded the girl, who now lowered her snow white bangs, which were fading slowly into an impure blackish color, to cover her eyes.
Kagome tried to run towards Alice to help her but for some unknown reason was unable to reach her or stop her from turning around and walking away.
"Alice, wait!" Kagome yelled after her.
"Kagome… Please, be safe," Alice's voice echoed around Kagome as she watched in horror as Alice dissolved from her vision.
/././././././
"Alice!" Kagome gasped as she sat up from where she lay.
Sweat trickled down the side of her cheek as she tried to catch her breath.
"Oh, you're finally awake I see," a voice sounded from behind Kagome as she turned to see who it belonged to.
"Grandpa Kakuju?" Kagome stated in surprise as she recognized the old man standing in front of her. "What happened, where are we?" Kagome asked as she looked around the unfamiliar hut.
Kakuju sighed. "We are in Rindoh Village at the moment, in a friend of mine's house to be exact. I will tell you more in detail once everyone wakes up."
At these words Kagome gasped and jerked around to face the others who were lying down next to her.
"Inuyasha! Sango, Miroku!" Kagome yelled as she moved near them and looked down on them worriedly.
Muffled groans of pain responded to Kagome's words as they all slowly opened their eyes and painfully sat up.
"What happened, where's Naraku?" Miroku rasped, using his staff to support himself.
At this everyone immediately looked around the room for any signs of the mentioned person.
"Guys, guys! Naraku isn't here, you see we're in Rindoh Village," Kagome explained as everyone settled down.
"Rindoh Village? But that's on the other side of the mountains from where Naraku's castle is," Inuyasha replied in shock.
"Heh, so much for a good morning," Sango put in bitterly.
"Yeah, Grandpa Kakuju will explain everything to us," Kagome continued as everyone acknowledged the old man's presence, "we just need to wait until Alice wakes up..."
Kagome trailed off as she felt her face turn pale. Out of everyone in the room, Alice's figure was nowhere to be found and within a few painful seconds, everyone was aware of the fact.
"Where's Alice!" Sango said, panic filling her gaze.
Kagome looked towards Kakuju expectantly, "Grandpa Kakuju, where's Alice?"
Kakuju sighed as he beckoned everyone near him. "Now that you're all awake, I will explain to you what has happened," he started as everyone gathered around the old man.
"It was not long ago that I heard your friend Alice yelling something by a pond on the outskirts of the village. Her voice was filled with worry and sorrow so I decided to investigate," Kakuju began as everyone leaned in to hear every detail, "It was then that I felt a strong, poisonous aura around her and each one of you as I encountered Alice herself."
"Poisonous aura, you must mean Naraku's miasma," Miroku corrected as glanced over at the monk before returning her gaze towards Kakuju.
"Yes, exactly, but the amount of miasma radiating from your bodies was massive, which cause Alice to panic over your well-being. After arriving, she asked me how she could assist you in fighting off the miasma."
"Wait… wasn't Alice exposed to Naraku's miasma as well? Shouldn't she have been in the same condition as we were?" Shippo asked.
"Well, Alice was exposed to the toxic air but not for as long as we were, remember?" Sango replied as Kakuju put in, "Yes, she did have the same aura around her but it was much weaker than the one that surrounded the rest of you."
"That would make sense seeing as she left before us," Miroku agreed before Kagome continued, "What happened next?"
"Well as you might've guessed, Alice was desperately trying to help you guys, seeing as your conditions were declining so fast. So she asked me to help her and I did. I showed her a new technique that would heal you guys, but at a price," Kakuju explained.
"What do you mean?" Miroku asked as a shiver went down Kagome's spine.
"I tried to warn her but my warnings went unnoticed…" Kakuju trailed off while shaking his head before facing the group, "You see she used her Shikigami in an attempt to heal you all but the technique she used didn't necessarily heal you, it merely transferred the toxins to her."
At this everyone flinched as Kagome gasped, "So that's why I saw her become enveloped in that ominous aura!"
"What? You saw that too?" Shippo exclaimed as everyone turned towards Kagome.
"Yes, did you have the same vision as well?" The group slowly nodded as they all realized that they witnessed the same vision.
"Well this is surprising and all but what about Alice? She couldn't possibly handle all of the miasma we held in our bodies by herself," Miroku pointed out.
Eyes widened with fear and worry Sango asked, "Kakuju, where's Alice? Where did she go?"
"I'm not sure, she walked off after preforming the technique on you," Kakuju replied a little frustration showing in his tone.
"Damn, what was she thinking?" Inuyasha growled as everyone stood up and headed out the door.
"Grandpa Kakuju, you stay here, we'll find Alice and bring her back!" Kagome instructed before turning around and racing after everyone.
"I can't locate her scent but I can smell a massive amount of miasma from over there," Inuyasha stated while running towards the outskirts of the village.
Alice, what were you thinking? I thought we told you to not endanger yourself! Kagome thought angrily at her as she wished Alice could be at least a little more conscious of what she was doing.
"That must be the pond Kakuju was talking about," Shippo pointed out as they passed the pond.
"Yes, and that means we're going the right way,' Miroku replied as they picked up their pace.
"Alice!" Kagome called out, praying that she would answer, "Alice, where are you?"
Everyone looked around frantically as Inuyasha growled, "She has to be around here somewhere, the scent of miasma is everywhere."
"Alice!" Kagome repeated before she made out a lake in the middle of the forest and walked towards it.
What is…? Kagome thought as she walked to the edge of the lake and jumped in surprise. "Alice!"
Everyone gathered around Kagome as she stared into the depths of the murky water to see Alice floating somewhat peacefully underwater.
"Is she okay?" Shippo asked timidly, but no one replied to the kitsune's question.
Instead, Miroku lowered Shippo from his shoulder and stepped into the lake, followed by Inuyasha, Sango and Kagome. Once in, Kagome gasped as everyone else flinched.
"The water must be polluted by the miasma," Miroku pointed out grimly.
"Keh, this is nothing," Inuyasha growled as he walked over to where Alice lay.
"Let's focus on getting her out for now," Sango instructed as she lead Kagome and Miroku back while waiting for Inuyasha to bring Alice over to the bank.
But when Inuyasha leaned down to pick up Alice, Kagome noticed him bite down on his lower lip and flinch when he touched her arm.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome called out, taking a step towards him.
"What? I'm going as fast as I can so just wait for a bit," Inuyasha growled back as Kagome watched him pick up Alice and jump to the bank where everyone waited.
Once there, he gently laid Alice down and backed up a bit to give her some space. The scorches on his hands however didn't go unnoticed by his companions as they looked at him worriedly, but before any of them could say anything a burst of coughs came from Alice as she curled into a ball, holding on to her stomach painfully.
"Alice, are you okay?" Kagome asked worriedly as she reached out a hand to comfort her.
Instantly a flash of pain went through Kagome, almost causing her to scream out, as her hand made contact with Alice's wet skin.
As Kagome pulled her hand back Alice turned over on her back and rasped, "K-Kagome…? Is that you?"
"Yeah, we're all here," Sango replied as Alice tried to open her eyes.
What met Kagome next made her breath catch in her throat. Instead of ice blue eyes, the group was met with crimson red ones.
"Alice… Your eyes!" Shippo yelled worriedly as everyone stared at her in horror.
"Her hair as well…" Miroku trailed of as Kagome noticed that her once pure white bangs were now stained black.
"Hmph, looks like my appearance has changed. Oh well, at least people will stop calling me a demon," Alice joked coldly before turning towards Kagome.
When Kagome looked into Alice's now red eyes she felt a shiver go down her spine. They're just like Naraku's Kagome thought with a sense of dread.
Alice narrowed her eyes, making them seem that much more similar to Naraku's, as she said, "Kagome, I know what I did was careless but please, I need your help."
"Yeah… What can I do?" Kagome replied, her gaze growing serious.
"Please, help me purify the miasma inside of me. I've done my best to purify most of it but there's still some left and I don't think I'm strong enough for another go on my own," Alice replied exhaustedly.
Kagome nodded as Alice turned to Miroku and continued, "Very well, Miroku, you possess spiritual powers as well right?"
"Right," Miroku confirmed, "I would be glad to be of assistance if you need me."
"Good, I could use all the help I can get. But before we begin, I must warn you, they technique that we will be using will transfer not only the miasma within us but it will drive it out as well," Alice's red eyes became serious as she finished, "In order to stay safe we must keep the miasma circling within ourselves at all times or else it could overwhelm one of us and break the cycle."
Miroku and Kagome both nodded in determination as Inuyasha, Shippo and Sango backed away to give them room.
"Alright, when we all hold hands I will begin by passing it to you Kagome. Once you get it, quickly purify as much of the toxins as you can before passing it on to Miroku who will pass it back to me, remember you must be quick or else a buildup will occur," Alice warned as she shakily got to her feet.
Kagome took a deep breath before holding Miroku's hand and offering her other hand to Alice.
"Ready? Then let's go!" Alice stated as she grabbed Miroku and Kagome's hands.
Instantly, Kagome felt a wave of miasma come over her as she purified a small section of it before passing it over to Miroku, who after flinching did the same and passed it back to Alice.
The process repeated over and over again, and with each time the miasma went full circle it fanned out farther from the group, encircling them until Kagome couldn't spot Inuyasha anymore.
"Don't worry, we're almost done!" Alice shouted above the raging wind that tossed their hair around, "When I give the signal give it your all!"
Kagome nodded as she purified another portion of the miasma and passed it on to Miroku. Once the miasma was passed from Miroku to Alice, Kagome watched as Alice forced it out in the middle of the circle they created and yell, "Now!"
In a flash, Kagome released a massive amount of her spiritual powers and watched with relief as each person's aura purified the miasma until it shone with a pure light, clearing the fog that surrounded them. They all stared in awe as the sphere spiraled up in the air before shooting towards Alice.
Once it made contact, the sphere entered Alice, who glowed with a pure light momentarily before slowly closing her eyes and falling to the ground.
"Alice!" Sango yelled as she jumped to catch Alice before she hit the ground.
Inuyasha ran to Kagome and after seeing that she was okay, he walked over to Alice.
"Hey, you okay?" Inuyasha asked, a flash of concern going through his golden eyes.
"Yeah… I think," Alice murmured as she opened her eyes a fraction of an inch, revealing that they had now returned to their normal icy blue color.
"Your eyes are back to normal, that's great!" Shippo exclaimed happily.
"Yeah, but your hair is still the same," Miroku pointed out.
"Oh well, at least I won't stand out as much," Alice replied.
"No you'll still stand out a lot," Inuyasha grinned as Alice smirked and countered, "At least not as much as you and your dog ears."
Everyone laughed before Sango helped Alice onto Kirara and back to the village. Thank goodness Alice is okay, now all that's left to do is go back to Kakuju. Lucky for us we will be able to make it back just in time for dinner Kagome thought as she looked up at the rainbow sunset that filled the sky.
Omg! Nyan cat is sooooo annoying! xP
Search it up on google or whatever you use and listen to it for a minute.
Uh huh, yep. Take it all in. Pretty fun stuff right?
Ha! Try writing a chapter of the top of your head while listening to this. Not so fun anymore huh? Especially when its been on for 4 hours! =.=
Happy thoughts...Happy thoughts...
Please read and review~
